Day 4: Saturday: Lobos & Youth Group

Today we were up bright & early and headed down to the Port of Callao to catch our boat.  We're going swimming with sea lions today!!!  We had to take a water taxi to our boat, and the kids sat up by the captain for some great views!  It took us about 1:00-1:30 to get out to the island where all the sea lions (lobos) are.  They estimate over 5,000 lobos live on these Palomino Islands.  Donning wet suits and life vests, off they went into the tepid waters.  The lobos were barking and it sure did smell - I guess that makes sense with how many were there.  They were swimming all around them in the water - so cool!!  Definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience!!!
Back onto the boat, change of clothes, and some snacks and back to the port we went....but not without stopping near Poop Island (appropriately named)... to look for penguins.  We saw oodles of penguins today!  Humboldt penguins were everywhere!!!
Made it back onto land, safe & sound, back to the house for a quick shower & change before heading for Awansa, Dinner, and Youth Group.  We made it in time to participate in the games during Awansa, and they sure love it when the Gringos participate!!  After dinner, we came back up for Youth Group.
Needless to say, it was a long day...but a great one!  Excited to cheer on the Soccer Boys tomorrow!!

Day 3: Friday: Let the Games begin!!!

Today was the first day of our Campamiento...and we were blessed with beautiful, sunny, blue skies!  As most Peruvians only attend school for a half day, due to resources & funding & space, many then find themselves with nothing to do in the afternoon... but look for trouble.  So, we offer a positive outlet for that and do a sports camp from 2-5ish.  The kids & I planned out games for the rest of the days last night, prepped our supplies, and were ready to go today!
The kids were awesome!  We did some preliminary 4-Square - a game we taught them a few years ago, and they still remember.  We fired up the music to draw the kids down/announce that the gringos were here.  Did some Macarena, YMCA, Hokey Pokey, & Chicken Dance - classics, but awesome to watch the Peruvians dance to our songs. 
Also, on the game list today was musical chairs, Sharks & Minnows, Duck-Duck-Goose. We then got the balloons out and put them into teams and they had to race around a chair with a balloon between their legs, then we had them run down & sit on a chair to pop the balloon!  We ended the day with volleyball, but with a beach ball.  As much as many complain about it, they actually like playing with a softer ball.  We played for a bit before heading down to dinner & soccer practice.
Every Mon-Wed-Fri, the 3 teams practice soccer, so we typically go and watch and sometimes our Gringos like to participate.   Today, Sydney & Roger got to play with the Dan Juniors team  We then went up to the soccer stadium to watch the 1st & 2nd Division teams prep for their big game on Sunday.  On Wednesday, they won their division in the Ventanilla District, so on Sunday, they play in the final to see if they'll be the 1st or 2nd seed from Ventanilla in the Copa Peru tournament taking place in a few weeks.  We rearranged our weekend schedule so that we can go watch the big finale on Sunday - Let's Go Club Deportivo Dan!!!!!!!!

Day 2: Thursday: Tour & Lomas

What a busy first day!!  Left the house around 10:30, made our Starbucks run, and headed up to Ventanilla. Quite a bit of traffic, no surprise!  We made a pit stop at Metro and then off to see the town.  Our first stop was an overlook in Mi Peru district.  It was a bit overwhelming to see the mass of houses & structures packed in such a small place.  We then headed to Pachacutec, a poor area with horrid roads.  I guess there was some embezzlement when the roads were constructed and weren't done properly.  We stopped at the neighborhood cemetery, an odd stop on a tour, but hearing about the mafia and their practices there was an eye-opener for the Gringos.  Our last stop was the Bahia Blanca - White Bay.  What a beautiful day - the sun was out & was even a bit warm!
We had a delicious lunch and then headed up to Las Lomas  There were only a few kids out when we arrived, but they started trickling in.  We showed the students around, but they were quickly absorbed by the kids and out playing soccer and all sorts of games.  We got some kites out and the Peruvians went crazy - they don't share real well.  The ended up climbing the hill behind the school to fly them better.  New friendships were created - old ones renewed - and lots of smiles & laughter today!

Day 1: July Group has arrived!!!

Bright and early Wednesday morning, the July Peru group met the shuttle and headed east towards O'Hare for their flights to Peru.  This group has 4 kids (Breanna, Maddie, Roger, & Sydney), and Mom Teresa.  They arrived in plenty of time for their flight to Panama, connecting to Lima.  The first flight was 5.5 hours, and they had a 1.5 hr layover in Panama...and saw some of the World Cup.  The last flight down to Lima was about 3.5 hours.  All the luggage arrived safe & sound and they made their way through customs and found Srta, Daniel, Jheisson, and Victor!  We whisked them away in the Jeep & the Van and they were quickly introduced to Peruvian traffic - never will I complain about 53rd traffic again!!!
Arrived safely at the Townhouse, got their Welcome Gifts, ate some Papa John's pizza, chatted with Daniel, Jheisson, and Roly. The boys left and Roger is staying at Daniel's place, while all the girls stay here at the Townhouse.  Time for rest & showers & unpacking.
Welcome to Peru!!  Excited you are here!!!

Day 11-12: Sunday/Monday....the long trek home

After breakfast, we packed up the bags, hopped in the vehicles, and started our trek home.  We made a quick stop in the beach town of Paracas.  Of course, the sun was out and it was beautiful in Paracas.  We stopped to see the pelican man, watched him feed the pelicans - hilarious!  Made a lunch stop, and then continued onto Lima.  Back at the townhouse, we showered, and packed up the bags for the airport.  Had our last pizza meal, and then off to the airport we went.  The airport was super busy - looooooong line at Copa, but all went well at check in.  Gave gifts to Daniel & staff, and sadly said good-bye.  Arrived home safe & sound, minus a sprint in Panama.

What a great week it's been here in Peru!  Thank you to Melissa, Cecilie, Sydney, Ava, Allie, and Tomas, for everything they have done for the community of Las Lomas over the past week.  You have left a beautiful impression on the hearts of many and I know they have left a beautiful impression on your own!  Continue to reach further and be the change!!!

Day 10: Saturday: Sand Surfing Survivors

We had a nice quiet start to our day.  After breakfast, a group went hiking up the dunes for a birds-eye-view of Huacachina. Another group went out shopping around the lagoon.  We met back up for lunch at Las Bananas, and then for our sand dune adventure.  At 3pm, we all loaded up in the dune buggy, and off into the dunes we went.  There is sand for miles and miles and miles - crazy!  It was quite the adventure going over the hills, listening to the laughs from the back of the buggy!!  Our driver finally stopped and the kids were able to practice surfing the dunes on some small hills before we hit the big ones.  We drove into the reserve a bit farther for the big ones.  There were 3 in a row, and the last one was apparently a doosie!  One went head over feet, another one just slid and ate a bunch of sand.  Needless to say, they were all covered in sand and had sand in all sorts of locations.  But, the kids had a great time!  Another new adventure they've never done before!  We had a BBQ dinner back at Las Bananas.  It was quite chilly today, a bit overcast.
Sadly tomorrow is the last day in Peru - boy, where has the time gone?!?!

Day 9: Friday: Shopping & Road Trippin'

Today we headed downtown Lima and did some shopping at the Inca market.  Great place for souvenirs!!! We then went to the infamous La Lucha for lunch - my favorite place!!  They serve amazing sandwiches & fries!!  We then loaded up in the vehicles and headed south.  Our last adventure lies 4 hours to the south of Lima:  Huacachina.  It's basically an oasis in the middle of sand dunes.  The drive is pretty basic, and we arrived at Las Bananas, our hostel for the next 2 days, around 7ish  The girls were in a room with 6 bunk beds and the boys had their own room.  There are many backpackers who stay at Las Bananas, so it's cool for the kids to see how a hostel works, and to meet people from all over the world.  We ordered some pizzas & just chilled the rest of the night.
More adventures tomorrow - stay tuned!!
*not many pictures from shopping & riding in a car all day lol