Guinea Pig on the Menu

The days are very warm in Chupaca Peru.. usually 26 cel. We are in Tshirts during the day but the nights are a little cooler.
Sat. 23rd we visited a village called Jauja. This town was originally the capital of Peru during the Spanish rule in the 1600´s. Lima is now the capital. The buildings are very old and the streets are so narrow. We continued on to ¨ Lagune de Paca¨ .... a beautiful lake.... to watch the local festival where the people prepare a Patchamanka, which is like a hungi in the ground. Then we went to a local restaurant overlooking the lake for lunch.
This is were Rob and I had our first meal of Guinnea Pig. It is very much like duck. ... not a lot of meat but a lot of bone and a little greasy, also very sweet. We also had fresh trout fillets ...the best we have ever tasted in our life.
We then went back to Jauja to see another local street festival. Here they plant huge trees that they have just cut down from nearby, and decorate them with balloons,blankets, bags anything colourful and transplant them in the local square. Between two of the trees there was a duck sitting in a basket hanging between two of the trees. Later on the trees are cut down and the locals run and catch all the decorations for luck. There is a band playing and the locals are dressed in traditional costumes and dance around the trees. While they were dancing, a few locals grabbed hold of us and we had to dance with them all. This music didn´t stop for at least half and hour and we were worn out. We really had a great day.
Sun, 24th
Today after a sleep in we went into Huancayo with Nilton and Elly and brought 50 books for the children of Esperanza. The books were mainly dictionaries and history books and bought with the donations that were given do us prior to our trip. Only one book case was ready to take so we hailed a taxi, put down the back seat of this small station wagon, laid the steel bookcase down with it hanging out the back and Rob and Nilton had to squash in alongside it lying down whileMaxine was lucky to have the front seat.
Mon. 25th.
Went back to Huancayo today to by bookcases for all these books. Once again from donations.
We have been having traditional Peruvian food all the time. ie. a lot of potatoes, corn, eggs, rice and bread. Trying hard to lose weight but it is almost impossible.
In the afternoon it was the first day we went to the schools. Rob went to one school while I went to another. The children were so happy to see us again. On the way home Rob had 11 people in his small 1980 Nissan with a bag of potatoes on the roof, and I had 10 people in mine.
Tues. 26th.
Today we started Spanish lessons. This will be 2 hours , 3 times a week. It is most helpful when you live with the Spanish speaking family. In the afternoon we went back to the schools for more lessons with the children and watched this magnificent light show of thunder and lightning.
This school is 650 meters higher than yesterday´s school which would take us to 3,800 metres high. Rob and I have been having a few light headaches and blood noses but otherwise all okay.
In this town of Chupaca I think the dogs outnumber the people. All night long they bark and bark and Rob said the dog next door will soon be baited.
We are thoroughly enjoying our time here with the children and looking forward to each and every day.
Will keep you posted next week. Maxine and Rob.

We are now in Peru

We hope you enjoyed our photos of Buenos Aires. We thank you Alicia for all the guided tours you gave us. We left Buenos Aires at 8.30pm last Tuesday evening and arrived in Lima Peru at midnight. A taxi was there to pick us up and take us to our hotel for two nights. Wednesday we mainly slept all morning and then toured Miraflores on the coast of Lima.
The following day we travelled to Huancayo by bus. This trip took 7 hours but it went very quickly. A very comfortable bus and good food. We were met at the bus depot by Nilton and Elly, the organisers of the Peru Luz Esperanze, our volunteer group. Since last year, Nilton and Elly have moved to a smaller house. It is a lot smaller BUT warm showers... thank goodness.
Today we went to one of the schools and the children were so happy to see us again. They decorated the front gate with streamers and balloons and gave us flowers, home made cards, notes and made biscuits and drinks .....a party we will never forget. We then had a sports afternoon and thanks to Russell who gave us many footballs, the children were so excited. Rob tried to teach Aussie Rules as much as he could, but they just wanted to kick and tackle each other.
Thank you for your comments .... for those of you who did not realise it... you can click on comments and type a note back to us.
Will be back at the computer next week. Bye to you all.

Some photos of our trip

Hello everyone. Rob and I have left our apartment in BA and are now at Alicia's home. Tonight at 8.30 pm we head off to Lima to start our adventure. I am now going to attach a few photos.

The first photo of Rob and I was taken at the airport.

The second photo was at the Museum of the Arts in Tigre. We are with Alicia and Lucrecia. This was a magnificent building and so big that we couldn't get it all in the photo. The third photo was taken at San Telmo with all the colourful houses built in the 1600's and have been painted in so many different colours. This place is a haven for tourists. While you sit and eat your lunch the tango dancers are all around you and there are so many buskers in the cobblestone streets.

The last photo is Rob talking to the children at the school in Tigre.

Well bye for now and will report later. Love you all.

Maxine and Robert.

We were about to spend the day with friends for lunch at Martinez (an outer suburb) We were to take the 60 bus to Martinez but we were on the wrong side of the road and the bus went to the inner city. We were so far out that we had to catch two subway trains to Retiro station which is the main station in Buenos Aires. Then we took the train to Martinez. In all it took us an hour and a half to get there, normally a trip of 40 minutes.
The next day we went into the city and had lunch at a Parilla (pronounced pareeja) which is a typical Argentine steak house. Great meat!
Wednesday. ... Alicia took us on a guided tour all around the old part of the city which is full of buildings dating back to the 1500´s and a lot of antique shops. It rained most of the day but that did not deter us. It was a great day and so interesting.
Thursday..... took off again today as the cleaner was coming to the apartment. Went to Palermo and visited the Evita Museum and walked all around the area we stayed last year and spoke to people we met then and they still remember us. Took the subway home only to go one station when all the trains stopped due to a snap strike. We had to take buses and what chaos. They were so packed we were like sardines. We brought gnocci and fresh sauce for dinner and collapsed at home with ´vino´.
Friday... today we went to Tigre (pronounced Teegrey) by train with Alicia. This is about 35 k from the city centre and an area around islands and rivers and the people travel from the islands to the mainland each day for work. It is full of markets and beautiful shops. Rob spoke to the children at the local school of our trip to Peru and about Australia. This was organised through Alicia´s grandson who is in Year 4. The children learn English and this was their English class. It was a great day and we have photos which we hope to add next week.
Went back to the station and walked home through the city about 9.pm
Very tired that night. Will catch up again next week. Bye.

At last we have conquered the Blog

Hi everyone. Life never stops here in BuenosAires. Our sleep pattern is out of control. We go to bed at around 11.pm and are still wide awake at 3am so we watch a movie till 5am then sleep till 2PM. Today was much better.... we woke up at 9.30am. On arrival at the airport we were conned for the first time ever, by a taxi driver´s tout. We gave him 90 pesos for our fare and within a second he had swapped the 100 pesos for a 10 pesos note and insisted we only gave him 10 pesos, so we had to give him another 100 pesos. We realised later when we were counting our money we were 100 pesos short which is the equivalent of $45 Aus.

The weather has been perfect... around 25 each day and mild nights. We have spent the past few days settling in and going to our favourite coffee shops and markets. Had a great day with our Argintine family over here had an asardo (BBQ) on Sunday evening.
Haven´t heard any news from home as the papers mainly concentrate on America and Europe.
We have taken a few photos but you will have to wait to see these as that will be another experience on how to set it up.
Have been to the Recoleta Cemetry again ... it was Eva Peron´s birthday (Evita) and the flowers were piled high on her tomb (like Princess Diana´s flowers)
The next few days maybe a little wet by the look of the clouds outside. Keep reading our news.... next installment will be in 2 to 3 days.
Love you all. Maxine and Roberto. xxxxx