I’M BACK! After being sick for three days in bed it’s good to be finally back. I am not too sure what the problem was with me but I kept on throwing up and was light-headed. Thanks to Grace I would have never survived the sickness. But being sick wasn’t all too bad. In a way it has given me time to reflect on my life and a means of renewing it. I spent all that time in my bed and praying the rosary for our mission as well as the families in Peru. The experience has brought me much closer to God and strengthened our bond. God bless! Michael
Monday is a day off for Srs. Gloria and Maria and they were happy to accompany us on a bus ride down the coast to Pisco and Paracas. Pedro, our faithful truck driver throughout the trip, and Millie, Sr. Pauline’s godchild, also accompanied us. On the way we saw a banana plantation, fields of cotton growing, olive trees, asparagus (check out our supermarket and see where it comes from!) and other vegetation as this region is blessed with water flowing down from the mountains and irrigation is possible. It’s really amazing to see all this growing in the dessert!! The group set off on a boat trip to see the ‘Candelabra’ (google it) and the sea lions and other wildlife on the Ballestas Islands (deemed the little Glapagos of Peru). Lunch followed beachside of fresh fish – the best!! While eating, we were entertained by a group playing typical Peruvian music and by Kevin, a 9-yeard boy with a voice as grand as Pavarotti himself. We could not believe that the voice we were hearing was coming from this boy!! Souvenir stalls lined the walkway along the beach and many colourful articles were available for sale. Then it was time for a swim in the Pacific Ocean. The water was quite murky, but very refreshing. Then we relaxed for a while on deck chairs under umbrellas. We came home with a few lobsters (namely our youth) and they are now bathing themselves in Manzanilla tea and slathering on the aloe vera lotion!! This evening, we spent some time organizing food packages for tomorrow’s visits to needy families. Another great day. Yvonne
On the way down to Pisco, Sydney and I got to talk to our new Peruvian friend Mille, whom also accompanied us to Paradise yesterday. Mille is very interested in speaking English and her patience with learning another language impresses me a lot. The three of us talked most of the way to Pisco about the pronunciation of words which led to a discussion on homophones and rhyming words. We continued to explain the difference between bear and bare, toes and toast, flower and flour, among other words. Later I figured out that Millie and I have other commonalities. We’re both eighteen, like dancing and music, and are interested in Korean & Japanese culture. Also, both of us enjoy reading manga, grooving to K – Pop, and prefer NOT to listen to the Jonas Brothers. What’s really awesome is that tomorrow I get to spend a day and a-half with Millie’s family! I’m really excited and I hope I have as much courage (and memory) as Millie does for learning a new language. Angela
Today was such an exciting day! So many things happened I don’t even know where to begin. The best part of the day was definitely our boat ride. We went to visit many different tourist attractions in Peru. My favourite was the sea lions and penguins found on what was deemed the little Galapagos of Peru. There were so many sea lions on the island, it was incredible. We saw different parts of the island where the sea lions like to stay and sun themselves. The funny part was that it was mating season so we got to see what the Peruvians call “The Maternity Island.” On this part of the island there were so many pregnant sea lions. Alongside of them were also sea lion mothers with their new 4 week old pups. They were the most adorable things ever. We continued our boat ride around the island and got to see a lot of males on the rocks calling out in order to attract females. We also saw a few fighting over a female that had climbed up onto their section of land. I guess it’s the same in every species. While we were circling the cliffs we saw some crabs, barnacles and clams. Seeing these creatures made me realize that I definitely want to study marine biology. Mom I think I should let you know that I am never coming back, I will be living on the boat for the rest of my life J After the boat ride we ate lunch, it was the best fish ever! After lunch we shopped around a bit and then went swimming. Swimming was fun and I had a blast, the water was cold and salty but the swim was totally worth it. When we arrived at home on the other hand, that was not so fun. After 7 layers of sunscreen, I still managed to get a bad sunburn. Everyone except for Michael have sunburns and have been dabbing chamomile tea on their arms, shoulders and faces for the entire night. I am off to bed in hopes of getting at least a few hours of sleep despite the painful sunburn on my arms and face. Buenos noches. Sabrynna
The pictures I have attached show the Candelabra and the sea-lions. There is also one of the group lined up to get on the boat and another of them in the boat.
I had my picture taken with young Kevin who has an amazing voice and he uses it to earn enough to buy his school supplies and to take extra courses in computer which he enjoys very much. A number of us bought a DVD of Kevin singing but we have not tried it out.
Upon returning home, all showered and nursed their burns. I then put them to work getting the food baskets ready for distribution tomorrow morning. I have a picture of the finished product, hopefully tomorrow we will have pictures of the families receiving them. Pauline
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