Blog 1 Peru arrival

Okay first blog. Well I can tell you I made it to Huaraz. Apart from the fact I did not know I had to complete a Visa waiver form on-line before I could check myself in for the flight to Miami the 17 hours of travel went fine. Luckily I was able to complete the form at the internet café in Heathrow and get on the flight. I arrived in Lima at 10pm at night (3am Brit time) to be met by Haydee, the wife of the family I am staying with and was taken to their flat in Lima to sleep for the night. Then at 8am I was put on the bus for an 8 hour journey to Huaraz (where I am teaching and staying until after Christmas). From the start you immediately see how different a country Peru is to the UK. Everything is so much more basic in its form. Houses are mainly basic single brick shells with the steel supports sticking out of the tops of them so that buildings can be built on. The bus trip wound its way up the coast from Lima and in to the rocky hills and mountains that make up the landscape and surround Huaraz. Along the sides of the road there are small wooden and brick shacks where people live and some small settlements.

A bit about Huaraz. It is a city of 100,000 people and is 3000m above sea level. It is also the gateway to the Andes, the range of mountains which run down the west coast of South America. It has the best trekking opportunities in Peru and you can get to the second highest mountain in South America from here, which is called Huascaran and is 6,768 m above sea level!

Into the centre of Huaraz

The central Plaza in Huaraz

Huaraz's other Plaza and main church

The family I am staying with are called the Delgado’s and they are really great hosts and have made me feel completely at home. Luis is the father and organises the volunteer work. He and Haydee have a son called Essy who is 11 and speaks excellent English and a daughter Cindy who is an English teacher. I have my own bedroom with bathroom and am treated to three great meals a day by Haydee apart from weekends when it’s time to fend for yourself. I am staying here with 3 other volunteers, two girls from Canada and a guy from the US. They are all really friendly and we get on well. On the Sunday after my arrival we went for lunch at a restaurant and I had my first taste of the Peruvian delicacy Cuy (guinea pig). It’s a bit like chicken with a crispy outer layer and I will be having it again!

The Cuy!

For those wondering about the weather, I have come at a time when winter mixes in to summer. In the winter there is sun all day and there is no rain. The summer is a mix of sun and rain, which tends to come down in the afternoon from 1pm and will go sometimes in to the evening. It is the low season for trekking but all the treks are still available.

That’s it for my first blog, you find me safe, well, and enjoying myself.
P.s did you know that Corn first originated from Peru?