The Road to Imasa

Trying hard to catch up. On Thursday ( 7/18) we had an early breakfast and then some of us went to paint buildings, and I went with a group to do some shopping in a tiny little town called Imasa.   We got to take mototaxis, and it was awesome!   For 7 soles (Peruvian dollars) -- maybe $2.50 or so, you get a really fun ride, a bit like Indiana Jones, Peruvian style.   We were shopping for gifts like pots and pans for the pastors who are coming to the conference.  There are about 180 them, so this trip is all business. 

We bought pots and pans and silverware and plastic dishes and chicha morada (drink mix made from blue corn) and coffee and sugar and many other things.  The ride home was really fun - our mototaxi driver liked to hear us squeal, so he milked it for all it was worth. 

Here's the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5A5hwdNJkzw

At lunch, we had a special treat waiting for us. 

Hahahaha!!!  Well, I got the thing down, and I am a proud member of the grub club.  They are called suri and grow into beetles of some sort or another.  They don't taste bad.  They're like unflavored gelatin on the inside, but the skin is really tough and chewy.  No need to try that again. 

We spent the afternoon packing and sorting all the gifts and then had a great service with the pastors. 

Later that night, Aubree was bitten by an azula ant.  OUCH.  She was in a lot of pain.

Repeat after me:  bug spray is your friend. 

The highlight of the day for me was this:  while we were handing out t-shirts, I dropped one. That was when I saw that the pastor I was giving the shirt to had bare feet.  Gnarled, splayed toed bare feet.  I could hardly continue.  I thought of the verse that says "How beautiful are the feet of him who brings good news."   Many of them had bare feet, and one of them I learned later, had gnarled, club feet.   So very humbling. 

That's all for now.  I hope to get another day or two out tomorrow!

Much love, 

Bonnie :)

Of cars, mototaxis, vans and boats

Four days without Internet and there is too much to catch up on, but I will try. My last connection was in Bagua.  From there, we took cars to the mission station, Nuevo Horizonte.   Bagua is dry, but it doesn't take long for the scenery to change.  We encountered several rivers along the way, but the only ones I remember were the Chiriaco and the Marañon.  

In many of the pictures it looks like low-hanging clouds over the mountains, but it really mist that rises from the jungle. I sat and watched it one afternoon.   

This is a spot where the pavement ends and the gravel road begins. We had to stop so the driver could let air out of the tires.  Yes, you did read that right.  He let air OUT.  The picture here is corn drying on a roof. 

This is a common sight - a mototaxi loaded up with goods of all kinds.  If the road happens to have a yellow line in the middle, and many don't, they are just a suggestion as you can see here.  When the drivers want to pass someone, they just honk and go!  

I could do a whole photo series on "In The Road."   Donkey in the road, chicken in the road, turkey in the road, pig in the road, sleeping dog in the road and the list goes on.  

This is a ginger flower which smelled wonderful. Esti, one of the team members, is from Hawaii so she knows what a lot of the tropical plants.  She made our driver stop just to pick this!   

The Marañon river.  It is huge by my standards. You'll see a lot more of it later. We get to take a boat down to some villages later.  I should note here that the jungle is different than I thought. I expected more really tall trees. They are there, but not as many as I thought.  It is hot and very humid. Bug spray is my new perfume.  It turns out that I am allergic to DEET.  Fortunately, I brought several alternatives and they work very well. A surprising win was the ointment I threw in at the last minute.  It comes from the feed store and is for treating dog and horse wounds. It takes care of the itching and bites heal quickly without infection. I am quite popular because of it.  I am writing a letter to the manufacturers when I get home!   It would sell for premium prices at REI.  

Finally, we arrived at the mission station.  It is huge!  Lots more buildings than I thought. The pastors are beginning to arrive for the conference. Some of them have traveled for 4 days. They come by bus, car, boat, and trail.   It's pretty humbling. 

Larry Garman's old clinic is now the district office. 

Our dorm and home for the next four nights.  Ten women in bunk beds - it feels like camp - except that at camp we had hot water!

Dinner!  The three women on either side of Addie are our cooks for the week.  Sarella, Nancy and Michaela are all graduates of the Bible school.  Sarella teaches music here now, and Nancy is the wife of Edgardo, the District Superintendent.  

Dinner!   This was really good, it was like cream of chicken soup over potatoes.  Many of our meals are similar. Not much in the way of veggies and two starches. 

I know I'm catching up on a whole week now but Internet and even electricity is dicey.  I am lucky to get a connection and when I do it's slow, so be patient!   

Much love,

Bonnie :). 

Lima-Chiclayo-Bagua

Two days traveling in the same clothes and tonight I'm in a real bed in Bagua!  I took a zillion pictures, so here are a few of my favorites. 

Waiting  for the plane to Chiclayo. 

Some of us at the Chiclayo airport just after arrival this morning. 

Huge double decker bus that will take us over the Andes.  

The western side of the Andes looks a lot like home, vegetation wise.

Lunch!

I had chicken.  It tasted like chicken.  

Leslie estas haciendo una peepee.

Behind the restaurant there are chicken coops and Emily is going to say hello to the turkeys. 

There were goats EVERYWHERE. Greg has a new friend.  He's feeding them fried banana chips.

The Eastern side of the Andes is very dry. 

Don't worry.  They made him get off.  The mototaxis were fun!   Just as Emily Brown and I were about to take off in our taxi, some little girls jumped in with us and Marjorie sat on my lap. No picture, but they were so sweet!

The streets of Bagua.  Lots of mototaxis, motorcycles,  and dogs. 

Dinner at the church in Bagua.  They sang a welcome song- and a little girl came running up to me and hugged me and walked the rest of the way to the church with me. 

Soup, lomo saltado, papas a la huancaina and the purple drink is chicha marón, made from blue corn. 

Blanca, Jonathan, and Marjorie. Blanca was the one who ran up and hugged me and walked me to the church. Marjorie was the one who sat on my lap in the mototaxis.  

More of the kids in Bagua. 

Staircase - wild!

Our hotel is nice- we even have air conditioning. More pics when I can.  I will be away from Internet for five days as we head to the mission station.  Tomorrow I get to see the jungle!  

Much love,

Bonnie  

Hanging at the airport in Lima

Greg is busily at work on his few thousand thoughts -- an email he sends out to the church and friends of the church.

So far the trip has been uneventful.   There are 24 of us so lots of luggage to handle.  

This was our plane - a 787:

It was huge and really nice.   Three sets of three seats with two aisles, and really nice touch screen displays.   I watched a movie - Salmon Fishing in the Yemen - and I slept a lot.   Eight hours is a pretty long flight!   

That's all for now.  

First leg of the journey down, two to go!  Not sure when I'll have internet again, but much love to all of you.   

-Bonnie :)

Almost Ready!

My bags are packed and I'm ready to go...for the Monday morning flight to Lima. From there, we catch another flight to Chiclayo.  By Tuesday evening, I should be reunited with my luggage, and then travel by bus over the Andes to the mission station at Nuevo Horizonte.   I have no idea what the Internet availability will be like, so just trust that I'll post when I can!  

Both of these suitcases are filled with gifts and goodies for the folks in Peru.  There are necklaces and backpacks, nail clippers, sewing kits, deflated soccer balls, toy cars and shoes.  My own stuff is in a smaller backpack. 

On a humorous note, this little guy appeared in our living room last night.  I didn't expect to see the likes of him until I got to the jungle!

The guys caught him and we'll either find a home for him or release him.  That's all for now!

Love each other well,

Bonnie :)