Trujillo, Chan Chan and Huanchaco Peru

Friday we finished up the NRT course. It went well. Jeff, Scott Witt and Nordell Brown demonstrate how to do the megacode. Below is a group shot of the participants.

Trujillo is a beautiful city. There is Spanish influence in the architecture. The colors are amazing. I wish I had a day to just take pictures. I missed out.

On Saturday we took the morning and visited a couple of old ruins. One was the Moche ruins. There was a sun and moon temple. They were destroyed by the Spaniards. It is currently being restored. It was an amazing place. Next we went to the Chan Chan ruins. Another amazing place.

These beautiful red birds were hanging out in the trees at the ruins.

Then there were the Peruvian hairless dogs. Very friendly but honestly pretty ugly. You have to click on the picture below to see the styling patch of hair on this doggy.

Part of the design in the ruins which represents fishing nets.

Higher than it looks!!!

Finally we went to the beach town of Huanchaco for a delicious lunch. We stopped to check out the famous little kayak type boats on the beach. They are woven of reeds.

Following the fun morning we headed to the airport in Trujillo. We arrived back in Rexburg tonight around 6 pm. Long, long time to spend in the airports and on planes. But it was all worth it. Another successful training! Thanks to so many dedicated people and medical people who helped.

More from the Huancalavica to Trujillo trip

We got up at 4 am so we could be on the road by 5:30. Big problem was the tiny opening from the parking lot and the cars in the way. No problem, just move them.

Some of the locals got up as early as we did. Most of the people here wear traditional clothing. It is very cold and they wear clothes with a purpose. All the women carry everything on their backs including babies and children.

We passed by many little villages on the way. They live like in medieval times. I had to take two meclazines to make this trip. Very mountainous driving.

Here are some more people just getting up and walking to town.

Nobody has a car. They carry everything or put it on the back of a donkey or horse.

Everyone walks along the side of the road. We were scared for all the young children and animals.

This is Dr. Joo teaching Newborn Resuscitation. He and his wife are the Humanitarian Missionaries for Peru and Bolivia. We have had many great trips with them.

Jeff working with his group at the practice station in Trujillo.

Off to Trujillo

I tried to upload some pictures but it takes too long. We leave in the morning at 5:30 for Lima. We are hoping it will take a little less than the 13 hours it took to get here. We need to be to the airport in Lima by 6 pm to catch the plane to Trujillo.

It rained again today. We are all frozen. Our shoes, skirts and the mens pants were soaked walking the block to where we were teaching. You just never get warm again. The sun did shine for a little bit. We walked around a few minutes and got some fun pictures.

They say it is warm and sunny in Trujillo, I sure hope they are right. Oh and the oxygen level will be more compatible with life. We all opted to skip dinner tonight. Food just sits in your belly like a rock when you are this high. So wish us well for the long haul tomorrow. Goodnight.

Huancavileca Peru

We are teaching in an old building that is really pretty. It is one of the prettiest settings we have taught in.

We did some of the practical stations outside even in the rain.

 

Here is our team of instructors. It is a good group. Above is Dr. Scott Witt from Duke University.

This is a beautiful city. High in the Andes. Last night we walked in the rain and I found the most beautiful scarves. They are hand made only here (the design).  I am going back today with my dinero.

Yesterday we traveled  from Lima to Huancavileca Peru by bus. It was a 12 hour ride over the Andes mountains. The views were often spectacular. It was raining much of the way. The roads were like driving over the Jackson Pass often for hours at a time. We passed a lot of mud and rock slides. I kept hoping we would not run into a spot where it was currently sliding. The good news is our drivers were very good and cautious. It seems that it was laundry day. Every village we drove through had a lot of wash tubs and clothes lines full of clothes. Above is a picture of a lady doing her laundry. I vowed to never complain again about doing the wash. If you click on it you can see her laundry room up close.

We passed so many people out working in the fields or tending their animals. It all appears to be peaceful. Although they do not have much I think there is a happiness that we do not experience. Life is not  as complicated. I missed so many great shots. Children and women tending sheep. Families out in their gardens eating together and working together.

The picture below is of the road we are on. Rain, fog and blind curves, and thousand foot drops. No worries. We all slept through much of it.

Tunja to Bogota, Colombia

On Saturday we drove from Tunja Colombia back to Bogota. We decided to take a different way that would take us across the mountain (Andes). It was really pretty. Supposedly there was a little town that had fun shopping. It was a great find. It was really old and had so much character. I took lots of pictures in this city. I cannot remember the name but will add it when I remember. We were told that they filmed some of Zorro here.

Jeff bought a little bag from this lady. She crochets them. She is telling him how much money she needs from him.

There were so many fun little artisans shops we did not know where to begin. I looked into a little alley and it opened up into the most beautiful court yard full of little shops. It used to be an old home.

The streets are all cobble stone. Below are the Shipp's who are serving as Humanitarian missionaries. Also Jenny Smoot who was part of our team.

Jeff checking out the goods in one of the little shops. We found some treasures. I finished up my 12 days of Christmas shopping here. It is a tradition I have done my whole life. Now the 6 kids get a 12 days every year. It is fun to find things on our travels.

The wall hanging below caught my eye. It was so colorful.

In the center of town they were having a parade. It was a fun little surprise.

Such a cute place. We only had an hour but could have spent a whole day here.

Eric Welling one of the Docs with us tried to get me to eat some snot fruit. Jeff says it is really a persimmon. It is slimy looking stuff but I did finally give in. I actually liked it. It is however like slurping snot. We spent a lot of hours packed tightly into our van and he was playing with my camera.

Our next stop was the Sal Catedral (Salt Cathedral). We stopped and went into it. It is an old salt mine that they have turned into a working cathedral. Everything in it is carved from salt. It is very dark in         there, uneven floors and slippery. It was an amazing place. Here we are entering the tunnel.

Jeff and Jenny walking in the tunnels.

Here is one of the alters inside. The crosses are also carved and then lit up. You can see part of our team in front of it. Javier, Julio, Jeff, Mary and Jenny.

One of my favorite things is the nativity scene.

Below is one of the carved columns that hold the place up. This is a big cavern. Mary and Eric Welling standing in front of it.

I decided to check it out and see if it is really salt. (It is.)

The Shipp's were amazing to work with and did a great job putting everything for the course together. It was a great trip. We made it to Bogota in time to pick up our last souvenirs and have a great dinner. Then we headed to the airport for our 1:30 am flight back home. We arrived yesterday afternoon. Lynne had made a really amazing roast beef dinner that we devoured. I am unpacked and already packing for the next trip to Peru next week. I am having a little bit of anxiety about getting ready for Christmas.