I am leaving Peru in a few days so this blog, like my Peruvian adventure, has come to an end. I've had lots of fabulous ups and not-so-fabulous downs, but it's all character-building. Or so I tell myself :p Here are a bunch of photos taken in Ayacucho. The photos are in no particular order. Thank you for traveling with me and... ¡Hasta la próxima! Final Latin American Spanish Word of the Day: cuy = guinea pig [View Full Entry]

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This trip took place way back in December 10, 2007. Veerle, another Belgian volunteer, and I took a day trip to the town of Huanta, an hour away from Ayacucho. From Huanta we took a taxi to the village of Luricocha to see the Luricocha canyon. We spent the afternoon walking around Huanta, a very modest town with a lot of vegetable production. Best known for its palta production, Huanta’s avocadoes go all the way to Lima. Unlike hilly Ayacucho, Huanta has a lot of plains where palta grows well. As previously mentioned, I am absolutely in love with palta. Huanta’s [View Full Entry]

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The Semana Santa in Ayacucho is Peru's most famous Holy Week. Many people come from out of town to Ayacucho's 10-day celebration consisting of numerous processions and lots of drinking! You can follow the events of Semana Santa through the photos that I have posted. Oh, and Good Friday fell on my birthday this year so I didn't have to work. Yay! Enjoy. [View Full Entry]

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This trip took place way back in November 23, 2007. On our day off Delphine and I decided to go visit Quinua and the Wari (also spelled ‘Huari’) ruins. Early in the morning we boarded a small minivan to Quinua and we got off at the Wari ruins, halfway to Quinua. The old city of Wari, located 25km northwest of Ayacucho. As the first complex urban center in the Andean area, Wari shows a natural, spontaneous growing process as a city resulting from demographic growth. Once densely populated, it is estimated that the city of Wari had 100,000 inhabitants. Some buildings [View Full Entry]

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This trip took place way back in November 11, 2007. After a horrendous 4-hour super-bumpy (unpaved road) bus ride in a tiny overcrowded bus, Dries, Kristine, Jore, and I reached Vilcashuamán. Dating back to approximately 1450 A.D., Vilcashuamán (meaning ‘sacred falcon’) was considered the geographical center of the Inca Empire. There the Inca road between Cusco and the coast crossed the road running the length of the Andes. Therefore, it was one of the most important administrative centers of the Tawantinsuyo . Today, Vilcashuamán is a small modest town, with few visitors. The former Temple of the Sun is now the [View Full Entry]

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One quite important thing I forgot to mention before I stopped working at the Casa, i.e. before Xmas, yes, way back. Anyway, the last month of working at the Casa I was all over the place. I was already doing some translations, I was still working with the kids, and at least twice a week I worked at the terreno. What is the terreno? It’s a large piece of land located a 15-min walk away from the Casa where Gil and Chantal plan to build two houses to serve as two separate orphanages. One will be run by them, while the [View Full Entry]

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So, there have been some changes since I have been back in Ayacucho after my ‘big’ trip. Primarily, I no longer work at the orphanage. After three months I still wasn’t feeling very happy or fulfilled by my work there so I decided that the best thing for me was to do was to do something else. Now I teach English at a language school (located at Centro San Cristóbal) three times a week and at a community college once a week. I settled into my teaching work quite quickly and I rather enjoy it. I still live in Vista Alegre [View Full Entry]

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Two videos of two bands (Grupo 5 and Kaliente) are attached to this entry so you can listen to the soundtrack of my Peruvian experience. 'El embrujo' is the Aycucho volunteers' Peruvian anthem. It is so popular that it has been on the radio for five months here and not a day goes by that I don't hear it. Musica-de-la-Selva-type music is very popular in Ayacucho, whereas Limeños (pp from Lima) are too cool to listen to it. I guess it has the same status as 'narodnjaci' in Croatia. Either way, enjoy. [View Full Entry]

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Huacachina The sandboarding oasis of Huacachina lies 5 km west of Ica and it consists of a lagoon surrounded by towering sand dunes. Graceful palm trees, exotic flowers, and attractive antique buildings testify to the bygone glamour of this resort, which was once a playground for the Peruvian elite. Today, it is ruled by party-seeking crowds of international backpackers. I arrived to Huacachina in the late afternoon and found accommodation at Hostal Salvatierra, a cheap yet comfortable alojamiento , right by the lagoon with surprisingly good service. The manager of the house was amazing, managed to do everything and always be [View Full Entry]

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After Arequipa, my trip was suddenly coming to an end and I was looking forward to arriving back to Ayacucho. So I just wanted to speed through my remaining sites. Although northbound, I was visiting the south coast of Peru. From Arequipa, I took the 12-hour Cruz del Sur night bus to Nasca, a little town of 53,000 inhabitants located on the Panamericana . I was to arrive to Nasca at 5 a.m. and would have time to speedily see the Nasca Lines and be on my way again. I wake up at 6.30 a.m. thinking it strange that we weren’t [View Full Entry]

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