A 10-hour bus ride, there is not much to do without puking (i.e. can’t read), so I took photos. The text below the pictures make a little haiku-like photo-poem. You can at least enjoy the views if you don’t like my poem! Before you go onto the poem… A little update on the roads - the road from Lima to Ayacucho was not entirely completed until 1999, that’s why it’s so good! Another update on the buses - Expreso Molina, the bus company that I used three times and never had problems with has been shut down indefinitely due to their [View Full Entry]

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A/N: More photos have been added to the previous (Ayacucho) entry so check them out. Also, yes, the dates of the entries are old, but I am trying to catch up on the events so I am using dates of when they happened rather than when I post them. I have done some serious writing recently so weekly updates will ensue. Thanks to everyone who has been leaving comments, messages, and emails :) For Mercedes: you left a message but not an email so I cannot email you back. So onto the Best and Worst of Life in Vista Alegre Let’s [View Full Entry]

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Although Vista Alegre is only a 10-15min bus ride from the city of Ayacucho, taking the bus to and from the the city is a true deporte (sport). First of all many of the streets are unpaved so the bus goes through the parts of the road that are most flat, including the right, middle, and left parts of the road, even when it's a two-way street. This wouldn't be so bad if the bus wasn't in an imaginary race with the bus from Speed - the bus speeds as if running away from a fire - I have yet to [View Full Entry]

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Anyway, before I get into details of the accommodation let me explain the current situation a little bit. According to the administrators, currently there are a lot of volunteers. Actually, what happened was that suddenly there are a lot of people who are staying over two months. Usually, most volunteers come to stay for a month or two (which means there are goodbye parties almost every week). I don't understand how you can have too many volunteers (some people who were in Ayacucho for others reasons and wanted to be volunteers for a while have been turned away), just give others [View Full Entry]

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All of the following info is unofficial! :p Casa Hogar Los Gorriones is run by a Belgian/French couple who founded it in 2002. The Casa houses around 25 kids divided into three groups: Lupes (the disabled), Pequeños (aged 3-5), and the Grandes (aged 5-12). The Casa is designed to be more like a household and less like an institution, that is why its small. The point is for it to be like a large foster family. Many kids at 'my' Casa are not wanted by other Casas because they have special needs, having come from broken homes full of violence and [View Full Entry]

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Where in the world do I currently live? My final destination in Peru is Vista Alegre, a village on top of a mountain near the city of Ayacucho (10-min bus ride). I am not sure where the 'happy view' (vista alegre) is, but there is a mirador (panoramic viewpoint) where you can see all of Ayacucho, below. It is a lovely place for photo-taking, as you know how much I love taking photos :) For me the main center of Vista Alegre is a large square-like clearing where the bus runs through. The clearing has a playground and soccer/basketball court. Eight [View Full Entry]

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To the left is a map of Peru. The green point is Lima. The red point is around where Ayacucho is (the map didn't have it, grr!). 8.05 - The intended departure time for the bus, but the bus is not here yet. It's quite cold in Lima. 8.20 - I got on the bus. The seats are assigned, my seat is way up front on the 2nd floor - panoramic view. We'll see how that works out. 8.25 - There is enough leg space but most of it is taken up by my backpack - as usual. Seated next to [View Full Entry]

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Welcome to the second part of my first impressions of Lima! Some more aspects of traffic organization... All their streets are one-way except for the avenues, which are two-way, but in between one direction and another is a long 'island' of grass, flowers, and trees. I find this very effective and I think it prevents accidents as everybody drives like a maniac (worse than in LA) and yet I did not witness any accidents. Cabs drive around all the time and give little honks to communicate that they are empty and you just wave your hand and they stop. Before you [View Full Entry]

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After two full days in Lima I feel I have grasped the vibe of the city. At first glance (driving around in a taxi) Lima is aesthetically unapealling - rows of attached one-storey buildings are located along the streets, appearing very much as an asphalt jungle. The buildings are mostly some type of business or living quarters. Although different colors of paint usually distinguish where one property begins and another ends, the pain seems old and dirty from the incessant traffic so the overall color that persists is grey. After visting specific areas of Lima by foot the perception is h [View Full Entry]

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