Blogs from Huancayo, Junin, Peru, South America

We made it to Erica´s Yesterday. Town called Chupaca next to Huancayo. 35 publishers or so meet in her house. Went in service today in the center of town. Theres a fair goin on there so we just walked around and approached people to talk to them. Everyone is really nice but i get wierd looks because were foriegners. Josh and I are feeling the elevation here, almost 11,000 feet. But were havin a great time meetin lots of brothers and sisters everywhere4 we go. Very hopitable people.... read more

Hello all! I have been living in a distict of Huancayo called El Tambo, doing various things and meeting various folks. I thought I´d give you an update on how life has been. I also hope that the Autumn is settling in beautifully and gently for you all in the Northern Hempishere, and have been thinking of how I miss this micologically-ripe season in the states. Anyway, I have been living with Bregje, helping out as I can (there is not a ton of work to do, as it so happens), and have commenced Spanish lessons in the evenings. This is always nice, and lesnd me a feeling of productivity for my otherwise mellow days. My tutor is a professor of English named Juan, and teaching me is his fourth job. He is ridiculously busy, but ... read more

Hello Lovelies, I just wanted to give you a glimpse into my daily life, now that I am living in a home and things are a little more regular: I live with a Dutch woman, Bregje, who runs an NGO, Muchas Manos. The NGO is focused on organizing and facilitating projects to help the lives of single mothers and old women in our neighborhood in Huancayo. The women are often supporting more than one child, and are all living with difficult financial circumstances. The NGO focuses on building community for the women, visiting each person every week and bringing something small and helpful like rice or sugar. Also, the NGO helps the women start businesses and occassionally microfinances projects. More than this, it is a structure to connect women in the neighborhood. Not that I have ... read more

Hey Y´all, Just an update on Huancayo. Once I got here, I didn´t quite know why. There´s a town nearby, Hualhuas, that is known for it´s touristy textiles market. There isn´t a Spanish school I was coming to attend, and I didn´t have the details of any homstays worked out. Yet, I made the decision to come. Well, after a couple of days taking walks, hitting up the market, and reading (a lot!), I finally got that nasty bacterial illness I wasn´t supposed to. We´re talking massive fever, no leaving my bed (situated in a very plesant hospedaje with a very nice señora minding everything), aches and pains, headache, feeling zonked out, etc. for pretty much 24 hours. I woke up without a fever, but still tired and zoned out. Upon reflection, I probably didn´t have ... read more

I summoned the detirmination to leave Qosqo (in reality, it was simply time, and not too difficult), and head somewhere with slightly less of a tourist infrastructure. That is right, I am in Huancayo. Never heard of it? Not suprising... it is much less of a tourist city than Qosqo (by far) or Lima. Heard of it? Maybe because it was one of the centers of Sendero Luminoso (look this up if you do not know what it is). Or, perhaps in conjunction with the variety of market towns in the region. However, the absence of super fancy colonial architecture or profound Incan ruins make it a little less of a hotspot for foreigners. Anyway, although there is a ¨road¨ more direct from Qosqo to Huancayo, it is shabby and what could be a 8 hour ... read more

Huancayo is a city that is over 3 kilometres in the sky, nestled in the Peruvian Andes “far off the gringo trail”, according to the Lonely Planet. It’s air is thin, it’s people happy, and it’s dogs wild and free. To get here, our bus from Lima climbed steep and windy roads, but they were mostly bitumen and in good condition. I was asleep for most of the trip, and looking back on it, it may have been the change in atmospheric conditions that made me drowsy, because I was dead to the world for hours. I did manage to wake up for lunch and to watch some of the in-bus movie: The Lovely Bones. But that soon sent me back to sleep. I did fare far better than two ladies in seats in front of ... read more

Hello! On Saturday morning we went to Torre Torre which, alike everything else here, you have to climb up some very steep hills to reach! As we walked through a small village on our way, many children ran up to us eager to practice their english shouting ´hello, i love you, goodbye!´ Torre Torre was great to see and made some brilliant photos, but i´m pretty certain that it is the most terrifying thing i have ever done! It is in the middle of nowhere and definitely not tourist friendly! We had to climb along thin strips of rock, whilst very high up, on loose footing and when i tried to grab hold of rocks they fell away! I can´t explain how horrible it was at times, but it was just about worth it! On the ... read more