Huancayo Life

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Life in Huancayo is all about....

PEOPLE
We have settled in great with our host family. Everyone is so friendly, the grandmother cracks me up for sure! She is such a sweet little old lady. The project (Tinkuy Peru) is family run, everyone is involved in helping out in some way or another, whether it is teaching English, cooking dinner, or taking volunteers on tours. We are living with the father mother, 2 aunts, cousins, grandmother, kids, other volunteers etc...so fun.

MARKET
The Sunday Market here is definitely worth a visit. There are tons of hand crafts, Alpaca sweaters, food, and pretty much anything you need, for so cheap!

We spent Sunday afternoon at the orphanage, one of the girls has a baby who turned 1. We bought 2 cakes, some pop, and cheezies and spent the afternoon laughing and dancing, I even got Jeff to dance this time!!

NIGHTLIFE
We went to this traditional Peruvian bar Friday night, named WANKA WANKA, with great Peruvian music and dancing. The bar was big, (Jeff said it reminded him of the Station in Perth, besides the fact that we were the only gringos in the whole place). I would recommend going here for sure. The drinks in Peru are quite interesting, mostly fermented fruits turned to alcohol, some of it tastes like rotten apples, but some of it is good. Towards the end of the evening we ended up getting asked to dance by a Peruvian couple in their 50s, it was great. Jeff does not like to dance so he declined, later the couple told us that they believed Jeff would only dance to RAP music and that is why he wasn t dancing with us! And everyone know how much homeboy Jeff loves RAP...just about as much as he loves COUNTRY music!!

BIKING
We spent one day doing a cycling tour of smaller villages just outside Huancayo. This tour to nearby villages was one of my favourite experiences so far. The landscape is beautiful and it was so quiet, something rare here. We stopped in one village for lunch, we ate fresh trout, soup and drank a large coke and it cost about $1.50 each. The tour lasted 6 hours so it was hard to sit down anywhere for the next couple days, but it was worth it for sure.

NEW SOUNDS
Honking your horn in this country is a must if you plan on driving, it is actually quite annoying at times. Pedestrians do NOT get the right of way...EVER! Even when you are not crossing the road you are guaranteed a couple honks for no reason.

Every morning at 5:00 we wake up to this woman and her fruit cart. She is pushing a large cart full of fruit, with a speaker system hooked up to it. Into the microphone she is yelling PAPAYA!!!! or TUNA!!!! We have decided this is NOT is an effective way of selling fruit, its not like people are going to jump out if bed to go buy fruit from her.

Garbage pick up here is loud too. They do not get their garbage ready the day before, instead the truck comes around a few times a week (early in the morning of course) BLARING music. The sound of this music lets people know that the garbage will be picked up, so they rush around to get it outside.

Overall, Huancayo is well worth a visit if you are in Peru, the people are amazing, the food is cheap, and the views are spectacular! (Just don t forget your earplugs)

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Photos

Rainbow in Huancayo
A beautiful rainbow on Sunday for Katies 1st birthday!

Amanda and the girls.
We spend our afternoons here with the girls.

Great people
Eli her husband, and of course Granny!

WNBA here I come
When asked to dance they did not realize I was this tall, can you see the shock on their faces?

Bike tour
One of the many amazing views on the bike tour.

Bike tour
Followed these guys for awhile, also chased by dogs for a bit too...no pics of that though.

Tinkuy Peru
Our family for 2 weeks, awesome family and great international volunteers.

Eli and Joan
Happy girls!

Comments

[derek]

sake
well its 3:30 and the sake is flowing like mad here in hiroshima, unbeilievable pete. i kn ow this woukd have a lasting impression on you. i was standing where the bomb was dropped 800 m above, the city is alive and you would never suspect nuclear holocost. the people here are so amazing; we had a japanese man trying to sumo with us on the bullet train tonite, and we finisshed of the conversation with lett crushing the king can on his head with a car full of shinkosen travelers watching in disbeleif. very canadiann and sooooo unjapanese. see ya; the next batch of beer and sake has just arrived. D.

[Becky]

Hey u 2
Hey Jeff and Amanda, just catching up on your travels and all I can say is WOW. So glad you are having so many adventures...keep it up cause I love reading your journals. Miss u two. Luv ya, Becky xo

[al]

Papaya,Tuna,Horns,etc.
Hello Intrepid Travellers, Still in Huancayo? Sounds like lots of fun! If you are still there can you take pics @ the market to go with the always great photos you send. They really add to the virtual experience. Hope you 2 are staying healthy,happy and safe. What is the upcoming travel itinerary? Lots of love from Perth where spring is springing- highs +10 during the day,lows of -4 at night- perfect for making maple syrup!!!

[Journey Through Japan]

Macchu Picchu !!!
Hi guys, I am just sitting here in Japan, thinking of you both as you prepare to visit Macchu Picchu . AMAZING!!! I am so proud of you both and the adventure you are on. I miss you but know that we will have amazing stories and pictures to share when we are together again! lots of love, Fennell ps: I had eel and shrimp sushi today, all I can say is F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S!