The Alpaca Pack’s Adventure in Vicos

Welcome back, readers, for another edition of our Peruvian journey. After a terrific stay at the Lazy Dog Inn and a fabulous time roughing it in the mountains, we continued our trip into Vicos. Our Peruvian/Canadian group was separated into 3 groups in order to stay at the homes of our host families. We split up and each fought our own uphill battles (quite literally), eventually leading to our new homes where we stayed for roughly 3 days. During our stay, we became bread bakers, stove creators and really felt like true Peruvians. The first day was our bread baking day. We made over 2 kilos of dough and formed it into fun shapes, such as castles, turtles, stars and donkeys. After an excruciating hour of waiting for the dough to rise, it was stuck into a real old school oven. Once the bread was finished baking, the host family shared what they made with their neighbours; they truly have a strong sense of community. The Vicos community itself is spread far apart from one another due to the need of farming and agriculture space and the community is comprised of approximately 9000 people, but their sense of community still seems a lot stronger than our community bonds back home. Local stories were told at bedtime, and we chewed coca leaves during the day. The chewing of coca leaves is a very social thing; it is done whilst conversing with others. Coca provides energy and works essentially the same way caffeine does in coffee. It allows the workers to have more energy for the day and is activated by a white mineral paste called Cal. * Interesting fact: Miners were once paid in coca leaves.*

The next day comprised of stove building. The stoves are created using rocks, mud and adobe blocks. It was hard work. Some groups worked in the boiling Peruvian sun, others had to work in the biting Peruvian cold that the shadows created. The adobe blocks were a lot heavier than one would expect. Creating a stove was no easy task. We had to create the mud by carrying buckets of dirt to the mixing sites and the adding in water and straw. It took a few hours to complete the stoves, but it was an amazing feeling to complete our project and stand back to admire it. To think that we had the opportunity to build a stove that someone will use for decades to cook their food. It was fantastic.

The third day was brilliant, it absolutely was. It was Pachamanca day.  All the groups came together at one of the three sites, Julian Evaristo’s house to have a fiesta. It was great to be reunited with everyone again.  It was really lonely without all ten youths together in our previous 2 days so we were happy to be together again. A Pachamanca is when you cooked food in the ground using heated rocks. The potatoes, meat and beans were put into the rocks then covered with tarps and dirt. It was delicious. We felt particularly honoured because meat is not a regular food that was eaten and only eaten on special occasions. There was so much food, no one was able to finish their food, not even our big eater, Chance. After the Pachamanca, the dancing, music and fun began. Dancing was literally exercising, there was no end to the sore muscles; those abuelitos could have danced all night if they had the chance. There were also coca leaves readings that we all got done. We’re not sure if we’re believers or sceptics. The girls also had a mini one following them and playing Ring Around the Rosy. It really was a once in a lifetime opportunity.

The tourism program that is offered in Vicos really gives an inside look at the daily lives of rural Peruvians and a deep look into their culture and practices. It also provides extra income for the families as well as the community. Seven families take turns hosting and the average amount of times the program is participated in it 1 to 3 times a year. Julian told us that he would really love to have more, but since the program is new and only started in 2001, the idea of staying at host families has yet to really expand. This program was initiated by the community with help from an NGO and brought the idea to them. It is a great form of eco-tourism as well as a great was to preserve the culture of the Peruvians.

Eventually, we had to leave, but with new experiences and knowledge in hand. It seemed that the norm was for chickens and pigs to roam around us at all times, it felt really odd when we returned to Huaraz without any farm animals surrounding us on all sides. It was also Sarita’s (Sarah Carr) birthday, and our last day with our Peruvian friends, so we had a birthday/ good bye celebration at BB Pizza. There were laughs, cake, singing and fun times. Luckily we have the internet so we can keep in contact with the others so we’ll all try to stay in touch. Even with this consoling thought though, the sadness of our new friends behind is still very much prominent. Chance had even given Javier a friendship bracelet, a manly friendship bracelet. We are all so happy to have been able to meet such great people and have learned so much from them. It was a great journey with them and we are all extremely grateful to have been given the chance to interact with such amazing people, all of whom we will miss greatly. After long goodbyes, stretched out hugs, photo shoots and at least one hour of blocking the doorway of the restaurant, we said our final good byes and parted ways. Although good byes are always sad, we’ve taken much from our experiences and our time with the Peruvians and will be looking forward to staying in contact with them.

Quebrada Overnight Hike

[Written: Sunday Aug 5]
Buenos dias! We have just arrived back at the Lazy Dog Inn from our overnight hike in the nearby national park alongside our Peruvian friends. The trip began yesterday morning when we packed up our bags and taxied to the park entrance, about a 45 minute drive from Lazy Dog. The roads were on the edge of the valley, with quite a sizable drop off the side. Talk about nerve-wracking!
  After arriving at the park, we acquired our passes, loaded up the donkeys with the larger bags and set off on the trail. We learned that donkey is “burro” in Spanish, and due to a fun quirk of Spanish called diminutives, we also learned that a small or cute donkey can be called a “burrito”. I dare you to eat a burrito without thinking about donkeys from now on. Once we started walking, we quickly came across a set of interesting paintings on a large rock just off the main trail. Apparently, they were done by ancient people, and they were erased once but mysteriously re-appeared in the same places again the next day.
  About five hours later, we arrived at our chosen location to set up camp. We dug the latrines, set up the tents and ate a well-earned snack. We were able to play some Ultimate Disc® in the beautiful valley as well as some lava tag. I honestly don’t think there will ever be a better location to play lava tag. The rocks were perfectly spaced and wherever there wasn’t a rock there was probably a hard cow pie to use in its place. After a dinner of trout and potato, we played some nighttime sardines (reverse hide and seek), admired the stars, and watched in awe as the full moon rose up over the mountain range.
  In the morning, we embarked on the hike from camp to a nearby glacier-fed lake, about a two and a half hour hike away. Unfortunately, Kianna and Julie headed back partway due to some altitude sickness. However, the lake was breathtaking; we ate on its shores and were able to see some ice break off the mountain and into the water. On the way back from the lake, Gladys (our translator and guide) talked about the governmental system in Peru. Until recently, most of the political power was centred in Lima, the capital. However, about 8-10 years ago, the President separated the powers out more evenly across the country. Today, there are 24 departments (regions) in Peru, all governed by their respective regional Presidents. This is a huge number of provinces which each govern a relatively small area, especially when compared to the huge pieces of land each Canadian province occupies.
  After hiking back to the camp, we ate some lunch, learned a Spanish joke*, tore down the tents and started the hike back to the park gates. We were exhausted but grateful for the experience, and ready to head back to Lazy Dog for one more night.
  Next stop Vicos!

*Q: Que es un pato ase en una laguna? A: Nada!
       What does a duck do in a lake?             Nothing OR swim (nada has 2 meanings in Spanish) :D

It's like every day has two days in it

We’ve had a busy few days! During our debrief a few days ago, Chance said that it felt like we lived 2 days in every 1 day, and we all agree that’s the truth! Today we had the opportunity to work alongside the community members of Yurac Yacu, by helping out with labour for the community centre. It was pretty cool. The citizens have a really good work ethic; it’s amazing because they do a lot of heavy lifting for long periods of time for days. We also  got to experience some great local Peruvian food.  Here’s a quick recap of the past two days.

 On Wednesday, we visited the preschool that is within the Yurac Yacu Community Centre where we interacted with the children and learnt about their day to day activities. Although language was a barrier, we found that just a simple smile was a great ice breaker. The school only has one permanent teacher, Flora, and the students must walk a fair bit of distance on rocky terrain to reach the school. School is a great escape opportunity for the students to interact with other students and learn skills that would better themselves in their future and for their families. Although schooling does come with a cost, it is an investment that many of the parents understand will give their kids an edge in the future.

On Wednesday, we also went on a six hour hike led by our Peruvian friends. They are in training to become guides and were gracious enough to give us a tour of their homeland- sharing information about the indigenous plants as well as sharing myths about the land. The trek we went on took our breath away, not only because of the altitude but that there was such amazing landscape all around us.

We spent Thursday morning helping build a shelter on the grounds of the Community Centre where students would be able to eat their lunch during the school year. Poles were painted, holes were dug, concrete was mixed and poured and rocks were hauled for the floor. By the end of the morning, all the rocks were collected and the poles for the shelter were raised; the only work left was to assemble the floor and construct the roof. During the morning we had the chance to meet some of the women working on construction of the rest of the facility: the café and the guides/porters centre. Julie was christened the eighth dwarf when she was working with a pickaxe. Her dwarf name: Golden Princess Sunshine. Wayne, one of the head coordinators of the project, was generous enough to talk to us after the work was done. He shared insight about what was necessary to turn this dreams into reality. He taught us that, no matter the path you choose, the way to achieve success in life is to connect with people who share your dreams and to turn ideas into reality before they disappear.

Yesterday afternoon, we walked to the house of one of the Lazy Dog Inn’s chefs, Nancy, and experienced an exotic Peruvian lunch. She welcomed us into her home and provided a delicious platter of cui (guinea pig), pollo (chicken), and papas (potatoes). There was also a beet and onion salad and a pumpkin dessert. Guinea pigs are considered a delicacy in Peru, thus referring back to the previous blog post’s title, and are not kept as pets. As a matter of fact, the locals laughed at the idea of keeping guinea pigs as pets. We enjoyed the meal with a drink made from purple corn and lemon juice. We had noticed that the hostesses, Nancy and Yabanna, did not join the guests while eating. Perhaps this was a cultural thing where the host must only host but not sit with the guests. It was interesting to see since in Canada our hosts eat with the guests and have more interaction, rather than just serving the meals. After having thoroughly enjoyed our meal, we danced with the Peruvian kids and our hostesses. It was a lot of fun; even the most uncoordinated dancers were able to enjoy themselves, and not have to worry about being good. There were also small children there and we were able to kick soccer balls around with them for a bit. It was a really great to be able to see the local houses and try new experiences such as eating guinea pig.

Coming up in the next few days we’ll be hiking overnight through the Quebrada in the Cordillera Blanca with our Peruvian friends. Afterwards we’ll be headed off to Vicos to stay with host families in the community. Stay tuned for more updates as we go! Adios, hasta luego amigos!

- Chance, Sarah, Julie, Ross & Kianna

You Need To Have A Lot Of Guinea Pigs If You Want To Throw A Lot Of Parties…

Finally having arrived in Lima we were tired beyond belief and couldn’t have been happier to snuggle into our beds at the hostel.  The next day we took an eight hour drive up to Huaraz past sand dunes, the Pacific Ocean and drove up through the highlands. Despite the hair pin turns and insane altitudes we all did really well on the drive and viewed the most amazing agriculture. We took a lunch break by the ocean and enjoyed the sand beneath our toes. Our drive through the Highlands was filled with so much culture to the extent that we even ate some exotic fruit from a roadside stand. When we finally reached Huaraz we stayed in the Churup Hostel and enjoyed a delicious meal at the Café Andino. Today we took a tour throughout Huaraz and checked out the markets as well as the Pre Inca Museum. We then drove up to the Lazy Dog Inn where we are now staying. We met our 5 new Peruvian friends and enjoyed an amazing meal provided by our Peruvian cooks. Tomorrow we will be getting into a deeper look at International Development by visiting the school funded by Sombrilla as well as going on a hike guided by our Peruvian friends! Look for our next blog post!

-Ross, Julie, Chance, Sarah and Kianna 

In Transit

At the airport in Toronto!

Change Your World Your Tour Takes Flight (Three Very Long Flights)...

Hola Readers!
After multiple viewings of Air Canada's safety video we can assure you that we are all a bit more educated about the art of flying and can recite 'How To' do up an individuals seat belt in "English, Spanish, Korean, Italian and Arabic".
Our first meeting all together was only two days ago but we are doing a fantastic job melding and becoming a team! At orientation we went over: safety, health and wellness, where we will be staying and how we will be documenting our trip. Throughout this excursion we will be creating podcasts, video diaries, updating this blog and finally creating footage for our documentary. During orientation we had the opportunity to meet Christoph, the project director from 'Light Up the World', an NGO that is working towards making electricity more accessible to communities in the rural areas in Peru. Unfortunately due to logistics and timing we are not able to visit Light Up the World's current projects but the presentation gave us a great insight into the work that they do and the importance of sustainable and affordable electricity.
Now that we are in Bogota with only one flight left we are going to grab some snacks and maybe some sleep. A huge thank you to Diana, Richie, Scott and Heather for all your help in preparing us for this exciting, amazing trip! Also thank you to Carly for the drive and to our parents for all their support.
Stay tuned for updates once we get to Peru!
-Sarah Cashmore, Joelle, Sarah, Julie, Chance, Ross and Kianna.

ACGC Presents: The 2012 Change Your World Tour Alberta Youth Leadership Tour

The Change Your World Alberta Youth Leadership Tour is back!

This year, the Alberta Council for Global Cooperation, in partnership with Sombrilla International Development Society, will be travelling with 5 Alberta youth to Sombrilla’s partner community of Yurac Yacu, in the highlands of Peru. The Alberta youth will be paired with indigenous Peruvian youth and they will spend two weeks living, learning, and sharing with each other. By spending concentrated time together, the youth from both countries will ideally develop a deeper understanding of each other and their respective cultures.

ACGC received a wealth of nominations, each spectacular in their own way. It was wonderful to read about the amazing work that Albertan youth are engaging in and the actions they take each day to become global citizens and leaders in their communities. Selecting 5 youth was a difficult decision, as each student nominated was deserving of the opportunity and would have brought their own unique perspective to the group.

Our selection committee was careful to fully consider both teacher and student responses, previous experiences and opportunities, and a demonstrated passion for international development and global issues, as well as ensuring that a diverse group of students were able to take part.

Meet the Albertan Youth

Julie Le – Calgary, AB (Grade 11)

Julie is a grade eleven student at Father Lacombe High School in Calgary, Alberta. She has been an active member in both her local and school community. As a member of the school's social justice committee, Julie has developed a passion for the pursuit of social justice, thus joining The Mobilizers, Free the Children's Calgary youth group. In addition to having been a member of these groups, she is also a part of her school's yearbook committee, student council, choir, and a few athletic teams. Julie has an earnest, keen interest in world issues and believes that each person can contribute to making a change, including herself.

Kianna Dewart – Calgary, AB (Grade 12)

Kianna is a grade 12 student at Queen Elizabeth High School in Calgary She has been involved in many activities in her school. She runs the International Certificate Club, is an active member of the Youth Volunteer Club, she played on the high schools volleyball team and in grade eleven organized and ran her high school’s first Glee Club. Outside of school Kianna is an official volunteer for the Canadian Red Cross. As a Red Cross Youth Leader, Kianna, along with five other students, organizes workshops for teens, educating her peers about global issues such as HIV/AIDS and Child Soldiers at youth events across Calgary. In 2011 she went with the Calgary Board of Education as one of 28 students to attend the International Youth Leadership Summit in Macau, China. This year Kianna was named as one of Alberta's top 30 under 30 2012 by the Alberta Council for Global Co-operation. Kianna enjoys volleyball, musical theatre, dance, eating ice cream and travel. Next year she is planning to study International Development in the fall at the University of Calgary.

Ross Anderson – Edmonton, AB (Grade 12)

Ross is finishing up Grade 12 at Strathcona High School in Edmonton. By far the best experience of this school year has been his involvement in the school's Live, Love Lend campaign. The campaign successfully raised $56,000 for Microloans. Ross will be entering Engineering in the fall at the University of Alberta. In his spare time, Ross enjoys playing and coaching tennis, swimming, snowboarding, playing the guitar, computer programming and mountain biking. He has had some great travel experiences in the past and is excited for even more in Peru!

Chance Roasting – Tsuu T’ina (Grade 12)

Chance is a grade 12 student at TsuuT’ina Jr/Sr High School. A well rounded individual, Chance plays on the school volleyball team, loves playing the drums and is an active and essential member of his school’s Students Against Drunk Driving chapter. A charismatic and well-loved student in his school and community, Chance is very much looking forward to the tour and hopes to come away with a strong understanding of Peruvian culture.

Sarah Carr – Edmonton (Grade 10)

Sarah is a grade ten student at ME Lazerte.High School in Edmonton She is active in the leadership program in her school and a vibrant volunteer in her community. Sarah has been involved with a long term project developing interpretive trails at Sandy Beach. She’s been a regular volunteer with the mobile soup kitchen in Edmonton, as well as with a variety of other fundraisers and awareness events. Sarah is very excited to start her world travels with the Change Your World Tour.

Meet the Peruvian Youth

Javier Juver Caururo Oropeza, 17 years old.

I was born and live in a small community called Tuquipayoc. My parents helped to educate me and I finished Secondary school in the community of Marian. I am a very studious person with great dreams and am also artistic. When I left school I started to see what I wanted to do professionally and started a leadership and outside skills course in the Educational Center of Yurac Yacu. I received a scholarship for an outdoor first aid course. I am a happy person, funny too and enjoy the new friends I have made with this course.

Eduardo Norabuena Oropeza, 20 years old.

I am Eduardo and I am a relaxed person. I really like the adventure of trekking. I finished secondary school in Marian and I am content with the opportunities that The Yurac Yacu Center and The Lazy Dog Inn are presenting, I see my future and will continue.

Mitchel Yanel Oropeza Henotrozo, 16 years old.

I am in secondary school and have 2 years left to study in Marian. I enjoy games, conversations, climbing boulders, trekking and want to be a good guide in the future.

Maricris Lazaro Roque, 20 years.

I am in my last year of secondary school. When I finish studying I want to study English because I like to talk and want to communicate with people. My favorite animals are a horse and dog and the color of sky blue is the best color. I enjoy reading and especially ledgends from the area where I live. I look forward to meeting the students from Canada.

Yesenia Lazaro Roque , 21 years old.

Right now I am working in the mornings with the small children in the Yurac Yacu Center and I study English in the afternoon. I like my English course and I am advancing well. I have also taken a course on leadership and outdoor skills for the mountains taught by Diana and other volunteers from other countries. I want to be a guide in the future. But I may also find other things I love to do. I am happy to be meeting the Alberta students soon.

From July 29th until August 11th, the tour will go from Edmonton to Peru, visiting projects in Huaraz, Yurac Yacu, Lima and Chincha Baja. The youth will be accompanied by Sarah Cashmore, a member of the Sombrilla Board of Directors and Project Manager of the Yurac Yacu project and Joëlle Badman, Program Coordinator for the Alberta Council for Global Cooperation.

Stay tuned for more updates, stories, photos and videos!