From Lima to Pisco...

Our last few days in Lima were very enjoyable. To our delight we found a bar in Barranco with free pool and cheap beer, and best of all an AC/DC cover band playing hit after hit. We also ventured into Chorrillos where there was a lively fishing wharf. Old ladies were gutting the fish right in front of us and throwing the carcasses into a flock of hungry Pelicans. We also treated ourselves to another delicious dinner of Ceviche before heading 4 hours South to Pisco.

A great expanse of desert opened up as we left Lima and the landscape was punctuated by shanty towns and chicken farms. On arrival in Pisco we settled into our new home for the next month. As I lay in the top bunk of a ramshackle bunk-bed in a dirty, old abandoned school which survived the earthquake, I thought what the hell am I doing here! However, after getting to know some of the other 60 volunteers we realised that there was tremendous team spirit and sense of collective purpose to help this battered community. Even after two years since the earthquake the town still looks like a war zone. There are huge areas of flattened houses and piles of rubble everywhere. Stray dogs bark at all who pass and fight over scraps on the streets. The air is filled with dust as tuk-tuks zoom past at regular intervals impatiently beeping their horns. Pimped-out tuk-tuks are how we get to the jobs and I still find it amazing that you can fit four passengers, tools and a wheelbarrow on top.

Our first job here was to shift an intimidating pile of building materials into the backyard of an old ladies, half-collapsed house. It was gruelling work in the desert heat, but hugely satisfying. We managed to get the job done by 4pm and the broad smile that greeted us afterwards made it all worthwhile. Many of the locals here hugely appreciate Pisco Sin Fronteras´s efforts and offer free tuk-tuk rides, Inca Kola and hot lunches. However, there is also an element of danger as one of the volunteers had her wallet stolen in the local market. The level of poverty can make the people of Pisco desperate and Gringos stick out like sore thumbs. To the locals credit, they chased down the thief and with the help of the police the perpetrator was apprehended, and the wallet was recovered with nothing missing. It even made the Pisco news!

Our task on day two was fantastic as we both got acquainted with the Jackhammer for the first time. We broke through concrete and massive stones from old reinforced columns, in order to relay the foundations for a family´s house. The work is hot and dusty and requires a lot of perseverence and sunscreen.

Thanks to all of you, we managed to raise over GBP 1,000 with the Mamores Challenge and Pisco Sin Fronteras said that they would like us to come to a few site assessments and sponsor specific ´Miracle Fund´ projects. These can range from putting in sanitation and bathroom facilities for communties that do not have access to any, or improving education and long-term sustainability. Once we have had a look at a few projects, Lydia and I will help oversee the project and see it though to completion. We have been told that the money will go a lot farther than we could ever imagine. Pisco Sin Fronteras were very appreciative of our fund raising efforts and we know now that no money will be wasted here.

Speaking to the locals in our pigeon Spanish it is interesting to get their views on life in Pisco. They feel very hard done by, by the local and national governments. Apparently 11 million dollars was raised for a new main road but somehow disappeared. Meanwhile, the local mayor has bought a new luxury pad in Lima. Furthermore, areas of extreme poverty and destruction were sealed off from view by new brick walls, nicknamed locally as ´The walls of shame´. It is heart rendering to see the lack of progress and the amount of work still to be done to get this place back on its feet. We will do all we can during our time here to help the people of Pisco.

The people at Pisco Sin Fronteras are fantastic and we have already learned a great deal from speaking to other volunteers. Coming to a place like this really does put Western living standards in perspective and we realise now that the simple things in life are the most important, like a hot shower and a comfy bed! In Pisco, both are hard to come by. Indeed, it is even a struggle to have a full day of electricty and running water. However, we still managed to find a pizza on Saturday night and have good night of beer and chat (around a candle if the lights go out) with our international comrades.