Palm Sunday- beginning of semana santa

Well what a blast Palm Sunday was! And i'm not really the religious type either. So Semana Santa is easter in spanish and if you hadn't realised, its a big deal here :)

So a few of the girls got up at 6am and headed to mass at the cathedral, but since it was so early, combined with the fact i don't speak spanish and am not catholic, i decided to give it a miss. I think it was a wise choice, as even the girls who don't speak spanish couldn't understand the priest and it was standing room only. So i was quite pleased i had a sleep in, because the day ahead was going to be a big one!

We headed off to the cemetery about lunchtime, which is where the festivities were beginning before the parade into town. So when we arrived we were shocked, as there was animals and people everywhere. It was a meeting point for the parade, where all the local Huamangan people meet, some with their animals- see the photos of the llamas dressed up specially for the parade. They have decorations that go on their heads that are used only for special occasions, and if you have animals in the parade it shows how important you are!

So at the meeting point, they had free beer for all and free food to feed 5000 people!! There were people everywhere, dancers, acrobats, bands and guest speakers. It was wonderful, and we stocked up on the free beer because everyone wanted to drink with the 'gringas'!! So as sooon as we finished our beer, someone else was yelling at us to join them and before we knew it they were filling our cups with more! It was a very very hot day, when the sun is out, it gets hot here! So the beers were flowing and we were chatting to so many local people and they were so happy we were there, and holding the Peruvian Flag (viva Peru!).

The parade started and everyone walked into town, with us following suit. It was a long walk in the heat but it was fantastic walking with the llamas, bands and acrobats! When we got closer to the plaza, Alexandria and I found some Peruvian friends that we had been drinking with and they pulled us into their part of the parade and we marched with them. Once we were in the plaza there were hundreds and hundreds of people watching and there were 2 gringas in the middle of the parade..us!! We must of looked hilarious, because we were marching with traditionally dressed ladies, and i was in shorts and a singlet and thongs!! So we just smiled and waved our flags and everyone seemed to think it was great! So our claim to fame was being part of the big parade into town...little did we know at the time we'd be parading around again!

So at the end of the parade we waited for 'jesus' to arrive. It was a massive statue being held on a donkey, lead and followed by another 2 donkeys. And surrounding Jesus was about 20 policemen forming a barrier so people couldnt get too close. And surrounding them was thousands of people holding Palm leaves. They had made the 1.5hour march into town from the monastary and just before they got to the plaza, Alexandria and I joined in the march. So we were moving at like shuffling pace, literally surrounded by hundreds of people with their palms in our faces and pushing and shoving to get closer to jesus!! Somehow, we managed to move close and were literally at the back of the 'ring of people' surrounding jesus, so it was very exciting and i can only compare it to one thing Alexandria said while we were getting squashed... It's like a mosh pit for Jesus!! Haha it was hilarious. But so much fun as well, especially considering i am not religious and i was right at the front of thousands of peruvian people who probably spent hours pushing their way up there!

So we marched around the plaza for what seemed like hours, just laughing and having a great time before we made it to the main cathedral and Jesus entered on his donkey and they moved him to a throne inside! Then it started raining which was good timing because it was nearing 6.30pm and we needed to get home for dinner! So it was a long and very eventful day, especially with all the free beer we drank, but it was such an amazing experience. And it also so amazing to contrast their festivals with our western ones, and see how westernised easter has become with 'chocolate egss'. Although i do miss them and would kill for some crunchie eggs right now, it is nice to be away from all the commercialization that had happened in our country, not even mentioning what its like in the USA!!

But Palm sunday was just the beginning of a week of festivities. Wednesday night is going to be a big one, and we have 2 public holidays on thursday and friday, plus a massive parade on Sunday. Its really enormous here and people from all over Peru fly in for the festivities here in Ayacucho. It really is famous and the biggest celebration in Peru and possibly even South America, so even though i do love the free beer all week, i am glad that i get to experience this week because of the culture. Absolutely amazing.

Will keep you posted on my other semana santa antics!!

xoxo millie

Inca Ruins

Just a short entry as I don't have much time, but on Saturday we went to Vilcashuaman which is a small town about 3.5 hours away from Ayacucho. Its a beautiful town because its composed of Incan Ruins.

During the time when the spanish invaded Peru they destroyed most Incan ruins, as they prayed to their sun gods, which isn't what they wanted, as they wanted to spread Catholicism. So it was quite surprising that the town still has as much ruins as it does. In fact its the second biggest site of Incan Ruins, after Macchu Picchu, and the only reason Macchu Picchu is still around is due to the fact that the Spanish didn't know it was there!

So it was great and luckily our tour guide, Carlos, speaks english, because we got so much information and history about the Incan times and also about the influence the spanish have had. There is one picture i took of a catholic church that was literally built straight on top of the incan sun temple.

So in all, it was a wonderful day, very long, but fan

tastic as the Incan times are so interesting. I think the worst part was driving there, as it was long and windy around the Andean mountain ranges.

So we were very precariously driving along cliff edges. At one point we drove over a little bridge made of wooden planks laid on the ground. Very scary when you're thousands of meters high!! Some of the girls had their seatbelts on...but i thought if we fell down that cliff, there would be no hope, regardless of whether we're wearing them or not! Haha

xoxo millie

Coca and Cocaina

What is the first word that pops into your head when you hear the words South America... Cocaine.

We had another guest speaker, like the guy who presented the information on the shining path, the other day, and i thought it was absolutely fantastic. We had another one actually, but i did not feel it was 'blog-worthy' as it was quite spiritual and included rubbing dead guinea pigs over our body to find what your health problems are...So needless to say, i did not blog about that one. However this speaker, Carlos, was here to talk about Coca leaves and Cocaine.

What most of you would already realise is that coca leaves are not cocaine...in the same way that a poppy plant is not an opiate or heroin. Although these two natural plants can be processed to indeed become cocaine and heroin respectively. I found it interesting to hear some girls ask and wonder whether the leaves are illegal, but of course they are not, and unless you consumed around 100 leaves, you wouldn't even be ingesting 0.5grams of cocaine. So needless to say, coca leaves are not illegal nor are they cocaine.

Cocaine or Cocaina in spanish is processed from the coca leaf, combined with many chemicals which withdraw the alkaloid out of the leaves to induce what we know as the effects of cocaine; lack of tiredness, hunger, thirst, increased energy etc etc. What is interesting is that Peru is second in the world in production of cocaine...coming a close second behind none other than Colombia, with Bolivia in third. We were told that although they are second in the world for production of cocaine, they are first in the world for quality, hence the reason that the Mexican's and Colombian's come here for their drugs. Apparently it has to due with the altitude in the jungle and the extremely fertile soil. When choosing Peru, I had no idea how big the drug trade was here and exactly how close I am centered to this drug trade living here in Ayacucho. As i think i discussed earlier in one of my blogs, the biggest coca leaf plantation is outside

of Ayacucho, on the other side of the Andes where the jungle begins...

In Peru, they produce a lot of coca leaves, but not all for the drug trade. For every 110,000 leaves harvested, 10,000 leaves are used for medicinal and spiritual purposes. The Peruvian people, especially Andean people are very spiritual and the use of coca leaves as a sacrifice to their gods in the mountains, is very very important for their health and their survival. For medicinal purposes, it is fantastic for altitude sickness. When we went on the llama trek we had coca leaf tea, which helps with the dizzy feeling and headaches from reduced oxygen at these heights above sea level. It tasted quite nice actually, better than chewing the actual leaves themselves which are so bitter!! But the Andean people chew them for extra energy and for altitude sickness, and it works.

Not surprisingly, the Mexican's and the Colombian's run the drug trade in and out of Peru and Ayacucho. They have many methods for getting the drugs out of the jungle, as coca leaves thrive in the Peruvian Andes, such as walking the cocaine out, using the walkers as distracters for vehicles as well as carving small airstrips into the jungle for planes to fly directly into the jungle from Colombia. Mostly, the drugs are smuggled into USA, but the other half are sent to Africa via ship where it is then taken

into Europe. Europe is only a close second to the USA in consumption of cocaine.

Another interesting fact about the coca leaf is Coca-Cola. Yes the drink, Coca-Cola, as the name suggests actually has some small extracts of coca leaf in it. The company are the largest exporter of coca leaves out of Peru (legally of course). Maybe that is why we drink coca-cola, not only for the caffeine to make us less tired but also due to the fact that coca leaves are a stimulant.

It is so so interesting, i do find the whole drug trade very informative and i sat on the edge of my seat asking questions. At the end of the talk, Carlos asked if we would like to have the coca leaves read, sort of like reading our future. Normally i am very skeptical of this sort of thing, but i never say no to anything really, so i went first. He did the process in Quechua (the Andean language) and then translated to english for me. So he asked me some questions, such as my name, date of birth, place of birth etc and then told me to think of a question that i would like to ask the leaves about my future. So in my head, i asked my question to the coca leaves. So then he told my coca number is 3 and to pick 3 leaves from the pile. I did so and he placed them into my hands and then asked me to drop them on the table. He then proceeded to read my leaves. He told me that the answer to my question was a 'hard yes', as it was set in the leaves that my question was answered. So i was pleased...although i won't reveal what i asked because it may be like a wish, where it won't come true if you share it with others :) He then went on to read the leaves and told me something interesting about my health. He said i have one weakness, that being my foot, he said it is not broken but it is very damaged and weak. He said my ankle is a very weak point in my body and he said i must be careful when i am trekking and always wear the correct footwear to avoid extra injury. Now if you are reading this blog, most likely you will know that about 3 months before i came to Peru i injured my foot/ankle very badly in a fall down the stairs at work. It is not broken which is also true, but was badly damaged, and it got worse when i wore sneakers on the llama trek. I was quite shocked that he knew this, and noone here knows i hurt my foot, and it wasn't like i was wearing a brace or anything to indicate my soreness....I think it was quite weird but eerily accurate. My foot is very weak and will probably continue to aggravate me for a while. So i will take his advice and wear the correct footwear ie hiking boots, and also 'jump with caution' as he called it :) He also said the coca leaves say i am lucky and they are wishing me luck on my journey and will the fullfillment of my question!

So overall it was a fantastic speech and an even more interesting reading of the coca leaves. I know people, especially dad, will be skeptical, but it was amazing. Really amazing, i was in awe of the accurateness.

xoxo millie

Day 10 with the elderly

After having a fantastic weekend at the coast, it was time to get back to reality. So Tuesday morning came and Vikki and I headed off to the old people's home. Unfortunately it wasn't as good as i was hoping it to be, as one of the ladies who we work with had passed away. As we walked in we saw the sitting room was fuller than usual with lots of ladies, and a casket. As we walked passed we had the horrible feeling that it was one of the ladies we were working with and i got the worst feeling in my stomach. The other ladies, and one of the lovely young nuns told us it was Augustina, a lady in a wheelchair passed away the night before in her sleep and asked whether we would like to pay our respects. Which of course we did. So we walked into the room, and Augustina was in a beautif

ul white marble casket with a glass panel over her upper body so we could see her. This was the first person who I had seen that had passed away and the fact that only a few days before we were caring for her and helping look after her, was quite tough. So of course i cried. I actually cried a lot, it was a combination of shock, as i wasn't expecting that one of the ladies might pass away while i was there...silly not to be prepared but i just didn't think about it and secondly because she was such a sweet lady, it was very difficult.

So our morning was a combination of tears, chopping vegetables and sitting with the other ladies. I could definately tell that they were quite shaken as well, but also that they were appreciative of the fact that we paid our respects to her and that we showed we were upset.

When we got back to the CCS house later that day and everyone asked how our day was, it was hard not to well up into tears again, but we were just glad we got to make her final days maybe a little happier or at least a little more comfortable. And knowing that makes me feel a little better about the whole situation.

I don't have a photo of Augustina unfortunately, but i have a couple of other photos here of some ladies we work with who are just lovely. The lady with the jigsaw puzzle, Chabella, is an absolute hoot, she is very lucid and with it, and helps us chop vegetables every morning. She also sings in spanish for us and asks us funny questions that we don't understand half the time. The lady directly above this writing is also so so lovely, she is actually one of my favourites, i help her into the lunch room and out again and give her hand massages with hand cream and she is just so so appreciative :)

xoxo millie

Paracas

Paracas was a wonderful little town. We arrived after about 1.5hour bus ride, quickly check into our hotel which was lovely and clean and then headed for breakfast. It was a beautiful cafe, right along the foreshore. Oh i forgot, Paracas is not part of the desert, its a town right on the peruvian coast. Back in 2007, Paracas and its neighbouring town, Pisco were absolutely flattened by an earthquake that rocked the region. Unfortunately Pisco has not rebuilt and it resembles a shanty town, however Paracas has rebuilt, obviously with the money that the tourism brings in and has some beautiful cafes, hostels and even a Hilton owned hotel!

So after breakfast we headed off on a boat to visit an island off the coast of paracas called Isla Ballistas. On the way out there, we saw dolphins and birds etc and the sea was flat calm, it was beautiful! And probably good for the girls who get motion sickness, that it was not rough. But it felt fantastic to have the wind in my hair and breathe in the salty air in the sun. It was great.

On the way out to the island there is a natural phenomenon called the 'candelabra' because it resembles some candles. To me it looked like Poseideon's trident, but nonetheless it was amazing. Its carved into the sand dunes and its completely natural. It has been there for over 500 years and like the Nazca Lines (more of these carvings but in the ground) noone knows how or why they are there. Beautiful in real life though.

After passing by this we headed on the the Islas Ballistas, which is part of the Paracas Natural Reserve, because it has so much sea life around it. We saw thousands of sea lions, penguins, vultures, and other birds. It was fantastic. Vikki and I were both seated on the right side of the boat which was great because we got a great view of the islands and all of the animals. Apparently there used to be a lot of poachers going out to kill the sea lions for their skin, so now the Peruvian government lets a family live there for 3 months for free with free food. But there is nothing on these islands, and there is nothing to do, so its a long time of solitary confinement actually!! But apparently its quite a good deal so every 3 months they send a new family out there!!

So it was wonderful visiting the islands and seeing the marine life, it was great! After we got off the boat, we toured around the little shops and bought lots of jewellery and had lunch in another little cafe. Then we headed off for a long walk along the coast. I think we walked for about 3 hours or so and about 6km!! So it was a lovely afternoon walking in the sun and at the end of the journey we found a beautiful hotel called "La Hacienda". It was amazing, one of the most poshest hotels i have ever seen and in a small run down town like Paracas?? Amazing. But obviously its quite a big tourist destination in Peruvian summer months.

So after spending the afternoon walking we spent our last night at another restaurant on the water and i tried their fish, called Linguardo. I have no idea what this fish is, but it was delicious! So at the end of our weekend, we had a wonderful time. We just had the 8 hour journey back to Ayachucho to look forward to!! Luckily we were in first class, and i mean it was fantastic. Definately the way to travel in south america, it was comfy and the seats were like beds, so it was nice and relaxing heading back home to Ayacucho.

xoxo millie

Oasis de Huacachina

On friday i spent the morning with the elderly, doing the usual, chopping vegetables and spending time with the ladies which was fantastic but I was so excited for our adventure to the coast. So we left the elderly home and went to catch the bus. I was pretty nervous about catching public transport in Peru, especially in the Andes where the roads are so narrow and literally on the edge of the cliffs, but i was pleasantly surprised! The bus ride was fantastic, even though the first class was sold out, we were very happy and comfortable in second class, which was up the top (they are double decker buses, but obviously covered). the chairs reclined 10 times more than what they do on the planes, so it was a pleasant 6.5 hour journey out of the Andes.

We then met with our tour guide in San Clemente, and took another bus into Ica. This was only 1.5 hour journey which was good, because there was a crappy vin diesel movie on with bad spanish dubbing! Haha. So we arrived into Ica after a long day and then took a taxi to Huacachina, the oasis. By the time we got there it was dark so it didn't seem as impressive as it is in the daytime. So we had dinner and went to bed for an early night. When we woke up in the morning, the first thing we saw was the massive sand dunes surrounding us! In the dark of night, you could not tell that there was sand dunes at all. It was absolutely amazing! Especially since only the day before we were in the cold, Andean mountains, and then all of a sudden we were surrounded by desert in beautiful warm heat! It was the most amazing contrast. I really felt like we should of been in Saudi Arabia, it was that amazing, and the sand dunes stretched for miles and miles, it wasn't just the one area. Although the oasis is the only one in this desert and the only one in South America. I don't even think the pictures can do it justice, it was brilliant! And the heat was a welcome return for me, as i have been freezing my ass off in Ayachucho! I'm not really a winter person either, so it was so nice to be in the heat, and also work on my tan :)

So after breakfast the adventures began! We got strapped into a sand/4wd buggy and headed for the sand dunes. Just as well we were strapped in because it was literally like a rollercoaster! It felt like we were going down these hills at 90degree angles, i was screaming with exhilaration, it was so much fun. After about 20 minutes, we stopped, actually we perched on the edge of a sand dune, got out and got ready for sand boarding. We used the same boards that people use for snowboarding but we weren't allowed to stand (thank god, you all know how clumsy I am, it would of ended badly for sure!!). So we lay down on board and held onto the straps and the driver pushed us off the hill and down we went!! It was so so scary but at the same time absolutely adrenaline rushing! I must admit (sorry family) that i swore the whole way down, a combination of s**t and f**k!! Haha!!! And the first hill was the easiest too...so you can imagine my language when we went on the intermediate and the advanced level hills!! You cannot even imagine how steep and how high these sand dunes were. The last one, was roughly 60m high the driver estimated, and i was so scared but i did it and amazing so did Vikki. She is my English friend, and is a bit older than mum and she was brilliant, i can't believe she had the nerves so do it, especially since she is afraid of heights! So off i went on the last one, and my heart was racing the whole way down and as i was screaming i got the biggest mouthful of sand which shut me up! It was also very bumpy going down, so the whole way i was so scared i was going to get flung off, so i was holding on for dear life and even got some 'air' as i bumped my way to the bottom. When i finally stopped i had the biggest sand burn on my elbow and today I have the biggest bruise on my thigh! Which is a feat for me, since I don't ever bruise, so its nice to have a war wound to prove i made it down this massive dune!!

So we drove back to the hotel as high as anything on adrenaline after our amazing adventure. It was such a great experience for sure. And then to top off my day, we spent lunchtime lounging by the hotel, working on our tans! We had a beautiful pool and the weather was hot so it was lovely to just lounge around and relax by the pool- especially since the weather in Ayachucho is so cold!

After lounging by the pool, we went to a winery for lunch which was lovely. We got a grand tour of how they make the wine and even got to stamp on the grapes with our feet! They taught us that it takes 9 days for fermentation of their sweet wines and 15 to turn it into Pisco. Pisco is the most amazing liquor, you have it with lime juice, ice, sugar and an egg white. Sounds weird but tastes fantastic!! It is also very very strong, so after one pisco sour by the pool, i felt very tipsy! So it was very interesting! And we also got to taste test which was nice! We also visited a locally owed and small family run winery, where they had the most amazing museum of artifacts. But the artifacts were like strewn all over the place. It was the most choatic room i have ever seen!! They had relics strewn all over the place!!

So overall it was a fantastic day and to top it off had dinner at a lovely restaurant back at the oasis. It was to be our last night there as we were leaving to catch the bus to Paracas at 6am. But 2 nights was great!! Best oasis (and only) that i've ever been to :)

(PS, the photos are all back to front. So logically, the timeline was bottom photo first :)

xoxo millie

Llama Trek

I'll try to make this posting shorter, as i know the last one was very long, and may have been boring for some people reading it, but to me the history of this town is so important and also so very interesting.

But this blog is about a llama trek that we went on the weekend. It only cost 500soles for the whole bus, regardless of how many people were coming, but we had 10 so it was only 50 soles each. Which works out to be about $26/27 dollars which is very cheap for a whole day of trekking. Our bus driver here at the CCS house, Alejandro and his son Jason, who also is our night doorsman some nights, were our guides. They were absolutely fantastic, and Jason spoke english which was very helpful as i don't speak much spanish. Actually thats a lie, i barely speak any spanish! Haha, but I'm getting by and I'm getting better, as a matter of fact i have spanish this arvo at 3pm, so i will concentrate harder!

So we took the bus about 2 hours to the north of Ayacucho, visiting some small towns on the way such as a village famous for its trout farming! We also stopped into a village called Santa Rosa, where we gave them some bread and had the opportunity to buy some beanies, made from Alpaca wool. Which is so much softer and nicer than Llama wool. But i didn't buy one, as my thick hair just wont fit under one, haha! They were so lovely and their little dog even had a hand-made alpaca jumper on, so he wouldn't get cold!

We were driving higher and higher, which made it colder and colder. Before we went on the trip we each gave Alejandro an additional 10soles ($3.50USD) to go and buy some supplies for the villagers, as they can rarely make it into town to buy supplies, well actually trade what they have for supplies. So we bought a box of bread rolls, heaps of lollies and pencils for the children and some rice and oil. They were so happy and grateful and the children were very excited for the lollies. It was so nice to put a smile on their faces. Jason told us that the w

omen often have 8 children each!! No wonder there were so many little mouths to feed!!

So from this village we started on our trek, and we visited the most beautiful waterfall. It was amazing and so high as well, i have some great photos so will have to post them here or on my facebook! After the waterfall we continued walking. And i must admit, the high altitude was getting to me. I had some mate de coca- which is coca tea, or tea made from coca leaves which is apparently good for altitude sickness. I'm not sure if it helped or not, but i chewed some leaves as well just for good luck and it was very bitter!! But i just can't explain how hard it was! I mean it had only been 5 days since we arrived in Ayacucho, which itself is about 9,000ft above sea level, so we had probably only just acclimatized to that when we went hiking. At the highest point we were at 15,000ft, so i daresay that i was struggling due to lack of acclimitisation rather than lack of fitness!! (Don't say anything dad!)

So we trekked for 4 hours through llama/alpaca country and it was amazing! Every now and then we saw a local andean woman carrying sticks or herding her alpaca around, but apart from them it was deserted and beautiful. The ground was not what i was expecting. It was very marshy, like full of lillypads that you walked on to avoid the water. But knowing how clumsy I am, soon i had walked into a massive puddle of water and it soaked straight into my socks. At this point I was regretting not taking my hiking boots!!

But it was wonderful, we got to see some amazing countryside and a beautiful freshwater lake up high among the mountains. Also, quite far away though, we could see so many snow capped mountains. It was beautiful. But tough! After walking a few steps we all found we were really out of breath. This is what its like in altitude, you are so out of breath all the time. Even walking down to the shops i find i am out of breath constantly. But its getting easier, as if my body remembers altitude from Nepal. So about halfway into the trek things got much easier. I was breathing better and feeling stronger and not so weak. Could've been the mate de coca too. So I am hoping that the more trekking/walking I do, the better for when Mum comes over and we do Macchu Picchu on the 30th April. I told her tough it is and she was worried but i said to her that if we can trek in Nepal for a week, we can definately do 4 days in Peru! Ever the optimist :)

Stay tuned for my next adventure, as we head to the coast this weekend. I refused to take a night bus, after their terrible record of crashed in Peru, so we are leaving Friday lunchtime and getting back here Monday night. We are staying at an Oasis (like a real one in the middle of sand and desert) on the saturday and then on sunday we are going on a boat and visiting the islands of Ica, to see sea lions, penguins, seals etc etc. Should be a great weekend coming up!! Will miss my volunteer placement on monday, and then tuesday and wednesday there is a whole town strike so all volunteers will be going to the nursing home for the elderly. Then I will start my volunteering with the children, i think. But to be honest, I dont care what I do, as long as i'm volunteering and making the most of my time here to make a difference, it doesn't matter where I am :)

But for now, I must go, spanish lessons are calling, and this was longer than I anticipated and longer than i promised you it would be. Hope you keep reading and also enjoying my adventures :)

xoxo millie

Shining Path

Last week we had a guest speaker come to the house and tell us about the 'Shining Path'. This was the worst time in Peruvian history, especially for Ayacucho, the town I am currently living in. The shining path started out as a communist party lead by a guy called "Gussman" i think. He followed the examples of Mao in China and Castro in Cuba. The shining path originated in the early 1980's and began with good intentions, similar to robin hood of 'robbing from the rich to feed the poor'. This concept and many others of theirs was what led people to join the party in the first place. Gussman moved to Ayacucho as a teacher at the university here, and that is where he created the party and its first movements. Like Mao, he choose the poorest region in Peru to start his vision, Ayacucho. At the beginning it wasn't all bad, but soon in the following years to come, it became about power and money- which is usually achieved through murder.

We heard stories about small villages in the department of Ayacucho (Ayacucho is a department or region as well as the main town), where the whole village was murdered. It began peacefully and ended tragically in 69,000 murders, 15,000 people still missing and many mass graves still being discovered today. For many years the Peruvian government did nothing about the Shining Path, turning a blind eye to what was going on. When they finally decided to get involved, they became worse than the shining path members themselves. For example, in a small village a couple of hours out of Ayacucho, there was a bride to be and her groom getting ready for their impending marriage the following day. The brides family were at her house and the grooms at his. During the Shining Path times, the military imposed a curfew and anyone found breaking curfew was immediately shot, woman, child or man. So they were having a small celebration at the grooms house, with lots of food and dancing. The military arrived and accused them of being terrorists (or part of the shining path), they tried to explain that it was a small party celebrating the grooms marriage but they did not believe them. So the military took them away, walking them kilometres and kilometres into the bush and lined them up one by one and shot them all dead. The bride could not understand where he fiance and his family had disappeared to, and asked the military for an enquiry, which obviously never happened. There were so many senseless deaths during this time, for no particular reason at all. For example breaking curfew on the streets meant you were shot and your body 'disappeared', so your family never knew exactly what happened to you.

Another example is of shining path members dressing as the military, going to small villages and asking where their allegiance lie. When they answered 'the military' (because they were wearing military uniforms), the shining path members gathered them up into a small hut/cottage, poured kerosene onto the hut and burned them all alive. So it was not just the military that was murdering people but also the shining path members. So you could imagine how horrible it was for the local people, not knowing who to trust, not knowing who they should support in case it got them killed.

7 Peruvian journalists were murdered after trying to walk to a remote village to talk to them about the shining path. But the villagers were instructed by the military that anybody who was not wearing their uniforms was a terrorist, so upon seeing a large group of ordinary clothed people, the villages went at them and killed them all. There is a monument in Ayacucho that is in memory for the journalists killed. It was after this killing, that the international media gained hold of what was happening in Peru, and started to televise the problems that were going on here. Also, the CCS (cross-cultural solutions) house that we live in is on a street called 26 de enero, 26th of January in commemoration for the journalists, as that was the date they were killed.

In 1990, i think, the people voted and elected FujiMori into power as the president of the country. He was the best thing that happened to Peru during this dark time, as he took steps of acknowledging the problem, and asking the international community for help. He went to the United Nations and the European Union asking for assistance, in terms of financial, political and legal. From them onwards he bought in new laws; for example in return for dobbing in a 'terrorist' you would be provided with money, or if you were a terrorist and wanted to change your life, if you provided the government with the right information they would change your name and your families identity and send you to Colombia or Ecuador. This was the beginning of the downfall of the shining path. He also bought in stricter laws for judges, so that they weren't in fear of being killed, and longer sentances- life for example. At the end of 1992, 12 years after the bloodshed began, the leader of the shining path, Gussman, was captured. This was a wonderful day in Peruvian history. From then onwards, more and more terrorists were captured and by 1996, there was an end to the shining path.

To this day there are still mass graves being uncovered and bodies being found that 'disappeared' during the shining path's reign. It is such an amazing history and terribly sad when our guest speaker spoke of the atrocities of both the military and the shining path, such as small unsuspecting children being strapped with bombs and being sent into buildings- it was blood curling stuff. Our guest speaker was a teacher at the university and a colleague of Gussman at Ayacucho university.

Very intersting! Google shining path for more.

PS, I am going to email the Australian Government because the SmartTraveller website warns of the dangers in Ayacucho. Peru, as a whole country is classed as "Travel with a high degree of Caution" which is fine, but Ayacucho is classified as "Do not travel" as the area still has many sympathizers to the shining path. Which is absolutely ridiculous and I must admit made me a bit apprehensive about coming here, but there is no shining path supporters left in Ayacucho, and the remaining ones work for the drug traffickers providing protection for their smugglers to get cocaine out of the country. I doubt there would be shining path supporters left in the towns after the atrocity it caused this country.

xoxo millie

Day 2 with the elderly

Today was day 2 at the home for the elderly for Victoria and I. We had breakfast at 7.30am and then started walking down to the home at about 8.15am, as its only walking distance from the home-base that I'm staying at. By the way, walking up here is so much more difficult than walking back home due to the altitude. I find that walking 15minutes to the elderly we are little puffed! But its just the altitude, and the other girls here say that you acclimatise quite quickly.

So we went to the home for the elderly and got started in the kitchen helping prepare their lunch. Luckily we didn't have to chop the veges too small today! Just rough chopping which was nice, so we got through the veges pretty quickly. Its great actually cos Victoria and I can practice our Spanish while we're sitting chopping. One of the older ladies, Sabelle, is partly deaf i think and speaks mainly Quechua, but she helps us with the vegetable names!

We then went to sit with the rest of the old people and talk to them and see how they are. Victoria bought her Ipod and Ipod speakers and we plugged it into the wall and played some spanish nursery rhymes that she downloaded back in England. The absolutely loved hearing some music, because its just so cold and boring for them sitting in the little courtyard in silence. So hearing the music, and in spanish too was just such a great idea. The 'boss' old lady, who is the loudest mute i've ever heard in my life, was so happy she got up and danced and danced and danced with us. She is a lovely, but cannot speak so she kind of yells at people and uses her hands to express what she wants but she is so loud! There was another lady who we thought couldn't walk and basically was like in a coma, all of a sudden started singing and clapping her hands which was very exciting! After a while we turned around and she was standing up dancing! So i think the music went down a treat! We also bought about 20 bananas for the ladies and gave them to them for morning tea, which was also a great idea cos obviously they dont get bananas. But the thing was, was that bananas are so cheap here. For the big bunch we had, it cost 1.50 soles, which is roughly 50cents. So we decided that everyday we are going to buy bananas and bring them for morning tea.

So overall it was a fantastic day and the old people are so looking forward to seeing us next week and spending the whole week with them. On Friday's we go to the prison and take the children out to the zoo, shops or park which apparently is wonderful! Because there are so many women in prison, there are so many children in there as well, a

s they are allowed to live with their mothers until they turn 4 years old then they go to the orphanage. So we take one child each and do something with them, cos living in a prison for the first 4 years of your life is not very exciting and not very conducive to learning and growing. So really looking forward to this tomorrow!!

Tonight Victoria, Karen (from Canada) and I are off to the fancy restaurant in town. All the other girls are going to a seminar on healthcare- as they are doing health care as a volunteer placement. We thought it would be good to go until we found out it was a seminar in spanish and we won't understand! So the fancy restaurant will be great tonight, it will be nice to choose what i want to eat, cos obviously we eat what we're given here. Not that its bad, its good food the cook cooks, but its also nice to choose what you feel like. And we'll have another chance for a Pisco Sour- the local peruvian liquor which is delicious!

xoxo millie

Ayacucho, Quinua and Wari

Today was wonderful, I started my volunteer placement with my friend Victoria, from Ascot in England, at the home for the elderly. We were both meant to work at the wah wah wasi with the little children but decided to spend 2 weeks with the old people because they rarely get visitors and they absolutely loved us when we went to visit them. Not many people choose to volunteer there, so they only get to see people when they go by in the afternoons, so when we spent the day there and saw how happy it made them we decided to spend 2 weeks with them.

Their faces lit up when we walked into the home, and they kept yelling out gringas, gringas!!. Its a big building, pretty new and very clean with lovely outdoor courtyards where the elderly sit all day. Its run, charitably, by nun's who sometimes go to the market in the mornings to beg for food when they have nothing for to give the elderly. So i think they are absolutely over the moon that Victoria and I are there for 2 weeks helping out with the cooking of lunch and helping the old people smile and enjoy their day.

We spent the first 2 hours chopping vegetables to help get ready for lunch, using very blunt knives! We were asked to chop the veges (in spanish cos obviously they dont speak english! And we got the drift) into very small pieces which we did, but they came back and told us it was way too big and it was bad! Haha, they weren't mean about it or anything but told us to try harder to make it smaller. And i mean we were cutting green beans into the smallest pieces you've possibly seen! After we finished helping prepare the lunch, we spent the next few hours with the old people doing activities. We did some singing and had some colouring in sheets which they absolutely loved! We also took a bottle of hand cream with us and massaged their hands, which they also loved, as they couldn't believe how smooth their hands were after! It was such small things but just us being there was enough to make them happy. They were chatting away with us in Quechua (native Andean language- not like spanish) so we can't understand them, but we nod and smile and say 'si' and it makes them happy :) Its amazing how such small simple things make a difference.

After placement we went to visit 2 mountain villages, Quinua and Wari. Quinua was the original Ayacucho back in the day when the spanish occupied Peru. But when the war for independance from the spanish occured, they decided to move the town Ayacucho further away, which is the town I am living in now. Quinua is a beautiful village with lovely arts and crafts, and an amazing monument at 15,000ft (above sea level) which commemorates the war. I also managed to see a dog wearing a coat! It was very cute, it was cheetah coat, which i thought was pretty hilarious considering we are in a very remote village!

We then went to Wari, a small area with a museum and some beautiful ruins from the Wari people- about 1500years ago! They have only discovered about 1% of the ruins and it was absolutely amazing. It was like discovering another civilisation- we saw the human sacrifice stone, a mass grave and an ancient set of passages. The department of Ayacucho (its a district and a town basically) are waiting on money from the government to help fund the archeological dig to discover more of the ruins. Just amazing.

xoxo millie

Ayacucho First Entry!!

Well this is my first entry since I've gotten to Peru and its my 3rd day in Ayacucho and I'm absolutely loving it!! We had a city tour of the sites, visited the wah wah wasi (like kindergarten in someone's home) and a beautiful cross high in the mountains. Yesterday we went to the women's prison where Marisol (program coordinator) had organised a talent show for the women in prison. It was organised for international women's week (la semana internacional de mujeures). It was wonderful seeing the women enjoy themselves and smile and laugh. Which doesn't happen very often in the prison as its very tough and the conditions are terrible. They did so many skits! There was one girl who did like 3 skits herself, it went on for hours!! They were so happy we didn't want to stop their fun! Their prizes included toiletries such as soap, shampoo and toilet paper!

There are lots of young girls in prison as well, one as young as 18 who is in jail for armed robbery and awaiting her trial (most likely she will serve 8months!). There is another girl who is 26, and has been in jail for 6 years and will have to serve another 19 for drug trafficking. Her and her husband were caught walking 11kg of cocaine out of the mountains. Drug trafficking is very common in Ayacucho as 80%of inmates are in jail for this offense. So the young girl who was caught was sent to jail but was actually set-up by the drug lords. Which is in fact a mexican drug cartel- go figure. When she got caught it enabled a truck carrying 250kg of cocaine to get through the police barriers untroubled because the police were so busy with the girl and her husband! very sad.

In Ayacucho, statistics say that 80% of people living here are living below the poverty line. But looking at the town there is definately not that many people living in poverty. Due to the influx of money through drugs, the town actually has a lot of money flowing through it. Although there is no drug use in the town, which is good. Obviously the statistics cannot count the illegal activities and drug money as income for the town, so they are still classified as one of the poorest town in Peru.

I'll upload the photos soon as i can get fast internet.

xoxo millie