We're here!

Greetings from 8200ft asl in Areguipa, a.k.a. "the White City", named so because of the white-capped volcano that overlooks this scenic city. We call her "Misty" because she's usually hiding behind clouds. We finally made it to Areguipa after 20 long hours of travel. We took off from Philly to JFK airport at 5 pm on the 14th and made it to Areguipa at about 1pm on the 15th. No major traveling issues except a lost wallet and a lost ATM card, but our gazillion and one bags made it safely. Bruce almost lost his backpack today though. It fell out of the window while we on the bus to the orphanage. Luckily someone spotted it on the street. Back to our first impression, the newbies were quite impressed when we walked down the plane stairs onto the tarmac. We took in the mountains and the fresh, warm and breezy Peruvian air for the first time. We met the Liberti folks already here: Lydia, Seth and Andrew. We were happy to see each other again. We then crammed in all our luggage and more than a dozen people into a small bus with lots of character. We took off in style. The scenes along the drive were interesting: many stray dogs, sheep, old Incan women, and lots of rubble. We arrived at the casa we will stay in for the next couple of weeks and met Mariesa and Lou, the missionary owners of the home. Mariesa and I were very excited to have met another person by our name, even if they're spelled differently. Our next adventure was the orphanage. Those who were returning were ecstatic to see the kids again, and the kids were just as overjoyed. The rest of us began to forge friendships with the kids. We played a variety of games: the zip line, hours of jump rope, volleyball, soccer, and basketball. It was great to see the joy in these kids faces and to know that they are safe and not in the streets. I took a particular liking to a nine-year old boy named Mercave. He's really intelligent. He's very patient in teaching me Spanish. We played chess and legos and I let him take some photos with my camera. He has a really great eye for photos. I'll post some of his photos. He also speaks a little bit of English. After our time at the orphanage our group split up. Some went to church and dinner in a Turkish restaurant. I went with the other half of the gang to eat at a small sandwich/empanada shop and then to a grocery store. The grocery store was a circus but fun. One of the first things I like to do in a foreign country is go grocery shopping because it's always an adventure. Our night ended with much needed sleep and hydration. - Maresa