Building on the rock

Views from La Roca


Mark has planned a really busy time for me whilst i am here which is great as i will hopefully get to see a really good variety of things, meet lots of people and see different areas. My first full day we went to visit a church called La Roca, where a couple work as leaders of the church and Mark works as a kind of support for them checking how they are etc. The leader had been in the drug business (and i dont mean the medical kind) before he became a Christian and when we got there he told us how 3 people had attacked him from a taxi that he had tried to get in the shanty town that the church is in, but he had managed to fight them off and break there knife, not your average pastor you may think.

The church

The couple live in the church at the moment through money from a missionary charity they are building a second storey to the building which the family will live in so that the whole downstairs will be able to be used for the church. The building was right on the top of the hill in the shanty town and to get there we took a bus across the city and then a motor taxi which is a little 3 wheel device where you get in a cage at the back sat behind a driver steering with what looks like motorbike handlebars, lots of fun on the downhill but with me and Mark in the back not so great uphill. That goes so far into the shanty town and then we walked the rest of the way up the hill. This is quite a developed shanty town where most of the buildings are brick built and have electricity but not many have running water to them as it is so expensive to get connected due to government corruption.

The next day we headed further back past the airport and i went to see another building project where a few of Marks friends Alfredo and Carlos are building a new school which they are hoping to have ready for the middle of March, ready for the new term. This area is called Ventinalla and is a bit outside of the city itself on a hill made of sand which i dont think i had ever seen before. It is noticably poorer than the previous Shanty towns i had seen and was a lot less developed. Apparently what tends to happen is people get the land and then build a small shed like structure and as they make money they add slowly to it either by adding bricks or by making it gradually bigger. We met the guys building the school which was going to mean that the children (primary school age) would not have to travel the long way they currently do to another school and the school will be a lot cheaper than other schools, especially the Christian schools (you pay for all schooling here). As we arrived i thought there is no way this will be finished in time, there was no roof on, they have only got 1 of the 6 teachers needed to open. The toilets are not in and i could go on but they are confident things will be ready in time - time seems different in Peru.

It was great to see the guys working on the building for free because they realised how much difference it would make to the area. They also told me about the builder who Alfredo had had to sack because he had been stealing. At first i thought it was sad that he would steal from his own project that was trying to help the children here but then they explained he had been stealing materials from other places to help build the school, maybe not quite so bad. They did have a guard on which seems wuite normal here to stop stealing.

Me and some of the guys

Mark and the school

On Mark and Annas street they have a man called a watchyman who work 24 hours on 24 hours off to make sure nobody breaks in. They also live next door to the chief of police who has between 2 and 6 guards around his gate all the time so its pretty secure here.

Other customs i am learning to deal with/enjoy. You can't drink the water it has to be boiled first and tastes horrible. You can't put toilet paper down the toilet. I get to kiss lots of women (i have to its the custom).

Peru - 1st impressions

We set off out of the airport to make the journey across part of the city back to my friend Mark's house where i would be spending most of my time in Peru. Seeing our Gringo (white person) faces (especially mine, mark can get away with it a bit more) the first Taxi Driver told us the fare would be 70 soles whixh is about £12 not bad in England for roughly an hour in a taxi but here things are a bit cheaper and catching one just as we were leaving the airport we got it for about 20 only £3, it helps when you meet people with local knowledge. The Drive across the city of around 12 million people, which is over half the population of a country which is 6 times as big as the UK was my first experience of South America. After arriving at Mark's seeing how far on a map we had covered of the city and the different kinds of areas we had been through and traffic we had seen my first impressions were. This is a big, big place, the driving is comical/terrifying, there are people selling stuff everywhere including in the middle of the traffic and that as well as having lots of very poor looking areas there are some really nice bits as well that dont fit the stereotypical westerners view of a developing country in South America, and lastly everywhere is covered in dust.

After arriving without my bag i spent my first afternoon shopping and realised i had lost my bag in the right place as things here were so cheap. Got a few new t-shirts and shorts for now still in the hope my bag would arrive soon.

Time travel

Arrived at Auckland airport on monday evening and said my goodbye's to Steve and Emily before i started my mammoth journey to Lima Peru where i would arrive Tuesday afternoon after connecting through Los Angeles and San Salvador in El Salvador.

The first stretch of the journey went off without a hitch and i arrived in Los Angeles about 8 hours before i left Auckland but i have to say time travel is not as exciting as it sounds. Had 12 hours to kill in LA so after sending my bags through to the connecting flight i headed out to the beach at Santa Monica and spent the day around there and enjoyed the sights and crazy feel from Venice and Muscle beach. Santa Monica is quite a posh area not too far from Beverly Hills but i was shocked to see so many homeless people just lying around the beach and the grassed areas around the beach. Although it was beautifully sunny it wasnt really hot and there was such a mix of people from the guys working out on muscle beach and sunbathing to those wrapped in coats and jumpers. Millions of skaters were around and as i walked down to Venice beach i enjoyed looking around the market stalls and street sellers and performers, a very interesting place kind of like Peckham high street, Brighton Pier and Covent Garden all rolled into one. Had a beautiful sun set and then headed on the bus back to the airport for the next flight to San Salvador. As i arrived in San Salvador had the beginnings of the South American feel although there was still a Subway sandwich shop there. Had a couple of hours there but couldn't leave the airport lounge but at 9 in the morning the heat of the sun had begun and as i boarded the next plane for Lima i could really feel the heat. Was really lucky on the last plane enjoying a whole row to myself and getting some more sleep to help me catch up. Mark who i was staying with had warned me the immigration could take a while when i arrived so i approached the desk expecting the worst but as soon as i said i knew someone here was just waved on through which was great but then i stood waiting for my bag to come through.
I hadn't really trusted the system which had meant i hadn't seen my bag since Los Angeles and as i stood and waited, and waited, and waited i realised that my bag was not on the plane. I spoke to one of the baggage people who didnt fill me with confidence and filled in a form while they explained to me that even though my bag wasnt on there system they may still get it on the next flight in the evening from San Salvador. So as i walked through the gate and met Mark i had nothing but the clothes on my back and the small carry on bag with all my valuables and a couple of books, I guess not much less than some of the people i'll be meeting and working with whilst i'm here.
Still am here safely and hoping the bag system wont totally fail me.

NZ - HOME

After my nightmare journey i got to New Zealand again and was able to spend a week with a family i knew from my church in Melbourne who had moved out to Auckland in July. I was looked after, had my own room, ate helthily, and had an amazing shower - all the things Sydney hostels cant provide.

It was a very relaxing and energizing time in amongst all the business and a welcome week before i head on my long journey to Peru. I enjoyed the warmth of the sun and the local beach and at the end of the week I was invited to go along with the family as we took their eldest daughter Lauren to University in Wellington a 9 hour drive to the other end of the North Island. This was a good opportunity for me to be able to see some of the North Island and seeing so much of the South Island. We stopped and passed through some amazing and ridiculous little towns on the way, one where every shop had a giant model or sign made out of corrugated iron, 6ft bananas and teddy bears, 20-30 ft dogs and shepherds quite bizarre (but apparently as i read in the free in flight magazine a few days later it has transformed the towns dwindling economy- what this says about new zealanders i'm not sure).

We saw many 1, and in some cases 1/2 horse towns and as Emily the younger daughter was skiving school for the trip we gave her an in car education which i think will have helped develop her greatly as we amongst other things each developed ideas for genetically modified plants that would help transform the world my favourited including a venus fly trap bred with an oak tree which would be planted around london and would help eradicate the pigeon problem. Or the grass combined with the cocoa plant which would help us get chocolate flavour milk straight from the cow (quite what this says about madness in long car journeys i'm not sure either).

Anyway back to Wellington we enjoyed a day around the town, the national museum was having its 10th aniversary day and so we witnessed lots of things Mauri and of course Scottish related and the night finished with a big firework display over the harbour and along with walking up and down lots of hills, carrying lots of boxes, getting asked for ID for a 16 film and eating a crocodile pizza the weekend was pretty complete so we set off on our long journey back to Auckland or as it was for me that week HOME.

Still Sydney

Waking early on my last day in Sydney i packed my bags and headed downstairs to get my shuttle bus to the airport, after 45 mins of waiting and two phonecalls from the hostel with (i'm on my way replies) i finally got the bus and wasn't too worried as i would still be a good hour and a half before take off or so i thought.

Arriving at the airport i find no reference to my flight and after managing to find out who i need to speak to find the right desk and am greeted with the words "your not going anywhere today love". After a little wheeling and dealing and me explaining i have no contact number for them to let me no when the flight might leave after having my phone stolen up the coast they decided to put me up in a room in one of the airport hotels and hopefully the plane will leave tomorrow (though i'm not convinced).

so along with a crowd of others who were given rooms in the hotel we headed in another shuttle bus i then had the joys of an airline paying your bill in the hotel, which meant free food (though not off the menu just the buffet we provide you) , free drinks (as long as their soft and you got there quick or its water only), free leisure facilities (which means outdoor pool which is not great in the rain) so basically that left me with the greatest bed ever and a free sports channel in the room, and i was there long enough to watch England get stuffed at the cricket, learn the rules of aussie football, and wonder why australians watch hourse drawn cart racing. Rising the next morning and meeting at reception at 6am we were greeted with the news that the flight is not going this morning as promised and MAY leave later, so back up to the awesome bed i had just dragged myself out of and as i woke 4 ours later i was greeted with a letter under the door which said the plane would leave at 2:30 and true to there word third time lucky Aerolineas Argentineas did get me to Auckland (on an air new zealand plane)where the poor people who it was supposed to take to Argentina got to spend another night in an airport hotel.

Sydney - the wettest capital in the world

MILLIONS OF JOGGERS

ALL THE WAY FROM NEWCASTLE

VIEW FROM MY FRIEND BEN'S APARTMENT

PART OF THE OLYMPIC PARK - ROLL ON 2012

During my week here it felt almost like being back in London, I enjoyed the big city feel again, wandered the sights,enjoyed the mix of cultures, ate in china town, saw the shops and went out with new friends and old, and of course brought the clouds with me.

This meant having to try and find things to do inside on days of very heavy rain and doing the outdoor things in the lighter rain (and again just as in London i was attacked by many many umbrelas).

I went to the Imax and to the Aquarium, saw the famous Opera house, the harbours and the Harbour bridge, visited the olympic sight and the footy stadium (that's aussie rules of course not soccer) ,went up the sky tower and enjoyed the view over the city on what was about the only night the tower wasn't covered in cloud. It was a shame that the weather got in the way of my time there but i'm sure as some of you read this you will have smug grins on your faces as you realise that for my entire trip away it can be guaranteed no matter what the time difference that i am still hotter than you.

The worst weather i managed to enjoy/endure was on the day that started with the best weather, the cloud had almost broken and so i decided to head for Palm beach or as it is better known to you Home and Away fans - Summer Bay. Had a great walk along the beach and took my picture at the Surf club and then i followed the path up the side of the cliff up to a lighthouse at the end of peninsula for a great view away to the north beaches of Sydney. As i started walking up the path i saw the clouds starting to roll in behind me and realised i couldn't make it back to the centre before they hit so decided to keep going and if they hit hide in the lighthouse, so up i went. And hit they certainly did, i had just enough time to realise the lighthouse was locked when the rain started to fall, gently at first and then a bit heavier and still more, till i realised the tree i was under was gonna be no use at all, so i headed over the nearest wall and hid under a small roofed area as the rain really began to fall and i sat there in shorts and t-shirt for the next hour and a half witnessing the most impressive thunder and lightning display i had ever seen, brighter and certainly louder than any firework display.

(THIS WASN'T THE STORM JUST AN AVERAGE DAY)

So it was just a wet a week as my surf camp but will leave me with lots of different memories.

Canyoning and the blue mountains

After my skydive i caught the train up to the Blue Mountains and stopped off in a town called Katoomba at the Youth Hostel and enjoyed a well earned nap - aren't afternoon powernaps the best-.
Decided to go for an evening walk and enjoyed the view, although a little cloudy was amazing, to explain it i would say that as you get to the end of the town the cliff goes down a good few hundred metres and you look out over a large grand canyon kind of place just rather than all dry red stone this ones full of trees and streams and waterfalls. Their are staircases which spiral down hundred and thousands of stairs into the canyon - or you can take the lazy option of the cable car. As i said the view was spoilt a bit by the clouds but i'm glad i saw it then as the next 2 days i spent there the cloud was so low you wouldn't have even known there was anything out their, the cloud filled up the whole canyon.

So the next day i went on my abseiling and canyoning adventure. The morning was easy enough with a 5m abseil, a 15 m and a 30m just to get us all used to the feel of the abseil then we got fully kitted out with our wetsuits, harnesses, rucksacks, helmets and waterproof bags and headed to the canyon. For those of you who don't know canyoning is basically getting from one end of a canyon to the other no matter what's in your way. This particular canyon we started of climbing in the river (lowest part is safest as you cant fall any more) over, rocks of various sizes, tree stumps, logs etc before we made it to our first jump. To avoid going too deep into the water we didn't jump pencil style and obviously bellyflops are never a good idea so the first jump of about 8 foot was backwards, lots of fun. The rest of the way down was a mixture of swimming, climbing, wading, jumping, sliding and all in all fun and not really too risky then we got to a big pool and the ropes sent up for our last decent, a 30 m abseil over a waterfall, now as i said we did the abseils in the morning and not to much problem, just trust the rope and off you go but over a waterfall is a bit different, the wall is unbelievably slippery, the rope tougher to pass through the equipment and man the water pounding on your head is not only really noisy but kind of cuts into you in places, so it was a real challenge to get down and then a big slide down the rope at the end and into the pool below. The day was lots of fun and thankfully we got finished before the rain came as that can make the water levels rise even more and make things much trickier for canyoners. The only problem i can see with canyoning is that you start at the top of the canyon and finish at the bottom which generally means you got a big walk back to wherever you came from which we all found as we trudged up the hundreds of steps in gear of many levels of dampness (dry bags are not as dry as the name suggests). Then back to the centre for a well earned beer and to get out of the rain. Next stop Sydney.