A visit to a highland community above Pisaq

On Friday, I had my first visit to one of the highland communities that Living Heart serves, it is so beautiful up there, it is an Andean community where the people wear traditional dress, grow food and raise animals. They grow many varieties of potatoes, some of which have purple flowers. I was joining Rita, our Quechua speaking nurse, who was visiting a family with a child who has a congenital illness, Rita provides therapy to the child and it is really helping him. The parents of the child have taught themselves to weave, they start with the wool from the llama, use natural dyes and create beautiful weavings. The weavings are displayed and sold in the Living Heart cafe and all the money goes directly to the family.
Chrisologo, the father wants to learn English. I ended up spending two hours with him, he got out a notepad and asked me to write in Spanish and English what he wanted to learn e.g basic conversation, how are you? I really believe he will learn English, he is very determined. He has a dream of inviting tourists to his community and teaching weaving as a way to fund a school to teach weaving to orphans in the community to that they will have a marketable skill. He is very grateful for the help he has received and continues to receive from Living Heart and wants to give back, reciprocity is one of the values of his community.

A visit to Living Heart Cafe

I invited Aida, Kinkulla and Tanya to join me for lunch at Living Heart´s Cafe in Ollantaytambo, where the train leaves for Machu Picchu. The cafe is located at the corner of the road leading to the ruins and the road leading to the train station. The cafe recently moved to this great location and the restsurant itself is beautiful with a view of the ruins. The profits from the cafe go to support the programs of the NGO/ONGm, Living Heart Peru. We spent a very enjoyable afternoon eating wonderful food and travelling by bus about one hour each way.

One of the things I am doing is spending at least one afternoon each week in the Cafe talking with guest and making them aware of the work of Living Heart. I have met travellers from Austrailia, Ireland, US, Canada, Sweden, Japan, China. It is a lot of fun for me, everyone is in a good mood, they are on vacation and enjoying the ambience and good food in the cafe. I met a teacher from Boston who is interested in acquainting her students in Boston with the children in Sacred Valley.

El Carnival in Calca, Sunday, 2/19

My first Sunday in Calca was the day of ´El Carnival´,a celebration of local food, music and dance in the Plaza. I went with Aida and Tanya and ate the quinoa and trout prepared by the women in the Plaza and watched 4 hours of dance. Many of the dances reflected the story of the lives of the dancers, harvesting the corn (chicla) and some included the influence of the spanish incorporating some flamenco aspects, the dancers all wore the tradtional dress of their communities and it was a very colorful and lively affair, attended by all. Children especially like ´El Carnival ´ because at the end of the dancing, the tree comes down and they get to take things from the tree.

My first meeting with Living Heart 2/20

On the morning of 2/20 I went to the office of Living Heart, the project I am volunteering with, www.livingheartperu.org and met with Ineke who manages the office in Urubamba. Because I had been here before, I took the bus to the office and had no trouble finding it. Fani the director was attending a training of the cooks who would be preparing the food served to the children who live in the communities that Living Heart serves.
The Living Heart Peru project was founded by Sonia Newhouse who left England in 2002 at the age of 71 and lived in the Sacred Valley where she learned about the severe malnutrition suffered by the children due to a diet of only potatoes, she opened Hearts Cafe in 2007 in Ollantaytambo, a site of Incan ruins and many tourists. The profits from the Cafe support the projects of Living Heart. The children in 5 highland communities, about eleven to fourteen thousand feet high, receive 2 hot meals twice a day during the school year and the food is prepared by local cooks who have been trained by Living Heart.
Rita, a nurse, Living Heart employee, and a native quechua speaker, the first language of the community, spanish is the second and taught in the schools, measures the children at the beginning and end of the school year to track their development.

I attended the training session teaching the cooks to prepare fresh vegetable and salads and also teaching them about local herbs that are readily available. I also ate the food and am attaching a picture.
At the end of the training session, we were treated to traditional Andean music on the flute played by Emilio one of the school principals in attendance and a strong supporter of Living Heart´s work in his community. He played traditional Andean airs as well as ´Chicadita´ by Abba.

Arriving in Cusco and Calca on 2/16

When I arrived at the airport in Cusco I was warmly greeted by Kinkulla and I needed help with my luggage because I brought an extra suitcase full of clothes for the children in the highlands that Living Heart serves.

Upon arriving at the house in Calca I was so happy to see Aida and to meet her daughter Tanya who was visiting from Arequipa, a town I plan to visit this time. The garden is stunningly beautiful and I savored the sights and smells and of course the mountains that are all around.
  After a wonderful lunch prepared by Aida I took a nap. It is recommended to rest the first day in the high altitude, it works for me and helps me adapt with out any problems.
The day I arrived Aida had hosted tourists for lunch in her home, she served them a 4 course meal of special Peruvian dishes. So it was a busy day for her. She gets referrals from a travel agency to serve lunch to tourists from all over the world.

A restaurant in San Isidro, Lima, Peru on 2/15.

Leaving Lima for the Sacred Valley

The purpose of my trip to Peru this time is to volunteer with a project in the Sacred Valley called Living Heart Peru www.livingheartperu.org. When I was in Peru two years ago, I learned about the project and decided when I returned I would volunteer.

I left Lima for Cusco on Thursday 2/15 and was greeted warmly at the airport by Kinkulla ( the family I lived with two years ago). It is a one hour taxi ride from Cusco to Calca where I am living.
When I arrived at the house I was welcomed by Aida and her daughter Tanya who was visiting from Arequipa. It was wonderful to see all of them again and to enjoy a very delicious lunch.
I felt very at home surrounded by the mountains and the beautiful gardens that Aida has created, her garden is both beautiful, filled with color, and bountiful, she has been enriching the soil with compost and the result is lots of vegetables and fruits, the avocados fresh from the garden are a treat.

Saludos de Peru/ Lima Feb. 2012 A carving from a tree on the street near the Pre-Columbian Musuem

I left Chicago on Valentine´s Day and arrived in Lima on Feb. 15, I left winter in Chicago to be greeted in Lima with a glowing summer. When I arrived at the hotel, Peru Star Apartments in San Isidro at 1:30a.m. the aroma from the flowers in the garden was heavenly. Eating breakfast ourdoors in the garden the following morning was a treat.