The Trek to Otuzco
By Ellen Su
Our first team dinner in Lima with the “Lima boys.”
We’ve settled in Otuzco! The past 48 hours have been a whirlwind of flights and busses and car rides. We encountered some minor hitches at the airport such as a security breach of the plane at JFK and having to exit through customs and reenter in Panama just to save our luggage. That being said, the 7 team members are all safe, sound, and settled into our bunks tonight in the Maria Madre de Buen Consejo house.
Yesterday, we were met in Lima by the Lima Boys, Marcelo and Andres. They brought us to the Colegio de Santa Maria, which is a middle/high school that they attended. We were able to store our things there as we went out for lunch and then do some shopping for supplies. Lunch/more like early dinner was this Peruvian/Italian fusion restaurant that was delicious. Most of us got lomo, essentially steak, with a risotto or pasta base. Afterwards, we had to buy some altitude medicine, sim cards, and snacks for the bus ride. We found out Bryan is obsessed, putting it lightly, with Gloria Lucuma yogurt so obviously we had to get a big bottle of that.
Back at the school, Marcelo and Andres gave us a tour of the school grounds. The campus is huge, almost college like. There is a huge focus on athletics, and they had many fields, courts, and indoor gyms. This school is a private catholic school, and they told us that most people opt for private educations since the public school system is under-resourced. It was interesting to see how school is such a universal experience across the world; the way they talked about going to the chem lab, eating lunch on the patios, and scaring the freshman with horror stories reminded us that they too were just young adults.
Ellen Su (left) and Arielle Rivera (right) on the overnight bus to Trujillo.
We then took an overnight bus to Trujillo. The bus had 180 degree seats which were so comfortable and we all passed out within minutes, except for Arielle who forced herself to watch a few minutes of a movie since she just bought headphones for that purpose. By morning, we had arrived in the city and were picked up by a driver to go to Otuzco. The drive was scenic, long (~2.5 hours), and a bit bumpy at times but it was exciting to see the countryside.
Team members Vivian Chen, Lucy Levenson, and Ellen Su at El Centro, the Marianistas community center that houses us in Otuzco.
The rest of the day was spent debriefing with Julio, exploring the town, eating and buying more food, and getting ready for our first visit to Carnachique tomorrow morning. On the walk back, we found the emoliente cart that the 2019 team had told us about! We all had a glass, and then were all force fed another by the very nice lady. Overall great reviews, a bit thicker than expected and Scott noted that there were some “slime chunks” throughout, but we learned that you just had to filter through your teeth. All in all, I’d call it a successful first 2 days!
More later,
Ellen
Member highlights:
Arielle – Bus ride with 180 degree seats and movie was like a first class experience
Bryan – meeting the goat Julio
Daniel – the landscapes on the bus to Otuzco
Ellen – the tiny bananas
Lucy – the emoliente stand
Scott – finally arriving in otuzco! and meeting Brother Douglas
Vivian – Trucha con papas fritas at dinner