Arrival in Arequipa

You may be thinking why are we here?   Well Jenny Pearce and I from New Eccles Hall are on a week long visit to Peru to research the possibilities of a community project together with a school situated in the small town of Tomepampa in the beautiful surroundings of the Cotahuasi Canyon.   We are fortunate to have the contacts and support of Priya Loomba who has worked out in this region of Peru on volunteer projects in the past.    We are excited as this project follows our successful community projects in Poland, Morocco  and Paraguay. 

The picture show one of the  volcanoes which dominates the  area around Arequipa where we arrived after nearly twenty four hours travelling. We, Jen and myself, left Eccles at 07.00 on Sunday 24th May, we met up with Priya Loomba at Norwich International Airport and then  by way of Norwich, Amsterdam and Lima Peru and three flights we arrived safely in this southern city. Here we will rest up and spend the day looking around. We have a meeting with the British Consul in the afternoon and then we will be catching a twelve hour overnight bus ride which will take us into the Cotahuasi Canyon, and the small town of Tomepampa.  The school is located in Tomepampa. A very rural location in what is the deepest canyon in the world. In fact twice as deep at the Grand Canyon. 

We travelled well and  Priya's arrangements went without a hitch. Nothing too strange to report en route. Jen and I both watched The Theory of Everything which was very moving.  Do not watch Gone Girl. A rubbish film if there ever was one.    It is important to report how slick the passport control was at Lima and friendly for that matter which is more than can be said for the authorities at some of our own UK entry points.  Manners cost nothing.