Pucusana and Embajadores Beach

Easter weekend in Peru includes Thursday and Friday off for bank holidays, so that means we had to think of something to do which would be fun for all of us not just the children or the adults. Thanks to a suggestion from our good friends David and Naomi, we (our household today is us, Allison, Allison's Mum, Robin, Peck, and Cat) headed 50 minutes south to the fishing village of Pucusana with promises of good food, native wildlife, a boat trip, some fishing and a blow hole (WHAT?! You may ask - that is what I said too...more later).
On arrival we hired a little boat to take us around the bay.

Allison and Cat at the start of our trip

Joel was a bit nervous about getting on the boat and kept asking to go to the supermarket, (we don't know why!) but seemed to enjoy himself after a while.

Daniel was very excited about the idea of fishing and kept looking for the fish in the water.

This is the wildlife we saw...

PelicansSea Lion sunning himself
We then anchored up and all got given lines with bait to do some fishing which was really good fun. Most of us managed to catch something. Daniel proudly caught not just a fish, but also some seaweed!Mark managed to catch one just as we were finishing. "We can go now!" Robin, Allison's mum said it was more fish bait than fish, but Mark was happy none the less!

Allison was the pro, and showing her talents after much experience fishing with her Dad managed to reel in the most and the largest. Mine just kept getting away with the bait!

All of our catches

We then had lunch in a little restaurant opposite the 'blow hole' - a big hole in the rock where waves splashed out as seen below: (From http://www.pucusanaperu.com/turismo.html)

After a very yummy lunch (but the waiting staff obviously not able to cope with the influx of Easter week visitors!) we got back into the car and stopped at Embajadores beach, which is our favourite beach in Lima because it is great for the kids. It has a roped-off area for swimming, and calm waves they can paddle in. When the tide comes up the whole beach disappears, so the beach was pretty empty because the tide was just beginning to go out again. Daniel loved paddling in the sea 'Come on, everyone - this is so much fun!' he kept shouting! Joel liked getting wet but was much more cautious of the waves.

Peck and Daniel examine the waves On the way home, Daniel talked about the fishing whilst Joel asked if we were going to the supermarket. "No, Joel. We are going home - it is nearly your bedtime!"
They fell asleep quickly tonight.

Jungle April 2011

Well I (Mark went to the jungle again this April and we worked on building the foundations of the new church building there, as well as doing a small medical mission. Please see Taylor Green's post (see link below) an intern of Wes and Stacy for more details. (Thanks Taylor I don't need to add anymore).

http://thelima4.blogspot.com/2011/04/la-selva-jungle.html



Please also see my facebook page, Andrew Peck's,

Catherine Moir's, and Taylor Green's photos in facebook to get more ideas what we got up to.

Lunahunaná

Anna's parents visited in March and we got the opportunity to go away for a few days to Lunahunaná, a small town 2 hours south of Lima in the foothills - some guaranteed sunshine and gorgeous scenery. This is the view from our balcony...
The other reason Lunahunaná appealed to us is because it is also a place where the more adventureous can do white river rafting, quad biking and such like. The river was a bit high for the river rafting, but Mark, Julian and Daniel enjoyed their trip on the quad bikes (well, Daniel said the coming home was a bit dusty!) We also did a city tour of the town, and looked at some of the ancient pisco (think brandy) houses.
Daniel also got the opportunity to ride in the back of the tour-guide's pick-up truck and have a go at driving it too. (As we drove past the police station, the policeman waved and smiled at the underage driver!)


All in all, it was a relaxing time and great to breathe in some fresh air and spent some quality time with Anna's parents. There is something life-giving about waking up to this every morning, (even if it is at 6am!!)

Ventanillla school update- Multiplication!

The multiplication continues in Ventanilla. We started with 7 students in 2008, went to 11 in 2009, 33 in 2010, and this year there are over 90 students. God has really blessed the work going on. Allison and Peck went with Julian (my father in law) and I to see the work and I asked Allison what she thought, as it was her first visit to Ventanilla. She responded ‘it looks like a normal school’. This is a wonderful step forward considering where the school has been for the last 3 years. There are now 9 teachers, more children in each class than there was in the whole school two years ago, and kindergarten/nursery, and a class of secondary school children.

Some of the kids lining up after s chool had finished.

Numerical growth is fantastic, but what is even better is that the same spirit that has been in the school is still present, even though there is three times the number of children.

The faith of Alfredo still continues to challenge me and encourage me. He is a great man to work with, one who completely trusts in God for the provision and advancement of the vision of having a Christian school, which is not like the normal education here in Peru.

The teachers in the meeting we had after school to encourage them, and pray for them

Added to this the Australian government have donated money to build a brick building for the school, which is more amazing provision. Alfredo started with nothing and still continues to build. Next year he wants to start a new school!!!

Maybe in Pacifico or in Pucallpa!!!

Alfredo in one of the red tshirts worn by the staff.