[pct-l] Hola from Peru

[vichanson@xxxxxxxx (vichanson@xxxxxxxx)]

Hola,

(this is kind of long but looks like your not too busy now anyway)

I have been in Peru about a week and a half now. Spent a few days in Lima, =
was able to get the application for my missionary visa submitted OK. At fir=
st it didn=B4t look like it would be possible but then the next day everyth=
ing fell into place and it was all done. Need to take a trip to Chile in ab=
out a month to pick it up. I=B4m now getting settled in Arequipa, have been=
 here a week. Dogs barking all night, roosters starting to crow at 4:00 am,=
 taxis honking all the time, the traffic is wild, pedestrians DO NOT have t=
he right of way, you take your life in your hands if you expect that. Taxis=
 and =A8combis=A8 are the normal way to get around here, besides walking. M=
ost taxis are small 4 pass. Dawoo Ticos, they will take you across the city=
 for $1.50 or you can share one with others for only 15 cents for short rid=
es to the town square (with 6-7 people total).

I start Spanish school on Monday but in the meantime have been trying to st=
udy on my own. It=B4s kind of hard to do as I sit in my room - out one wind=
ow is 20,000=B4 snow capped volcano Chachani and out the other window is 19=
,166=B4 volcano Misti (considered still active), it is a perfect cone shape=
. I awoke a few days ago to see if half covered in fresh snow. I have to go=
 out on the balcony to see 18,662=B4 Pichu Pichu. The house I live in is at=
 about 8,000=B4 and only about 8-10 miles or so from the trail heads.

There is no hot water in the shower but for $10 I will soon get a shower he=
ad with an electric heater built into it - I will be living in luxury if it=
 doesn=B4t electrocute me! I brought my mtn. bike with me but its not to sa=
fe to leave it anywhere when you go shopping, etc. I was going to lock it u=
p outside the super market (only 1 in the city) and the guard told me to br=
ing it inside. I have it locked to the gate outside the internet cafe now w=
here I can watch it through the window. It is downhill almost all the way t=
o the main square here and a nice 20 minute climb back up to my house.

There is a big adventure festival in Cotahuasi (where I will be working) in=
 May, I might have to play hooky from school and go check it out. I just go=
t back from exploring near my house, it is only a 15 minute ride to some ki=
ller single track, on the way to Misti. Nice and steep, loose sand and I wa=
s told there are strangler gangs that wait for the dumb gringos that come d=
own from Misti too late. One good thing is that the cemetery is right there=
 as well. I stopped at a bike shop to get my front derailer adjusted, went =
for a little shopping while he was doing that and when I came back he was a=
djusting the brakes and showed me that the back wheel was bent (which I had=
 been planning on fixing myself) so asked him how much and he said said it =
would be 90 cents to true it! I hadn=B4t asked about the adjustment but kne=
w it would be reasonable, labor is cheap here. I went and did some more sho=
pping and when I came back he was cleaning the bike. I asked how much the b=
ill was and the total was only $1.20!! He must have really been bored today=
 (there was a large demonstration in the square and many stores were closed=
, buses weren=B4t running so not many people out and about). It cost me abo=
ut $130 to get my bike here but sure is cheap taking care of it here.

Enough rambling, need to get home and study so I can go hiking on Saturday.

Dios te bendiga,

Vic Hanson