Training Road Trip - An Omen

The dunes of Ica

WATSAN 18 on a break

Practicing water filtration techniques

This week, Peru 18 WATSAN (Water & Sanitation or Aqua y Sanaemento ) group went on the road for FBT (Field Based Training) with our PCVC (Peace Corps Volunteer Coordinator) and our TT’s (Tech Trainers). Peace Corps LOVES acronyms (PCLA).

We rolled in to Lima in a mini-bus. One of the few things that I find odd about this group of 20-somethings, is that when put in a group situation such as a bus or long wait, they will immediately whip out iPod earphones and Kindels. To most of my generation, this sends the message “I don’t care to interact with you right now”. To them, it seems a perfectly normal way to pass 2 hours with a group of friends.

In Lima, we caught the Soyuz Bus to San Vincente de Canete (many towns here have an ancient Quechua name, preceded by a Spanish/Catholic name). A huge difference between the bus service here and in Mexico, is that in Peru, every bus line has it’s own terminal, whereas in Mexico, all lines shared a single terminal. The bus terminal in Guadalajara, Mex was/is larger than the DFW airport. This probably cuts down on bus congestion near the terminal, but is not near as convenient for catching a bus or changing lines. The Soyuz terminal is modern and clean and very well run. Fare for the 140 mile trip to Canete was about $6. The bus was also VERY clean, with movie, food & beverage service, but lacking a bathroom.

The route was entirely on the Pan-Am Highway, south from Lima. To the out-skirts of Lima, PAHwy is 6 lanes of non-stop horn-blowing and lane-changing. The bus drivers weave between trucks, taxis and mini-vans with the skill of Nascar drivers (or better). Still, not a single accident or fender-bender to be seen. South of Lima, the scenery turns to desert and the road narrows to four and then two lanes. For much of the route to Canete, the ocean is in view, with MANY beach-front homes and condos for wealthy Limonians to escape the city on weekends and holidays. There is even a (non-ecological and water wasting) golf course, a la Las Vegas. Even in an area where some folks go without regular water supply, the privileged get to play golf on well-watered, green grass. This is also the area that produces literally tons of chicken for hungry Limonians every day. Like in the US, the chicken “factories” are vast and cruel. But, we MUST keep that chicken meat flowing (?)..

Teaching kids in Niveria about hand-washing.

South of the resorts, the Pan-Am veers away from the shore and the view turns to huge Saharan sand dunes, down to the Canete River valley, where a sudden profusion of agriculture bursts from the sandy soil. Fields of asparagus, artichoke, potatoes, peaches, plums, apples, figs, dates and pecans are everywhere in sight, mostly in smaller farm plots. The one crop that is grown in massive, US style is grapes, as this is the main area for wine and Pisco (a distilled wine/brandy) production. We drove past, but did not visit the port city of Pisco, itself.

In Canete, we stayed at the El Dorado, a mid-range hotel and wallowed in the HOT water showers. This was the first hot water most of us had seen for over a month, though I must say I haven’t missed it all that much. The room rate was a little less than US$10 per night. Food is also an amazing value – a scrumptious dinner of soup, salad, ¼ roasted chicken, corn-on-cob, potato and beans was about US$3.50.

The next day, we visited the farm areas, where we inspected the water system for about 70 families and the irrigation canals. Along the way, we sampled some delicious apples and strawberries, fresh off the tree/vines. We also saw the pilot recycling project that the local PC vols have started. This is combined with an exciting compost and worm-farm project, which provides nutrient rich soil to local farms and a flower and tree nursery, aimed at greening and beautifying the towns of Canete and Nuevo Imperial.

In Ica, we stayed at an even nicer hotel for about the same price, complete with a bank of free internet computers. We were temptingly close to the Nazca Lines, but did not visit. These enormous patterns etched into the desert floor are ancient and a great mystery. Who made these perfectly engineered patterns (which can only be fully seen from the air) and why ? Intriguing, to say the least.

We helped with a garbage project by separating about 200 lbs of raw garbage into component parts : organics, inorganics, baby diapers, plastics, metals, juice boxes, etc. The worst part was that soiled toilet paper is not flushed down the toilet here, meaning that it was a major part of the garbage we separated – not so sweet. In Santiago, we were distracted from our mission to interview door-to-door about the local garbage service by a fiesta. The town is celebrating its anniversary (a big deal in these parts) with a food competition. The mayor saw our group and invited us to be “extra” judges of the 40 or so plates in the competition. Despite just having had a huge lunch, our group boldly joined the feast, tasting everything from cuy (guinea pig) to anticucho (cow heart) to an apple/passionfriut tart that was TO DIE FOR.

Many of the group went to an oasis for dune buggy rides and sand-boarding. Instead, I visited one of the many ag chemical stores in the town and was delighted to find my brother Bob’s product “CYTEX” for sale there.

We will learn our permanent posts next week and I’m hoping to be in the minority that are posted to the south in the Canete/Ica/Nazca area.More exactly, I felt very "at home" in the Canete area and asked to be posted there - we shall see.........