Unanue Castle

The Unanue Castle - a Bavarian castle transplanted to Peru in 1850

All the wood, marble and metal work from Bavaria

Arctic Blast !!  52°F this morning. Walking around town on Dawn Patrol this morning, you’d think it was freezing. Folks all bundled up with double jackets and hats. Me in shirtsleeves. Fortunately, I know the sun will warm things up during the day. Can’t wait for Senor Sol to head back south next week. Looking at the historical record, the coldest months are actually August and September.

Not a bad weather record: record high of 93 and it has NEVER gone below freezing ! Annual rainfall is 2.5cm or just 1”. Overall, this is one of the most comfortable climates I’ve ever lived in. There is never a thought about rain or “bad” weather or whether roads will be washed out, like the PCVs in the mountains face.

Speaking with a Volunteer from the Sierra last week, I realized how much more time I have on a daily basis to get things done. My bike, good 24/7 water, power, phone and even WiFi, plus easy access to banking, food, transportation and building supplies all contribute to my ability to get things done.

I was delighted that Victor came home for a visit on Fathers Day. Though he works in Lima just 2 hours away , he hasn’t been home in 2 months. He’s been making big money – for Peru – and working 6 day weeks. But still, the kids would love to see him for even just that one day. He’s also been sleeping on the couch, which may help explain his lack of interest in home visits. His mood is good though – he really loves his job – repairing electrical stuff for a big mining company – and was excited about my new solar panel system.

Speaking of Fathers Day, I visited the cemetery on Sunday and was met with walls of fresh flowers. The flower vending ladies were loving the brisk sales. One of them sold out by mid-day. Surprising that they sell so much more than on Mothers Day. The beer vendors also had a very Happy Fathers Day, as did the consuming Fathers.

Writing grant proposals is an interesting experience. On the one hand it is tedious and detail oriented – gathering the facts, measuring, checking prices, designing, planning and laying it all out in a coherent manner. While every funding program has its own unique format, they all serve to help organize the project and think about all the details of justification, budget and follow-up – also known as Monitoring & Evaluation. I’ve come to appreciate how important this last bit is. Even the best planned and brilliantly executed project can be just so much hot air and wasted activity if there is no provision for follow-up and sustainability. Still, XL spreadsheets and narratives is no-one’s fantasy of “development” work. And then there are revisions. I’d rather be in the field building, organizing and teaching.

More earthquakes this week. (5.0, 4.6, 4.5)  My friend Mike Healey has a more rational explanation of the increased activity – “The Earth is on an elliptical orbit around the sun and there is more angular  momentum late spring and late fall than at any other time. The earth being a thin hard crust on a molten ball squishes more, creating cracks (increasing earthquake & volcanic activity). This year we will have an additional force of planetary alignment with the galactic center pulling on us in November & December along with increased solar flares (11 year cycle) and more weight from the increased liquid water (the last time it happened we were in an ice age) pushing down on the tectonic plates.”

The locals get pretty spooked by the tremblores, running outside with every shake. Can't blame them really. Houses came tumbling down here in 1974, 1996, 2001 & 2007. I've been working with the Muni on a tsunami evacuation plan. All we've done so far is identify the "safe" areas (above 20M) and map where folks should go. The plan is to print evacuation instructions and pass them out in the low-lying beach areas. Kind of a joke really - without some warning sirens. In any case, a quake on the off-shore fault would only allow 25-30 minutes before the wave hits shore. Even if folks on the beach started moving the moment they feel the shake, many couldn't make it to high ground in time. Huge tsunamis in 1586 and 1746 virtually wiped out Lima and many coastal towns. We could be over-due for another Big One. Fortunately, San Luis is just above the 20M mark. But if I’m out at the beach when a big one hits, I’ll be happy to have my trusty bike handy.

The young lady who was the conductor on the combi today caught my attention. Her energy and good cheer were far above the norm, and she made change like lightening. Turns out, her name is Marie (not Maria), she’s 13 and this was her first day of being conductor for her Dad, who was the driver. Her pink baseball cap turned sideways and bright smile made her absolutely adorable. She leaned WAY out the window, shouting “San Luis – a San Luis, Arona” at top (squeaky) voice. And seemed genuinely disappointed when folks waved her off. Her one mistake was telling her Dad to slow down to pick up a woman who didn’t want the combi, earning some harsh words from Popi. It really is an art-form the way the conductors can read the body language of folks way up the road and KNOW whether they want the bus or not. Still, it is always a pleasure to see someone give 110% to the job, no matter how mundane. Bravo, Marie.

I got invited to a Quinceañera – 15^th birthday party – for one my neighbors. I was told the appropriate gift was a bottle of Pisco, and thusly arrived. The bottle went to a table where it found the company of uncountable other Piscos. As usual, I was on-time, and by that I mean early by Peruvian time. I sat next to an elderly lady, who nodded politely at everything I said, but said not a word. I latter discovered she was mostly deaf. The “hall” was elaborately draped in big sheets of shiny pink and white cloth, dotted with pink balloons and plastic roses. About a half-hour after the invitation time, folks arrived, dressed up better than I’ve ever seen in this little town and everyone sat in chairs along the walls – in awkward silence.

Finally, the Birthday Girl and proud Papa were led into the big “hall” by a small band and paraded around the guests. Emma was dressed in an elaborate, but ill-fitting gown with MUCH too much make-up. She then did a waltz? with her Dad, followed by every young man in the place. Due to the dress being a size or two large, she constantly had to pull up on her bust and did not appear happy at all. When the rituals were complete, a lovely sangria – in shot size glasses – was served and the older folks danced. It appeared that the minimum drinking age for this event was about 6 – only the toddlers were denied beverage. It reminded me a bit of the awful Princeton “Mixers” in Dillon Gym, with the majority plastered against the walls and a few brave souls rocking in the center, made more uncomfortable by the big dresses. A huge cake arrived, complete with sparklers – adding delicious cinders to the icing. I was surprised that “Happy Birthday” was sung in English, followed by a Spanish version. I was pushed to the front, ostensibly to assist the band with correct pronunciation. At some point the teen-aged gals all changed into “informal” dress – skin tight jeans and off-shoulder tops – all dreadfully over-made-up. That part of the hall resembled a “muffin-top” Junior Harlot convention. After that, the Pisco Sours started flowing and the band stepped-up tempo. I survived until about 10pm and was told that the festivities lasted many hours after that. Happy 15^th Birthday !!

Spent more time with Dan at his new biodigester. Got the greenhouse cover on and gas line plumbed. It’s all filled with manure and water, ready to start cooking some gas. To kick-start the process, Dan decided to add the contents of a cow stomach – something he heard from another digester user. The theory is that the bacteria in the stomach will inoculate the digester tube. So, there it was…..a whole cow stomach. It attracted every fly for miles around and smelled as bad as you might imagine or even worse. The contents looked a lot like cow manure, only drier and less digested. Ours worked fine without it – I trust the nastiness was not in vain. Where else but in Peace Corps service could I enjoy such a….unique.. experience? I love my “job”.

We also visited a magnificent vivero (tree nursery) nearby. The owner runs a clean, well-organized operation with exclusively fruit trees. He produces his own compost and Biol and uses both in the nursery. It’s always a pleasure to meet a Peruvian in the rural area who “does it right” and whose mental wheels are always turning. The norm is more like – sit back and wait for something – a product of generations of cultural dependence on the Plantation system?

We LOVE parades in San Luis – they happen all the time. Everything from anti-abortion to stop smoking to brush-your-teeth. Today’s parade was to celebrate the 55^th anniversary of one of the local colegios – high school. This one was historically mostly black – there is a large population of slave descendant Afro-Peruvians here. The school is still largely black. What was surprising – and somewhat troubling – was that all the kids in the parade, who were not black, were painted in black-face and many had “Afro” wigs on. Beyond that, there were a couple of kids in gorilla suits. In the US, the NAACP and ACLU would have shut this thing down in a NY minute. The whole parade seemed in incredibly bad taste to me. But then, so did the anti-abortion parade with kids carrying photos of aborted fetuses. I asked Fernando about it and he said it was just fine – celebrating their history.

Will Jensen, my closest PCV and I took a morning “off” to go visit the Unanue Castle, just south of San Vicente. We passed it every time we’ve gone south on the PanAm Hwy and it seemed time for a visit. It is an ancient Bavarian castle, that was moved piece by piece, starting in 1843 and completed about 1900 and was abandoned after the big earthquake in 1970. Musta been quite something in its day, but 30 years of neglect and looting and earthquakes have taken their toll. The wood-work, parquet floors and metal work are superb and still in good shape and most of the marble floors are still intact. A slate billiards table still stands in the Billiard Room. The garden area was once home to all sorts of exotic animals and fish and plants. The “castle” was built atop and old burial mound and the only “down-stairs is a magnificent reception room and some underground housing for servants (I was glad Will brought a flashlight), connecting via trap doors to the Masters’ Quarters above. Living on the second floor, with 20ft ceilings and wide porch verandas, would be a must in the Canete summer heat. Another garden housed a deep swimming pool with rotting 3M diving board. The place ought to be a tourist attraction, but no one seems to want to fix it up or maintain it. And, it was kinda fun exploring on our own – especially the underground part.

The PCHQ very kindly sent me one of the new bike maintenance kits that will be issued to Peru 19, et seq. It includes a sturdy lock, air pump and multi-tool, with more parts than I know how to use. I’m hoping Ben’s Maintenance Manual comes out soon. I use the bike most every day and it has been a Godsend to my service.