ESCC Peru 2007

Update

2007-08-20T10:40:00.000Z

All are home and safe now, and settling back into normal life. A few of us have brought some lovely illnesses back, but should all get over things soon.

As for the Canoe Club, things start all over again now! Yes thats right, the next trip is in the planning stages already. Training continues in the Autumn term with games lesson trips to the Dart, North Devon and the mighty Exe.

Final Post (probably)

2007-08-08T19:57:00.000Z

Sorry for lack of posts lately, have been on a long stint away from civilisation. Had our last few days in Pumamarca where we finished our water tank followed by the expedition down the Apurimac canyon.

Have so many stories to tell, too many to document right now. I find pics tell a good story, so here are some of the best......

Apurimac:

Urubamba:

Leo the Cappuccino!:

Campsite on Apurimac day 3:

Sunrise over the Amazon at Atalaya:

Scriv and Quanito on the Tono (Jungle river):

The Boyz on the bottom of the Quosnipata:

Flight from Cusco tomorrow morning to Lima. Six hour turn around in Lima for the international flight (hope to go surfin´).

Nine hour flight to Amsterdam, then hopefully see you on Sat (!?¿?¿?)

Post #5

2007-08-01T00:54:00.000Z

Hi guys
We are now back from the jungle and have all had a great time and are in good health. We are just being reunited with the rest of the bags and we are heading up to the project for the final two day stint! We will update further in a couple of days before the apurimac expedition...

Until next time, fred..

Post # 4

2007-07-27T00:39:00.000Z

Just got back from three days in the village of Pumamarca. Over the last few days we have started building a large water tank to store water to be used for drinking. It will be a large plastic tank on four tall feet so supporting it three meters off the ground. The reasoning behind this being that atmospheric pressure will force the water through the taps ( meaning that an expensive pump doesn´t have to be used). Currently the water supply is nearly 100 times over the safety limit for water quality, so you can see why this is necessary. On top of this, global warming is causing there to be less snow in the mountains and so even less water anyway!! Our project should mean that water can be stored for times of drought AND be safe.

(Oh and the money we raised is actually enough for three of these massive structures, its just that we only have time to build one!!)

So far we have dug four one metre squared pits (removing approx 8tons of earth with picks and shovels!), dug the foundations for a twenty metre long protective wall (the water tank would be stolen otherwise!) AND refilled our holes with cement and steel reinforcements that we built by hand!. So yeah, done abit lately and consequently we are ALL completely wacked, achey (sp!) and muddy.

Although tired, something has really perked us up and made us ready for tomorrow! Arrived back from Pumamarca to the Hostel Amaru to find......... THE KAYAKS!!!!!!!..........Lots of boat hugging went on!!

We are off to the jungle tomorrow for our first day of kayaking. Up bright and early at 5:30 to paddle the Urumamba in the morning followed by a further five hour bus trip to our camp for the jungle section of the trip (Quosnipata Tono etc).

Hope all is well in sunny England!!! Hehe

x

Post # 3

2007-07-24T15:47:00.000Z

Hi guys, quick post with no pics because we have just come back into town for a quick repack of our bags before heading off to Pumamarca for the three day section of the community project.

Just had three days of activities that weren't in the original itinerary.

First two days spent Mountain Biking. We were driven to the top a 4100m pass high in the mountains where we offroad biked to the bottom over the two days, spending the night at a fantastic natural hot spring.

Yesterday was a quick intense hike starting at 3600m and peaking at a breath-taking 4500m, with a steep descent into the sacred valley to our finishing point for the three days. A second stay at urubamba campsite and up early to the present time.

Hope you all are fine and well despite the weather,

ciao

x

Post # 2

2007-07-20T23:18:00.000Z

Right..... first proper entry

(Sorry for spelling, am dodging the Ç and Ñ buttons!)

Where to start. The flights and travelling to Peru passed without a hitch with a spectacular sunrise over the Andes on the Lima to Cusco leg (see pic). No muggings in Lima and no problems with customs at all.

On arrival in Cusco we met our guide for the next few days going by the name of Willo. A real character who speaks brilliant English and has been a real hoot over the last few days.

The first phase of the trip was a tour of the region around Cusco taking in some spectacular Inca architecture. A top of the range bus made travelling very comfy (even a toilet for the Diamox users). We were lucky enough to witness a school festival with singing and dancing locals in traditional dress.

Highlights included....

Moray

A twister!

Ooops sorry, turn the screen on its side!

And most of all..... the fabulous Inca Trail

I would try to put captions with these photos, but there honestly is no way of describing it. Even the photos dont do it justice.

Unfortunately the kayaks have been delayed in Lima by the dock workers being on strike! :=(

Because of this the Expedition has been reshuffled and so we now have a two day mountain biking trip followed by a day of high altitude hiking. The project has also been brought forward to give the shipping company time to sort things out. Hopefully everything originally planned will be done, just all in a different order!!!

Check again for the next update!!!!

Post Number One!!!!

2007-07-16T23:47:00.000Z

Hey guys! Paz here!

Have just ended up at our first internet cafe in Olantaytambo after a frankly euphoric day! Been on the go all day visiting Inca sites at Moray and Cusco. Lots has been going on, and lots of tales to tell. Unfortunately they will have to wait as I am in a hurry to get to bed (not really, this computor is just really slow)

Will give a proper update when we can get to a nice computer in Cusco, which will be in four or so days time. Really sorry have got to go..... there will be pictures next time!!!! Check again soon.....

Building Bridges between Peru and England

2007-05-25T22:25:00.000Z

Check out the latest Peru's Challenge newsletter at http://www.peruschallenge.com/apr07.htm

Building bridges from Peru to England
A group of English school boys from the Exeter School Canoe Club are planning a school trip to help at Pumamarca in July/August this year while also challenging the fantastic rivers of Peru.
The boys will be spending five days at the Pumamarca School to build reservoir tanks and a water system to supply the school with safe drinking water. That is a pretty amazing school trip when you think about it, we used to go 20kms down the road to Camp Cold War and play spotlight and volleyball!
The boys had written some letters with photos for the Pumamarca students and it was my job to coordinate a response, complete with pictures.
As it turned out getting pictures of the boys was pretty quick and easy, but the girls took much longer as a major hairdressing and beauty session was required before the photo shoot. This was followed by meticulous checking of each picture and requests for re-shoots if a smile wasn't right or hair was out of place.
Everyone was happy in the end and the kids are obviously looking forward to getting to know their English counterparts. I just hope those English boys appreciate all their effort!
(Written by Miles. Volunteered for four weeks with his family)

The girls get ready for the photo!

Surf is looking good!

2007-05-25T21:52:00.001Z

http://magicseaweed.com/Lima-Surf-Report/496/

Thunderboats are GO!

2007-05-25T20:38:00.000Z

Yes thats right, the boats are on their way!

Fred, Pete and Paz met at the airport depot and helped load them in on Wednesday

We loaded the kit into the crate ourselves (taking special care to drag Matt's new paddles all the way across the carpark) and tied them down with a throwbag.

For you fact fans in the canoe club - The kayaks will be stacked sooo high they could be as high as 150m off the sea, the cargo ship is about three times as big as the "MSC Napoli", and may have to navigate 30ft seas on the way to Lima. ;-)

The crate had plenty of room, and smelt alot like fish. Just working in there with an open door was boiling! -I wouldn't be suprised if when we open the crate we find a heap of melted plastic!

This guy is driving the crate to Bristol. From there it is heading to Antwerp, then on to Miami before heading down the coast of South America (I presume after passing through the Panama canal).

And off they go!

Peru 2007 WebBlog

2007-05-21T16:58:00.000Z

This is the offical Peru 2007 WebBlog where we will add pictures and info about our activivies on the Expedition. It's not long untill we jet off so keep watching this space...