This is our complete journal! I left everything the same (spellings, swearing etc!) and I tried to keep the layout as similar as poss.
Day 1 (Saturday 12th July) Astrid
We all met at school around 12:00 (except Saskia and I arrived 30 mins late!). We then went outside to check all the team equipment, making sure everything was there. We put up the tents as a practice, but we found we had lots of problems! Lucky we decided to practice! After the Bishop of Llandaff school had lunch in the Small Hall, we went back outside to put down our tents and divide the team equipement. We were all allowed to have a �sexy� life jacket, which we had not been warned about! It was then time to check our rucksacks to make sure nobody had taken 10 T-Shirts! Fitting everything back in was a struggle for Suzanne and Sarah! We then went back outside to decide on the roles and rules. My favourite Disney character is Cinderella! Saskia and I were then picked up by our parents to go to mass, whilst the rest of the group went to the village. We then decided on the pizzas we would have for dinner, and Miss James and Becky went to get them. Shaun gave us a First Aid talk which was very interesting, and we now have a new word for diorreah - �surfers�! But we still need to explain that to the teachers who missed the most interesting talk of the day! We have now had lunch and are all washing socks and getting ready to go to bed.
Day 2 - 13 July Camilla
After a restful and comfortable night�s sleep (HA HA - we wish!) we were awake at 5.00am to pack everything away, eat breakfast and wait for our Chauffeur (a.k.a. Mr Morris). The journey, apart from 12 seriously sleep deprived people and 1 far too happy one for 6.15am, was uneventful and we arrived at Gatwick on time.
When the baggage checkers had decided we were not IRA terrorists or the like, we hit the duty free for 40 mins shopping (hooray)
2.30hrs into the flight to Houston and the novelty of personal TV�s, Shanghai Knights and �Meals-on-Wheels� is starting to wear thin��..
Finally after 9.5hrs we arrived in Houston, Texas, walked (what felt like) a mile and boarded the plane to Lima.
6.5hrs later at what was 4.00am at home we arrived and from then on everything is hazy as I was nearly sleeping standing up!!
One very scary journey later we were finally in bed - THANK HEAVENS!!
Day 2/3 13th&14th July - Claire�s input!
Apparently I�m a terrorist or something! Got my bag searched at Gatwick, no-one else did. I probably looked like a pirate in my headscarf! In Houston, I got my bag searched because something came up on the screen - oops I left my scissors in my first aid kit in my hand luggage! So they have been confiscated. The rude air hostess on the Gatwick to Houston flight is evil. They hadn�t collected cups for ages, and put far too much ice in every drink - so we had loads of cups with ice in on our fold-down trays. We slid all the sandwich trays along to my fold-down tray, to make everything easier to collect, and we stacked the cups inside each other with the ice in the top cup - like the air hostesses had been doing. The rude air hostess came to collect our trays - and knocked the pile of cups over - pouring ice and freezing water all over my lap! Then of course, it was all my fault - �Now that�s what we get for stacking cups, isn�t it?� said the air hostess with a sigh - I couldn�t believe she was trying to blame me! Then she said she would get some cloths to mop up all the water, and left me to clear up everything with a couple of serviettes, a blanket & a pillow! I spent the next few hours with a dodgy-looking wet crotch, feeling slightly uncomfortable! Lima is such an interesting city - the drivers are mad, they drive along whichever side of the road they want, and beep their horns every couple of minutes! Taxi drivers beep at you and pull over even when you don�t want them to. It�s a really interesting place to be - and food costs hardly anything!
Claire x x
Day 3 - 14th July
Rachel�s Input J
Wow - we just saw a freak bird with eyeshadow! We are having lunch on the roof terrace. It is �lush� (don�t tell Suzanne coz she doesn�t like my word hehe).
Anyways this is my random comment to say that the drivers here are flippin suicidal! NO JOKE! The only way to cross a road is to walk out on it & pray that the freak ass driver stops (so far so good!) And they beep their horns ALL THE TIME! Tis very strange!
That�s my rant over,
Bye Bye fy ffrindiau
(welsh for my friendsJ)
Rachel
P.S. The crisps �are nice!
Day 3 - 14th July.
Sarah�s story so far!
Planes are bloody pains in the arse! Literally! Like Rach said �move Peru closer� Hehe.
Talk about illegal, we are watching �The Hulk�. It�s not even in the cinema yet! We all saw a drag queen bird today. Go easy on the eyeshadow!
I found out that drivers are MANIACS! Or �loco� as they say over here. If you want to cross the road then you gotta just go for it!
I�m thinking I�m gonna be a fat bloater by the end of this. Shaun is obsessed with cake! Food is really cheap here, so roll on elastic waistbands! Woohoo!
Well we�ve got another flight, Hobo�s retreat and a man called Rock to look forward to! Heehee.
Luv ya
Sare x x
14th July Shauns literary extravaganza.
Long journey finally brought us to the Explora hostel, warm, clean and comfortable.
Lima is exceptionally clean but the air is as dirty as I�ve known.
Everyone has been out today and sorted the jobs out. Tommorow we go to Iquitos to start the trip into the Amazon. People are already begining to claim their own id though these will not be revealed until later.
To be continued.
15th July - Day 4 6.10am
We are sitting on a very cold floor in Lima airport at this totally ungodly hour so I figured it was time to share last night�s meal with everyone:
The pasta was good, but unfortunately when I went to get a bottle of water out of the fridge I knocked a green tub (NOT OURS) out, full of spaghetti. The lid wasn�t on properly and it all fell out on the minging floor in one big blob. So I freaked, picked the blob up & put it back in the tub. hehe. It was hugely funny and Suzanne nearly wet herself laughing. I�m hoping no-one at the hostal gets food poisoning now - if they do it is so not my fault. Honest.
Then when we were lighting the candles on Helen�s cake (another story) Suzanne dropped the match, burnt a hole in the plastic tablecloth & covered it with a mug. So, we have finished trying to destroy the Explora Inn & are soon going to see how much damage can be done at Hobo Hideout (Hobo LMAO!).
Rachel
P.S. I really hope no-one eats that spaghetti - the side that hit the floor was sooooo minging looking.
O
P.P.S. I�m sorry! J � look at my cute lil halo!
Yeah Rach the horns r only there 2 prop up the halo (LMAO) our flight has been delayed due to bad weather L
Clairey x x
Okies it�s Rachel again to say that our team song is Oliver Twist�s �consider yourself�
�Consider yourself part of the
family�we�ve taken to you
so strong. It�s clear, we�re
going to get along� etc. LAAAA
And Sarah�s group motto is (apparently) going to be:
�if it smells like poo don�t eat it�
We won�t ask her how she learnt this valuable lesson�..
It�s Sarah! Just to say that my motto is the best one ever! Why eat it if it smells that bad? Common sense really! And �watch out for Peruvian chocolate cake Shaun, it might not be chocolate!�
15th July - Astrid�s input
I just realised that something quite funny (well it was at the time anyway), hadn�t been mentioned! When the plane from Houston to Lima had landed, Shaun, Miss James and Becky were all still sleeping, and people around us were starting to move to get their suitcases!!! Then they woke up and started to put their boots on with their eyes half open, half conscious of what they were doing! Then Shaun goes �Has anybody seen my 2nd boot� (or something like that anyway), and it turns out Miss James had it on her foot. And they�re supposed to be the LEADERS!
We are now waiting at the airport in Lima, but unfortunately our plane has been delayed (by at least 1 hour) due to bad weather! HELLO - the weather in Peru is supposed to be great!!!
16th July - Day 5 (Yanu Yacu Timicurro)
OK, so we arrived in Iquitos only about 40mins later than expected after flying over spectacular mountain ranges and jungle. We all stepped out of the plane to amazing weather & heat. We stepped out of the airport & found someone with a �Hobo Hideout� sign & got into taxis to race through Iquitos. We got to the hostal & found parrots in the entrance. After 3 unsuccessful trips to the shop on the corner me & Claire finally got through to Explorama even though we must�ve looked really like prats. Most of the team went out for lunch but an American guy who was stayin� in the hostal aswell came up to where we were sitting and offered us weed! We got food & hardware supplies but only realised we forgot the methane at about 9 o�clock. Crisis! (Coz we were just talkin about it) - Mrs Cosslet has multicoloured clogs. Then we had the powercut. I�m glad I wasn�t in the shower (well just comin out of it) like Sarah was - bad luck!
This morning we woke up at 7 and after taking our photo shots of the hostal we caught rickshaws (the only way to travel through Iquitos!) to the Explorama docks where a boat was waiting to take us to Yamu Yacu Timicuru where we were going to do our project phase. The cruise down the Amazon was amazing - I think more photos were took there than the rest of the trip combined. Yellow Submarine. We arrived on the river banks of the village to a great welcome from the villagers - the major of the village actually came and unloaded our packs for us. Kids half the size of us managed to carry our big packs up a mile long walkway to the main village where the kids sang songs & told poems for us. They also sang the Peruvian national anthem & asked us to sing ours which was kinda embarassing coz we had different anthems & noone seemed to know all the words to either - we ended up singing �God save the Queen� but whereas their national anthem went on for ages ours lasted only a few seconds!
Helen
17th July - Day 6
Tis moi again J Rachel! And today is actually meant to be my official diary day. Ok, where do I start�..
Right, well after our fabulous welcome (and we had to dance lol!) we started to �settle in�. Yesterday we played games with the children (tried to teach them hopskotch but they looked @ Suzanne �in disgust�). We sang the hokey kokey too, played �tag� (they caught on as soon as they knew what we were doing!) and they taught us their songs & games. Oooo yea, we had a volleyball match in which Saskia joined the �others� and we lost 5 sols! They are amazing (in my �welshy accent�) at volleyball!
So after we�d made complete fools of ourselves the people seemed to think we were very stupid and that we were all crap at volleyball hehe. Um. God no idea what to say now�..
We had minging McDougalls for tea (yay!) and slept on the gazebo in the middle of the Amazon jungle - how surreal is that?! The noises were annoying & we decided that the frogs are extremely sex-deprived. He did his stupid mating call all night! I think Shaun and Becky have had their innocent (LMAO) minds tarnished by our dirty conversations last night - yea, right! And our jokes :p
Today we built the sea-saw (which some kids are playing on) & a swing. They�re probs going to fall down after we leave but for now they�re Fine. I got a bit sunburnt on my back L (Sarah is a baboon and Suzanne is a goon).
And the most amazing part yet - we swam in the Amazon! It rained like hell today & we all stood in it & washed then Paul, Helen, Claire, Sarah, Suzanne & I went to the river to wash our stuff. A load of the kids came to, and they went swimming so we decided to join them. You could feel the mud between your toes (ew ew ew) but the water was warm and lush (another apparently welsh word!)
Shaun�s dodgy accent is still amusing everyone - �bloowday hell� (haha). I�m going now. I�m not feeling very funny today�.I think I used up all my funniness telling jokes yesterday.
Toodlepip, Rachel
P.S. Shaun needs to be mentioned again (briefly) because he calls kids stupid names such as frogs, jameaters & jameating anklebiters. Oooo and �bonny� is one of his totally stupid words too. J
P.P.S. We saw parakeets & a tiny monkey, & this old guy showed us the frog which had kept us all up last night with its mating thingy (he had killed it!) Yay! No more frog!
18th July - Day 7
Today a baby peed on me. So I decided I hate all babies. Becky/Miss Hayes just compared childbirth to �shitting a melon�. Yesterday a drunk/doped/mentally confused guy told us he was poor, tried to take our rice and offered the girls his shack.
That is all from me today,
Rachel
P.S. Sadie is winning the competition for most mozzie bites.
19th July - Day 8
Everyone is rejecting their duties as diary writers (esp Paul!) and I�ve been writing more in this than in my own journal! Well good news - the baby who peed on me hasn�t emerged yet today - maybe she vanished in the night�..yay��
Last night the dogs had a brief moment of schizophrenia and though they were wolves - very annoying for all the non-schizophrenics trying to sleep.
Oh yea, the random circles & pictures e.g. � O oOO ooo0000 ooOOo0 were drawn by a little girl in a pink dress with an affection complex - she cried when Sarah stopped hugging her!
Also, yesterday we learnt that Suzanne�s family are incested (her great great etc. grandparents were bro & sis), this explains a lot!
We went piranah fishing yesterday & caught bugger all. Suzanne broke her rod though. It was freaky how fast the bait disappeared - we are now having second thoughts about swimming in the Amazon. We also went out in the boat in the night (suicidal I know, coz the boat leaked for Christ�s sake!) to look for crocodiles. Didn�t see any though, but a sardine jumped into the boat of his own accord! We fish for piranahs & catch none, and then the stupid sardines beg to be caught! We saw a croc�s eye though, in a pondy thing behind one of the straw house/hut things.
Some of us went to see the king tree in daylight just now - if it was one of the trees in Lord of the Rings it could trample the whole forest! Bloody ginormous! Shaun, Becky & Sadie stood on a red ants nest (whoever said adults know best was deranged!) to look at a web of baby tarantulas. Then Astrid & me nearly died when something in the jungle rustled - noooo it was a big something!
We finished the playground today! (woohoo!) Shaun�s �big feet� thing has been surprisingly popular, though the sea-saw is still favourite. We finished the obstacle course & made a hopskotch too, and of course there�s the swing & climbing frame.
We got eggs from the locals for lunch - mmmm. Earlier, we were imagining foods like chocolate, cups of tea, biscuits and chips. Ok, so now I�m salivating :P I�d bets be off�..
Rachel
P.S. mmmmmmmmmmmmmm ice cream���
P.P.S. I had my first �proper� mozzie bite, & Sadie is still winning the �most bites� competition.
P.P.S. (later in the day!)
Forgot to mention that Shaun is a qualified ballet dancer. Take that as you will�..we know what we think�..
And Shaun is starting to speak proper English too - he has said �lush� for the first time. Although he looked totally shocked we are reassured that he is human after all�..and learning English�finally J
21st July - Day 10/22nd July - Day 11
It�s just gone midnight & this is just to say that we�ve finished the project phase & started having �proper� meetings. More another time,
Rachel
Day 12 Shaun
Don�t know what happened to day 11 I think it took the day off. Sat on a big boat in a big jungle on a big river. Hammocks are lush (Rach take note). Days are gonna be long if they are all like this. Camilla at the project phase proved to be a bit of a god with the hammer while Saskia and Astrid obviously belong in the Sound of Music with lots of children. Rachel works for the Horror movie industry as a super screamer and Sadie is one of the �Heathers�. As you might be able to tell Cabin fever is setting in with lots of Rambling. People are starting to surf a little bit but its not too bad. We�ve got another day and half on here so who knows what might happen.
Day 12 Paul
today was one lazy, boring day, basically we slept and eat with the occasional session of Jokes and pigs. We were so bored we even resorted to Ethiopian jokes and some really poor jokes came out to. Then we decided to quiz Shaun and found out the he was a shepard and in the navy and that all the armed forces + prisons are full of gay people. (these facts he wouldn�t of told us if he knew what sarah and rachel would say lol.) After the game/fun session it was back to food + sleep. As it has been said before we are going to be the WCE group that returns heavier than when they left.
Day 13 Shaun
Paul is now Mr Plain English. See previous entry and explanation of card games and when yesterday is.
Suzanne Monday 28th
Day 17
Have finally got round to writting in the team �journal�. Days 14 - 16 seem to have been left out so I will fill in what�s been missed:
Day 14 we arrived in Yurimaguas after our 2 day boat journey & then had to face a 7 hour combi ride on a �road� which was basically a dirt track which had the same consistency as clay due to the heavy rain storm the previous night. Very dodgy especially when there was a steep drop on one side of the road. Despite this we all managed to arrive in Tarapoto in one piece 7 hrs later, however only to find that the tourist office was no longer there! We did manage to find a nice hostel though where we spent 3 nights. Day 15 we basically spent looking around Tarapoto & tried to book the bus to Chiclayo, unfortunately there were not any buses till today. We also went white water rafting in the afternoon which was great fun despite the fact that one of the rafts broke when we got there & so we had to wait whilst the other group was rafting. Sadie, Shaun, Rachel, Paul, Sarah and myself were in the second group to go & by the time we got on the water it was getting dark! This wasn�t helped by the fact that Rachel & Sarah had take there glasses off & so couldn�t see anything anyway! However I think that a good time was had by all! Day 16 was the day that we were supposed to be getting the coach & so instead we hired a bus & went to a place called Lamas followed by a visit to a waterfall where we were able to swim. Then in the evening we went out for a pizza at a restrant where the waitress really needs to learn the meaning of service with a smile! And now it�s day 17 & we are all finally on our way to Chiclayo on a 12hr coach journey (which explains the reason why my writing is so appaling!) - all very bored but looking forward to the witchdoctor market etc when we finally arrive.
Day 17 (still)
Righty - well there isn�t much for me to say today (gotta be a first!) but I thought I�d tell you our new group motto which is something along the lines of:
Always blame �someone�.
For example, when I spilt tomato puree on Paul�s sleeping mat, I told him that �somebody� had gotten it on there�.
And when we arrived in Tarapoto, within 10 minutes of entering our room, Suzanne had lost the remote, she told me that is was �someone� though! We also managed to break our TV for a day & a night, then Suzanne gave herself an electric shock fixing it!
Also we blocked the toilet. Actually, Sarah blocked the toilet (but we were all putting the loo paper down it so we accept joint responsibility!).
We�re on the bus to Chiclayo now & Suzanne had lost her ticket (found it after 10 minutes searching - in her camera case!) To sum up, Suzanne is a baboon�..
Rachel x
Day 18 Claire�s Concentrated input
Upon arrival in Chiclayo we stood in the bus station for a bit then got taxis to the San Jos� Hostel - even though the taxi drivers decided it didn�t exist! We were all so tired we just crashed out, & woke up at 8.30 to go for sandwiches for breakfast.
Then we went to the witchdoctor market - an experience & a half! People kept trying to sell us strange objects, & we ended up buying things that we don�t understand what they do! (Ok, maybe it was just me. I bought a stone that does something at midnight, dunno what it does but apparently wild arm movements sums it up nicely)! We bought all sorts of gifts & lucky charms. I want a purple monkey. The place stank of herbs, all with a different use, & deer�s forelegs hang up at the side of most stalls. Then we wanted to go to the Lord of Sipan museum - but ended up at the sipan excavation site, with a small on-site museum. It was interesting to see the ruins though. We climbed up these hills/pyramids & Shaun found a small cave which me, Paul and Helen walked into. It was dusty, slippery & very dark - & then we turned a corner & I could see daylight - it was a tunnel! But between us and the exit was loads of huge bats! I went back to take a photo of them but they flew away. Suzanne was looking after my bag & I thought she still had it so we left it on top of the hill & some local kids brought it back for me! We went to an internet caf� which was free for the first 15 minutes!
A little something Suzanne missed out about Lamas- We were taken to a museum which we didn�t really intend on going to, then taken on a really long tour of it by the guy who works there. He spoke really fast spanish, & spent ages explaining the pictures on the wall that told us about the chances tribe & the Spanish invasion (the pictures were self-explanatory, & we learnt nothing else from what he was saying!)
It was really funny when we got to the section with all the greeny/white skinned models of locals in traditional clothing. The guy was explaining what they do, & we were cracking jokes trying to work out what he was saying! There was a series of model scenes about marriage - the day after the marriage in the church, they have the �official� wedding - where the couple kneel down infront of their parents, & are whipped by the best man! Oh yeah & for the traditional dancing costumes, the blokes hang dead birds around their necks!
Ok I think I�ve said everything I need to now - just remember, discombobulated poodles are the new black, when juxtaposed to Lamas they are the new pink! Pink! You can be my flamingo pink - it�s my favourite crayon!
Ok I�m done (writing!) now
Claire x x
Day 19 Sarah�s Story.
Well people, I�m not feeling very funny or as mentally unstable as Claire, but here it goes!
Yesterday was a day and a half. I nearly fainted in the witchdoctor market. The crappy witchdoctors saw me as a quick buck. I�m offended. God knows what they tried to sell me! A very nice man gave me a chair and fanned me apparently. Bless him.
I discovered that Shaun has a vocation as a doctor. Well done to you. At the Lord of Sipan museum we found out that Shaun is Grey, gay, Golem the gurning goat. Ok, maybe I am as mad as Claire! Let me explain�..
Shaun is grey coz he�s old.
Shaun is gay coz he�s a navy boy.
Shaun is Golem coz he looks like him.
Shaun is gurning coz he�s got more facial expressions than the amount of rice we�ve eaten (you get the picture).
Shaun is a goat coz yesterday on the hill he ran down the hill with the agility of a small mountain goat!
So there you have it. A freakshow is born!
Golem found his �precious�. The fact that it�s a pot of orange and black seeds is slightly worrying, but hey, whatever floats your boat Golem.
Well, not much more to say except Shaun�s a goon for waking us up at 7am! Ooooo and the showers give electric shocks. If we wanted to be woken up a cold shower would have done it, not a shock! Crappy hostel!
Not long to Trijillo, (however you spell it) the place nobody can say the name of. That�s all from me for now.
P.S. Shaun if you sing �Murder on the dancefloor� or do a Sophie Ellis Bextor tounge around me again I�m gonna report you to Childline for damaging my mental health.
Thank you
Sarah xxx
Day 19 30th July - Saskia
I can�t believe I am only writing in this journal now, after nearly 3 weeks! And I can�t believe how quickly the trip is going either - we�re going home in 2 weeks!
I�m having a really good time (well, I think everyone is). My fave bit so far has been the project phase. I loved playing with the children even though their games are quite boring - one of them is going round in a circle singing the same song over and over again. It never ends! The song was something like this -
En mi patio de mi escuela
Es particular
Cuando llueve se moja
Y todo los demas.
I�m not gonna translate it for you but it�s something to do with the rain. I took loads of pictures of the children cos they loved posing for the camera.
I think the part I disliked the most was the boat trip, but only because I wasn�t well for half the time. I had this really bad headache and couldn�t do anything except sleep. If it wasn�t for that stupid headache I could have sunbathed like the rest of the group! I liked watching people getting off the boat in those random little villages in the Amazon, though.
Ok, now let�s talk about today. We were awaken by Shaun at 7h cos he thought it was 8h - everyone ignored him though! Then people had cold showers because of a power cut, followed by breakfast (canned fruits + biscuits except for Shaun + Camilla who had bread, tuna and ketchup! Weirdos!) Then we got into those small yellow taxis (which beep their horn at everyone - or everything rather) to get to the bus station.
And now we are going through the Peruvian desert near the coast (on the bus) watching (or trying to) Vanilla Sky. It�s a really strange film and we can�t hear what�s being said properly so no one actually knows what is happenning. This afternoon, we are hoping to visit the Chan Chan ruins near Trujillo and we are all looking forward to a hot bath in our hotel this evening (especially Becky who missed the hot water this morning!) Well, I think that�s all for now. Will keep you up to date with the rest of today.
Saskia x x
Day 20 - 31st July
Last day of the month�okies well that was a really poor starting line. Let�s begin again:
Yesterday we went to the Chan Chan Ruins. Nope, that wasn�t right either :S
Yesterday morning we arrived in Tiujillo (or whatever it was called!) and went to the Primervara place to dump our bags. Then we wandered, ate, did bugger all and finally went to book our bus to Huaraz�..slight problem! The bus only went at 8.30pm��so we booked it & started to consider how we would tell Primervera we didn�t want their rooms�.
Then it was off to the Chan Chan Ruins. We got a mini bus/combie thing and arranged to pay the guy 50 sols (or so we thought) whilst he waited for 2 hours to drive us back. A random Peruvian woman offered to be our guide, and, being the lovely charming team that we are�..we accepted. She showed us round, demonstrated the acoustics and sang some Peruvian music. No offence to her but it was totally hilarious (we clapped very loudly when she�d finished).
Anyways when we got back in the bus (we were giving the woman a lift too) the driver guy decided that we weren�t paying enough. The woman & him had a psycho shouting match (which we didn�t follow, but Becky thoroughly enjoyed watching) and resulted in us paying about 70 sols for the minibus.
Then we explained (upon return to Primervera) that we didn�t want their rooms�..oops J. We had food in a �Caribbean� restaurant. There was no-one there except us & the total menu was chicken, beef, rice and chips. The guy had to get his bike and go buy chickens�we could hear him battering them to death in the kitchen. Well. Not really, but they were battering something.
I forgot to say that we discovered Shaun is an evil dictator who supports human sacrifice and believes if he was alive in the Chan Chan times he would be a king with 40 wives. We did try to explain that kings need an authority over their people in order to rule successfully - Shaun (not surprisingly) didn�t understand our point :P
So we are now in Huaraz after an 8/9 hour bus journey last night. Suzanne & I tried to keep Shaun awake by counting the seconds it took for him to fall asleep, and also by counting sheep. He fell asleep eventually anyways. Ok, enough writing for now.
Rachel
P.S. Still waiting for the first bitch fight�.my money�s on Becky & Astrid J