lee experiences peru

Notes From Lee – June 21, 2007

I could tell you of the stones, the height, the weather, or about the architecture but
you have already seen that with a touch of a button. In today’s world one can just go by Internet and see, hear, and know all there is to know about a place one would like to visit.

But it is the fact that no machine, camera, or magazine is able to give you, no matter how well done, the interaction one has with the people, which is what really defines your experience.

Alberto

My first personal encounter was with Senor Alberto from Callao whom Jose and
Sheila have become acquainted through his taxi service. Ever since Jose and Sheila first arrived here to Callao, Alberto’s taxi service has been called upon. Day or night at a beckons call Alberto shows up with a smile and his English/Spanish dictionary and away we go. Alberto is the one to help me navigate the maze of people and systems in the Lima airport. When have you ever heard of a cabbie parking his cab and walking you personally thru the systems and placing you on the plane and insuring you that on your return he would be waiting right here in the lobby for you. That is just how Alberto is!

Yudith
Yudith is a young woman native of Cusco in her early twenties and I had the pleasure of dining with her and her sister after meeting them on the Cusco City tour. She and her sister both work in the local factory where they make and sell Alpaca clothing. Even though we had the barrier of language we managed to converse quite well. We talked about our families, our work, her boyfriend and my Sherry.

Ronald
I knew I needed to find a shoe shiner but they found me first. It was during my Sacred Valley tour that we stopped to make adobe mud bricks and my shoes were a
mess. I was promptly ushered over to the nearest park bench on the city square. The shine on my shoes was great and I knew they both worked extra hard on me. Their request for the shoe shine was fifty Sole’s ($17) and they told me the money was for their school. After a bit of negotiating I extracted the name of the school which was
Rosario Elementary and then, after assuring tthhem that I would visit the school before I left Cusco, I slipped them both a dollar for their service.

Jeauvette
Jeauvette was my CTM – Cusco City Tour Liaison. She made sure I was in the right place at the right time. She came to my hotel and personally picked me up and delivered me to the airport in Cusco to the rendezvous points for the tours. As far as I know I was her only client. It was her that I gave the task to locate Ronald’s school.

Rosario Elementary
Jeauvette located Ronald’s school and on my way to the airport she took me there. Meeting the teachers I came to find out that classes are held three times a day
(morning, afternoon, night) so that if a child is needed at home to help in the family’s pursuits, their education would not be compromised. This and most schools are public and they allow religious influence and in fact have a room dedicated for their school’s patron saint. To fulfill my promise to Ronald I made the contribution to the school to support and further education in Cusco.

Rob & Marina; Aldo & Dana
Not only have these multi-cultural couples fallen in love with each other, they have fallen in love with La Punta, Peru. They are new friends of Jose and Sheila who have opened their homes to me. They so badly wanted me to get the full experience of Peru and to know why they have fallen in love with this place that a list of places I must see and food I must taste before I go is so long I cannot possibly experience it all and they found themselves saying, “We’ll do that when you can come back with Sherry”. I don’t know if this will be but for now we will have to settle with me bringing home a local Peruvian cook book and a head full of memories.

Lee Homeward Bound