Tucume, Justin's talk, 9 mile run, El Pilon

Today Justin Spoke to all of the families at three of the Juan Mejia Baca schools.  There were nearly 3,000 people in all.  He just finished his degree in Marriage and Family Counseling.  Psychological counseling is only 3 years old in Peru, and so the simple but important principles he discussed were brand new, and very well received.  He had a lot of questions, and proposed following up with some mini workshops.

While Justing was presenting, I went with the interns to Tucume, a location with many ruins from long ago (see below).

After visiting Tucume, I was dropped off at the hotel at 3:30 and had 4 hours to get some lunch and relax at the hotel...so considering it is my last day in Chiclayo, I skipped the lunch and went for a long run.  I ran north all the way to the edge of town where the paved road turned to dirt, and the dirt road went right through a soccer game.  I stopped to watch for a minute and almost asked to join.  The make-shift field was dirt, and bricks marked the boundaries.

I continued on, and the dirt road went another 1/2 mile and then dead-ended at a farm house in the middle of hundreds of acres of rice fields. I back-tracked a bit and then took turned on another dirt road/path that lead a couple miles through the rice fields.  I could see the people working in the fields. I noticed a father, daughter and son team.  Roxanne, our tour guide at Tucume, said these people make about 25 Solos ($9.13) per day.  She said an average salary for a teacher in Peru is 400 Solas ($438.60) per month.  That gives you an idea for what these people are living on.

While running through the rice fields, I saw a couple of homes that were the size of my shed (8"X14"). They were brick with a mud/stick roof.  One was really small and only had a partial brick wall.  The other walls were stick and boards.  I didn't have to wonder if people really lived in them, because I saw laundry handing from the trees, and a very nice garden outside.

I turned around when I realized I was running through the dump.  I noticed people picking through the broken bricks, finding bricks they could take back with them.

Running back through the fields and into town was an interesting experience.  The city limits create instant noise, large crowds, and chaotic driving.  I took a slightly different route home, running through the main market.  What a crazy place.

I had my GPS watch and clocked my run at just over 9 miles.  It was a wonderful way to experience the city one last time.  My only regret is not having a camera to record:
- The dogs on the roofs
- The soccer games on dirt and cement fields
- Two 80 year old ladies walking back from the rice fields with big sacks of rice strapped to their backs (they were shocked to see a runner)
- The small shelter/houses and garden in the rice fields

Here are a few pics from Tucume:

I had been told about the hairless dogs.  Here they are.

Some kids playing in their back yard

Tow truck

Rice Fields at Tucume

With the interns on top of Purgatory Hill at Tucume.  Click here for a 360 degree tour.

Benjamin and me on top of Purgatory Hill at Tucume

Kirsten and Braden

Elise, Emily and Ashley

Our tour guide, Roxanne, is LDS.  Her husband is the bishop, and she is the young women's president.

Tour guides

Driving to Tucume. 

We noticed an English speaking group at Tucume.  Of all places, they were are group of student from Utah Valley University, about 3 miles from BYU.  Their leader, Dr. Haagan Klaus, gave us a tour of this section of uncovered ruins.  He did his dissertation here 12 years ago, and has come back with students every summer since.  It was a a real treat to learn from him, and an added bonus to get to see some of our neighbors in Peru (We don't even see Americans, let alone Utahns here.  It was really bazar.) 

Haagen Klaus - See more about what his group is doing here.

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With the UVU group.  One of them,
Lauren Coontz posted some stuff here. 

Tonight Juvissa and her husband Mario took Justin, Michael, Tessa and me to El Pilon, a fantastic restaurant that serves food from the jungle.  The food is actually prepared and sent from the jungle every two days.  (about a 12 hour drive).  Then we walked through a beautiful part of town and back to the hotel.

Plane to Lima leaves at 8:40 tomorrow.

Celebrating turing 15