3,000 feet up

We hiked El Morro today. Josh and I do this hike most trips. El Morro is the only mountain that peaks out of this jungle area we're in. The view is spectacular of everything around. (Thanks to Josh's fancy phone app tracker...) 8 hours later, 3,000 feet up, and about 15 miles we made it. I'm tired. The hike is always a reminder that we're in the jungle. Vines, huge trees with crazy roots, lots of bugs.

The day before though was a huge day of construction, cement was poured and Josh and I ran around like crazy with our two cameras, nice to feel like we're actually capturing a complete story, rather than one that might come together over the next 5 years.

Sunday

Everything is a big event here. The papers were signed to get the road from Moyobamba to Yantalo paved. Something that has been talked about since the first time we arrived 4 years ago. Luis was a main event and three journalists followed him around with cameras...as did Josh and I.

Josh and I spotted our favorite kid today, a little girl, Rosalita, who isn't so little anymore. She remembers us and we have massive amounts of video footage of her. We met her and her sad eyes in the police office on our first visit and later learned she and her brother had basically been abandoned. Seeing some of the other kids that used to follow us around, all so much older, makes me kind of miss them holding onto every part of me as they swarm after us around town. Filmmaking means you
have to hide behind the camera sometimes - a balance between personal connections and a safe distance in order to observe. I think I like it there, in the middle.

We had lunch at a meeting with Luis. It was more like a company picnic Peru style. Winston, an older relative of Luis's who owns an amazing restaurant, brought me special veggie food. SO nice to have people looking after you...especially when they're good cooks!!!

perfection of Peru

Got up early early this morning for a potential interview with the future mayor. I always feel bad saying, OK let's be ready to leave at 7:30, but just know we might not leave until 10:30. Oh Peru. The interview didn't happen...maybe later. Did another interview and then stopped at a tiny airport where Luis plans to land "his plane"....the plane was donated to the Foundation by

Wings of Hope. That's right, Luis got a plane and pilot donated. This is what I have to keep up with. IMPOSSIBLE, but amazing. He also thought I said we were meeting friends to go out tonight and he got all excited and wanted to come....no Luis, we're meeting friends in the morning for a hike, not to go to the club.

(PHOTO: Luis y Milagros - an amazing friend here who is learning English, but it doesn't matter b/c our charades conversations are the BEST)

After a quick stop at the construction site we're spending a day of perfection at the hotel with food and the coldest beers in the world. I can't help but find perfection here.

Meeting tonight with the Engineer, which will last 3-4 hours....I'll sneak out probably half hour in, I already made Josh and Annah sit through a meeting over drinks for an hour and a half the other night. For them just sitting and staring at some guy talking in an unknown language, for me pretending to pay attention and ask questions when itseems appropriate so it sounds like I know what is going on. Strange how good I am at that.

(PHOTO: Wuilman's interview. I think my favorite person in Peru, we bonded over making fun of each other in English / Spanish and haven't been serious since)

Peru for trip #5

Decided to re-start this, since I'm on the road again....not that I haven't been. I'm in Peru for my 5th here! Amazing to realize.

First though, I'll do a quick re-cap of where I've been since I wanted this blog to also be a record for myself of where the hell I've been.

December-January - Europe for circus

? - 3 days in Florida at Disney World for a Job with Josh

? - 4 days-ish in Chicago for a quick job acting as an excuse to see friends

June - 3 days in Canada for Cirque du Soleil filming & 2 weeks in

Vermont for amazing nothing. Of course with a stop in NYC.

Now I'm back in Peru where the second I stepped on that flight to Lima I could smell it. 5 hour flight to Miami, 5 hour flight to Lima, 5 hour layover, and 1 hour flight to Tarapoto we were stepping off the plane and were hit with the humidity and green surroundings. Waiting for our car to Moyobamba we chatted with one of the moto taxi drivers and he knew of the clinic being built, even commenting on how many volunteers from all over the world that had been showing up. Basically....everyone knows what Luis is doing!

We arrived to 22 volunteers, 3 of which we had met from a previous visit, which was a complete surprise. It hasn't rained for awhile here, which means the electricity goes in and out (electricity is hydroelectric). It went out our first night. Luckily our hotel had a generator, but it still meant water was hard to come by. After two days of travel I was ready for a shower, but all I got was 10 seconds of strong cold water, turn off and wait 5 minutes, turn back on for a 10 second spurt. Basically you better have that soap all ready! I was rather frustrated but after drying off I couldn't help admit that was the best damn show I'd ever had - anything to get travel grossness off.

The next day in the morning we filmed a pathologist dividing blood samples in her hotel room. We had actually interviewed her in Milwaukee - her story is Luis walked into her office 2 years ago, laid out the clinic plans, pointed to a room, and said, 'I need a lab, can you help me?' This is her second trip here and she is the head of the some-day-to-be lab in the clinic. Nothing like an early morning lesson on blood, a whole populations different reaction to drugs, and a new serum from sea horses that could possibly keep blood samples longer in the hot jungle. Oh how I love my "job". Then, we took the bumpy ride to Yantalo where construction on the clinic has finally started! holes, foundation, tall towers, workers with hard hats! All very exciting.