Ok, Jake is Signed In. Here is Peru...

August 6, 2008

Hey, this is Jacob Lythgoe calling, wait speaking.... (am i 46 or 47?) haha anyway, we just arrived in Cusco, Peru. We have been either at an airport or on a plane for the last 24 hours, so we are all pretty wiped.

Starting at the beginning.

Dad and I went to Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix Arizona at 11:00 AM so we could catch our plane to Atlanta at 1:20PM. It was a four hour flight that we mostly spent reading or listening to music, watching Kung Fu Panda, and doing Sudokus. (By the way, dad actually started laughing, so that proves that it is actually a funny movie and i was not under any kind of influence at the time). We met up with Grandpa Lythgoe in the Atlanta International Airport (or whatever it is called). We had about a four hour wait until our midnight flight out of Georgia. Grandpa had actually arrived at 2 in the afternoon (georgia time) and we arrived at eight, so he had an additional six hours to wait!!!

We spent our time just reading, eating, and sleeping. Eventually, we got on our plane for the 6 1/2 hour flight to Lima, Peru. The flight was during the night, but they had the Chronicles of Narnia playing (the second one) so grandpa and i settled down to watch. Dad was already asleep by then :). During the Flight, there were some storms outside. I could only tell because every so often, the pitch black night woud light up with the blinding bolts of sheet lightning. It was very cool. We all slept part of the flight, and landed in Lima Peru at about 6:30 AM Lima time.Then, we had another five hour wait before our flight to Cusco, where we are now. We had to recheck our bags and go through security again, but we ate breakfast at a Dunkin´ Donutsin the airport before heading to the gate. By the way, I want to all to know that yes, i did buy a deck of cards in Lima. :) anyway, we had an hour flight to Cusco, and as we waited to collect our luggage, a group of natives started to play the peru flutes and drums, it was very cool. Then we found the guy who was supposed to meet us, and drove across town to our hotel. Courtney, the driving here is crazy, they were constantly cutting each other off and swerving and stuff, even I was starting to get a little nervous!!

Well, thats all for today, We have free internet access at this particular hotel, but i dont know about the future.

See ya later!!
Jake Lythgoe

August 7, 2008, DAY 2

Hello from Peru everybody!! Ok, it is about 11:00 PM on Thursday night here, we are at our hotl in Urubamba (or however you spell it). I am going to give quick recap of the end of yesterday that is not there.

After we got to the hotel, we went to the Plaza d´Armes and looked around in the shops. We found one shop with some very cool chess sets and some masks, great store. Anyway, we just looked round for a bit before getting dinner. We ate at a restaurant that overlooked the square. Dad had this good looking Chicken, but Grandpa Lythgoe and I had Filet Mignon blah blah bla Alpaca. Basically, it was really delicious Alpaca steak more or less, it was totally delicious. Then we looked around, but not too much because it was raining. Before we went back to the hotel, we stopped back in that shop and i bought a beautiful small chss set that was very detailed. The two teams were still black and white (kinda), but the figurines represented the Spanish Conquistadors, and the other was the Incas. Very cool. It was 25 Soles, or about 9 dollars.

As for Today:

We woke up around 6:30 so we could see more of the Plaza d´Armes before we had to meet the rest of the group at the airport at 11:00. We went into the Cathedral during thier worship services, it was cool to watch. There were some very cool painting and statues in many different alcoves, it was beautiful. The woodwork was all very inticate and detailed. Then we went and checked out the famous "12-Angled Stone" It was located in an alley that dad walked down many times during his mission. IT was a part of the original Incan Architecture (over 500 years old at least) and each block was carved perfectly to fit smoothly together with all the other stones. This one was carved with 12 corners so it was a perfect fit into its spot. Wierd. It is a very famous peice of the Incan Architecture of Peru.

Next we toured the ruins of the "temple of the sun god"known as Qorikancha. Before the Conquistadors arrived, The Incas had lined the walls with pure gold. We compared the stonework of the Spaniards versus the Incas in one of the alleys. One wall, (Incan) was very smooth and the huge stone blocks were intricatly pieced together like a puzzle. The Other side (Spaniard stonework) was rough and had uneven stones hed together by stucco. Very ugly.

We had to hurry to get to the hotel so we could get our bags ad still get to the airport by 11:00. We settled down to wait the 15 minutes until they arrived. By the time 11:30 rolled around, we were a bit worried, but we didnt think much of it. While we waited, I got a picture with these peruvian ladies. They were all at least head and shoulders shorter than me!!! Finally ( and by this time grandpa and i were nearly dead with hunger) they arrived at 3:00!!! It turned out that their plane had been cancelled because of weather, and they had to wait to get another one. No one was even sure they would be able to get to cuzco that day!!! Once they got on the plan and down to Cuzco, they still had to circle for an hour to wait for a break in the rainclouds.

When we were all together, we took a bus out to Urubamba (spelling error) where we arrived at about 8:00 ( after dinner). Dad and I got to talking with a lady named Elaina in our froup, and it turns out she is Jodies Next door neighbor!!! they go to church together!! How cool is that!! anyway, it is 11:30 and i am tired. Talk to you later!!

Love you tons!

Jake Lythgoe

August 8, 2008, DAY 3
Today was a great day. We spent the night in Urubamba, and woke up at seven to get ready for the day. We gathered as a group to eat breakfast, then we took the bus to the orphanage we were working at. It is called the Sunflower, but in español. When we got there, there were some of the cutest little kids i have ever seen!! When we got off the bus, all the kids were lined up, dressed in traditional clothes, all cultural. It was so cool, they were all lined up, and dancing while the older kids played instuments. When we walked between them, they threw flowers petals, it was so pretty. Then, all the kids suddenly starting running at us!! they all grabbed us by the hand and took us to seats around the edge of a grassy area. we took our seats, then they introduced themselves, saying their name, age and grade. There was a really cute little boy named Christpher, and he was probably the smallest one there.

After we sat down ad they introduced themselves, they treated us to three cultural dances. They were very cool to watch, and they are very good dancers. The last dance was one about the prosperity of the crops and the harvest, and it was a participational dance. They took all of us up, a few at a time, and we danced with them. They gave us these hard fruit things, and we "bowled" in a sense. We had to knock over two pins using these fruits, and it was a lot of fun, Grandpa Lythgoe and Dad were the first two guys that were picked to dance, i got some good pictures of both of them.!!
At the end of the dance, the kids all swarmed over and pulled all of us to dance together.

After the dance, they sang the Peru National Hymn, and we sang the National anthem. It was fun, they sang a lot better than Us!! then we took a tour of the orphanage, it was very organized, clean and very pretty. Then we got to work.

We had a few main work groups. One group organized the supply closets and the things we had donated, one group planted flowers and plants along the main path, one group mixed adobe bricks, and Grandpa, Dad, Todd Love and I helped fill in holes, make cement, and other odd jobs. At the end, Todd and I de-barked logs while dad and grandpa and Will love sifted dirt to get finer dirt. At the end of the day, we said goodbye to all of our new friends and returned to the Hotel to clean up. Then we went to dinner at a really good Chicken Restaurant, it was great. I ordered an Inca Kola, but I said the wrong thing!!! instead of getting the small bottle the size of a normal plastic soda bottle, I got a Huge 1 Liter bottle!! It was enormous!!! I shared with Todd Love and Jeff Cook so i wasnt overloaded on soda. :)

We decided to walk back to the hotel, it was about a mile or so, it was very beautiful weather. It gets dark around six here, it is very strange!!

It is so much fun being here, I love the people down here. All the peruvians are so nice and courteous!! Also, i have made some really good friends wit the people in our group, it is a lot of fun.

Well, i miss everyone so much!! I love you all a tone, see you soon!!!

Love,
Jake Lythgoe


August 9, 2008 Day 4

Sorry i did not realize what was up with the old barometer, i hadnt realized what was going on.

Anyway, We went back to the orphanage today and continued our work. Todd and I continued to debark the logs, Dad continued shoveling dirt, and the others continued planting, making adobe bricks, and organizing the storage closets. But, there were a few differences.

After Todd Love and I finished debarking, we started to saw these logs, but not all the way. We had to saw partway through, to a line on either side. Then, Juan Carlos would use some cool tool and break off a part of the log (lengthwise, ) so it created a small platform. Then we (and dad and grandpa and a few of the girls) started to "shuck" some bamboo poles, much like shucking corn. Except this corn was 25 feet long (or so) and we shucked them using sickles, and in mine and todds cases, machetes. (very cool blades, by the way.) we did about a hundred or so, i didnt count. :)

Well, it turned out that all of our labors had been put towards construction. We were putting a roof on the "guardhouse" next to the orphanage gate. The logs would form the outside edge, providing a solid base for the roof. Then, the bamboo poles will be laid across the logs and nailed and plastered down. Then, they will cover it with tile and put the adobe mud on top to seal it from the rain. We were a part of the whole construction process, from cutting down the trees to creating adobe bricks, firsthand.

We worked all day, and at four o clock, we had a fiesta!! We had lots of games for the kids, they had to carry a balloon from one side of the courtyard to the other between their backs. One game was basically limbo, except they were going back and forth as fast as possible, all at the same time, it was hilarious to watch!!! One kid, Jhon2 (Jhon, like john, Dos because he is the younger of two jhons.) would go, but forget to bend over. the rope would catch his throat, but he would keep walking!!! Christopher, the youngest kid, would get the funniest look of intense concentration, stick out his arms for balance, and slowly stalk towards the rope. It was especially funny because he would almost make it, then the rope would get caught on his nose. he would totally tip over backwards!!! It was awesome. Then, we went inside and had cake, because we celebrated the birthdays of 8 kids (out of 38) whose birthdays were between now and when the next group is coming. It was so much fun.

I forgot until just now, but one of the funniest parts was giving all the boys haircuts!!! We were going to cut it way short, they get a haircut twice a year, but none wanted it cut!!! so.. we used girls hair clips fo intimidation. We told them if they didnt want their hair cut, they had to wear the hair clips. I have never seen boys so eager to get their hair cut!!

Next, we tried telling them that they could have a sucker, but only after their hair was cut. It was so much fun!!!

After the fiesta, we left to return to Urubamba for dinner. We all got to split up and choose where we ate, but a ton of us went up to a hotel/restaurant. I wanted to try Cuy (guinea pig), but they ddnt have any. So i ordered an Alpaca Hamburger ( an alpaca is a very close relative of the llama, but the meat is sooooo delicious!!) THe actual name was sandwich de la Alpaca Hamberguesa. We didnt know it, but when they said Hamburger sandwich, they meant it. It had all the same stuff on it, but the burger was between to toasted pieces of bread!!! it was so cool!!

When we returned to our hotel, we tried playing some pool. It was so funny because the pool table is almost like an obese american slept in the middle, so if you hit the ball straight to the pocket, it will eventually curve. Once, it did a full u-turn without hitting any wall, and went right back to where it started!!! it was nuts. Then we asked the bartender if they had any Inca Kola (my nw favorite drink, it is like cream soda/bubble gum flavor, so good) and he said it was 5 soles, or about two dollars, for a half liter bottle. So we walked acros the street to this old lady´s shop. They didnt have any of the small Inca Kolas, so Jeff Kuck (sounds like cook, spelled kuck) and Todd Lova and I bought a 2 1/2 liter bottle for 5 Soles!!! Wow, what a difference!!! It was even bigger than the one i accdently got at the restaurant yesterday!! (see previous entry). WE only got half way through it though.

When dad walked through the front door and saw the size of the bottle, He almost went into shock!!! He about died laughing!!!

Well, it is about midnight, and i am way tired. Talk to you later!!!

Love you lots!!
Jake Lythgoe