Paracas Camping Trip! De Campamento en Paracas!

Dear friends and family, Andy and I are finally back with the kids in Chincha after a 6 week marathon fund raising effort in the US. We raised a little money, made lots of new friends, and reconnected with old friends during our stay in the US. While we didn’t raise all we needed in order to begin building our community center in Mina de Oro, we did raise enough to cover what we spent organizing the US events, to organize a camping trip to Paracas, to structure a creative workshop schedule through the end of April, to launch an integral health campaign in our community in March and at the 2 shelters in April, and to prepare an anti-violence educational training calendar in April. So, thanks again to every person who helped us make our 2 fund raising events in VA and SF a reality...thank you all!

 As you can imagine, we arrived and hit the ground running to make our camping trip to Paracas a reality and to organize trainings and campaigns. I am so happy to share with you though that all our kids are fine, healthy, and today they had their first day of school. I am even happier however to share that 19 of my kids, Andy and I went on our Paracas camping trip over the weekend and had a BLAST! We were in the middle of the desert at a beautiful beach within Paracas National Reserve surrounded by nothing but blue sky, dunes, and waves always speaking to us...it was b e a u t i f u l!!!! We took a peaceful boat ride (the kids' first ever) to Ballestas Islands and saw sea lions, South American Penguins, sea stars, extraordinary rock formations, and thousands of incredible birds of so many different kinds. The beauty and diversity in Ballestas Islands amazed all of us, especially my kids and while I can write a book on this camping adventure alone, I'll let the images tell you about the special moments the kids, Andy and I lived in Paracas.....Enjoy these fantastic pictures! A big thanks to Harold Zevallos for getting us reduced-priced tickets to the boat ride, we and the kids really appreciated it! Thanks also to Mrs. Cespedes, head of the reserve, for giving us access to the reserve.

Queridos familiares y amigos, Andy y yo regresamos a Chincha hace unos dias despues de 6 intensas semanas trabajando duro para recaudar fondos que nos ayuden a sacar adelante nuestros planes para este 2011. Fue lindo para nosotros poder conocer nuevos amigos y reconectar con viejos amigos durante nuestra maratonica carrera recauda fondos. Bueno, mientras que no recaudamos lo que necesitabamos recaudar para poder comprar un terreno e inciar la construccion de nuestro centro cultural aqui en Mina de Oro, si recaudamos suficiente como para hacer realidad este maravilloso viaje a Paracas, organizar una campaña de salud gratuita a fines de marzo y principios de abril en nuestra comunidad y en los dos albergues con los que trabajamos, y crear un calendario de talleres y capacitacion educativa anti-violencia hasta fines de abril. Asi que gracias a todas las personas que nos ayudaron a hacer nuestros dos eventos recauda fondos en VA, y SF una realidad!

 Como imaginaran tuvimos que ponernos a trabajar de inmediato para hacer realidad nuestro viaje de campamento a Paracas. Los chicos estaban muy entusiasmados sobre el viaje y me llena de felicidad contarles que nuestro viaje de campamento fue PRECIOSO! Preparamos todo y nos fuimos los chicos y yo rumbo a Paracas....una vez alla tomamos un lindo viaje en bote (el primero para los chicos) a las islas Ballestas y vimos playas llenas de lobos marinos, pinguinos Sud Americanos, formaciones rocosas increibles, preciosas estrellas de mar, el candelabro, y miles y miles de extraordinarias aves de diferentes clases.....realmente el viaje en bote fue la mejor manera de iniciar nuestra aventura. Luego del viaje en bote nos fuimos a la Reserva Nacional De Paracas para poder armar nuestro campamento en una playa muy linda en medio del desierto dotada con un cielo celeste impecable. Fue toda una aventura este viaje y aunque yo podria escribir muchas cosas, prefiero dejarles las imagenes para que ellas les cuenten lo especial de nuestros momentos en Paracas....Disfruten estas maravillosas imagenes! Muchas Gracias a Harold Zevallos por ayudarnos a conseguir el paseo en bote a un precio reducido, la verdad nos encanto y lo agradecemos muchisimo! Gracias tambien a la Sra. Cespedes, jefe de la Reserva, por darnos acceso a la reserva.

 Kids looking at Candelabro (giant geoglyph)...Chicos viendo el candelabro (una figura gigante)

 Meeting with kids the day we arrived in Chincha! Reunion con chicos el dia que llegamos!

Meeting with parents 2 days before the trip...Reunion con papas 2 dias antes del viaje

Meeting with kids 2 days before the trip...reunion con chicos 2 dias antes del viaje

 Andy happily pealing peas in preparation for our Paracas trip...

 Meeting with kids & parents to go over rules and questions.Hablando con papas y chicos antes del viaje

 On our way to Paracas...camino a Paracas

 On boat ride: kids watching attentively...en paseo en bote viendo todo con atencion

 Lobos Marinos...sea lions

 Penguins & Pelicans...pelicanos y pinguinos

 Playa de lobos marinos...sea lion beach

 arriving at our camp site...llegando a nuestro campamento

 Seleccionando un lugar para acampar...choosing a spot to camp

 Andy and the boys putting the tents together....Andy y chicos armando las tiendas

 the kids cleaning the area before tents went up...limpiando el area para poner tiendas de campanha

 The girls enjoying each other...las chicas disfrutando juntas

 al agua.......all the kids ready to go in the water

 y Carnaval se ha dicho! kids playing Carnaval...throwing water at each other

 Enjoying the water....

 Lunch time...Jo cutting a watermelon ...Jo ayudando a repartir sandia a todos para refrescarnos

 Kids REALLY enjoying this rock formation full of life! They spent hours there!

 next morning back at the rock...todos de vuelta a las rocas...

 Yenni corriendo cuesta bajo...

 Ton atrapando mui muis y buscando piedritas...looking for stones and mui muis

 guys exploring and looking for fish ...

 Muchachos explorando y buscando vida marina

 Angelo chiquito corriendo en la orilla

 ya cae la tarde en las rocas....

 our camp site...nuestro campamento en medio del desierto en una playa muy bonita

 carrera en la orilla....racing on the beach

 CARNAVAL!!!!!! the kids and I making sure no one remained dry

 ji ji...i loved this part....todos pasandola bien en el agua

 y mas aguaaaa...and more water....CARNAVALLLLL

 the kids and I hiking up the dunes around...chicos y yo explorando los cerros que nos rodeaban

 climbing up dunes on a very HOT morning....escalando cerros en una manana MUY calurosa

 view from our camp site....la vista desde nuestro capamento

 llegando a la cima de nuestro primer cerro...our first dune conquered :)

 Us crossing the desert to climb a higher mountain...todos cruzando desierto para escalar un cerro mas alto

 regresando a nuestro campamento...returning to our camp site

 and back to the water!!! Joel....AL AGUA!!! ji ji

 todos ya mojados y refrescados....all of us in the water very refreshed

 Karina, Cathy and the kids helping us cook....Karina y chicos ayudando a cocinar...gracias Karina!,

 Yenni, Mirtha y Camila corriendo cuesta abajo...girls running down the dunes

 Yenni, Mirtha & Erickson looking beautiful in their tent at sunset ...ninos hermosos al atardecer en su tienda

 despidiendonos de nuestro campamento... listos pra regresar

 Saying farewell to our camp site and getting ready to return home

 afternoon Soccer match....partido en la tarde

 Karina otra vez ayudandonos a preparar los alimentos....Karina again helping us prepare meals...

 Having dinner...soup in a cup....cena en campamento...Chupe de pallares en posillo....

 Asegurandome que todos coman la cena....

 Our camp site......nuestras tiendas....
hay muchas fotos mas..veanlas en nuestro FB!!!
check out way more Paraca pictures on LCDM's FB

!Hasta la proxima entrada! Until next entry! Mucha luz , buena energia, salud y calidez para ustedes!
Good energy, light, health and warmth to each of you out there! Mayten

Thank You San Francisco! ¡Gracias SF!

 

Dear Friends,

Last weekend we had our long-awaited cultural fundraising event in San Francisco! It was a lot of fun and a lot of work to put everything together, but thanks to a lot of help we were able to make it happen. Great food, lively performances, fun intimate moments, and lots of interesting conversations were part of this special evening put together with lots of love. De Rompe y Raja, an amazing Peruvian Cultural Association from the Bay area was in charge of our entertainment for the evening and their cajon and stepping opening performance gave our event the perfect tone. This group of singers, dancers and musicians did a fantastic job introducing everyone to the sounds and rhythms of Coastal Peru throughout the evening. They can really put on a mind blowing show! Please check them out at www.derompeyraja.org.

Queridos amigos, este sabado pasado por fin llego el dia de celebrar nuestro evento recauda fondos en San Francisco. Fue mucho trabajo el organizarlo pero gracias a mucha ayuda pudimos hacerlo realidad y divertirnos mucho esa noche. Buena comida, excelente musica y danzas en vivo, momentos super lindos, y muchas conversaciones con nuevos amigos fueron parte de esta noche tan especial para nosotros. De Rompe y Raja, una asociacion cultural Peruana de esa area estuvo encargada de llenar la noche de sonidos y ritmos costenos Peruanos y que maravilloso trabajo hicieron todos los miembros de esta agrupacion. Les invito a que conozcan su trabajo www.derompeyraja.org...son excelentes! Gracias Pedro!

Our dear friend Mumu was also part of the program delivering a beautiful dance piece that moved me to tears. I saw all my girls moving with and in Mumu. Thank you Mumu! We love you!
Our friends from Dreamtime Circus and from the Convent Collective were such a special part of this evening helping us organize different aspects of the event and performing at the after party.
Sophia our key lead event coordinator who worked tirelessly and with every ounce of love she had to make the event happen was essential in the realization of this event. Thank you Sophia for all your work, love, friendship and energy!

Ilya, meeting you was special and seeing you run around doing whatever it took to help us really means a lot to me. I'll never forget your kindness and I'm grateful to life for bringing you and Sophia together.
Chris and Savannah thanks for your help setting up the convent for the evening, performing at the after party, and sharing your experience in Chincha during the main program. Alex thanks for making our event and coming to help chop veggies! Karen, thank you for coming to the event and talking about us to all your friends! Tom, thank you for your kind donation...we were sorry we couldn't thank you in person but we are grateful to know that our work is still in your mind and intention. Thanks for your support Tom and all Dream time Circus friends! We love you and seeing you again in your neck of the woods was almost surreal and lovely :)
Convent Collective friends, thank you for opening your house and sharing your space with us. Nothing would have happened without your help and support...gracias!

We also want to thank Angie and Keely (Sophia's friends) for all their amazing help in the kitchen preparing our Peruvian dinner. Andy was certainly lucky to have you both ladies! Thank you SOOO much! Finally, I want to thank Carlos from Mi Lindo Peru restaurant for donating the dessert we served, Jose from Crazy Copy for donating the printing of programs and tickets, Carlos from Peruvian Produce distributors for donating the purple corn and corn to make canchita, and Inkas restaurant for donating a pan of rice. All of you helped us make our event become a reality and I couldn't thank you enough! Gracias a todos ustedes!

I certainly enjoyed the evening and speaking to many new friends made that night. Andy and I left San Francisco feeling like we had a new group of friends there and we are grateful for your support and friendship. I hope you enjoy the images on this entry and decide to continue getting to know our work and our community in Chincha. thank you and enjoy! Mayten

De Rompe y Raja making great music for us!

De Rompe y Raja girls gracefully dancing a festejo

Fox showing off one of our raffle items

Dani helping us model an alpaca scarf and a bag during our raffle

me announcing the winning ticket number....

and he took it!!!

Savannah also helping display our raffle items

My friend Yasushi helping me pick another raffle winner

she wonnnnnn :)

Chris from Dream Time sharing his experience working with us in Chincha. Thanks Chris!

Dinner time!!!!

We had lots of liquid possibilities.....

Ilya and Meredith helping us serve dessert ...lucuma ice cream which was a hit!

Mumu dancing beautifully during her performance

De Rompe y Raja dancers showing a different dance form (Peruvian Waltz)

Pedro Rosales De Rompe y Raja's director speaking to the audience about their work in SF

Gaby Chiroma from De Rompe y Raja inviting audience to try a few Peruvian moves with her and her girls

dancers teaching us how to move

Audience moving to Peruvian music

Chris & Savannah from Dream Time performing at the after party

Mumu performing at the after party

Alex & Mumu performing together at the after party

Andy and I taking a moment at the after party to look at the moon and stars and feel grateful

Ilya and the Future Simple Project playing at the after party...thanks guys!

Thanks to everyone who attended the SF event. I know there are plenty of interesting things going on in your city, so your support means a lot to me and I hope some of the new friends and connections I have made in San Francisco will prove to be lasting ones. We are looking forward seeing you all the next time we are in town, hopefully to do another event even better than this one!

San Francisco Event - Sat. Feb. 12th! Evento en San Francisco, Sab. Feb. 12th! COME ALL! ¡VENGAN TODOS!

Dear friends! We are now in San Francisco excited beyond measure about hosting our event in this FANTASTIC city! This Saturday, February 12th from 7pm - 11pm we'll have an amazing Peruvian Cultural Fundraising event at The Convent Artist Collective at 660 Oak St (btw Webster & Fillmore - 22 & 71 leave you steps away). Exciting Afro-Peruvian music and dance performances will be provided by De Rompe y Raja, a well recognized Afro-Peruvian Cultural group in San Francisco! We will also give you a delicious Peruvian dinner and a courtesy drink all for just $30!!!! Just by attending and enjoying a fabulous evening you'll help us raise funds we desperately need to continue our work in Chincha.

Can't come to the main event? Then come to our AFTER PARTY from 11pm to 1am! You'll get mind blowing music, fire performances, live music performance, great roof top ambiance, and the chance to meet creative artists and path makers from all over the world all for less than $10!!

 Auction Item: Nazca Lines Ceramic/Hand-Painted 3 Bowl set

Queridos amigos, estamos en San Francisco preparando todo para nuestro evento este Sabado, Feb. 12 a las 7pm en The Convent - 660 Oak St (entre Fillmore y Webster -buses 22 y 77 los deja a solo pasos). Esta ciudad es INCREIBLE y la verdad esperamos que todos ustedes se contagien de esta energia maravillosa y vengan a nuestro evento este Sabado! De Rompe y Raja, una organizacion Culltural Peruana que se especializa en sonidos y ritmos de la costa del Peru se encargara de llenar la noche de musica y danzas Afro-Peruanas en vivo. Les ofreceremos tambien una deliciosa cena Peruana y una bebida de cortesia, todo por solo $30! Con su entrada cada uno de ustedes nos ayudara a continuar nuestro trabajo en Chincha, Peru y llevar salud a menores de bajos recursos. La salud es un regalo enorme y espero ustedes nos ayuden a darla viniendo a nuestro evento este Sabado, 12.

No puedes venir al evento principal? Entonces VEN a nuestro AFTER PARTY de 11pm a 1am donde tendran musica, presentaciones por artistas que manejan fuego, un ambiente espectacular en la terraza con vista a la ciudad, la oportunidad de conocer artistas de todas partes, y mucho mucho mas todo por menos de $10! LOS ESPERO!!!

Auction Item: Traditional Andean Tapestry from Cusco dyed with plants & stones

I sincerely hope you'll join us on Saturday knowing that what you are really giving is a bit of health for kids in Chincha who live in poverty, violence and negligence. THANK YOU!!!!!

Gracias por ayudarnos a continuar dando salud a nuestros amados ninos y chicas en los dos albergues con los que trabajamos. Los espero este Sabado 12 amigos con mucho amor y entusiasmo! Hasta pronto! Mayten