It has been quite a busy 2 weeks since I landed in Lima in the beginning of June. After a few busy days in Lima, 4 trips to the airport within 5 days, and a very fast 48-hour Lima-Kimo-Lima trip, I hit the ground running with the busy volunteer season.
Last Thursday night I met a familiar team from North Carolina and headed north to the jungle – to the city of Iquitos and our Casa Girasoles home for abandoned boys named Puerto Alegria. You might remember this is the home I spent a considerable amount of time at during the 2009 and 2010 volunteer seasons. (It is the place about 30 minutes down the river from the city, with no electricity and lots of mosquitos… sound familiar?)
It is absolutely wonderful to be back with familiar faces. I was greeted with big smiles, told stories from the past 9 months, and welcomed back into the home with open arms – both literally and figuratively. The team and I spent the week playing games, doing art projects, swinging in hammocks, swimming in the river, sanding wood and mixing cement.
As I left the North Carolina group at the Iquitos airport this morning, I look forward to adventures and memories in store with the other teams that will be joining us over the next couple months.
Just 7 more days until I’m on the ground in Peru!
