Days 9, 10 and 11

Day 9
Day 9 of our Peruvian adventure was of the more relaxing kind, at least the beginning of it. The day started with packing and last minute preparations for our further travel, and later on we had the choice of staying at the house for some relaxation or going to town for supplies or souvenirs. At 3 pm, we were picked up by two mini busses and driven to Tumbes airport which was about an hour and a half away from Mancora. We arrived at the airport with two hours to spend till our flight to Lima, but with our travel luck, our flight was two hours late. We had planned to go to Hotel Carmelo in Lima to rest for a few hours, but with a flight leaving for Cusco at 6 am and an arrival time in Lima at 1am, we found a base and slept at the airport. The whole team remained strong and supportive and it was actually quite a fun experience. At the same time, we were also all very exited to move on to a completely different Peru, Cusco, Urumbamba, the Rainbow Center and the amazing scenery around it.

By Alex


Day 10
After sleeping at Lima airport and taking an early flight to Cusco, we finally arrived in Urubamba, the place we were looking forward to the entire trip. Seeing glimpses of Cusco, the places we had been to before and having Delfina recognize us from two years ago was absolutely amazing.
It was so great to be here, we hadn’t been this excited about anything in such a long time. We kept on talking about our previous experiences, reminding each other of what happened, and getting even more excited about arriving in Cusco.
We probably can’t describe our excitement in words. We’ve been struggling quite a lot with this blog so far. It’s so difficult to find the right words.
After a nice nap, we were taken to the Rainbow Center for a short tour. Out of excitement, Ezgi actually ran up the hill, to the Rainbow Center, despite the high altitude. It was amazing seeing the rainbow again, the murals we had done, that had aged over only two years. It was indescribable, seeing everything that we had seen last year again, but with small improvements, and small changes.
Upon seeing the Rainbow Center again, then and there, we realized that this is a place we truly love and that we want to come back as volunteers. There’s just something about the Rainbow Center, the mountains surrounding it, the sunlight there and the amount of love inside those walls that is quite powerful. “it’s so magical” says Maria.
WE LOVE THIS PLACE!
We came back to the delicious chicken, rice and vegetables of Delfina. I don’t think anyone had been so excited about broccoli. Especially Maria. We had had quite a long day, and after having food and making contact with the rest of the world with a little bit of Internet, we crashed. At 8 o’clock.

Ezgi and Maria


Day 11
Today was our first day working at the Rainbow Center and it was absolutely stunning. It was way beyond anything that I expected because of my experiences at Mama Cocha. It is a lot more developed and it just shows how things can improve over a period of years. I expected the rainbow center to be outside the town and up on a hill but it was off a narrow road in the center of town. The rainbow center was an inspiring, magical and a beautiful site to see after the Mama Cocha house and just shows what the future holds for these kids. The Rainbow Center is truly a sanctuary for all of the kids and it makes me so proud to be a part of it.

It was breathtaking to see how much the community cares and it was great for us to see how much they appreciate what we are doing. The environment around town and in the center was so welcoming. I can honestly say that this is a place that I will come back to volunteer in.

The kids from the Rainbow Center are so different compared to the kids in Mama Cocha because they have had care for longer. I have seen so many videos of them from the last trip but to actually meet them was the most amazing thing I have ever seen. They have so much love for people that they just met and it made me realize that just us being their means to much to the kids.

It was supposed to be raining the entire time we were here but I suppose you could say we brought the sunshine with us. I can honestly say that this is the Peru that we are all in love with.

By: Natalie



LOTS AND LOTS OF PICTURE COMING VERY SOON...