blisters aches dust and desert

above so far describes my experience of pisco

This is not to say it has not been enjoyable.

On my first day of work it was up and ready after a night sleping on a mattrass that I swear is made from hardboard. I chose to work on a project down by the sea front. What used to be a smart area is now a very dangerous place to be with rapes attatcks and stabbings on a weekly basis. The earthquake which has brought such destruction physically to Pisco has also shattered peoples lives in soo many ways. The project was to build some kitchens and canteens to feed local children attatched to the church. The church is now entiorely made out of reed matting but still has windows fitted in to the translucent walls to provide the correct celestial light. We shifted rubble all day levelling the ground which here is a hard task. Even the room from which I write in is contorted and twisted, the flor raises to a peak in the centre and the walls are splintered.

After a long day of work it was back home for the compulsory Peruvian meal of rice and meat oh and ofcourse potatoes. Then a football match between the gringos and the Peruvians. It was held out of pisco we travelled there in the boot of a car all squished in at odd angles. After the match we headed to a small bar, a beach shack made from bamboo and reeds that only sold beer and nothing else but it had hammocks fire and what they claimed was a dineosaur egg proudly displayed in the middle of the seating area surrounded by flaming tourches.

Today being Saturday has only been a half day of work, which I was pleasede with due to the stiffness of my limbs. I was working on a school. This will the first permanent structure in a yet unnamed settlement. The settlement was created out of necessity after the earthquake when people fled to the hills to avoide a tsunami. The settlement is a sprawling mass of reed shacks stretching into the desert watched over by a statue of Christ arms outstretched. The sun was beating down as we dug and scrapped pick axed and raked.

I am now off to find the centre of this deserted town that is populated by dogs and cows who wonder aimlessly picking at rubbish boney and incongorous in the desert landscape. Although it seems deserted we have been told under no circumstances to go anywhere alone so Gary and I are braving it sadly however this means no photos as it is too dangerous to take anything of worth so I hope my descriptions are vivid enough to surfice.

Best wishes to one and all

oh and congratulations to all those chemists who have now officially completed their degrees you know who you are!

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