Water for Life, Royal Tombs - Lord of Sipan, and Puruchuco Ruins

30 July 2017

Our journeys last week took us into northern Peru to a series of tiny villages near the town of Monsefu in order to turn over the first 5 of 18 wells that will provide clean water in remote and impoverished areas outside of town.

Monsefu, located on the Peruvian coast 500 miles north of Lima, is the site for our project of 18 wells.

Wells and Clean Water for Monsefu

If you lived in a village outside the town of Monsefu, this is where you and other villagers would have to go to get your drinking water.

Stream in the village of Amor de Dios near Monsefu, Peru, where villagers used to get their drinking water. The ducks didn't seem to mind sharing their water with the village.

The well projects in villages near Monsefu have been in process since January 2016, and the first wells have just come on line.

When we arrived at the first village, Amor de Dios, eager villagers greeted us. The mayor of Monsefu was also on hand to welcome us to the village. Standing above the little homes in the village was the well tower with the pump house down below.

Residents at the village of Amor de Diois, along with the mayor of Monsefu, greeted us as we arrived (well with pump house and tank tower in the background). These villagers previously pulled their drinking water out of the stream shown in the previous photo.

Gravity from the tank on top provides all the pressure that is needed to provide water to up to 100 families in the area. Each little humble home in this village is now tapped into the well with a small spigot outside their front door - the first time they have ever had running water other than the stream.

Each of the adobe and cement homes in the village now has a small spigot outside the front door where they can get their water (as opposed to scooping it out of the filthy pond like they used to do).

A few miles away was the next village of Pomape Alto. Villagers got their water out of this pond. You can see why they were grateful to get a well.

Farm animals would also drink from this pond that supplied water for dozens of local villagers.

The new well at Pomape Alto was a significant improvement over where they used to get their water.

New well at Pomape Alto

Villagers were eager to show us the water pressure outside their homes. One village had about 200 homes on their network, so they installed two tanks on top. All the spigots we checked had tremendous water pressure, thanks to gravity flow.

Sandy and I, along with the mayor and local church leaders testing the water pressure. Note the gigantic hand-woven hat, typical of this region, that the villagers gave me as a thank you.

This is a joint project between us, the municipality of Monsefu, and each village. We donated all of the materials for the 18 wells (total cost $100,000 USD), the municipality dug the wells and constructed the pump houses and towers using our materials, and the village provided labor to distribute the water and collect small user fees monthly (usually $3) in order to maintain the system. This is truly a sustainable project with lots of buy-in from the end users.

In the village of El Bordo, villagers greeted us below the new pump tower in their village.

Villagers in El Bordo greeted us at their new well.

We hired a hydrologist engineer, Oscar Castro, to inspect each well after construction to ensure water quality and required pressure/flow. He makes the initial inspections and will return over the course of the next year to ensure everything is working properly.

Inside the well pump house is the electrical distribution and water lines for the pump.  Shown here is the simple surface pump, an above-the-ground unit that cost less than $500. While this well uses a surface pump, most of the other wells use submersible pumps that fit inside the well shaft 45 feet below the surface of the ground.

Inside the pump house, the surface pump is the blue unit on the ground that pumps the water to the tank above. Gravity then supplies all the pressure that is needed to send the water for up to 100 homes. This is a simple, maintainable design. (R to L, Sandy Henrie, Oscar Castro - hydrologist, and local villager)

Villagers invited us into their homes and gave us meals at most of the places we visited (which turned into a gut-bursting experience). Here is a shot of Sandy and one of the women who fed us. Her home was very humble with a dirt floor and corrugated fiberglass ceiling, but you could feel her gratitude for the water our wells were going to provide.

Sandy and this tiny village woman who fed us as a thank you. Her home was a humble adobe with dirt floor and fiberglass ceiling, but the warmth we felt from all the villagers made up for their lack of resources.

Amid the commotion of the well delivery ceremonies, I snapped a shot of a little boy and his puppy. Little does he realize how much better his life will be with the well and the clean water that are now part of his village.

Village boy and his puppy, trying to stay out of the way during the delivery ceremony. Clean water will make a significant difference in his and every villager's life.

A Gift I Will Never Forget - A Live Rooster!

I already received an enormous hand-made hat that one village gave me as a thank you. Then, a farmer and his wife presented me with another thank you - a live rooster! I was shocked, but I graciously accepted the gift, wondering what I would do with it. 

After the formal presentation ceremony of the well, I thanked the farmer for the rooster but told him I thought I might have a problem taking it home that afternoon on the plane. Both he and his wife assured me it wouldn't be a problem to take a rooster on a jet - "En Peru, todo es posible" (In Peru, anything is possible).

Thank you gifts - my new hat and a live rooster! I will never forget that live gift!

Our hydrologist, Oscar Castro, could see my dilemma, so he offered a solution in taking the rooster home for his mother to prepare. And just like that, my new pet rooster got turned into their family's dinner!

Our hydrologist, Oscar Castro, taking my pet rooster home for his mother to prepare for dinner.

 Royal Tombs - Lord of Sipan

We had a few hours after the well deliveries to see an amazing site - the Tumbas Real de Sipan. The tomb of this ancient King of the Moche (1,700 years old) was discovered just 30 years ago, untouched by grave robbers. The treasures of this ancient burial were similar to the recovery of King Tut's tomb in terms of magnificence. It has been called the discovery of the century here in the Americas.

Royal Tombs of the Lord of Sipan. This massive museum starts on the top floor and leads downward until you reach the tomb reconstruction.

The museum starts on the third floor and leads past more gold treasures than we could believe. The museum descends floor by floor until it reaches the reconstruction of the tomb. The reconstruction presents the tomb exactly as it was found when the archaeologists unearthed it.

The tomb reconstruction - just the way archaeologists unearthed it after laying buried for 1,700 years. Note the others who were buried with the king at the same time: two women, two men, a boy, a guard, and various animals to help in the afterlife.

The court of the Lord of Sipan using recreations of the artifacts recovered from the tomb.

All the gold objects and other artifacts were recovered from the tomb and brought to the museum

Golden death mask placed over the body of the king. It is hard to believe all the gold objects recovered from the tomb.

Night Out - Time to Unwind

There are several other American and Canadian senior missionary couples in the area office with us (serving in areas such as church legal, member self-reliance, and area medical offices).

We get together occasionally for dinner with these seniors in order to share some English-speaking companionship. Last week we met for dinner at Sarcletti's Restaurant and then walked down the street to the Teatro Nacional for a special folkloric show.

Always a joy to join the other senior missionaries for dinner at Sarcletti's.

Great folkloric shows at the Teatro Nacional - costumes and dances from around Peru.

These live shows are a great deal, especially because I get the senior half-price discount because I am over 60. Hurray for aging!

Puruchuco - Ruins Right Down the Street

Peru is covered with ruins from ancient civilizations. On our day off this week, we visited ruins about 2 miles from our house.  The Puruchuco Ruins were an administrative center of the Ischmay culture and later used by the Incas.

View of the Puruchuco ruins above the museum. These ruins on the hill are closed since they are still under excavation.

Main Puruchuco Ruins - The best part about these ruins is that you could explore them, walk around inside of them, and try to find your way out of the maze.  From this view, it is hard to picture how twisted and hard it was to find our way.

The ruins, with their narrow walkways and twisting corridors, proved to be a challenge to navigate. We were often lost inside.

Unusual triangular niches were designed to hold offerings to the gods.

Peek-a-boo archways - part of the fun of this interesting ruin.

There are over 250 archaeological sites in Lima. So far, this is only the sixth one we have seen.


So, our weekend comes to an end, and it is time to return to our humanitarian work. What new adventures await us?

Freezing in the Andes, Blankets to the Rescue in Arequipa

23 July 2017

Temperatures in the Andes mountains are freezing cold right now. Five regional governments have appealed to us for help, so we have sent 7,000 blankets and 3,300 foam mattress in response to the emergency requests.

Emergency Supplies into Arequipa

As part of the deliveries of emergency supplies, all of us in the area welfare office have been sent to different mountain cities to attend delivery ceremonies. This week we attended one such ceremony in the mountain city of Arequipa in southern Peru.

One of the most beautiful cities in Peru, Arequipa sits at the foot of snow-covered Misti volcano. The weather in the city was nice, but not far away in the mountain communities, freezing winter temperatures are driving this emergency.

The city of Arequipa, sitting at 8,000 elevation, is the capital of a region that requested the blankets to send to freezing citizens living in really high elevations where winter temperatures are killing even the llamas and alpacas. 

Regional officials, local church leaders, and us all gathered for the donation ceremony at the regional government. Right after the ceremony, blankets and mattresses were loaded onto trucks to be taken to the mountain communities most in need.

Gathering together for the delivery ceremony at the regional government offices in the city of Arequipa.

The 20 bundles contained 50 wool blankets each (1,000 total for this region alone, 7,000 total throughout Peru) being sent to the mountain communities. Deliveries were being made to other regions throughout the Andes Mountains as part of the emergency.

The 4-inch foam mattresses were being donated in addition to help make the nights bearable in mountain communities, many of which are located above 14,000 feet elevation.

Foam mattresses being donated to areas most affected by the extreme winter conditions.

Trucks from the regional government loaded up the blankets and mattresses and hauled them into the mountain communities. Our partners in the regional government sent us the following shots as the supplies were being handed out in the communities most affected.

Distributing the blankets and mattresses in the mountain village of Caylloma, elevation 14,763 feet. It might be sunny, but temperatures fall well below zero at night in this region where the poor build their own homes out of rocks and mud.

Mountain residents waited patiently in line to get some of the blankets and mattresses that will help them face the coldest of nighttime temperatures.

The emergency supplies were handed out directly to the people in need, and each recipient signed a form indicating what they had received in order to make sure the shipment was handed out properly.

We felt fortunate to be able to participate in this emergency project and see the people helped through this especially difficult winter.

Around Arequipa

We had a few hours to spend in Arequipa before our flight home. What a beautiful city - cobblestone streets and colonial Spanish buildings from the 1600s. This is a city we could easily live in with its mild climate, friendly people, and beautiful architecture!

View in the Plaza de Armas (central park of the city) with the cathedral and snow-capped volcano in the background. Most amazing is the fact that palm trees can grow at this altitude and survive the winters here.

Beautiful colonial architecture throughout Arequipa gives this city a special charm.

The last time we saw such beautiful Spanish 'Plateresque' building sculptures was when we visited Spain. The Spanish influence is found through the city. This mansion, built in the early 1700s (Casa Tristan del Pozo), is a classic piece of colonial architecture.

Because Arequipa is high in the Andes Mountains, many of the residents are Quechua Indians. These woman brought one of their baby llamas (or alpacas) into town for photo ops with the tourists.

Quechua Indian women in traditional dress with their baby llama (or alpaca). Note the knit cap on the animal's fuzzy little head.

A religious procession was in progress the day we arrived. Men bearing this image of the Virgin Mary on their shoulders slowly marched down a street as part of the parade - a common practice throughout Peru.

Shot of the Plaza de Armas with its fountains, arched building facades, and even palm trees in this high-altitude city. With close to a million residents, Arequipa is still a very livable city.

Final night shot of the Arequipa Cathedral. The white stones that were used in this and many other buildings in town have given Arequipa the nickname of the 'white city'.

And so as we flew home after a successful delivery of emergency supplies in Arequipa, we wondered where the next disaster would take place. Then, we looked out of the plane's window and noticed this - a smoking volcano spewing ash and steam. Hmmm, who knows what is waiting around the corner for us!

What other surprises are waiting for us next here in Peru? 

The locals keep telling us, "En Peru, todo es posible" ("In Peru, everything is possible"). And so we march on, knowing that anything (and everything) is possible here in this amazing land of such incredible beauty.

Onward to Arequipa, the Ancient City of Caral, and the Castle of Chancay

16 July 2017

Onward - Project Arequipa Soup Kitchens

Around the world, charitable donations are sometimes diverted and sold off by greedy people. Our job is to make sure that what we donate actually makes it to the poor. Part of this involves labeling what we give as being a "donation".

We spent time this week preparing our donation to help the soup kitchen project in Arequipa. This meant that the 225 blenders and 900 large pots for our donation were labeled to help protect them from theft and help ensure they are used by those we intended. (Click here for the link to the story about the Arequipa soup kitchen project.)

Blending the Fun

Three of us went to the warehouse of Saga Falabella, a large department store chain, to label the blenders we purchased for this donation. We then spent several hours opening every one of the 225 blender boxes, applying special metal labels stating that they were a donation, then sealing them back up.

Sandy, Marshall, and Jose labeling 225 blenders in the warehouse. Labeling is key to protecting donations and helping to ensure they are used for the intended purposes.

Blenders being donated to the soup kitchens - a quality donation designed to work for years to come in the Arequipa region. We are helping 225 soup kitchens with donations designed to help improve the nutrition levels of food provided at Government-sponsored soup kitchens that serve the poor.

We applied metallic labels to the base of each blender, plus labels on each box, to help protect from theft and misuse. Although thieves could remove the labels, most are afraid to get caught with products that bear any label identifying where they came from, especially if it is a donation they have no right to sell.

We were pooped when we finally finished the job.- 225 blenders and cartons labeled in 3-1/2 hours.

Pots for the Poor

Later, we visited the plant where they are manufacturing the 900 pots for our donation to the soup kitchens. The manufacturer is stamping each pot with the donation logo. Again, this process of labeling is mostly intended to help ensure no one along the way subverts the donation and tries to resell it for personal gain.

In the pot factory with one of the 10-gallon pots being donated. We are donating 450 of the 10-gallon pots and 450 of the 5-gallon pots.

Stick-on labels do not work for pots and pans. We had the pot factory actually stamp the donation information onto the bottom of each pot.

Close-up of the stamped-on donation identification. We had to work with the manufacturer on where to put the stamp because, as seen here, part of the labeling was ruined in the manufacturing process. We decided to stamp the pots after each one was finished rather than before.

Oldest of the Old - Caral Pyramids and Archaeological Site

On our day off, we made the long journey from Lima to Caral, the oldest urban center in the Americas. Built 5,000 years ago, Caral is as old as the pyramids of Egypt. The site with its pyramids was intentionally covered with earth and rocks before being abandoned. Thus, the site slept undiscovered for the next 4,000 years until it was rediscovered in the 1940s.

Caral, site of the oldest urban center in the Americas, includes over a dozen temple pyramids that are still being uncovered.

Pyramids where everywhere in the complex, most of which were as tall as 5- and 6-story buildings. Most of the locals thought they were just naturally occurring hills. Imagine the surprise when archaeologists dug into the hills and found more than a dozen stone pyramids.

Archaeologists continue to uncover the pyramids, a job that has been ongoing since the 1940s 

This civilization predates all others in the Americas, and later groups trace their ancestry back to Caral. The Caral complex is a UNESCO world heritage site (one of 11 in Peru, including Machu Picchu), and it is visited by people from around the world.

'Circle of the Eternal Fire' at the 'Great Pyramid', one of a dozen pyramid temples at the site.

Passageway leading up onto a pyramid. Note how all the stones on the outside walls were flattened and covered with stucco. Some of the original yellow stucco is still shown near the bottom.

Incredibly, as the civilization was in its last days, the inhabitants combined their efforts to cover all the temple pyramids with many tons of dirt and rocks to hide them. This shot shows a staircase that has been excavated while the rest of the pyramid remains hidden. Before the discovery, everyone thought the pyramids were just dirt hills.

The pyramids were hidden by the last inhabitants of the site under tons of dirt and rocks. 

We and another couple hired a van to drive us the 4 hours to get to the site. The site was really hard to get into with an awful dirt road for the final 15 miles, which included having to drive through a wide river (with no bridge).

Senior missionaries Ivan and Ramona Jones from Portland joined us for this journey to this ancient site. Just getting to this remote site was an exhausting experience.

The Caral Valley is extremely fertile. Just a mile from the desolate pyramid site are lush and green fields now growing passion fruit, sugar cane, and other produce. We stopped next to a field of towering sugar cane for a photo.

Fields of sugar cane in the Caral Valley.

Castle of Chancay

On the return trip from Caral on our day off, we stopped near the ocean to visit the castle of Chancay. Built in the 1930s by a rich family from Lima, this castle is a re-creation, designed to look like an ancient castle from Europe.

Chancay Castle, home to a rich family from Lima about 80 years ago.

Chancay Castle, located about 2-hours north of Lima, was abandoned by the owners after they decided to return to Lima to live. It stayed empty for about 30 years but has now been restored as a museum and entertainment center to draw the crowds from Lima.

The castle, built in the 1930s, was recently restored after years of abandonment. It is hard to imagine a castle like this in Peru.

The castle was built on cliffs overlooking the ocean with spectacular views.

Down below the castle, we saw a group of pelicans following a fishing boat, awaiting the treat they hoped to receive as the fishermen cleaned out their catch of fish.

Pelicans waiting for a handout.

As part of the castle experience, we got to try out the throne seats. For just a few moments, we felt like royalty!

Throne chairs at Castle Chancay

Sad News - Lima Bus Crash

A few months back we took a double-decker bus tour to the top of a steep hill overlooking Lima. This week, one of those same buses was coming down the narrow, twisting road, traveling too fast, and flipped over the guard rail, killing 9 and injuring 40 more.

News photo of the bus crash - the same tour of Lima we took just a few months back.

Security video of the accident showed all the people on the top deck being thrown out of the bus as it tipped over the railing, and then they were crushed when it landed on them. We count ourselves fortunate that we were not on that bus, and we mourn those that died.

Apple Pie in Peru

Peruvians love apple pie. They pronounce 'pie' just like we do. However, they spell it differently - 'pye'. The reason for that is that the English spelling of pie is pronounced as 'pee-EH' in Spanish, which means 'foot'. Who wants to eat a foot?

'Pye Manzana' - Peruvian apple pie. 'Pie' or 'pye' is pronounced the same in both languages.

Our blog - Too many disasters?

Our daughter Chelsea wrote to us this week with something that made us laugh:

"We pray for your safety from earthquakes, floods, water shortages, steamy jungle bug diseases, and freezing llama-killing snowstorms in your Andes winters."

Oops! We hope we aren't playing up too much of the challenges and dangers of living here in Peru. We love our mission. It is actually lots of fun, but lots of hard work at the same time.


And so our weekend diversion comes to an end and we return on Monday to the work that often consumes us.