COPRODELI

Hola,

“Even when they are not around anymore, great friends inspire you to do great things”

When I found this quote yrs ago I knew it would continue to be relevant as long as I lived.

I’m not saying here that I/ we have done something great but through my very good friend Gin, who has been a human rights lawyer for the UN for many yrs mainly in Latin America we met w/ a special person here in Peru.

Her name is Ruthie Eisenberg, she works for www.facebook.com/coprodeli.us

www.coprodeliusa.org . It is an organization that builds and runs schools , med clinics, mental health clinics , job training for disadvantaged children and families.

Ruthie was so generous w/ her time and local knowledge. We rode to a part of Callao that was in very tough shape in a “psycho bus”  Picture a mini van that has been tortured and completely stuffed w/ people riding as fast as possible on a track like the Baja 1000 . Noise and chaotic traffic abound, we clipped an 18 wheeler w/ out a thought of tapping the breaks. Anna seemed to love this, she was laughing the crazier it got (a sure sign she is my kid)

We arrived at the school and were treated to a tour and many polite children. The schools coral ensemble about 18 children strong sang two special local songs just for us. 

It was just what we look for in our travels , a chance to see past the tourist spots to a small taste of a real day in a culture foreign to us. The poverty and sanitation in some parts was not unlike parts of  India we walked through. Mind you we have stayed closer to the city (Traci is on call) so we have not seen the rural side of this country.

Ruthie told Traci to get ready for some horrible gastric issues for any student who taketh a sip of water or try the local delicacy if cheviche .

We did try a local dish that was cooked , don’t know the name but the foundation for this creation was a brick of yellow potato like substance followed by a layer of guacamole colored stuff then another brick of the yellow stuff topped w/ octopus and crab all covered w/ a thin thousand island like sauce. It was good, mind you I would not put it in the weekly rotation but once a yr will work J

 If Traci doesn’t have to go to the hospital , she has a few patients in tough shape right now and probably 70% of ships population is away visiting Machu Picchu …

We plan to go swimming w/ Sea lions before departing this evening for Equator .

Best to all Capt. Ron

Still tied to the dock in Callao