Better Boy and Rugged Garden

Michael is much better today. He has got his bounce back and is playing and being naughty. I love it. It is always worrying when he is ill and fever especially, we kept and eye on his temperature and it never got really high like last time he was ill. I am really glad we bought a thermometer, it's been really reassuring. He isn't eating much yet but is clearly better by the minute.



He did surprise me in the middle of the worst bit of his illness. Obviously he has been very thirsty, what with loosing liquids at the top and bottom ends and so we have been giving him as much to drink as he will take. We have even gone back to using a baby cup with a lid and spout to feed him so he doesn't dribble it on his clothes and have to be changed so often. I was giving him he rehydration drink, little by little to be careful and in one of his breathers Mike just grabbed the cup with both hands took it to his mouth and downed the rest of it without pausing. Usually we have a whole power battle as Michael wants me to give him drinks and will hide his hands behind his back to make me hold the cup for him. He never wants to tip his head back to make the drink pour properly. He pushes and pushes forwards making it very hard to get the drink to him. This time he did none of that, he did everything perfectly. So it seems Michael is more capable than he makes out.

We bought a big rug to go on the bedroom floor which we have been cleaning in the garden. Michael and Rocio love to play there on sunny afternoons

Sunblock, Miguel's Birthday and sickness

Michael has started to get a bit sunburnt on his cheeks so we bought sun block for him I think it is factor 5000.



We went to our friend Miguel's birthday party. Here he is with his Mum and Dad



We had a good time there with talking, laughter and big pieces of cake but I'm sorry to say the most memorable part for me was Michael's projectile vomiting. He has only rarely been sick in his life but he really seems to have got the hang of it. It really came out like a fountain, all over my jumper. The poor thing looked a bit surprised and we went home early. Mike is quite ill and he was sick three more times in the evening and three more times in the morning (I'm running out of clean clothes) before we took him to the doctor's. No messing about this time. We have learnt from our previous experiences when Mike was ill and we went straight to the private doctor and spent 30 Soles or about 7 pounds on a consultation. The good doctor gave us a prescription for about 4 different medicines, three of which we still had (in date) from last time and now Mike is back on a medicine routine, morning noon and night.Here he is taking his rehydration medicine, which he loves



He is not nearly as ill as he was last time and seems to be getting slowly better. No more sickness and he continues to feed well and drink a lot. He is a bit weak and sleepy but wakes up and plays when he can.

Chocolate Face and hair cut

Rocio is getting on very well in her Food Industry course. She has made marmalade, Manjar, butter, yoghurt cakes and other things and brought them home for me.
Michael particularly liked the chocolate fudge.
Every little boy should have a chocolate face photo published on the web I think.



You can see however how long Michael's hair was getting and how sweaty he gets. SO we decided to give him a hair cut. We tried to hold him still in the garden whilst I attacked him with my shaver. He wasn't scared of the shaver but he caused a lot of fuss because I wouldn't give him a go with it.





He ended up quite smart apart from the bit where I had the shaver on the wrong setting and shaved a bald patch on the side of his head (Ooops) and you can see the spot he has always had on the top of his head much more now.

New student and Wedding

Michael often goes with Rocio to her Food Industry classes. The teachers don't mind and the other students really like him there I think.I don't really know what they get up to there as I'm never with them but the teacher has said Michael is like a new student.





The other big event recently was cousin Luis' wedding to Fortu (Fortunata?). Here he is with his new bride
You can see my Uncle Adam's orchestra in the background, the one that played at my wedding. They were only one of the two orchestras playing for the event.



They hired a huge space for the party which looks quite empty here as all the guests were lined up around the edges. Rocio, Bob and I went along and despite me suffering from more and more tooth ache and Bob getting heat stroke and having to go home early I think we had a fine time. After all the formal wlatzing and the amazing present giving ceremony (So much furniture being danced around the arena, twice, before being presented to the waiting couple.) they go into the seriuous drinking and dancing. The event turned into something like a rock concert except with the two orchestras providing the music, sometimes with a singer. There was a sea of broken glass on the floor from many many broken beer bottles, a huge crowd of people, many more than had been at the formal waltzing.



Unfortunately Rocio's camera phone went flat, a constant problem these days, so I didn't get many photos or videos. I am really sorry I didn't video the young girl, maybe 10 years old who sang with the orchestra backing her in front of the crowd on the huge stage. She was wonderful and very confident.
We went to a neighbours house for the after party where there was more beer drinking and coca leaf chewing. I only took part in the chewing. I've chewed coca a few times her in Peru but it's not really for me. This time though with my tooth ache getting much worse I was chewing for medicinal purposes, honest. If you chew coca with something called jipto (Might be the wrong spelling I've never seen it written) then your lips can go a bit numb. So I was putting the chewed leaves on my sore tooth, which worked very well, better than the pain killers I had been taking all day. I still can't say I noticed any stimulant effect though, coffee is a much stronger drug.
Michael was having a great time. We were all dancing Santiago, the next of the yearly round of traditional festivals and music and dance which will start on Michael's birthday in July. Michael was in my arms bouncing and punching the air and "huapiendo" or perhaps in English, Whooping, just as you are supposed to do.



He danced and sang and danced and sang and suddenly fell asleep. Nothing disturbed him then until we had already gone home.



It think Michael already has a strong grasp of Peruvian culture.

Huaytapallana

This will be another blog with little about Michael in it.
So here's a bonus picture of the wonderful boy who still loves whacking things with his big white stick.



Bob is getting very near the end of his time in Peru now. He has about 2 weeks until we go to Lima to put him on a plane for Europe. So we have to get some real tourism done now. We decided that going up the local hills around Huancayo wasn't enough for us and we needed more altitude and a glacier.
We booked a tour with a group and a local guide to visit Huaytapallana. This is about 20 Km from Huancayo and a lot higher up. I remember being quite ill when we arrived in Huancayo and even when I was better it was difficult to breathe here. Now I feel fine. In fact I am much fitter and more active here than I ever am in England. I have no problem running when I want to now. So I felt Bob and I were ready for going up higher.
We met the group and guide early in the morning and I bought a warm hat and we set off in the minibus for the drive up to "Virgen de las nieves" The Virgin of the Snows, a small trout restaurant and the highest you can go by vehicle.
Here's Bob looking ready for action.



Here we parked up and the guide led us up the first and steepest climb of the day. I'm sure he does this on purpose as he doesn't get to choose who goes on the tours he has to accept whoever the travel agents book fir him. By the time we got to the top of the climb we had already lost some of the group who had realised that walking at altitude is hard. They would spend all day in the restaurant waiting for us. We did still have one lady with us who had come straight from sea level in Lima and had no warm clothes and quite high heeled boots on. She decided to wait for us at the top of the first climb but go no further. Her two boys carried on with us.
At the top of the first climb is the ceremony site and our first view of the glacier and snow caps.



We were told by the guide that the site is used by three different types of people for pagan rituals. Brujos (witches) Chamanes (Shamans) and Layas (Don't know a translation for this.) The Brujos come to do magic, cast spells and things like that and there are very very few of them (Though there are thousands in Lima apparently), the Chamanes come to do healing ceremonies and try to cure the sick and the Layas are intermediaries between humans and nature and come to pay respects to nature and the mountains. He said we should not confuse the three distinct types of people but we should not disrespect anyone we found there no matter what their beliefs. We did in fact fid a group of people there doing a ceremony they included two saxophone players and a violinist. Huancayo does seem to be the centre for saxophone music for Peru. It was wonderful to hear the saxophones echoing around the mountains and the violin player was great. I did have a word with him, his name is Aurelio and he would be willing to teach me violin. I have his address and I'll try to arrange something soon.
We went on down and up and up and down and up an UP. Past beautiful mineral filled lakes



Every step getting less and less to breathe. Despite being acclimatised to Huancayo at 3270 meters 10,700 feet we were all (except the guide) struggling hard here at around 5000 meters 16,400 feet and still going up. After much pain and beautiful views we got to the foot of the glacier where we posed with the wall of ice.



and the guide set up ropes for us to scale the side and get ourselves on top.Here's Bob in perhaps his hardest moments. Not that I suffered any less



I did have a moment climbing the first rope where I reached my limits and perhaps was about to pass out. I didn't really know where I was and I was trying to call the guide for help but couldn't think of the words. I made it though and the top of the glacier is just so beautiful. We were told we were at about 5150 meters or 16,900 feet above sea level, this coincidentally is the height of Everest base camp in Tibet. A personal record for me. The peak of the mountain was still above us and it is possible to book a two day tour with mountain guide and climbing equipment to get to the very peak. You climb to the glacier one day and camp overnight (-20 centigrade perhaps -4 Fahrenheit) and get up a t 2 in the morning to climb to see sunrise from the peak. I haven't yet decided to do it.
We sat around the snowman thoughtfully made for us by someone else





and I ate the food I had been fantasising about all day. Fruit juice, avocado, spicy crisps, cheese sandwiches and chocolate. Again like on our previous climb one of the best meals of my life. We took our photos around the snowman and thought about climbing higher where the glacier tilts up onto the mountain side so we could slide down. Really there was no way I was capable at that time so we set off for the long walk down again. Everyone was tired on the way down and getting very slow. Apart that is from the bits where you could slide!



The two small boys were very tired and the guide helped them as much as he could. Bob and I were tired but both felt that it was better for us to plod on than keep stopping for rests. We went off ahead and had huge rests at the top of the climbs waiting for the others. We could hear the musicians in the ceremony still playing as we approached them again. We were going to go back to meet them again when we found the woman who had said she would wait for us. She had decided not to wait but to follow us, had wandered off the path and tried to climb the wrong mountain on her own, she had fallen "a mountain of times" as she said and was stuck. Bob valiantly went to rescue her and was left her on the path waiting for the guide to catch up. There was no way I was going to carry her off the mountain.
At the ceremony site we were just in time to catch the last notes of the music for the ceremony



and we watched the saxophone players go off down the mountain still playing. We sat and waited for all the others to arrive and then went down to the restaurant meeting a Llama on the way



In the restaurant Bob had the trout he had ordered and we met the musician again in the restaurant and sat with them to eat. I was feeling awful by this time and could barely finish my food. I was desperate to get back in the bus and get back to a normal altitude. I took my pain killers for my screeching headache and waited. Eventually we all dozed in the bus on the way back to reality.

Bad Birthday Party

Rocio Mike and I went to a birthday party for one of Rocio's friend's one year old girl. It started out very nice really. We were in her house with lots of other parents and their children. Also our friend Flor was there. She is a blind lady who sells candles and sweets and other things outside the cathedral here in Huancayo. There were lots of sweets and biscuits to eat and lots of talking and Michael was crawling round the room visiting everyone. He's such a charmer.

Then the clown arrived with a huge sound system and set up and put on LOUD dance music and shouted though his microphone to get the kids organised for his show. At one point Michael was crawling on the floor and the clown walked backwards and nearly trod on Mike's hands. I rescued him in time of course but I didn't appreciate the clown telling me to "Watch out watch out watch out!" Rather I guess he ought to be aware of little children in his job.
Michael was quite interested in what the clown was doing but got completely ignored by him. The games and talking were all to the older boys and girls.



The clowns show consisted mostly of getting the children to dance to the music one after another so they could be judged and then getting them to fetch items he called out from their mothers, ear rings, hand bags, high heeled shoes etc. These he refused to give back until the mothers danced to him to fetch them. He of course chose the sexy music for them to dance to.
Here he is...




Then he held a sexy dance contest for the mothers after checking which of them were single and saved he favourite mother till last for a special dance with him. The children were by this time forgotten and
wandered off (Luckily as it turned out).

The boring show and pounding music were putting Rocio and Mike and I to sleep so we snoozed on the settee as the show went on with some magic that involved children, flames and a plastic bottle of pure alcohol. I wasn't paying much attention until the child dropped the bottle and we suddenly had the whole of the floor in front of us on fire. The child's hands were briefly on fire as I remember and there was no way for Rocio, Michael, Flor or myself to get off the settee for the flames. There seemed to be moments when the floor was covered with flames and moments when it was just the bottle burning and I was panicking but thinking of throwing my coat over the bottle. That was when the stupid clown would kick the burning melting bottle of alcohol and the floor of flames would return. He did that several times, I don't know why. I found myself trying to keep between the flames and Rocio with Michael but I don't know what I was thinking I would do really, perhaps wave my arms at the flames until they went away.
Eventually they bottle went out and the clowns show went on! The music had never been turned off and he just continued singing along with silly songs. I couldn't believe that he made no comment about nearly burning us (My shoes are in fact a little burnt) and no-one stopped him, broke and bones or even threw him out.
We left then and my only regret about that is we didn't check that Flor was all right.
And what would have happened if the floor of the room had still had a group of children sitting on it as it had been just a few minutes before? I'm still in shock and I'm still very angry about this.
I am so sorry we bothered to go. My wife and my little boy deserve better. They should never be in such a dangerous place.

Immunisations and little boys

We took Michael to the local health post recently to have him weighed and measured. We are constantly being told that he is under weight or over weight or whatever. Eventually it gets worrying. It is part of the culture here to give unwanted and unneeded advice to parents. Women in the street will often tell me that my baby is cold or suffering from flu or falling or whatever occurs to them. All of this advice is in the form of direct orders to me which I always take badly. I don't respond well to strangers in the street shouting "Put his hat on he's really cold" especially when he isn't. But it doesn't end and so eventually we took him for and official weighing. At the health post we confused them a little as I don't think they had ever had foreigners registering their children before and they couldn't quite understand that I don't have a Peruvian ID card, but they were very kind and we got it sorted out.
Next problem was they really wanted Michael's health records, which he has but of course they are in English. So they were a bit upset that he had never had any health care, although of course he has, and that he has never had any immunisations although of course he has. Still medical language in both countries is almost the same so we managed to translate Michael's immunisation records and compare the UK plan with the Peruvian plan and put him on track for his booster shots in a couple of months time.
Whilst waiting to go and get him weighed we sat on benches outside and met a mother and her little boy Benjamin waiting for their health check. Benjamin was like another little Michael and they got on well together in a "Fighting over a nail in the bench" sort of way. Nothing like Michael plays with little girls, his cousin Kerly for example but all fun for them both.
Can you tell which is which?



So we got him officially wieghed and put his records on his British and Peruvian weight and height charts and what a surprise he is well within the healthy zone by Peruvian standards and almost exactly average for his age by British standards. So nothing to worry about.

Morenadas

It's Morenada season now in Huancayo. This is one of the round of dances that happen every year. This one is my favourite. As far as I can make out it remembers the time when the Spanish brought black slaves from Africa to Peru and made them slave drivers of the local population. The men (and at least one woman) dress up in black face masks, jackets and big leather boots and dance around the streets being menacing with whips.

Here is Michael practising his whipping skills



and here I am getting ready to take part. What me miss out on spending time with drunk men and their whips? No way !



Did you notice Rocio and Michael lurking at the edge?

Here I am with cousin Jose a local policeman




Here I am with my mask on and the requisite bottle of Peruvian beer.




So after a day of disorganisation and much beer drinking by all except me and Michael. I finally got something like the right costume together. That's Leather boots, jodhpurs, shirt and tie, Blazer, formal hat with feathers in, Headscarf to cover the hat and all important large whip and black mask. First order of the day was of course formal beer drinking and then marching/dancing/menacing our way into the main fiesta area. This is when I found out the disadvantages of wearing a thick leather mask with a very small mouth hole and trying to dance and menace at high altitude. It was hot, sweaty and very hard to breath but you do what you can.
In the fiesta was a band of trumpeters and drums to play for us as we danced and whipped the ground. I really love this music about all other Peruvian traditional music. It is wild and fierce and suits the slave drivers perfectly. Push the play button to hear a small extract.




I really would love to be playing the music next time. Then we had more beer and the whipping contests started. I'm not sure when I agreed to take part in this bit but a colleague in a mask grabbed me as partner and we lined up with the rest to take our turns fighting with the whips accompanied by the trumpet band. I must say it was exciting and painful and even though we were only playing (some of the other really went for it and had to be separated) I was glad when it was over.I got out of the way as quickly as I could and went over to the band to remove my mask and try to breathe, to be received with a special round of applause when they noticed that I'm a gringo!
Then, after more beer and menacing the crowd we danced back,uphill, to almost outside our house for the climbing contest, and more beer.
The men had put up a huge pole in the street with fruit and beer at the very top. This was much taller than the two story houses around and quite thin. There was much noise and beer and trumpeting and a few men tried to climb the pole for the beer. It was getting quite dark and raining by this time but one man did get to the top, threw fruit down onto the crowd and dropped a beer crate onto the head of a woman below who was not paying attention. I have asked several people since how the woman is but no-one knows, she must be alright I guess. More formal drinking and informal drinking and dancing and whipping and general chaos after this but I snuck off to sit inside away from the rain.

Here are Bob and Danny inside with whips and beer. Bob hopes to take his whip back to Europe with him, also his machete. Good luck Bob.



I believe there is a video of my whipping contest somewhere but I don't have a copy yet.

Muddy Boy

Michael is an unstoppable crawler now. He always wants to be on the floor wherever we are to go off investigating. Here he is getting into a mess in the garden whilst hitting the herbs with a juice bottle. Fun!



He is also tireless when walking holding my hands and quite fast. He has taken his first step unaided and occasionally stands unaided for long seconds, wobbling around and grinning like I don't know what. He is obviously very pleased with himself.

His other great joy is water. In the jungle he could sit in his bath in the sunshine and play for ages, or until wrinkly. Here in Huancayo it's too cold to be sitting out for very long, despite the sunshine being very strong. So he doesn't get too long playing in the bath. So when he gets a chance he loves to get very wet playing in a big bowl of water.

Party Mentushari

We went to Mentushari again. This is in the Peruvian jungle and it’s where the family grow coffee. This time it was for the annual village party, which Bob has been looking forward to for a while. All work in the village stops and they hire a huge sound system and a band and an impressive amount of beer is consumed over two to three days of constant partying. Thoughtfully they also bought in this year a trampoline for the children which was very popular.





Here is Mike with his cousin Yandheri





The animals of the village don’t really stop their business for the party. Bob found this out as one particular chicken has got very used to laying its daily egg on the bed he was sleeping in. He was warned that this might happen but perhaps the morning after the night before was not the best time for him to be dealing with poultry. I felt sorry for him but not so sorry that I didn’t take videos of course.

Bob with chicken on bed 1


Bob with chicken on bed 2







We made a quick trip out to the next village in the morning to buy more beer. Which Michael was very keen on looking after in the taxi



One of the highlights of the second day of the party was “Corta Monte” a tree cutting ceremony. Some dunk men go out early in the morning and cut down 10 or so small trees and bring them back to the village where a merry group of locals have a few more beers and set them up around the village square, their branches filled with presents like plastic trays, blankets and toys.








Then as it is getting dark the band plays and more beer is drunk and the people dance around the tree taking turns to have at it with a large axe. As the tree finally falls, the children of the village and Bob compete to be right under it as it falls and fight over the presents. Then a bit more beer is drunk and on to the next tree to do it again. It took Bob a few goes before he got a present but he is now the proud owner of a small plastic in-tray and slight concussion.



Here are Boy and me being the only ones sober in the early moring




and here he is inspecting the damage to the fallen tree.

Dancing in the street

Here is Michael looking pleased with life.




Once again there is music on the streets in our part of Huancayo. I’m not sure what the party was for this time, perhaps it was one of the regular celebrations or perhaps one of the money making ones where a family throw a party and sell lots of beer and fried trout to make a profit. Still I love to see the people dancing in the street and I really love all the bands. Here are a group of people dancing their way to the party and a couple of trumpeters proving the accompaniment. I guess the rest of the band is having a rest. More than likely they will play all day and all night and perhaps the next day too, they must pace themselves and take a lot of liquid refreshment.



and here are Michael and I looking pleased with ourselves.

Life in Lima

I think Michael enjoys life in Peru. I also guess he can’t remember life in England. There are always lots of friends and family around to play with him and often someone, me, Rocio, Aunty Sonia or Granny Noemi, to take him out somewhere with them. He happily goes off into the city on Granny Noemi’s back for instance if she is going to buy hat making supplies.
He also sees a lot of his cousin Kerly and they play very well together.






We had to do another of our dreaded trips to Lima recently. Everything in Peru is so centralised in Lima that we end up having to go there a lot for different legal stuff. This means an overnight bus trip, getting there around 6 in the morning and then spending all day hurrying from office to office, being messed about by the incredibly arrogant and confused staff. Going from one side of Lima to the other in taxis and often making no real advances on our jobs, then paying for a hotel so we can try again the next day. It is proving very hard for me to get my “Carnet de extranjeria” my foreigner’s card that gives me residency and the right to work. At every stage they invent a new problem for us to solve. Currently I am officially a tourist in Peru with a 90 day visa. Each 90 days I must renew my visa. By far the easiest way to do this is by leaving Peru, perhaps by going to Chile for one minute, and then returning to get a new 90 day visa on re-entering Peru. Last time Bob and I went via Lake Titicaca into Bolivia, spent a day in La Paz and returned to Peru, no problem. Except according to the computer records held in Lima there is a problem. I never left Peru! I did in fact return but I never left. It seems someone on the border didn’t enter my details in the computer system as I left Peru and even though my passport looks fine and has all the stamps their computer records must be mended before I can progress with my residency application. This will take a month or so and cost me money. Of course we can’t stay in Lima for a month so it involves another stupid waste of time and money returning to Lima later.

Well here is Michael looking a little sweaty after another night sleeping on the bus.

Washing Basket

Michael is learning and growing very quickly. Every day he has a new trick to show us and every day he seems cheekier than the last. He often looks across at me now to see if I’m watching him before he does some silliness he has invented




He loves climbing around on the bed and throwing himself down in the most dramatic ways he can invent. He loves grabbing me by the ears and squealing into my face. He loves our new version of the baby bowling where I set up a dozen or so empty pop bottles and he runs at them in his walker and knows them all over. He also loves sword-football with his new plastic sword. Every day he gets better at standing up on his own and he is becoming an excellent crawler too. He has great stamina for walking in the street holding my or Rocio’s hands.
He is very interested in whatever we are doing and always wants his hands involved, often his mouth too. We bought a new dirty washing basket the other day and of course Michael wanted to know all about it. At first he was a little wary of it but soon came around and in the end it was difficult to remove him from it.

Pachamanca Earth Oven

We had Pachmanca the other day. This is a Peruvian traditional meal, cooked under the ground, in this case in the garden. First you heat up lots of rocks over a wood fire then you bury all the food with the hot rocks all together and leave it to cook before digging it up.
There is usually meat, potatoes, humitas (Sweet or salty made from ground corn) and some other veggies that I forget. It is all an elaborate process to do and makes a big family event a bit like a barbecue.
Here is Michael overseeing Rocio as she prepares the food




No shots of the fire I’m afraid but here’s everyone digging up and separating the food from the rocks.






And Michael eating a sweet humita. He is getting very good at feeding himself these days. He loves to sit with a banana or humita or to gnaw away at a peeled apple. He is very content and determined to eat it all.