The Perupedia Project

Today I want to explain one of our most ambitious projects, Perupedia. My goal for this project, for which I will be looking for volunteers, is to gather as much information as we can about Peru and its culture. The layout of this project will use the powerful open source Twiki program to collect data not just from me and my volunteers but from anyone willing to contribute to the project. You may ask "Why not just go to wikipedia for the information?", the answer is that although Wikipedia is great for general reference, it is not as in depth as it should be about certain topics. This project will gather information regarding current news, articles, blogs, video and music media, travel and general information about Peru. It will include sections that go far beyond Peru @ Wikipedia.

Our new volunteer program which I will go over in more detail tomorrow will be vitally helpful in building the Perupedia site. I encourage all of you to visit www.karikuy.org/perupedia to visit the landing page and read more about the project. The new landing page includes a volunteer application form for those interested in coming to Peru and helping out. A reason I will keep this post short is because you can find a lot of useful information on that page regarding the project.

So when can you expect to see Perupedia begin to add content? I would say as early as the first week in February. Right now I'm in charge of the huge task of not just installing a massive database addition to the web site but also to begin going over volunteer application forms which I have already received many inquiries about. I guess the free room and board, as well as the cheap meal plan has been very well received and that's a great thing for the project! Although I must stress that I can only have a maximum of 2 volunteers at a time helping me on the project for now. So If you are interested please fill out the application form, if you are interested in working on the project at home you can email me at jctello@karikuy.org.

The State of Karikuy

So how has to worldwide recession affected Karikuy, and what is being done to promote and grow the organization? To answer those questions I will first describe the situation Karikuy finds itself in at the moment.

A year ago as the organization went public and saw its first couple of clients arrive in Peru, the economic landscape was much different then we see it today. There was talk of recession as financial institutions reported on their negative earnings, and for the most part people could sense what was about to happen but wasn't of immediate concern to them. Today as news of the worsening situation is almost inescapable, Karikuy has seen it's clientele cut almost in half.

uncertain future? not really, I don't believe in trying, only doing.

Although many would say that it is probably the worst time to even think about starting a company, let alone an organization that makes very little profit, I differ. Yes it's harder to attract customers then it was a year ago, but you can't fight an economic depression through stagnation and ceasing to create jobs and business. Are their risks? of coarse but through smart investing and managing anything can be overcome. The fact that Karikuy offers tours of Peru at very low prices can also only help in attracting customers who don't have to much capital to spend.

New sunrise, new opportunities.

So what is the state of Karikuy at this moment? It is stable and healthy, all is going according to plan, our goals are still very much the same, and our determination is even stronger. The drop off in customers is expected but not detrimental to our success. In February we will begin advertising on the Internet for budget oriented customers. We have a February sale in effect that slashes $100 off all of our tours in February with the exception of The Backpacker. February is normally a slow month for tourism in Peru as the Inca Trail is closed and the height of the rainy season hits eastern Peru and the highlands. However I encourage all travelers to take the opportunity to visit Peru in February, the New Inca Trail is available and it is summer on the coast with the month long Carnival taking place throughout Peru.

I will also be traveling to Cusco in late February to interview new guides to follow our commitment to offer the highest quality service for your buck. In order to bring you even lower prices Karikuy is planning of starting a Merchandise for Cut in Price service where you would bring certain electronics like laptops or game consoles to Peru, where these items are rare and expensive, to be sold to us at a profit. With the Merchandise for Cut in Price service you could see up to $300 cut off the price of many of our tours. That's a lot of money saved just for bringing in a product as a personal item.

We are always thinking of lowering our prices for our customers, however sometimes we need your help in doing so. the Merchandise for Cut in Price will be optional and if you may have any doubts know that according to customs law you are allowed to bring in several personal items without being taxed at the airport, 1 camera, 1 video camera, 1 laptop etc. Again more information about this service will be available in the coming weeks.

Hard at work; volunteers can expect to be hunched over their laptops at the Bed & Breakfast pictured above.

Finally I want to write a little about our new volunteer program. This program is made available to anybody of any age who wants to spend some time in Lima working on our Perupedia project. this is a very affordable if not the most affordable volunteer program I have seen on the Internet. It includes free room and board and a cheap $70 a month or $22 a week meal plan that includes breakfast, lunch and dinner at the Karikuy Bed & Breakfast. Your job Monday through Friday would be to gather information on certain areas in Peru and present them in a neat format to post on the Perupedia website. For an example pick up a Frommer's or Lonely Planet guide book for a similar layout. This project will be exclusively on the Internet and free to anybody who wishes to know about all things Peru, travel, news, sports etc. On the weekends you are free to travel throughout Peru and see the country, three day weekends are available too if necessary. Or if your a workaholic like me then your free to keep working on the projects or even travel and work on the project gathering information from place to place. More detailed information on the volunteer program will be available later this week.

To conclude this post I want to assure our past customers and our future customers that Karikuy is healthy and we continue to offer our services to those looking for a truly authentic experience in Peru. Later in the week I will explain how the economic crisis has had very little impact on the Peruvian economy itself so far, well that's excluding the tourism industry. Karikuy will always be as strong as its supporters, this is an organization of people and not so much capital. We will ride out the crisis one smile at a time and one adventure after the next.

Tariy, Day 8: The Road Back to Lima

Monday March 17th

Maycol and I woke up to a chilly Monday morning in Cajamarca. It was around six in the morning, the plaza lay eerily silent with the sound of a few roosters in the distance. Up to this point I had a beef with roosters going back to our days in Casma, there a rooster had started crowing at three in the morning just as we were about to go to bed. The rooster had only been about 20 feet away from us and it's loud calls were head splitting. This morning the crowing seemed to only add to the beauty of a sleepy Cajamarca at dawn.

We made our way to the bus station and hopped on a bus headed for Chiclayo. The bus trip to Chiclayo would turn out to be one of the more memorable bus rides of the trip. The weather was absolutely gorgeous and the scenery throughout the ride was equally jaw dropping, it made the six hour ride go by in a flash. First we passed we had to climb in elevation to reach the pass that dips down into Cajamarca as well as westward towards the coast.

There are some roads in Peru that will really give you a good scare, one of them is the road from Huaraz to Huari and as I would find out later from Ayacucho to Andahuaylas. The road to Chiclayo was paved and even though it was still very steep and windy I felt relaxed and paid little attention to the absurd heights. About two hours in we had already dropped in elevation dramatically and were snaking our way through a picture perfect valley with majestic peaks all around us.

Here's a short clip of me goofing off on the bus ride. I do not recommend sticking your head out the bus windows. On one occasion I was filming outside the window for the Karikuy video when I heard a distant noise coming from my left, intuitively I put my head back in the window just as bridge supports passed less then a foot away from the windows. I bet that would've hurt pretty bad if not taken my whole head off!

I took the following video to demonstrate just how dramatically the micro climates in Peru change. The video shows the desert and as I pan to the left you can see the green farmlands and mountains climbing up into the Andes. Peru has 28 different climate types and 84 of the 104 ecological niches that have so far been identified, a fact that classifies Peru as the most ecologically diverse country in the world.

We reached Chiclayo at one in the afternoon. At the bus terminal we bought our tickets for the bus to Lima which would be leaving at six in the evening. We left our backpacks at the bus stations luggage storage and headed out for some lunch. I had some papa a la huancaina, one of my favorite Peruvian dishes while my cousin had caldo de gallina or chicken soup as we would call it. We were more then happy to come across our favorite beer Cristal as it had eluded us since Casma, provecho!

After the light lunch we headed out for the museum that houses the Lord of Sipan, Peru's version of Tutankhamen. It is said that the treasure found at the tomb of the Lord of Sipan rivals that of the tomb of King Tut, that's why Sipan is often referred to as the Tutankhamen of the Americas.As we walked towards the museum we could tell that there was something amiss, the road leading up to the site was quiet and there was no one around. We soon found out that the museum is closed on Mondays for cleaning. Disappointed we took a couple snapshots of the exterior and then headed for Chiclayo's Plaza de Armas. I took note of that fact for future reference but at the same time kicked myself for not having looked into it beforehand; experience points gained.

Webon, I think they're closed...

Although we didn't spend too much time in Chiclayo I was very drawn to it. It has a certain charm about it and the atmosphere is very laid back, perhaps that's why Chiclayo's nickname is La Cuidad de la Amistad; The City of Friendship.

When we reached the Plaza de Armas I was surprised at its size, covered by tall palms the plaza has to be the smallest I'd seen so far out of any town or city in Peru. I even think that Supe being a very small town had a much larger plaza then Chiclayo's. The Plaza de Armas did however have some impressive buildings surrounding it including a beautiful cathedral.

We hung around the Plaza de Armas until it was time to head back to the bus depot to catch our ten hour ride back to Lima, we didn't mind the long ride as it was at night and we'd sleep through most of it. We were glad to be going back home for some rest and a much needed plate of Ceviche.

Tariy, Days 5 & 6: Cesar Vallejo, Chan Chan and Chaufa

Friday March 14th

Trujillo is the third most populous city in Peru, of course at the time my cousin and I were not aware of this. The bus ride into the city seemed to take forever as we approached the bus depot near the heart of the provincial capital. Fortunately there is never a shortage of entertainment for Peruvians and we were relieved of the long bus ride by entertainers who would hop on board for a small tip. One of the more memorable entertainers was a comedian who would go around the bus ripping on everyone, he seemed to focus on love and relationships, his delivery was spot on!

After hopping off the bus we walked a couple of blocks with our backpacks at which at this point felt as if they were getting heavier as the trip went on. Dripping with sweat we we entered the Plaza de Armas. We were quickly impressed by the fountain sculpture at the center of the square which represents work, art and liberty.

Trujillos colonial charm can be seen throughout the city, and its brightly colored buildings create eye candy for the passing visitor. We walked four blocks down Avenida Pizzaro to Plazuela el Recreo where we found a hostel with the same name on the eastern corner of the plaza. I immediately set to work on bargaining prices and introducing Karikuy to the hostel owner. After exchanging contact information we were led up to our room which was a double with a balcony overlooking the plazuela.

The room included a TV and private bathroom with hot showers which I quickly took advantage of. I gotta say no matter how long I stay in Peru for I still can't get used to cold showers, as strange as it is though I do feel great and more refreshed after one. I guess its the shock of cold water hitting your skin that I can't get used too, even in scorching hot weather...oh well. We freshened up a bit, I added some more sun tan lotion to my cherry red nose and then headed out for an evening snack as well as some internet time.

When we returned to our hostel we were surprised to see that a crowd had gathered outside in the plazuela and a stage erected. We asked around and found out that there would be a poetry reading and concert in honor of the birthday of Cesar Vallejo, one of the great poets to come out of Peru and also considered one of the great poetic innovators of the 20th century. We watched the concert from our balconies while we prepared to head out to the night clubs and I took the opportunity to shoot the following:

Luna Rota was the name of the club we headed to that night, perhaps we arrived a little early but we got a sense that the people of Trujillo were a bit conservative in that a really good live salsa band was playing and no one was dancing. We arrived at about 10:30pm and the party didn't really start until midnight, and this is on a Friday night! no sir not in Lima, no way. Regardless we danced and toasted the night to our time in Trujillo, the rest of the nights details remain in this city, a city known for it's revolutionary spirit.

Saturday March 15th

In the morning we woke up a bit groggy and hungover, I took a much cooler shower then I'm normally used to in order to get the blood flowing. Stopping at a little diner we grabbed a quick breakfast that to most would look like dinner, Lomo Saltado on a bun.

We then headed out to the ruins of Chan Chan. The ruins are about a 15 minute taxi ride from Trujillo's center. We were dropped off at an entrance where there were other taxis waiting to drive you even closer to the ruins. This being our first time at the site we decided to just walk, it took us about 25 minutes to get to the ruins and it was a nice walk since cities on the coast enjoy very comfortable temperatures in the morning.

My cousin also had a radio built into his cellphone allowing us to hear the latest news and music. It was here that I found out about the scandal regarding NY Governor Spitzer, the early morning show was ripping on his so bad I almost wet myself but hey thats politics..

Getting back to Chan Chan, the city is the largest adobe city in the world. The layout of the complex is huge and only a small portion of it is accessible to tourists. There were several scaffolds and signs of reconstructions being made to the complex, it seems that the changing climate and the effects of La Niña are really taking a toll on this ancient city. Here are a bunch of photos of the site:

So is Chan Chan worth visting? Yes of course but having a guide with you is key. There are many facts about this complex that would elude the traveler who decides to walk through the site by himself. For example there are rooms with pillars that project your voice through acoustic wedges, there are also halls with optical illusions to make them seem bigger on the other end.

We spent the whole morning at Chan Chan returning to Trujillo in the early afternoon. The next city on our trek was Cajamarca, about a six hour bus ride through the Andes. Unfortunately the weather was not on our side as we climbed into the Andes and as the sun started to dim so did our hopes of a panoramic drive into the legendary Peruvian city.

We arrived in Cajamarca at about nine at night, once again we set off to the main plaza commonly referred to as the Plaza de Armas in South American cities. We had made friends with a lovely German backpacker who was led us to a hotel off the Plaza de Armas, once there I introduced myself and Karikuy to the owner so we could exchange information. He quickly escorted us to a room with a balcony overlooking the Plaza. This room had three beds and was rather large, it might just take the prize as the best room we've stayed in during our whole trip.

We got dressed and cleaned up a bit, it being a Saturday night it was obvious that we would check out the local nightlife, however at this point we were starving. Theres something about high altitude towns that make me very hungry, perhaps it's all the calories I'm burning, after all your heart pumps faster as your body tries to consume more oxygen from the thin atmosphere. We really gorged ourselves, after having some Chaufa for dinner we headed to a restaurant for some Pisco Sours and an omelet.

You might be thinking how it could be possible to even think about dancing after a meal like that, well they don't call Peru the gastronomical capital of the world for nothing. It seems as if each meal complements the next and with the food being so delicious it's hard to really feel full. And so rejuvenated and ready to explore the city we headed out for another intense night of dancing, drinking and meeting new people. The next day would be a little disappointing but in the end would work out to be a lot of fun.

Tariy 2008 Continued and Amikuy 2008

My Journal of Tariy 2008 continues Thursday, I will be posting a much more detailed and media laced account then I was able to churn out in Peru due to time restraints. Starting Thursday I will be posting about 2 days worth of content each weekday, I expect that the account of the whole trip to be done within the next 2 weeks. So feel free to subscribe to this blog to get an in depth look at my country of Peru, its traditions, food, and people.

Karikuy is accepting reservations for Amikuy 2008, Amikuy is from May 23rd to May 31st and we will be visiting Lima, Cuzco, Machu Picchu, Nazca, Huacachina and more. You can read all about the trip at www.karikuy.org, just click on the hummingbird icon to read the itinerary and reserve your spot on this exciting trip.

Tariy, Days 4 & 5: The Turtle and Trujillo

Hi everyone! I´m currently in Lima in a super hot internet bodega across the street from my house. Today is day 9 of my travels and it´s my birthday!! I hear there is a surprise party planned for me, not much of a surprise anymore I guess, but regardless it should be a ton of fun. I will continue where I left off last, in Casma visiting the ancient ruins of Sechin.

Thursday March 13th (cont´d)

Although Sechin is small compared to most archaeological sites in Peru it still holds a wealth of artifacts to look at. The small museum next to the ruins exhibits a mummy with its mouth gaping wide open and it also contains many drawings and works of art taken from the ruins.

Here are a couple of pictures so you get a better idea of what the exterior of the compound looks like.

Maycol and I have become pretty effective at flagging down vehicles by now. I have to say that our best technique, although I don´t really recommend it, is to just lie in the middle of the road and wait for a car to stop.

From Sechin we headed out to a beach about half an hour away from Casma on the western coast of Peru called La Playa de la Tortugas or Turtle Beach in English. The beach was pretty empty being that it was a weekday and also the evening. We walked around and admired the beautiful setting, the beach being wedged between two large mountains. The beach itself is small and looks like a turtle hence its name. We strolled the peaceful beach and sat down to drink some Brahman at a small restaurant while we waited for some transportation to bring us back to Casma.

That night was our last in Casma and we celebrated it by going out with my cousins to a discoteca. We toasted the night away with 12 jars of beer and danced the night away. I was surprised how many people were out considering it was a weekday. But if Peru is known for one thing it is its love of partying.

In the morning we caught a small collectivo to Chimbote, a town about two hours away from Casma and a transportation hub. From there we took a larger bus to the city of Trujillo, arriving in the afternoon.

I´ll leave it at here for now, I´m leaving for Huacachina, Pisco and Ica tomorrow. I´ll try to post some birthday pictures and continue from Trujillo over the weekend, Chau!

Tariy, Days 3 & 4: The Heat of Casma

Wednesday March 12th

Woke up to another scorcher of a day. Heading over to the shared washroom in the small courtyard of our hostal I realized that my face was burning. I shouldn´t have been surprised looking into the mirror and finding my face the color of a Coca Cola bottle. When I come to Peru I usually don´t use sunblock and just let myself tan into my normal brown, those times hadn´t brought me to Caral though which worked it´s magic on me.

Maycol and I spent about 3 hours waiting for a ride in the Plaza de Armas of Supe where we would then head to Casma. Sitting around in the sun without any sunblock was smart on my part, not that I cared much, when it got uncomftorable we´d head over to a little shop and buy some Inka Cola and some Ice Cream, then we´d head back out in the plaza and hang out under a tree and chat up the locals.

Slowly but surely our skill of flagging down cars by showing some skin worked. We headed off towards Casma that afternoon passing the lively town of Barranca where we should have stayed the night. The town has a great beach where you can camp out, call it an opportunity missed and experience gained.

We reached Casma in the late afternoon and it remains the hottest town we´ve visited. Even though it´s dry out I´m sure it was a good 95 degrees farenheit. We stayed at my cousin Olgas house that night which is under constrution and had the whole place to ourselves even though there was no electricity.

Bathroom by candlelight, how romantic...

Thursday March 13th

The next day we headed out for the ruins of Sechin. New discoveries in the last few months have put Sechin on the map for Archeologists. A new temple at the complex has been carbon dated to be 5,500 years old, thats older then the pyramids of Giza, and although Sechin is not a complex city like Caral it is no less significant. On the way to the ruins which is only about 10 minutes from Casma we passed some huge sand dunes which made me very excited about the thought of the massive dunes we will be sandboarding next week in Huacachina.

Sechin is another one of the many archeological sites throughout Peru that gets very little attention due to the cyclopean Machu Picchu where all the tourists flock. We once again had these ruins to ourselves and had a look around. Unfortunatley the temple that had made the news a couple weeks ago remains closed to the public and is actually being reburied in order to preserve it. They do this to avoid the fate of another work of ancient Peruvian art that was found near Sechin, the heads below are replicas the originals were destroyed by earthquakes and rain.

The main complex itself is huge and its outer walls are covered in art dating back to 3,000 BC.

My time is almost up here at a small internet cafe in Chiclayo, I catch my bus back to Lima in about 2 hours, it´s a 14 hour bus ride in, so I´m going to get some Arroz Chaufa and head out. I leave you with this video of the climb up yet another mountain to get a better view of Casma. I´ll try to finish up days 3 and 4 before Friday, oh and Happy belated St. Patricks Day!!

Tariy, Day 2: Caral

Tuesday March 11th (cont´d)

So to begin where I left off, heading up the trail to the ruins of Caral my cousin Maycol and I came across a pair of mean dogs, we threw some rocks at them and that settled things pretty quickly. Yes I know that some of you may take offense to our actions but some advice for anyone traveling in the country is that a rock is your best friend against dogs who are far from tamed and are territorial. The "smell my hand" trick just does not cut it when it comes to such circumstances. If you travel in large groups then it´s a non issue but if your going at it alone, take my advice.

After slaying the beasts (c´mon lighten up!) we continued on the trail that eventually led us to a small river with a very dainty bridge. Looking downstream I couldn't help but scratch my head as I could see more sturdy looking bridge in the distance. We took the dainty bridge over, because you know.... that´s just a heck of a lot more fun.

It took us another fifteen minutes from the bridge to reach the archaeological site of Caral. As a student of history and archeology it was a sight to behold. There in front of me lay 6 ancient pyramids dating back to 3000 BC. These megaliths have yet to be completely unearthed, and according to one of the archaeologists it will take another 15 years before the site is fully excavated. After we had a look around the place we hiked up the side of a mountain for a better look.

When backpacking to place to place there is never really any reliable transportation. There are no schedules, no worries and unfortunately very little to do while waiting for that elusive collectivo.

We eventually flagged down a super crowded collectivo with about 10 people inside. Being that I was hitchhiking I didn't have a problem with it. Getting to know Caral was great I will definitely make it a stop for future programs. With Karikuy however you won´t have to wait on the side of the road, all transportation is planned out of course.

The night was spent in Supe, a nearby town and although it was a pleasant place, it was very quiet. The town was dead by 11 and there was no nightlife, it didn't help that it was Tuesday either. What do you do in such circumstances? Well you break out the radio, drink some beer and talk about life and all of it´s surprises. Including the nasty surprise that I was very badly sunburnt.

Tariy, Days 1 & 2: Home from Home

Hey everyone I´m writing to you from Trujillo, I arrived on Monday night to a great reception of family and friends, so far me and my cousin have been having a blast trekking the country, here´s as short a recap I can write for the last five days, theres just too much to tell and well we´re gonna go hit the clubs after I finish typing this up.

Monday March 10th

I was able to get a great fare of 480$ for round trip tickets to Peru using Taca Air. I have no complaints, the stopover in El Salvador was fun and short although I was absolutely surrounded by 3 and 4 year olds on the first leg of the trip, who needs sleep anyways? I had a row to myself on the second leg to Lima and was able to stretch out and got to sleep on a much quieter ride, however it is hard to sleep when your flying over such a beautiful continent as South America.

Customs at Jorge Chavez International Airport in Lima took about 20 minutes, why so short? well it´s all about who gets to the line first. The airport is small compared to most and everyone goes through the same customs line. I suggest that when you first arrive you make a mad sprint to customs to avoid long lines that could take over an hour and could be rather uncomftorable due to the heat. Wool hats and winter jackets should be removed on the plane.

My rather large but normal Peruvian sized family greeted me at the Airport exit with loud kisses and hugs, it´s hard to describe a Peruvian style welcome at the airport, you just have to go there and see for yourself I suppose.

Wow this is taking forever to write! ok speeding it up a little, I gave out all I had collected in donations and things I had bought to my family and the poor neighborhood I´m originally from.

I saved as much of the smaller toys and candies so I can hand them out for the rest of the trip. The rest of that night consisted of nothing other then amazing food and heavy drinking. I bought about 2 cases (24 bottles) of Cristal for the family and they provided the wine as well as the biggest bucket of Chicha de Jora that I´ve ever seen. Good Times!!

Tuesday March 11th

The neighbors woke me up to loud reggaeton at about 7 am in the morning, about the time Lima wakes up to go to work during the week. Being hungover never feels so good, especially after 3 hours of sleep and stepping inside a frigid shower. I packed the last of my things that morning and opened the big windows in my living room. I had found some baby pictures of me in the house my parents built and I sat down and thought about my expectations, not just on the trip but about my own projects and what I would be building with Karikuy.

Time to hit the road! My uncle Freddy takes my cousin Michael and I to the local bus station to take a Collectivo to Supe, a town near the ruins of Caral. On Route the bus fails to make an inspection before heading on the Pasomayo route of the Pan-american Highway. Pasamayo is a very steep desert coast overlooking the ocean, I left my camera in my bag, however Maycol took some great pics that I will post later. A three hour bus ride in the end took us 6 hours and we arrived in Supe at night unable to get a ride to Caral and set up Camp. Thats what happens when you backpack though, we could of taken a tourist class bus and had comfy seats and a movie, but whats the fun in that? We stayed in a hostal in Supe had some Cristal and chaufa for dinner and explored the small and uneventful town.

Early the next day we made our way to Caral, The ride out from Supe was about an hour and the taxi cab dropped us off on the side of the road, we had to hike to get to the ruin in the distance, the scenery was absolutely beautiful, the ancient citizens of Caral, one of the oldest cities on earth dating back to 3000 BC, could not have chosen a better place to build their warless society.

So my internet time is up and I´m starving and ready to hit the nightlife I´ll finish up my day at Caral later, bye for now!

Tariy 2008: Preparations

For the next month I will be backpacking throughout Peru, the strenuous hike over the Andes and sweaty trek through the desert will be chronicled on this blog for my customers and friends.

My journey begins this Monday and I find myself overwhelmed by preparations ranging from the complex to the mundane. By far the easiest part has been planning my route which you can view below. First I will head north through the coastal Sechura desert and make my way up to The Ruins of Kuelap near Chachapoyas, then return to Cajamarca to take a flight back to Lima to celebrate my Birthday on the 19th. From there I begin the long roundabout trek through southern Peru and the majestic Andes mountains.

The North of the country is currently under a state of emergency because of severe flooding due to La Niña. This is the complex part of the planning, sure many would say just avoid the area, however I plan to go see if any help is needed and also to see the damage for myself. This is not a vacation for me but a learning experience.

Besides my humanitarian and charity work which I will explain in a second, I also plan to shoot a short film for Karikuy so you have a chance to know more about this organization and me as well. Also while going from city to city I will be hooking up with hotel and tourism agencies to get updated pricing and information to better help you decide on your next trip in Peru.

Throughout my travels I will be handing out gifts and sweets to the poor rural areas of Peru. I can only try to put a smile on a child's face with such a small offering in a country that is still developing, and so my supplies being limited I ask anyone who wishes to donate a gift or candy to let me know and I will try to squeeze it into my luggage. you can email me at jctello@karikuy.org or give me a call to pick up supplies at 631.371.6239 you can even send me donations through paypal using the address jct83@optonline.net. Donations are great as they allow me to purchase goods inside Peru for distribution and will let me avoid customs and baggage weight restrictions as well as relieving you of a deadline of Monday, March 10th to donate.

So I have to get back to planning and preparing my luggage for the trip, you can check the blog every week for the next month, I will try to post at least twice a week. I also look forward to the company of those who are thinking about joining me for Amikuy this May. You can check out all the information regarding that trip at www.karikuy.org