5 January

This morning Koki, our achitect called us and wanted us to pick him up in Los Organos and transport him to the property. Once we were up there, we needed to hire someone to do the cooking for the crew. Koki felt that the compensation women were wanting was very high. The biggest issue is that the property is a ways from town where groceries and these woman are available so transportation costs are added on top. We negotiated with Sanchez's wife and she agreed to cook for the crew for three months at S/. 500 ($175) a month. The amazing thing is that she needed to cook lunch for the crew immediately after the deal was struck. Wages here are ridiculous and it was hard for us to envision that $175 a month is high!
There is a little boy of 3 years that we visit at El Refugio. His mother is a maid at the hotel and in the past was Georg's nanny for his children. She had this boy late in life but Georg has tried to help her out with employment. I talked with her about her son and when he was eligible to start school. We had heard she couldn't afford the transportation so hadn't enrolled him. We had decided to provide that transportation for him so he could attend the next school year which begins in March. Doris told us that she was unhappy with the current administration at the hotel, that she hadn't been paid for her work and that she would leave for Lima once she was paid. I brought her a card today with a picture of Doug playing with Paolo on the front. What tough decisions these people have to make!
This afternoon we went for massages at a spa just at the bottom of the hill from where we are staying. They have a huge menu of options for massages, aromatherapy and other health and beauty treatments. Ours election was an hour and a half deep tissue massage, ending with a drizzle of hot oil. Fabulous.
Doug took the rest of the afternoon to go ride the horses at El Refugio. He enjoys working with the horses and yet enjoys not having to do chores. His access to these horses has been a god-sent blessing.
A quiet evening at the room. It is actually raining outside right now at 8:30 in the evening.