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.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
5th of January
This morning we drove up to the property to see what progress had been made. The large excavation for the swimming pool was done by large machinery. They encountered a couple of rocks that wouldn't budge and had to use dynamite to break them up. All of the other excavation has been done by hand. 
So far they have excavated for the footings for much of the upper level; in the service building, kitchen, and master bedroom. The architect told us that the cement factory had been shut down for much of December and so he was not able to proceed as quickly as he had hoped. The crew is arriving tomorrow to resume work after the holidays.
Doug and I then went to Talara to the Claro store. Claro is our internet provider and for some reason, it wasn't working over the weekend. As it turned out, they had cut service because they didn't receive a payment due December 26. However, I paid for two months before we left for the states. Unfortunately, I didn't think to bring the receipt for payments of those two months with us so I had to pay for the month to resume service.
We had also hoped to find a small table and a couple of chairs so that we would have some place other than the bed to sit and a place to put our computer. Everything we saw was either overstuffed living room furniture or cheesy plastic tables with four chairs. All in all, it wasn't a very successful trip.
Jay, our landlord, fixed dinner and invited some of his friends to meet us. Bill and Daniella are from the Yukon territory in Canada. Bill works for a mine moving equipment and Daniella is a heavy equipment operator. The bought some property nearby three summers ago and have been building it bit by bit as they spend their winters here. We had a lot of fun and enjoyed them immensely. Dinner was served on the rooftop overlooking the beach, ocean and homes directly on the front. The sun went down and it was quite lovely; sunset, good food, and good people.
Still no word on when Stormy will arrive.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
3 January 2010
This morning we went into town to do a bit of shopping; a few groceries and a few essentials for the room such as a waste basket and a rack to put some toiletries on in the bathroom. We also took our laundry into the one lavanderia in town. They do the laundry for S/.4 (about $1.45) for 1 kilo (2.2lbs). We'll be able to pick it up tomorrow afternoon.
This afternoon we met a friend from Lima for lunch. Mapi is a translator and also a spanish teacher. She was traveling with one of her students from Korea. These two girls together were a hoot! We talked, laughed and joked and got to know each other a bit better. Most of the conversation was in Spanish as EunHee's English was quite limited. Some English as well as Doug's Spanish is limited. We ate lunch, then took them to see our property. Afterwards, we took them up the coast to Punta Sal where they wanted to spend the night. They have a tour set up for the Tumbes area in the next couple of days.
We didn't get back to our room until 7:30; ate a late dinner and settled in for the night.
This afternoon we met a friend from Lima for lunch. Mapi is a translator and also a spanish teacher. She was traveling with one of her students from Korea. These two girls together were a hoot! We talked, laughed and joked and got to know each other a bit better. Most of the conversation was in Spanish as EunHee's English was quite limited. Some English as well as Doug's Spanish is limited. We ate lunch, then took them to see our property. Afterwards, we took them up the coast to Punta Sal where they wanted to spend the night. They have a tour set up for the Tumbes area in the next couple of days.
We didn't get back to our room until 7:30; ate a late dinner and settled in for the night.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
2 January 2010
Wow, the last couple of days have just flown by.
We spent New Year's Eve with Maximo's family. Of the five siblings, four were in attendance; Maximo and his wife went out with friends. The rest of the family had a wonderful party! We arrived about 9:30 and nothing much was happening. There was a tangle of yellow leis on the table so I delved in to help separate them all out. The yellow signifies happiness. There was also an assortment of masks and hats to wear as we brought in the new year. We had a dinner of pork and rice to start off with. Then we began the dancing and the drinking of beer. At midnight, we stepped outside and toasted with champagne. There were fireworks going off throughout the neighborhood and many shouts of "Felice Ano!" Several effigies of men were set on fire symbolizing the end of the old and the start of a new beginning. As we stood outside and watched the fireworks, numerous fires were burning along the street. And of course, each of us had several yellow leis, hats and masks as well as noise makers. At midnight we were also given a dozen grapes. Each grape represented the coming months and a wish was made for each month as each grape was eaten. Lentils were also available to put into your pocket. These were to turn into money in the coming year. Then we all went indoors and partied until about four. Our Peruvian hosts were surprised that we wanted to leave for our hotel at this point, rather than continue until daybreak! As it turned out, we didn't get back to the hotel until 5 a.m.
We changed our travel arrangements once again to leave Lima on the 1st and head home to El Nuro. As things turned out, our Dalmatian wasn't able to travel until her international health certificate was signed by the Department of Agriculture and they were shut down for the holidays. We decided we didn't want to wait an additional week for all the paperwork to get done. I will have to travel back to Lima at the end of this next week to get her, if everything goes well.
Once back up in the North, we began to settle into the room we are renting until the house is completed. The room is in a "hotel" a friend and his wife built. It consists of three rooms with baths and a kitchen in the fourth unit. Once the building was built, they split up and Jay has never finished the furnishing of the units and had an interest in turning it into a hotel. We asked him if he was willing to rent us a room for the duration of the construction and he agreed. Staying most anywhere else was hugely expensive and January and February is their high season and prices are outrageous.
We went to visit the property today to see the progress of the construction. They have excavated the ground for the swimming pool and dug foundations for the upper level of the house. It appears that some changes have been made in the layout, but we aren't sure why. The architect will be here on Monday so we'll get a better sense of what's happening.
We also got a chance to visit with my Spanish teacher who was up in the area for vacation. He had traveled north from Lima and stopped at many of the archeological sites along the way. He told us he had taken over 500 pictures!
We spent New Year's Eve with Maximo's family. Of the five siblings, four were in attendance; Maximo and his wife went out with friends. The rest of the family had a wonderful party! We arrived about 9:30 and nothing much was happening. There was a tangle of yellow leis on the table so I delved in to help separate them all out. The yellow signifies happiness. There was also an assortment of masks and hats to wear as we brought in the new year. We had a dinner of pork and rice to start off with. Then we began the dancing and the drinking of beer. At midnight, we stepped outside and toasted with champagne. There were fireworks going off throughout the neighborhood and many shouts of "Felice Ano!" Several effigies of men were set on fire symbolizing the end of the old and the start of a new beginning. As we stood outside and watched the fireworks, numerous fires were burning along the street. And of course, each of us had several yellow leis, hats and masks as well as noise makers. At midnight we were also given a dozen grapes. Each grape represented the coming months and a wish was made for each month as each grape was eaten. Lentils were also available to put into your pocket. These were to turn into money in the coming year. Then we all went indoors and partied until about four. Our Peruvian hosts were surprised that we wanted to leave for our hotel at this point, rather than continue until daybreak! As it turned out, we didn't get back to the hotel until 5 a.m.
We changed our travel arrangements once again to leave Lima on the 1st and head home to El Nuro. As things turned out, our Dalmatian wasn't able to travel until her international health certificate was signed by the Department of Agriculture and they were shut down for the holidays. We decided we didn't want to wait an additional week for all the paperwork to get done. I will have to travel back to Lima at the end of this next week to get her, if everything goes well.
Once back up in the North, we began to settle into the room we are renting until the house is completed. The room is in a "hotel" a friend and his wife built. It consists of three rooms with baths and a kitchen in the fourth unit. Once the building was built, they split up and Jay has never finished the furnishing of the units and had an interest in turning it into a hotel. We asked him if he was willing to rent us a room for the duration of the construction and he agreed. Staying most anywhere else was hugely expensive and January and February is their high season and prices are outrageous.
We went to visit the property today to see the progress of the construction. They have excavated the ground for the swimming pool and dug foundations for the upper level of the house. It appears that some changes have been made in the layout, but we aren't sure why. The architect will be here on Monday so we'll get a better sense of what's happening.
We also got a chance to visit with my Spanish teacher who was up in the area for vacation. He had traveled north from Lima and stopped at many of the archeological sites along the way. He told us he had taken over 500 pictures!
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
30th of December
Doug and I are now back in Peru. We arrived last night, (actually this morning) and made it to the hotel without incident. For the first time in all the times I've visited Peru, the red light came up when I went through customs. After you pass through immigration, pick up your luggage, and get to customs, you have to push a button. If it comes up green, you pass right through and are on your way. If it comes up red, you have to have your luggage scanned and searched before you can leave. This time we put our luggage through the scanner and were on our way.
We had lunch with Maximo's family today; his wife, Dora and Wilma (Maximo's sisters), Jimmy and Richie (other relations). It was a great time to reconnect although we couldn't stay very long. We were invited back for a New Year's celebration tomorrow.
Our order of business today was to pay some bills and reconnect with friends in Peru. One bill was a health insurance premium. I've been bragging about how simple things are in Peru but this was anything but simple. I went to the bank to transfer the money as is usual to pay bills in Peru. They couldn't complete the transfer as they didn't (and I didn't) have a code they required. After three different tries, I finally went to the office of the insurance agent. They sent me to the insurance company, (fortunately close by) and I was able to pay it there. What a pain; fortunately we only have to pay this once a year. FYI, the premium to cover both of us with high quality insurance internationally was around $5000.00 per year.
We also changed our reservations for going north because our dalmatian won't arrive until after the 4th of January. Her rabies shot had to be administered at least 30 days prior to her transfer. At this point, we hope to meet her on the 4th and head home on the 5th. We're anxious to head home to see the progress on our home.
We had lunch with Maximo's family today; his wife, Dora and Wilma (Maximo's sisters), Jimmy and Richie (other relations). It was a great time to reconnect although we couldn't stay very long. We were invited back for a New Year's celebration tomorrow.
Our order of business today was to pay some bills and reconnect with friends in Peru. One bill was a health insurance premium. I've been bragging about how simple things are in Peru but this was anything but simple. I went to the bank to transfer the money as is usual to pay bills in Peru. They couldn't complete the transfer as they didn't (and I didn't) have a code they required. After three different tries, I finally went to the office of the insurance agent. They sent me to the insurance company, (fortunately close by) and I was able to pay it there. What a pain; fortunately we only have to pay this once a year. FYI, the premium to cover both of us with high quality insurance internationally was around $5000.00 per year.
We also changed our reservations for going north because our dalmatian won't arrive until after the 4th of January. Her rabies shot had to be administered at least 30 days prior to her transfer. At this point, we hope to meet her on the 4th and head home on the 5th. We're anxious to head home to see the progress on our home.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
17 December
Wow, the last few weeks have been so hectic! We've been sorting and trying to sell tools and furniture that we are not taking to Peru. We put an add on Craig's list for the tools and had upwards of 50 e-mail inquiries a day for about ten days. At this point, we've sold probably 2/3 of the shop tools and most of the furniture found new homes.
Yesterday, Doug and friends, worked on putting up trim, painting the living room and touching up the paint in the kitchen, organized the tools left in the shop, cleaned off the back porch and got furniture ready to be moved. Doug replaced an element in the hot water heater, so now there's plenty of hot water upstairs. Carpet has been installed in Blaine's old bedroom...and there's still more stuff to go. I left for Denver to visit with my sisters on Tuesday, so all that stuff has been left in Doug's hands.
The container was to be loaded on Monday, but soon after they were supposed to be at the house to pack, we found out the container and ship were no longer scheduled to go to Lima. The movers came anyway hoping that a new container could be arranged at the last minute. They went ahead and packed up the house. We had a few piles set aside of things we were planning on taking ourselves, and then they went to work. And they packed everything else. And I do mean everything else. I had set my knitting bag aside as I was working on a hat and mitten set to take with me to wintry Denver and Chicago. I had taken out the hat and one mitten to show a friend and for whatever reason, those two pieces did not end up back in the bag. The movers packed them so when the load gets to Peru, I'll have a wool hat and one mitten! I think I'll just buy a set if I need to...much simpler. As for the container, there should be one available by the end of this week or the beginning of next week.
Progress is being made in El Nuro. The workers are living on the property and have built a temporary shelter to live in during construction. They've set up a kitchen too, so have meals prepared for them on site. They' ve begun digging the trenches for the foundation of the buildings on the upper level. I'm thankful that Koki, our architect, has kept us informed by sending us pictures and updates weekly.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
10 December
This week has been super busy as we try to tie up loose ends here in Oregon. The container will be loaded on the 14th. We've learned that anything other than clothing and books is taxed at 30% of their value. At that point, we decided to pare down even further. We are now in the process of selling the entire woodworking shop; machinery, tools, and accessories. Craig's list has generated a huge response so I have been busy responding and sending information.
I've also decided to go through the rest of what I planned to take and rethink it. The piano and the loom will definitely go, but some of the other stuff we can probably do without or replace once down there.
We asked the man who built our cabinets for a remodel in our Wilsonville house and in our Molalla house if he would like to build the cabinets for our home in Peru. We didn't really expect that he would be interested, but he responded within minutes, "Hell yes!" He is building the kitchen cabinets, the bathroom cabinets and closets for our new home. These will go onto the container even though the tax will make them quite expensive. However, we haven't seen any decent cabinetry in Peru so feel this will be well worth it.
So many decisions, so little time. We still want to connect with friends and have tried to free up enough time to do so. Unfortunately, we will not be able to see all the people we would like to. So, those of you that we didn't get to see....you'll have to come see us and stay in one or more of our guest cottages!
I've also decided to go through the rest of what I planned to take and rethink it. The piano and the loom will definitely go, but some of the other stuff we can probably do without or replace once down there.
We asked the man who built our cabinets for a remodel in our Wilsonville house and in our Molalla house if he would like to build the cabinets for our home in Peru. We didn't really expect that he would be interested, but he responded within minutes, "Hell yes!" He is building the kitchen cabinets, the bathroom cabinets and closets for our new home. These will go onto the container even though the tax will make them quite expensive. However, we haven't seen any decent cabinetry in Peru so feel this will be well worth it.
So many decisions, so little time. We still want to connect with friends and have tried to free up enough time to do so. Unfortunately, we will not be able to see all the people we would like to. So, those of you that we didn't get to see....you'll have to come see us and stay in one or more of our guest cottages!
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