“Swoosh” ; the sound of the waves crashing against the shore of Lobitos as the Inti group awakened for the first time in Peru. This week the group worked with Waves, a local organization that supports Lobitos by bringing in volunteers to help the economy through tourism and education. Lobitos is a small town on the northern coast of Peru famous for surfing and fishing. The first work day, half the group painted a new volunteer house for Waves and the other half helped build a bio filter for waste management. While painting, Willy splattered us all with paint to make things a little more fun. We also took turns teaching English in the school throughout the day. Nina, a volunteer from France informed us that the school struggles to keep English a program in certain grade levels. The volunteers working in the school got to teach kids about Halloween back in the United States.
The second day, part of the group took surf lessons with Johnny and everyone had a blast. The rest of the group worked hard at painting and building again in the hot sun. To cool off after the long day, we jumped off the pier into the brisk sea. After that, we enjoyed a nice meal at Don Lucho’s where we ate fresh fish and tried ceviche for the first time.
The day after, some of us woke up early and hopped on a fishing boat with a local fisherman, Tulio. We learned how to fish in a more sustainable way with just a line instead of a net. Despite the motion sickness, the group really enjoyed fresh ceviche made in front of them on the boat. Doug and Rebecca were recognized for catching two of the biggest fish all week. Doug’s fish was prepared in a soup and served to us on the last night.
The rest of the week we continued to work hard and rotate fishing and surfing. Emi, Paxton and Will cared for a garden at the school by picking up trash and building a system to help preserve water. Kaydee worked hard at Waves and kept a good attitude despite not being able to surf and swim due to her burnt hand. The group also got the opportunity to paint their own mural, designed by Mike, Sam and Willy, which is now hanging in front of Wave Land. Jack kept his name of the American Hero by shoveling sand for the bio filter. Molly made great friends with the other volunteers staying at Waves and Hollyn was recognized for her amazing surfing skills.
Happy Halloween! The group enjoyed candy, Doug and Rebecca bought for them and took a long walk at night to a cemetary to learn more about Day of the Dead. The group got to take Tuk Tuks, a bike with a motor, on the way home while Namooch, a local black lab with a big heart chased the bikes all the way back.
It’s our final day and we started it off right by walking to famous caves in Lobitos to pick up trash that was washed up from the ocean. We also found some piece of mind in a dark cave while Kike talked to us about ocean pollution and the cultures history regarding the caves. After picking up the garbage, we rode the garbage truck back to the hostel. That night we had one last delicious meal which was followed by a fire and homemade chocolate cake that Maddy devoured every night we were there. After saying goodbye, we went to bed early for our next morning departure to Cusco. It was time for Harvey’s amazing rein as captain to end along with our time in Lobitos.
