BSQ raising money for Haiti

After the recent earthquake in Haiti, Evelyn and I decided to do some fundraising at BSQ to help the victims. We managed to raise over $2700! In the Primary school, we held a sponsored silence (which was great for the teachers!) and were able to come in non-uniform for the day. We also brought in tinned food and water. The proceeds were given to the red cross and another charity based in Quito who are flying lots of engineers and Doctors out to Haiti to help the survivors. Below are some pics of the kids dressed up.

I'm famous!

Here is a picture of the massive billboard on the main road between Cumbaya and Tumbaco. Yes, it is me, on the school advert! I was asked if the school could use one of my photos. I said yes, thinking that it was one that I took. I had the shock of my life when I saw this monstrosity on the way back from Quito one night!

Victoria comes to visit us at BSQ

Pati, my lovely assistant, has been off on maternity leave for 3 months after giving birth to her beautiful daughter, Victoria. Here is a picture of her when she came into school to visit us. The children were so excited, we can't wait to have her back!

Ilalo - a gentle stroll on a Sunday morning!!!

Ilalo is the volcano situated behind the British School Quito. Our house also lies at the foot of the volcano, on the otherside. I hiked up it this morning with a couple of colleagues from work, Roy and Ben. It was supposed to be a 6 hour hike to the top but we ended up taking over 8 hours! It was great and we were rewarded with some amazing views at the top. We were able to see Cotopaxi, Cayambe, the Illinizas and Pinchincha. We walked down the back towards Tumbaco and then looped back up to rejoin the track we had taken. It was lots of fun - Tommy stayed at home to watch the replay of the test between England and South Africa!

Peru - Lake Titicaca

Lake Titicaca is the world’s highest navigable lake with, and South America’s largest lake – over 170km in length and 60km in breadth. According to legend, this is where the first Inca Manco Capac, son of the sun god Inti, emerged. At this altitude, temperatures average less than 15°C year-round. The air is unusually clear, so horizons seem limitless. Everyone told be I´d be freezing so I wore leggings underneath my trousers, two pairs of socks, leg warmers, three t-shirts and 2 jumpers underneath my coat. Typically, it was the warmest day of our whole trip and I had to strip off the layers! I got some great shots though as the sky was blue and the sun was shining, so I was happy. We had a whistle stop tour arriving on a night bus from Cusco to Puno. We arrived and headed straight on a 2 day one night tour of the lake. We visited 3 of the islands and stayed the night with a local family. It was a great experience and one not to be missed when visiting Peru.




We firstly headed to the Uros Islands which are made and re-made from the totora reeds which provide home, sustenance and transportation for their residents. These floating islands are the home of the Uros tribe, one which pre-dates the Incan civilization.The actual islands are amazing and they demonstrated how the islands are made and maintained from the reeds that grow in the Lake. As you walk across it, you can actually feel it moving under your feet - very cool indeed. We didn´t really like the whole situation as it just seemed like an act for the tourists. A woman came and sat next to us and starteed knitting, as soon as I asked about it, she brought out a whole load of textiles that she had created and asked me if I wanted to buy them. Luckily the rest of the tour was not like this...




We then left Uros and headed for a bigger natural island with 3 thousand inhabitants called Amantani. We arrived and were met by our host families. We were taken to our house for the night and introduced to the family. The lady was called Matilda, her husband was Oswaldo, they had three boys. The house was made out of clay with a corrugated iron roof. It was very basic but we loved the experience. The bed was made out of clay with a reed base!



After being shown around we headed to the main plaza on the island where the locals were celebrating New year. We were luck to see it as al 10 communities from around the island were present. Each community dresses up in a different way and they all play music and dance. The funny thing was that they all played their different music and danced at the same time in different areas around the square. It was as if there was a competition to see which group could be the loudest. It was unusualy because all the men tended to sit together and drink whilst the women sat around and gossiped together, it was rare to see a man and woman together.




After watching the festivities we walked up to the highest point of the island at 4100m to see the view. You could actually see Bolivia from the top. The lake is divided into Peru and Bolivia. We wondered back down and had dinner with our family. As a tip for the family, Tommy brought a very fetching hat!



We left early the next morning and headed to out final destination on the lake, the island of Taquile. The journey between the two islands was awful and I felt really sea-sick. We evertually arrived and walked for about an hour to the main plaza. The walk reminded me of the cliffs in Guernsey. We wondered around for a while before having our lunch. The islanders all run different restaurants for the tourists and take it in turns to cook the traditional quinoa soup followed by trout. We paid a fortune for the meal and I had 2 potatoes instead of the trout! It was one of the best views we´ve ever had over lunch though so we can´t complain. We then walked down to the port on the other side of the island where our boat was waiting for us. We then returned to the mainland and killed some time in the town of Puno waiting for our night bus back to Cusco.