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Aracelly with oranges and Lon's Bike Friday. Don't you just want to adopt her?
Hot on the heels of the inaugural 16,000 Feet on a Friday -Biking the World's Highest Paved Road 2004 expedition, Lon Haldeman returns to Peru with the generous donations of all who have come in contact with his project to buy provisions for the Puerto Ocopa Orphanage (near Satipo) and Iquitos School. Here's an update:
PHOTO GALLERY A selection of shots by Lon Haldeman
Read about and donate to the Orphanage, get the DVD
Read about this and other PACTOUR Peru tours
UPDATE Dec 5, 2005:
RETURNING to the Puerto Ocopa Orphanage was a highlight of our cycling tour. Before the bike ride began I told everyone that the bicycle was just a way to get from experience to experience. I said the most memorable parts of this tour would happen when we weren’t riding our bikes. Most of the riders didn’t understand what I meant since they were about to begin a 16,000 foot climb the next day.
At the end of the first day we arrived in San Mateo. We had some extra time before dinner so we all took a walk downtown. As we went by a school yard a bunch of the kids surrounded our group and started asking questions. Fortunately our guides Clara and Vioricka could translate answers for the children’s curiosity. Some teachers came over to see all the action. They invited us into the school yard to watch the children perform some ethnic folk dances for us. In a few minutes the courtyard was filled with a music tape from the boom box and 100 children danced to the precise steps of ancient dances.
We stayed at the school for over an hour watching the dancing and being interview by the children. The whole visit was unplanned. Later that night at dinner many of the riders commented that the visit to the school was a highlight of the day even though we had a perfect day of cycling climbing to 10,000 feet.
These school kids in their red sweaters at the San Mateo school.
Similar experiences would happen everyday as we cycled from village to village. One day we were eating at roadside restaurant. A small girl named Aracella lived at the restaurant. Her parents and grandfather owned the restaurant and were cooking in the kitchen. Aracella was about eight years old and had a bright smile with beautiful teeth. Everyone in our group commented how beautiful and friendly she was. I took several photos of Aracelly sitting on my Bike Friday during lunch. When I went back to the kitchen to pay the bill her mother and grandfather asked me if I liked Aracelly. I said she was really cute and intelligent. Then her mother asked me if I would take Aracelly back to the United States with me and raise her as my daughter. I was a little confused by the offer but then I realized the mother was looking for a better life for her daughter. Similar situations of parents offering me their children to take home and raise in the United States would happen four more times during the tour. Each time I declined, but the experience is something I won’t forget.
Aracelly with Lon's Bike Friday.
Our visit to the Peurto Ocopa Orphanage had been in the planning since our trip there last year. This time we would be more organized and bring a good selection of food, clothes, garden equipment and other supplies. We advertised the visit to the Orphanage as part of the bike tour and had a fund raising projects throughout the year. During all our planning we kept our visit secret from the Orphanage. We didn’t want them relying on us in case we didn’t collect all our supplies.
The pile of food we brought to the orphanage.
During the year we collected about $2,000 in donations from Bike Friday and PAC Tour riders. When we arrived in Peru our group organized several shopping trips to buy supplies.
During one shopping tour we divided our group of 10 people into five pairs of riders with an English speaking tour guide. Each pair of riders and guide were then responsible to buy 25 sets of clothes for an specific age group of orphans, such as boys ages 5 to 10 years old or girls age 12-16 years old. Each group then went into the clothing market to choose a selection of clothes. We were able to get good deals from the market and usually paid less than $5 for an outfit of shirt and pants. For our group it was an interesting shopping tour of negotiating prices and understanding the Peruvian market.
The orphans' new clothes.
We had ridden our bikes over 250 miles over the 16,000 foot Andes Mountains from Lima to the jungle town of Satipo. We had accumulated and carried our supplies in our support van. The final 50 miles to the orphanage would be in taxies to deliver our supplies. We could have cycled the final 50 miles but the rocky road is suitable for a full suspension mountain bike. For most good riders it is a 8 hour trip and we only had road bikes with skinny tires. We decided to take a the three hour taxi ride because we needed to deliver our supplies and return to Satipo later in the afternoon.
We arrived at the orphanage in the middle of an major thunderstorm. While we were diving for cover under the eves of the 100 year old church yard the children were playing the the rain puddles. The nuns who ran the school put the rainstorm to use and asked the children to line up near the roof downspout. Each child received a large handful of orange liquid shampoo to wash their hair and wet clothes. In a few minutes the courtyard was filled with dozens of children taking their weekly bath and doing their laundry. They rinsed their clothes by running and sliding through the puddles on the smooth marble courtyard floor. They looked like they enjoyed playing in the rain as much as washing their clothes.
The children washing their clothes.
Since our visit was a surprise the children didn’t know what gifts we had brought them. We started unloading a pick-up truck load of bags of rice, flour, pasta, cooking oil, tooth brushes, toilet paper and piles of other supplies. The children got even more excited when they saw the new clothing and outfits for them. Then we brought in the selection of toys which rivaled Santa’s Sleigh.
An assortment of Beanie Babies, soccer balls, toy trucks, Barbies, Batman figures and Legos were displayed for distribution. By this time the children were beside themselves with smiles and giggles. Then we started bring in the shovels, rakes, hoes and post holes diggers from them to use in their garden. They knew the garden tools were for them to work in the fields. They weren’t so happy to see the tools but they knew the equipment was a key to them having enough fresh homegrown food to survive.
It's not about the bike ...
We stayed at the orphanage for about three hours. We ate lunch with the children in their dining hall. They sang us songs for the blessing before dinner. It was an emotional day for our group and the children but for different reasons.
As we started our taxi drive back to Satipo our group looked at Peru a little differently now. We still had to ride 250 miles in four days back to Lima. About 200 miles of it would be uphill. We still had a 16,000 foot mountain to cross. We knew what we had to do, but no one complained about the challenge. Everyone understood now that the bicycle was just a way to get between experiences. We left the orphanage with a better understanding about Peru and ourselves.
Join this trip next year. Visit for more details.
The kids weren't the only cuties to meet ...
UPDATE Nov 17, 2005:
Lynette - There are about 200 photos from the 16,000 Assault Tour and 300 from the Riverboat and school tour. There are several interesting BIKE FRIDAY photos and about 30 good photos from the orphanage. There is an interesting selection of each child holding your big photo print of them from last year. After you look at them maybe you can find a place for some of them on the website. - Lon
Thanks to Tim Link for printing out these great shots on his color printer for the orphans to keep. See the Peru Gallery here. Stay tuned for more as Lon catches up after this expedition!
UPDATE Nov 8, 2005, Day 1:
We flew into Tarapoto today from Lima. We start our 100 mile jeep ride through the jungle tomorrow. Then we get to the boat docks. There is a rumor the boat we wanted to take will be delayed until we arrive. That would be great if we could get on that boat with bigger cabins and private showers. The other boats leaving during the week are much more basic. Either way the group is ready for the adventure! I will be on the River until next friday. I will let you know how the tour went and the progress of the school.
Day 2:
there were heavy rains all night at our resort lodge in Tarapoto. This morning the hotel office was flooded with 4 inches of flowing water coming through the lobby. This was not the typical rain shower. We helped move the computer equipment and book cases to higher floors.
We thought we would have to cancel our drive through the jungle. the road might be closed with mud slides. Just when we were making plan B a driver arrived coming out of the jungle. He said the road was clear during the night. We decided to proceed with 4 vehicles for our 11 people. The road was slick and muddy most of the morning. The parts which were not mud were build with volleyball-sized rocks. The underside of the car must have taken a beating from all the rocks we bottomed out on during the day. Most of the ride was too bumpy to even drink from a waterbottle while moving.
When we arrived at the boat docks we looked at our boat options. The good boat we wanted was delayed 2 more days to load cargo. We decided to take a more basic boat which departs Tuesday night. We still had cabin space for all of us and room to hang a hammock on the open deck. We bought some of our own food and we will have be able to use the kitchen. Wome of our group used to be restaurant cooks so I expect we will eat well on the boat.
I will write again tomorrow before the boat departs in the night. then i will be traveling for 3 days and out of touch ...
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UPDATE: October 30, 2005 - The tour is going well. We delivered all the supplies to the orphans and are on our way back to Lima. It was quite a scene with the children lining up to choose there clothes and toys. They were less enthusiastic about the bags of flour, beans, shovels and rakes. It was a really nice day for all the riders to see.
I have shot 4 hours of video so far on the bike tour. about an hour of the footage is really good. I need to condense it to 30 minutes.
I have some good bike friday photos to send you with local Indian women with my bike.
I will write more in a few days. I will ask Susan to forward you some of my updates I sent her.
Lon
Lon will lead you to the top of the roadbikeable world!
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