Where the Wild Things Are...

"Remember you are over the edge of the wild now, and in for all sorts of fun wherever you go."
J.R.R. Tolkien

This week, I have had the opportunity to explore the neighborhood in Alto Cayma, and I thought I would share with you pictures of what Alto Cayma looks like. Alto Cayma is truly a different world. Some of the things I have seen and participated in make my stomach drop. Some of them - particularly the ways in which these people work together, astound me.

This is the neighborhood.



This is a picture of a typical street in Alto Cayma.



In the next two pictures, you can see what the houses often look like.





Believe it or not, this is a bathroom.



In Alto Cayma, there are stray dogs everywhere. Some families choose to have a dog to protect their house. In this case, the dog is usually found on the roof. I'm not quite sure why yet.



This is a picture of people coming to the well. Most families do not have running water in their homes.



This well serves about 85 families in the Diecinueve de Enero neighborhood. We talked with one man who said his family collects 7 5-gallon buckets a day. Unfortunately, there is usually no water in the well by the weekend.



This is the volcano, El Misti, that can be seen both from where I live in Arequipa and in Alto Cayma.



These are the mountains surrounding Alto Cayma. Many of the people that live in these settlements actually came down from the mountains in search of a better life. Sadly, life here is not always better than life in the mountains.



Some of these pictures of sobering. Some of them are fascinating. I am truly over the edge of the wild now, and I believe with my whole heart that the youth of Alto Cayma and I are in for all sorts of growth and fun as we learn from each other.