January 31 Team Meeting

Hello All!

The theme of the meeting on January 31 was budget, itineraries and tips! Teams received individual itineraries so please check with your team leader for specific updates. As well, teams met in their groups for a little team-building with a survival exercise and then began to discuss work assignments.

The full group meeting was chockablock with information. While most of what follows pertains to the fun stuff, I hope to begin to share the richer experience of mission work by profiling teams about their preparations.

1. Please plan on bringing 1 piece of luggage with your belongings and one bag of mission supplies. We would so appreciate any fund-raising efforts as we hope to buy purchase medical supplies in Bolivia and Peru.

2. The cultural tour sounds increasingly exciting. Our groups will converge at Copacabana near the border of Peru and Bolivia - a touristy little place with loads of inexpensive stuff to buy from the market - and then board a boat to tour the beautiful Lake Titicaca stopping to visit Inca sites on the islands. We then return to Puna which is a neotropical eco-region and one of the eight Natural Regions of Peru. The Puna region comprises high plateaus and cliffs. The region has a cold climate, and its name literally means "mountain top". From there we take a train to Cuscos. By the way, Cuscos is at a high altitude so we're advised to "take it slow."

3. In Peru we will take in a folklore music show. By the way, you might want to memorize the lyrics to El Cóndor Pasa. If you don't prior to the trip, we can guarantee you will have memorized this tune by the time you leave Peru because you'll likely hear it 400 times. For trivia buffs, El Condor Pasa is a song from the Peruvian composer Daniel Alomía Robles written in 1913 and based on traditional Andean folk tunes. It is possibly the best-known Peruvian song worldwide due to a cover version by Simon & Garfunkel in 1970 on their Bridge Over Troubled Water album, which is called El Condor Pasa (If I Could).

4. Another part of the Peruvian experience is chi cha or purple beer. While it may look odd, it's reportedly fine to drink. In fact one travel blog reports that the locals love to come to the market on Sunday to eat roasted dove and drink chi cha. And as you drive through the countryside, you might see long sticks with little white flags attached to houses and businesses. The white flag means that the latest batch of chi cha is ready and travelers can stop and buy it.

5. A highlight will be our visit to Machu Picchu or "Old Peak"; a pre-Columbian Inca site located 2,430 metres (8,000 ft) above sea level. It is situated on a mountain ridge in Peru - 80 kilometres (50 mi) northwest of Cusco. Often referred to as "The Lost City of the Incas", Machu Picchu is one of the most familiar symbols of the Inca Empire. Here we will stay in two hotels and early risers can board a bus to view the sunrise.

6. For those travelling to the Amazon, Rev. Canon Kim Beard has booked us there for 3 nights to "rest, relax and take in the experience." We'll be staying in 3 lodges - as far apart as 2 hours. Ready yourself for encounters with snakes and spiders and meeting a tarantula is almost guaranteed. Contact Canon Kim to find out in which lodge you are booked.

7. For some, the final leg of the journey will end in the Galapagos or Easter Island. At this point, 18 of us have chosen an adventure in the Galapagos while a small but hardy trio will visit Easter Island.

Hope to see all of you on February 28, 2009!