Expedition Planning Manager Chris Brunning will be out in Peru for 2 weeks from 29th July as an on-the ground extension of the World Challenge Operations Centre. With lots of teams passing through Cusco, having a full time member of World Challenge staff as an immediate contact is a big plus point.
He will also be gaining more first hand knowledge of the destination as part of his role as Expedition Planning Manager for Peru, which includes visiting new project sites and talking to current and potential providers.
Think that’s it for now and we’ll see how things unfold while he’s out there!
Find out more about World Challenge expeditions to Peru
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Hello All,
Finally arrived in Cusco following an epic 2 day journey via Washington DC, Panama City and Lima! Even I`m sick of flying now, and those of you who know me will appreciate that is a very big statement!
The first leg of my journey passed smoothly thanks to my family connections at Virgin Atlantic! Things went swiftly downhill from there as I rose early the next morning to catch my flight to Peru, punctuated by a hefty 8 hour layover in, of all places, Panama City. I whiled the time away by swatting up on the Peru guidebook and Spanish phrasebook before getting stuck in to the hefty wad of paperwork prepared by LT on my behalf prior to departure. Luckily there was free wi-fi at the airport so I was able to check my emails before speaking to the eternally helpful Maria Gracia to confirm my hostel arrangements in Lima.
Once onboard my flight to Lima I was greeted by the gut wrenching sight of 2 obese Americans overhanging in to my seat. I held my breath, clambered over their clammy bodies and did my best to ignore their attempts of initiating their own brand of mind-numbing conversation! On arrival in Lima I was dismayed to find a rather large immigration queue. By the time I got through it and reached my hostel it was nearly midnight and I was well aware that I had to be up in just under 3 hours to catch my next flight.....it hardly seemed worth it but I got as much shut eye as I could and hauled myself back to the airport for my 5:20 am flight to Cusco.
I`d picked the window seat for this one as I was hoping for some spectacular views on approach to the ancient Inca capital, and I wasn`t disappointed. Andean peaks jutted through the clouds everywhere I looked, and as we descended further I could see thousands of buildings clinging to the sides of the mountains that surround the city.
After checking in to my hostel I was tempted to sneak in a cheeky powernap but resisted the temptation and ventured out to explore Cusco and get my bearings. After changing some funds and purchasing a local sim card I attempted to log in using the free wireless at the hostel with limited success. Nevermind, I found a nice cheap internet café right on the square from where I`ve been able to check in with the Ops room, check what`s been going on in-country and of course, post this blog! Oh, I almost fogot, probably the most eventful thing that has happened to me so far – the cheeky fella who exchanged my US$ for Soles not only tried to tell me that 2.75 multiplied by 250 = 605, he then also proceeded to hand me the measly sum of just 500 soles in exchange for my $250, considerably lower than the rate of 2.75 soles to 1 US$ that I’d been promised. Fair play to him for having a go but needless to say I was having none of it! Moral of the story – always check the calculation and count the cash!
Apologies for boring you to death for the last 4 and a half minutes, please rest assured this is likely to be the longest blog – I`ll try and keep the waffle to a minimum next time!
Hope everyone is well, I`m off to get an early dinner and some much needed sleep.
Hasta pronto……
Hola Amigos!
So for the second installment of my blog - I hope it doesn't bore you too much!
After arriving in Cusco, which sits at well over 3000m above sea level, I suffered from the trademark headache and shortness of breath. Combine this with the fatigue and jet lag that were bi-products of my journey down here and I was effectively a zombie during my first 24 hours in Cusco! I spent this time orientating myself, doing some admin and meeting our providers, Wayki trek. Leo, Americo and the gang have been extremely welcoming and helpful and have let me adopt their office as my own since I can't connect to the wireless in my hostel and am sick of internet cafes! Furthermore, their English is fortunately far superior to my Spanish so we've shared some interesting conversations, largely on the subjects of football and women! You'll be relieved to hear that I'm now feeling on top of the world again after a couple of high quality sleeps.
Cusco is a fantastic city, set in a stunning valley in the Peruvian Andes. It is the gateway to the Sacred Valley and the World famous Machu Picchu, so attracts it's fair share of foreign visitors. There is a well developed tourist infrastructure and English is quite widely spoken, but I've still managed to develop my basic Spanish to a limited extent! It is a manic, bustling city that seems to come alive at night. An endless array of narrow, cobbled streets sprout from Plaza de Armas, the main square and nerve centre of the city. Despite this, everywhere is within walking distance so I've made it my mission to cover as much of it as posisble and meet every team coming through.
Not to jinx myself, but everything is fairly calm so far. Of the 5 teams I've met, none have had any major issues and all seem to be really enjoying their time in this amazing country. Apart from very minor issues, the only thing I've had to deal with so far has been a challenger with a lost passport, which meant a trip to the British consulate. The team is currently in Puno, further South, so I have arranged for the challenger concerned to visit the consulate on Monday to finalise their application for a new passport. All things being equal, they should receive the new document just in time to fly home! Other than that basic admin has been taking up a fair proprtion of my day...checking emails, recording my budget etc...ugly stuff but has to be done!
As the incident count has been fairly low I've been trying to make myself useful by arranging meetings with current and potential providers, as well as attending project and trek briefings and doing some reconnaisance to help me in my new role as EPM for South America! Today I took the opportunity to trek up to the Sacsayhuaman ruins. Those in search of a 'sexy woman' will be sorely disappointed, but the view of Cusco below certainly made the effort worthwhile.
Tomorrow I plan to visit a couple of project sites and meet up with the latest batch of WC teams to arrive in town. Over the weekend I have some more meetings scheduled and the guys from Wayki have asked if I'd like to join them for a game of footy! I accepted (pending workload of course), in the name of research and upholding diplomatic relations!
There is also plenty more research to be done for 2011 and if I get time I might even visit MP or take a Spanish class. So, whatever happens, you don't need to be worried about me getting bored!
In other news, I am steadily working my way through Cusco's restaurant scene, gradually building up to the Alpaca or guinea pig on the final night. I'm spoilt for choice but think I may opt for a bit of comfort food tonight and head to the exotically named 'two nations', an Aussie/ Peruvian place that was recommended to me by St Mary's team 1 earlier today!
Hasta Pronto y saludos!
Chris
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