Living in Peru : your everyday companion

Saturday morning Marmelita and I flagged down a motocar to take us to the Amazon Golf Course. We agree to pay the S/. 10 fare, loaded up three large bottles of water, and an equally large container with 6 turtles in water and we were ready to go.

There was a big rain storm Friday night, with high winds, and the streets were still wet, but the day was overcast and pleasant. It was good to be out and I was looking forward to several hours at the golf course.

Every Saturday we provide free golf lessons from 10:00 to 12:00 for non-golfers, and we nearly always go to watch the golf lessons, check out the course, make sure everything is ship shape, pay the crew that works so hard to make your golf course playable, and to enjoy the day.

With Peruvian football somewhat in the doldrums, the readers of Living in Peru may like to hear about a sport which is on an upward trajectory and perhaps they will offer their moral support to Peru’s cricketers in an upcoming international tournament.

The 2008/09 season has been one of consolidation and progress for the Peru Cricket Association (PCA), but challenges still lie ahead. We saw more people participating in cricket, in various forms, than ever before and our plans to (re)introduce cricket to local and international schools have begun to take root.

At the age of 85, he returned to Peru with three gold medals from the World Masters Athletic Championships in Finland. This is the story of the “arequipeño” Hugo Delgado: 60 years as a doctor, 20 as an athlete.

by
Rodney Dodig

Last March I received a general invitation in my E-mail to attend a 20/20 Cricket competition at the Lima Cricket and Football Club in the suburb of Magdalena via the expatperu web site I had registered on. It was being played over three weekends and since I had no plans for the last weekend of the competition I thought it would be an interesting experience, plus I was surprised to see this sport being played here. I E-mailed the gentleman, a Julian Walter, who had sent out the invitation expressing my interest. He responded promptly and agreed to meet me at the entrance to the Club and give me some background on the sport in Lima and his team. It turns out he is the Captain of the Lima Cricket Team.

by
Bruce Clark

Here are some photos from the Lima Model Car Racing Championship held at the Mini Auto Track, Costa Verde, Magdalena on May 17th.  Each car was electronically monitored to decide the winners, speed, etc., of each of the 3 classes - 1/10 scale, 1/8 scale & 1/6 scale. It was a fun event and the guys are really serious.
 
Trophies were presented by the event sponsers Xtreme hobbys in Chorillos.

By Dave Aabo

One donation is shaping the history of surfing in Peru. Global Surf Industries (GSI) sent a shipping container full of surfboards to Peru last year. It’s true as GSI founder says “Life is better when you surf”. The driving force behind the boards’ arrival was a new not-for-profit association in Peru, Switzerland and the USA: WAVES for Development. With the help of IPD (Instituto Peruano de Deporte) and FENTA (Federacion Deportiva Nacional de Tabla) the donated boards have made it into select schools along the coast of Peru. Earlier this month WAVES for Development completed a two-week pilot project in the community of Lobitos, 65 km south of Mancora, putting some of those boards to good use.

By Diana P. Olano
Pictures provided by: dawnontheamazon.com/blog/

Categorized as an extreme sport, river rafting sees a group of people aboard an inflatable raft, trying to navigate through usually rough waters. The activity is popular worldwide, with fans heading to the Arkansas River for whitewater fun or to the harsh waters of the Tara River in Montenegro. Obstacles in these types of rafting adventures usually include drops in elevation, large waves and big rocks. The annual Great Amazon River Raft Race in the rainforest waters of Peru is considered just as extreme, but reasons entirely different since jungle is like no place on earth and this competition can't be compared to many.

By Jim Plunkett

Tiger Woods would undoubtedly prefer playing the British Open in St. Andrews over our local golf courses, but then again, Peru holds a rather unique experience for those that  relish chasing a little white ball around an enclosed park at the foot of the Andes.

The Amazon Rafting Club, based in Iquitos, Peru, invites rafters, canoeists, rowers, and paddlers from all over the world to compete in this year’s event.

The 3 day race will start in the town of Nauta on Friday, 21st September 2007, and finish in the City of Iquitos on Sunday, 23rd September 2007. Each 4 person crew will paddle their ready built, lightweight, balsawood raft down the mighty Amazon River for 132 miles. The winning crews will show excellence in teamwork, stamina and knowledge of currents and rivers.

The History of The Great River Amazon Raft Race

In June 1998 Mike Collis moved to Iquitos from Birmingham, England, for what he thought would be a quiet life. In 1999 Gerald Mayeaux was appointed as the Director of Tourism for Iquitos. Gerald asked Mike if he had any ideas on how to promote tourism in Iquitos. Mike told him that for more than 25 years he had organized raft races in England. Gerald asked Mike to organize the first raft race on the Amazon.

The first Amazon Raft Race took place on the 29th July 1999, on the Nanay River. 43 crews competed in the 12 mile, one day race from Santa Clara to Bella Vista Nanay. The winning team completed the course in just over 2 hours and 30 minutes.

The second race, one year later, was on the same course with over 60 teams competing from 14 different countries.

In 2003 the course was extended to 26 miles over 2 days, from the village of Nina Rumi to Bella Vista Nanay. The winning team completed the course in 4 hours and 20 minutes.

This race format continued into 2004 and 2005 but then it was decided to go for the “Big One” in 2006, “The Worlds Longest Raft Race”.

(Provided by the Americo Tordoya Mountaineering Club)

The Americo Tordoya Mountaineering Club (CMAT), based in Lima, Peru, is organizing the first Peruvian expedition to Mt. McKinley, Alaska (6,194 M) in June of 2007.

Alaska is considered the last frontier in extreme climbing. It is a remote and inaccessible area, where many of the most beautiful and impressive mountains on our planet are located. McKinley, known as Denali by the Native Americans, is the highest mountain in North America and attracts hundreds of climbers every year who try to climb this impressive and difficult mountain.

BACKGROUND

In May of 2000, the leader of the present expedition, Fausto Vinces attempted to climb Denali with American and Australian climbers but was unsuccessful because of bad weather and the lack of proper equipment. The highest point reached by Vinces and his team was Camp 3 (14, 000 feet).
 
The lessons learned from that expedition were assimilated and the idea to organize the first Peruvian expedition to Denali was born on his flight back to New York.

After multiple conversations and meetings in 2004 and 2005, the plan was formalized in August 2006. The expedition was officially supported by CMAT in November thus making the first Peruvian expedition to Denali a reality.  Currently, the expedition is conduction activities to obtain sponsorship and support for this brave endeavor.