Back to Peru and Arequipa with CU students September 2019

Peru:

Rafting Arequipa's Rio Chili, a Class 3 river on 7 Sept 2019

            Yesterday afternoon (the 7^th) was an exciting time for 28 (+me) CU and San Pablos’ International students. We rafted the Rio Chile, a Class 3 river currently where the water, reportedly was 45 degrees (7 C). The river flows through Arequipa. We had wet suits and the sun was shining down on us. We first received instructions on what to do in the raft if it got too rough and what to do if we fell out. Then, we entered the river and later came out thoroughly wet but with smiles on our faces. My only regret was that since we were a large group and divided into two groups, I was unable to take pics of the other half; however, once we get the official shots taken by the rafting company, I plan to post some of them as well.

            An aside—which is related to the rafting. A group of local young people were gathered at the site where we exited the river, and one of them had a Peruvian blue hairless dog. I tried to point this out to the other students, but they had already moved on. So, I added a pic. I had heard just this past week, and confirmed by one of the river guides who stayed with me that Peru is trying to restore the numbers of these dogs and place them at all of Peru’s historical sites. They used to function as bed warmers, so if you encounter one of these “blue dogs,” pet them and feel the warmth. My own kids and grandkids did. Paz y Ciao.