Days out with Raquel and Percy

I have known Raquel and Percy for nearly 13 years since Percy was a baby and they are still an inspiration to me.

It’s wonderful to be able to see each other when I’m in Lima. I met up with them at their church one Sunday, and then afterwards we went for lunch (we always have Chinese - they make me choose but I know Percy loves it) and I took them ice skating. This has been a plot of mine ever since I found out there is an ice rink. It’s a tiny rink, outdoors (amazingly in the sweltering heat of Lima) but surrounded by plastic screens. Peruvians seem much more safety conscious that the British when it comes to ice - we all had to wear helmets and were not allowed to skate round in a group in case one fell over and took everyone else down too. Any time someone fell, an instructor would rush over and help them to get up.

 

Raquel and Percy had never done it before.  I took them each round one at a time, staying close to the edge but trying to persuade them not to grab the barrier unless they were about to fall.  Percy did really well and by the end we did a whole circuit hands-free.  He was keen to try out the middle but at that point our time ran out.  I really enjoy seeing him try new things and slowly open up as the day progresses.  He’s always very quiet when I first see them, and then slowly gets more and more smiley and chatty.

Next door was a set of miniature models of different parts of Lima, so we enjoyed walking round that and planning future days out. 

The next weekend we went to Huancayo, where Raquel’s parents live.  After an overnight bus ride of 8 hours (which is short compared to the Abancay journey) her mother gave us breakfast and her niece gave us showers.  I was dozing off every time I sat on the sofa but we eventually made it out and went to a trout farm.  These are really popular up here and nice places to eat.  This one was really lovely and on the edge of a woodland valley, so we walked up after lunch to find a rumoured waterfall.

Next day Raquel and I got up early and went to see the sights of Huancayo - although her parents live there she didn’t grow up there so much of it is new to her as well.  It was great to have some one-on-one time to talk together.