Project Peru 2007

I took this photo in Lima this summer - I'm glad I managed to catch it as we went by on the bus to the airport because it summed up for me quite a lot about the conditions in Lima.

There were some very high class, 'nice' areas in Lima and obviously there were people who earned plenty of money, however there were also some real places where people obviously had very little and this photo with the advertisement for the fancy new car in contrast with the old banger parked in front of it really caught that dichotomy for me.

There were great swathes of Lima that looked like a grand building site. People often seemed to be living in the lower stories whilst new bits were built on top. It looked like shoeboxes stacked one on top of the other and with the steep hills in areas made it look even more like a giant stack. But Peru was full of such friendly people who were all interested in us and were prepared to share their lives with us. They were fantastic.

Finally, this picture is of the statue in El Parque del Amor in the Mireflores area of Lima. A park for lovers with a statue to commemorate love rather than struggle and war.
Lima and Peru were full of fantastically beautiful places - each so incredibly different; but still awesome. I feel so privileged to have been there and seen it - that cancer held back for long enough to let me get there and to have travelled with such a wonderful group of girls and women. Looking back on our photos I realise I miss them all.