THE GOODNESS RETURNS!

Hola from Peru!  Sorry the goodness blogging has been M.I.A. for the last few days, but as we are traveling through developing countries, sometimes it’s a challenge to find the internet.  But, don’t ya worry I have been doing lots of juicy bits of goodness daily.

So the last time I wrote, we were in La Paz, Bolivia.  Since then we have traveled to Copacabana, Bolivia, Puno, Peru and the Uros Islands, and now we are currently in Cusco, Peru.  One little act of goodness that I have been able to do everyday is feed those on the street.  Bread is served at every meal in restaurants here (and lots of it!) and  Matt and I usually leave most of it uneaten.  SO, as you saw with the picture I posted last time, I try to give bread to as many people as I can who are hungry and on the streets.

Also, there are an unbelievable amount of stray dogs in Bolivia and Peru as well.  SO, if we aren’t helping give food to the people on the street, we are feeding the cute little homeless doggies.  (It’s so sad to see them so dirty and hungry… I want to take them all home!)

We also visited the Uros Islands in Lake Titicaca, and had an amazing time.  These islands are completely made out of reeds (or tortua as they call it in Spanish) and over 2,000 indigenous people live on these islands.  They have little homes made of reeds, schools made of reeds, boats made of reeds…it’s quite a sight to see!  Before we got on the boat to get to the islands, we were told that the children of the islands don’t have many toys (that aren’t made out of reeds) and it’s a really nice thing to bring little “gifts” for the children of the Islands. Apparently colored pencils are one of the most treasured items, so I bought a pack of colored pencils and passed them out to all the different children that I saw.  I got warm hugs from their mothers thanking me graciously.

On our way into Cusco, we took a 10 hour scenic bus ride along the Peruvian country side.  We stopped at several different places to see different historical landmarks, etc. and at one particular spot, there was a little girl of about 3 who was wondering around by herself.  She looked bored, sad, and tired.  I wished I had something to give to her.  I tried to talk to her a bit, although my Spanish is not up to par, and then I remembered I had a little treat in my bag.  Before we left LA, I had gotten a few random items for the families we were going to stay with and for the children we would meet, so I got it out of my bag.  It was a small surfboard key chain.  I know it’s such a random thing to even have, but the little girl was delighted with it.  She kept bouncing it around as if it was a toy, and to her it probably was.  She stumbled up to me and gave me a little hug around my legs which was so cute!

It’s been a great week of traveling and seeing the way that other cultures live.  I am so glad that I have been able to bring just a little bit of goodness into these developing countries.  Please read more about our travel adventures on our travel blog: www.RandomActsOfTravel.com where you can see more photos and videos.