Our Hotel, 'Hostel El Patio is a little slice of heaven...(not used to such luxury on a trip but I think I could get used to it)

Today we welcomed Dr. Jennifer Seidel from Denver onto our team. The group split up and went with their own agendas to see and do today.

Lima is a city of contrasts from the very old to the very new buildings and everything in between. The weather is quite like San Francisco in Fall here in Lima...a bit cool but sunny.

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We are told there is a troublesome petty-crime problem here and to be vigilant on the street...however it seemed o.k. to me. I took a 3-hour walk around the City Center, exploring what there was to see without a twinge....until I made change from $US to Soles from a moneychanger on the street who we were told were trustworthy...he gave me fake coins among my change...oh well.

******If you're looking for a coffeeshop in Lima there is one on Avenida Larco sandwiched in between the McDonald's and the Payless shoe store - it's called Starbucks. Hello Globalization, bye-bye local merchants? Though I did manage to find a local Cafe for some good Peruvian coffee.

******Tomorrow we will be working in 2 clinics on the poorer outskirts of Lima under the auspices of 3 groups: Pathfinders (Dr. Guttierez and Dr. Garcia) 2) Instituto de Salud Popular (INSAP) and 3) Proyecto para Salud Reproductiva (ESAR). This is PINCC's 2nd visit. We are training Dr's and Midwives, some of whom will become trainers and hopefully run a training center in Medisol in the near future.

The work marches on...up at 6:30 am tomorrow for a lite brkfst and the trip to the clinic.

Cheers,

Mai