Jelisse and I bid farewell to Justin in Lima and hopped a bus south with Sr. Luis Hermoza, president of the Peruvian Lifesaving Association. Sixteen hours later, we were in Arequipa, a beautiful city nestled within a mountainous bowl. We mainly taught the Arequipa City Police who guard the beaches in the summer months. As opposed to Lima, where the police guards (or “salvatage”) are more focused on their other police duties and took a little coaxing to get in to lifeguard mode, the salvatage here were very proud to work the beaches and extremely gung-ho. We attributed this the much rougher conditions present in Arequipa, which created a deeper sense of pride and elitism within the ranks chosen for beach duty. In addition to the salvatage, we also worked with Sr. Hermosa in creating another upstart of local volunteers from local area pools and recreation centers. We taught for five days straight, each consisting of two four-hour sessions. On tuesday and thursday afternoon we met with the volunteers. The classes culminated on Saturday with a “putting it all together” style practical exam. It was a great experience and we made lots of friends as well.

-Matt

To view the photo album from Arequipa, click here.