River Cleanup in Pisac!

Trash is a big problem in Peru.

River cleanup in Pisac (Serena in green hat)

 Today we joined the monthly river cleanup in Pisac. The 8 of us--representing Mexico, Chile, Canada, and the USA--spent the morning pulling garbage out of the little river that flows into the big Urubamba River.  We were so proud of our kids who showed enthusiasm for this volunteer work.

Afterwards, we shared lunch donated by a local restaurant near the river.

Serena helping "Oso" (Chile) to sort garbage

Great helper that girl!

Another "tire-less" helper!

William fearlessly wading into the cold water to pull out trash

While we were working as an efficient team to gather the garbage, we discussed the scale of this issue.
In Pisac, there is a lot of trash generated but very little recycling available. It seems only plastic bottles (plenty of those!) can be recycled.  Plastic bags are handed out with every purchase, unless you remember to bring your own. They end up all over the place, and people even dump their trash in the river.  In fact, the municipal garbage dump is right next to the Rio Urubamba!  The problem seems daunting. But at least we made a start.


As it turns out, the Big Tree on the Plaza, some 430 years old, was struck by lightning at 2 am this morning, thus demolishing this icon of the town. The pieces were trucked to the riverside dump just as we were bringing our collected trash there. The girls played with the beautiful moss from the old tree's branches.

Cleanup organizer and all-around super hero, Paz