I woke up this morning to loud, repetitive firecrackers at 7am; the Poroto town festival officially began today (with a bang!). I ate breakfast with Maria and then we ran outside to see the passing marching band parade. All the men in the band were wearing matching black slacks and white and blue striped dress shirts and they were accompanied by little kids eagerly passing out lollipops and other dulces. The band circled the town (which took all of 5 minutes) and then reassembled under the newly refurbished pavilion in the town square. As the band continued, couples joined in the plaza waving handkerchiefs and stomping their feet to Marinera, a traditional Peruvian dance. Combis continued to pull into the town and unload families carrying bags of sweet bread, barrels of pineapple, and sacks of potatoes to prepare for this weekend’s festivities in honor of the patron saint.

Unfortunately, I won’t be able to stay for the donkey races, dancing competitions, and fireworks that are planned for the rest of the weekend. The town has been full of life since early morning, so I’m sure some pretty exciting festivities await. I sat in the plaza most of the morning, soaking up the sun, smiling at my new neighbors, and talking to little kids as I was serenaded by the band.

One of the girls in the youth group was heading to Bello Horizante, a nearby town where my Peace Corps friend Ian lives, so she volunteered to take me there so he and I could travel back to Trujillo together. Ian gave me a tour of his site, which is about 25 minutes away towards Trujillo, and introduced me to his new host family. Especially considering Peace Corps and Peru time, Ian and I are super close, so hopefully we’ll be able to work on some of our projects together. In fact, the youth from both of our towns are already coordinating for some things, so I think we could facilitate some awesome events or programs together. Ian’s town provided a special escort to accompany us back to Trujillo and all the way to our hostel, which was really sweet. I felt much better about not showering during my entire site visit when Ian also revealed that he hadn’t braved the shower situation at his site either. Needless to say, I took advantage of the amazing hot shower at the hostel before we wondered around Trujillo for the evening.