winifredcreamer

Climate Change in my Neighborhood

One of the reasons people have had trouble believing in man-made climate change has been the lack of symptoms. Things have changed, or we’ve passed a tipping point, because now everyone sees climate change around them. Summer in Europe turns Florence into an oven, while winter in some parts of the US doesn’t bring enoughContinue reading “Climate Change in my Neighborhood”

Fiesta Weekend, Feb. 7-12, 2020

This was the weekend of the annual fiesta in our neighborhood. The Virgin of Lourdes is the patroness of our area. A tiny chapel sits up on the hillside, and the larger chapel is at the end of our block. Every year a local resident sponsors the festival and organizes a weekend of activities. ThisContinue reading “Fiesta Weekend, Feb. 7-12, 2020”

Enjoying the Slow Lane

We walk to the opposite end of the beach and back almost every day. We walk down on the sidewalk by the seawall, and back on the beach. You’d think we’d get tired of the up and down, but we always find new things to look at. By taking the same route every day, weContinue reading “Enjoying the Slow Lane”

January Celebration

Jonathan’s birthday is Jan. 24, and as we chatted with neighbors on the beach, we found three others with birthdays on the same day, one the day before, one the week before, one the week after. We decided that a celebration was in order, and began our planning. Our first issue was when to haveContinue reading “January Celebration”

A wall decal

Our neighbor, Toto, has just built a new guest house and put some really nice decals on the walls. It’s a nice way to add decoration when you don’t want to use up a lot of space. When I asked where he got his decals, he offered to get me the contact information. A coupleContinue reading “A wall decal”

Family Visit

We had the best holiday in a long time, with all our girls coming to Peru. Lillian and Neil came from Champaign, IL, Lyra from Los Angeles, and Amanda and Jim from Los Angeles. It wasn’t as logistically awful as it could have been, with one group arriving on the Friday night before Christmas andContinue reading “Family Visit”

A New Years Day at the beach

Half the world celebrates Christmas and the New Year in the summer, right after the longest day of the year. Here in Barranca, we’re close enough to the equator that the longest day is only about 30 minutes longer than the shortest, and we still celebrate, watching the sunset from the front porch, enjoying theContinue reading “A New Years Day at the beach”

Holiday Time at the beach

It’s almost Christmas and we’ve been watching the neighborhood get ready for the holidays. Decorations are not that extensive, though the city has installed a tableau including Santa along one street, and there’s a Christmas tree on the beach. Until the last weekend before Christmas there wasn’t much decoration. On the weekend, though, booths sellingContinue reading “Holiday Time at the beach”

Change is coming to the Beach

Christmas is not just a major holiday in Peru, it kicks off the summer vacation season. Schools let out the week before Christmas and stay closed until March first. Families take beach holidays. Seaside businesses make most of their annual income between Christmas and Easter. This week we started to see the build-up in expectationContinue reading “Change is coming to the Beach”

River of Birds

It’s migration season and over the past few days there have been birds flying south along the coast. Overhead there is a constant line or V- or swarm of gulls, terns, pelicans, and other birds making their way past us. Yesterday, we were amazed by the sheer number of birds flying overhead. At one point,Continue reading “River of Birds”