Sr. Luis Hermoza was waiting promptly in the airport when we arrived. We had hinted that we might be bringing paddleboards, and his eyes grew wide when he saw them. What he didn’t know was that they were his. Thanks to a great donation from Volusia County Beach Patrol, we were able to provide the Association of Peruvian Lifeguards (ASP) with two foam-top rescue boards. We spent the week racing from pool to pool to pool to meet and greet with lifeguard candidates all over Lima. The weekend was spent on the beach, where we held open classes for the Lima city police, the ASP, and any and all interested members of the public. We had a great showing. Too great actually. We quickly realized that our classroom would not hold all 100+ of our students, so we had to adapt, improvise, and overcome. Fortunately, Playa El Silencio has relatively calm waters, so we were able to hold class on the beach without needing to yell too much. We still yelled a lot, but only because we like to yell. A lot. Overall a great deal was accomplished. As always, we focused on rescuer safety and prevention, and everyone had a great time conducting mock rescues and learning to use the paddleboard.

To view the photo album from our classes in Playa El Silencio, click here.

For more pictures from around Lima, click here.