Hello everyone!!! I´m backkkkkk. Sorry it has been so long. It´s been very hard to get internet in Cuzco. Oh yeah, I´m in Cuzco!! Actually, Calca, in the sacred valley, but Cuzco is the nearest known town. I don´t even know where to begin on all of my crazy adventures over the past week plus. So if I start to ramble, and things might not go in correct order, please excuse. Also, I hope to add some pictures to this post once I´m back in Lima in 2 weeks time!
So Emily and I arrived 2 Thursdays ago at Yesica´s home in Calca. There to greet us was her brother Julio, her sister Edi, her mother Juana, and her son Inti. Also there to great us were 4 dogs, 4 ducks, 2 pigs (one of which became a meal later on during the week), guinea pigs, rabbits and lets not forget chickens. My least favorite farm animal. The beauty of the chickens? First, the rooster has an odd sense of time and can´t for the life of him get the whole ¨when the sun comes up I should crow¨ and instead does it all throughout the hours of the day. Second to this is that one of the windows to my room is open to a ramp that goes behind the house, one in which the chickens and other farm folk love to travel throughout the day. The cat did this one day for I opened up my chest of drawers to get ready for the morning and it jumped out at me. Good morning and let me scare the crap out of you!!!, thinks the cat.
Anyways, the first weekend Emily, Julio and I ventured to Cuzco for we only saw it for a couple of minutes in passing. What a busy, lovely city! It´s also full of tourists, which is nice for you almost feel a somewhat common ground with them in this different, beautiful world. We went to a lot of artisan booths and toured the city, Juilo showing us a lot of old architecture while locals were selling little llama keychains or were walking around with goats and traditional wear for tourists to pose with. It was also a lovely lunch for I caved and got some french fries and grilled cheese. I needed a little bit of something fried. I´m from the South, aren´t I? We went back late in the afternoon and had a homecooked dinner by Juana. I´m actually very fortunate for all of our meals are homecooked hear and they are amazing.
Can´t really recall what we did on Sunday, but on Monday we traveled with Yesica to a very rural community high in the mountains to talk with them about bioentensive agriculture and about how their crops are doing. It started in the house of the leader of the agriculture group where his wife served us hot mate de coca, or hot tea which cocaine leaves had been soaking in. It really helps with altitude and doesn´t get you high for those that think it does! We then walked around the fields for an hour or two with Yesica in the cold rain when finally the group called off the meeting BECAUSE of the rain. Oh, well. We all loaded into a first taxi, which had two sheep in the back. You know, the usual. Then for some reason we loaded into another taxi because we couldn´t find the first taxista. This taxi, all said and done, had 13 people in it when it should have only had 5. This is the only instance where I feel YOLO is appropriate.
With our day short I then watced Ice Age 2 and 3 and Shreck 1 with Inti. All the DVDs here are really nice for all of the Ice Age movies or all of the Shrek movies come on one DVD. Very convenient. Juana laso made us arroz con leche which was amazing and comforting after a long, cold day. I think it was the slowness of that day that set the mood for the business of the next couple.
I forgot exactly what the festival was for, so I will have to get back to you on that, but there was a three day local festival that happened in Calca. It was a little ridiculous to say the least. Before the festivities at night, Emily, Juilo, Inti and the crew planted to fields of corn with some cerveza/chicha break. Chicha is another alcoholic drink made from corn. This is one thing I love about this country. There is always time for a drink. Then that night we went to the fiesta! It consisted of lots of traditional dancing, music, food and anything you can imagine. It was at this big hacienda and everyone from town was there. More exciting stuff happened the next night though.
The next day was also pretty mundane. Emily and I harvested lettuce seeds and sunflower seeds in the morning on our little doorstep. Music was playing and all of a sudden, in the middle of a small town, in the middle of Peru, Coldplay started playing. Come to find out Julio is a big fan of that type of music. That said, I played some Angus and Juila Stone and some Miike Snow for him, him liking the first one better. It was a perfect scene of being outdoors, listening to music and saving seeds. While this was going on, Juana had been busy preparing a meal for the dancers for that nights fiesta. Members in the community take turns throughout, so Juana was up early that morning killing chickens and killing rabbits. She´s a bit of a beast. She also made this cornbread-type thing filled with vegetables which is so far my favorite thing in Peru. Not my Nannies cornbread, but a very good rendition.
After all of the cooking, Emily, Inti and I arrived at the festival a little earlier than the night before. We sat around and greeted the children we had played hand games with the night before. They were fascinated with my camera so a lot of me-with-some child selfies insued. Emily and I also explored the inside of the hacienda, which we actually weren´t supposed to, and got some good pictures before we were actually, politely asked to leave. I like that when they kick you out of places here, it´s with a smile. Once it got dark, it was dancing time! When you party down here, you party. Everyone was drinking, even my host grandma, and everyone was having a good time. Laughing, eating and making new friends. Emily and I even got dragged into one of the traditional dances and were swung around my complete strangers. A lot of dancing with elders too. I love that they are so loving and accepting here. Everyone slept in that morning after, except me and Emily though! We decided it would be a good idea to climb a mountian after a night of partying. We aren´t the best decision makers.
We got up at 6:30 the next morning and climbed the beast of the mountain behind our house. Good times. The altitude and out of shapeness got to me early so it was a slow go. Julio did come eventually with his moto and was going to take turns taking us to the top. While he was taking Emily to the top, Murphy´s law rang true. The moto broke. When anything can go wrong, it will. After about 3 hours climbing we finally reached the top and what a view! I wish I could share it with you right now. At the top are ancient Incan ruins whose name translates to ¨Old Cuzco¨. They were a site to see and perfect for we were the only ones there. I suppose others were deterred from the mountain, but not us! We conqured it! After we climbed down the day was mundane again, and we hung around the house planting and digging. Actually, it was mundane until the dancers from the fiest from the past couple of days showed up at the house, them going door to door for one last celebration. More dancing and shenanigans ensued at 2 in the afternoon. Oh yeah, and shots. Can´t forget that. I´m telling you, partying is serious here.
Friday consisted of the same thing minus the partying. Emily and I double dug some beds and planted onions and other vegetables throughout them. It is wonderful to be in the dirt all day, the soil crushed between your hands and toes while you tell funny stories. I think Emily and I now know more about each other than we probably should but that´s alright. We then went into town later in the afternoon to check emails and talk with family.I promise, we are almost done with this post. So much to say!!!
Saturday, Emily, Edi and I ventured to Lares which is about 2.5 hours away to go to the thermal baths. It was one of the best days for I hadn´t showered in more days than I wish to reveal. The baths were lovely and soothing and I finally met someone in Peru from the South! Yes, it wasn´t North Carolina and instead Georgia, but he knew what boiled peanuts were and where Asheville was so I was happy. After our eventful day we returned home and watched ¨3 Meters Above the Sky¨, a Spanish movie, with the family, and we called it a night.
And so I bring you to today! We helped water some corn fields of the family early in the morning and Juana, love her, brought us some lunch out in the fields of lentils and rice and fresh lettuce. It was beautiful having a little picnic today in the sacred valley with our small little family. After work Emily and I washed long overdue clothes and then came to town. This is where you find me now!
Now because this blog is so long, and because I am pushed for time, I will apologize and say I am not going to read through this. Some of the stuff may not make sense, and many things will not be spelled right, but thankyou for those that held on for this long. Till next time!!!
Besos :)
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