Today started out with a bit of apprehension. I had just
slept 14 hours (seriously), I was so tired from it getting dark so early. I knew we were headed to the market today, but
I wasn’t sure when. I realize I am way too uptight. It’s seriously dark by
around 6:30 PM and when it’s dark, it’s dark. There are no extraneous lights
around, no parties. It just is. People are with the land. I woke up and found
myself faced with a cold shower or no shower. Since I showered yesterday, I
said…no shower. I went with Ricardo, my friend from Spain watching over
Alyssan’s house and the three white dogs, one whose name is Krishna, to Calca,
a little north of where we lie in the alley. We were again greeted by some wild
dogs, the same ones as yesterday, that Ricardo calls his “amigos”.
We went down the rocky road and headed north to the mercado
around 9, where there were literally millions of these motorcars, which are
made up of motorcycles with an attachment on them. These buzzed locally only
around the market. We parked the car (which I found out today is the only one in
the area so that’s why so many people have been asking for rides), and walked
into this overwhelming market of colors, smells, and smiles.
There were at least 6 things I had never seen before, even
after I tasted them. Super local, organic, fresh produce that was super cheap.
I have never been this excited before.
My mouth watered as we went past the local quinoa, potatoes,
avocadoes, papayas, ginger (which was only 2 soles per kilo I will have you
know…or about 75 cents), bananas of all sizes, strawberries, cucumbers that
were purple and white, grapefruit, apples, tangerines, lettuce, tomatoes,
beans, squash, fresh artisan cheese, meat (which I steered WAY clear of), eggs,
beets, chicha (fermented corn or quinoa drink…out of this world), onion, honey,
chocolate and carrot cakes, pasta, fresh bread, etc….
And yes, I bought a little of all of that. Eggs I got from
our neighbor-organic eggs with feathers stuck on them (just like the farmers
market at home!!), but literally laid that day, for 3 soles, or a little over a
dollar, for a half dozen.
Wow.
I took a picture of the dinner I made. It was a novel
idea…cooking for myself. Serving myself. Taking care of myself. I need to do
that more. It was quite meditative and quite rewarding. I also took this time
to recognize how much I really do eat quickly, eat processed a lot of the time,
and just don’t take the time to fuel myself properly for the day. I definitely
need to do that more often.
On our way home, we stopped at a neighbor’s handmade, adobe
hut-house where 4 children were, to follow up on an offer to try chicha de
quinoa. The oldest looking after the house was 16, Elizabet. The father had
gone to work up the mountain and the mother had gone down the mountain to sell
some items in the town center. There, we were able to try a chicha that was
very refreshing, but not of quinoa this time, but rather, of corn. The kids
said they start school next week and I offered to help them with English
homework anytime, as I explained I would be here for a while. There were also
guinea pigs everywhere running around as free as ever in a few peoples’ homes.
And kittens.
We dropped our stuff off at home and ended up going to drop
Samuel off, the kid who comes down from a little village way further up into
the mountains, lives. We drove part of the way up there with him and I got the
experience the enormity of the travel he does just to reach our house and help
out with gardening etc…He is paid 10 soles every time he comes down here, which is
about 4 dollars. but it must be worth his while because he comes and helps
often.
We actually parked our car part of the way up the mountain
today and we walked with him to his village. We are at about 13,000 feet now. I
can’t breathe and everyone else, including 46 year old Ricardo, is hopping up
the hill. Screw that.
I made my way, slowly but surely, about an hour up this
massive mountain overlooking some Incan ruins and passing a million sheep &
cows with their owners in traditional garb trailing closely behind.
Dogs galore and lots of dog fights, but I felt well
protected by my Samoyed friends.
We arrived at this small village where Samuel’s mom, in
traditional skirt and hat greeted us in Quechuan, which is such a beautiful
sounding language. We also met Samuel’s dad and grandfather as well. I couldn’t believe it when I saw this
80-something year old man just trekking up the hill. We need to take some
pointers in the US. They’re on the something.
We ended up having some mate de coca (coca leaf tea) as a
pick-me-up, and then headed about an hour more, almost to one peak. I was again
the slow poke, but at least I made it as far as I did. I sat watching the sun
as it started to go down and powered up on local apples and water.
I even drank from a local stream, and water has never been
so delicious. I even found an icicle, which was pretty impressive. Samuel went
and grabbed me a piece, handed it to me, and said “Solo hasta que lo aguantas!”
or “Only till you can handle it”.
The view was stunning. Cusco and Umtabump was below, with
the river running through, and some ruins that we saw were said, by legend,
were supposed to be were the doors to another dimension were.
We slowly made our way down after our salute to the most
stunning and breathtaking view ever, enjoyed some Chicha from his mom as well,
and started to head down the hill. We made it back to the car just as the sun
was setting.
It was quite the trip down and we had Krishna in the front seat with us, barking at other
dogs and being captain of the ship. When we got home, I had a little internet
time and thought about what I might like to do tomorrow.
I think, since I figured out how to get there, that I will
go to Cusco tomorrow to explore. I will go via the minibus that brought me in
the 5 soles, or about 2 dollars.
It’s about a 60 minute trip back to the city, but I want to
explore.
On the way back, I might even hit the market again, which is
open everyday of the week, in Calca.
How blessed am I?. I feel such good energy here. I feel like
there are a lot of “should” s going through my mind. Like I "should" be writing more. Or I "shouldn’t" be on the
internet. Or I "shouldn’t" care about having warm water or not. Or I "should" be outside looking at the stars because I am in Peru. Or I
shouldn’t be sleeping so long.
I just want to BE right now. Alyssan comes Sunday, and I am
very excited about it. I want to get some traveling out the way before her
arrival, so I think I will take advantage of the time and enjoy Cusco tomorrow.
I just want to do what feels right. And that's what I aim to do.
Today was 97% in Spanish, 2 % in Quechua, and 1% in English.
Not bad.
Hasta la próxima, amigos.
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