Now let me tell you a little something...if I thought I had become a professional cement mixer in Cape Town it was only because I had yet to realize my talents as an expert machete-ist. My machete was commissioned everywhere around Huyro. I macheted all the weeds around the banana field to prevent them from strangling the new trees. I macheted all the overgrown plants at the local school (school started on Tuesday at they wanted it to look nice for when all the kids returned.) Essentially, because they are lacking basic modern machinery such as weed whackers and lawn mowers, we were the school's lawn mower. I macheted overgrown plants in drainage ditches to allow the water to flow through so it wouldn't drown the fields. And I matcheted plants that went over my head to clear ruin sites so that we could map and explore them. I macheted until my hands were covered in blisters and then I continued to machete until all those blisters popped. Quite frankly, if I never have to pick up a machete again it will be too soon!
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| You can tell we were all very happy macheting...we only got a little dirty in the process! |
The Inca Archaeology / Community Project was absolutely incredible though! Along with all the macheting mentioned above, we read to kids at a local library started and run by previous Projects Abroad volunteers, we explored and mapped totally off the map ruins, and we worked on the fields around El Establo. All the volunteers live in a community house, El Establo, and it is working to become a completely self sustainable place. The project opened in 2007 and in five short years they have cultivated banana fields, corn fields, coffee plant fields, and they also grow passion fruit and a few other fruits. They also have chickens, ducks, guinea pigs, and rabbits there to eat. Additionally, just four months ago they got electricity by utilizing the endless rain and water supply. They use the rain water to run a turbine to create electricity used for lights and other basic things.
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| El Establo |
We did so much hiking while we were there exploring a ton of ruins which I absolutely loved! Not only did I get to see indescribably beautiful scenery hiking in the cloud forest to these ruins, but I was also able to see how the Incas lived through exploring these off the beaten path ruins which truly showed their way of life. They created an unbelievable network of roads and were able to accomplish unbelievable feats for the technology they had.
Probably my most memorable experience at El Establo was waking up at 4:56 in the morning to this in my room:
I heard rustling and started saying "Kayla? Kayla, is that you?!" My flustered cries woke her up at I turned my flashlight on to find this rustling through my room. I only heard it because the poor snake had tape stuck around its next. We sat in our beds for a few minutes unsure of what to do. It was an intense stand off between us and the snake. We were stuck in our beds and it was curled up in striking position. Finally, we decided that Kayla should go get a broom to get it out of our room and I would stay in the room with a flashlight so that we would know where it is. Kayla walks out and thirty seconds later I hear her scream.
There was ANOTHER snake hiding in the brooms.
That shriek woke up the house and it became a great ordeal getting the snakes out of the house. After some time, we finally achieved getting them out, but at that point everyone was so awake that we got little after that. Along with snakes there were also the biggest spiders I have ever seen at El Establo! That was fun...
This is the local soccer field a two minute walk from El Establo....not a bad view, huh?
On Thursday we said goodbye to El Establo in preparation for the Inca Trail. We drove the nearly four hours, mostly petrified, to where we would start the four day trek/journey/death trap to Machupicchu. Day 1 was pretty mellow and we just cruised up and down, enjoying the views. It was Day 2 that we were all anticipating with much trepidation. It's essentially all uphill and when you finally reach the top, you go straight down stairs that were most likely created to induce the need for knee surgery.
So Kayla, Billy, Macrina and I left first Saturday morning determined to tackle Dead Woman's Pass (the name of the highest point of day two at a whopping 4,215m [nearly 14,00ft]), without is turning us into dead women (and man). The first half hour wasn't too bad and we were all thinking okay, we can do this. The first half hour was extraordinarily deceiving.
To be honest, I don't think I have ever been in a more beautiful place. The scenery on Day 2 was indescribable.
Example One:
Example Two:
The thing was that you are so incredibly exhausted that it is difficult to appreciate it as much as it deserves. There seemed to be a million, never ending stairs! They just went on and on for miles...literally! Finally, you make it out of the forest and think it's finally going to flatten out. Again, the trail likes to play tricks on you. Just because you made it out of the forest in no way meant that you were done climbing. In fact, it just meant that there were more stairs to be climbed. So, I took a deep breath and continued on. At this point, we were all spread out a little because it was so strenuous. Honestly, what saved me on this trek was snickers bars! I would not have made it without them!
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| SO MANY STAIRS! |
After two hours and forty minutes, Kayla and I were the first in our group to reach the top! (No it's not a competition, but we were pretty proud of ourselves nonetheless.) It generally takes people six hours to do what we did in just over two and a half. We ascended 1500m (over a mile) in six kilometers (roughly 3.5miles). It was steep. We felt on top of the world when we finally reached the top. As you can see, we also felt super strong!
Day 3 was much easier and also extraordinarily beautiful! We woke up on Day 4 at 3:30 in the morning to get going. After only an hour and a half of hiking we reached the Sun Gate which is where you are supposed to get the ever so famous view point of Machupicchu.
This is what we got:
While a little disappointing, it still felt like such an accomplishment. Billy and I stuck it out for a little while and the clouds cleared JUST enough for us to get a glimpse of Machupicchu from the Sun Gate. That was pretty rewarding. After that, we descended down into Machupicchu to walk around and enjoy the place we had worked so hard to come see.
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| MACHUPICCHU! |
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| The Gang at the Top of Machupicchu |
The Inca Trail was an unreal adventure that I am proud to say I have crossed off my bucket list!
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| There were surprisingly lots of llamas at Machupicchu |
Since we finished the Inca Trail we have had two days in Cusco to unwind, recover, and reflect back on our time here. In South Africa the “Ubuntu” mentality made a lasting impression on me. Here in South America, “Por hoy” has had the same effect.
One weekend, we were leaving Cusco and we drove past the city, Poroy. Poroy was shortened from “por hoy” which means for today. Here in Peru I have really focused on being present and have learned just how important it is to be in the moment, to be living for today. Whether reading to Luci and Derek, hiking with the group, teaching my students, macheting away, or dying on the Inca Trail, I was simply there in that moment. This ability is so important to me because it is so seemingly impossible to do back at home. At home constantly thinking about what you’ve already crossed off your checklist, but more so, what you still have to do. It’s a constant rat race running around, always thinking about what’s to come and never just enjoying what is.
In Peru, I’m simply enjoying what is. I’m enjoying the here and now and this is an incredible gift that Peru has given me that I will carry with me forever. I think one of the things that contributed to this is that Peruvians are ALWAYS celebrating. Every day we hear cannon fire marking some celebration. You make think I’m exaggerating, but I’m not. Literally there is cannon fire EVERYDAY. Actually, the cannons just went off about two minutes ago. Whether it’s dia de las comadres, dia de los compadres, carnevale, dia de la virgin de something (there are LOTS of them), or dia de los ninos, there are always celebrations generally whose purpose is simply to appreciate one another. (When your child is baptized, your child’s godmother is your comadre – they have a different day to celebrate the godparents, but this day is to recognize the role the comadre plays in the parents’ lives. Yup – the Peruvians think of everything and anything to celebrate. J )
So here’s to remembering that I am because you are and the importance of being here, wherever that happens to be, being wholly here, right now.
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| The Plaza de Armas at Night There really is nothing quite like it. |
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