Andean Wander - Part 2

......

In the morning we awoke to grazing cows all around us and the sound of Eugenia, Alex and Christina enjoying the tub that by this time was almost completely full. Good morning!

Side Note: Self-Filling Tubs
Still can´t figure this one out. Interesting though that the explanation provided by the young boy that came to visit in teh morning was that it was rival villages that came and emptied the tub to spite this village. hmmm....

So our breakfast reservations were for 10:30 am. We were late! We made it back into the village around 11 and the door to the shop was shut... The man had mentioned that we needed he needed to get to the fields to work so we shouldnt be late. Had we missed breakfast? After some hollering from the street they eventually appeared. Breakfast hadnt even been begun. No surprise. However, it was 3 or more hours before we sat down to eat! After eating, buying some more cookies and bread and getting into a heated talk about the bill, we finally got out of dodge. WE had pretty much lost the day but at least had found another meal. Onward!

This was another beautiful day of walking. The trail was beautifully built by the Incas and it led us up to the mountain tops and up into the clouds. A beautiful blanket of mist all around us atop a high mountain peak. Gorgeous. We made some beautiful friends on this walk. 2 young brothers (maybe 5 and 10 years old) and their sister (12?). The girl took immediately to Christina and they had an amazing time together. I played with the boys and after taking some pictures of them, the older boy was keen to get his hands on my camera. I showed him the basics and he was off! It was so incredible to see this young boy who has almost certainly never used a camera shooting like a pro. Really amazing shots. I had my own personal photographer! ¨amigo, un photo?¨ I would say to him when I saw I was in a cool spot for a shot. He would turn towards me, frame the shot and click away. So cool. He was beaming with excitement. And when it came to other locals on the trails, and in particular a couple of cool men walking thier horses, this kid could get the shots that can be difficult for gringos to take (andean people generally do not like their picture taken). The boy took close to 150 pix! Manyof which are truly incredible. If any of you have seen my Facebook profile picture, you can credit this rad little dude. Beautiful experience.




Eugenia relazing on the misty mountain top...




What a pic!






It was really funny trying to talk to people whom we met because many of them did not speak Spanish (and certainly not English), they speak Cechua, the triditional language of this region of the Andes. It is so beautiful seeing this indigenous language holding on.

We made our way down the other side of the misty mountain and once again found a home for the night on the edge of a sugar cane plantation - that stuff rocks! so juicy! When we got up in the morning (to a bit of traffic of morning walking commuters) we confirmed that we were indeed in the jungle now. Wow! But of course this was not enough for this eager posse of andean explorers. We were really just on the outer fringe of the jungle and if we could make our way a bit further we would really be in the action.... We decided that we needed to be ¨surrounded by fruit¨... So... time to catch a ride (or 2 or 3...).

Throughout the Andes (like much of South and Central America) there are many trucks cruising the winding roads transporting coffee, potatoes, maize and people.Trucks (¨camiones¨) are a major part of public transit and are often overflowing with andeans and their daily gathering of.... whatever they are gathering...

Our first ride was a sweet one. We had this particular coffee truck almost all to ourselves. Our hair blowing in the wind, the sun shining on our smiling faces and the jungle becoming more and more dense as we descended further and further down into the jungle. We rode into the night, the sky darkening into an incredible wash of bright, beautiful stars. When we finally cruised into Quillabamba, one of the larger towns in the area, while still buzzing from the amazing ride, we were pooped. Time for a night in a real bed! It was a real shock to the senses to be in a ¨city¨ after so many days in the tranquil mountains but a good rest was a serious treat.






Hitching in the Andes....






Stumbled across some ancient rock engravings...






In the morning we all rushed around on our own taking advantage of the much needed conveniences like the proper market, hot coffee and ATM´s. After gathering the required supplies we began to search for a truck out of town. We couldnt get out of there quick enough! But a ride was not easy to come by so we eventualy settled for a taxi to take us to a waterfall that we had heard was nearby. After a refreshing dip and aqua-massage in the waterfall and another epic round of sandwiches and fresh fuit we again hit the road looking for a ride. There was talk again of heading back towards Pisac but it was a short talk. Even after more than a week of wandering we were still not ready to head home. With few trucks passing by we began to walk, searching for a path through the thick jungle in hope of reaching the river for the night. WE found what looked to be a trail (actually a path through a farm) lead off into a field of papayas that we followed and after a short time we found out spot. Perfect again. Nice patch of sandy beach on the edge of the large flowing river. Our luck was beginning to get boring!

But the next morning brought with it a new day and the luck-fountain simply kept flowing. A young man wandered by and sat down to chat, very curious where we had come from and were we were off to. Turns out it was his family´s farm we had walked through and after offering to bring us coffee on the beach (which we accepted with huge, un-believing smiles) he took us on an amazing tour of his porperty. What!? An amazing sight. A true permaculture farm with multiple different plants growing in the same area, root vegetables underground around papaya and orange trees. He dug us up tumeric roots, climbed orange trees to pick us fresh fruit and helped us pick bags of fresh coca leaves. So incredibly interesting and such touching generosity.

After the tour we jumped in for a final swim in the river before packing up and heading back to the road. Pisac? Nope. We found another great truck ride and were headed to Santa Maria. Without realizing it we had made it almost all the way to Machu Pichu! One of the alternative routes to Machu is through Santa Theresa, a small town near Santa Maria, accesible by only one road and surprise surprise, home of another beautiful hot spring. Why not?

We rolled into Santa Maria after dark and after some stalling and haggling accepted the fact that we had little option but to take an over-priced truck to Santa Theresa. WE piled into the back and started off on a very dusty and crazily treacherous ride (the extent of which we would only fully realize the next day in the daylight on the return journey - sheer, massive cliffs stretching down to the river far far below). When we arrived we all had a good laugh at eachother as we hopped off the truck as the thick layer of dust covering us seemet to have added 30 years to our ages as our hair was grey dust. WE had made it. Well almost. WE still had a 30 minute walk to the springs. What we found was spectacular. Large, beautiful built tubs full of the cleares hot spring water I have ever seen. It had been a long day and a soak in this beautiful place was like a hug from Grandma. We soaked into the early hours of the morning and then slept oh so soundly.

The next morning, after another required soak, we finally agreed, it was time to head home to Pisac. Well some of us. Alex and Christina decided to take advantage of our proximity to the infamous Machu Pichu and they headed for the famous ruins. Rory, Eugenia and I headed back. Tried to anyway. After another typical late start and some poor luck finding a ride out of Santa Maria, we finally scored a great ride in an empty minivan with a guy who was driving back a load of mountain bikes from a Machu Pichu tour. WE would be spending the last night of our adventure in the stoney madness of Cuzco. Why not?

WE had a nice dinner in Cuzco, did the required morning shopping (Cuzco is the only place around where you can buy numerous things such as tobacco, good coffe and chocolate) and hopped on the bus for Pisac with bags full of jungle fruit and many amazing memories. What an incredible wander!!


Well there you have it. More of a detailed window into one of the more memorable journeys of this amazing trip that I am on. Made that much more special by the incredible friends with whom I shared it. Thanks for reading!


I am now in a whole nother world. The Amazon Jungle. HOt and sticky baby! The trip is drawing to a close and I will be making my way to the northern beaches of Columbia in a few days before flying home July 22nd....... Not sure if I will do another post or not so I am sending you all lots of love and smiles. Hope you are all smiling as much as I am at the wonders of this crazy life we are all so lucky to be living.


Much love,

Joel