On the (Peruvian) road again

It is wonderful to be back out wandering the world! It has officially been one week since I saw my last group off at the airport and the urge to turn around the count my now non-existant ducklings has started to fade, I have no schedule, no obligations, no sickness to mother, no massive med-kit to carry around for that matter... ahhh, it's good to be free! That's not to say I don't miss Rustic a little. I met some great kids and my work in the Sacred Valley along with the people truly have changed, I should say, improved my already blessed life. Nevertheless, the open road retains it's siren song and I've got three months and so much to see!

Thus far, I've decompressed a little in Lima. I spent a night at a fellow guide's family's house, perusing their impressive library of books, CDs and DVDs and chatting over a glass or two of wine. It was so refreshing to be around people my age for a change! The following morning, another RP guide and I began a day of indulgence including TWO movies in the theatre and several 'special treats'. I also picked up a surprise birthday package from my incredibly thoughtful friend Stephanie - thank you again dear!!

Next up, a 17 hour bus ride to the charming city of Arequipa just in time for their anniversary celebrations. On the way I met Ian who was just beginning his first backpacking trip outside the states and we joined forces to find a place to stay and take in the festivities. We witnessed the longest parade either of us had ever seen! Already in full swing when we arrived at 1pm, the groups of dancers, marching bands, costumed characters, and floats from various countries stomped, twirled, waved and rolled by until well past 8pm! What a show! The next morning we met yet another RP staff and wandered the city. Arequipa, depite being Peru's second largest city, is relatively quiet and very clean. A grandiose main plaza, chock full of people, palm trees, a fountain, surrounded by colonial archways and flanked by an imposing cathedral and glistens gold at night is one of my favorite places to pass time so far!

We parted ways the next day and I joined a tour into the Colca Canyon. A heated debate still rages as to whether it is the world's deepest at 3501mts, but it is also famous for it's population of condors. Along the way, we passed several points where people had paused to stack rocks upon one another, sometimes thousands of stone towers decorated the roadside. I love seeing these cairns, evidence of careful humans wanting to leave a something behind in recognition of their momentary presence. What I hate, is seeing plastic bottles and other trash lying next to them as proof of careless humans and their unfortunately, less than momentary effect on the land.

Normally, I eschew tours with a preference to see places on my own time. In this case, I had been told that the tour was worth it, so I joined a herd. Besides being called the "latin lovers" by our guide and the obligatory stops at points at which ladies, dressed in "traditional costume", hawked kitch, it wasn't that bad and I did learn about the area that I would have otherwise just driven through. The second day, at the Cruz del Condor viewpoint, I sat on a cliff ledge for about an hour watching these majestic birds with wingspans up to 3mts, swoop and glide under, over and around me. My whole body seemed to be searching for the ability to sprout wings and leap off to join them!

Now back in Arequipa, I'm going to spend one more day here before I take an overnight bus back to Cusco. I've decided to go out of my way and return to the Sacred Valley early in order to attend a big pachamanca planned for the two villages that we worked in over the summer. It is the first step in developing a working relationship between the communities for the raising and marketing of their guinea pigs. I don't want to miss it!

Sparkling Socma

It's near 11pm and the kids are still playing on the field. Some of my students have retired to their tents after a long work day peeling bamboo, mixing and lifting mud to the roof and laying tiles. Nevertheless the football continues to bounce back and forth between goals with the aid of floodlights... floodlights? My boss and I stayed up well past 1am going through photos for the Rustic catalogue on his laptop... laptop? In Socma??

A transformation has occured in this tiny humble village. They have taken a giant step forward and with the financial and logistical partnership between Rustic Pathways and the Urubamba municipal government, there is now electricity in Socma! Once again, I feel so incredibly lucky to be a part of this historical and life-changing project, however small. My thanks and admiration go out to Alex, Max, Gabe, Juan and Jessemin who initiated, facilitated and made this all possible for these people, my Peruvian family.

This past weekend was one of much celebrating in the form of dancing, dining and drinking (who could ask for more? :). Not only was Saturday the 1st, the inauguration of the electricification, something almost 2 years in the making, but it coincided with Aug 2nd, the anniversary of Socma. Two straight days of festivities with entire neighboring villages coming to take part.

Friday was the first official day that light began streaming from the one bulb that had been installed in town. Late at night, while enjoying our candlelit dinner a beam burst through the window and despite knowing the power would be coming soon, we sat for a moment in confusion. Was it a truck coming up the way? Someone's flashlight? Nope, the municipality had indeed followed through and Socma was alight! Once the kids went to bed, I was invited out back to share a crate of beers that had been bought for the occasion. Now, I'm not allowed to drink at all while the kids are in my care for obvious reasons - obvious to most, but not to them. "Come on! Big occasion! Historical moment! Part of the family! Just a little (never!)". You simply cannot say no. It is a sticky cultural situation. It is very special for me to sit among the community heads, my co-guide Max, one of the DJs from Urubamba and discuss many poignent subjects while Socma's first light enveloped our little group and it took all my slyness to pour most of the bottles out behind me between conspicuous sips and saluds! I went to bed that night with, for the first time, a glow embracing my tent and wonder sparkling in my imagination as to what this development meant for my little Socma.

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I never did get a Birthday Adventure entry up. So much is happening down here, I can hardly keep up with it on the ground let alone in cyberspace. At the risk of losing much of the excitement and energy, the detail and pure love of that wonderful day, suffice it to say that it was one of the best birthdays that I have ever had in my life. Some of the kids that I am closest to got up early to decorate the room where we eat breakfast with streamers and balloons and even made special sweet tamales and punch for everyone! I found out later that they have to peel each individual kernel of corn by hand and grind it into flour - its takes forever! While we ate, more kids ran out and decorated my tent. That afternoon I was whisked into a field and given yarn braid extensions, only to don the entire costume that evening before dinner, much to their delight :). Music played and everyone danced. I was presented two handmade dolls, a pair of handknitted leg warmers two bracelets and flowers. Several ladies cooked a special dinner for me and the students... I was overwhelmed by it all! I literally danced until I could barely stand and fell asleep with harp and flute still ringing in my ears!

Birthweek Adventure

What a way to welcome a new year of life! In effect, I've had a birthweek rather than a birthday and I could not have felt more loved! It began with the stomach flipping flight in Nasca, followed by a dune skipping afternoon in Huacachina. Ponytail like a windsock, flapping straight behind me, my competetive little 4 person buggy racing the larger buggies, crashing it's way over moguls and clawing up 80 degree inclines - in sand remember - phew! What a rush! It was a good thing that I borrowed glasses to protect my eyes - my chapstick however seemed to be enjoying collecting little grains as momentos (my hair, ears, nose and clothes had already tucked away more than their fair share) and my shoes no longer seemed to fit as they must have been harboring a dune each!

My last run was by far the highest and steepest and I followed those before me by going straight down on my belly. Fresh wax aided my mach speed decent which was exhilerating until I hit the solid bumps at the end. They came out of nowhere and you know that tradition of birthday spanks? Well, I'm pretty sure that's what they were going for. I got beat. A couple nice bruises and enough sand packed in one ear that I heard static for hours.

As night fell, we were treated with a sparkling view of the lagoon and the drivers invited me out for a night of dancing. But of course! Dancin' shoes (eg flipflops) on, I headed to the local salsa bar. I ended up being one of a handful of girls the whole night, so needless to say I could barely catch my breath between songs. The bar tender had studied salsa in cuba, which made him a great partner and once he found out that I was celebrating my birthday, he made me my first 'Pisco Sour', a Peruvian specialty, bien fuerte and wrote a public invitation on his whiteboard outside to my birthday fiesta!

In bed by 4 and up at 6am, I took a boat tour of a group of islands that are home to masses of birds, including penguins, giant red crabs, and sea lions which was fun and then hopped a couple busses back up to Lima. It's nice to have a 'home' to go to and relax a little before my third group arrived.

Soon enough, I was back out at the Lima airport meeting my new kids. A group of 8, 6 girls and 2 boys that I could tell were going to be a handfull (just kidding compañeros!). A flight to Cusco the next morning, shopping for piñatas and plenty o' stuffing, taking care of a sickling student coming from another trip (there's your shoutout Ann :) and then off to Pisac for the evening where we were met with festivities in full swing - for my birthday eve of course (or possibly in celebration of San Carmen?) Our hotel's balcony overlooks the main square so we were treated with a fantastic view of men trotting horses around in circles with bottles of beer raised high, random groups of people in matching outfits marching through and bunches of revelers dancing to flutes and harps and panpipes! One particularly disturbing aspect was the live chickens they would string up like piñatas, twisting and pulling them every which way as the horsemen reached and tried to yank them down! Fireworks capped off our evening but the music and parades lasted throughout the night and I was awakened every hour by marching bands and hoots and hollars... usually not ideal, but I could only smile - it was a great way to start my birthday! My new hotpink birthday underwear (thanks Mom), a couple birthday hugs from the kids and a couple calls from my parents and a friend made the morning even better!

The ruins, the meeting with the mayor, a short tour of Ollantaytambo and then, the moment I'd been really waiting for... my return to Socma! As we approached, the village kids came running from different nooks and crannies and I received more hugs and wishes of 'Feliz Cumpleaños Yessi'! We played a little volleyball and when dinner time rolled around, our cooks had prepared a special stacked pancake birthday cake as a surprise since I'd planned the party for the coming Saturday so that all the kids could attend. What a happy day! The next morning I noticed Max, my fellow guide, meeting with about 15 villagers that we had already worked with. Later, I find out that they had called Max in and not the other way around, to tell him that they wanted to do something special for my birthday - cook a special meal perhaps. Luckily he convinced them that because we would have guineapig, the usual birthday meal in a couple days for the inauguration, that trout would be a better option. How special that not only did they somehow find out and remember, but also wanted to make me something!

I will save the actual birthday party for my next entry. It was such an incredible, exciting and touching day - truly beyond words! I was also the recipient of the most intricately beautiful and unique hat from Max's family and more than 150 notifications on facebook! THANK YOU SO MUCH! As any of you that read my blog regularly, I could not love my friends more and it really means so much to hear from so many of you, in different languages even, when I am clear across the world! I am still smiling from all the warm wishes!

I must head to bed now. I promise I am trying to catch up on blog writing and photo uploading whenever I get a decent enough computer and connection! So many exciting things happening down here!

Rustic Fundraising

Buenos dias de Peru! I hope this message finds you well and enjoying your summer in contrast to the chilly winter down here. Rather than regale you with tales of adventure, I'm writing to extend a philanthropic request.

As many of you know, I've been working for a company called Rustic Pathways (www.rusticpathways.com) which provides opportunities of travel, cultural exchange and service work for highschool students from around the world. This is the same company that I worked for in New Orleans and India. Having a chance to guide these kids at a pivotal time in their lives has been both a challenge and one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.

In Peru's Sacred Valley, you'll find another smaller hidden valley with several tiny villages such as Camicancha and Socma, where Rustic Pathways is currently based. These villages are home to 20-50 families each and they are tight-knit communities that live off the land, use the barter system in the markets for life's necessities and, if the families are lucky enough to sell any additional goods, they may have enough to send a child or two to school. The village schoolhouses only serve children until about the age of 8.

Rustic Pathways is a fantastic program that it is an honor to be a part of. This year however, I've discovered a need for assistance. As we all know, the economy has affected everybody and Rustic Pathways has also been impacted with registration for most programs falling significantly. As a result, the project which was designed based on the success of building bathrooms for each family last year, is simply not possible.

This year’s project was designed to help develop a sustainable income and improve the quality of life. Each family that chose to participate would work in conjunction with students to build a guinea pig coop (the domestication of which has been in Peru for more than 4000 years). From start to finish they’d work together, overcoming language and cultural barriers, mixing adobe mud with their bare feet, making and placing the bricks to form walls, peeling bamboo to lay across the roof and finally using the mud mortar to attach the roof tiles. The students would also shuck corn in the community fields and cut the first alfalfa to be fed to their guinea pigs, not to mention play soccer and other games with the children, learn Quechua and sometimes teach English. Both sides benefit greatly, not only for the 8 work days, but through a long lasting impression of the power of one person, the difference you can make no matter your age, juxtaposed with the power of many, of community, of humanity.

The idea to provide a means of income for these families through the building of a coop, purchasing 7 guinea pigs, and alfalfa seed for each, was received so well by the municipality that they joined us in partnership and promised to provide the doors and windows for every coop that we built! We had more than 45 families ask to participate; they need only lay the foundation.

Since Rustic Pathways received fewer students and, thus, less funding than expected, we had to scale back the plan, only building a coop for every family that had already prepared their foundation. After a warm reception and a special pachamanca meal, I attended the meeting with the village heads at which the news was broken. Although they understood that is was out of our control, it was impossible to mask their disappointment. Even worse, when they came up with a list of 19 families, anxiously awaiting the students, we found we only had funding for 16. Three families had to be cut from the list and tears were shed in drawing the fateful line through those names.

It was that moment, my heart so profoundly touched, that I was determined to help.

The cost of an entire coop, building supplies, tools, bamboo rods, support poles, roof tiles, the skylight and of course the guinea pigs is a mere $200usd. Once built, the municipality will not only supply the doors and windows, but continue to provide veterinary support for the animals as well as alfalfa seed. The gestation period of a guinea pig is 3 months and the she is ready to impregnate again just 2 hours after giving birth (to 2-5 babies)! Again, we are not introducing anything new and invasive to these communities. There is evidence to the raising of guinea pigs in Peru since at least 2000 BC and it is now even more practical since the tourist industry places such high demand for guinea pigs - it's a must have on every menu, which means there is even a future potential for export! I am asking you my friends, from the bottom of my heart, for a donation of any amount towards this worthy project. Whether it be $5 or $50, to be able to build those three remaining coops would mean so much to me and this community. If you would like to donate, the easiest way is to do so directly through the Rustic Pathways foundation (www.rusticpathways.org), which is tax deductable (for those in the states :). No amount is too small and anything left over will either be used to build more coops next summer or for the sister project that Rustic is working on - that of bringing electricity to Socma. Eventually we would like to get a couple of computers for the school to improve the education of the little Socmans. Thank you so much for taking the time to read through this. Let me know if you have any questions and I send a big hug from South America!

Can you imagine?

Imagine teaching a 10 year old salsa steps. Now set yourself in a poor rural village, late at night where the boy's giant grin radiates the starlight and his eyes sparkle with excitement and the recognition that he's learning something from outside his small world. Now add an American student next to you, simultaneously learning from you, teaching another young child and getting an invaluable cultural experience.

Imagine living in a tiny community of 30 or so families, of whom a few speak a foriegn language that you understand and most only speak a truly foreign language that you are slowing picking up phrase by phrase. Imagine the moment that these generally polite, quiet and somewhat shy women gift you a nonverbal sign of acceptance by allowing you to help them cook a special meal. They hand you an unrecognized red vegetable to grate into a gourd as well as many approving smiles, while the guinea pig roasts on the spit next to you.

Ahh, the suprises! Imagine a makeshift fourth of July celebration, surprising the kids in front of a jungle waterfall at the base of Machu Picchu with firecrackers and confetti. How about surprising a student who came for her first time to Peru after having been adopted from the country as a baby, with a special role in the coop inauguration ceremony - breaking a clay pot of chicha with the mayor over the first doorway. Try a birthday surprise for one of the students of a candled cake, a card and clanging pot and plans! Even I get surprises when a couple students decide to replace my half-dead headphones with a new set - how sweet!

Can you imagine me giving an interview on the radio, being broadcast to the entire Urubamba valley, speaking about the project and such subjects as sustainable development, cultural exchange, construction of guinea pig coops and our partnership with the municipality... all en español !!? Well, I did! :)

This last group of kids were an awesome bunch. A diverse set of personalities that, for the most part, worked well together. It makes all the difference in the world to have kids that are aware of the impact that they are making, are interested in learning about where they are, the history, the future, simply put, they care. I'm sending another big thanks y un abrazo fuerte de Peru to each of them!

I'm writing this entry from Huacachina, an honest to goodness oasis. A blue lagoon surrounded by mountainous sand dunes, beckoning to be played on... and so I shall :) If bungee jumping off the highest jump in the Americas was not enough of a birthday adventure (although I must say it was quite possible the most thrilling and frightful moment of my life - more than skydiving!), then I thought I'd try a flight over the enigmatic nasca lines (sitting as co-pilot :) coupled with an afternoon of sandboarding! I know this year I am a little early, but I'll be spending my actual birthday back in Socma with the next group, perhaps not an adventure, but nevertheless with the potential of being one of my best bithdays ever! We're throwing un gran fiesta for the village, replete with confetti, music, cake and I'm hoping to track down a piñata as well! All the trappings to usher in my 28th... ach, I can't believe it!!

Magnificent Machu Picchu

After days of hard work, mixing mud to build their coops, the kids mix in a day of adventure, leaving their tents behind, mountain biking through scenic countryside and villages, rafting down the world famous Urubamba river and perusing the markets, not to mention a nice hot shower in town. Rested and clean, they return rejuvinated to Socma to complete the building with their families, which is a process I feel very fortunate to be a part of. What a sense of accomplishment and empowerment for these kids when they tie those bamboo down and place the final roof tiles.

The last day in town, the kids are honored with a mérienda, a plate of locally produced veggies and carefully prepared cuy (guinea pig). Each family, the students and guides, other villagers and nearly all the niños that we had befriended over the week gathered to inaugurate the coops and it was a colorfully joyous afternoon. Confetti decorated everyones hair, a bottle of chicha was broken in an offering to the Pacha Mama (Mother Earth), doors were garlanded in greens and balloons and each set of students placed the first 7 cuy in their coop along with the alfalfa that they had cut and dried themselves. I simply cannot tell you how rewarding it is to see these kids participate in every step of providing a new sustainable life for this tiny village!

That night, the Socmans performed a series of traditional dances for the students including the most darling little set of spinning kids, boys dressed up as old men and a curious display of manhood where two by two, boys and men alike, join arms in friendship and then break apart to whip eachothers legs. Something in the way of showing pennance, the men maintain a stoic expression as each lash wraps around them, but boy, a couple of the little tykes get pretty upset when their partner gets in a solid whack!

The following night is spent in the tranquil setting of Rumira on the banks of the Urubamba. A Pacha Manca dinner is roasted underground (no guinea pig this time, just chicken and lamb, oh and my new favorite potato - an Ocha!) and the kids receive certificates from the mayor thanking them for their service to the Sacred Valley. On up to Aguas Calientes, a town that exists solely to cater to the tens of thousands of tourists that come to visit Machu Picchu each year. The kids nearly begged to be allowed to go to a discoteca and anyone knows, I am not one to argue against a night of dancing, so I braved the night scene with ten highschoolers in tow. They all agreed to get up early in order to catch the sunrise, so 6am found us aboard the shuttle up the mountain.

I can honestly say, in all my travels, I have seen nothing like the land surrounding Machu Picchu. The closest I can come is Meteora Greece, which is also an awe-inspiring sight. Jagged peaks rise from the valley like teeth; a maw that was once surely fierce and unyielding, now softened as with age with a layer of bushy green stubble and dense jungle. It is easy to see how the Spanish had difficulty finding this mysterious, magical hideaway.


We arrived at dawn to witness the first rays streaking through the mists and warming the incan stone. These students happened to be extra lucky because it was June 21st, the winter solstice and the only day in the entire year that the rising sun beams through the window of the sun temple and forms a perfect trapezoid on the altar! Half the group opted to make the precarious climb up Huayna Picchu for amazing views of the valley, while the other half wandered the ruins absorbing the ancient energy. I am just so lucky that I get to come back up to this spectacular wonder of the world 3 more times this summer!

The group wound up their 2 week journey with an entertaining train ride, bungee jumping from the highest jump in the Americas, touring Cusco a little more and some last minute shopping. After many heartfelt goodbyes, I had just enough time to catch my breath, (about an hour) before I picked up the next group to do it all over again! This time I have a better grasp on how everything works so I feel I can be even more help to the students. They are a good bunch so far and we will head into Socma tomorrow, so send lots of news for when I finally return to the www!

Tusú rukù suey'chis!

"Buenos dias Señorita" accompanies a light rapping on my tent flap. I unzip my door to greet two smiling faces, one with a kettle of hot water and the other with a selection of tea bags, coca leaves, hot chocolate and sometimes even coffee. This is our wake-up call in the village of Socma, around 7am allowing us to ease into the day with a warm cuppa (that is if we've managed to sleep through villagers passing by and any number of donkeys, horses, sheep, roosters, dogs and cows trumpeting the morning news). It's a wonderful way to start a day.

Due to said natural alarm clocks, I'm usually awake and I'll take my tea out into the sunshine (once I manage to extract myself from my ultra cozy sleepingbag) and greet the kids as they one by one shuffle to the bathroom and into breakfast. We've hired a couple locals to cook our meals, Socma has many men that work as porters and cooks on the various incan trails during the tourist season as there is not much opportunity for employment this far off the beaten path - and the food is excellent.

Food is in fact a major part of the day here. After morning tea and breakfast, the kids are provided a snack, something like fruit and cookies, to take with them while they work. We've paired two kids with one family and the families usually share a 'snack' as well which can consist of anything from dried corn, beans, eggs on up to a plate loaded with meat, potatoes and pasta. Around noon, the kids return for a hearty lunch starting with soup, then around 5:30pm is afternoon tea with crackers/cookies/fried cheese pockets/popcorn etc and finally dinner around 7:30, which again starts with soup, main course and a dessert. Needless to say, the kids never get a chance to get hungry.

As a T.C. however, we get additional 'treats'. T.C., meaning Trip Coordinator, is not my official title but a Peruvian (maybe South American?) term that entitles me to certain perks such as a free meal when we take the kids to a restaurant, free room in the hotels we stay and even for example, if all of my kids buy hats at a certain shop, they will throw in an extra for me. I have yet to try out that last one, but apparently it's fairly common.

Each day, as I climb to the students houses to check in on them, (a serious workout by the way on the complex system of 'paths' that seem to reinvent themselves each night like Pan's Labyrinth) the altitude and severe incline ensure that I am gulping oxygen by the time I get there and more often than not I am invited to partake in a meal. It is not only an insult to say no, but also to leave food on your plate, never mind that it might be your 6th meal of the day and its barely 3pm. Usually, I can hardly look at the mound of food on my plate let alone consume it. I have a problem.

The other day though, I came up with a sollution. It was one of the Señora's birthday and they were throwing a fiesta. Confetti sprinkled everywhere, music playing and guinea pig, among other things heaped on a plate for me right after lunch and a snack at the previous house. I knew I was in trouble. I picked at the food, delicious as it was, making sure they saw me enjoying it and wondered how I would possible clear my plate. Suddenly, it dawned on me, I asked Max, our local guide how to say this in Quechua and I stood up to exclaim "Tusú rukù suey'chis!" (Let's dance!). The birthday girl jumped up, already fairly drunk off chicha, the local corn brew and joined me, spinning and stomping with a giant grin. It worked! I pulled the kids into the fray and the rest clapped to the beat... ahh, it was one of those moments that will forever be with me. It may not work every time, but I'm keeping it up my sleeve ;).

The kids work hard every day constucting their guinea pig coops together with their Socma families. They mix mud with their feet, fashion adobe bricks (weighing about 45lbs when dry), carry and place the bricks to form the walls and sections of the coop and apply the mud mortar. They peel bamboo and set the roof tiles in place and when not building they shuck corn in the community fields, learn how to sew traditional dolls (a new womans initiative in Socma) and cut alfalfa to dry for their guinea pigs. They've also taught for a day in the local school, played soccer with the villagers (our tents are set up between the school and the field) and even frisbee or catch with a softball (yes that was my addition ;) At night, which comes early as the hills tightly embrace little Socma, we've played plenty of catchphrase and card games - it's a great life.

We have now finished our service in Socma, with a great ceremony 'christening' the new coops. It was a wonderful day and I'll write more on that in future entries. Today is our last day of camping with a Pacha Manca (traditional feast) and several important guests (like the Mayor of the Sacred Valley) and tomorrow we travel to Aguas Calientes, which is at the base of... Machu Picchu! Sunday will be my first visit to this majestic wonder of the world and I am very excited!

Hugs to all my friends and family - hopefully pics to come soon!