Andean Mountain High

(by Kit) While we were in Peru there were three different transportation strikes, this meant that nobody could go to the clnic so we had a free day, but we also couldn't go very far from home. On the day of the strike, during the second week, we found out about a hike up to a glacier in the mountains above Urubamba. There is an orphanage near the base where the children are taught to be guides to the glacier so that they will have a marketable skill when they are older. The woman who runs the orphanage offered to pick us up (in town and on mountain tracks the strike wasn't as strictly enforced) for a tour of the orphanage, lunch, and a hike. While half the group did this, the rest walked up to the orphanage by foot and skipped the tour. It was too long of an endeavor to undertake with Rhoda so she and Basil stayed at the hotel and (briefly) enjoyed the (unheated) pool. I went along with the second group so that I could get back to Basil and Rhoda sooner. It was an incredible day.

On the edge of town, we came to a boarding school where these boys were playing 'fulbito'. We watched them for a while and would shout 'GOOOOOOOOOAL' when they scored (which was really often). They were a little disappointed when we left, but not enough to interrupt their game.

The weather was perfect and the scenery was absolutely spectacular, but the real reason I couldn't put my camera down was the kids. We came across so many darling children. They were so sweet and happy playing together with whatever they had. This little girl had a kite made out of a plastic bag and some unwound cassette tape.

Here are Jackie and Alida in front of a clinic we passed. I love the mural of a farmer working in his field below beautiful mountains.

This church, painted in bright colors, fits right in with the vibrant landscape.

We walked through a tiny village on our way up the mountain. Click on this picture if you can. It was such a perfect scene of village life with even a line of ducks on their way to a puddle.

This little girl was named Jimena. She was playing a game which involved sweeping the dirt in the road. I used to do that with a patch in our yard where grass wouldn't grow. I used my mom's good broom. Jimena was so lovely she absolutely glowed.

All day, I was reminded of the farm in Idaho where my mom grew up. The scenery in the highlands in very much like the Western United States. The sparse trees and vibrant farms towered over by snowy mountain tops made me feel so at home.

The beauty of these pictures has nothing to do with either my photographic ability or the quality of my camera. Firstly, I have virtually no photographing ability and as for the latter, our camera is truly an old stinker. This trip was its last hurrah and now we are just trying to get it to hold out until Christmas. In fact, these photos can't even come close to showing how beautiful it really was.

We met some boys in the village and Doctor Falcone asked them if there were any Incan ruins around. They led us a little ways off the road and just past a house and there we were. You can see how the intact Incan foundations were later topped off with adobe by their new residents. In several towns, we saw buildings with Inca walls still in use.

Behind Jackie and me posing for the camera, you can see how even in these vernacular houses the stones fit together perfectly.

Our impromptu guide was ready to show off his climbing skills.

The woman who lived in the house near the ruins was harvesting in this marshy field nearby. I'm not sure, but I think the crop may be cilantro.

As these farmers threw grain into the air (to separate the wheat from the not wheat?), it looked like clouds of gold in the sunshine.

I have to admit, I ended up with nearly as many pictures of animals as I did of kids. Everywhere you looked, everything was so picturesque. Here are 4 little piglets feasting on clover.

Dr. Falcone's daughter Cheka is so much fun. Here she is sporting a cornhusk as an Inca headress, truly, a girl after my own heart. You may also notice her barefeet. Yep, she did the whole hike that way as soon as we got out of the city. And I thought Nelson girls were hard core barefooters. (Yes, she was treated for tapeworm afterward just in case).

Horse.

The hillside in this picture is covered in eucalyptus trees. They are plentiful in the highlands, though most of the time they are the only trees. They are not native to Peru but have thrived here and are used for many things.

Here we are at the orphanage at last. As you can see, it is a very cheerful looking place with lots of land and places for the children to play.

Our group didn't actually get to visit inside. We just stopped briefly to visit this furry fellow.

We bought honey from the house across from the orphanage and stopped in a clearing just beyond that for our lunch.

Lunch consisted of the honey, an orange, and some cheese crackers we shared amongst ourselves. Okay, so perhaps we weren't as prepared as we could have been, but at least I learned my lession from Machu Picchu and brought plenty of water.

The group from left to right: Alida, Cheka, Dr. Falcone, Dr. Greenhouse, and Jackie.

As we ate, a storm started to roll in over the glacier. We turned for home and hoped that the other group did too. They did and all was well although while we had a few brief drops of rain, they had a full on blizzard as they climbed down the nearly vertical mountain face. We were told this weather is very unusual.

Indead, heading back down into Urubamba valley, it was clear blue skies.

Doesn't this look just like Utah? A field of bright green wheat is one of my favorite things.

I thought this bull looked like such a rockstar with his funky hair and ears and thigh-high boots. He semed to think so too.

This was just a perfect scene, a little shepard boy watching from an ideal spot. He was right out of a storybook.

On our way back, we ran into these two happily, playing marbles in the street.

And finally, our same little friend, now flying her kite high, the storm in the distance, having brought in just the right wind.

That is where my camera gave out and good thing too or you would be reading this post forever. All the same, Basil has three more Peru adventures to post about and I have a very special one I have been thinking about so check back and we will try to have something more.