Machu Picchu

When I was a little girl, my mom read me a book called The Secret of the Andes. It was about a young Incan boy who lived in the Andes in Peru and he gave insight into the life of the Incan culture, the mountains, the Sacred Valley and the city of Cuzco. I remember loving the story of Cusi and ever since I was 9 years old, I wanted to go on the adventures he had as my mom read to me. It was one of my dreams to see the Incan city of Cuzco and to venture up the mountains through the Sacred Valley to the tops of the mountains to see the Sacred Incan city of Machu Picchu. During that time of my life, I loved reading about Indian culture and knowing more about the Incans.

13 years later, I was standing on the mountain top of the Andes in Peru overlooking the most beautiful sight I’ve ever seen. Machu Picchu in reality. It took my breath away. It wasn’t just a place to go sight seeing. There is something about the city that impacted me emotionally, physically and spiritually. I am a mountain girl at heart; I had a deep appreciation for the incredible beauty of the Andes. They were majestic and I felt so small standing among them. I woke up at 4:00am with my friends to hike the mountain to Machu Picchu to see the sunrise. It was a tough hike. It was a really steep staircase going straight up the side of the mountain through a jungle. It was beautiful. Although, very humid. I’ve never seen mountains so green.

We reached the Sun Gate temple just as the sun rose over the tall mountains. From where we sat we were above Machu Picchu and we watched the sun illuminate the ancient city below. It was the best sunrise I’ve ever experienced. I sat in awe of the beauty that surrounded me.

I spent the rest of my day walking through the city. It was incredible. We were able to explore every inch of it, and I took full advantage of that. I was climbing in, out and over everything. I layed in the grass near the llamas grazing, and just absorbed it like a sponge. We spent a total of 12 hours there, but I could’ve stayed much longer.

There is so little known about the Incans. They didn’t have a written language or any way to keep records. Its speculated they did that on purpose because they held life so sacred, they didn’t want to share it with anyone besides their own people. So we sat in awe looking over the city and wondering how they accomplished building it so perfectly. I have deep respect for the Inca.

As we began our trek back down the mountain path, I looked back at the sight and knew I would remember that day forever.

Cuzco was also an incredible part of the adventure. The historic part of the city is so beautiful. I loved exploring the streets, plazas and shops. It was so fun bargaining with all the women for small little treasures I’ll be taking home. The feeling of the city, the architecture, the cobble stone streets, Spanish cathedrals and statues of the Inca it was all magical. I fell in love with Cuzco.

And yes, the hills sing and there was definitely a waterslide. I know you all were asking the question.

I think my favorite part of Cuzco was stumbling upon the Cocoa Bean museum/Chocolate Factory. Good chocolate is really really hard to find in Peru, so this was literally the best discovery ever! I was able to sample everything, grind my own cocoa beans from the pod, and watch them make the chocolate from the beans right in front of me! They package it up right there and sell it in a little store. Needless to say I spend WAY too much money on chocolate. Surprised?

I also spent my Independence Day in Cuzco. It was 39 degrees that night. So it was a very unique experience to be cuddled up in my Alpaca sweater and two blankets drinking hot chocolate while every one back home was probably dying of heat, eating watermelon and popsicles while watching fireworks. Haha  

We spent a total of 5 days on vacation. Tuesday we flew to Cuzco, Wednesday we took a bus through the Sacred Valley and train to Aguas Calientes where we stayed one night, Thursday we hiked up to Machu Picchu for the entire day and stayed another night in Aguas Calientes, then we took the train back to Cuzco.  Saturday we flew back to Piura to continue our service projects for another two weeks. My trip is now halfway over.

It was a wonderful vacation though, I was able to accomplish a few dreams. I’ve got the travel bug now! I’m determined to see a lot more of the world. It’s like a big huge play ground I want to explore.

Learning What is Most Important

Peru has been the best adventure I’ve ever experienced so far. Its gotten right to my heart. I came here with the desire to serve the people, and as I’ve done so, they have taught me so much more than I could ever give them. The people and the culture here has been my greatest mentor. I’ve watched and listened to everyone around me. Because of the language barrier, I don’t say much. This gives me more opportunity to listen and watch. I learn so much more without words. I feel so enriched by what these people have taught me.

The majority of Peru is poor. The people have so much to give and they give even when they have nothing. I experience this over and over as we work intimately with families and individuals. We serve, love, teach and play with the children. Those in our group who know Spanish, teach the moms here about nutrition and health for their families. Others will sit with kids after school and teach them to read, write and do homework. Our acts of service and messages are simple. Its the love is really making a difference. And more than anything I believe the greatest lesson I’m being taught personally is how to be truly selfless. Peru is teaching me Charity. There is so much gratitude felt here. My love and gratitude for the people is given freely and they give back twice as much. I often feel overwhelmed by all that I am receiving from the amazing families here.

I always feel like I can be doing better too. I have moments where the culture shock will get to me, and I’ll be frustrated with how things are. Sometimes its really hard to not be able to have a conversation past “Hola, Como Esta Usted?” But I get over it… Peru isn’t going to change for me. I have to learn to adapt and be taught by what this experience has to give. Not everything is pleasant. But the experience I have here is my choice. I choose to love it and adjust when I don’t. It makes it easier to choose to be happy about everything around me.

Last Friday was one of my favorite moments so far. We took a bus about an hour and half away to a small little town to visit a elementary school we’ve been teaching English at. The mom’s of the kids wanted to do something for us as a group, and the kids wanted to put on their reuse and recycle fashion show for us. It was adorable to watch these little 5-6 year old kids walking down a cat walk in the little outfits their very talented moms had made out of various plastic bags and plastic. (see pictures)

Afterwards they wanted to show us a little more of their home life. We went to a banana farm! It was so much fun! They walked us through the whole orchard showing us the Mango trees and handing us a mango, then an Avocado tree, Oranges, Sugar Cane… we were able to try everything off the trees! It was so yummy. Afterwards we went to the river. We laughed as we watched the kids strip down to their undies and run into the water. A few of the volunteers and I put our feet in… some of the mom’s were trying to convince me to jump in and get wet. I communicated I wasn’t sure I wanted to get wet… haha so those sneaky mom’s said something to the army of 5 year olds and the next thing I knew, I was being chased down the river getting splashed and I was soaked in under 30 secs! Hahaha I ended up chasing the kids right back and we had a BLAST. I was soaked. But I loved every second of it.

Once we were out of the river, the mom’s had prepared us a feast. They laid out a beautifully set table and served us the best food they had to offer. Which is a big thing for them, because these people really don't have much. The food was really good! And the experience was humbling. This was one of those moments that impacted me. We spent an entire day just loving, playing, laughing, serving, holding hands and sharing everything we had to offer. It was a day dedicated to building relationships and being together. To connect and share. I loved it. I feel like we just need more days like that. All that really matters in life is relationships and people, the moments I've shared with these families have meant more than anything. My family now extends to South America. Small moments like these are the moments that bring change to the world. 

My brother (who is serving his mission 8 hours away from me in Ecuador) mentioned in his last email home that I’m “having way too much fun, and I need to step in more poop!” haha! He and I are living in very similar cultures. So because he said that, I feel I have the right to say its not all sunshine and daisies here. I definitely have my fun, of course. But I also work and I have my complaints. So I feel justified to list a few so my life doesn't look as perfect as he made it sound… ;)

1. Piura is the loudest place on earth. Because traffic laws are ignored, people don’t use their turn signals, instead they honk constantly to let people know when they’re about to swerve around another car, or to tell pedestrians they’re coming fast and if they don’t run they’ll hit you. Also, stray dogs are on every corner. Literally everywhere. And the bark all day and ALL night and often 5 of them are barking and chasing cars down the street. Car alarms are also loud, everyone has one and they are so sensitive that even if I leaf from the wind lands on a car, it will go off… all night long. Every day. Every 20 minutes at least. Ack.

2. Ants here are so small you can barley see them. They get into everything and they bite. Most of us often have red little marks on our skin… we’re unsure what they are exactly. But I blame the mini ants for making us look like we have the chickenpox. haha

3. I DO step on poop – I need my brother to know that. Most streets here that have a wall of any sort, is automatically considered a place to do your business. It smells AWFUL and my nose has a panic attack most times. I walk carefully as I try to run away.

4. I miss real bathrooms. With reliable flushing toilets, toilet paper, and toilet seats. I don’t think I have to explain why I miss that luxury. I also miss clean running water. And hot showers.

5. I’m tired of rice. Like… really. I miss salads, chips and salsa, chocolate and tacos/Mexican food. All things that do not exist in Peru. Or are really hard to find.

BUT most of these things are small problems, and I’m not actually complaining. I actually find it fun to meet the challenge and adjust to the culture. It teaches me a lot about myself and what I'm capable of and how to make the best of my circumstances. There is hardly ever a moment I am not filled with gratitude. Especially for what I have at home in the states. I also make it a point to find joy in my journey here. Sometimes that means taking something annoying or unpleasant and finding something to be grateful for because of it. haha I find it really important to love all the little things every day. It makes the entire journey better. And sometimes experiencing the hard things gives me a much deeper appreciation for all that I have.

So that's my update on the every day life… next post will be my most recent vacation to Machu Picchu. I got back today and I had to separate the two posts in order to not write a Novel of a blog.. I ended up doing that anyway though. 

Love you all! I hope you had a fantastic Independence Day!

*Hugs*