Adventures and Misadventures in the Andes

Since Thursday, I have travelled 10 hours on a train, 9 in a van, 11 by foot, slept in a tent, eaten some interesting food, and had quite an adventure. Early Thursday morning we woke up to catch a train to Machu Pichu. We rode for about four hours through little towns and along beautiful mountain rivers until we at last made it to the outskirts of the Amazon jungle. There we found Machu Pichu, high on a green mountain. It is a magical place. All around this abandoned Incan city scraggly peaks covered in dense green vegetation rise majestically to the sky, wisps of clouds clinging mysteriously to their tips. The city itself is amazing. It is basically carved into the side of the mountain using locally quarried rocks. Scattered throughout the city are amazing proofs of the Incan's superior astronomical knowledge such as models of constellations and incredibly accurate sun dials. As I walked through the stone passages of the city, I couldn't help but wonder about the ancient people who lived here in such isolation. What were their days like? What prompted them to build a city so high in the clouds? When they looked out over the mountains what did they think about? Slightly melodramatic musings I know, but Machu Pichu lends itself to melodrama.

We said good bye to Mom, Dad, and Nathan at Machu Pichu and early the next morning started on our backpacking trek to Larez. To get to the starting point of our hike, we rode in a van along winding dusty for about five hours. We began our hike just outside of Larez, a sleepy little town where there is only one central telephone and incoming calls are announced by an intercom system in the town square. The town is so isolated, and so strangely small and self contained that it reminded me of something out of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude. We hiked along a steep trail with llamas carrying our gear. The steepness of the trail and the incredibly high altitude made hiking difficult. In order to combat the altitude and put a little spring in our step, we chewed on coca leaves, a natural stimulant among other things. Our hike took us high up in the Andes, by young children guarding their family's herds who peered out at us from silent dark eyes, and Quechuan speaking women garbed in traditional dress. We finally arrived at our campsite, a dirty field full of dogs and locals selling their fares. We ate dinner huddled in a small tent and then went to bed underneath the most spectacularly bright stars I have ever seen. Loud dog fights, below freezing temperatures, and nausea made sleeping difficult. But finally we woke up to continue our hike. Unfortunately I had picked up some sort of food poisoning ( a sketchy breakfast in a market the day before was the likely culprit), and so my hike back to Larez was a bit less than enjoyable. We did finally make it into town. And after a quick dip in some local hot spring, we started back to Cusco. We made it safely back out of isolation and after some medicine and about fourteen hours of sleep, I am happy to report that I am feeling much better. Tomorrow Ben and I are going to begin working in the cafe and serving in an after school program. As we begin this part of our trip my prayer requests are:

• That we would be able to build good relationships with the people that we are working with.
• That we would find our way safely around Cusco.
• That we would not get sick
• And that we would be able to truly serve these people.