Tuesday, May 21, 2024
Today is our 20th wedding anniversary. We woke up in twin beds, me at maybe 4 or 4:30, Nathan at 5:45. I peaked out of the curtains early when the sun was just starting to light up a far peak in shades of reds and pink.
We got up, changed into our clothes, and started organizing our stuff. Its 45 degrees in our room this morning, but we were super warm in bed, so getting changed was not a problem. Once we were dressed and mostly packed, we ventured outside to see the sun’s rays shine across the valley.
We’re supposed to get wake up service in our room at 6:30, but instead sat on sheepskin on the edge of the walkway with our legs dangling until 6:30 when Annabel, our hostess, brought the coca tea mugs to where we were sitting. We enjoyed being outside in the 37 degree morning with warm mugs in our hands.
At 7, breakfast was ready and we had a hearty breakfast of coffee with milk, a lima bean drink, bread with jam and butter, fried potatoes, scrambled eggs, and a sort of pancake made out of potato. Annabel and her daughter also brought us out some fruit juice, and we gave the little girl one of the toys we had bought at the market.
Once we were done with breakfast, we went back to our room to brush teeth and do the last bit of packing. We gathered our daypacks, hiking sticks and duffels and went outside. We passed our duffels off to Franklin #2 the llama man, and went to say our goodbyes to Annabel, her mom, aunt and little daughter Mayumi. We shopped a little at the souvenirs they set out, and the proceeded to sing for us and tell us how much our visit meant to their family. We thanked them for their hospitality and told them what a lovely time we’d had. They proceeded to give Nathan and I each a bracelet, we took a few photos, and we left.
We set off with Franklin 1 & 2, Nathan and I, our llamas Rod and Rodolfo, and the dog hanging around Annabel’s home. We walked through town and saw a little girl so we gave her a toy and proceeded on the trail.
We are starting at Huacahuasi village at 3,750 meters today and need to make it over Ipsaycocha Pass at 4,450 meters before descending a little for lunch. We climb and climb and climb. Its hard and a little steep, but not bad. We take a lot of micro breaks to catch our breath and a few longer breaks to sit down. The first time we sat down to rest, Franklin our guide showed us how to roll the coca leaves with the ash paste and put it in your cheek. Spit it out after 10 minutes and you are good to go.
It was at this first rest stop that a woman came by with the souvenirs she was selling. All the traditional woven items: hats, scarves, table runners, llama keychains, bags and bracelets. Nathan bought a few small items from her, and we did give her quite a few coca leaves and some of the ash paste. She lives up in these mountains, and for her or anyone to get coca leaves is a drive down to the market in Lares.
We continued, up, up, up the trail, past herd after herd of alpacas, some sheep, and a few angry dogs. We were quite a ways up and stumbled across another woman, with a blanket laid out, displaying her wares. She was filling her time with creating yarn from raw alpaca wool using a pushka. We gave her some coca leaves and ash paste as well, and Nathan bought some small trinkets from her.
At about 11 we sat for a small break and snack and a friendly dog came by, so we gave him some of the bread we’ve been carrying. From here its up and over the pass, and downhill 20 minutes to lunch.
It was about now that Franklin tells us we might see a chinchilla in the rocks up ahead, and wouldn’t you know it, this dream we never knew we had until now was now a reality. We saw a chinchilla running around the rocks and then he stopped and sunned himself on the rock long enough for us to all take a look through the binoculars.
Just a short while later we all reached the top of the Ipsaycocha Pass, at 4,450 meters and we continued down to lunch at a small home. Vincente, his wife Margarita, and their little boy welcomed us and started us off with lemonade and herbal tea. I digress here a moment to say all of this tea we are being served is usually a steel coffee carafe (think potluck at church) of hot water and a basket of local dried or fresh herbs for you to use. Its fabulous. We’ve also seen a few Peruvian tea bags, but its mostly been a basket of dried herbs.
I gave the little boy a car from my bag of toys, and he played with it the entire time.
The lunch starters were some boiled potatoes and a bowl of seaweed from the Ipsaycocha lake, with cheese and peppers. Then came corn soup, followed by local trout and something akin to a veggie quiche. Dessert was made from golden potato.
Once we were done, we thanked the couple and said goodbye, and also thanked Franklin #2 and his llamas. They need to turn back now and head home.
The remainder of the day is mostly downhill, in the sun and fairly easy. Vincente followed with our duffels, and we walked as a foursome until we got to our next lodging.
And what a production they made for us. Playing a shell trumpet, three or so women and a man from this community welcomed us, put us in traditional clothing, and gave us flower necklaces. They gave us some water to drink, and then had us take our day packs off and proceeded to sing and dance with us. It was a little exhausting on feet that needed a small break, but it was great fun. After the dancing, we were shown our room and given 20 minutes to get settled.
Nathan and I put sandals on over our socks and got ourselves situated. After 20 or so minutes, we went outside for a little interactive presentation on the different types and colors of alcpaca wool, how they make and die the yarn, the weaving of the yard into cloth, and also how they use the local tall grasses to dry potatoes, roof the buildings and make rope.
By the time the presentation was over, it had gotten pretty chilly, so we went into our room to see if we could summon any warm water for a shower. I ran the shower for a little bit, and it seemed to maybe get a little warmer, but since our room was so chilly, we opted to abstain. Right about then, Franklin came to the door to tell us tea would be in 15 minutes at 5:30, so there was no time to shower anyway.
There were a few little girls when we got here, and we gave them toys right away, but as we were waiting for tea, a little boy appeared. I went back to the room to get him a car, and the smile on his face was huge. Carito! Little by little, more little boys came out of the woodwork, and each time, I ran back to the room to get each one a car. Finally, Nathan told me to just put some cars in my pocket, but I think I made 4 separate trips to the room for four little boys. They were all so excited – we heard car vroom vroom noises for the remainder of the evening.
After tea, dinner was a veggie soup, stuffed chicken, quinoa, and veggies and a little pancake type thing with a fruit topping. So good, but so much food. I feel just terrible when I can’t finish it all.
After dinner, the chef, and Annabel’s uncle, came out to say a few words to us about how important our visit is to their community. They hoped we would have a nice visit to Machu Picchu in the coming days, and wanted us to spread the word about places such as theirs.
The topper was yet another hot water bottle to take to bed, which is a good thing, because we are tired after this fun and exciting day.
