The Next Steps

A little over 48 hours ago, Jaclyn and I were bidding farewell to our families in Lamud and jumping on a convi to take us to Chachapoyas where we would board the bus back to Lima.  My last night in Lamud I sat in the chair deemed my sitting place with the boys, Dona Marina, and a woman visiting for the Pagua celebration.  They recited all the English words they knew, and gave me phrase after phrase to translate from castellano.  The woman and Pedro compiled a list of all the words - spellings and pronunciations - to practice on their own.  The next morning, my stomach was feeling well enough to drink some tea and eat a piece of bread, and Dona Marina packed me with a bounty of pan integral, bananas, and apples.  Pedro asked his mother why she was crying the night before, and she answered because I was leaving.  She said it will be difficult to have the room empty again, especially when the boys are at school and she is the only one at home.  I promised them I would return, although not as soon as Dona Marina told Pablo I would (by next year she said, with my mom), to prevent him from crying.  At some point I will be back....I can't stay when that will be, but sometime.

The bus ride back to Lima was better than last time, with silent audio for the movies once it got late and postponement of bingo until the end of the journey.  Before I fell asleep, I scribbled something, my only note from the ride, into my journal - 'There's something very alive about these mountains, especially at dusk as your presence slowly shrinks and their grandeur is illuminated.  Their veins, their peaks, the clouds that fall below them.  The mountains are a part of this place.'  Moving through the Andes, I felt slightly connected to home, to the green expanses of the Adirondacks by Lake George and Dartmouth, however different the settings.

We arrived a bit late in Lima, met a smiling Tete at the station, and spent a few hours at Rosi's house.  First warm shower in almost a month!! It was WONDERFUL.  Cutting it a bit close, we made our flight, arrived in Cusco and reunited with Savannah and Margaret at the hostel.  We shared stories, glimpsed at photos, and hugged over coca tea.  It's odd to be back in Cusco, both because of the memories from my high school trip and the culture shock after being in tiny remote Lamud.  Hotel after fancy hotel, 'vegetarian' restaurants abound, and the sounds of English everywhere.  It is a beautiful city, but light years away from the lifestyle of Lamud.  Today I think I will take it easy, trying to get some fuel into my body and rehydrate after being sick.  The rest of the crew is off to Macchu Picchu, and I will see them again tomorrow night.  Ciao!