6/2
1.
The usual chaos – checklist gone through– (check),..
house sitter in place – (check)… what did we forget? – (check) … the
realization that if we forgot something we would survive without it – (check)…
the early morning trip to the airport - thanks to friends, Kris and Jonathan Sandoe”…we
are on our way to Peru for 3 weeks!
2.
My motto for this trip – “Savor each moment even
the ones that ‘suck’”…It is true you know… savoring beauty and moments of joy
are easy … but 3 AM waiting in the Lima airport for our connecting flight – no
sleep – cold – hungry… people snoring close around us… that is a little harder
to savor… but I think I get it… even those times have a quality to remember and
in a way something to relish. (Although it’s easier to relish those moments after
the fact).
3.
Sunrise in Cusco – 24 hours without sleep – but
doing amazingly well…we got a ride to our destination - a Hacienda in the
highlands above Cusco. First we ate a Peruvian breakfast of yogurt- honey- and fruit.
Good coffee… and then to bed for a 2 hour nap.
Then a 2-hour walk through the pueblito.
It felt good to be here!
4.
The small village lies in a wide valley between
two mountain ranges. Farmers do not live near their land, but cluster together
in the town. Houses are made of adobe blocks, red tile roofs, some thatched
roofs, streets are generally clean of trash and graffiti…Rooftops have the season’s
corn drying for use in making winter tortillas.
Healthy looking dogs everywhere – also cows, pigs, and cats. We are
objects of curiosity in the town and are greeted by many people. One woman
invited us to sit on her bench and eat tiny finger bananas with her– she was
gracious and very kind! We chat with several people along our way and are reminded
to use coca leaves to help adjust to the very high altitude. We see several shops in the town advertising
folk healers “ Curanderos”. Returning to the Hacienda we boldly took a different
route - going up a footpath and climbing to a path going in the general direction
of our Hacienda… more friendly people and drying corn. We returned without getting lost.
5.
I recently read that if you live a productive
busy life the only way to add quality to your life is to remove something. I understand.
As I write this I am sitting with a magnificent view of towering mountains–
we are enjoying birds and horses – no Internet – no telephone – very little
English spoken – surrounded by “muy agradable gente” (very agreeable people). I think of the saying “ Don't just do something – stand there!”
6/3
1.
As I write, a small brown Andean pony is grazing
in front of our casita. We just rode on him and his friends to visit one of the
great Incan ruin …This location is high in the mountains – 3 days walk on the Inca
trail from Machu Picchu). And by horseback
gave great views of the valley and the many small fields farmed by the people.
Now 6 hours later – we returned to an incredible meal, and are now relaxed
and sitting at our ease, sharing this place with our horsey friends.
2.
There is a mystique – a timelessness to this
place. Each day the sun passes overhead.
This is a land where sunlight, coming through mottled clouds forming
patches of intense bright sunlight on the mountainsides. Each day, springs of water flow from the
mountainside to give water to the people and their crops; today many farmers
are collecting corn from their milpas (small corn fields planted in any patch
of the mountain that will hold them…). Each night the stars return to their
rightful places in the sky. And here we sit. In this moment it is silent except for the
munching of grass, birds in the trees (a flock of parrots flew noisily up the
canyon a few minutes ago), and kids making the universal sounds of kids. The
only intrusion of 20-21st century technology that I hear is the distant
soft playing of the local radio station playing Quechua language music. Here
for us, “less is more”. It is a place to be mindful. A place to ‘be’.
3.
“Tipon”, the site we visited today, was the
center of agricultural research in the year 1400 (at a time when Europe was barely
out of the Dark Ages). It is a vast area of carefully constructed stone wall
reinforced terraces with an amazing hydrological system for delivering water
from high mountain springs through stone channels to all the different
experimental areas. The ancient ones understood the importance of microclimates
and finding plant varieties that did best in each set of conditions. They
studied 100s of known varieties of potatoes, quinoa, medicinal herbs, grain, corn,
and many other crops.. The effects of sunlight requirements, water needs,
ability to withstand cold, and winds, all could be studied here. The results of
their research led to dispersal of seeds and rootstocks throughout the vast
Incan world. The stonework was so
meticulously done that it exists today intact; also the water system is working
still as it was intended. Also of interest is the fact that even today the
farmers use their knowledge of varieties and microclimates when planting their
crops. The goal of the ancient ones was
to live in harmony with the earth, with the rainfall that was available, the
seasons, and the stars. And this is the world that the Spanish plundered and
destroyed. It has been said that their success depended
on three things that they brought with them – knowledge of making steel and
gunpowder. That and the diseases that
they brought with them…all that loss in the name of greed and imperialism.
