Kite flying in Ladrillera
Well, we´ve finally left Huancayo. We are finally here in a too expensive Internet café in the small town of Huacachina outside of Ica near the cost (at least that´s where we were when I started but now we´re in Nazca - we´ll get to that). But first let´s play catch up.
Things fizzled out in the house without too many problems. I had originally feared that I had a heavy hand in things than what actually turned out to have happened. But a couple of egos butted heads and it ended in the house family bringing us in one by one showdown style to ask us what we thought of the program and the way things were run. They didn´t grab me until the next day and man did they get an earful. Don´t sit me down and ask me to be honest and then expect me to be anything but. We were in the living room for nearly an hour, which was good. I did a lot of ego massaging but still told them very clearly where there were problems and gave suggestions for fixing things. They gave us a lot of talking to about differences in culture and though I won´t be so shallow as to attribute it to Peruvians at large or even to Huancayo, theirs is a culture of excuses. We heard a lot about why things are the way they are and how they can´t change – without apology. However, we did see a little regret at the moment when I pointed out that we´d had so little introduction to the house that they hadn´t even introduced us to their kids. The whole thing made for some interesting discussion after – especially the part where the male of the house explained of his wife´s intimidating/angry demeanor, ¨That´s just how she is.¨ I almost laughed until I realized he was serious talking that way right in front of her. And Chris and I both agreed I would smack him if he ever talked that way about me. Anyway, it wasn´t the best situation and now we´re out of it.The next day was supposed to be the holiday and all of us going out to a big part but everyone was sick. Really sick, except me. Most of us blame some interesting looking red meat that was served at the house. As Chris put it, it wasn´t quite appetizing looking but he didn´t want to insult. So that day most everyone stayed home. Chris and I went out later that night to the center of town. We encountered a very delicious little chocolate shop with a quite stranger proprietor with a thick Spanish accent (lots of –TH sound in place of S). I think she was very OCD the way it took nearly ten minutes to package our chocolates. We originally went with Choo but he went off on his own for a bit. In the course of waiting for him, we saw a little boy drawing in chalk on the sidewalk. We tipped him and asked if we could take a picture of him with what he´d drawn – looney tunes – and then Chris had the good idea of getting a copy of the picture and giving it to him. So Chris went to sit in the park to look for Choo while I went to make the copy and give it to him. When I got back there was another little boy sitting with him and I felt bad but I went up with the picture I had. It took a minute before I could get him to understand that I was trying to give him something. When he took it, I backed off and watched the two of them hovering over it. I secretively snapped another picture of them looking. I don´t want to be so high and mighty as to think it was the first time he´d ever had a picture of himself but it almost felt that way watching how long they leaned over studying it. It was a wonderful idea from Chris and I think the little boys really enjoyed it.
When I returned to Chris, he was sitting on a bench talking to our old friend Juan – the (we then found out) guide who had tried very sweetly to help us find the bus to Cochas. They were bent toward each other in the dark – Chris nodding intensely and Juan speaking in slow but continuous Spanish. We sat there talking to him about his travels and random clients, his intense belief in the goodness of Americans and wishes for his country to decrease costs so as not to drive tourism away (something we told him he didn´t have to worry about happening). We were there for nearly an hour until a group formed behind us to give a demonstration of a mountain dancing style that had rarely been seen before. It was beautiful – even a little risqué for the region with scarves used to cover at certain times so as to give the impression of something more going on. The last thing Juan told us before we left was about the world´s largest Papas a la Huancaina – a dish of potatoes in a cold cheese sauce Chris just loves – being served for free the next day.
So the next day some people were feeling better and we told the family our plans and they took us all to the Papas a la Huancaina festivities. While there we, Chris and I, were roped into having our pictures taken with the chefs for promotional purposes. It was very strange and quite funny as we were surely the only group of tourists there. It was okay but more importantly it was free. After that we all went to the fair. We drove and the family insisted on parking as close as humanly possible – which appeared to be a sign of wealth and position, though it appeared incredibly lazy to me. There were wares from around the region and well as animals. There was a man selling snail ooze (off of really disgustingly huge snails!) as a cure all for facial ailments of the skin. The horrid part was people actually appeared to be buying it. There was also nearby a machine that you poured dough in and in assembly line fashion it spit out little puffs of cooked dough. Delicious. We went and pet cows (Chris got to feel a kick from a pregnant one´s belly, not a big deal for a rural bred boy but I was jealous), fed llamas, and observed all the different regional varieties of llama. We ate a big meal together and in the end I tried to force Chris to share a ¨Hawaiian dessert¨ with me – half a pineapple with three small scoops of ice cream and sprinkles and the like. It was way too sweet. But it was one of those fun things you only see at the fair. Most of the time we were there they were having a traditional dancing competition for kids. They were all dressed up like the most extravagant little dolls. It was beautiful but it seemed a little early for them to be so serious.
Feeding the llama
Ridiculous dessert
On Sunday, our host went with us to ruins outside of the city where I was previously going for the clinic. He cornered one of the camionetas and we paid to use the whole thing, which was nice to be all alone with space. More importantly it meant Chris finally got to ride a bus to Chupaca. The buses here have a person (often a young boy) hanging out the window yelling their destination. For the first few days we were there we didn´t understand Chupaca and it sounded an awful lot like Chewbacca, so Chris would make an angry Wookie noise whenever they passed. We had a good climb up to the ruins and an amazing view of the whole valley. It was just gorgeous. Then we went down to a little lagoon and went on a cheesy little boat ride. But it didn´t make me sick so that was nice. Then all nine of us piled in a taxi to ride back to Chupaca. It was badly crowded and although Alie really is quite small, my leg fell completely asleep with her sitting on it in the front seat. A cop flagged us down but I don´t even think he gave the driver a ticket. Then our cabbie was yelling out the rest of the way to warn everyone that ¨El Padrino¨ was up ahead. We finally unpiled when my leg couldn´t take it anymore and we took a crowded bus the rest of the way. Choo, Angela, Chris, and I found a great Chinese place for lunch – Chifa Xu (pronounced Choo) – which ended up being Chris´favorite. Then we went back to the Sunday artisan market and Chris finally found a wonderful hand woven rug/blanket like he´d been looking for. It was perfect for him too – brown with red stripes. It smelled like livestock and came from a sweet old woman who was missing too many of her teeth. We also looked at a lot of the silver work and couldn´t really decide on anything. Luckily, a sweet older woman invited Chris to come out to see her work in the town where the silverworkers live. We went on Wednesday morning and watched her sit at a small desk and work with corrosive acids and a blow torch. It was pretty impressive for a sweet old lady. She told us she used to work in the hospital and no one liked to visit the sick old people but her and so they taught her. She has been working with silver and making jewelry for 45 years. It was painstaking work and she told us over and over how much patience it takes – something our generation doesn´t seem to have so the craft is falling by the wayside. And she continued to say how people think it is done by machine but see look it´s all by hand. It was beautiful and wonderful to watch. We bought a few things and promised to leave her name and address with our program in the hopes that more people would come. Chris barely left with his toes intact after the family puppy tried to nibble them off – very cute but sharp teeth.
At the ruins above Chupaca with a view of the whole valley
Torre Torre in the background
Chris got sick again quite badly. His fourth time? He´s started threating to jump on a bus home if he gets sick again. We were all leaving this week except for James, who actually leaves tomorrow, and the two new Germany girls, Angela and Marie, who I have no doubt will take excellent care of the kids. We went out to eat at a couple of our favorite little restaurants before leaving when Chris was feeling better. There was this lovely little family owned Jugueria (juice shop) on our walk to Ladrillera that made the most wonderful food. When we went on Thursday and told them thank you and that we were leaving they all came out to say goodbye and happy travels. We hadn´t even been there that often so it was very sweet.
Choo left the day before we did and he brought it treats for all the kids. It was incredibly sweet of him. One of the little boys and his sister brought in their puppy and asked me to hold it for them while they drew. Those were likely some of the happiest minutes of my recent life. It´s so hard being around dogs all the time but not being able to touch so it was absolutely wonderful to puppy sit. And you could tell the poor cute thing never got a rest from place because it fell right asleep in my arms with me walking around the whole time.
I told myself saying bye to the kids wouldn´t be a big deal because they have to do it all the time. It ended up being really hard. For our last day we had three stations going: drawing (always goes over well), face painting (for taking pictures with a decorated cardboard cut out like a photo booth), and an experiment with Chris. David had already had the kids do an experiment to show that fire uses oxygen so Chris continued on to show that when the oxygen is used up it creates a vacuum. I soaked eggs in vinegar while Chris was sick. Oops. I later heard they were supposed to be hard boiled first but I got lucky and they just gelatinized. The egg rests on top of a jar of the perfect size (very hard to find) and when the candle inside has used up all the oxygen it creates a vacuum and sucks the egg in. The kids loved it. They were climbing all over the table to see. And they really loved touching the eggs. At the end we took a big group photo with all the counselors and kids. Not all the kids were there but it was still a pretty good turn out for that fact that they´re on vacation.
Our host/the program coordinator came with us for the whole day. He announced that we were all leaving and a resounding NOOO! went up when he said it was Chris´ and my last day. Then he said this was the chance to take pictures with us and I got attacked. A bunch just ran at me and started grabbing. So we took some pictures. When we were done, they attacked Chris. A lot of the kids put our names on their drawings and gave them to us as presents (a lot also asked us to gift them whatever bracelets or necklaces we were wearing to keep as remembrances). I also got a couple little love notes from older boys who ironically we always my troublemakers. Chris says it means they were just flirting even though he´d called them punks in the past too. We tried to play soccer for a bit but the wind was terrible and the dust made it hard to see or breathe (got a good teeth cleaning though). The kids all kept asking when we were coming back and it made me very sad. A contingent stayed to hang on us and try to keep us from leaving the classroom (refusing to leave so we couldn´t lock up) and then hanging on us so we literally couldn´t get to the bus stop or get on. One of my favorite little girls (though a bit older - 12?) normally has her baby sister in a blanket wrapped around her, as is the style up there, but that day it was just her and she clung to me like she was the baby. At one point I saw something wet on my chest but just refused to believe she was crying because we were leaving. It was very sad. It was also very surprising. I also had to play disciplinarian and my favorite phrases were probably ¨Be careful!¨and ¨Leave it alone please.¨ So I thought most of them were sick of me by the end (or flat out didn´t like me) but Chris and I think they really just needed some structure and caring attention. I was amazed over and over again by the kids´ lack of care for material objects (minus the occasional request for us to ¨gift¨ them something). From western culture, I would assume that those who have the least would value things the most, but they proved me wrong. With art, they loved to make things but rarely or never took their art home with them. Things were quickly destroyed because things have no permanence at Ladrillera. It was important to try to teach them respect for other people´s things but at the same time it was amazing how little they cared for ¨stuff.¨ Don´t get me wrong, there were definitely little packs of hoodlums and some bad behavior about but compare it to the attitudes you´ll find at most upper middle class elementary schools at home and the difference is amazing. They were wonderful kids and I will really miss them.
We went home and finished frantically packing. I got to say goodbye to Rummy - the family´s hairless Peruvian dog who is a ugly as sin but still a hyper little sweethear (forgive me if I´m repeating myself). The poor thing just needed a little love too. The family was nice enough to give us a ride to the terminal after they arrived home just in time thinking we´d already left (I believe to avoid seeing us). Alie, Ula, Chris, and I took the same uncomfortable overnight bus to Lima. When we arrived, the girls left to drop off some luggage with a friend of Ulla´s family. They were supposed to meet us after that but they never did. We hope that their plans just changed and that they are okay.
We hopped on a bus for Ica - a coastal city and wine capital of Peru. The bus played Lady GaGa for the first part of the trip and the bus was full of French students. I didn´t mind the music - gave me something to tap my feet to and avoid getting terrible leg cramps like I normally do on buses - but it felt weird being around a bunch of white people again. We are back on what Chris calls the Gringo Trail. We got to the terminal in Ica and I got chewed out by the security guard for not wanting to use the terminal´s taxis because they were unmarked. We eventually took a cab without problems to Huacachina - the only true oasis in Peru (though we learned last night from a British ex-pat restaurant owner that they have to put more water in it at night). The cab driver who took us to the bus today also told us that three hundred years ago there were six other lagoons like the one in Huacachina but they were sucked dry by the Italian and Spanish colonials who planted crops that required too much water. It´s so sad seeing how much horrible influence colonialism had here. The little town is a tremendous tourist hotspot. There is one road in to all of the hostals that border the lagoon and the surroundings are all sand dunes.
We stayed at a young and busy hostal the first night. Chris was sick again so we just stayed in, walked about a bit. The big deal out there is sandboarding, which we decided from the beginning to avoid since we can always go to the dunes at home near Alamosa. Unfortunately, the decision didn´t keep people from constantly hounding us. On Saturday, we found a different hostal that was more our style - less crowded, people camping in tents but a couple little cabins, cheaper but delicious food, and hammocks to read in. We walked up the dunes in the day. As Chris puts it, it´s like the stair stepper from hell. You lose two steps sliding backward for every one you take. It was fun though. We were absolutely covered in sand. I wore my big black, waterproof boots and had to dump out nearly a cup full of sand from each when we were done. We hiked it again to watch the sunset on the dunes. It´s amazing to think how rarely we have such an unobstructed view of the sunset. It links so much more quickly than you´d expect. It was absolutely gorgeous with the exception of some loud/vulgar british teenagers and some terrible wind that made it hard to see, speak, or breathe. My mother always told me how she abhorred going to the beach for getting sand everywhere and I can easily say that we got sand in every possible crack, crevice, and orifice, and my mother would have hated it. It was very sobering to see the two views from the top of the dunes. To the north there was the beautiful tourist town and to the south a barrio type area that appeared incredibly poor. To the west nothing but gorgeous, rolling sand dunes and to the east a not terribly large city that nonetheless was covered in smog. Everywhere here has smog despite being relatively small compared to cities at home. It¨s just incredible the amount of pollution and disgusting smoke a single truck puts out. There is no good way they could enforce emissions control here unfortunately.
Sunset over the dunes
That night got really cold and we just turned in early. The next day we went on an abbreviated vineyard tour. They wanted us to pay a good deal and pay to see many big industrial vineyards. But instead we just paid a taxi to take us to two of the smaller ones. Ironically the cab driver was one of the ones we had originally turned down at the Ica Terminal. We apologized profusely and he was very understanding. We went to the first and had a single guide for the two of us who was very kina and wanted very badly to practice his English on us. Then we got to simple a good variety of wines (too sweet here) and the famed Peruvian Pisco. We ended up buying a mango jam instead (Chris loved mango). The second was much smaller, older, and had really, really good wine – you could also tell since our guide was really, really drunk. They had lots of wonderful (and likely illegal) old anticues (Spanish and Incan) and kept insisting on showing us the fine details on all the phallic ones (even one of Incan fellatio). He had us drink a lot and gifted me a shot glass at the end. He was hilarious. His whole family runs the place and his cousin insisted I try a wine that would give us three boy. I drank before I realized what he was saying and Chris and I both insisted No, no, we´re not ready for that yet! It was a wonderfully amazing day. We went back and climbed the other side of the dunes – much more steep and a great work out. The food in Huacachina was amazing and touristy, which we were both ready for I think.We had pesto pasta, thai curry, amazing desserts (something called Banoffee pie – delicious!), banana pancakes (covered in chocolate sauce) and even a veggie burger. Very expensive but well worth it now that we will be getting back to the local food (food is very important to me if you couldn´t tell). Overall the stay was very restful and has helped us get make into the groove of moving and traveling quickly. I´m still working on getting out of the medical culture of stress and hurry but that may still take me a while.
We hopped on a bus this morning to Nazca. The buses never have enough room for our legs and it gets a little cramped (don´t get me wrong, I hate being the shortest in my family but being tall here has its down sides) but at least they show some movies. We stopped here in Nazca quickly for me to see the Nazca lines (if you are not aware of what they are you probable saw them in that last awful Indiana Jones movie). Seeing them requires going in a little Cessna plane, and since Chris had already seen them last time he was here and hates flying, it was just me. Tomorrow I will tell you it was worth it but right now I am still feeling a little woozy. I have never sweat more in a short period in my whole life – I think it was partly heat and partly Vasovagal. I think I got a couple decent pictures which I will try to post when I can edit them but I was just disgustingly sick. Never vomited though! The plane turns almost ninety negrees in each direction so your window is parallel to the ground to see. It was intense. I´m glad I did it and now I´ll never have to do it again.
Chris was a sweetheart and paid for us to be on a nicer bus for tonight. Hopefully we´ll be on the road in a couple hours to Arequipa, where Chris is really excited to see condors. Also, if you care for it, Chris found a new wiki site called Wiki Travel where it´s easy to look up the cities we´ll be in. We´re still heading toward Bolivia but our part in helping Andrew with his research won´t start til September so we´re trying to finish up our travels in Peru first. I feel like such a tourist now – especially with the special kina of under the pants fanny pack we have to wear to keep money and passports close. The upside of traveling right now is Chris´ amazing beard, which he keeps threatening to shave. I´ve told him he should grow it the whole time we´re gone and see how it looks. What other girlfriend would be okay with something like that? I also can say this is the first and only time in our lives where I will be more tan than Chris (even if it is a really hilarious farmer´s tan).
I know there´s more but poor Chris is sitting here waiting for me looking rather exhausted so I´ll try to update a little more later. Sorry to be so detailed but this is a great way for us to look back and remember everything too. Hope you are all happy, healthy, and sane.
In bus exhaustion, love, and far too much leftover sand in our ears,
Sara and Chris
P.S. Congratulations to my brother for safely making his move to El Paso! And continuous love and respect to my mother for putting up with us both going out into the world. We couldn´t be strong enough without you.
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