A New Chapter

Sadly, Saturday was our last day to spend with the children!! These past three weeks have flown by - it feels just like earlier today I arrived with all my apprehension and excitement. We went to the market as always, which Ive (cannot for the life of me find the apostrophe on this keyboard) talked about quite enough already. I thought my emotions might get the best of me throughout the day, even with an additional unexpected event occuring, but the normal chaos that unfolds in the house kept me focused on the care of the kids. Prior to Saturday, we got to spend another fabulous Friday afternoon picking strawberries, riding caballos, feeding the cows, and snacking on popcorn and freshmade cheese at the beautiful farm. So, entering Saturday, we were in high spirits.

We had planned to have a mini-fiesta that good ole Tony had yet to find out - Tony Lazzarro is the MD and professor that gave up his life teaching medical science at Emory college to become the creator/founder/director of the Hogar in addition to becoming a loved and respected father to all of the 55 kids. After mass, Ashley and I handed out pieces of our "Goodbye and thanks for everything" Oreo ice cream cake that we had made the night before (props to Ashley for the good idea). It was a HIT - Tony, who never EVER eats sugar or sweet foods definitely indulged in having not one but TWO pieces. Whoop whoop - big accomplishment and feeling of acceptance for us. Then the fiesta began as we busted out the reggaeton musica that the children really liked. It was fun because we were able to rally the strength the pick up and dance with every kid wheelchairs or braces that wanted to go for a spin. BRILLIANT. Never seen some of those kids smile so much. Before we knew it, it was bedtime, and the reality of it being the last time to say buenas noches amigos to the kids kicked in very quickly. The sadness of the situation really set in after the kids went to sleep, and Ashley and I were left alone to pack. To cope with the situation in a healthy manner, I binge ate approximately 5 pieces of the cake we had made before putting my hand on the wall - a fabulous idea to commemorate the number of lives that have been affected by the Hogar in which all patients and workers put their painted hand- or footprint on a wall, which will no doubt fill up in the near future. An amazing experience I wouldn´t trade for anything! Thank you so much to the kids first and foremost, to Tony and his loyal staff for their never-ending compassion and dedication for the health & well-being of these children, and the volunteers who come and go but always make an ever-lasting effect on the Hogar!

At 3am, we hopped in our cab with our Hogar driver Javier and headed to Lima airport to atch our flight to Cusco. Didn´t (found the apostrophe) really expect to see a mass of people waiting to travel at 3 am, but clearly I was wrong. After our bags got checked it, all we had to do was relax and wait to board. Once on the plane, the flight was UNREAL!!! The scenery was unlike anything I´ve seen before in my life. As the sun rose over these endless peaked mountains of the Andes, the shadows cast upon the westward side of each mountain formed a wide variety of shapes - most I thought to look like morphed chess pieces, primarily rooks and bishops. Imagine being microscopic in size being amongst an oil canvas painting - thats what I thought it would looking like. BRILLIANT!! As was the descent, since we didn´t actually have to descend that far, as Cusco rests at 10,000ft above sea level.

Everything about our arrival went well - we got our luggage, our hostal drivers were sooooo pleasant and very informative, and the hostal is out of the world in terms of quality - WAHOO, Inca influences everywhere and wonderful pottery lining all the tables and countertops. As we were settling in/walking through the door, our amiable hostal owner Javier informed us of this great tour of the Sacred Valley that included a stop in Pisac, the best and busiest market around on a Sunday (which is the day we arrived). What is the best thing to do when abruptly arriving to a city of incredible altitude - take it easy and acclimate you say? Heeeeeeeeeckkk no! Board a bus that winds even higher up into the Andes on windy roads going really fast - yes, right answer. So approximately 13 minutes after we arrived and put our bags down, which is about 50 minutes after we landed, we hopped on a bus to explore the Sacred Valley. The views were spectacular, the environment so clear, and the air, though thin, is very clean. Pisac market was packed with merchants, artisans, and other vendors desparately trying to make a decent day´s wages...which for a few of them, Ashley and I definitely provided. Let´s just say there were a few "Oh, muchas gracias señoritas" as we walked away from few stands. But what great color and life in that market - definitely a top spot to people-watch for me.

On about our third stop, the altitude change definitely hit us. I literally felt like a 90-year-old woman with COPD and congenitive heart failure as I panted and wheezed going up a flight of 6 stairs. How embarrassing! Needless to say, we have taken it easy these past two days in preparation for our 5-day trek on the Salkentay trail... a trail that when mentioning it to those we meet in the hostal has received only a "Wow, heard that´s a kick in the ass" and "Salkentay...just take the train." ...Awesome - not really what we were hoping to hear upon looking for reassurance. However, we have since talked to those that have actually hiked it and said they´d do it again in a heartbeat - no matter how fast that may be when you are up at those crazy altitudes. So those testimonials, spending a day with a girl from Jersey who is doing two treks back to back and loving every moment, and seeing strangers upload personal pictures of Machu Picchu on neighboring computers in this internet cafe are enough to get me STOKED to start at 5am tomorrow! Much love to all.