These Are The Days

Today´s adventure--a llama trek!

Pancho, the program´s unofficial-official tour guide, loaded all 11 of us up onto a bus bound for a rural village in the Andes. We drove up the winding road out of Ayacucho and like so many of my other bus rides here, our bus clung to the edge of the mountains for our 2 hour ride.

Along the way we had two unexpected stops--both of which added to the pure adventure of the day. First stop (scheduled)--a guinea pig farm! You can imagine my excitement. I love weird stuff like this. We piled out of the bus and walked through a tiny garden of carrots being careful not to stop on their delicate tops. The weathered farmer greeted us and show us to the guinea pig shed. The moment we entered I could hear their little noises (a high pitched "cuy" sound if you are not familiar with guinea pig language) as if they were all talking to each other. The shed was lined with about 10 small pens where guinea pigs were scampering about. They were mostly white and brown, but there was one or two that were black. And the were all sizes--big, medium, and even little. Pancho grabbed one that was running at our feet and it was about the size of the palm of his hand, supposedly one day old. After several pictures in the shed and even one short video just to really capture the atmosphere (complete with noises), we got back on the bus.

Second stop (unscheduled)--flat tire. Oh great, big bus with a bunch of gringos stuck in a deserted looking "village."No problem though, Pancho and the driver changed the tire themselves and we were back on our way. Though, not before we found a tiny store and all bought cookies there. We decided that was the most action the store had seen in a long time and we even suspected that perhaps they caused our flat tire to solicit more business.

We wound our way through the huge mountains and finally arrived at our destination. We saw a big pen of llamas dressed in their Sunday finest. Really, they had on little tapestries around their neck, some had big bells, and others had little colored pieces of yarn sticking up from their ears. I later found out these colored pieces of yarn are sort of like our brands on cattle because they tell everyone which llama belongs to who. There was also a group of about 9 horses that we would later ride. Pancho packed up our lunches and the four llama herders put some of the stuff on the llamas, but most of it on one poor horse.

Pancho dug in his backpack and pulled out two big bags of candy to pass out to the village children. The children came one by one at first, but once word got out, Pancho was swarmed by a group of about 10 or 15 children. Even once we set off across the field, a few new children came running up asking for some candy.

As we walked, I noticed the ground was unlike any surface I had really walked on before. It was sort of a combination of grass and moss. It was green, grew low to the ground, and didn´t really have individual blades. Also, some of it was really soft and squishy while other parts were hard and even had some sharp tiny thorns growing out of it. We continued walking and the llamas with their bells clinging followed along behind us. Llamas are such funny animals.

Soon we came to our first stopping point and I marveled at the enormous mountains around us. Pancho gave us some coca leaves to chew on because they are supposed to help with altitude sickness and give you energy. He kept telling us they are like Peruvian Red Bull. I chewed my leaves like a cow chewing cud, but after a bit I just didn´t want to any more because of the flakey grassy taste.

More walking through the beautiful mountains, and with each step I felt more and more out of shape. While I don´t think I am, it is amazing how difficult walking a few steps (particularly at such an incline) can be at such an altitude. Though the setting was so incredible, I couldn´t really feel all that bad.

Next, the most wonderful picnic I have ever had. The setting was so picturesque and Pancho had brought all sorts of goodies for us. He even remembered my strawberry jam for my vegetarian option. He brought plantain chips (yum), Lay´s potato chips, mandarin organges, bananas, cake, cheese, and sandwiches. We were stuffed.

Finally, we got to ride the horses! I was so excited! Several people had never been on a horse before, so I thought things might get interesting. I should tell you that these horses are about 2/3 the size of the ones we have in Texas and I definitely could not even keep my feet in the stirrups. Seems like not only are the people smaller here, but apparently their horses are too. I got a really cute black horse that had curly hair. I didn´t know horses could have curly hair. Pancho tells me that this horse is the wild one, so I need to hold the reins nice and tight. (Visions of this little horse running off with me on top flashed in my head). Though, being the real Texan that I am, I actually preferred that to the really docile boring ones.

Our horses climbed up the mountain and we came over a ridge to see a huge basin with a blue lake at the bottom. We rode along the ridge for a long time. The cool wind was blowing in my hair and I could not get enough of these huge mountains. I know it sounds dumb to say huge mountains, but these seriously seemed bigger and more rugged than other mountains. Words nor pictures could capture the grandeur. This was the best horse back ride I had ever been on (sorry CLH). These are the days to remember!

We dismounted before it was time to head down the other side of the basin. Expecting a big drop down when getting off my horse (like normally when dismounting), I was surprised when my feet touched the ground after only a few inches. Ha!Told you--little horses. I took pictures and enjoyed the cold wind before we started walking again. Of course I wanted to ride some more, so I hopped back on my trusty caballo.

On our walk down, I began speaking Spanish with one of the local guides. Shockingly, my Spanish is one of the best of the volunteers. Considering how much (little) I know, I don´t know if I should be proud of that or if that just says how little the others know. It was really great because the guide would then translate what I was saying into Quechua, so the other local older woman guide could understand. I would also ask him in Spanish how to say things in Quechua and then when I would try to say them in Quechua, he would chuckle. This Quechua is really hard. So many double letters and syllables. Maybe I´ll get one phrase by the time I come home. We were having a three way conversation and when I realized what was happening, I smiled. I also tried to help the guide practice his English.

Sadly, the day was coming to an end and when we reach the next "village" (they all look deserted around here but because of all the buildings, I know there must be people around) our bus was waiting for us. We loaded up and exhausted drove back to Ayacucho.

It was dark by the time we got back. I rushed inside for a shower hoping that because we were gone all day and there were only 4 volunteers left in the house (the rest were traveling)I might have a shot at some hot water--success!!! My first warm shower since being at the house! I knew it was a great day!

These Are The Days, Van Morrison