Delinquent Blogger

I have officially been designated “delinquent blogger” by one of the lovely volunteers we have here at Yachana this month. A faithful blogger would never dream of taking a month-long blogging hiatus. In my own defense, I must point out that sometimes life needs to be lived, and the telling of it all has to wait its turn. In any case, I apologize for the neglect and promise that for the rest of my blogging career I shall under no circumstances let dust settle upon my keyboard.

I’ve been having a really wonderful jornada back at Yachana after a terrific three week December break during which I had the chance to return to Peru, visit with my host parents Dina and Claus, and travel around with my college roommate, Amanda, and her mother who was incredibly generous to me during their trip, treating me to 2 nights in a five-star hotel in the Sacred Valley, delicious meals and a tour of some of the most interesting ruins between Cusco and Urubamba.

Never thought I would get to share Cusco with my college roomie!! - Amanda and I in the center of Cusco.

The ruins of Moray. They were an Inca agricultural experimentation site where different crops were grown on the different terraces. The temperature is consistently 11 degrees C higher at the bottom of the circular structure. This allowed the Incas to grow (or test the possibility of cultivating) crops that would not normally survive at the high altitude of over 3,500 ft. above sea level.

Visiting Peru was refreshing. There was none of the day to day stress of planning classes and staff meetings, tromping back and forth a kilometer and a half two ways every day between the high school and the lodge, got to pick my own meals and visit my old haunts in Cusco. Every time I go back there it seems like the magnetic energy gets stronger, pulling me closer and insisting upon my return. Things happen, important people pass into my life, chance meetings. Each time my vision becomes clearer as to how I want my life to transpire. I’m reminded of what's important and I realize, really, there is no formula for how to live life. There are actually no rules.

After having tracked down Jerry and Nancy, who had moved from their home in Pisac to a town just outside of Urubamba, I was introduced to their bee project: The Sacred Valley Bee Sanctuary. They are avid bee-keepers and have developed a technique for bee-keeping which maximizes on the bees’ own production method, and not introducing synthetic materials into the hives. The vision is to understand the hive as a living and thriving entity, with the bees as essential parts of a united whole. More to come on this in a future post!

The road that runs through the Sacred Valley. This is where Nancy and Jerry have their bee sanctuary.

Condor in flight - we visited an animal reserve and entered a walk -in cage. A worker placed a piece of raw meat 100 feet away and the condors came flying over our heads! Their wing span can reach 9 feet.

 

 

And we even got to pet the baby condor!

 

Some mountain cat with beautiful leopard-like print.

Having spent two nights in the luxurious Tambo Inca Hotel in Urubamba where the lights in the halls illuminate the way as you wander through…

… where beds were made of clouds:

… the rain showers pristinely clean:

… and the food treated as a form of art:

... I wasn´t exactly running back to my damp, dirty, moldy room in the jungle. The cockroaches welcomed me back by climbing out of the drain and up my leg while I was taking a shower... sometimes you just have to desensitize yourself to deal with situations that are just simply unpleasant.

But once I was back I had a realy wonderful jornada. Probably the best yet! The kids from the quinto curso (our youngest group of kids) were back and, I hate to choose favorites but, they are hands-down my favorite group at Yachana. Amanda and her mom spent a few days at Yachana so I got to host hem and see the other side of the Yachana experience - the tourist side. We visited the local shaman, went on a night hike, made homemade chocolate from fresch cacao, and Amanda´s mom even taught an art class!

Peeled and roasted cacao beans.

Ground cacao beans. The cacao fruit is yellow when ripe, and the fruit on the outside is sweet and delicious!

City girl in the jungle! Getting ready to ground the cacao.

So that is my brief update of the past couple months. I promise to all that I will be updating far more regularly from here on out. That is - assuming that our power situation at Colegio Yachana is improved when I return. Nunca se sabe!!


Sincerely,


-The Delinquent Blogger