And now, for my English speaking friends.
After 4 airports and nearly 24 hours on the move, I arrived in Cusco.The altitude (3400m), hits you like a punch in the stomach. Your feet feel very heavy, each step is an enormous effort, you are always trying to catch your breath. Then I had to get in a taxi to travel "home", as I´m not based in Cusco. A mountain road full of bends and drops, combined with a driver who aspires to be the next Lewis Hamilton, with the difference that this guy was permanently on his mobile while driving, and also no seatbelts in the back should have thrown me into a panic attack! However, the therapy session with a very good friend (thanks Faye!) seemed to work and even though I still felt afraid, I managed, successfully, to ignore the road and enjoy the scenary!
My town is 2900m high, and even though you can still feel the altitude, you have more chance to escape the worst effects! This town reminds me of Cuba, but even more of Angola after the independence, with its buildings in a bad state of disrepair, the heat, the dust, the women with the children tied to their backs and even the lack of water. However, contrary to what we did in Angola, Peruvians do not stock water, so, when there is none, we cannot use the bathroom! I confess that although I can live with little confort, I consider no water a major problem! On the mornings we have water, the sower is freezing as we are still in the Winter and temperatures drop below zero at night. There is a contraption supposed to warm up the water, but the thingumajig does not work anyway.
I work at a PRONOEI. These are centres for less fortunate children from 3 to 5. The kids are lovely, call me Florcita, although that does not mean I never have to deal with attitude problems. We also have special needs children. Everyday I take the colectivo to go to work. Colectivos are vans in various state of disrepair - a couple of days ago, one lost a door! The colectivo drops me near a dirt road and I walk for about 15 minutes to get to work. I´ll work here 2 weeks, then I´ll go to another PRONOEI a bit further away, and I´ll have to take THAT road twice a day!
The food at "my family home" is good, but Peruvians eat far too much! Even my 3 year olds eat more than me! There is always soup with potatoes, vegetables and pasta and then a main course with potatoes, vegetables and rice with a sauce. I only eat the soup, it´s very nutritious and more than enough! And I drink so much that I don´t feel hungry at all! I have acclimatised very well, although I feel permanently tired and sleepy - probably missing coffee!
Yesterday I went to Pisac market, a town nearby where they sell handicrafts. OHHH! The colours were amazing! I wanted to buy everything!
It does not matter how many adjectives I use, I will never be able to describe the magnificence of this place! Here Mother Nature makes us feel as if we are really nothing more than a grain of sand in this universe!
After 4 airports and nearly 24 hours on the move, I arrived in Cusco.The altitude (3400m), hits you like a punch in the stomach. Your feet feel very heavy, each step is an enormous effort, you are always trying to catch your breath. Then I had to get in a taxi to travel "home", as I´m not based in Cusco. A mountain road full of bends and drops, combined with a driver who aspires to be the next Lewis Hamilton, with the difference that this guy was permanently on his mobile while driving, and also no seatbelts in the back should have thrown me into a panic attack! However, the therapy session with a very good friend (thanks Faye!) seemed to work and even though I still felt afraid, I managed, successfully, to ignore the road and enjoy the scenary!
My town is 2900m high, and even though you can still feel the altitude, you have more chance to escape the worst effects! This town reminds me of Cuba, but even more of Angola after the independence, with its buildings in a bad state of disrepair, the heat, the dust, the women with the children tied to their backs and even the lack of water. However, contrary to what we did in Angola, Peruvians do not stock water, so, when there is none, we cannot use the bathroom! I confess that although I can live with little confort, I consider no water a major problem! On the mornings we have water, the sower is freezing as we are still in the Winter and temperatures drop below zero at night. There is a contraption supposed to warm up the water, but the thingumajig does not work anyway.
I work at a PRONOEI. These are centres for less fortunate children from 3 to 5. The kids are lovely, call me Florcita, although that does not mean I never have to deal with attitude problems. We also have special needs children. Everyday I take the colectivo to go to work. Colectivos are vans in various state of disrepair - a couple of days ago, one lost a door! The colectivo drops me near a dirt road and I walk for about 15 minutes to get to work. I´ll work here 2 weeks, then I´ll go to another PRONOEI a bit further away, and I´ll have to take THAT road twice a day!
The food at "my family home" is good, but Peruvians eat far too much! Even my 3 year olds eat more than me! There is always soup with potatoes, vegetables and pasta and then a main course with potatoes, vegetables and rice with a sauce. I only eat the soup, it´s very nutritious and more than enough! And I drink so much that I don´t feel hungry at all! I have acclimatised very well, although I feel permanently tired and sleepy - probably missing coffee!
Yesterday I went to Pisac market, a town nearby where they sell handicrafts. OHHH! The colours were amazing! I wanted to buy everything!
It does not matter how many adjectives I use, I will never be able to describe the magnificence of this place! Here Mother Nature makes us feel as if we are really nothing more than a grain of sand in this universe!
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