Quillabamba

I’m blessed, that’s for sure. By the moon this time, again!! I don’t plan these things, they just work out this way. There are many planned viewings of the full moon rising, but the unexpected ones are the blessings. Times that I can remember:

• Unexpected full moon rising over Karoo koppies on our way to the farm, huge and very close over the vast expanse of Karoo vlaktes, reminding me of the greatness of the Creation.
• Ngorogoro crater in Tanzania, going out of our hotel in the freezing cold to look at the moon, to discover a full moon rising over the tip of the crater with a telescope placed readily at hand. We had not planned to be in the crater for full moon, it just happened.
• Stepping out from my hostel into a completely crazy, filthy, overcrowded street in Yangon, Myanmar, not knowing where to go or what to do, seeing the full moon rise to my right, and just walking in that direction, merging with the crowds. Discovering the most wonderful local food made in huge pots on the sidewalk, talking to interesting people, and generally feeling alive and well.
• Humahuaca, about which I wrote in a previous blog. Having the full moon rise unexpectantly from behind the Andes mountains after a taxing day, stopping me in my tracks on the dirt road close to where I was staying (on the wrong side of the river).
• And here in Quillabamba, Peru, where I had arrived for my next volunteer job. I always feel strange and isolated on arrival, take time to adjust and relax. My teeny little room (without a window) is on the 2nd floor, off a deck that overlooks the tree covered mountains. I had gone in search of a grocery store and was going to my room when I noticed the light of the rising moon behind the mountain. And it dawned on me: full moon!!! Blessings blessings blessings. I sat on the deck for an hour with a cup of coffee, chatting to a friend on WApp and allowing myself to just be me, without the pressure of self-inflicted expectations. It felt good. The next day I was told Quillabamba means ‘Valley of the Moon’…

Getting to Quillabamba from Cuso meant traversing a 4000m mountain with a bus, which sometimes took the hairpin-bends at 40 -50km/h. I was unperturbed, going from side to side to catch the best view from the windows, often having to grasp at the armrest of the seats to prevent myself from being flung down the isle. The rest of the passengers were all sleeping!Going upAt the top, black soil turned up in the lands.Altogether different landscape on the other side, lush and green. Quillabamba is on the edge of the Amesone forest.The river is called the Urubamba, and runs through the Sacred Valley which is at the foot of Machu Picchu. Quillabamba is 2hrs north of Machu Picchu, and can be seen in the far distance of the above photo.My Workaway volunteer work for this month is with Jennifer, her husband Darsey, and three children. They run an art institute which they started 3 years ago, and offer guitar and piano lessons, ballet, drama, cooking and art for small children and adolescents. Evidently Jennifer arrived here with nothing but a pot for boiling rice and her rucksack, and started the business from the room she had rented and was living in, converting it to a studio during the day. Her story is inspirational, as she had to persuade reluctant fathers that art in its various forms was an important part of a child’s development. Today they have a thriving business with many children participating and they are involved in community activities and festivals.Gabriella (the other volunteer from Brazil) and I have our rooms on the 2nd floor, with a bathroom and a deck overlooking the mountains. The family occupy the 1st floor (or 3 rooms, the other 2 are classrooms), and the kitchen and 3 more classrooms are on the ground floor. Free board and one meal is provided, work is from 4 – 8pm on week days and the rest is free time to relax and explore. The family are all keen on the interchange of cultures, cooking and language and to have us take part in their activities. They have opened their home with warm hearts and are really want us to see as much of the area as possible. Jennifer speaks English, and I’m working hard at my Spanish to be able to communicate with the rest of the family. Apart from helping with the little ones, I am teaching English to her daughter and some friends, amidst much fun and laughter.One of the good things about living with a local family is that one is able to do things in a non-tourist way. A trip to one of the many beautiful waterfalls in the area is done with a group who was started by an enthusiastic nature lover, and who go on excursions every weekend. The price is 20 soles instead of the 100 or 200 soles that tour guides would have asked. Dogs and children are part of the group, and we all got thoroughly soaked in a proper jungle downpour on the way back.We had parked at a ‘lodge’ and trout farm, so before we started our trek up the mountain to the waterfall, we watched lunch being caught in one of the ponds. A scrumptious meal of trout, chips, salad, sweet potato and duca awaited us on our return, undercover and dry.There are two clear blue swimming pools close by to where we stay, much to my delight in this sweltering humidity. It rains every night, seldom during the day, and often thunderstorms. Life in this undiscovered gem of a town is slow-paced, local and lekker. Zillions of the cutest little 3-wheeled taxi’s abound, riding up and down the streets all day long, with a flat rate of 1 and a half soles. I’m going to pack one in Louise to take home, I love them!One of the girls that attend the English classes invited us to her school a few days ago, as they were having an exhibit of different kinds of traditional foods. It was supposed to start at 10am, but by 12 noon the judges were still walking around (evidently not uncommon according to Peruvian standards) and we decided to go for a swim instead of waiting to buy or taste the food. It all looked delicious, excepting for the guinea pig.There are two guinea pigs running around in our backyard, but Darsey has assured me that they are pets, not to be eaten, thank goodness!Yesterday Gabriella and I went to another waterfall close by, taking a small bus from the taxi rank after having stood through a fighting match between the various drivers. Quite overwhelming, but that is how it is done, according to Jennifer. We had the waterfall to ourselves for about an hour, but a group of school children from Araquipa arrived and entertained us with their splashing and antics, just as children everywhere do. Afterwards we just stood next to the road and hitched a ride back to town for 5 soles, the going rate.