Go Walk About

So since we rang in the New Year I’ve been telling my host family that I am going to go see my friend Ellie in Conchan that is on the other side of my little mountain. Also that I would be walking there. I mean there are these little old ladies who walk it all the time. I mean they are tough old birds, who could probably walk circles around me! But I figure if someone my grandma’s age can do it so can I. So finally my host sister Leni and I looked at the calendar and figured out when we could go.

We picked Feb 12^th and said as long as it doesn’t rain we will go. It didn’t rain for two days before the set date so there was no backing out! Haha. Also, another girl from the community Laura showed up the night before to go with us. However one big problem neither of them knew the way and we didn’t even know if anyone was making the trip that next morning. The girls started calling all the Tia’s they knew who sometimes made the journey. Around 10:30pm they found someone. BUT the Tia wanted to leave at 5:00AM!!! I mean no way that is way to early still for me!

So they called her back and she compromised and said 5:30AM haha.

I wake up at the appointed hour 5:00AM because I’m packed and ready all I gotta do is get in my clothes and go. I find the girls in the kitchen cooking away. I mean there is no way we could go on this trip without RICE, I mean what was I thinkin. They also made tortillas (that basically are like funnel cake without the sugar) for breakfast….so nutritional! Anyways following in true Peruvian fashion we didn’t leave our house until 5:30AM. Thankfully the Tia waited for us but barely. We got to her house around 6 ish AM.She straight up told us if we hadn’t got there in the next 10 minutes she was gonna leave us. Man would I have been upset if I had woke up before the sun and walked the 30 minutes of uphill walking over rocks and dogs sneaking around barking/ charging at us in the dark for nothing!

 (This is the view from almost at her house…my house is way down there in that crevice)

Because we were late we immediately started the trek at a semi run because we had to get across a couple of fields before starting uphill for the rest of the journey. The Tia was a very sweet woman who thankfully took breaks (3 in total) haha! In the next 2 hours of uphill walking.

 We finally made it to the passageway at the top and thankfully began the descent.

Looking from the top at Conchan it didn’t look like we had walked that far up but man oh man I don’t think that town is equal distance from the top.

It took us an hour to get down and spent a lovely couple of hours with Ellie waiting for a car to take us the 30 minutes to Tacabamba.

 In Tacabamba we meet up with Diamond for a few minutes then began our second hike of the day to the Tacabamba waterfall.

Now this time we didn’t have a guide and our directions were dismal at best. After walking for 2 and ½ or more hours and still not arriving I had given up because most said it was a 2 hour hike. The girls were determined and we pushed on and found an old lady to ask. Thankfully we were only like 15 minutes away. We made it to the look out.

All I can say is you could tell it had been awhile since someone had been here and the girls wanted to go down farther to look at the waterfall. At this point my feet hurt quite a bit because blisters were forming in some strange places like my pinkie toe and the pad on my foot making every step one I didn’t want to take and we still had to walk back. So I waited up top and they went down below.

When we finally started back I don’t know how but we did it in like an hour and a half. Why I put that doubtfully is because the return journey was more uphill than going there. Any who…we made it to Tacabamba again

and found the town playing Carnival (which had happened most places the weekend before)!!! So at first we tried to avoid them but as we got closer to the bus stop there was no avoiding the water being thrown! I got at least 2 full buckets on my backside! Yeah for getting ready to sit for almost 2 hours, although refreshing about so much walkin in the sun!!

We wait in the combi awhile and finally get underway! At this point I’m beat but guess what we aren’t done walkin yet!!!! Oh no we still have to get off the combi and walk another hour to our house! Thank the Lord it was downhill but downhill has its own hurts. Also, getting off my feet for 2 ish hours let me know just how big those blisters were when we had to start walkin again!!!!!!

Finally finally as we started the day in darkness by the time we got home the last rays of sunshine were going down.

 I’m exhausted but can’t immediately go to sleep.

BUT I  do only to be woken up at 1:30AM because SHE IS GIVING BIRTH!!!! WAKE UP OR YOU ARE GOING TO MISS IT!!!! Who? Why the cow of course. She would choose this of all days to give birth! I mean we have had her near the house for the last week because she is due anytime. So I get up and go out the front door because of course she is gonna do it right in front of my window! Haha. We wait and finally see the feet starting to come out but nothin much else. So what does my host mom do…why grab the feet of course and start pulling. Not gently either but with all her strength. So the calf starts coming a little farther but she is hot, sweaty and losing strength so not one but 3 of my host siblings start helping. Now this is when I really wish my camera had flash because that is one of the funniest moments I have witnessed here in Peru.

Anyways meet our newest family member…..Martin!! (Mar-teen)

So this little guy less than a week later is almost as strong as me! I know how embarrassing but I do think his strength had a lot of help due to my high heels!