I did not expect to fall in love with an entire continent, a place that I left completely with an unfinished feeling and with a strong desire to see again immediately. I did not expect to find new places within my soul….places that were touched and changed for life….places that will need to explored and pushed for more understanding. I was placed, or ultimately, put myself into a situation that was life “altering” – physically, mentally, emotionally and psychologically. I did not expect to come home a more evolved person with even more depth to my awe of life than I knew possible.

What does this new light mean? What are the next steps in my life? I am not sure…but I am excited to find out. I am ready for the next stone in my journey….with new perspective and new attitudes…and a new openness to humans than I have ever been before. I am so blessed to come from a country where women are looked at as equals. I am so lucky to have been brought up in a family that values hard work and saving money…I was able to go on this trip, which was about double the cost of a trip to Europe, and spend without too much concern. I am proud of my accomplishments during the volunteering, and even though a week may not have contributed to a level of butterfly effect 12 months would have, I hope the love and energy I gave to that country makes them slightly better off. The love and energy the Ayachucan people, the acceptance from fellow volunteers, the majestic energy from Inca Ruins and the beauty of Buenos Aires made me better off…inspired me to return it back, ten-fold, to the human race: somehow, somewhere and sometime again very soon.

The art of “experiencing” within traveling is obviously addicting. I don’t think there is anything but that can overstimulate each sense continuously the way visiting a new place does, even if just going to a new restaurant down the street. I thanked God (along with Allah, Buddha, and my own self-realization energy) during this entire trip that I had the means to go to another hemisphere and truly experience something that has brought my entire life to a new plane….and..that I was in a place on this life’s journey where I could be open to it, accept it and cultivate it while I was experiencing it vs having to bring it home to analyze.

I know it will be hard to come back to this “normal” life. Life goes on without you when you are gone….my office building did not collapse, my clients got all the data they needed, my plants survived, my apartment’s mailbox did not overflow….it’s a hard concept to comprehend that most people in my life probably did not even notice my brief disappearance.

I have been reminded, however, that the most important part of living your life are the people in your life who DO matter…those who I missed while I was gone, those who I craved to share my emotions with and wanting so desperately to share my experience with…those on my trip who made such an impact on my life and who I experienced things with, grew with….learned to “love” in such a short moment of time….a love that is nothing but true human emotion…something we are all searching for and I will continue to work hard at maintaining the important relationships I have and be open to new ones, even if short lived and simply providing a life-message. I have realized, more so on this trip than ever before, each person that crosses your path is there to teach you something….even if something simple about yourself. Even how I reacted in 30 second situations created another string in my life’s “spiderweb” that allowed me to branch out on and see the earth a bit closer, with a bit of better perspective.

It is hard to return to normalcy once you find paradise. It is hard when you live in a small bubble of utopia and must return to the mundane “repetition” of life in a cube. It is hard to know that some of my memories will fade and the impact won’t be passable to every sector of my life. But, I also know that once I tasted paradise, I can never go back to who I was before. I can never see life with the same blinders on again. And, I will return. I will find that paradise again, and soon. And, to use a quote from one of my most favorite movies, “at least I know its not some place you can look for, cause its not where you go. It’s how you feel for a moment in your life when your apart of something, and if you find that moment…it lasts forever.”

Rafael picked us up from the airport at 6:00am and drove us right to the hotel where we crashed for a few more hours….screaming out loud when we had queen size beds, hot water, tap water where we could actually brush our teeth (we had been using bottled water for 13 days at this point and barely had warm showers). I took a 20 minute shower…..feeling horrible that I was wasting water after being in a country that had none…but it felt so good and warm, I couldn’t stop!!

Rafael took us on a walking tour after lunch in Puerto Madero.The city was so incredible – it is the 2nd largest city in South America – and reminded me of Paris or a very clean new York. It is amazing to think they just became a democracy after a crazy dictatorship ended in 1983. It was also interesting to think about the similarities to Peru, where Argentina fought for independence from Spain and finally won in 1816.

We enjoyed cafe con leche, saw the “Pink House” (like the US White House), walked down Florida street, viewed the Obelisco de Buenos Aires (built in May 1936 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the first founding of the city, located in the center of the Plaza de la República), and enjoyed the Revolution Museum before heading home to wash for dinner.

We bought tickets to see ‘Los Fabulous Cadillacs’ – they had a final show that evening at Luna Park. It was so fun to go to a concert in another country and even though we couldn’t understand all the lyrics, we enjoyed the energy and the other concert goers.

The next morning, after mas cafe con leche and dulce de leche cookies, Rafael took us to La Boca, a part of town that was originally started with European Immigrants in the 1920′s and known for where Tango started. The town was very colorful and the streets were lined with artists and mini shops with souvenirs depicting the famous time period. After that, we went to lunch in Palermo Soho….filled with designer shops and delicious bistros. We drove through the city to see more sights and finally came home to take a mini break before going to dinner. We did drinks at 10pm at a place called “Freak” and of course I had to enjoy my favorite wine of all time, which happens to be from Argentina….Malbec!! At midnight, we went to dinner, 2 more bottles of malbec and enjoyed some famous free range, non-marbled beef and cheesy gnocchi. Food was to die for and the conversation ranged from religion, to childhood upbringings and marriage ideals. We finally were kicked out a 2am (reminder, this was dinner) and we went to a few clubs before calling it a night around 4:30.

Friday consisted of a late breakfast/lunch at the famous design center and then did a bit more sight seeing in the car (The Metropolitan Cathedral, Floralis Genérica sculpture, etc) before heading to the airport. Shannon and I were distraught and really did not want to leave except to finally be able to speak to our friends and family. We had 3 flights, 20 hours of traveling, and the entire time wished our flights would be canceled and we could stay longer.

Huesto Luego, South America! I will return soon

We stayed at a hostel – in an ok part of town – but not really in a walking distance to anything “touristy”. We took a second cab from the main square and when he drove us the the requested address, we were scared because it looked a little sketchy. Shannon did the honors and went inside to bring back a full report while I kept throwing soles at the driver to request, mas tiempo (more time)! She said it was “sleepable” so we got all of our bags and walked in. The hostal was set up like a duplex, a family lived on one side and the other side was the sleeping for guests. The rooms locked and the beds were clean, so we decided to stick it out.

The owner sat us down and gave us cocoa tea…and kept calling us “most beautifoooool persons” and was honored to have us there. We were slightly freaked out by this guy and his overwhelming personality (and creepiness factor). We tried not to drink the tea but he stood over us and kept saying “drink drink, you must drink.” I finally chugged it so he would leave us a room and demanded the llaves (keys) and he said, “first you must take picture for publicity as you are such beautiful persons and then nap for one hour before going out to town.” I took one look at Shannon and she and I freaked out at the same time. We walked up the stairs with him and I told her we had to leave asap because if we were just drugged, I would rather pass out in a public square than to be there while randoms came out of the closets to kidnap us. She was freaked out too, and we decided that right after the pictures we’d leave. I carried my key through my fingers, ready to stab anyone who appeared. The creepy man dressed us in Peruvian gear, kept calling us beautiful people and then asked for our cameras. I felt better by the fact that HE was not taking our pictures with his camera but I still waited for someone to pop out of the closet at any time. After the pictures, we locked our door and then left for the next 3 hours. We shopped at the local market and found masks to wear and take more pictures of (these were the same strange masks that they wore in the fashion show coming back from Machu Picchu and had to take advantageous of them). We realized soon enough we were not drugged and decided to go home and make dinner in the room.

We had a great night’s sleep and were awoken to a nice meal of hot toast, jam and juices along with more cocoa tea before we left for the airport.

For the rest of the trip, we laughed uncontrollably at “beautifoool persons” and the outfits he made us wear and swore we barely made it out alive.

We caught the bus at 530 and were very nervous as we arrived up top as hundreds of people were already in line. We soon realized people had hiked up the switchbacks versus taking the bus. By now the sun was rising and we were petrified we missed our only chance!

We got in line anyway, praying the entire time that we would at least get good sunrise shots. Upon arrival to the front gate we were shocked to find out most of the people in line were not there to hike AND we were numbers 192, 193 and 194!!!! We just made it for the 7am hike

We basically ran around the mountain curve to get some more sunrise shots and to gain some much needed energy before our 1.5 hour hike straight up. After taking a few pictures Joe recognized someone from his bus to Aguas Calientes who was by himself and we quickly made friends and invited Mark to hike with us.

The hike was not easy by any means but was intensified by the fact that we were so happy to be sharing the experience with new people who were as excited as we were. We talked a lot on the hike up about our lives, our travels and about our interpretations of Machu and the ruins. We had to crawl at times, using both hands and knees to pull ourselves up and had to use rope ladders going up in a few places to ensure we didn’t fall backwards. We kept taking pictures and mas pictures (probably annoying Joe more than he was willing to admit) and our spirits were so high we probably could have flown off the mountain. One of the guides told us to be careful in one spot where we were taking shots because a person fell off that same spot last year. Libby asked him if he died and the guide said, but of course….uh…we backed off the pictures at that point until we came to a clearing above. A few people were very close to the edge and were making all of us, even Joe, very nervous and sick to our stomachs. We didn’t want to see someone die right in front of us. Then these young boys jumped off and we freaked out but then realized there was a terrace right below….after laughing hysterically for a few moments we of course had top take some silly pictures too.

After about an hour or so, we made it to the top for more spectacular views and spent time taking each others pictures to send home as proof we really made it. We met a few more Americans up top and had a lovely chat before the guide told us we needed to hike back down to allow space for the 10am group. The hike down was a bit more scarey for me….I have big feet for such little stairs and looking straight down was quite intimidating (this time seeing how far you can fall down vs how far you need to hike up) but we made it down and, of course, took more pictures to freeze the moment in time.

It was actually almost emotional to say good bye to my new friends once we completed the hike but after sharing emails and promising to add each other on facebook, we were comfortable with one final hug and we each went our separate ways.

I then said my goodbyes to Machu Picchu and felt as if my journey was truly complete. I was totally filled with adrenaline but was ready to go find Shannon and go back to Cusco for one final day of traveling before visiting Buenos Aires (I also realized I hadn’t even eaten since my breakfast at 430 and my legs were very shaky).

The train ride was perfect….there were literally like 5 people on the train and we had a cerveza to cheers in our victory! Then the workers did a fashion show to techno (I swear they played Tiesto just for me). It felt surreal, listening to techo…drinking a beer…looking out of the windows and having lush green mountains surrounding me on all sides…after a morning with the Incas…perfection! I couldn’t be happier.

The PeruRail train cuts right through the Sacred Valley, the highway the Incas paved from their Capital Cusco to other areas that provided agricultural and retreat pleasure on Holidays. The valley follows the Rio Urubamba (river) that was cultivated for irrigation purposes with the famous Inca terraces. The Rio was also considered a direct reflection of the Milky Way. As mentioned earlier, the Spanish destroyed most of the towns along the way, but the ruins of the foundations still exist, and the backdrop of the mountains are incredible. It is a clear example of how the Incas built in harmony with natural settings versus destroying it. Much of the valley was sculpted with the movement of the sun and stars in mind. The temples correspond precisely to lunar and solar events.

The train ride leads from Cusco to Aguas Calientes, the small town right below Machu Picchu. Hiram Bingham, a US Senator and the inspiration for Indiana Jones, came to Peru in 1911 to find the lost city of the Incas (their last stronghold before the Spanish defeated them) called Vilcabamba. Both the Spanish and the Incas had reports of a city “in the plains” that was conquered but later lost as the city was basically destroyed by the Spanish. Bingham began his search along the Rio Urubamba – and developed a trail which is now the train line. We took the Vistadome train – which takes about 3 hours and includes breakfast and large viewing windows in the ceilings to view the mountains. The mountains became steeper and steeper – and the colors became greener as we climbed deeper into the upper Amazon. I truly enjoyed the scenic views and, even though it may have seen like I was closing myself off to the world, I listened to Coldplay for at least an hour to prepare for my arrival (Coldplay has been my staple group in moments of change in my life…and was there as I moved to Hyde Park, as I pulled onto Lakeshore Drive for the first time viewing my new city, and….as I drove into Aguas Calientes). I have to admit I began to get slightly emotional upon the ride: this was a defining moment in my life….something only I could give to me…something I was proud to deserve…and something I was able to do to myself and for myself -purely by my own means and own determination.

We arrived at last to Aguas Calientes, and the view was breathtaking. Especially as we came from the dirty, dusty smog-filled air in Ayacucho and Cusco…the colors and clearness were slightly overwhleming. Green covered mountains were all around us and the friendly locals were there to welcome us with silver jewelry and other local items. We had to get some help to find our hostal…and upon arriving were devestated to find out they did not have us in their reservation booklet. Slightly panicked, we tried to look for another hostal but they were not as clean. By the work of God, we double checked with the first hostal one more time and she found us in the reservation booklet right away! Phew!! At the same time, we met a friendly couple from Florida (Libby and Joe) who was checking into the hostel at the same time (always nice to meet fellow Americans who feel as lost as we do).

Shannon and I decided to go up to Machu Picchu that afternoon, unsure of what we could see and do in a matter of 3 hours (before the last bus left). Prices of the entrance fee and bus tickets went up significantly from the time our tour booklet was published and I became very hesitant to purchase 2 days (as I knew we were going to do the sunrise hike the next day anyway…I wasn´t sure if we actually needed 2 days to see ruins). Just at that moment, Libby and Joe arrived and challenged us, “When are you ever going to come here ever again? this is why you came, right? You have to go today and tomorrow…it will be beyond worth it!” We agreed and bought the 2 day pass…I think my wallet actually screamed “ouch”….and we all got on the bus and began our assent.

Again, I became emotional….the view of the mountains on the 20 minute drive were breathtaking and reminded me of what a connection I have with the energy of “peaks” . The anticipation built each time we drove one switchback to another and finally, through the clearing, I could see some sort of ruins at the top of the mountain and my eyes welled with tears. Libby told me later that at that exact same moment, she teared up as well, overwhelmed by the beauty and excitement of the journey coming to fruition.

Hiram Bingham actually thought Machu Picchu was the lost city (despite the city being overgrown, in perfect condition, and in the mountains vs the plains) and began excavation immediately. His inexperienced scientists also thought they found over 80 female skeletons and began the idea of the Incas holding “virgins of the sun” here for sacrifice and other rituals. Later research proved the skeletons were 50-50 male/female and that Machu Picchu was actually a winter retreat for the Incas built by Pachacutec (away from the hustle and bustle of Cusco) that included enough agriculture for 1000 people at a time and a religious temple that allowed better study the astrological calendars than in the cities.

Shannon and I walked into the entrance, which hid any view of Machu Picchu at all. You actually have to go around a mountain curve until you come to a clearing that shows the entire valley below…surrounded by lush green mountain tops on all sides. It is extremely difficult to describe the majestic beauty in words but one can immediately understand why the Incas would build a retreat in this location. The air was crisp and clear…which allowed the colors of green mountains and blue sky to project a radiance of energy across the valley. A camera cannot capture this vision nor can someone describe what was shown or felt but it was incredible. You can see how the Incas built in accordance with nature versus against it.

Machu Picchu is divided by a large grassy square. To the left are the Royal areas reserved for the Emperor and his court. To the right are where the workers lived. The terraces once provided food for 1000 residents and have never needed to be reconstructed thanks to elaborate drainage and support systems below the surface. Much of Machu Picchu is actually built on a giant landfill that is terraced underneath for suport. There are 16 fountains that were used for ceremonies and fed by a natural spring that was used to irrigate the terraces. The highest temple (Principal Temple) holds a kite-shaped stone or, Intihuatana (Hitching Post of the Sun), which was used to make astronomical observations and calculate passing seasons. Its shape mimics Huayna Picchu, the mountain in the background, and appears to be aligned to the other mountains in all directions. As the Spaniards never found Machu Picchu, the device is one of few that was not destroyed.

During our hike through the ruins….we found LLAMAS!! I was beyond ecstatic (for those who don’t know, I have loved llamas since 9th grade…long story…but seems to oddly align with my obsession with Peru even though at the time they had nothing to do with each other) and I actually got to pet them I even got to pet a baby one…amazingly soft…and he wasn´t scared at all…but once I pet him he looked up and made some weird bleeting noise which made me squeal!

By now, almost 3 hours had gone by and the exhaustion of the hike and overwhelming emotion took over. Shannon and I took a mini break for self-time and I decided to climb back up to the overlook (felt like I was going to die at this point from exhaustion) for some much needed meditation. I found my own terrace (Sunday is the best day to visit as most tour guides don´t arrive until Mondays) and by now, most people had left. It almost felt like the place was mine alone. I seriously sat above the ruins and became one with the mountain top. Again, too incredible to describe, but I knew at that moment I had moved to a new plane and I felt like I was floating. Afterward, I became almost giddy…like a childlike person…and took pictures of my bare feet and Huayna Picchu, Huayna Picchu between my fingers and Huayna Picchu cupped into my hand. I was having such a blast that I forgot about the time and was 15 minutes late to meet Shannon (whoops!). We got our passports stamped and caught one of the lsat buses back down the mountain.

Upon our decent back down…I was literally exhausted. We did some market souvenir shopping, where we bought silver necklaces that have the famous Nasca Line images surrounding a Pachamamma (Mother Earth) symbol. The entire day felt like it was a gift, given to me to open and enjoy without any strings attached and for pure happiness. The necklace sealed the evening perfectly. Once we ate and showered, I set my alarm for 4:00am in order to get up for the sunrise hike to Huayna Picchu and passed out immediately.

Cusco was the imperial capital of the Americas at the start of the Spanish conquest. It used to be filled with temples, elaboate plazas, palaces and a hilltop fortress. It was like Rome, highways fanned out to create an empire that stretched from Chile to Columbia. Cusco became the holy grail of the Spanish conquest when founded in 1533. The city was literally covered in gold and Pizarro wanted it all. As mentioned before, the Wari in Ayacucho were defeated by the Chancas and then overtaken by the Incas. After the battle, the Inca ruler changed his name to ´Pachacutec´or the shaker of the earth. He was responsible for all the building of Cusco (shaped in the form of a Puma), the plaza and all the other major cities along the ´Sacred Valley´, including Ollantaytambo and Machu Picchu. His two sons created a civil war after his death, which allowed the Spanish to infiltrate and take over quickly – stealing all the gold from the cities, destroying all the temples and palaces, only leaving the foundations and cobblestone alleys. There is quite a history here…and similar to my experience when visiting Granada, Spain…the Spainards seem to have been so ruthless and only cared about gold and riches when taking over other civilizations (like the Muslims).

After viewing the sites, we met Beth and Hayden (who also went to Cusco after Ayacucho) for a delicious dinner at a resturant called Chicholina – we lived it up and ordered things like gnocchi and osobuco and an amazing white chocolate mousse dessert just because we could. We were finally so exhausted that we had to call it a night (after visiting the Monestary where Beth was staying…amazing). Tomorrow….we take the PeruRail train to Machu Picchu and I am beyond excited!!

Once we were there, it was our job to keep the ladies entertained and try to get them to exercise. Right away, a woman came over and handed me her 10 month old baby girl. She was absolutely beautiful, with the longest black eyelashes and she would not let go of me for about 2 hours. I was purely content to allow her to hold onto me while the other volunteers did races with the prisoners (running with eggs on a spoon, partnering with a prisoner to do three legged races, etc) and dancing. I enjoyed my motherly moment for as long as I could and focused on keeping her in the shade and bouncing her to keep her content. It is the Ayacuchan way to keep their kids as clothed as possible to “keep the flu away” (meaning hats, sweaters, cords, etc). The kids are always super hot so we tried to undress them when we could and keep them out of the sun when we could not.

Finally, I had to give her back and I helped teach the prisoners duck duck goose…or pato pato gonzo! They loved it. We moved on to dancing and about 10 games of volleyball when it hit noon (thank goodness, my arms were turning rojo from the game!).

After lunch, we played futbol! It was fun and I ended up playing well for my 2nd soccer game ever (even scored a goal) BUT poor Shannon fell on her wrist. She had to go to the emergency room and had to cast a cast (muy malo). The whole group went to dinner at Via Ve…a gringo friendly spot with amazing Pisco Sours and a beautiful view of the square. We ate nachos (heated up Doritos and salsa?) and pasta con pollo and watched local traditional dancing!! We then called it a night as we had to go get up at 5am on Saturday.

The afternoon consisted of visiting a Shining Path Museum, gringo friendly cafe con leche y azul (coffee with milk & sugar) and tourista shopping! Simply wonderful day!

Tomorrow….our last day. I can´t believe the week has flown by so quickly. Work = women´s prison. Afternoon = futbol y mas cafe con leche en plaza con gringo restarante (soccer, coffee in the plaza and american friendly restaurant for our last group dinner)!

Buenos Noche!

To be honest, today was the shocker I needed for a wake-up call. I have enjoyed each session up to today, thinking I was empathetic and was learning to not take my life for granted. Today was the day I realized how different it really is to not be ¨poor¨and to be in a country where ¨health¨ is considered pristine. I am fully aware that our society is over cautious and has, through our immunizations and anti-bacterial created new and different strains of virus, etc….however, today simply amazed me that entire countries (not just Peru or Ayachucho) live in conditions we as upper class Americans would call intolerable. I do not want to write every visual here…for I do not want to create a negative connotation of this country, the situation, the poor, or for those less fortunate. But, imagine a place without toilets…..no diapers (where would they dispose of them!?), using straight bleach to clean the tables and floors after every ¨potty¨accident (at least 2 per hour), children running their fingers through the ¨wet¨mud and laughing as they rubbed it on each other when being carried outside to the dirt after an accident, then playing with toys – sucking on them – fighting each other for them, and then repeating the entire episode all over again. The poor nanny tried so hard to keep the little room (as large as my bathroom) clean – wiping the shelves and floors and sweeping frequently….I felt horrible for her as just as she would bleach, clean, sweep – another accident would occur, or fight, and the mud would be dragged back inside. She was serious saint, and I tried to tell her before we left (¨tu es Sainta¨, ¨tu es muy bien con niños¨)….but I was simply shocked. I learned so much and learned that just because they didn’t grow up the way I did….most of these children will all grow up…these children will go to escuala (school) just like our kids, with no shots and no potty training and no formula or diapers and life goes on….does that mean ,y life is better? Different? Lucky? Or, just….not even comparable? I was so overwhelmed…I almost lost it and then looked at my watch…only 20 minutes had gone by. I asked myself, how does this nanny do it? Survive? Have the patience, day after day, to clean-sweep-bleach and then to repeat at least 7 times? But, is my job any different? I get up every day, sit in a cube, clean up messes and repeat….at least 7x a day, every day? Repito…repito….repito.

Let´s just say…I was over stimulated and defeated….I was definitely not going to be the next Angelina Jolie as in my dreams….but I definitely did not want to go home to sit in my cube. I guess this is what they call a life defining moment…and true to my nature….I fought it in a defiant, adolescent way (mentally saying I was over this and would never ever do something like this again and asking Shannon if we could just bag the rest of the entire trip – good thing she did not let me).

After lunch, Pancho took us to the Ayacuchan Monument and Wari Ruins. The monument was built in memorial of the Spanish vs Peruvian battle on December 9…where the Peruvians finally won their independence! Somehow, with 3,000 fewer soldiers and less technical artillery – they earned their freedom! The Wari was the civilization from 600 AD to 1100 AD (2 civilizations before the Inca) who were the people who stopped being nomadic and became farmers, and domesticated animals. They were run off by the next civilization who were war-hungry before being defeated by the Incas who utilized some of the learnings from the Wari (ie. used rojo dye from the bugs that lived on the cactus for cloths and used stone to develop better irrigation). Was a great trip to just get away from the city and to learn some history.

After the trip, the group (who had all had similar situations from the daycare) decided we wanted to go to a ´Gringo Friendly´ location and get some Americanized food. We drank Pisco Sours (similar to margaritas but alcohol from ´Pisco´in Peru & much stronger than tequila) and had wood-stove baked pizzas! It was delicious and a MUCH needed mini-break from the volunteer life.

We will see what sort of experience manana brings….children´s orphanage. Hopefully I can channel a bit of Angelina as I enter….

Hasta Luego!

• The first lesson: los niños to count to 20 in ENGLISH! They did it aloud with no help needed! Then in Espanol! ¨Muy Bien!!¨
• Second lesson: to open workbooks and complete sequences in proper colors y shapes. Azul, rojo, verde….circulo, triangle´
• Recess y snacks y photos con Miss Alicia y Grace!
• Third lesson: digestive system! proteínas= pollo y leche, estómago y los intestinos…. 
• Fourth lesson: math and ´greater than or less than symbol´ (numero es grande o pequeno?)…so cute….la professora taught them to think of what the animal mouth (boca) would rather have, nueve o uno?

The teacher was amazing….so warm and yet so in control. Just when the children lost their attention span, she would say,¨uno, dos tres – silencio!¨ and then the whole class would get quiet and then they would sing a song together and would go back to the lesson.

After lunch, Pancho took us to the natural springs and a waterfall – a place not known to touristas. The fresh air and quiet was so welcomed (the smog and noise and dust is almost unbareable at times)…we absolutely loved the scenery and just the simplicity of nature (nothing to process, or learn, or be over stimulated by….just wonderful). We learned about mud house building and about the little toppers that were placed on every roof for good luck/protection. On the way home, Teresa and I spoke of a lot of different things….Twighlight, past lives, Celestine Prophecy, Nasca Lines – which became slightly emotional (wonderful!!). As we were about to complete the conversation and agree to meet up in the near future, we saw a inukshuk and knew it was meant to be! What a wonderful afternoon! Gracias, Pancho (and Gracey, Shannon & Teresa)!! Buenos noche!