I am here again, in Peru, - going to school at Apulaya Centre for Andean Culture in Calca, El Valle Sagrado de los Incas. The difference this time is that I have my husband here too and we are both learning and expanding our horizons.
We have been here for two weeks now and each moment is a new adventure and experience - like the day we went to Pisaq - as per usual with Apulaya we start at the top and after we had worked our way around the main pre-inca buildings we headed out on the path that would carry us down over the mountain, through all the other sacred spots and small temples in all their glory.
There is a tunnel, not a very long one, but a tunnel never the less. As I was about to enter from my end I saw a young woman come towards me - the moment she saw me she turned around and went back out. I didn't think more of it but continued, encouraged by Soren and Emerita coming up behind me. At the other end of the tunnel (which truly wasn't very long) the young woman was waiting.
She had the sweetest little boy on her back, his name was Johan and ........ she was very interested in selling us some of her weaving. Perhaps I was not super enthused to start with, but greeted her to the best of my ability in my new found Qeshwa as did Soren and then.....she asked if we would like for her to sing us a couple of songs? That was not to be refused and so we had our very own little concert of a medley of I think 4 or 5 different traditional songs in Qeshwa - and after that perfomance there was no way back, we did buy some of her weaving and we did make a million faces to the little person observing us over his mama's shoulder, his hat askew and his eyes sparkling above the toothless grin he bestowed upon us.
This is one little story - the walk that day did last from 10am to 6pm at which point we were downtown Pisaq - the sun dissappeared completely as we descended the last little piece of the way and as we got to the beginning of the now closed for the night Pisaq market we turned around to look at where we had come from and ........the almost full moon rose in the sky over the sacred spot of Pisaq. It was a most magic and beautiful experience.
We have been here for two weeks now and each moment is a new adventure and experience - like the day we went to Pisaq - as per usual with Apulaya we start at the top and after we had worked our way around the main pre-inca buildings we headed out on the path that would carry us down over the mountain, through all the other sacred spots and small temples in all their glory.
There is a tunnel, not a very long one, but a tunnel never the less. As I was about to enter from my end I saw a young woman come towards me - the moment she saw me she turned around and went back out. I didn't think more of it but continued, encouraged by Soren and Emerita coming up behind me. At the other end of the tunnel (which truly wasn't very long) the young woman was waiting.
She had the sweetest little boy on her back, his name was Johan and ........ she was very interested in selling us some of her weaving. Perhaps I was not super enthused to start with, but greeted her to the best of my ability in my new found Qeshwa as did Soren and then.....she asked if we would like for her to sing us a couple of songs? That was not to be refused and so we had our very own little concert of a medley of I think 4 or 5 different traditional songs in Qeshwa - and after that perfomance there was no way back, we did buy some of her weaving and we did make a million faces to the little person observing us over his mama's shoulder, his hat askew and his eyes sparkling above the toothless grin he bestowed upon us.
This is one little story - the walk that day did last from 10am to 6pm at which point we were downtown Pisaq - the sun dissappeared completely as we descended the last little piece of the way and as we got to the beginning of the now closed for the night Pisaq market we turned around to look at where we had come from and ........the almost full moon rose in the sky over the sacred spot of Pisaq. It was a most magic and beautiful experience.