La prima vista

Here I am in Urubamba, in an internet cafe on the Plaza de Armas. A lazy Sunday, but only for another hour, as the kids will be arriving back...

I guess I arrived in Peru three days ago, but I´m really not sure. The past few days have been disorienting and at the same time shockingly familiar. On Thursday I arrived in Cusco, after a short layover at the Dunkin Donuts in foggy Lima. The descent into Cusco is meant to be very difficult, as the pilot must twist and turn the plane into the city´s bowl, avoiding bright red rooftops on the surrounding hills. Our pilot did an impressive job, though, as remarked upon by the English couple behind me: "Oh well DONE."

After a taxi ride through the chaotic streets of the city, which brought back memories of our trip here four years ago, I arrived at the hostel, only to collapse in the womb-like room (no natural light!) for 3 hours.

After that, I mostly felt pleasantly high off the altitude (and the matte) for the rest of my time in Cusco. Stef and I spent the next couple of days eating traditional Peruvian food-- like pork sandwiches--exploring the area on horseback--very slowly, accompanied by an eleven year old boy--and confronting our extremely low tolerance for wine as we watched Peruvian musicians cover Mozart. We really didn´t push ourselves too much-- although I´m still impressed by how many ruins we saw in a day. It was a perfect, gentle re-introduction to Peru, hanging out with a good friend who could cover for my woefully Italian Spanish.

Yesterday, the drive to Urubamba... oh my god. I had forgotten how stunning the Sacred Valley is. Roads curving past hillside graffiti--not like city graffiti, more mowed into the cliff--marking a high school class. Colors that remind me at once of Tuscany and (photos of) the Southwest US. Just VAST.

Then, in Urubamba, I had lunch with family friends under a perfectly blue sky--through which, incidentally, my hostess´ husband was paragliding. I met my boss, Ada, and we went on to Mosoq Runa, where I am volunteering.

At this point, I was feeling pretty good about my Spanish. I had understood everything at lunch, but then, there I was, back in Italy! Turns out I´m living with three Italian guys, two in their twenties and one in his thirties. I mean, I knew my boss was Italian and all, but I hadn´t anticipated how completely I would re-enter the country. We had risotto al zafferano last night, for real. So, again: the familiar.

The houses at Mosoq Runa are beautiful, and the volunteers´house is actually quite private, with stunning views of the surrounding mountains. Out front, sheer cliffs, all red, framing a group of dusty homes, tiny taxis and loud dogs rolling in and out of the picture. The kids go home on the weekends, so all was quiet. I met a couple of kids who were hanging around, but there will be lots more names to learn tonight.

Which reminds me, I should finish this. We´ve got to get back in time to welcome back the kids. Tonight´s bath night.
Many more thoughts circulating, including how sustainable this whole life, this situation seems! Then again, we´ll see how I feel next weekend.

Love to all.