August 5, 2013-Day 3
The part of travel I love the most is that the experience not only implies the place but also the people.
If I were to describe this day, it would have to be touching. Peru might be making me a sap but one of the things I love about being in a new place is the happy overwhelming feeling in your heart as you take it all in.
We started a little later today since the Maras and Moray leg of the trip is an add-on to the tour package (which is well worth it, if I may say so).
We began by driving out of Urubamba to go a few elevations higher. On our way there, we ended up stopping by a cemetery which was conveniently open and the care taker was conveniently watching and ready to let us in.
We went in the cemetery and one thing to remark is how colorful it is. Elvis said that whenever they visit, it was not necessarily about grieving but more so about celebrating that they had a chance to spend time with each other while s/he was alive. That was the first touching thing that happened that day. What I am learning the most about the Peruvian people is that their culture has somewhat developed a sense of eachotherness, oneness, an innate siblinghood amongst each other.
When we got out of the cemetery, a few father and son pairings are taking out their herds for food. We stopped the first pair and gave them water. The child, we gave some school supplies and candy. The school supplies were brought by Carol, one of our tour mates. All thanks to her why we got to experience this little moments that definitely transcend the travel experience to something more.
We have stayed in front of the cemetery a couple more minutes and did the same exercise but I think what striked me the most, or rather, who, was Nayruth, the 8 year old girl who was taking her little piggies and dogs out for food. The smile on her face, the way her eyes lit up after Elvis gave her the school supplies and the candies and told her to run to the piggies so we can take her picture was priceless. It's touching, the type that pierces through your soul.
We finally reached Moray. It's an Inca site that, according to Elvis, was used to
determine the best level to grow potatoes. I was just in awe. The levels
were actually pretty tall and spaced out. I was pretty sure it was my
height, or even taller.
Afterwards, we rode the bus and then got off at Maras. We
took a little walk around town but nothing really extravagant. We
boarded back on the bus and headed to the Salt Mines.
On our way there, before we made the turn, Elvis told us to
close our eyes. But I refused to. So I got the glimpse of the salt
mines right away. The stairlike sight all cover in white definitely blew
my mind. We got closer and it was beautiful. There was just something cool about seeing a whole area of salt, covered in white
.
The last leg of our trip was visitng Henry Potter who was,
yes, you guessed it, a ceramic artist. We watched his demonstration,
bought some souvenirs then headed back.
Angele and I spent the afternoon with some of our
tourmates, specifically Linda and Leroy. We walked around town, tried
picarones and the wonder that is Andean cheese, had Peruvian chicken for
dinner and rode the tuk tuks (its similar to what we Filipinos call a
tricycle).
It's definitely another day for the books, especially in anticipation of Machu Picchu.
For more photos go to my Flickr
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