Hello all! It is the morning of Day 10 and this is Ted. I had the chance to sleep in today but instead have chosen to write. Which is to say, I am awake after being in bed since 9pm last after having done battle with a pork sandwich I bought on the street. Yes, even I can see my obvious downfall in the words "bought on the street". Pork 1 - Ted 0.
So the last two days have been a descent out of the mountains as we wrap up our tour. I am not the only person whom has felt ill. There have been a variety of symptoms and maladies as people battled colds, sinus trouble and lingering altitude sickness amongst other things. Once again though, the spirit of adventure is alive and well in this group. Very few times is there even any sort of complaining. Most people seem determined to battle through. They (to quote Arrowsmith in the inexplicably-overlooked-by-Oscar movie "Armageddon") don't want to miss a thing.
Day 8 saw us pack up from Chincero. No snow which is perhaps a good sign! We visited the local ruins with Puma before heading down in Cusco. A lot in the group expressed that they were able to get some altitude relief when we reached Cusco's lower altitude. The rest of the day was spent individually exploring Cusco and getting in some shopping (something that members of the group have been reluctant to do....and when I say reluctant I mean that people are perhaps buying extra luggage to fit all of their new treasures). For me, as I think for many in the group, it was a nice time to reflect a bit on the trip and what we had seen over the last few days. It has been a lot packed into a short period of time!
That night we all got together to go to a dinner theatre in Cusco. It was our last meal to spend with Puma and Revelino as they would head back to Chincero while we took off for Lima the next morning. Usually I don't go for these things, as I find them a little corny, but there was something about this one that I really liked. They did all sort of dances from around Peru. Included in these was an afro-latin dance where the women wear a tail-like cloth and the men try to light it on fire with a candle. I wish I had paid more attention to that part...but I will tell you about it later. It is the woman's job to with their hip movement stop the man from doing this (and even put out the flame if possible). After a bit the roles are reversed and it becomes the man's job to get the hips-a-going and the woman's to light them on fire.
It would have made for a great picture or even a great video. So why haven't I posted a picture of it? Well, it is hard to take a picture of the show when you are IN THE SHOW!!!!! I was sitting and enjoying this when down into the audience the women came and low and behold before either of us knew it, Zane and I were in the show! Try as we did, neither of us was able to light the tail on fire. And I have to hand it to Zane, he managed to last longer than I did before getting our tails lit on fire. Our group was laughing hard and gave us a huge cheer as we left the stage. The show ended and some people hit the town while others hit their pillow.
Day 9 and back to Lima. We went to the airport, said our last good byes to Puma and Revelino before boarding our plane and descending into Lima. The afternoon was down time, with people going to shop, visit some of their favourite places in Lima before meeting at Cafe de la Paz in Parque Kennedy for dinner. This was of course where I had my ultimately fatal meeting with the pork sandwich I had been longing to find since arriving in Lima.
For me, I had one more meeting before catching up to the group at the restaurant. I met with Vanessa, whom had talked to us earlier in Lima, and her colleague Toni from Ankay. They are an organization which finds scholarships and support for kids whom otherwise wouldn't be able to go to college. They are both very passionate and inspiring individuals. This is what the dedicate their spare time to. I had a very interesting conversation with them about the possibility for volunteers and help from not only me but NAIT. I was energized by listening to them and discussing the possibility for further educational collaborations.
I arrived late to dinner for which I took a razing from the group. But as I shared the possibilities of my meeting for NAIT instructors the rest of the table (at least at my end) also became energized. The chance to come back and help in a teaching capacity, to donate equipment, to start up scholarships....I knew that when I thought about organizing this tour with Jess that we were going to attract people who wanted to help, to get involved. I was not let down. A warning for NAIT colleagues reading this - you are about to receive some super energized instructors, people passionate about coming back and lending a hand. I am committing to follow up, which is going to include awareness campaigns and with any luck in the years that follow we will start sending students and instructors here to make a difference and to have the same sort of life changing experience that a lot of the group has had. Stay tuned, while today is the last day I feel though it is the beginning!
And that brings us to today. Day 10. We will be soon getting ready to go home. For me that actually means heading south to Argentina and visiting my "framily" (friends who are like family) there. I look forward to it, but I will be looking forward to getting back to Edmonton/Canada to share the adventures of this trip in person with all of you!
