A sad goodbye and a warm hello!

Mark has finally arrived and we have been planning the next leg of our journey, which meant that on Friday I had to say goodbye to the kids at Madre Teresa. I took Mark along with me to meet them. They welcomed him with open arms and lots of hugs. They each competed for his attention, and he didn’t hesitate to give each of them just that.. attention! I’m not so sure if they understood that it was literally my last day being there, but they all said in unison “ciao”. It was Jesus that really caught my attention before I walked out. He looked at me with those big brown eyes, and said “ciao”. It was almost as if he was also saying thank you. I felt as if I should be the one saying thank you. Thank you Jesus, for making the past five weeks probably the most meaningful and sentimental time of my life.

We have tried a few different restaurants in two days, and I must say the local dish “pollo de brasa” has to be one of my favourites so far. We went to a Peruvian restaurant just off of the avenida el sol, known for it’s roasted chicken. For 11 soles, equivalent to about 4 US dollars, we received as much salad as you can eat, a quarter of a chicken and papas fritas. I’m not sure how the Peruvians manage to do it, but they make the most mouth watering roasted chicken. Cooked perfectly, with extra large portions. Definitely worth trying.

We walked the streets and found ourselves in a part of town that tourists don’t visit. This was actually a bit of a relief considering June is Cusco’s busiest tourist season. This street was bustling with people, food markets, little electronic shops, music blaring, buses honking.. wow! Mark said it reminded him of India minus the garbage.

While eating at the restaurant, we managed to pre-plan the next month of our travels. We are heading east to Bolivia, La Paz. There are salt flats there that stretch for miles and are apparently mind blowing. It’s a three day trip and really cheap. From there we are going to head back to Peru and travel along the coast north towards Lima, hitting Arequipa and the Colca Canyon as well as Nasca to see the Nasca Lines by airplane. We will also sandboard in Ica and drink wine at the local and well known wineries. From there we are planning on taking a flight from Lima to Ecuador to spend a few days there and end up on the beaches of Mancora, a northern coastal town of Peru, then at last back to Lima for our flight back to reality.

Stay tuned people….