4/22/2018 2 Comments back in the towns of yauyosNothing stays the same. As a returned Peace Corps volunteer coming back to my original host site after nearly seven years, I kept this in mind on the way to Vitis. Other returned volunteers told me how their sites were different now; some of their friends were no longer there, or rapid development seemed to get in the way of the authentic, traditional customs and day-to-day life of small towns. The changes were to be expected and, I was told, negative. You will not feel the same there; worse yet, the sad realities of daily life in marginalized communities had not changed or had gotten even worse. I braced myself emotionally for this. It wasn't necessary. The warnings of change from other returned volunteers were less accurate than a common saying about development in the Andes of Peru: it happens, but very slowly and one small step forward at a time. There were only a few changes to Vitis that I noted, all good. Cell phone service had finally truly arrived. We could even text message my family back in the USA. The large flows of tourists that streamed to neighboring Huancaya had branched out to provide a small but predictable trickle of visitors who stayed and ate meals in homes in Vitis, creating a steady extra source of income for some families. Most notably considering the number of deadly accidents from buses and cars going over mountainsides, guardrails had been placed along dangerous curves on the road from Huancayo. More stayed the same than had changed. The endless trails up and down hillsides and along cold, peaceful turquoise lakes, the drumming of sky-blue cascades, rivers full of local trout and birds, and far-away snow-capped mountains are still there for the adventurous to explore. Often you'll pass by villagers on the way to their small farms, carrying fresh cheese and milk on their backs and walking alongside their animals. The women wear the traditional bowler hats and colorful blankets called mantas and men often wear ponchos. I was surprised that a number of them commented that I would have forgotten them by now; I replied the only way I could, by asking how would that be possible?! We had come to see the people and towns and also to realize a cultural project. We are going to publish a children's book of a traditional Vitis myth called Ashincuy (see our GoFundMe campaign here!). The book will be in Spanish, English and Quechua, a native language that is used in Vitis but is disappearing. Having the book in all three languages and about a story that many Vitisinos know helps children to be proud of who they are and of their own heritage, a pride often lacking in small towns that feel forgotten by the rest of society. We are going to include illustrations by children from Vitis in the book. Initially we were told that only five children would participate, but the day we arrived the school arranged an assembly for us to explain the project. We ended up with about fifty drawings and held a contest for the best of each grade to receive a monetary prize and to be included in the final publication of the book. It was a much bigger success than we expected, and we left feeling very optimistic about local interest in the project. We stayed in Vitis for three nights, and the first two were cloudy. It was the shoulder season, so there was some rain. The last day was sunny and cloudless- a perfect day to go on a short hike and say our good-byes to Maritza, Allico, Joel, Danilo, Mama Pilla, and Papa Pancho for their good company and food and to Raul and Elena for their good company and for providing us with rooms and beds. We weren't sure when we would see them all again. Our post-dinner tea in the house of Maritza and Allico was longer than normal since we wanted to extend our last moments with them and put off stepping out into the cold. After we finished, Janina and I stepped onto the cobblestone street and closed the creaky tin door to the house, using our headlamps to guide us through the unlit streets. Our insides were warm from the multiple teas drunken. We steadily made it up the incline and could feel each stone under our boots as we passed the adobe homes of tin and tiled roofs. The smell of firewood burning stuck to our jackets and was also wafting through the cold crisp air as families finished up their meals. We discussed how we were ready to go back but also would miss Vitis, yet mostly we were excited about the progress of the project. Then, upon deciding to take the long way back to Elena's home, we walked alongside the cliff that separates the town with the dirt road to Huancayo below and I noticed that we didn't need our headlamps anymore. It was the first cloudless night and we could see all the stars and constellations, even the Milky Way. They lit up Vitis and our feelings of wonder and awe. Within just five minutes we spotted three shooting stars. At 12,000 feet and with no light pollution, we were closer to the cosmos than we had ever been. Moments like these make you feel that you better understand Andean culture and the Incas and their predecessors. The relative permanence of the mountains below and the immensity of the galaxy above make you feel like a small temporary speck on an orb, more a part of your surroundings than the controller of them. The experience reminds you why the Andes are special; it's not just the variety of cultures, foods, history, and archaeological sites, or the fact that people and animals have lived in this difficult terrain for thousands of years. It's something the local cultures know and that visitors travel thousands of miles to get a peek of. The Andes are a truly magical place, providing special moments that tug at your soul and stay with you forever.
2 Comments
Sarita
4/23/2018 03:56:02 pm
Oh my, delicious to read! I got such a picture that I could almost smell the wood smoke and see the stars!
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Brad
4/23/2018 05:55:22 pm
Thank you, Sarita! Have you been back to Peru recently?
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AuthorBrad Goodman Archives
April 2019
CategoriesAll Andes Beaches Ghosts Halloween Lima Mancora Peace Corps Peru Rural Tourism Yauyos |