nos vemos, huacarpay

This weekend was filled with all kinds of magical goodness. It started off early Saturday morning. Meghan, myself, and two friends hopped on a bus to Sicuani which is about a three hour bus ride outside the city. From there, we took a twenty minute cab ride to the agua caliente! It felt so nice to be in warm water! We were able to enjoy these natural hot springs under rain-filled clouds. After a few hours of warmth and relaxation, we did some walking around the plaza and found ourselves eating some delicious chicken. It had been 15 years since our friend, Boris, had returned back to his hometown in Sicuani. I´m glad he decided to invite us along with him.

Sunday we went to Huacarpay in Lucre...just an hour away. Now, Huacarpay is a place I will be returning to. It was so beautiful. Our friend, Maruja, invited us out there with some friends for a BBQ at a house that one of her friends helps take care of. This house had so much property. I really felt like I was in some kind of fairy dream land. I don´t know if I´ve ever seen brighter flowers or more fruit growing in one place. They were growing peaches, plums, rasberries, pears, red apples, green apples, figs, olives, corn, and more fruits and veggies I didn´t know the names for. We all froliced around eating more fruit than we probably should´ve. I won´t go into detail about the consequences of such actions. Anywho, mid-morning we took a short stroll over to a soccer field that stood in front of a luscious green hillside backdrop. I made two goals and I wouldn´t bring this up except for the fact that the other team was all-Peruvian...and they take their soccer very seriously. After a few solid hours out in the field, we walked across the way to a hidden paradise and a clear-water pool. Meghan and I didn´t know there was going to be a pool! So we just stuck our feet in and watched everyone jump in to cool off. All twelve of us sprawled out in the grass for a noontime nap before heading back to the house to get our grub on. They busted out with a huge bucket of meat, potatoes, and salad stuff. The food was pretty great...except for the meat. With the amount of salt they dumped on the meat, it was pretty intense. Meghan and I began eating...and watched to see if anyone else would say anything. It took a while, but after twenty minutes or so...someone made the first move. Soon enough, everyone was taking their meat over to the sink and washing as much salt off as they could. The afternoon continued on with more frolicing and fruit-eating before hopping back on the bus and heading home.

Overall, it was a great weekend of exploring new parts of the hillside outside of the city, making new friends, spending time with old ones, and enjoying how green the rain has made everything.