December 16, 2009

     The trip to Qero was truly an adventure. The two hour taxi ride on a four wheel road was daunting. 7 adults, two children, four day packs, two back packs and two bundles crammed in a four door hatch back on the way home. The smells were interestingly nauseating. I was queasy most of the time while in Qero because of all the smells. The road was washed out 11 times with 3 of them literally crossing fast moving streams. There were too many blind curves to count. The taxi driver (an Elvis look alike) honked before proceeding and twice we met on coming traffic. We encountered horses, cattle, sheep and chickens as well as cyclists, children and a pig. I held my breath and tried not to bump into others as we swerved and dodged things.
     Then the 8-9 hour horseback ride/ hike over two 16,000′ passes. We got to ride going up and speed walked between 3 and 5 miles every downhill. My feet were blistered. The dismal relentless rain soaked me to the bone and was made worse by the sleet, pelting hail and snow.
I began the journey creating eloquent exposes to share with you, but was reduced to repeating one sentence, “hang on to the saddle and don’t pass out.”
     We were well received and did a despatcho ceremony and were asked to be Godmothers for the 1 year old granddaughter named Maria Luc. We did a cutting of the hair ceremony.
     Life in Qero is difficult and primitive. We had bought lots of food to share and people from the community came to receive. There was a lot of coca leaf being shared. Not sure if it was that, or eating the soup that was made from the cut up pieces of llama that hung from the ceiling that made my intestines groan. I have photos to share of authentic Qero cuisine.
     I did a little cooking to help out and will post photos of that too. You will see how smoky it was all the time. I am glad that I was blessed with the experience and grateful for a long hot shower and a laundry machine upon returning to civilization.