Cliff Dwellings & Dwelling on Cliffs
Yesterday my friend Melissa decided to take a hike after work to the charming village of Rumi Chaka. It was so beautiful, serene and quiet, even compared to our new home of Urubamba and that is saying something! The hike was a small one it took about 30 minutes to cross the Río Urubamba and to get into the small village. The fascinating charm of this village was that the houses are built into the cliffs that they so closely neighbor. Most of the roof and the whole back wall is actually the cliff! and the rest of the house sticks out like a odd rock protrusion in the cliff face. It was so awesome looking! Melissa being from NYC and me from SF, the quiet and cool air was almost too much for us! We definitely did not want to leave! It was a perfect and awesome little excursion.
This morning was also a day among the cliffs, however slightly less glamourous. I woke up this morning and headed off to Huallabamba, a beautiful village south of Urubamba. The altitude here was a lot higher and consequently the view was spectacular!
Axe and Shovel in tow, the whole group and I scaled down the mountain to help the locals build an irrigation ditch to help water their crops and save water during the dry season. Thirty minutes down the mountain a group of us split off and left half the group so that we could further curve around the mountain to where we were supposed to work. Shortly after leaving half the group behind our trail turned into a path which quickly turned into a dangerous ledge like path further down the mountain! Good thing I´m not afraid of heights! Especially since during our endeavour the dirt where my foot had just stepped decided to slide down the mountain side! Luckily my buddy Roy had my arm almost instantly and I didn´t fall at all. But it was definitely a trek for the brave and we got to the platform without any problems. At the place where we were working my job was to pick away at the mountain using my pick-axe so that eventually the locals can place a water reservoir to save up and store water in the irrigation system. For four hours, me and my friends Roy, Travis, Megan and Melissa did our best to try and erode as much as the mountain side as possible. I felt like Lara Croft playing a scene in the newest Indiana Jones movies searching for some hidden treasure! Haha. It was fun, I worked really hard, and I felt like I had exceeded even my own expectations for the job considering my strength, the heat and altitude. I got a lot done and I left feeling great about all the progress our group had made!
However the good feelings didn´t last long! Although we were in fact done with the strenuous project we set out to accomplish, we were at the bottom of the mountain! And so of course we needed to climb back up. Considering the altitude the heat, the tools I carried on my back and my hiking novelty.... this trek was everest like for me. It took an hour and a half to make it all the way up to the top, but I felt at that moment like I had conquered that mountain! It felt good to be at the top looking down again, and even better when I finally got home.
One cold shower (that I was actually now grateful for) and a huge almuerzo later, I was in my bed for a 2 hour siesta :) Today was difficult but I think I can now seriously do anything. It was a brilliant adventure.