Today is our last full day at Spirit Plant Journeys. We walked about fifteen minutes to get to a little cafe that has free internet this morning. They have a beautiful garden we sat in. It felt good to get away from the energy of the center for a bit. We stayed for almost two hours then walked back. The scenery on the trail was beautiful. There were small pens of pigs mixed in with river streams, chickens, ducks, kittens, vegetable gardens, flowers and homes. The living conditions for most of the locals are fairly primitive.
I updated my blog while we were at the cafe. I have gone way over my allotted cellular data allowance and had to stop posting the blog using cellular data. I will fix some spelling errors when I have more time on free internet.
We got back just a little before lunch. They fixed Nicole and I chicken while the others had fish. First meat I have had since we were in Cusco over a week ago. I had been craving protein. It really tasted good.
I have been able to eat regular food today for the first time since Sunday. Still not eating normal portions yet but doing so much better. My roommate has been able to continue to eat while she fights off a parasite. I couldn’t eat.
I had the retreat leader forward the stool culture results to me so my doctor will know what type of parasite I had. I ask the leader how much I owed him for the culture and he wouldn’t accept payment for it or for the silver and oregano oil I used.
Tonight we have one last group sharing and then we leave sometime tomorrow for Machu Picchu. We don’t get many details until the last minute so am not sure what time we leave in the morning.
I took a short nap this afternoon. The walk into town wore me out. It sure felt good to get out and move my body though. Trusting I will be able to explore Machu Picchu tomorrow. If not I will be content to sit and enjoy its beauty. I told the leader not to pay for a guide for me as I would slow the youngsters up too much.
I read a bit of the news while I was on free internet at the cafe. It sure has been good for me to disconnect from it for a bit. Some of it didn’t make sense as I haven’t read any news for over a week. Sounds like there have been reports of more men behaving badly. Hard to keep up with all of them these days. I thought I read the Senate passed the tax reform bill from a post on Facebook but I didn’t get that feeling when I read some of the news. Nothing I can do about it one way or the other I guess.
We ran into the Shaman that led the San Pedro ceremony and the lady that did our massages at the cafe. It feels like a small connected community here. The Shaman gave Nicole and I a big hug.
Nicole and I are trying to figure out how much weight we have lost. Our clothes are much looser than they were when we left home. We were served primarily veggies and fruit, especially on ceremony days. We didn’t have dinner on those days either. No salt, no sugar, very little bread. My sister would have been in heaven. The food was nicely prepared but we both missed protein.
So excited to return to Machu Picchu tomorrow. Need to start getting my bags organized and packed.
What an adventure this has been! And the fun isn’t over yet!