Are. You. Kidding. Me.

July 1, 2011

All night Thursday I heard rain pouring down from inside the tent. I kept checking to see if it was leaking in since I knew the tents weren’t used to having to fend off rain, but it seemed to be working so I didn’t get too upset. Toward the morning, I heard one or two kids walking to the bathroom and their feet were making the strangest noise. I just thought the ground was really soaked and it was the sound of mud.

I eventually opened the tent flap.

Really?

Really.

Today is July 1st and I woke up to 4 inches of snow and slush on the ground. I just had to laugh. I leave my hometown which is one of the most beautiful summer resort towns in the world (Grand Haven, MI ) to wake up to snow?!? NOT FAIR!! I can’t wait until December when they are freezing and I am basking in the glory of hot weather all the time. I woke up the rest of the kids who hadn’t seen it yet and we had a great time taking pictures.

Aubrey, myself, and Elenor

But the fun didn’t last long. We had to pack in freezing weather, and all our feet were wet and cold. The families came to say goodbye and all we wanted to do was start hiking down the mountain. This is normally a very emotional time and one of the most important of the trip. Instead, we just wanted to get out of there. I felt so bad because traditionally we buy some of the weavings and homemade items from the mothers of the families we worked with. They started to lay out all their things and we told them to put them away. Everyone had packed up everything already, including their money and we were so cold we couldn’t focus on anything. It was still pouring down sleet and snow, and we started the decent. Some villagers carried our big packs and we struggled down the slippery mud and slush carrying our day packs. It was amazing to watch these men carry 80 lbs of packs down an icy mountain wearing sandals made out of tires.

Harrowing Decent

By the time we got to the bottom, we were much warmer. It was still pouring rain but at least we weren’t so cold. Gabe called me on the bus ride into town with the best news ever. We got a hotel for the night instead of going to the final campsite. Yes. So here we are in Ollantaytambo with a hot shower and warm bed, even though most of what we own is soaking wet.