Be ready for anything in Peru! This past Saturday, we were invited by a group of students from the school we visited to join them for a paseo - an outing, a picnic, a "little hike". It turned out to be quite the adventure. Seven foreign students from the institute met six Peruvian kids, about 30 minutes outside the city, at 8:30 am. Our destination was some cataratas - waterfalls - well known to the locals, but not described in any guidebook. It ended up being three hours one-way through some breathtakingly beautiful country. We started out in terraced farmland and cow pastures, and ended up climbing 1500 feet through a rugged canyon. By the time we reached the falls, we were scrambling over and under rocks and passing Noah across the mountain stream. The cataratas were spectacular, and the kids were so sweet. They wanted to carry Noah for a good part of the trip, and they enjoyed telling us stories about the history there. Apparently they do this all the time, but we were exhausted. After eating a picnic lunch and watching one of our friends take an accidental dip in the frigid water, we headed back for the town, but not before stopping to see some little-known Inca petroglyphs along the way. We eventually found a bus heading to Arequipa, which took its time picking up dozens along the way, and we got back to our apartment at around 3:45. Just in time for the (rescheduled) weekly football game. If that had been the extent of our weekend, we'd be tired enough, but of course there was much more. That will have to wait, though, because it's been long enough in getting this post up. I'll add a few pictures here, but more will come. It was an unforgettable trip, and we are very thankful for our new young friends.
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