Grateful for travel.
A page from my travel sketchbook.
Grateful for travel. It is November and the month we traditionally remember all the things and people we are grateful for. Rather than list all my blessings (and they are a lot, don’t hate), I am going to focus on travel, specifically my recent trip to Peru. What does travel have to do with surface pattern design and artwork? Well, I call it recharge and inspiration. Sometimes we just have to experience different things to gain new perspectives and perhaps get inspired.
The opportunity. A year and a half ago my sister said “The next yoga retreat is in Machu Picchu, want to go?” And I said “YES!!”. You don’t know this, but going to Machu Picchu was at the top of my bucket list. In fact, I didn’t think I’d ever get to go. But here the universe tossed this opportunity on my lap and I couldn’t say no. Of course, I had to make all sorts of arrangements to ensure my husband and kids would survive eight days without me (spoiler alert, they survived… barely 😅 ). Grateful for my sister including me on this trip! And grateful for my husband and children who supported me in grabbing this opportunity by the horns!
Samadhi. We stayed at this beautiful yoga/meditation resort called Samadhi located in Sacred Valley, Peru. Sacred Valley is a rural region near Cusco tucked between the huge and majestic mountain range, The Andes. It was so breathtakingly and overwhelmingly beautiful. Every day I was bombarded with so much beauty. Samadhi is operated by the most hospitable crew on the planet. They referred to us (their guests) as family. And they fed us gourmet meals three times a day cooked in-house by their very young chef using clean and locally sourced foods. And we drank tea made from the coca leaf every day. Sometimes I also chewed the leaf like the locals do. If you ever find yourself in this part of the world, you will feel the altitude. But drinking the coca tea and chewing the leaf will help with the effects of high altitude. For me, it erased the effects all-together. Grateful for the location, the beauty, the service, the people, and the miracle that is the coca leaf.
Yoga. As yoga retreats go, we were offered yoga classes twice a day. I’ve been practicing yoga for close to twenty years, but I am NOT the type that can stand on her head (my sister does. Show-off!). I also have not been a consistent practitioner. So I consider myself a mid-level yoga practitioner. These classes were for people so advance and who can make pretzels out of their bodies and can practically levitate on one finger. It was so challenging, but I did my best and attended only one class per day. This group of yogis was really amazing and I came out of this retreat with nothing but admiration of their skill. And in case you’re wondering, it was ALL body types. And all of them more skilled than myself. So impressed. and grateful for them. Grateful for the practice of yoga, these yogis, and for my body that didn’t quit on me.
My sister. My sis and I are great travel partners. Hands down the one I’d rather travel with to anywhere in the world. She has a sense of adventure that I don’t have naturally, but she brings it out in me. And we have similar views on life and of course a shared childhood, so our conversations are the best! For some reason, I struggled with a lot of anxiety on this trip. And my sis always knows how to help and says the right things to bring down the anxiety levels. So grateful to have a sister and that my sister is her.
Excursions. We went on several excursions. One of them quite challenging to my body! The Pumahuanca hike was uphill (I mean like a 45 degree incline) the ENTIRE WAY. It took me two hours to go up two miles. I almost quit several times! It was hard, y’all!! My quads may never be the same. Haha! Just kidding. My legs were troopers. They did not scream at me mostly because I kept it slow and careful. Also, remember it’s harder to breathe in those altitudes. At the end of this hike, we picnicked by a creek fed by glacial waters and explored old Incan ruins. We also went to Maras Moray, an Incan site that is thought to have been an agricultural laboratory to experiment with seeds to see which ones would grow best in and for the Incan empire. Our guide told us it’s also considered to be an inverted pyramid. To us tourists it looked like an amphitheater. We also visited an ancient salt mine engineered by the Incas, Salinera Maras. This salt mine still functions today and it still supplies salt for consumption, for medical and industrial uses. Grateful to have visited these places even though I didn’t know I needed to see these places. That’s the beauty of travel!
Machu Picchu. The excursion up to Machu Picchu is by bus. They dropped us off right near the entrance. So no hard core hiking needed. Our local guides provided a very meditative explanation of the existence of this site. We were guided to ask the Incan ancestors for permission to enter their home. And were instructed to walk this site in respectful silence. The experience of walking to the city of Machu Picchu and approaching its entrance is nothing short of a mystical, magical experience. I almost cried from overwhelm at the first sight of the site. The whole place exudes sacredness: its existence, the nature, the architecture, the engineering. And the mystery… HOW did they build all of that without modern machinery? And without the use of mortar or cement? And how did they figure out the terracing for farming (and erosion prevention), the irrigation and drainage systems that run UNDER the walkways and is not visible??? So many unanswered questions. Besides the mystery, it’s just so beautiful and so in tune with nature. It’s surrounded and hidden by mountains. From what I understand, nobody even knew this city existed until 1902. It’s believed the Incas left Machu Picchu in order to prevent the Spanish from finding it. And they succeeded. What did I learn from this? Well, that the ancestors were genius and that we aren’t as smart and as advanced as we think we are. Or rather, that they weren’t as primitive as we tend to think our ancestors were. I am grateful and lucky to have experienced the sacred Incan site of Machu Picchu.
Cusco. We only spent a few hours in the actual city of Cusco. The last few photos are of the city itself.
Photos. Please enjoy my collection of photos. But know that it pales in comparison to actually being there. If you ever get the opportunity just go. Peru is magical!