del árbol caído

Remembering Lima... This was one of my favorite memories because it is a great example of the little miracles that we can see in our day-to-day lives if we only open our eyes to them. Now, my first friend in Lima had a huge obsession with cats. Ok, maybe obsession is kind of a strong word, but I mean, the girl REALLY liked them. She had a shelf full of stuffed animals and other cat paraphernalia. After a couple of weeks, she started to notice that her vision was getting blurry, and we finally decided to see an eye doctor and find out what we needed to do. We were sent to one of the most "pituco" (rich) areas of Lima where every mansion almost intimidates you, where we found our doctor. After several short examinations, he said, "well, I think the answer here is going to be glasses." Suqui (my companion) used to be somewhat of a gangster (not an understatement) before her change of heart, devotion to the church, and subsequent desire to serve a mission. She was as tough as they get--with a small exception to her innocent and pure love for cats in all forms. It took me a couple of hours to notice that she was really upset by what the optometrist had said, even though she tried her best to hide it. After a little more time, I began to see that she was actually quite devastated by it. Nothing I did worked to cheer her up, until a small, nimble kitten suddenly bounced in front of us and began to weave her way between Suqui's calves, as we walked in the heat down the city sidewalks. It was so snuggly that it practically leaped into Suqui's arms and she squatted down to caress it. I pulled out my camera and was able to capture this sweet moment of pure joy when all of the worries were wiped off of Suqui's face as the kitten rubbed it's face against her sweater. It truly was and miracle moment, and the only precise thing that could have made her smile in that moment.

Cusco, Peru.

Cholitas con ovejita.

Cusco, Peru.

Casual morning in Cusco, Peru.

Quesos, carnes, y ranas. Mercado de Cusco.

Mercado de Cusco.

Cusco, Peru.

Snow-capped mountains in Ollantaytambo.

Train Station in Machu Picchu Pueblo.

Una caída de mil metros...

Jungle mists at 9,000 ft, the Sacred Valley, Cusco, Peru.

Jungle mists, The Sacred Valley, Cusco, Peru.

View of Machu Picchu from Huayna Picchu.