My seventh (and last) Sunday in Peru

May 28

◦                Another early morning. Glad we've been getting to bed relatively early.

◦                Two more very special meetings. As in Olmos, all we workers and visitors grabbed a plate, and the friends filled them for us. Ecco (the coffee-like beverage) was provided for all.

◦                Our departure time was 3:30, so we tried to get as many good-byes in as possible between meetings. We had a little time for final farewells while waiting for everything to get loaded on the truck, and had everything not been so quick and public, I know I would have been bawling like a baby! Leaving Coyunde was definitely not one of my favorite activities on this trip! And we pulled away from the grounds right at 3:30 as it started to rain. Our truck contained Trevor, Beverley, Flor, Lilia L and me.

Farewell!

◦                Fortunately, it didn't rain long, so that was one less thing to contend with on our hour and twenty minute ride out to the main highway leading to Cajamarca. It's a prime case of needing to know how it used to be to be able to appreciate how it now is. Probably to ride with any modicum of comfort, you would need to extend the drive out to about three hours. I lost count of how many times I hit my head on the side of the truck. Not too far into the trip I had a headache and a rather unhappy stomach. The scenery, however, was stunning, though I didn't really get any pictures due to the fact that I couldn't hold the camera still enough to focus on anything. Plus the windows had gotten all spotted because of the rain. After we got to the main road, the going was another. Though, again, if that road had been your first riding experience of the trip, you might have deemed it a bit rough. We arrived at don Gilberto and Sra. Gregoria's about 7:00.

Llamas

◦                Rosa and Sara had supper (bought chicken, fries and salad) waiting for us. We had a nice supper all together, and then Lilia and I went next door to spend the night at don Eleuterio and Sra Petronila's (the same home where I had spent four nights during my week in Cajamarca). Fortunately, they let us go right to our room.