Ollantaytambo: Another place we call home on our beautiful planet Earth

By Bro(oke) (and Adam in spirit)

And we have finally come to our last blog post about our time in Peru. Wow!

It's crazy to think about, but this week, Brooke has been everywhere from a rural mountain community of Yanamayo in the middle of a mudslide looking at a few alpaca to the busy AMERICAN Miami airport in the middle of a tornado warning.

As I was leaving Ollanta, I ran into almost everyone I knew. I saw both of my health promoters, Matilde and Elsa, and Matilde bought me a peach “aguita” as a despedida (goodbye) gift right before I left in the market.

As I look back on the many pictures and blog posts, I think we can all agree that we really packed a lot into these almost-8-months, didn’t we? As I sit on the plane from Lima to Miami, I have a lot of time to reflect and have come to a few primary conclusions:

*Peruvians are very hospitable, kind, and generous people

*I love Peru and will miss living there

*I will go back to the Valle Sagrado (Sacred Valley) soon

We had a tear-filled exit from Ollantaytambo on Tuesday as we said goodbye to all of my co-workers in the SVH office on my last day of work. We enjoyed a murder mystery party on Monday night (probably a first in Ollanta) and a final night at our favorite town bar, Ganzos, with many of our friends present and in celebration. It was really hard to leave, and we couldn’t believe we were driving out of Ollanta for the last time in a long time, but we know we will be back. Just another place to call home on our beautiful planet Earth.

I am so grateful that Adam came to share this experience with me. I feel lucky to have had the opportunity to spend time in the Sacred Valley with him as a wonderful travel partner and friend. A big thanks to Adam for taking a large leap of faith and coming to experience the magic of the Sacred Valley with me. You rock.

So now what, you ask?

Adam continues to be successful in his work and keeps getting bigger accounts at his work at Windy City Organics. He plans to continue in the States and perhaps will work abroad for part of the upcoming year. This time in Peru has been the time of some of his biggest sales, and needless to say, working remotely in Peru has boosted his confidence in working abroad, and he hopes to do it more often.

On the other hand, I am thrilled to have been awarded a competitive yearlong fellowship through Global Health Corps (http://www.ghcorps.org). I will be working as a RN in Kampala, Uganda at the Joint Clinical Research Centre assisting with HIV research and clinic quality control. Why not? Look at a map and I am pretty sure you will want to make a visit. Kampala is right on Lake Victoria, and Uganda is home to many beautiful animals and an admirable climate year round. Swahili & Bantu, here I come! I will be heading to Yale for the 2-week leadership orientation on June 29, after which I will be directly leaving from there to Uganda mid-July. I will be living in Kampala through July 2015 and I hope to start some kind of medical school in Fall 2015, whether it be allopathic, osteopathic, or naturopathic. We shall see where my path leads.

In the next few weeks, we will be visiting Portland and Eugene, OR, and Summercamp Music Festival. I am currently en route to Denver to go to my cousin Ashley’s wedding, and Adam is currently in the jungle with his parents in Puerto Maldonado/Lake Sandoval/Tambopata where we went in January. So good to see his parents and I am happy they made the trip. 

      ¡THANK YOU/GRACIAS/SULPAYKI!

All in all, thank you, dear readers, for following our adventures and supporting us along the way with your comments and emails and replies. There are few things that give me more pleasure than sharing my experiences and writing in the blog. I hope you enjoyed reading this blog as much as we enjoyed writing and sharing it with you. We will both be in Chicago/Chicago area from May 18 on and we’d love to see you. We are in need of support during our culture shock time and also in need of excellent pizza and beer.

Are you sad it’s over? Have no fear. My blog for my Uganda experience already has a home on the interwebs. Make sure to ‘Follow’ my blog or just check in periodically by using the link below if you want to keep up-to-date with my next adventure.

http://brookedoesuganda.blogspot.com

Phil, my dad, also attempting to squeeze through the tight cave

2 windows!

Quintessential Machu Picchu shot

Machu Picchu and Wayna Picchu 

Crazy bug

Snacks in Peru were called "e-snacks"

My parents relaxing after a long day

Moray

My parents at Moray

My parents at Salineras

My parents at the Salineras

Family love

Man carrying the Albergue's turkey

Mario, Adam, and his parents enjoying the lunch 

Double arco iris!

Double rainbow for our lunch, of course.

Joe and the turkey have a heart to heart

Beautiful plant at the Albergue

Afternoon light

Lori and Larry on an Inka trail

Larry and Ollantaytambo

Nice family shot

OLLANTA from the ruins

Sun temple

Adam's dad enjoying his day!

Chat in the main ruins of Ollantaytambo

Ayo and Brooke at the Museo del Pisco the night of the despedida in Cusco

Choco museo (gender role switch?)

See you soon!