Excerpts from a traveler's logbook, exploring the Peruvian Andes in a small group with Terralba. A fourteen-day journey.
Hélène, fifty-eight years old, set off in May for a fourteen-day itinerary through the Andes. She kept a journal, which she entrusted to us upon her return. We are publishing a few pages from it.
Day 2 — Sacred Valley
« Arrived yesterday in Urubamba, two thousand eight hundred meters. We had been told: descend first, then ascend. The body understands, by itself. This morning, the light on the terraces of Moray is like a painting; not a single bus nearby, just the wind and a herder passing with his cows. »
Day 5 — Cusco
« Our guide, Antonio, grew up here. He speaks of the city as one speaks of family — with affection, without complacency. The visit to Qoricancha early in the morning, before official opening: the gold has long been gone, but the stones speak for themselves. »
Day 8 — Towards Titicaca
« Stopover in Lampa, on the altiplano, in an old restored hacienda. No one else but us. In the evening, sharing a pachamanca with the family who runs the place. I had not imagined that a meal could be such a moment of connection. »
Day 11 — Taquile Island
« No tourists in tank tops, no souvenir shops. The men knit, the women spin. We were taught to recognize the patterns on the hats: each design tells of a civil status, a function, a stage. Everything signifies. Everything is held. »
Day 14 — Lima, last evening
« Dinner in Barranco, in a restaurant no one would have recommended without Terralba. The chef comes out of the kitchen to explain his dishes. I return to France tomorrow. I return with something more. »
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