That's a wrap

Sorry it's taken a while to finish up the trip on this blog...sidetracked by the most recent school shooting. Sigh. Direct tie to why I feel called to do these trips. ANYWAY...

Stairways to somewhere

New doors to open.

I'll be waiting and watching!

Traditional Andean hat made from Alpaca.

Very elusive prey!

Special thanks to my comrades who helped with the hunt...

Clear Eyes...Full Hearts! (Can't Lose)

Stairways to heaven

Lots of stairs in Peru...lots and lots of stairs!

 Proof that every now and again, we went DOWN stairs!

 Looking up? Or looking down?

Stairs along the Inca Trail. What is it about stairs? They are little engineering marvels, they are utilitarian, they are symbolic and they are beckoning. Stairs lead us.

Magical Machu Picchu

I was so fortunate to have the opportunity after all the work was said and done, to travel to Machu Picchu. I went with an Inca guide from #EvolutionTreks and hiked the last 7 miles up through the sun gate. Magical, mystical, magnificent. Pick one. All apply. The trek is everything you've heard and more. The moment you climb that final stretch of stairs and step through the Sun Gate you are slammed with beauty as far as the eye can see. Machu Picchu stretches out below you like a lego building on a coffee table. It’s ...so...perfect! Not a stone out of place. What a fascinating and brilliant people.

Copyright Jody Murray 2018

Faces

The amount of trust these Peruvians showed us, continues to warm my heart. It's a bit transcendent to work with someone who doesn't quite speak your language. It's humbling. It's exhilarating. It's challenging. It's rewarding. Here are some of the beautiful faces I got to meet.

Buena Vista

Project Buena Vista is the love child of our fearless leader, Laura Reyda and her husband Flor. In addition to hosting medical outreaches, they bring students down to this 100 acre parcel of jungle in the Manu preserve. It's a magical place, with just enough comforts to make the stay completely lovely. Every day began and ended at the platform structure, home to the kitchen, the dining room, the treatment room and the CASINO. Nothing funnier than teaching Texas Hold 'em to a Peruvian card shark. Cesar, I'm not sure you ever learned the difference between "pass" and "I'm out", but I am sure you still owe me a ton of matches! Oh, did I mention, one of us on the trip is the daughter of a professional poker player?

Every morning, we boarded this boat and sped across the river, disembarked and hiked about 45 minutes through the jungle to the town of Salvacion. Monkeys, spiders and Tapir tracks, oh my. Reverse the steps and back to home base in time for dinner.

Parting thought: If you're goosed by an otter in a river...should it be called ottered?

Her name was Lola...she was a slow girl

 Moving our camp from Pilcopata to Buena Vista involved a 45 minute van ride and a 30 minute boat ride. We were met in  Atalaya by our 2 boatmen and guides, Cesar and Romero, a dog named Oso and a sloth named Lola. Now like most of the population, I had never seen a sloth...and now I was being handed a backpack FULL OF SLOTH! I'm telling you, it was the most magical delightful unexpected blessing of all time!

If I understand the story correctly, Lola was rescued from the river by Cesar when she was very young. He has been her caretaker ever since and she is about 1 year old. She came with us because "she needs to spend some time in the jungle."

"Puedes vor Lola?" Oh yes, yes, we can watch Lola. And we did. Like a hawk. And she....barely...moved! Ah, I get the joke now, she doesn't exactly need watching. Still, she was hypnotic, mesmerizing...like watching extremely cute paint dry. She is my new spirit animal and I will never be the same.

Pilcopata Clinic #1

 Let's get started! This is what we came for...acupuncture in the jungle! We worked 2 days in Pilcopata. Our little clinic room, located in the hospital was filled with chairs and one stretcher table. We had dogs pass through, even an occasional chicken...and people, oh my did we have people! Our second day there we saw (at least) 105 patients. Back pain, achilles tendinopathy, frozen shoulder, neck pain, ganglion cyst and some internal medicine stuff. The air was thick with the smell of moxa and PoSum liniment and the sounds of our Spanglish translations. Many thanks to my brothers here in AZ whose Spanish lessons proved invaluable!

My most memorable patient in Pilcopata was a young man with a pretty nasty elbow injury. He came in with about a 45 degree flexion contracture. With a lot of coaxing, a lot of patience and some superior tolerance from this dude, that contracture was eliminated by day two. This was quite an accomplishment and a great testament to the power of some well placed needles! I've been thinking about this fellow and I hope he has continued to improve. He was one tough Hombre'

From the Andes to the rain forest...in one day!

 Day 2 we packed up all our food and acupuncture supplies into a van and headed down the bumpy, muddy, curvy, narrow road from Cusco (Andes) to Manu (rain forest).  I called shotgun because of my well known propensity for motion sickness and prophylactically threw some Zofran down (I know, not a very natural medicine approach). It turned out to be a wise choice...imagine a spine jarring 8 hour roller coaster! Add to that a front row seat to the 500 foot drop offs and you'll understand where Big White Jesus was born.
Still and all, the views of the cloud forest (where the humidity of the Amazon is trapped by the Andes) were breath taking and what could be more Peruvian than an Alpaca auction!

Coca tea and Big White Jesus

My outreach mission completed, it's time to try and share some of the beauty of this land and these people with all of you. I'll do my best to highlight the magical 2 weeks I had over the next few days/posts.

My arrival in Cusco began with a cup of coca tea. This herb is popular in the Andes for it's ability to treat the symptoms of altitude sickness, "soroche." Honestly, it's credited with the ability to ease headache and nausea, fight fatigue and suppress the appetite...among other things. The locals use it to give them staying power to work all day without needing to eat! It's delicious and it worked for me. I got to see the plant later in my visit when my guide pointed it out and proclaimed: "as you can see, it is not white and it does not grow in lines!" Take your time...it took me a minute too!!!


Our first day ended with a "little" hike up to see Christo Blanco or The Big White Jesus (my pet name, not an official translation). I was struck by this photo and how it really does, for me, capture the spirit of Cusco. Christianity was forced upon these Incans and there is evidence of this everywhere. Cathedrals have literally swallowed ancient Incan temples throughout the historic Incan Empire capital. The Big White Jesus stands next to a popular Incan ruin site, Saqsayhuman. Not to worry, they both share the most spectacular view of the city!

Copyright Jody Murray 2018