Adopted for a day

Full immersion is my ideal way to experience a country and its unique culture. When we were informed about a home stay in the Ccaccaccollo community, Camden and I could not pass it up. We had learned that this community had been destroyed by a landslide years back and was slowly recovering from the devastation with the help of a non profit organization that puts tourists in contact with this community. This was exactly what we were looking for. After a windy and bumpy ride up the mountains of Peru, we found ourselves in the main plaza of the Ccaccaccollo community. We were greeted by our new "mama", Thidoria, with a beautiful bouquet of flowers from her garden. We followed her to her complex where we met the rest of her family (her daughter Nancy, granddaughter Cusi and husband Mateo). At that moment we were led into the kitchen where lunch was being served. We had an amazing soup, that consisted in quinoa, chicken and potatoes. It was outstanding. We were also served a portion of yucca with rice. Safe to say we were incredibly full. Following lunch, Nancy showed me how to weave an alpaca scarf with a machine she had made herself. The persision and concentration it takes is unbelievable. My appreciation for handmade items rose to new levels after attempting it myself. Thidoria presented Camden and I with traditional Quechua clothes to wear for the remainder of our stay. We were so excited! Mateo came shortly after my scarf making session and outfit change and brought Camden and I into their field across the street. In our traditional clothes, he handed us each an instrument that would help us harvest potatoes and plow the land. Back breaking labor defined itself during that activity. I have never been involved in manual labor before, so I was in a whole new element. Mateo showed us how hard these individuals work in order to survive. Basics we take for granted, such as food, was much harder to come by up in Ccaccaccollo. Camden and i had a moment where we stopped work and just admired the scenery and our new Quechua family. That moment was something I will never forget. Once we were finished pulling weeds for alpaca food and harvesting potatoes we were free to play some soccer with the local children. Needless to say we all had a great time! Returning back to our home, we were again greeted with a soup that was out of this world and some sort of vegetable cake with potatoes. Can you say food coma?! Lucky for us, Thidora had many herbal remedies that aided in digestion and altitude sickness (unfortunately being so high up took a toll on our bodies that we weren't expecting). After dinner and some conversation about our lives in Ccaccaccollo and San Diego we all retreated to our rooms in preparation for an early morning breakfast before we departed. In the morning we were offered an amazing breakfast or quinoa oatmeal and pancakes! We had to be quick as we were heading over to a weaving demonstration, where we would learn how the women of this community made their income. The way these ladies used the plants and roots of the land to create such vibrancy was amazing. We saw how they washed, died and strung alpaca wool to create such beautiful items. After the demonstration we were able to explore their handiwork and purchase whatever we pleased. It was hard not to buy the whole lot, but I definitely scored on what I found. I couldn't believe the prices of these items, back home it would be hundreds of dollars and here it was next to nothing!!!! To avoid spending more money, I picked up some alfalfa and fed an alpaca until everyone was done shopping. It was then that Camden and I had to say goodbye to our new Peruvian family. It was bittersweet to say goodbye. I felt like I could stay there for quite some time, just being off the grid for a while. Getting in tune with nature as they do daily. However, I knew what greatness was in store for the next few days and I could hardly wait for that either. With big hugs and waves goodbye we headed off to our next destination.