Almost everyone who goes to Central/South America for an extended period of time gets sick at some point, and unfortunately I am no exception. I must have eaten something contaminated on Tuesday, because I woke up on Wednesday throwing up and feeling horribly nauseas. I spent the next two days bedridden with fever and chills, unable to do anything except sleep. After taking antibiotics, I began feeling better, but traveling to Puno as originally anticipated was out of the question.

Kwinten (one of the other volunteers) and I had spent all of Tuesday afternoon advertising for our clothing drive to local businesses, and the collection on Thursday was very successful. The other volunteers packed up the clothes to bring to a town in the Puno area, and left early Friday morning.

 Sarah and I had the apartment to ourselves for the weekend, and I was able to make a full recovery from my prior illness.  We had a lovely time wandering for hours around the center, stopping in a bakery to eat ‘aji de pollo’ empanadas and maricuya (passionfruit) bread, both of which are mouth-wateringly delicious!

We also decided to make pesto for ourselves that evening, so I went to a nearby market to buy a large quantity of basil. When I told the storeowner how much I wanted, he stared at me in disbelief, trying to convince me that I would only need a very small amount for any kind of dinner I was attempting to cook. I explained that I was making pesto, but I don’t think he knew what that was (or maybe I was saying the wrong word in Spanish). Despite the shaking heads and weird looks I received for my basil purchase, our pesto turned out quite well!

I took part in my second medical campaign on Sunday at Alto Cusco. Like the name implies, this area is high above the city of Cusco. In order to reach it, one must take a taxi collectivo (which is the equivalent of a taxi stuffed with around 15 people in it) at frightening speeds up a sharp, winding road filled with large divets. I have now ridden up and down this road two times, and hope never to again. The campaign was successful, with over 65 patients seen by the doctor. I saw a variety of different cases, including class 4 varicose veins, multiple hernias, and children with parasites.

Going out to lunch with the doctor after the campaign - we ate a pizza and a variety of meats, including cow's tongue, hot dogs, pork, and sheep's stomach.

Yesterday was a fantastic day. In addition to doing oral hygiene campaigns, I practiced a traditional Peruvian dance with 3-year-olds from the Jardin. The school is performing these dances on Thursday for Teacher’s day. After that, my friend Sarah and I booked our Machu Picchu trek for next week! We’re doing the Salkantay Trek, which is a 5 day hike to Machu Picchu on a trail less traveled than the Inca trail. We then walked over to the medical clinic, where we observed the last part of a cystectomy surgery (removal of a cyst on the lung). The woman had a parasite that created large cysts on each of her lungs, and so she has to have two separate surgeries to remove each of them. This was the first time I’ve seen an inner cavity surgery, and it was fascinating to see parts such as the lungs, heart, and pulmonary artery in a live human being. In two weeks, I will definitely be going back so I can see the entire surgery on the other lung. After leaving the clinic, Sarah and I went to a Peruvian cooking class that we attend every Tuesday. We learned how to make Tallarin Verde con Ocopa, which is spaghetti and a kind of pesto sauce served with potatoes covered in a sauce made from peanuts, bread, milk, peppers, cheese, and onions. In addition to eating an incredible traditional dish, I learned a lot from the Peruvian woman who was helping with the cooking. One interesting tidbit is about sauces - apparently bread is blended in frequently to thicken up the sauce, similar to how we typically use flour in our sauces for the same purpose.

Since I wasn’t able to post pictures from Inti Raymi last week, here are some from the celebration:

Parades throughout the streets of downtown Cusco

Everyone walking up to the ruins of Saqsaywaman for the festival

One of the two hillsides covered in spectators (I'm on the hill opposite this)

Lots of formation dancing

The llama sacrifice! The ceremonial leaders then drank its blood afterwards.