El Campo... WOOOOOOW!

Where can I begin or even go about trying to explain the last two days??? I really don't think I can... and especially because somehow all of my pictures from this weekend were mysteriously deleted from my camera (good thing I had downloaded before then... but still a pretty big bummer... guess that's what happens when a lot or people without digital camera experience are handling your camera)! Due to my lack of words and lack of pictures and your lack of being here... I have two words, that are way too overused to do desciribing this experience justice, but... "Beautiful!" and "Wow!"
So my friend Aracely has two friends that we met up with at a discoteca (club) Friday night. They were super nice and we had a great time... one of them is living in the country about an hour from here and invited us to come out the next morning and enjoy the peace and traquility the rural parts of Peru had to offer... said none of his friends had taken him up on it, but that we definitely should if we could. This is one of those situations were you trust that your friend has good friends, you have no idea what you're getting into... and it turns out ABSOLUTELY wonderfully! It turns out Luis Enrique ("Qique") is 24 with a law degree and has chosen to work at his father's old farm... basically he has what used to be one of his family's vaccation houses all to himself, he manages the laborers in the fields, and enjoys one of the most peaceful existences I can think of... oh and then comes into the city for the weekends... seems perfect. Especially when you hear that his "neighbor" has one of the most beautiful haciendas (ranch for lack of a better word) with a natural pool over looking fields, mountains, etc... I really can't even begin to describe the beauty... the feeling of swimming in that pool, relaxing under the bouganvilla canopy in a hamock, getting a tour of the pisco winery with tumbos (giant ceramic containers) from like 1850... WOW! It was the most peaceful afternoon in the most gorgeous setting you can imagine! I had no idea what was coming next...
It seems that Luis thought it would be fun/funny to see if I could drive his giant, OLD, farm truck... stick shift of course... and pedals that you have to either be 6 foot to reach, or just very flexible! HILARIOUS... I really wish I had the pic, cause I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. Here I am in the most rickety old GIANT farm truck (probably had live chickens in the back or something) stretching just to reach the pedals, backing up onto a dirt road, trying to feel out the clutch (mind you it's also been a while since I've driven manual anything... but thanks to my dad at least I know how)! Then there's Luis who is cracking up and reach over to shift the gigantic lever, while repeating in spanish over the very loud trembling engine what I need to do! Oh, if you could only have seen this sight!
THEN... he says he wants to show me how they raise the cuys (remember... the ginuea pigs)... oh yes, he has whole barns full of them... next thing I know Aracely, Joaquin, and Reynaldo are meeting us down there and they're talking about "which one do you want... the fat one, or the baby?" I find myself asking "WHAT? What exactly are we doing next?" Luis looks at me with somewhat of a knowing smile and says "picking our dinner." Ok, lets just say that what happened next seemed somewhat normal/everyday for them... for me, it was a surreal experience. (Sorry to those of you animal lovers or vegetarians out there... this is life here). Next thing I know we're walking up the dirt road, each with a cute little cuy in hand (by the midsection so as not to get scratched... the whole time they're squirming and squeeking). Luis finds a bag, everyone dumps their little guy in... I had to take a minute to look in his knowing little eyes and apologize (I'm pretty sure he knew his fate)... much to the amusement of my hosts. The bag was handed over to the "killer and cleaner" for lack of better translations. Luis informed me that in 30 minutes we would have cuy ready to cook at the house. So with our crate (literally) of Arequipanian beer we sat and listened to the sounds of nature and talked about what a life out there was like... for him and in opposition for the very poor field workers living in stick/mud houses and walking dirt roads for up to two hours everyday. And waited for those cute furry innocent little cuys to be murdered and de-furred...
Now, due to my understanding about half of what goes on around me (that is when people aren't specifically speaking to me in slower simpler spanish) I had no idea that there is no working oven or stove in the house... which actually led to one of the best nights ever... that is after I got over the shock of seeing the slaughtered little bodies beging washed in the sink and all their little organs on the undersides... Luis cooked the cuy and potatoes (basically fried the heck out of them) over a fire in the front yard... we all sat on the steps watching the sunset over the mountains and one at a time enjoyed our fare. It was actually really good... better than last time... maybe cause they were definitely fresh... or maybe cause I was in such good company enjoying this place where time, work, etc. just doesn't seem to exist.
The rest of the evening after Joaquin went to sleep was spent sitting around the campfire, outside under the most gorgeous starfilled sky, telling (well me mosly just listening) to crazy stories about the countryside, dreams that seemed to become reality, and the like.
After waking up this morning, Aracely and I began to clean up after our fun evening... while doing the dishes, Luis invited me to take a walk with him through his family's fields and began explaining to me about all the different vegetables, animals, people... family stories - what a way to start the day! Next it was off to get some lunch... more or less... of a giant plate of battered and fried seafood (calamari, fish, shrimp, and some other stuff).... how did they know that's like heaven for me?!
Now imagine that same truck from earlier with FOUR adults, a baby, and day luggage all in the cab... driving down the craziest dirt/rock roads in search of an open store on a Sunday! By the way it is HOT there in the open plains of the countryside... riding squished up against one another... while Luis is trying to navigate the crazy road, handle the truck (no easy feat... I know from experience), and shift between a baby and me! Too funny... oh and we never did find an open store... after an HOUR... but the scenery was more than worth it! Oh, and so was the staring down, playing chicken contest, between our full truck and the herd of cattle taking up the entire road!! After about 5 minutes they all managed to move and we were on our way again!
Ahhhh.... (sigh of wanting to return right now)
It was a weekend in a different world... that's for sure... an experience I will not soon forget! Which is exactly what Luis and Reynaldo told me about losing my pictures... you don't need them... this experience... the memories... are in your head and it's just for you...

Wish you could all experience a weekend like this...
Kate