Omar was an excellent judge of his client’s capabilities. He gave me a bottle of water and told me to go lay down (in the shade) for an hour.
- My hut was the one behind the palm
We were staying at one of three “hotels” in the Paraiso complex. If I understood Omar correctly, the original owner of this plot of land divided his land among his three sons. Each runs his “hotel” independently. At this one, the huts are new. The walls are of bamboo, and the spaces between the poles allow for air movement and eavesdropping (if you want to listen in on your neighbors’ conversations.)
I never understood where the boundaries were among the different brothers’ hotels, but I’m glad I wasn’t staying in one of these.
The concrete block
The adobes with no windows
At least these huts have windows
There is no electricity or telephone at the oasis. Guides usually bring foodstuffs and then cook meals for their clients in the communal kitchen, although the two men in the hut next to mine walked down with no intention of spending the night. They didn’t even have toothbrushes, much less food. Someone on the staff fixed spaghetti for them, so it was possible to buy a meal. It was also possible to buy beer. (Remember that mule with the side paniers?)
The kitchen and dining area
While I rested and cooled off, Omar fixed a lunch of vegetable soup, chicken, alpaca, potatoes, broccoli, mixed vegetables, and avocado, with a mandarin for dessert. I had more vegetables in that meal than I had in all the other meals on my trip!
After we ate, we sat a long time in the dining area talking about geology, the Inca religion, and the nuances of the English language. How would you explain the differences in meaning between pebbles, rocks, boulders, and stones to a non-native English speaker? What is the difference between a canyon and a gorge? And what if you add chasm and glen to the mix?
After the sun had disappeared behind the rim of the canyon, I went for a “swim.” There were, in fact, two pools–this one, which was part of my hotel, and the more obvious one visible in my photos of the complex that I included in my last post. The other was empty, and when I walked by later on, the owner was scrubbing the bottom with a broom.
How did they ever build this?
The water was frigid. It was also very deep. So after a few strokes, I headed back to the steps, where I sat and talked to another woman who also wasn’t keen on swimming in cold, deep water.
Then it was time for a shower. A cold shower. The shower was at one end of the building that also housed two flush toilets. There was no door, just a curtain. Then again, the stalls didn’t have latches or locks.
The facilities
Back in my hut, I faced the problem of how to put on my pants again without dragging them in the loose dirt floor. (Remember these huts were fairly new.) In the end, I fished out one of the garbage bags I always keep in my pack and used it as a floor mat.
Each hut contained two beds constructed on site. Since I was by myself, I used the second bed as a table, closet, etc. Neither of the beds was level, but the sheets appeared clean, and there were several heavy wool blankets on the bed. I asked Omar about how the sheets got washed and by whom, but I didn’t get an answer that made any sense to me.
Redressed in clothes that would keep me warm now that the sun was no longer shining directly into the valley, I strolled around the complex. I found out that my host was obviously doing well; he was adding more huts.
Someone at one of the other hotels had planted a flower garden, and even though it was now the end of June, a few flowers were still blooming.
After Omar fixed a light supper (a cream soup with lots of veggies), we sat and talked with the father and son Brits who were staying in the hut next to mine. Since they had come unprepared to spend the night, they needed our candlelight to eat their dinner! By the time we added their perspectives on the linguistic subtleties of the English language to our earlier discussion, we’d wiled away several hours and were more than tired.
At over 12,000′, it was a breath-taking climb!
