Tuesday, September 3, 2013

365 Inspirations—246: Sacred Valley

"Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away."—Anonymous

We've been in Sacred Valley for two nights. I'm realizing that it's hard to blog on the road every single day when all you have is a backpack and you are in a foreign country. I'm doing this post on my husband's iPad mini, but its a little tricky! Not sure what I'll do while trekking to Machu Picchu?!

We are staying in a gorgeous house in Sacred Valley, Peru. We are on a yoga/trekking retreat! Today we spent the day at Pisac Market and went to a wildlife sanctuary where they take care of animals who may have been abused or injured. We saw giant condor, alpaca, pumas, llamas and many more animals and learned a lot. We then toured the Inca ruins in Pisac. The word for today is 'breathtaking' in all senses of this word. The high altitude took our breaths away, but the Inca ruins and the market made us gasp in wonder! I visited this country 20 years ago, but was afraid to return to because of the hard solo traveling I experienced. But this country has embraced me in its warmth and light and I am in awe of all that I see here. I'm seeing it with new eyes. And maybe Peru is seeing me with new eyes.

In my 20s, I did not realize the sacredness of this place because I was trying to survive on 5 soles a day. Now we have the means to fully experience it and absorb it. Tomorrow we will meet a shaman who is going to perform a private ritual for Pachamama. Pachamama is Mother Earth. The Incas and Quechua worship her and give thanks to her for the sun, fertile land, and good crops.

More soon from our journey....

Have you ever returned to a place and had a very different experience?









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