Machu Pichu

I was excited: we were on the way to Machu Pichu on the train.  When we arrived we went to a hostel at the base of Machu Pichu.  It was clear that all of us were excited to go to Machu Pichu. We had dinner and went to our beds.

The next morning we gathered to get on a bus going up to the mountain.  The bus ride was up a narrow road.  The driver seemed quite serene, and I suspect he had gone up and down many times.  We did get to the top safely.

The Incas have what they call mesas.  They might have taken it from the Catholic Mass, or it might be about the Rocks.  The Mesa is mostly rocks.  The rocks have power.   There were guides.  One of the interesting I realized is that those guides knew exactly what we were doing.  At one point we were told to work with our mesas.  There were "rooms" without a ceiling.   A guide was with some visitors, and as soon as he saw what we were doing, he directed his tourist away from where we were.  Another time I put my mesa on a huge and very special stone altar with a rope around to block so tourists wouldn't touch it.  But when I put my mesa at the bottom of the altar, the guide who was explaining to tourists, he nodded.  This happened a lot. Our group was special because we had been learning the ancient traditions of the Peruvians.

We also had an unusual night at another pleace: the Death Stone.  This ceremony was led by Don Manuel.  It wasn't about physical death, but a way to let go what each of us needed to.  Our soul was sent out of our bodies and came back clear and pure.

Another day we went into a caves farther up the mountain.  There were more ceremonies, and we each were were given all that our guide had of power and blessing.  These words cannot convey what all of us felt, and what we received.

All of this took a couple of days.

Don Manuel

                                                  

Urubamba was a small place, and yet it was adequate.  We had dinner, and then went to bed. 

After breakfast the next morning, we sat in a room in a circle.  Not long after, Don Manuel and a few others of the Inca arrived.  What was most astonishing for me was that Don Manuel looked right into my eyes.  It felt like eternity, but I suspect it was less than a minute.  He made a connection that I could not yet fathom.  I don't remember much of what he had to say, even though his words were translated.  It was his presence that was so wonderful.  It was the beginning of Don Manuel gently poking me, calling me to be all I could be.

But I had a bad case of flu.  We all spent some down time, and the next day we climbed on a six feet high rock Serpent, which we were told it was sacred.  Snake is my ally, and I felt the connection. Next we went to a kind of Pyramid, except the layers made steps to climb.  I decided to stay at ground level.  Between the flu and the high mountain air skimpy on oxogen, I decided to stay with Mary and Don Manuel.  I opened my "mesa".  It is a kind of altar, but much more than that.  I started to work with it, and Don Manuel said it wasn't quite right. He made some motions to show me what he wanted me to do.  Immediately it felt so much better.  With the next breath he said "We go".  And go we did!

Next was a time in the market plaza. The people were mostly quiet, and didn't look to me to be very prosperous. I bought something just to give something to the people. We then went into an actual building and I looked at one piece. I looked at Don Manuel.  He was looking at me and shaking his head. Not the real deal is what I understood.

Don Manuel laughed alot!  I have a picture from a friend who was on the same journey.  She caught him laughing.


TO BE CONTINUED

Urubamba

A good friend set out to Machu Pichu yesterday morning.  We had a conversation about Machu Pichu and his life before he left to Peru with his wife.  He was adopted as a baby, and had recently found his birth family.  He had also quit his job.  He is in search of his highest self.  All this brings up my journey.

I went in a group to Peru some years ago.  We did indeed go to Machu Pichu.

I had found a teacher, who had so much impact on my life and my beingness.  Mary was and still is a major teacher.  I learned ways to heal: not just for myself, but for others.

There was a piece of the teaching that we each had to go through.  It opened so many doors I had shut in my inner being.  In the process, I saw the Peruvian Master teacher, Don Manuel.  He was a simple man in some ways, while on the shamanic level, he was incredible.  He was also in my dreams, teaching!

From then on it was amazing.  I had very little money, but I put my down payment.  Surely my guides would help me! Mary asked me if I wanted to get my down payment back.  I said no. As we got closer to the time of departure, I began to wonder whether I was just being foolish.  But no - there was a woman who had a scholarship fully paid.  She was pregnant and there were complications, and her doctor said there was no way she could go.  Mary called and told me I had a full scholarship!  I got a passport, just barely on time.

I packed my bags and went.

The journey to get to Peru was long and I was tired and hungry.  We arrived in Cusco, the major city of Peru.  Our guide, Jose Luis, met us at the airport.  We went by bus to a hotel, where we ate and rested.

We were in Cusco for a few days, getting acclimated to the high altitude.  Then we went to Urubamba or Urupampa (Quechua "flat land of spiders"), a small town in Peru, located near the Urubamba River under the snow-capped mountain Ch'iqun. Located one hour fromCusco, Urubamba is the largest town in the Sacred Valley of the Incas. It is also located near a number of significant ruins of the Inca Empire, including Machu Picchu. Tourists often come through the town on their way to visit these sites.

TO BE CONTINUED

Rare Encounters

When I left my busy life in Olympia, the Capitol of Washington State, I moved to Whatcom County.  My time was my own, and did read quite a lot.  I had no idea it would be so satisfying.  Even more, I learned a great deal about birds.

One of the things I did was feed the birds. There was a Vine Maple right outside my window, and I put seeds out for the birds. I hadn't any previous experience, but I had a couple of books and watched what they did.  There were lots of small birds:  Chickadees, Robins, Swallows, Finches, Bluebirds, Starlings, Sparrow, and more.  I enjoyed watching them.

There were larger birds: Flicker, Cardinal, Crow and even Raven.  But the most interesting was a large bird, looking straight at me.  It was longer than a yard long, more than the width of the Vine Maple.  I had no idea what to do.  But I looked at my bird books, and talked to an expert.

Cormorant!  Usually Cormorants stay close to the sea.  Where I was living was about five miles from the sea.  That's not a difficult flight for this bird, but this young one was confused.  There wasn't really anything I could do: I couldn't even give food and water.  Eventually the bird flew.

Later, in a different and bigger house, I continued to feed  the birds through the winter.  I saw many different species.  I have two bird feeders through the winter.  One is for the smaller birds, and another somewhat bigger, and easier for the larger birds.  I also put out suet. The most interesting was a Northern Harrier, sitting on our roof.  I went to my bird book, and found this is a rare bird.  It didn't come close to the bird feeders.  This one couldn't have easily gotten food out of the feeders anyway, and it flew fairly quickly.

There is a dead tree in the front of the house, which I covered with Hollyhock, a leafy vine and two different Clematis.  It also has a hole into the center of the tree, just big enough for two Flickers.  And so our tree became a Flicker nursery.

One of my favorite bird siting was when I was driving South and saw a huge Snowy Owl going the other way.  Snowy owls sometimes come South in the winter, but this was nearly summer. It was about five feet away, and the bird wasn't higher than where I was in my car.  I can see it still!  It was beautiful.

Computer Wizardry

I remember my first awareness of computers.  It was 1967.  I was 18 years old, and at school at the University of Iowa.  The computer took up the space of a whole two story building. 

Now, 46 years later, everywhere there are smart phones. And today, I read a prediction that tablets will be the computer of choice.  And even my humble cell phone is a kind of computer able to send messages and browse the web.

I also remember the first time I saw a car phone in 1980.  A friend was a doctor and needed to be available even when driving.  His phone was huge compared to my cell that fits in my relatively small hands.  The doctor's wife had a Macintosh, but I didn't have the money to buy one. 

It turned out that my first computer was a MAC, and I loved it.  I had it for quite a long time - about 15 years. 

I searched for a place to take it, and found a group who would take computers for people who really needed them but had no money to buy one.  I remember that they had posted what they would or wouldn't take and I figured they wouldn't take mine.  But no . . . they were excited to get it even though it needed a lot of attention to spiff it up. 

In 2000 I went to work in Olympia, the Capitol of Washington State.  We had much faster computers, and people who could fix them.

Most recently I bought an HP all in one -- there is no tower.  I'd love to have a MAC, but I don't have that budget.  I'd also like to have a tablet.  Maybe soon.

I wonder what will come next!

 

The Way Home

 

          My Cousin Darlene and my Mom took me to Milwaukee to catch my flight home.  We all got on the plane.  But ...  there were some problems.  The plane needed some help - a LOT of help.  The plane was also going right through Houston shortly after the tornados went ripping through near enough to be another caution for me. They made all of us get off the plane.  I had noticed the woman seated across the isle from me was crying. 

          We waited, and waited, and waited.  The woman who had been crying told us that her father was dying and she wanted to see him before he died.  Still crying she asked to find the fastest way to get to Southern California.   That took a while.  There was a woman next to me that said we needed to pray.  There was another woman on the other side of me.  We all prayed softly.  My sense of it was that we were enveloped with angels.  We stayed with her while the airline people searched for the fastest and best way for this woman.  She did get a plane to Southern California.

          Then the plane was finally ready.  I had to make a choice.  I really didn't want to go to Houston.  Beside the tornados, my Dad would have to meet me at SeaTac at midnight, and probably longer because of the two hours of repairs.  So I decided to get a different plane.  I found a man from the airline, and asked him if I could go straight across the country.

           This wonderful man gave me a first class seat going from O'Hare directly to SeaTac.  And since I would have stay overnight, he gave me vouchers for free for a place to stay, and for dinner and breakfast, and the Coach to take me to O'Hare.  My Dad didn't have to travel late at night. 

           The very best was that I had my first time in first class: wonderful food and wine, and it was really comfortable.  The man sitting next to me told me how to open up the table when our food was served.

           When I got to SeaTac, I found my luggage very easily.  And my Dad's car was just outside the door. 

           The last miracle was that we drove home the before the bridge on I-5 collapsed! 

  

Cousins, Aunts and Uncles

My Mother lives in Wisconsin, while I live in Washington State with my Dad. So I go to Wisconsin most years.  Both Mom and Dad came from large families.  Eighty some years ago there was no birth control and children worked on the farms.  Thus, although I am an only child, I have lots of aunts, uncles and many cousins.

My most recent visit was in May of this year.  I went with a purpose -- to visit as many family members as I could.  I got my wish.  Of course I spent a lot of time with my Mom, but spent time with family I hadn't seen for a long time. 

My Mother's eldest sister Lorraine is still alive at 94 and clear as a bell.  She uses a walker, but otherwise she seems more like 84.  While I was talking with her she said "I have only six years to get to 100"!

Lorraine has a daughter, Darlene, and four sons.  The boys used to tease me and my cousin Margaret.  For example, they told her she had to pump the cows tail to get milk.  She almost got kicked.  One of the boys died in a car crash a few years back.  While I was visiting with Lorraine, her youngest son, Gene arrived.  I hadn't known that I would get to see him.  It had been decades since I had any contact.  Later that day we had dinner with two of Darlene's brothers and their wives.

We spent most of a day with another of her brothers, Lyle, the eldest, and slept at their house.  That was interesting because as a child, I rarely even saw him because he was was so much older.  His wife, Ella Mae is a really wonderful woman.  She has hearing problems, and yet she communicates very well.

One thing I really liked as we travelled around, was the beauty of green rolling hills and valleys.  Ina way it reminded me of Whatcom County, in Washington State, where I live.  Both are green, and both have hills and valleys.  Yet Wisconsin doesn't have actual mountains as we have in Washington. 

Another of the places we went to was Madison Wisconsin.  My Aunt Yvonne lives there.  When we arrived at her door, she scolded me for not having visited for too long.  She said, "I haven't seen you since 1986!"  Then she smiled.

Then there was church, and another cousin from a different family.  He was leading a session on money issues for the church.  He was as surprised as I was!  A couple of days later he came to Mom's apartment and spent some time with Mom, another aunt, and me. 

Every thing comes to an end, and Darlene and my Mom took me to the airport in Milwaukee.  I checked my bag and then the fun and challenges began. 

See you in the next chapter!