July 30, 2019
We took the day for a tourist attraction and several of the older kids at the orphanage had the opportunity to join us. We were not given much information and didn't know what to expect other than it was a drive up the mountain and then a hike to the glaciers we had been seeing from afar all week. At the base of the mountain was a gorgeous blue lake. We were told by the guide that it would be a 30 minute drive and then we would be fed breakfast before the hike. Well, after and hour and 30 minutes we stopped for a quick huddle where they told us we would be driving for another hour+ and then we would eat breakfast. A few people were getting sick as we drove up the edge of the windy one-way mountain. Luckily Ella got a good sleep in and she and I arrived feeling fine. We finally arrived at our destination to learn we had a 30 minute walk to breakfast. :). We finally ate our first meal at 11:30am. By this time we had definitely learned to just go with the flow and never trust anything that was said about time.
And now it was time to hike up to Lake Humantay via the Salkantay trek.
Immediately, we were hit hard with the elevation difference. Not only were were hiking straight up, but we were at 14,000 feet!!! 14,000 feet equals no breath! EVERYONE in our group had to take it slow with lots of stops and some oxygen pumps as well.
At one point, Ella was in tears as she said, "Mom, this is just SO hard!" There wasn't a complain in her voice, just stating a fact, and I was in complete agreement. Several people ride horses or donkeys instead of hiking, but we all chose to walk.
We weren't even to the halfway point yet when Sylvia saw Ella struggling and she grabbed Ella's hand as she walked by and they went up together.
We made it to the halfway point and that is when I realized how bad Sylvia was struggling. She was suffering from altitude sickness herself, yet had just given Ella the encouragement that SHE needed to keep going. At this point, a few people, including Sylvia, were making the decision to go back down the mountain due to sickness. I knew I wanted to make it to the top but gave Ella the opporutnity to go back down if she wanted with the other group. Even though she was exhausted and feeling some pain, she said "No, I want to keep going." I was so proud of her. I was checking in with her and felt confident that she was not having any altitude sickness or anything that was a concern and so we kept going.
All of a sudden, Hermalinda came behind us and again, wrapped her arm around Ella and they started jetting up the mountain. I literally could not keep up with them, whereas the first half, I was the one having to hold back to wait for Ella. Hermalinda was taller than Ella and at one point I saw Ella's arm wrapped around Hermalinda's waist and then I witnessed Hermalinda grab Ella's arm and move it to her shoulders in order to give Ella that extra boost, while Hermalinda was slightly bent over, giving Ella extra support. Such selfless love.
Something about this moment and the hike up the second half of the mountain was a HUGE moment for me. My tears started flowing and couldn't stop. I was praying this whole time and trying to process what I was feeling. Not only was I challenging myself but watching Ella go through something so hard and push through and lean on others, people she barely knew, was so special to me. The girls were incredible. Luz joined in and she is very athletic and used to the elevation so they literally zoomed up the mountain. They beat me to the top.
2 hours of hiking straight up, and as I turned the final corner, I saw the Lake, then looked over and saw Ella and we embraced and were both bawling. So many emotions were flowing between she and I and it was such an incredible moment to have shared with her. I loved how everyone was embracing her and telling her how proud they were of her.
I grabbed someone to translate for me and I told these girls that she literally could not have done with without them.
Alex is someone we met on this trip. He grew up in a different orphanage nearby in Peru. He was adopted by an American Mom and Dad that came to Peru and started the orphanage. As a result he speaks excellent English and was a really neat person to meet and get to know his story throughout the week. He had asked to borrow Ella's hat on the way up the mountain and then we started chatting and getting to know each other. As a photographer himself, he was obsessed with my nice camera. He had asked me to snap some pics of him at the top. In turn, he also wanted to use my camera so he snapped some pics of me and Ella and I'm so thankful that he was there, these pictures are such a blessing to me.. He captured this extremely raw moment of Ella and I that represents the entire experience for us.
This was our guide, telling us the history of the place....I have it all on video.
^^ This is Alex, above^^
Then it was time to hike down and Luz and Hermalinda immediately found Ella and down they all went. Going down was hard too, in a different way.
We ate dinner at Don Julio on the way home and then got back on the bus for the ride down the mountain, feeling exhausted and renewed at the same time.
Usually Ella was in the teenagers room but tonight I loved finding her on the couch in deep conversation with Ruby, our leader's mother and the oldest one on our team. Ella truly seemed to connect with everyone.
