Heroic bus names

Rainbow Busline

Self-explanatory

Golden Busline

The Lions Busline

The  Deliverer Busline

Little Golden  Busline

Destinations

The Hare Busline

The Lion of Saint Gerome Busline

Pegasus Busline

Batman Busline

The Lion of Judah neck in neck with the Hare Busline

The Fox (or alternatively masked swordsman, Antonio Banderas) Busline

Kindergarten  outing

Cheese lady

Treasures from home

Kindergarten  outing

No purple hatband... 

Cute cops

Bohemian juggler

With Sthefania

With Sthefania

Mendiga

Pukara taxi

Mini parade

Mini parade

Gorgeous interview setting

Juan and Rich interviewing

Puno elegance

Caught in the act 

Juliaca again, as lovely in dust  as in mud

Ripe quinoa

Corn drying

Chicken transport

We took an interest in the names of urban bus companies in Cusco. The names range from the Quechua word for deliver, “Chaskiy” to Pegaso (Pegasus in English) to Batman. Not that anyone actually pays attention to these names, really. The focus of the average person is on the side of the bus which provides the destination. Still, we got to wondering what the intention of these names might be. Take the Pegasus name; do we  suppose that someone will take this bus inspired that it will take him/her to his/her destination with the fleetness of a winged stallion? Is it an expression of hope? Maybe, it is the expression of reality that riding this line, or any other for that matter, is like riding a bucking bronco with wings, all the while dodging Chimeras and getting yanked about but Kraken belches (Hollywood pseudo-artistic license) and hard enough to ride that only Bellerophon could actually hold on…

 

Our Ayaviri adventure last weekend to took its toll on Julie’s back, by Monday evening, her back started to hurt and by Tuesday morning, she could hardly move. Additionally, we had mega-issues with our computer at work that refused to cooperate and then, suddenly on Thursday, without real explanation it began working just fine. Rich refuses to believe that there is a higher power that operates where computers are concerned and feels that they are instruments to make us want to use miner/driller language and to contemplate violence to inanimate objects, mainly, said computers. They may not be tools of the devil, but they are at least, minions. Anyway, it is working again.

 

On Tuesday afternoon the mission executive secretary called to ask if we could put up some sisters from Pitumarca. One of the young women from there received her mission call and had come to catch her flight to Lima, then Bogota and she missed it. She traveled with her mom, a non-member and a good friend from the branch. They wound up stranded here. They asked if we could put the two women up for the night. Well, Julie’s brother was due in bright and early the next morning. We would have loved to have them but, alas, we could not. Consequently, we agreed to put them up in the little hotel next door for the night. It seemed the only real option. They were thrilled to stay there.

 

Julie’s brother arrived on Wednesday morning at 6:30. We are delighted to have him here.  

 

On Thursday, Sthefania Agüero came to town and we all went out to eat at the Kankacho place near our work. It was wonderful to see her and to renew our acquaintance with her.

 

This weekend we took off for Puno with a two pronged effort. In Matthew’s previous visits, he did not get to see the lake and so he and Julie had desires to go to the floating islands called the Uros and also to the nearest major “real” island Taquile. They went to the islands for a very fun, touristy day on Saturday.

 

Meanwhile, Rich had some mission business to take care of down in Yunguyo, on the Bolivian border. As these things go, nothing ever is what one expects. He had gone to meet with the Presidente Albarracin, the district president to go over some administrative stuff. When Rich got there, he found out that a young man, who had not been interviewed, had submitted his papers for a mission. Not planning on returning there for some time, Rich decided to interview him, only trouble being, he, the young man was out harvesting potatoes with his mom and sister.

With President Albarracin, Rich hired a taxi to drive them out to Unicachi, possibly, the most picturesque place in the world to meet with the young man. Seated on the stoop of the little adobe hut there, under the shade of four grand eucalyptus trees and with a perfectly Van Gogh-esque view of Lake  Titicaca, Rich interviewed the young man in the warmth of the afternoon autumn sun. It was pretty spectacular! What a remarkable opportunity to serve here in this place at this time. All about us, we saw evidence that winter is soon upon us and the industry of the Altiplano employed in full harvest. It was truly magnificent! We truly feel blessed every day of our mission.