Sachi - Wednesday

Last night we were given the option to either go on a walk or tejer, so Lucy, Alexa, and I went on a lovely walk with Visser to the lagoon about 4 miles away. Although that sounds like a walk in the park it was a very challenging hike along the mountainside. At the highest point we were about 4,600 meters above sea level (approximately 15,000 feet). During this walk while the four of us were huffing and puffing, the people of Patacancha and local villages were sprinting by us with no problem breathing. The one thing that struck me most was the way the people in this area live so harmoniously with Pachamama (Mother Earth). They don’t try to add unnatural items into the land. For example the houses that we walked by were made out of rocks or adobe bricks and had roofing of a native grass that can sustain the monsoon season. There were farmlands that the people have been using for generations. The water that the families use is from the rivers and the clothes that they wear come from the wool of their animals. The people of this area are very aware of using natural resources wisely.
When we saw alpaca and sheep roaming the mountainside I tried to pet one, but I failed because they kept running away  it was a sad moment… When we reached the lagoon, the first thing that Visser said was that we weren’t at the lagoon. When we asked why, he responded with there should be 10 more meters of water. The sight wasn’t as beautiful as we were hoping the lagoon has dried out a lot, and the water is brown and muddy. Also we saw the happening of global warming, the mountain peaks used to be covered in snow, and now there is not even an inch of snow. From this walk I learned to appreciate our Pachamama, because she provides us with all of our essentials, food, clothes, housing, and water. Also I came to appreciate the difficult lifestyle the people in this area live to keep the sustainability of the natural resources going. Furthermore after seeing a live example of deterioration of the environment through global warming, I would like to do more to prevent other glorious sight from disappearance.