Waynwayna

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Waÿnwayna
Day 3

The trek had been smooth, albeit rainy. We celebrated as a family that night, Jaime and Emily reading speeches they wrote. Emily’s was in basic Spanish. At one point she stumbled and began to laugh. She doesn’t realize how distinctive and cute her laugh is. The porters, who the speech was written to thank, were greatly amused. And after all the miles they hiked with all those pounds on their backs, amusement was something they hadn’t had much of.
Jaime had more of a challenge. Although bilingual, he’s not used to Quechua. “It’s hard, man,” he said. “The words are much longer. Very easy for me to get confused.”
The porters appreciated the speeches, but when we made the rounds to shake their hands their eye contact was weak. To them, we were just one group. To us, we were impressed and genuinely thankful. I felt like, if they looked us in the eye, they would’ve felt more appreciation.
If nothing else, the porters enjoyed Jaime’s line saying, “And if you’re tired, Mauro will gladly provide you with a massage.”
Poor Mauro. Look what Carlos started.

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Photos

Jaime and Emily
Our representatives show our appreciation to the staff over a few laughs