Urubamba

Urubamba is a fantastic word to say out loud, a small town sandwiched between mountains and a river, and my new home.

I'm living in a large house with two other volunteers and two project managers who are here on a permanent basis. The house is a mix of the modern (wireless internet), the rustic (gas oven manually lit with matches) and the confused (a scalding shower that lacks the pressure to add cold water).  There is a woman, Yovana, who comes to cook us lunch and clean the house, but I'm at least back to doing my own dishes and making my own bed. Plus, this is what I wake up to every morning:

The town sits at about 3048 metres above sea level, but despite being prairie-grown, I haven't had any problems. It's only been a few days since I arrived so I'm slowly settling in, getting into my project, meeting people and generally setting the tone for the next 5 months. It's as close to permanency as I can get, and it feels full of promise.