Happiness

This was a week ago, whatever day that was, and this was the happiest day of my life.  The natem ceremonies had ended, the great purging felt so good, the fresh subtle sweet space in my body was intoxicating (it still is actually).  The sun was shining, and we were in the most heavenly landscape you could ever imagine!

paradise

Butterflies softly caressed my skin with the breezes of their fluttering wings, filtered light through banana trees washed my face as I stood knee deep in the small eddies of the river, children laughed and slid down slippery rocks into the water, we painted hearts and animals on rocks with other rocks that write.  Later, I danced and danced with my pink scarf there on the open hills, surrounded by people full of love.  We ate mandarins off the trees.  We smiled.  Men chopped down the overgrowth and women harvested pineapples.  It is truly a beautiful life, a life imbued with peace and whimsy and faerys.  We are the faerys, in harmony with heaven.

in the waterfalls

Mathias, Tsunki, and Aurora sliding down rocks

Tsunki does a cannonball

We had travelled an hour in the back of a pickup truck packed with fresh chickens, chica, gardening tools, pots and pans, boxes of supplies for the community centre, and laughter.  We then hiked at least 2 miles, maybe more, to clearing in the jungle.  Once there the women defeathered the chickens, gathered water, dug up yucca roots, chopped down plantains, and built the fires.  We hung about for an hour or more while chicken soup (with the head and feet and everything in it) boiled on the open flame.  Rice and yucca and plantain had their turn on the fires too, and in the embers were seeds and fruits wrapped in banana leaves.  Once ready, we all sat down to the table with more banana leaves as our tablecloth.  Plantain, yucca, and salt were laid straight onto the leaves, bowls of soup and rice were handed out, and hardly anybody used a spoon.  Later the seeds and fruit were served, and we spit the seeds onto the floor and licked the juice off our hands.  We then smoked cigarettes and made jokes, and even though I didn't understand a word as it was all Quechua, I laughed just to be laughing.  

the table is being set

Every Sunday dinner should be so charming!  My neighbours back in the UK will be talking I'm sure ;).  xX