Suscal 2

I took a day off in Suscal. I needed it. When I awoke in the morning my thighs ached. There was no water for a shower and I took a painful walk up the steep hill to the avenida principal for breakfast. But it was a good pain, the pain of muscles being taxed and stressed. My knees felt fine and I seemed to have acclimated to the altitude. The previous day I had felt nauseous and shaky. That was gone now.

 

 

After lunch the water was turned on in the town and I was able to take a shower. I lay in bed until lunch and almost didn’t walk back up the hill for it. The aching in my legs was nearly stronger than my hunger, but I told myself I needed the fuel and suffered slowly up the hill.

 

 

The tiny Indian townspeople dress in bright pink and purple handmade clothing and wear black, wide-brimmed hats. Many of them are under 5 feet tall and the old women are dark and shriveled but carry large loads easily on their backs. Though I was stared at wherever I went I was greeted by many, both men and women and even the young, with a buenos tardes.

 

There was sun until the afternoon when the clouds came up from the valley and covered the town. Like the day before you could hardly see a block ahead after 5pm. It was cold and there was a light rain during the night.