After stopping off in Riosucio happenstance, we were fortunate enough to make friends with a local Coffee brewer named Uriel. Uriel owns a Jeep Willys that he keeps parked in the Candelaria area of Riosucio’s two main parks. The special thing about this Jeep is that he’s turned it into a coffee shop. If you haven’t read the previous blog post, “Riosucio, the only town with two main parks” (add link here) it tells all about our time spent in Riosucio. It was only a few hours in one day, but with all the things we learned and saw while touring with Uriel, it felt like a few days.
At the end of that day, Bronson’s back was wrecked from walking on all the concrete and the horseback ride the day before. Uriel immediately began making phone calls to get us set up with someone to help with Bronson’s back pain. Originally we thought it was going to be a doctor or physical therapist… Boy oh boy were we wrong.
After about 20 minutes of phone calls, we had a plan for Bronson to see a “healer” in a nearby town the following day. We were told that we’d have to leave Riosucio and head to San Lorenzo where we’d park our vehicle on Uriel’s friend’s property and from there we’d be taking rural public transport to the healer.
Ok. Easy-peasy. The next morning we woke up, drove to town for breakfast and met up with Uriel, who rode with us to San Lorenzo. We stopped at the parque central and bought some fruit for the ride up the hill, and I’m really happy to say, it was a good decision.
We left the park and drove a few minutes to Uriel’s friend’s house. We parked Dusty the Mudslinger, packed an overnight backpack and walked back to the town square where we hopped onto a tiny people hauler (Karpaty) that was already filled with people inside. It’s only meant to hold 8 people, and there were 12 inside and 12 hanging on the outside. All four of us were standing and holding onto the rails on the outside of the vehicle as we traversed for 40 minutes up a steep, rocky, slick, muddy road. Honestly, it was so much fun. Kaden, Bronson and I laughed the whole way up, while Adriana was quietly praying in the corner. She was so worried that something was going to happen to us. I think she was afraid that someone was going to fall off. I mean, the road was really steep, like, you don’t find grades of highway this steep in the USA. It would never be permitted. But this is everyday life for the villagers in Colombia and it’s normal. Kids literally run and hop on as we pass by, finding any little piece of metal bar to hold on to. Sometimes they just hop on the hood and the driver continues to drive.
After 40 minutes of driving up this muddy road, the construction area began. The road from here was closed so we had to walk the rest of the way. Which was almost an hour walk. Straight up the side of a mountain… In the slick, muddy trench. We were not prepared for what it was. We hadn’t been told that we’d be walking so far nor were we advised about the type of terrain we’d be dealing with. We literally thought the people hauler was going to drop us off at the healer. If I’d known that I’d be doing some seriously steep, single track, muddy hiking trails, I’d have dressed appropriately. I did not. I wore black skinny jeans and a knit wool tank top. I was roasting to death. Kaden forgot to bring a jacket, so as we acclimated to the weather at 9000 feet of elevation, I gave him mine and used the one sweatshirt that I have to stave off the frigid temperatures. He better learn his damn lesson. He grew up in Lake Tahoe, he knows how to layer.
We took multiple breaks along the way up, munching on the fruit we had bought at the market just before starting the drive up. When we finally arrived, we were met by Rafa, the healer who had mountain spring water for us and immediately did an “opening body, mind and soul to receiving guided meditation.” Adriana was feeling sick, due to the altitude, extreme road conditions, and the walk that was, I kid you not, 25% grade straight uphill. The entire day was pretty extreme and she was looking a little pekid. The color had drained from her face and she was turning a little gray.
After drinking the water and the short guided meditation, Adriana started feeling a little better and we were taken on a tour of his property. One of Rafa’s workers, Andrei had taken our backpacks and put them in our sleeping quarters already. We headed up to the kitchen where Rafa gave us a tour showing off his “new” kitchen and familiarizing us with the layout and where everything was located. He showed us the freezer that was filled with fish and chicken. He pulled out some chicken breasts and told us he was expecting 12 indigenous villagers to come eat lunch up there and that he was making chicken burgers. Then he clasped his hands together and said “let’s make some coffee.” He made french press coffee and we all talked and shared stories before being served some Sancocho (hearty chicken stew). It was tasty!
After lunch, we cleaned up and walked the property and made our way back to the kitchen where we witnessed Rafa and Andrei manually grinding the already marinated chicken breast. He accompanied this with fries, turmeric rice and deep red tomato slices that Bronson had sliced perfectly. Adriana and I took on the task of shaping 16 very generous sized chicken burger patties (like the size of my face) which Rafa then grilled on his industrial size griddle. It was wonderful to be included in helping make the food for the indigenous villagers who welcome us with open arms into their communities.
After they finished lunch, they went back down the hill and we watched the sun disappear behind a thick blanket of clouds as night descended upon us. We were all utterly exhausted and it was starting to rain. We snuggled up in the blankets provided to us in our tents and went to bed for the evening. About halfway through the night, we could hear Adriana’s teeth chattering, she was so cold. Bronson went out and got her more blankets and she was finally able to sleep through the night. Meanwhile, in our tent, we were toasty warm, Kaden was so warm with his one blanket that he complained that he was already too hot when Bronson placed another one next to him.
The following morning, I woke up refreshed, relaxed and with an overwhelming sense of happiness. A kind of happiness that I haven’t felt since I was a little girl. I was exploring all around the property with a smile from ear to ear, giddy like a young child and a lightness that I’ve never experienced before. I was in total peace, my mind was clear and my heart was bursting with profound appreciation for the people we meet along the way that allow these experiences to be had.
Adriana was not having the same experience. She was miserable. She didn’t sleep well and she was really not liking the cleanliness of the sleeping quarters. This experience above all the experiences we’ve had together over the last month, really pushed the limits of her comfort zone. Rafa had told her the day before that we were her guiding angels and that we brought her there because she needed something more than we did. Which really struck a chord with her and really gave her something to reflect on.
We all had coffee and breakfast together and shortly after, Bronson was called away for his treatment. We thought it was going to be a massage and foot reflexology. It turned out to be so much more. The feet tell a story. A very deep and emotional story, if you know how to read them, which I don’t, so I leave it to the professionals. His treatment lasted over an hour and he came back with a much deeper understanding of himself and the trauma of his past.
Adriana was next. She was so set on leaving, getting out of the mountains and back to “clean” civilization. She was chomping at the bit, counting the minutes until it was time for us to leave. After her treatment, she came back like a new person. She completely relaxed, had a huge smile on her face and seemed more at peace, with a deeper understanding of herself and her need to learn to let go.
The treatments took up so much of the day, that it was already getting really late for us to get down the hill to catch the last people hauler into town. Adriana had completely shocked me when she said, “no, we’re staying another night. We can’t leave until you and Kaden have your treatments.” And with that, we all huddled in the kitchen as the power went out and we helped Rafa “bake” Panpararompanpan and Encuyado by cell phone lights over a gas stove.
As the dark of night came over us, the rain began to fall again, saturating the ground and making it really muddy. We all retreated to our tents for the evening and fell asleep listening to the pitter-patter of raindrops on the rooftop.
The following morning, we all helped cook breakfast and I was soon whisked away for my treatment.
The first thing he told me was to remove my shoes and socks. He took one look at my feet and dredged up a ton of trauma from my childhood. And this was all before he even touched my feet. He was able to tell exactly what kind of trauma and the path it led me down for so much of my developing years. I’ve been told many times in my life that the things of my past are not my fault, and inherently I know that. However, there was something about him and this place of spirituality, where I really was able to take that piece of information he just gave me and start to heal those wounds. There were so many things that he had discussed with me and it really helped to dig really deep inside myself and see the possibilities ahead of me, if I could learn how to remove the personal obstacles that keep blocking my way forward. There were so many private things he’d told me about myself that NOBODY, not even Bronson knows because, frankly, they’re things that are so deeply buried in my past I’ve all but forgotten about them. But he also told me that he worries that I don’t fear enough. So that’s something I have to work on.
Kaden’s treatment was really short, mostly because he’s so young and doesn’t have life experience and the trauma that goes along with it. The big things he came away with is that he’s deeply spiritually connected to earth. He’s naturally intuitive and sensitive to energy around him and is a natural born leader who has the capacity to learn multiple languages and lead people in finance, if he wanted to (he doesn’t want to). His biggest fears are losing Bronson and I, and moving out of our “house.” This one I chuckle at because when I was his age I couldn’t wait to leave my parent’s house. I was already one foot out the door by the time I was 15.
After having this experience, I came away with a renewed sense of calm and excitement for what lies before me. The place has a palpable energy that I can feel. Deeply. It literally moves me, the power of nature and the energy of the earth. I am connected to the land here in a way I cannot describe. Breathing in the fresh air, looking out to the mountaintops and realizing how small I am, there is truly something so deeply profound about knowing your place in the world The earth does not belong to me, I belong to the earth and I respect that.
