To finish, here is the text of a song we wrote for the Latin Link annual conference earlier this year, remembering the highlights of nine years in Cusco. It goes to the tune of 'These are a few of my favourite things', from The Sound of Music.
White
fluffy llamas and 1 sol bananas
Mangoes
and monkeys and lakes of piranhas
Hummingbird
colours and big condor wings
These are
a few of our favourite things!
Thunder
and lightning is fun but quite frightening
Clear
sunny days when our tempers need brightening
Beautiful
valleys and hot thermal springs
These are
a few of our favourite things!
Streams
we can play in, cheap hostels to stay in,
Dark
windy caves you can spend half a day in
Climbing
on ruins of old Inca Kings
These are
a few of our favourite things!
When
we´re out of place
When they
make us wait
When
we’re feeling blue
We simply
remember our favourite things
And sing
‘We love you Peru!’
Houses
with courtyards and plazas with fountains
Quechua
markets and white snowy mountains
Ponchos
and chullos and quipus of strings
These are
a few of our favourite things!
Lomo
saltado and choclo with cheese
Papa
rellena and hot roasted cuys
Donuts
for dunkin, picarones in rings
These are
a few of our favourite things!
Fencing
and dancing, karate and running
Huge
sandy beaches and pools to have fun in
In Lima,
there’s so much ... where to begin?
But these
are a few of our favourite things!
When the
people stare
When life
isn’t fair
When
we’re feeling blue
We thank
Father God for our favourite things
And sing
‘We love you Peru!’
