Adventure stories for kids that love to learn #21941 Gaston Place Apt 122 Austin, Texas 78723 USA Phone (512) 929-7776 Email grodgers@austin.rr.com URL http://www.GenosPlace.org February 1996

Hi kids. This ismy secondnewsletter forkids that loveto learn. Ilearned a lot inmy travels andnow I wouldlike to sharethose

experiences with you. That’s me inthe picture above and here is one ofmy many stories.

Peru, by Wheelchair! ?What Was I Thinking ?

Peru is a South American country famousfor its Inca ruins. The most famous ofwhich is Machu Picchu. Nestled high inthe Andes, it wasn’t discovered until1911. Now it has become the object ofmy quest.

I planned on going to Peru in February.Since it is south of the equator, it wassummer there. But because of its altitude

it would be cool. Theguidebooks said I should alsoexpect wet weather.

Since I became paralyzedfrom the shoulders down, as aresult of a cliff climbingaccident, I would be totallydependent on help fromothers. My friend Jeff agreedto go with me and he invitedhis dad, Don. Don’s badback prevented him fromhelping as much as he wantedso we looked for porters tohelp us. Wearing winterclothes, in a heavy wheelchair,I became a formidable 180pound piece of rolling

luggage with an attitude. Jeff would haveto push and carry me over variousterrains, in cool, sometimes cold and wetweather while fighting the effects of highaltitude and fatigue.

Jeff and I were prepared for curbs, stepsand in general, a complete lack of access.However, we weren’t prepared for altitudesickness in Cusco. Cusco is about 3326meters (about 11,000 feet) in elevation.Jeff and Don felt severe symptoms yet Iwas not affected at all, perhaps because Ihad lived in the mountains of NewMexico for many years, or perhapsbecause I wasn’t expending any energy.Jeff and Don drank some mate de cocoa,hot tea made from the infamous cocaplant, but that didn’t seem to help. Whena 73 year old Cusco resident, Hernan,learned of our problem he offered to help.We all laid in our respective beds with ourshirts pulled up. Hernan then rubbedsome type of herb all over our chests.“Peru ?! What was I thinking?”

Rosa’s husband, Lucio, came with her totake us on a tour. Rosa asked Lucio tohelp push me around. He readily agreed.His enthusiasm was infectious. Lucio wasstrong enough to lift me in and out of hiscar, by himself, with ease. Lucio wasalmost too enthusiastic.Despite the difficulty, hewanted to push meeverywhere. I eventuallysaid, “Espera, Espera!Esta bien aqui.” (Wait,wait. It is good here). Hepushed me all overSacsayhuamán, the site ofthe annual festival of IntiRaymi. Here, there arehuge walls made of stoneblocks. Some of the stoneblocks weighed severalhundred tons yet they fittogether so tightly that it isimpossible to fit a knifeblade between them.

Lucio wasn’t available the following dayso instead our agent found a strapping 15year old, Edgar, to assist me at the giantterraces at Ollantaytambo and other Incaruins. Edgar didn’t speak English but wemanaged in spite of that. I brought apocket translator with me but somehow

the mouthstick that I use to type withbroke. For various reasons I couldn’tfind a suitable replacement. This becamequite frustrating later when I wanted toask Edgar about himself and his family.

Machu Picchu was next on our list ofsights to see. We took a train fromCusco to Puente Ruinas. I had someapprehension about the train trip as Iknew I would have to sit, for 3 1/2 hours,in a train seat which is very uncomfortableand could potentially be the beginning ofa “bad chair day”. It was bad enough tosit in a “one size fits all” train seat,concentrating on my trunk balance inorder to stay upright, but to be without mywheels was to give up the freedom ofmobility. True, I couldn’t go anywhereon the train in my chair but still, I felt oddwithout it.

In Puente Ruinas we hooked up withporters from nearby Aguas Caliente. Myporters, Alex 19 and Jaime 17 did notspeak English and I only spoke enoughSpanish to ask simple questions and togive simple instructions including left,right, forward, up, and stop. Jeff, showedthem how to tilt the wheelchair back to goup and down steps (sounds simple but Iwas almost dumped out of my wheelchair

several times by well meaning butuntrained help). We then loaded up on abus and headed to Machu Picchu. After a20 minute ride on a narrow, bumpy, dirtroad we finally reached an impasse. Wedisembarked from the bus and positionedourselves at the base of a very long, steepset of steps which led up to the next levelof road, the only way around the

landslide. Jeff just looked at me and said,“Peru ?! What were you thinking?”

I had traveled to many other countries andwas carried over various obstaclesincluding over foot bridges, out of andinto dingies from tall sailing ships, upescalators and more stairways than I cancount. Alex and Jaime, however, hadnever carried me or anyone else in awheelchair and I was anxious to see themcarry out their duties.The steps we needed toascend were narrow,steep and irregular.Jeff grabbed the back,Alex and Jaime thefront and away wewent. Part way up,a n o t h e r t o u r i s t ,realizing our need forhelp, got in back withJeff. Don kept busy bykeeping a photo journalof our mini-sojourn.After a lot of huffingand puffing we made itto the top. I waspleasantly surprised tofind a utility truck there. The driver spokeno English but he motioned us to histruck. It was quite a sight, Jeff, Alex,Jaime and several other folks lifting mewhile still in my chair, up into the truck,the bed of which must have been 4 feethigh. By giving us a ride to the ruins theysaved us a 2 kilometer walk and gaveAlex, Jaime and Jeff a well-deserved rest.

Upon reaching the ruins several newvolunteers materialized to unload me. It

seems, in other countries,that my wheelchair acts amagnet to attract helpfulpeople. They oftenappear when I need helpmost and disappearbefore I get the chance tothank them. I fondlyremembered the time Isat by myself on a plazain Vera Cruz, Mexico. Itbegan to rain; a little boyappeared, seemingly outof nowhere, pulled meunder the protection ofan archway thendisappeared all withouts a y i n g a word.

Sometimes though, it is downright scarywhen strangers try to help me. When Iwas in Africa I traveled by dugout canoeto a village built entirely on stilts over thewater. As we approached a lattice ofpoles they used for a dock, our guide toldthem I would need help getting out of thecanoe. As the natives rushed to grab me I

feared they would certainly swamp theboat. My fear, as it turns out, wasunfounded.

On several occasions we came uponnarrow, winding steps that were difficultto ascend. Alex and Jaime insisted thatthey could carry me by themselves anddidn’t need anyone else to help. They,like most teenagers, thought they wereinvincible. I felt helpless, not being ableto bark out orders in Spanish to direct

them how best to carry me. Ieventually acquiesced in theirmethods and hoped to avoidan “ou t o f chair”experience. I became morecomfortable with each newobstacle conquered. Oneparticularly challengingobstacle involved making ahairpin turn up a set ofuneven steps bounded bynothing but a flimsy old treelimb railing. If anything, therailing compounded our taskas the wheelchair had to tiltedback far enough for me to duck underwhile turning uphill. I kept my “spokescrossed” hoping I wouldn’t have to comeback the same way.

I longed for the Sherpas I met in Nepal. Ihired them to carry me on their backs in awicker basket called a doko. The dokoworked so much better than using mywheelchair. Each Sherpa could walk at abrisk pace with me on his back. Theyexuded confidence with their cat likegrace and balance. They carried me upand down the mountains, steps, over logson the trails, and across foot bridgeswithout giving any indication that whatthey were doing required an extraordinaryeffort.

Alex and Jaime pushed and carried me allover Machu Picchu on trails that wouldmake a mountain goat dizzy. Their heartswould swell with pride as they pointed toand named the wonders that surroundedus. I didn’t understand enough Spanishto appreciate what they said but alwaysnodded approvingly. I tried to get Alexand Jaime to use my pocket translator butwe found some of their spelling to beunacceptable by the translator. Perhaps itis just as well. That piece of electronictechnology couldn’t convey the emotionsand excitement Alex and Jaime seemed tobe expressing.

The rest of the trip paled in comparison toMachu Picchu. Don suggested I writeabout our experience. He began to reciteall of our uncomfortable, sometimeshumorous, sometimes embarrassingincidents. Curiously, the only things Iremembered were the incredible scenery,the wonderful people we met, and theamazing culture we were privileged toembrace. “Peru ?! I new all along what Iwas thinking.”

Fun Fact: the Incas invented freezedried potatoes. They mashed thepotatoes and left them in the sun todehydrate. When all the water wasevaporated the potatoes could bestored for months.

1. Can you find Peru on a map ?2. How do you think the Incas made the stones in the above picture ?3. How do you think they built the wall, in the picture on page 2 ?

Remember, 500 years ago they had no machinery.4. How would you order a meal in a country where they don’t speak

English ? How would you pay for it if they used a different currency ?

5. Why is the weather different south of the equator ? When it is winter hereit is summer down there.

6. The picture below shows two children on the hillside. How do they dressdifferent from you ? The other picture was taken at a market.

What would it be like to shop there ?

Riddle: A man was returning from the market in Peru with a fox, cuy (a guinea pigeaten as a delicacy), and a bag of chicken feed. On the way home he had tocross a river. There was a rickity old bridge across the river. To cross thebridge, he had to hold the handrail with one hand and carry one of hisbelongings with the other hand. This way he could carry only one item at atime. If he carried the fox across first, the guinea pig would eat the chickenfeed. If he carried the chicken feed across first, the fox would eat the guineapig. How did he manage to carry everything across the bridge ?

Answer: He carried the guinea pig across first because he knew the fox wouldn’t eat thechicken feed. He then carried the chicken feed over the bridge and brought back the guineapig because he didn’t want the guinea pig to eat the chicken feed. He then carried the foxover as he knew the fox wouldn’t eat the chicken feed. He then went back to get the guineapig.