Luck and kindness in Caral | Caral, Peru

I was a very fortunate traveler yesterday. It was an unforgettable Monday thanks to the kindness of strangers I met along the way.

My day began in Barranca, a small town on the coast, where I spent the previous night watching the Messi meltdown and trying to find a place to stay that was 10 USD or less but didn’t look like I may get murdered in it.

I left for the sacred city of Caral in the morning. An archaeologist I met at Kuelap suggested I visit the site on my way down to Lima. At 5000 years old, Caral is second in importance behind only Mesopotamia, and it did not disappoint.

I crunched numbers in Huaráz and devised a plan to get in and out in time to at least watch some of Monday’s Euro 2016 action. Balancing fútbol, sightseeing, and budget in a summer of soccer (on TV) is exactly what I’ve been doing since May. Frankly, Euro 2016 has been an exercise in frustration because ATV (over-the-air broadcaster here) only shows one game per day. Unfortunately, DirecTV, the only way to watch the others, is harder to find in Peru than a public restroom with hand soap, which is nearly impossible.

Small act of kindess #1

A minibus & shared taxi got me there first, huge-ass backpack in tow.  I quickly realized I was at the most organized, informative, and clean archaelogical site in Peru, which was awesome! The dearth of useful site information and trash cans, even at mighty Machu Picchu, is truly vexing.

As its a working archaeological site with 130 staff slowly uncovering, managing, and caring for the it, a government-provided tour guide is compulsory. I was the only person there, so I had to pay the entire 20 soles fee myself, which I was happy to do. Especially after the nice lady offered to soften the blow by pretending I was a local (4 soles) versus foreigner (11 soles). Boom! #winning

Small act of kindness #2

My guide, Tomás, was great, and provided a ton of insight during the hour-and-a-half-long stroll through the sandy site. He even let me into a couple of spots beyond Do Not Enter signs. Plus, he saved me from having to set up my gorilla pod by doubling as my camera man, only cutting my feet off once, which I very much appreciated.

I wrapped up just in time for me to make it back to the town of Caral for most of the Italy vs Spain game. And, at halftime, I lucked out on a timely ride towards the road to Lima…and the DirecTV dish I saw at a restaurant at KM 10.5.

I jumped out of one of the fullest shared taxis I’ve ever been in 15 minutes later. Then I got the news that the restaurant was closed.

Just my luck, the first DirecTV dish at a public place that I’d seen after searching for days and I’d be unable to take advantage of it for the Iceland vs England game, which I really wanted to watch while rooting for the tiny nation of 300,000.

I should’ve bet on it.

Small act of kindess #3

Enter Cristian into the fold.

He heard about my predicament and invited me, a complete stranger off the street, to join him at his place, as he had DirecTV and was watching the games before going to work. What a gesture and prime example of soccer being a universal uniter!

So there I was, on a bed in a tiny abode through the end of the match, when I excused myself to go journal and write postcards during the hour between games, so as to not intrude further.

Small act of kindness #4

As I was packing things up and getting ready to go watch the 2nd game, a sweet older lady named Justina approached me. She smiled big, welcomed me to Peru, and handed me a plate of food, a fork & napkin! She said she heard about the restaurant being closed and couldn’t let a stranger in need go hungry.

We talked for a bit before she refused my offer to pay, saying she was happy to help and hoped I had a good trip.

This kind woman, who had so little, gave so much. It was one of the most humbling moments of A Great Journey.

Small act of kindness #5

I grabbed a liter of cola from the kinda-open restaurant to share with Cristian and joined him again.

Shortly before halftime, Linda, the restaurant owner, and her husband, Hector, came by and insisted I join them for lunch. They apologized that the restaurant wasn’t serving food since it was Monday, and they really only see tourists on weekends. Then they fed me some fantastic ají de pollo while peppering me with questions about Mexico.

I did not expect a second meal, nor was I hungy, but I couldn’t refuse their kindness.

Small act of kindness #6

I watched the biggest upset and one of the most entertaining, tense games of the tourney thanks to Cristian. He went to work with 30 minutes remaining and incredibly allowed me to stay til the end.

I left KM 10.5 incredibly grateful, smiling big, and so full I planned on walking the distance to the main highway. 2km in, that plan changed.

Laura and Cristian (a different one), who’d driven by me moments before, turned around to ask where I was heading.

I told them and they said I should just hop in and go with them; they were on the Caral-to-Lima route, too. So I did.

Cops pulled us over twice, but we escaped unscathed (which I could consider the 7th small act of kindness, I suppose) . We talked about our luck at an empty Caral. We discussed our countries (Cristian is Brazilian and Laura Hungarian) and the unique names each had for speed bumps (in Hungarian, it translates into something like “horizontal cop on the street”). In short, we bonded over the four-hour roadie, as well as dinner & beers upon arriving in Miraflores.

The Homeric levels of xenia I experienced that day sent me to bed with a perma-grin.

A day-long lesson

I slept on it and realized yesterday was not just something to smile about and be thankful for. It was a day-long lesson from the travel gods to reflect upon and grow from.

Will I walk by a stranger in need today and ignore them or find a way to help? Can I be more open-minded and empathetic? How can I repay the kindness shown to me to others? Why was I so lucky?

I’m still mulling it and figuring out how Monday can make me a better human being on Tuesday and beyond.

Without a doubt, an adventure like this is one of the reasons I love travel.