THe little shepherd of Peru
Often it is just a coincidence. Or not. The story happened as follows:
I drove my Toyota over the highlands of the Peruvian Andes at 4,000 m altitude from Urubamba and Ollantaytambo in the Sacred Valley back to Cusco, the former capital of the Incas. There was no asphalt road, just a kind of gravel road. I was actually all alone in this dust, alone with this nature and this incredible landscape. It was calm except for the gentle wind.
Well, the road was suddenly very straight and led me downhill. I stopped for a moment and went back upstairs a little to take a panoramic photo of there. At the top of the hill I looked back again - what a blessing! Because there he came. The little man and shepherd from Peru. On this dusty road. With his donkeys and sheep. With sports shoes that are way too big and the hat with the tartan pattern.
At first he looked very serious, but then there was a small smile on his face. He came closer and gave me his hand to greet me. He mumbled something I didn't understand. What a feeling! What a meeting. I will never forget it again. He was certainly no taller than 1.40 m. For a short while he passed me and turned around again. And then the animals and finally his wife came down the path. She didn't even look at me. A few moments later they all disappeared in a huge cloud of dust on the horizon. I was alone again at an altitude of 4,000 m.
ANDREA DUBLASKI, Germany, Meckenbeuren