Cusco is definitely one of my favorite places in Peru. The architecture is old and beautiful, and it is one of the most unique cities I’d ever visited.
Also, people will push a baby alpaca into your arms for a picture, then ask for spare change. It’s worth it! Just carry a few extra coins along with you.
Day 5: Wednesday, October 23, 2019
This is the day you’ve been waiting for. This is the day we went to Machu Picchu.
It was yet another early morning (well worth it). A taxi picked us up from the hotel early and drove deep into the mountains. As I said earlier, the roads are very twisty. There had been some rain the night before, so we also had to drive the car through several rockfalls and landslides covering the road. We even passed a train stopped to clear rocks over the tracks.
This is also where we started seeing mosquitos. As we learned, we were entering the cloud forests.
We eventually made it to a train station where hubs had booked us a gorgeous sightseeing tour by rail in to Aguas Calientes, the town at the base of Machu Picchu. It was a luxury rail trip, which was kind of cool, and they pointed out the sites along the way. It is also one of the only ways to get there.
The other is hiking the Inka Trail, a days-long hike through the jungle that takes you through the Sun Gate, visible from Machu Picchu. This is also the same trail the Inca took between Cusco and Machu Picchu.
Once we arrived in Aguas Calientes, our guide met us at the train and got us to the bus that took us up the side of a very steep mountain (the road was a series of hairpin turns climbing to the top) to the entrance to Machu Picchu. There, we got a two-hour tour, learned a TON about the site and the Inca and Quechua, and got to really admire the mountains, the jungle, and the cloud forest. I even shared a picture or two on my Instagram.
This is where I really got to steep in the place where Quri would have lived, or at least a similar mountain forest. It’s one thing to read about a place.
It’s another thing entirely to be there. To experience the smells. The sun on your face. The shifts in temperature and weather that happen with the blink of an eye.
This is why I love visiting historical sites. When I stand on the same ground someone stood hundreds, even thousands, of years ago, it puts a whole new perspective on life and our world. The world is so much bigger than we could ever imagine. It is full of more sights, sounds, and ideas than one person could ever conceive.
This is our planet. And it is amazing.
Day 6: Thursday, October 24, 2019
After our amazing trip to Machu Picchu, we had another day planned, just a lower-key day. For our sixth day in Peru, we stayed in Cusco. My husband had planned a chocolate-making class for us, since cacao is one of the crops in Peru, and a trip to the Cusco Planetarium that night.
The chocolate class was delicious! Obviously.
And the Planetarium was out of this world!
Okay, okay, I got that out of my system. But for real, it was one of the highlights of our entire trip. We learned all about the cultural astronomy of the Inca in a family-run establishment, got to see a show about how the southern hemisphere constellations are different from the northern hemisphere, and went stargazing with a big, furry white dog named Gandalf. And while we were stargazing, they brought us tea and blankets! I’m all about that cozy life, so this spoke to my soul.
And it’s very likely to make it into a story one day.
If you ever go to Peru, you have to go to the Cusco Planetarium. Just make sure to get your tickets ahead of time.
Day 7: Friday, October 25, 2019
Another early day, and this was the only mistake we made in our plans.
Foreshadowing: you know that when a guide early in the week asks what else you’re doing and then cringes when you answer... it’s gonna be a rough time.
So. If you’ve never heard, there’s a Rainbow Mountain in Peru. As its name implies, it’s multicolored layers of dirt and rock that are very photogenic.
But. They are a MONSTER to get to. We left at 4:30 in the morning and stopped around eight for breakfast before getting to the trail. Once at the trail, it’s a four-kilometer hike. Uphill. At 15,000 feet above sea level.
Remember, Cusco was at 12,000 feet and was already a difficult altitude for my weakling body. And it was COLD. We were not prepared for that and had to purchase extra alpaca scarves and hats (worth it—alpaca is super soft and warm!).
As you may have guessed, I had a constant supply of coca candy to help compensate, but I still had to stop every twenty or so feet to catch my breath and had a pounding headache by the time we made it to the BASE of Rainbow Mountain.
Hubs rented me a horse for part of the climb, too. But, my friends, it is HARD. And it came to a point where I just couldn’t make it. So, we got to the bottom of the mountain, got a few pictures, and turned around before I died. (Yes, I’m a little dramatic. But I am serious that this is the hardest hike I’ve ever done, and I HIGHLY recommend skipping it unless you’re in decent shape.)
But we made it. And I am glad to say I will never do it again.
Day 8: Saturday, October 26, 2019
This was our last day, and hubs and I both agreed that it was one day too many. We were definitely ready to head home.
But we made the best of our time and enjoyed a final day wandering Cusco, picking up souvenirs, and watching music and dancing in the Plaza for an event that was going on in the city. I’m very grateful we were there to experience a bit of that.
***
Day 9: Sunday, October 27, 2019
After nine days, it was finally time to go home. We packed up everything we could into our carry-ons, as because of the timing of our domestic flight back to Lima and then our international flight, there was a chance we would never see our checked bag again. (Spoiler: it made it, but our Inka Kola, the soda I wanted to share with my family, was confiscated in Panama.)
This. This was the longest travel day of my life. We left our hotel in Cusco at 7:30 in the morning and made it back to Dulles around midnight. Then I drove us home, two and a half hours to our own beds (and toilets... it’s the little things, really. We really missed flushing our toilet paper rather than throwing it away, as was necessary from Panama on south.).
All in all, it was nineteen hours of travel time. Long, but so worth the time.
WHEN I FIRST set out to give you readers something extra in this paperback edition of Of the Clouds, I wasn’t sure what to say. I had my initial research and story sparks. But story sparks don’t always tell you much.
When we traveled to Peru, it was a completely different experience for me. I felt Quri’s world more strongly than ever before. I learned about people and places far different from my own. And I faced fears of travel and of the unknown.
I am not the bravest person in some cases.
But traveling to new places is, in my opinion, a very important thing for everyone. Not just writers and other creatives. And it’s not just for the adventurous.
Traveling allows us to reach out from our own bubbles, our own boxes, and experience life as we couldn’t otherwise. It lets us reach new people. It teaches us that our experiences are both unique... and just like the rest of humanity’s.
I know not everyone can travel great distances, and I’m very privileged and blessed to have had these opportunities. But even if you can’t go far, you can still go somewhere. You can visit the local park or cultural centers. You can go to your own town or city festivals and museums.
You can experience life.
And even from your very home, you can visit anywhere you could imagine online and in the pages of books and talking to people from around the world.
So don’t be afraid. Reach out in whatever way you have, whether it is near or far.
We are all human, and that connection is beautiful. This is why I write, and I hope I have inspired you to find your connections too.
We are never as unique as we think. And that’s what brings us together.
If you enjoyed these stories, please consider leaving a review at your favorite retailers. Reviews help readers find new books, and I am truly grateful for every review that readers take the time to share.
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Acknowledgements
This first collection of stories is the culmination of a lot of factors: the Rooglewood Press fairy tale retelling contests, which inspired the first books; the inspiration from those original fairy tales and ideas from my husband; and my desire to share these tiny stories with the world. Some of them were hard to finish, while others were some of my favorites of all time (looking at you, All That Glimmers).
There are a lot of people who were involved in these stories. Thanks to the beta readers who helped along the way (they are listed by name in the single editions). Thanks to the editors and designer I worked with: Arielle Bailey, Deborah O’Carroll, and Savannah Jezowski. They all helped fine tune the stories and package them beautifully. Savannah once again designed a gorgeous cover in this anthology, and I’m excited to be sharing it with even more people.
In the personal side of my writing life, I have to first and foremost thank my husband, who gave me the courage and encouragement to publish, who is my biggest cheerleader, and who pushes me to try things that scare me. I couldn’t have done so many of these things without you.
I also thank my family and friends who have supported and encouraged me along the way. It means so much to know you all have my back and are proud of the work I do.
And thank you, dear reader. Thank you for picking up these stories, for connecting with me through these experiences and fantasy worlds, and for continuing with me on this journey. These stories exist for you, to connect us and bind us all together. I am so grateful to all of you.
And finally, my thanks to God for giving me the skill and ability to share these stories with the world.
About the Author
Selina is a biologist-by-day, writer-by-night native of Pennsylvania. She lives with her husband, dog, and two cats and spends her time writing, reading, creating art, and dreaming about fictional worlds. She has written two fairy-tale retelling short stories that were both finalists in Rooglewood Press short story contests and a fantasy short story, “Queen of Mist and Fog,” available through her newsletter.
Selina can be found online on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, BookBub, her blog, and through her email newsletter.
Also By Selina J. Eckert
This Curse
Sometimes we put ourselves in the bottle...
Six years ago, Janan was transformed into a genie by an evil djinn, ripping her away from her home, her life, and her humanity. She has been on the run from him ever since. Worlds away, high school honors student Laurelin just wants to get into the chemistry program of her dreams.
When Laurelin discovers a crystal bottle that sucks her into the djinn realm, the girls find themselves working together to escape Janan's creator and get Laurelin back home. But war is brewing in the djinn realm-a rebellion led by the same evil djinn they've been trying to escape. And he is determined to rule both the djinn and the human realms. As his creation, Janan is the one person standing in his way.
But to stop him, Janan must learn to overcome the fears he instilled in her and embrace her own dark magic while Laurelin must accept that some things are more important than an A+. Now, they will have to trust each other, and themselves, to stop the encroaching evil. Otherwise, both the human and djinn realms will fall to the tide of death and dark magic this war will unleash.
Get your copy of This Cursed Flame at your favorite retailer. And while you’re there, pick up the prequel, This Cursed Light, for free or email for your copy!
Seasons of Magic Volume 1 Page 23