St. Francis of Assisi is EVERYWHERE!

Part of traveling is the fun of meeting new people along with the lovely sights and moments of discovery. On my trip to Peru I reconnected with an 8th grade teacher from Austin, Texas. Don Hale teaches at St. Francis of Assisi School in Austin so we have so much in common. At the Andina Hotel in Lima he discovered an old friend common to both of us- St. Francis himself! Yes, there on a landing in a hallway was an old statue of St. Francis of Assisi- so, of course we had a picture made with our favorite saint!

The Road to Machu Picchu: New 7th Wonder of the World

The alarm clock went off extremely early to start on a bus ride through the mountains in the rain for 90 minutes to Aguas Calientes to catch the Peru Railroad train to the base of Machu Picchu. Only 500 tourists a day are permitted to enter the ruins of the fortress and reservations are made over 6 months in advance. Our guide was a local specialist on Machu Picchu. The bus driver was an aggressive driver and many locals were already out walking into towns for Saturday market before the sun came up. The train to Machu Picchu is really nice and they serve you a breakfast snack and some strong Peruvian coffee once the train starts rolling. The tracks follow a tributary of the Amazon River and there are archeological sites and small villages along the way with crops growing in the fields; many terraces line the river for crops to grow on them. On the other side of the river is the ancient Inca Trail; hikers walk 4 days on this trek carrying supplies with local porters. The altitude is lower here so more crops were present and Indians in native dress were out working the fields. The river would be a rating of a 6 for rough water with small footbridges to cross over from side to side. This part of the trip is one I will always remember because I was seated in the front seat and had an unobstructed view of the valley and mountains- WOW! The vegetation began to change on this 90 minute train trip from the Sacred Valley types of crops to high jungle vegetation; vines, wild orchids, impatients and plants one sees in Hawaii. There was a small hydroelectric plant on the river to serve the valley residents electricity. The only TV antennas I saw were satellite dishes on hotels NOT on houses. The homes were small and simple with amulets on the rooftops. I guess the closest thing we know to compare to this is a weathervane; but its shape was closer to the rooftop. It had a cross in the center for faith, a receptacle for water and 2 bull statues for strength of family and strength to plow the fields. The Peruvians are pretty superstitious! The next step in the journey required a bus ride up closer to the ruins in mini-buses with switchback roads that are beyond description. Finally our destination!
The words Machu Picchu mean "old mountain". Yale grad Hiram Bingham "discovered" Machu Picchu with the help of a local family. The day was rainy when Bingham arrived at a hut and the parents told him there were ruins up there, but the weather was so bad they would not go out and sent 2 of their children to guide him to the spot. The clouds covered the ruins when we arrived too and my heart sank because I thought we would not get any pictures or views that day. The guide said to take a picture now and then wait 10 minutes to take the next one to compare the difference. Like magic the fog lifted and the majesty of the ruins was all around us- what a breathtaking moment! The excitement of the moment created energy in the thin air. A recent excavation here found the remains of 162 mummies with 105 of them female and less than 60 males. Machu Picchu is the correct altitude to grow coca so the surrounding land was terraced to produce the crop needed for religious and health reasons by the Incans. This was a planned city. Researchers found ceramic and bronze objects in the ruins- all broken in ceremony- this is the ceremony for leaving the city in a purposeful way. Along with the coca crop they grew maize (corn) and potatoes on the irrigated terraces. About 1000 people lived in Machu Picchu at one time. Of all the different parts we visited 3 things stand out to me: the Temple of the Sun orientation to catch the exact rays of the sun on the June 21st solstice, the Intiwatana(Sun Dial) with the crystal surface and placement in alignment to the cardinal points of the hemisphere, and the amazing water channel and movement to bring water to the city + the view, the view, the view! Talk about location!! These people conquered their world without power tools or the wheel using their brains- I am in awe of what they accomplished on the top of this mountain. We climbed to the Hut of the Caretakers to get the best shots of Machu Picchu- your lungs scream for more oxygen up here! What goes up must come down, so we started the long trip back. As we left Machu Picchu the gate attendant stamped our passports with the symbol for Machu Picchu- by far the coolest stamp on my passport! We all slept on the train ride home sunburned and exhausted from the journey with the backpackers who had finished the Incan Trail trek. There was shopping and lunch in Aguas Calientes and then the bus ride back to Cusco for the farewell dinner. We made one more stop on the way home at the native version of a sports bar. We learned a new throwing game and tasted the local corn fermented drink that the Indians love so much- not to my taste, but the explanation and demonstration was so interesting. This place also grows the guinea pigs for special feast days so we got to see how they are raised. There were several local teens and families there playing and talking. As we drove through the Square in Cusco we saw 2 wedding parties out on the square getting pictures in front of the ruins and the cathedral. The brides were in long white dresses- very pretty! I thought it was a strange time to get married and then I realized, "Hey, it's a summer wedding here like our July weddings!" The entertainment and food at the goodbye dinner was exceptional. The native dancers performed with a live Andean Folk Band. We even celebrated a birthday for one of the teachers in the group with a beautiful birthday cake. A perfect ending to a perfect day! There was only one small blemish- Carl could not join me for dinner- Atahualpa's Revenge was long in coming! TeeHee!

The Sacred Valley in Peru

I forgot to mention how early we started this day- 4am! Our teacher's group descended to the Sacred Valley and stopped at Awana Kancha of the Andes. This is a native Andean cooperative to preserve the ancient textile arts of the Inca Indians/Quechua (Ket chew ah) people of the Cusco area. The original animals were the Vicuna which were selectively bred and resulted in Alpaca and Llama breeds from the camel family. The Vicuna have very sweet and pretty slender faces and have the highest quality wool. They are a protected animal so the next best wool for products is baby Alpaca. A newborn Alpaca kid had just dropped when we arrived and the mother was licking the baby. This baby had not even taken the first step. The organic dyes used on natural shaved Llama and Alpaca were on display. The wool is spun by spool using fingers only by the Andean Indians. After this short stop to view, pet and shop we arrived at our paired school-Bernardo Tambohuasco School in Pisac in the Sacred Valley. When we arrived so late due to airport delays, the children had been waiting for two hours! This is summer vacation, but quite a crowd showed up to meet us. The school serves 500 students from elementary grades through about age 17. Not too long ago Bill Gates funded 5 computers for the school. The headmaster had the students line up along the center walkway with the girls on one side and the boys on the other. We entered down the middle and stopped to be received by the adults of the school. The principal gave a welcome speech and so did the old and new Home and School/ PTA president. They went to SO MUCH trouble to make us feel appreciated and at home in their school. They took the suitcases full of supplies to unpack for us while we attended a special ceremony by an Incan Priestess. It was a ceremony of blessing on the school, the schools we represent and on all of the traveling teachers. The Incan Priestess started the ritual with a prayer to the Lord God and asked permission to perform the ceremony making many signs of the cross. The native Pervians have an interesting mix of Roman Catholic and ancient Indian beliefs. The Priestess was dressed in beautiful traditional Indian clothing and knelt on the floor to build the gift of offering to Pachu Mama the Mother Earth with coca leaves in sets of 3. Each step of the ceremony was blessed with the sign of the cross and had great symbolism in Indian culture. She made a package/gift of coca leaves and different objects carefully placed in a circular form and then tied in a neat package to burn as an offering to Pachu Mama to invoke blessings and good luck. The priestess had a sweet and beautiful face that showed reverence for both faiths- it was fascinating to watch and listen to the explanation through our interpreter/guides. A side note here: There was a large picture of Pope Benedict in this room directly over the shoulder of the Priestess even though this is a public school! After the blessing ceremony was completed, we were escorted into the room for our PTO lunch of native foods. Roasted Guinea pig, pork, yellow potatoes, Inca corn, salad and tortillas were served family style in a room that also contained their mini-museum. They had on display an Incan mummy and her child, an ancient comb, large metal decorative pin and other interesting artifacts from their location. The local residents watched us eat and made sure we were well served, then they began to eat some of the "party food". There was the craft fair outside the lunch hall that we all supported with purchases of their items for sale. A few children stayed to say goodbye to us before we left the school. This school is not considered especially poor in Peru, however there was 1 toilet for 500 students and the bathroom was in terrible condition. They did have the blessing of 5 computers, but the principal told me he needed 2 more! There is so much more this school needs in this remote location. After the school visit we returned by bus to Cusco for more tours of famous colonial buildings like Cusco Cathedral ( Pizzaro's Cross is here). We saw the Lord of the Earthquake crucifix on a side altar dedicated to the protection of Cusco from earthquakes. The interior was ornate and in three beautiful sections- much larger than one would expect. Some of the stones used in construction came from ancient Inca temples. One interesting twist on Catholic tradition is the dressing of the saint statues for the processions. Families take this on for the year and make beautiful changes of costume for the feast day of the saint. The next stop was the Dominican Convent of Santo Domingo from the 17th century. The architecture is noteworthy because there is an almost Renaissance feel to the courtyard and Inca walls and doorways from a much earlier Indian temple on the site. If you read about the Spanish conquest and Pizzaro's capture and ransom of Atahualpa that ended SO badly with the Inca's murder, the gold ransom came in a large part from Cusco and this building. It took the Spaniards 3 months to melt the gold they found here down into gold bars for transit to Pizzaro. The art treasure was lost forever! Even the adobe parts were gold leaf and overlaid. Tomorrow we get up even EARLIER to go to Machu Picchu! Stay tuned for that adventure!

Cusco-The Navel of the Incan World

What a roller coaster ride it was into the 11,500 ft high Cusco airport surrounded by the Andes Mountains! We swooped down and then it was like pull up, pull up! We had no idea why the landing was aborted but we did finally land in a misty rain with white knuckles. Our guide Ada Romero immediately presented all of us with the Andean Indian Cross necklace to wear on our visits to the sites sacred to her people. This cross is very rich in meaning so I must recap in shortened form: the 3 sides have symbolic meaning with 3 a special number to the Inca; don´t lie, don´t be lazy,don´t steal; there is a section on the God of Peace, God of War and God of Power, the Intelligent God; Learn, Work and Love. The necklace is in stone layers with facets and different colors. Cusco is a UNESCO Heritage site so there is attention paid to preservation. There are 350,000 residents in the city with the economy 40% tourism. Our hotel is right beside the Indian Artisan Market with many little stalls and individual owners working the stalls as a family. The native people here work SO very hard. There is a beautiful Spanish style colonial square, the Plaza de Armas, in Cusco with the Cathedral and the Convent of Santo Domingo, near by is the Justice Palace. There is so much of historic value and interest here I encourage reading on the area. In more than one religious building here we have been introduced to scenes of the Last Supper with Christ and the Apostles as one would expect, but what is interesting in the art is the food on the table. The cuy (guinea pig) is central on a platter on the table with the corn and potatoes of this region. The first place our local Cusco guide took us was Sacsayhuaman(Sax-say-woman) famous for Incan construction on a massive scale. Stones weighing 125 tons are interlocked to form this huge complex overlooking the Sacred Valley. The walls of stone are zigzagged and prominant in the Cusco Center shape that is described as a Puma. This was a fort for 5,000 Incan soldiers. This was the place of ultimate battle between the Incas and the Spanish. Our hotel in Cusco is actually in the Puma´s tail. The stones are limestone and required real engineering skill to move into position. The Incas had no written language, all was oral communication. If you know the famous "Flat Stanley" lower school book for children, this will mean something- Flat Stanley visited here and was held aloft by local school children on a field trip to the ruins to be photographed, VERY CUTE! We drove by an Inca Trail rest stop for the ancient people who traveled the trail. Cusco is on the top 10 list of places to view the night skies. Now let´s talk about human sacrifice. The way I understand it, this was not all that common with the Incas preferring to sacrifice animals. HOWEVER, if things were not going well in their world and they thought they were in trouble with the gods, then human sacrifice did occur. Now to discuss the crops since it is summer here: At this high altitude the only crops grown are potatoes in the colors of the rainbow. These potatoes are somewhat smaller than our potatoes, but we owe our modern french fries to the fact that the natives of this region domesticated the potato. The nights are chilly here even in the summer season. The local guide explained that the Sacred Valley area we will visit later when we go to our school is lower than Cusco and very fertile due to the minerals in the ice melt that comes down out of the Andes. The temperature is fairly constant in the area with the soil a dark pink/red color. Coca leaves are grown here and are responsible for the importance of this region to Incan religious life. We North Americans have such a different view of coca- the commercial drug that ruins lives. That modern product has very little to do with the original leaf form of the plant. Coca was used by the Indians in all the religious services as offerings to the gods. Coca was used as currency for trade and barter. It is steeped in a tea that helps combat the affects of high altitude. The leaves at the breakfast bar at the hotel look like bay leaves. The day ended with a unique supper at a boutique restaurant on a little square in Cusco. The tables were made from old footed bathtubs with flipflops as washers to protect the glass tops placed over the tubs to use as tables. Inside the tubs were lights and live fish! Very cool decor. I am tired now and will close this blog. More adventures to come and the account of the mind boggling Machu Picchu!

Hello from Lima Peru! We arrived last night to hot and humid weather wearing winter clothing. The hotel is the Casa Andina and is VERY nice! They changed the hotel before we arrived due to AC issues. Today we went on a Lima city tour. This is what I learned: There are 8 million people living here with about 45% Indian population. The locals are very pleasant and friendly people who work hard to communicate with visitors. Carl does pretty well with his Spanish, so that is a big plus when ordering food or trying to bargain with shop keepers. Lima means "talkative river" due to Rimac River in the city. Peru is known for gold and silver. The major industries are mining at 62%, fishing and then tourism. Lima has a constant overcast sky due to the cold Humbolt Current off the coast which creates foggy skies. 90% of the Peruvians are Roman Catholic and there are two important saints here-St. Rose of Lima and St. Martin de Porres. I saw two Pre-Incan pyramids today-Huasa Pucllana from 200ad and Huallamarca from 200bc. These were adobe and had been excavated to find remains of bone instruments, cotton fabric used in mummy wraps and even remains of sacrificed people. The Spanish knocked down some of the over 100 pyramids to plant olive trees. There were 12 million Indians when Pizzaro arrived in 1532 to found the city of Lima and conquer the Inca Empire. He ruled for 9 years before the Spaniards killed him. I saw his tomb today in the Cathedral. The Mudajar style of architecture I saw in Spain is part of the colonial building style the Spaniards favored. The San Francisco Church complex is in this style and reminds me of Cordoba Spain. The catacombs under this church are filled with the bones of slaves, Spaniards and Indians stacked and sorted and on view-very close and creepy down there. There are desert plantings in the city and the African Tulip trees have large beautiful flowers. It never rains in Lima! They just get the weird wet fog. Now for the food! The food is different and creative to say the least. Today I ate ceviche (marinated raw sea bass with lime and chili pepper) which was excellent and I do not even LIKE fish! There was a small artichoke stuffed and peppers stuffed too, but the corn was SO different. The kernels are HUGE and taste very good. I drank Inca Cola for lunch and it is like our cream soda. I understand tomorrow I get cuy (guinea pig) for lunch from the Home and School president at the school we are to visit. I will try to get my nerve up for that. Must run to dinner now with the group. I will look for opportunities to post in Cusco and Pisac.

Peru

The Peru pilgrimage begins January 21st in Lima, Peru. One of the major sights in Lima is the San Francisco Monastery. I will visit there and begin my study of St. Francis for the year 2009. It is amazing to think of the influence this holy man had on the world! The Lima Cathedral and Plaza Mayor will be toured too. Next I fly to Cuzco, the capital of the Inca Empire and travel through the Sacred Valley to Pisac. I will visit Bernardo Tambohuasco School to meet the students and teachers and learn more about Peruvian education. It will be a privilege to deliver the school supplies and money gift from my students to this learning community. The next stop will be Machu Picchu for a guided walking tour of the "Sacred City". What a great way to begin 2009!