Semana Santa & Paucartambo

La Procession del Señor de los Temblores

The week before Easter is Semana Santa, or "Holy Week," and there were various events that went on throughout the week in commemoration of Jesus's death and resurrection. One of the events that I went to was the procession of the Señor de los Temblores on Monday of Holy Week. During this event, an image of Jesus Christ on the cross makes a 5 hour long procession around the historic district of the town carried by numerous people and escorted by a small group of others.

We arrived at the Plaza de Armas around 4:30pm along with a multitude of other people. This event was not my favorite of all time as it involved a lot of waiting. While the procession left the main cathedral at 2pm that afternoon, it was not scheduled to arrive back at the cathedral at 7pm, at which time the main blessing would take place. We basically had to wait in a very large crowd of people for a very long time to get even a small glimpse of the Christ statue from a distance.

 The image above is of people who were tied outside a church along the route that the procession made. They carried a flower called ñucchu in the baskets to throw onto the procession as it passed. They are tied with ropes due to the fact that people had fallen in previous years while doing the same thing.

I went to the procession with my friend Nicole and her host mom Erika. We actually did have a good time despite all the waiting! As I mentioned before, there were a ton of people and the plaza was more packed than I had ever seen it before.

The Señor de los Temblores finally made it to the cathedral at around 8pm that night, one hour late due to heavy rains that fell earlier during the procession. When he was at the main door of the cathedral, he turned once to the left, once to the right, and once to the center to bless all the people in each direction. Overall it was a good experience and I'm glad that I went to experience this cultural event.

On Thursday of Holy Week, it is tradition to visit 7 different temples in the city of Cusco. I upheld this tradition with my friends Gabi, Nicole, Estefany, and Kalinka as we made the trek throughout the city to visit the different churches. Cusco has a large quantity of beautiful churches in the historic district of town so it did not take too long or require too much walking to make it to all 7 in a few hours. As this tradition is very popular among the Cusco residents, there were quite a few people also visiting each church. Additionally, there were people selling food and drinks in the streets as well as games, toys, and a wide variety of other things. In general, there was a carnival/street-fair sort of feel to it.

Paucartambo

On Friday and Saturday of Holy Week, I had the privilege of joining Norma, the physical therapist from the shelter for disabled children and adults where I am volunteering, to visit a town called Paucartambo with her family. We left on Friday in the late morning to take the bus to the town. The bus trip was quite interesting as the majority of the three hour journey was on a bumpy dirt road that wound its way through the mountains and hills until we arrived in the early afternoon. 

The city itself of Paucartambo has a lot of colonial influence and history. Most of the buildings were painted white on the outside with blue door and it was really charming. It is set in a valley amongst the rolling green hills and mountains with a tranquil river that winds through the town. 

Paucartambo is well known for this beautiful bridge made of solid stone constructed by Carlos III many years ago. The town was exceptionally peaceful and well maintained. 

I visited various statues and sculptures and wandered around throughout the town with Norma and her son, nephew, and husband. We had an enjoyable time exploring all that the little town had to offer. There were various statues of Inkan people as well as dancers that are famous from the festival of the Virgen del Carmen that takes place every June. 

 Paucartambo is well known for the Virgen del Carmen and on Saturday morning the image made a procession throughout the town. On Friday night, we watched artists as they worked to create a carpet of colored sand in beautiful designs in front of the main chapel of Paucartambo. We also went into the church to see the image and I was surprised to see so many people also paying their respects.

From Friday to Sunday morning, there was a band of Paucartambo residents that played non-stop and paraded throughout the streets. I am not sure if they ever stopped to rest or were replaced by other band members at various time but I found it very entertaining whenever they walked by our house. 

One of my favorite aspects about this trip was the fact that it was a purely authentic adventure as opposed to an organized touristic experience. I stayed with the family of my friend in their home. It was a modest home that consisted of just two rectangular rooms, one on the main level and the other directly above it on the second floor. The main floor room consisted of the kitchen corner, a bedroom corner, a bathroom corner (with walls and such, fortunately) and a table in the middle. The floor was concrete and the walls were adobe bricks covered with plaster. The upstairs room had three beds in three of the corners and a table in the middle with a wooden floor.

On Saturday morning, I helped prepare lunch for the day. One of the tasks that I helped with was grinding peanuts in the traditional method using two large, smooth rocks. Apparently this method of grinding gives the food a richer, more natural flavor than using an appliance like a food processor.

We made "tallarin al horno," "pollo al horno," and "papas al horno," which is baked pasta, baked chicken, and baked potatoes. They don't have an oven in their home so we took the food to a community oven to bake. The oven was a massive stone dome heated purely by firewood. There was a variety of many other food items also baking in the oven. It smelled absolutely amazing; the air was thick with the scent of burning firewood and roasting pork, chicken, and potatoes, among others.

One of the things that had cooked in the oven was a large pig cooked whole!

The food turned out delicious and we ate a ton! I had a wonderful adventure and am so grateful that my friend included me in her special family time. I loved getting to know her family and their way of life. It is definitely a different lifestyle than living in the city. It was so fun to have such an authentic experience and to get to participate in a different aspect of the Peruvian culture.

I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving.

Psalm 69:30

The Inka Trail!

I had the wonderful privilege of showing my brother around Cusco for a week when he came to visit me all the way from Colorado! He arrived early on Monday morning and we were able to spend three days enjoying all that Cusco has to offer before setting off to do the Inka Trail!

 We wandered around Cusco and saw many of the amazing sites it has to offer including the Inkan ruins Sacsayhuaman and El Cristo Blanco as well as eating a bunch of tasty Peruvian food! We went to Salsa lessons and then out dancing one night and my friend Nicole tagged along as well.

After enjoying ourselves for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of the week he was here, we prepared ourselves to begin our great adventure...

The Inka Trail!

The Inka Trail connects the city of Cusco to Machu Picchu's sacred citadel and is only a small part and tangential huge network of Inka roads. There were many trails built by Incas in Peru and South America; the extensive trail system of 25 to 30 thousand kilometers linked and connected all roads of the empire to Cusco, the imperial capital and geographical center of the empire. We walked a total of 49 kilometers, reaching a maximum altitude of about 13,780 feet, over the course of the four day trek.

Day #1: A Gentle Beginning

Our journey began early Thursday morning when we were picked up by the tour agency to transport us to the trail head. The whole group was told to be ready by 5am in order to pick picked up between 5 and 5:30am. My brother and I were picked up right on time at 5:15am. However, it was quite comical because the promptness ceased at that point and we didn't have the entire group collected until around 7:30am! Despite the delayed start, the bus ride went smoothly and we arrived at the trail head in no time, even including one stop for breakfast and another to pick up our porters along the way.

After passing the checkpoint at the Inka Trail checkpoint we took off with our group of 10 people and began the first day of our adventure! We crossed a suspension footbridge that spans the Urubamba River and proceeded along a gentle path. Our guide named Rojo described the condition of the first day as "Peruvian flat," meaning that we don't have a significant total gain in altitude but rather gradual hills and slopes to go up and down.

We passed along a ridge overlooking the beautiful Llactapata ruins. The terraces were used by the Inkans as a way to grow crops along the steep inclines of the mountainside while preventing dangerous landslides.

Throughout the journey, we had stunning views of the Peruvian Andes, including the elusive glacier peak called La Veronica, which hid behind the clouds but made a glorious appearance on various occasions.

We were very spoiled on this camping trip for various reasons. We had porters who carried the majority of the heavy items that were needed, including our tent, sleeping bag, mats, food, and cooking supplies. The chef and porters prepared delicious meals for us three times a day and we were all very impressed with the quality of the food, especially considering that we were camping! Additionally, the porters would hike on ahead of us in order to set up the campsite and begin preparing the meals.

Day #2: The Challenge

On the second day, we woke up to rain. It had rained heavily all night and everything outside the tents was drenched. Fortunately, the rains stopped after breakfast so we set off to trudge through the extremely muddy trail to begin the most challenging day of the trek with happy hearts. Unfortunately, the rain did not cease for long. What began as a light drizzle evolved into nearly a downpour rain complete with strong winds and a dropping temperature. 

This was also the hardest day given the distance and the increase in elevation. We all put our heads down and plunged ahead, very anxious to be out of the rain. We climbed a steep ascent until we reach the top of Dead Woman's Pass, from which I am told there are incredibly breath-taking views. Unfortunately, our view from the top consisted of a sheet of solid white clouds and fog, complete with rain and wind. We did not spend too much time enjoying our victory at the top of the climb but rather proceeded to climb down the opposite side of the pass to make it to our campsite for the evening.

 

I was extremely thankful that the rain and wind stopped before we reached the campsite and we were able to rest warm and dry that evening. We slept at an elevation of about 11,800 feet and it definitely was chilly during the night but I slept exceptionally well after a hard day.

Day #3: Unforgettable 

We set off under clear blue skies on the beginning of the third day and hiked for about an hour before we reached the Inkan ruins of Runkuracay, which was a circular structure located high in the mountain side that was used as a lookout point, a resting place, and a storage house for food. The clouds sat low in the valley and moved with astonishing velocity. They crawled in and out of the valley, blocking and revealing the views of the scenery below.

We proceeded to climb uphill until we reached the second main pass of the hike and were blessed with clear blue skies and a spectacular view of the mountains and glaciers that painted the landscape in the distance.

We continued descending as we progressed along our journey until we came to the Inca ruins of Sayacmarca. These ruins are some of my favorites of all those that I have seen. I loved that fact that they weren't swarming with tourists arriving on buses from all ends of the earth. We had to walk for three days to reach them and it felt like I was actually there discovering them for the first time. The perfect scenery and complete tranquility of this place was like no other.

Along our descent from the Peruvian highlands into the jungle landscape, we passed through a tunnel that the Inkans carved out of the rock in the side of the cliff. We passed through the tunnel just as the Inkans did so many years ago and marveled at the technology of their amazing culture.

The trail led us to another beautiful lookout point known as Phuyupatamarca. We stopped and enjoyed the stunning scenery of the valley as the Urubamba river wound its way through the jungle.

The Inka people were fond of declaring that various rock features and mountain configurations resembled creatures like pumas or condors, but most of the time it took a serious stretch of the imagination to make out the forms. However, when our guide pointed out this rock shape and said that it was a guinea pig, everyone immediately saw the resemblance! It actually looks like a guinea pig, complete with ears, eyes, and paws. Pretty cool!

This day was filled with incredible sites as we passed into the jungle. The trail wound along the mountainside as we slowly descended. The moss covered rocks, vines, and dense foliage were incredible.

When we had nearly arrived to our campsite for the night, we decided to extend our day's journey and take a slight side trip to visit the Inkan ruins called Intipata, which was an agricultural area with countless terraces carved into the mountain side for planting crops. We could see the ruins from a distance and they didn't look very big... then we actually arrived and saw that they were massive! The terraces stretched on and on up the steep side of the mountain. We sat and enjoyed watching the sun sink behind the mountains as our day drew to an end.

As we made our way from Intipata to the campsite, the glacier La Veronica made a surprise appearance, highlighted by the last rays of the sun and outlined by the thick cloud that float through the valley.  A beautiful end to the third wonderful day!

Day #4: Machu Picchu

The final day of our trek began very early when we woke up at 3:30 in the morning to make the final trek to Machu Picchu! We passed through the Intipunku, the "Sun Gate," just as the Inkans did so many years ago as they made the same trek from Cusco to the beautiful Inkan citadel hidden in the mountain jungles of Peru.

We passed through the gate early in the morning and were graced with our first stunning view of Machu Picchu! It is never anything less than spectacular!

From left to right: Jenn, Dan, Louisa, Reed, Me, Mark, Giangiacomo, Ahmed, Christian,  and Evy

After enduring horrendous rain on the second day of the trek, we were all very, very thankful to have absolutely perfect weather during our time in Machu Picchu. The sun was shining and the clouds did not hide our view of the citadel. I am thankful that the rains came on the day that they did, instead of ruining the finale of the Inka Trail Trek.

 Our guide Rojo gave us a tour of Machu Picchu. We were all quite tired from the four day trek but still were able to enjoy the wonders and beauties of this amazing place. We also took a small hike to visit the Inka Bridge, which was an amazing engineering  feat that the Inkas were able to accomplish. The trail was carved into the sheer cliff side and was incredibly steep on both sides. The bridge was a couple of wooden slabs that were placed across a gap in the path along the cliff. The purpose of this was to be able to remove the wooden board in order to close the path off if enemies were coming.

After leaving Machu Picchu and arriving to the town of Aguascalientes, we decided to enjoy a relaxing dip in the hot springs from which the town earned its name. We were all slightly shocked at the color of the water when we arrived as it was a gross murky shade of brown. We were told that that is the natural color of the water due to the different minerals that are present in it but no one believed that story for a minute. However, given that we all were already quite dirty from the four days of trekking without showers, we decided to go ahead and plunge in. I will add that we did shower (or better said, rinsed off) before entering the pools. The water was pleasantly warm and was relaxing for our sore muscles after so much hiking. It was a fun end to our adventure.

After four long, tiring, wonderful days filled with challenges, nature, ruins, and adventures we finally returned home on the train from Aguascalientes to Cusco. We were exhausted but definitely enjoyed every minute of the incredible experience. It is something that I will never forget and I am so thankful that I was able to share so many wonderful memories with my brother! 

 "On the glorious splendor of Your Majesty, and on Your wondrous works, I will meditate."

Psalms 145:5