26 October 2008 South of the Border- Down Peru Way Part III

South of the Border - Down Peru Way - Part III
October 26, 2008

I got up at 5:00 AM on June 23, 2003 and skipped breakfast in order to catch the first bus up the mountain to Machu Picchu. I was not able to skip the bathroom though - time for more Imodium.

Got up to the entrance to the ruins and went to the bathroom once again. There was a bright side to this. Because it was so early the price for entering the bathroom was 1.00 N.S. rather than the 1.50 N.S. for primetime.

I climbed partly towards Inti-Punti (Gate of the Sun). I had climbed all the way to the Gate on my previous trip so I was familiar with the best viewing areas along the way. I set up and prepared to photograph the sunrise over the Temple of the Sun in a very nice flat terrace along the trail. High clouds prevented the sun from casting its shadow at the appointed spot at the Temple of the Sun for the Winter Solstice. The Temple of the Sun was packed with people. I could hear the conch shell horn blowing, and the chanting of the people.

It was magical to watch the sunrise over this mystical historical site. After many years of reading about Machu Picchu and the significance Winter Solstice, I was there to see for myself. As it got brighter, the birds got louder. I took some terrific photos - I hoped and thought. When I finished the roll of film, it took very little effort to rewind the film. It was a problem - the film had not been loaded correctly in the camera. The roll had not been exposed - no pictures! Fortunately the morning was salvaged - I had also been using my new digital camera. Those photos were fine.

Spent the remainder of the morning witnessing a spiritual ceremony conducted by a native shaman at a small site along the trail. He was performing the ceremony along with some Native Americans who were on a spiritual tour. This was an organized tour so that Native American spiritual leaders and shaman could bond with their South American brothers. It was very interesting - a great deal of chanting and symbolism. I had requested permission to photograph but it was not given. I believe I may have shocked the Peruvian shaman because I put away my camera gear, sat on the rocks, and spent the next 1-1/2 hours watching the ceremony. When he completed, the Americans left. He was going to take the sacred packet up to the sacred mountain and leave it there as an offering to the gods. Through pantomime he invited me to accompany him for the trek up the mountain. Unfortunately I was hot and tired so I declined. I regret that decision - it was a unique and special opportunity that I wasted. Perhaps the conclusion of the ceremony was a human sacrafice so I may have made the right decision. (just joking)

When I got back to Cusco, there was a fireworks display. It was great. Fireworks were shot over the main square (Plaza de Armas) from atop the surrounding hillsides.

Sunday 23 June was a gorgeous day - sunny without a cloud in the sky. There I was in Cusco Peru thousands of miles from my home in California and I ended up on a small tour bus with a guy from Martinez (10 miles from my home) and another guy from Sacramento (50 miles from my house) This novelty was not the strangest coincidence of my travels.

After completing my assignment in Algeria, I returned to the United States and started working for a new company in Concord, California. It turned out that one of the women who worked for the company was married to the Algerian who operated the small coffee cart in the lobby of the building. That was not the coincidence. The coincidence was that when I met her husband, we determined that I knew his brother-in-law back in Algeria!

Back in Peru on the bus - we drove to the market in Pisac (Pisaq) which is located in the Sacred Valley of the Incas. This market is a great locaation to photograph native people going about their normal activities -IF you walk past all of the tourist centered booths and stalls. The real market is at the far end - away from the bus parking lot.

I bought an ear of freshly cooked corn on my way back to the bus. The corn had huge kernels and was a little mealy. Even as I am writing this blog I can taste the sweetness of that corn.

There were not as many vegetables in the market as there had been in December. The harvest was just about completed. Sheaves were in the fields. Silage was stored atop raised platforms. I saw many more donkeys, and burros than the last visit. According to our guide, during the dry season the people concentrate on raising animals.

I saw fields being plowed with oxen and an old style plow - single metal blade in a wooden frame. The upturned soil is brilliant red and very rich looking. The people live a very pastoral life. Their life is so closely tied to the land and their animals - unlike ours

After lunch in Urabamba we stopped along the roadat hte "Inka Bar" to sample Chicha (corn beer). At the bar we learned how to drink it by first pouring the initial bit on the floor as an offering to "Pachumama" (Mother Earth or Earth Goddess). Most everyone poured the rest of their corn beer on the floor after their first sip. I drank two glasses the only person to do so.
The beer is made out of partially germinated corn, fermented, boiled and consumed. The leftover mash goes to cuy (guinea pigs) to fatten them up. The native people eat cuy on special occasions kind of like we eat turkey - only more rodent like.

Chicha tastes sour more than anything else. It is around 2% alcohol. When I told the guide that it tastes like corn that someone had partially chewed and spit into a bottle, he was impressed. The partially germinated corn is actually chewed by people to initiate the fermentation process! Thank God for the boiling step of the process!!

I had dinner at my favorite restaurant in Cusco. I had my favorite meal - alpaca - so cute and so tasty.

Every trip is an adventure. To the extent that we allow it, each trip can be a learning experience. I try not to have fear interfere from learning something or preventing a lifelong memory.