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Published: July 16th 2009
It is a scorching day in Huyro, so I'm taking a break in the internet cafe, where the sun at least doesn't hit. We have the day off from volunteer work and are at the Virgin of Carmen Festival. As seems to be the case more and more with this program (I'm a bit frustrated with this placement, for several reasons, but trying to find the best), we haven't been told a thing about what the festival is or what the history is, so I just researched it a bit... the Virgin of Carmen festival (throughout Perú) is a mix of Spanish Catholicism and Andean traditions, and here involves a big market with street vendors, along with a huge day-long parade with costumed dancers and marching bands that re-enact fights between good and evil. The icon/altar of the Virgin of Carmen is carried along, as well... and apparently, the procession lasts ALL day. Even in this heat.
The week has included a trip up the mountain overlooking this valley to clear some old Inca buildings... and post-mountain, I can conclude that a major theme of this summer has been overcoming fears, namely heights and curvy mountain roads. Heights was largely reduced in the rainforest on the 42-meter canopy platform that swayed in the wind, and mountain roads by riding in combis driving along switchbacking dirt one-lane tracks. Eek. If I was afraid of spiders or cockroaches or snakes or anything similar... the same would be the case.
Regardless, clearing was enjoyable; we hiked up from the road, through brush and cloud forest, to the ruins, and cleared them with machetes for several hours (for the record, tea bushes are impossible to cut down), then hauled huge logs down from the mountain for the maracuya (passionfruit) plantation; it was nice to have some physical work. We passed some local coca plantations on the way down, but none was growing at the moment. Yesterday we drove to a school with the prettiest view (and best place to play soccer, hands-down, because of this) a school can have... an enormous valley with Veroníca, 5600 m or so and glacier-covered, looking down over it. We painted the walls yellow, then stopped at a tea factory on the way back to learn about how they process the raw leaves (they sit for several days, then are ground up, fermented for a few hours along a conveyor belt, cooked in an oven, and ground up, then shipped in huge bags for further processing).
What else.... we've eaten really well this week, with a pork soup (pork fresh by several hours... we saw it alive only shortly before buying it) mixed with chicha (fermented corn beer) and rocoto (local peppers... amazing), and adobe-oven cooked duck and chicken and potato, with rocoto-roasted peanut sauce.
Sorry for the food descriptions... one more... we ate fresh trout as a school benefit (money goes to help the kids get to Machu Picchu), along with potatoes and pop, for the equivalent of $2.50. Incredible.
Anyway, we're off to walk back to Establo before the town gets TOO drunk (Peruvians like any excuse for a fiesta), and hang out there for a bit. More later... off to Cusco for the weekend for some whitewater rafting! Chao!
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tim
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Careful!!!!!!!!!
Great- -make me nervous about you on the roads,whitewater rafting, and drunken incan blonde sacrifices... Sounds like a GREAT weekend-appears you're making the very best of a less formal program than you had anticipated-keep up the independent study....(but be careful...) We're off to vail in 10 days-no single track hiways for us, just I 70. We're flying to Denver-will be a shorter trip of 5 days. Then home 2 days and off to see you. Can't wait. No formal lodging plans yet, but I'm sure we'll take yur advice and just stay in cusco the first day, so you can plan that way. Enough about the food already!!?$?@?$# worse than mom and mel............. High temp today is about 60 degrees- -odd. ?Any pics yet????or still slow internet. Can't wait to see you -and it'll be nice to have you home for a while. Hope you're not too homesick-you're already almost halfway through this half of the experience already. Think of some good things for us to do-although it sounds like just hanging out in the culture isn't all bad. Give us a jingle when you can. We'll try to nail down some dates for travel with you. Love you-DAD