Easter Sunday in Ayacucho

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It has been quite a while since I added to this blog- I guess I thought that I hadn’t been doing much. Today is Easter Sunday, and I’m alone in my apartment, thinking of the barbecue that must be going on at home. That’s kind of depressing. I spend a lot of time alone here, and that gets on my nerves. I was thinking of taking a trip to Araquipa one weekend, but I gave up on that idea. It’s about 12 hrs by bus, switching bus lines somewhere in the middle. Then finding a hotel, and the next day finding somebody to take me out to the canyon, because the reason I wanted to go there is to see the Andean Condors. Then another night in a hotel and 12hrs on the buses back. If I had a traveling companion I might attempt it, but it just seems too overwhelming alone.

I have done a couple of neat things around here. Last Saturday my Spanish tutor and I climbed up one of the ridges outside of town. It was about 3 hrs straight up - I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to make it, but I am pretty stubborn. When we got to the top, there were some spectacular views. You could really see how Ayacucho lies in a “bowl” surrounded on all sides by mountains. After we got down we went to a restaurant and had “chicherrone”. If the spelling is off I apologize. That’s kind of a deep fried pork served with maize and a kind of onion/tomato salad. Pretty tasty.

Yesterday, two of my English students took me (by bus, of course) to a town called Quinua. It is where the last battle between Spain and Peru took place, and Peru gained it’s independence. It’s a very picturesque and quaint place, mostly there for tourists. There’s a huge obelisk commemorating the battle. Also, there are quaint winding roads with many handicraft shops. The area is famous for ceramics, because apparently the clay in the soil of the area is high quality. Ceramics don’t really turn me on (just something more to not dust). But there were also vendors of alpaca sweaters, gloves and scarves, hand woven rugs, jewelry, etc. I guess they mine quite a bit of gold in Peru. So I did buy a few things to bring home.

Today it’s very cold- I have a shirt and a wool sweater on and am wrapped in a down sleeping bag. My fingers are still cold though.

Oh, I forgot to tell you about Semana Santa - Easter week. People have poured in from all over the country. Huge tour buses lined the main street, and there were people everywhere. Every night there was a huge pageant, sort of like a night time parade. I went Wednesday night, because it was supposed to be a little earlier, not midnight or one AM. But actually, the rain postponed it a bit, so it was about 11 when I saw it. There’s a big city park/square in the middle of the city. All around it, the walkway, maybe 10 or 12 feet wide was paved with “rugs” of fresh flowers and leaves, depicting different religious themes. Then the floats come out carried on the shoulders of priests, and walk on the “rugs”. Each night, I think, they re-enact what happened on that day of the original Easter week. The night I was there, the float with Mary, and the float with Jesus came around different sides of the park, and met, symbolizing when Mary and Jesus saw each other, and Mary knew Jesus’ fate, but he didn’t. There was a big scene where the tears are wiped from Mary’s face and then they part. There was a band and a choir, all very dramatic. The floats are all lit up, with life sized (or bigger) characters on them. For those of you who know where my photos are posted, I’ll post some pictures so you can see. It’s hard to describe. On Saturday night , there was an all night candlelight vigil, with some kind of celebration/procession at 5 AM. I missed that one!

So now it is over, and back to work tomorrow. My class lasts 2 more weeks, then they take an exam where they have to speak, listen, and write in English. I think they have done well, and we have a good time. I will miss them.

That’s all for now. Take care everybody, tienen cuidad
Love, Kathy

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