Inti Raymi

Inti Raymi is the Quechua name for Festival of the Sun. It is supposed to be held every year on the 21st of June which is the Winter Solstice. However, for reasons which have escaped the memory of my aging brain, it was moved to the 24th of June and has been held on this date for a long time.

Personally, Inti Raymi was the reason I chose to come to Cusco at this time.... apart of course from my medical elective... ahem. Unfortunately, as is often the case, when you have high expectations of something, it usually disappoints. The festival of Corpus Christi was much more exciting, entertaining and colourful than Inti Raymi. Nevertheless, Inti Raymi is an important event to the Quechua people and is equivalent to the passing of a new year for them.

The festival is held with much pomp and drama and aims to re-enact the annual process of sun worship which the Incas so faithfully carried out.

Inti Raymi was held on the day after we got back from Macchu Picchu and despite my best efforts at trying to get to the city centre in time for the festival, I missed a good chunk of the start of it. Nevertheless, there were throngs of people in the plaza and through some stroke of luck, I managed to squeeze my way in and get a good view of the proceedings.

The festival is held in 3 parts of Cusco. The entire cast of performers/actors proceeds from one location to the next and at each site, performs a series of rituals. Plaza Santo Domingo, Plaza de Armas and Sacsayhuaman are the 3 locations for the festival.


Worshipping the Sun in La Plaza de Armas.


The King (Inka Pachacutec) and his loyal subjects.


The King on his throne which he got carried around in.

There is a lot of chanting and turning to the Sun and bowing and then turning to the King and bowing but really, the most interesting part of the whole event is when they sacrifice a live llama to the Sun. They then remove the heart, lungs and trachea and pretend to read the signs in the entrails. Cool!


The Inka Imperial Army.


Bowing before the llama sacrifice at Sacsayhuaman.

I was way high up in the hills as they were charging US$90 for a seat near the action. Absolutely ridiculous! After a while, a couple of Cusqueños in the front stood up to get a better view and got promptly booed at by the crowd which hurled rubbish and full bottles of ?water at them!

Salkantay trek (Day 5)

We got up at 4am on Day 5 and had to rush to the bus station to catch the bus that went up to Macchu Picchu. There is a crazy rush in the morning because there is a section called Wayna Picchu in the site that only allows 400 people a day through. I think this is because Wayna Picchu is located at the top of a granite peak and numbers need to be restricted as there is absolutely no room for more than 30 people at the top. This rule was only introduced about a year and a half ago. So, with 2000 people passing through the site´s entrance each day, there is an early morning frenzy to get these 400 tickets. Well, we made it. Ingrid got ticket number 342 and I got 343 :)


Ingrid Crawford aka Spiderwoman. Clambering over rocks at Wayna Picchu.

We were completely surrounded in cloud for most of the time, hence the grey pictures. The two people at the top of the photo are Martej and Maria Luisa. They were the couple who came with us on the trek.


Inca house at Wayna Picchu, completely shrouded in cloud.


The Inka bridge.

There are many routes to enter Macchu Picchu. The Inka bridge is the back entrance to Macchu Picchu and is currently undergoing reinforcement and some degree of rebuilding. The sign reads, ¨Do not pass¨ as the bridge sits under an overhang of granite rock and drops off about 800 metres down the cliff. It is built on a natural rock ledge that sticks out from the cliff face and probably had cost hundreds of Incan lives to build.


Macchu Picchu on a grey, overcast day. Still absolutely stunning and with the Seven Wonders of the World recently reselected, Macchu Picchu has made it as one of them.


Madness at the train station at Ollantaytambo.

After a full day walking the archeological site, we hopped on a train and headed back to Cusco. The train took us to Ollantaytambo where it was absolute typical South American chaos. Bus conductors were yelling names of tourists and tourists were trying to find the right buses that would take them home. I met 2 Israeli girls the next day who said that their bus was late and they had to wait about an hour or so after being on the trail for 4 days before they could be on their way home. They did not reach their hostel till midnight. South American time eh?

At any rate, at least there were no strikes and road blocks along the way and we got to Cusco without any further incident.

Salkantay trek (Day 4)

After the decent rest at Santa Theresa, for some strange reason, our little group of 4 tourists and 1 guide got whittled down to 2 tourists and 1 guide. The couple who were travelling with us got hit by gastroenteritis and decided to take the easy route (via bus) to Hidroelectrica where we would catch a train to Aguas Calientes (the village at the foot of Macchu Picchu).

So, Ingrid and I hiked up a ridgeline with our guide and then descended on the other side. 3 hours up and 3 hours down. From there, we arrived in Hidroelectrica and caught the train to Aguas Calientes where we prepared to get up at 4 am in the morning to head up to Macchu Picchu.


Coffee plant with ready to pick coffee beans.

We hiked through numerous coffee plantations on the way up to Ahobamba pass, all part of the Cocla brand which produces organic Peruvian coffee.


The way down from Ahobamba pass, the ridge we had to cross.


The three musketeers with Macchu Picchu in the background. This is the view from Yaktapata, which used to be a resting point for Chaskis (messengers) from and to Macchu Picchu.



The train from Hidroelectrica to Aguas Calientes.


Enjoying a cold Baileys in Aguas Calientes after 4 days on the trail..... yum!

Salkantay trek (Day 3)

We spent most of Day 3 descending through sub-tropical rainforest and eventually ended up at a tiny place called La Playa (The Beach). La Playa is nothing like the beach and instead, is a small town with a collection of restaurants. It serves as a hub to ferry tourists coming off the Salkantay trek to another small town called Santa Theresa where there are gorgeous hot pools to soak in after a 3 day walk.


Campsite 2 at Ccolcapampa.


Descending through the bush after a walk in the mountains.


Local mode of transport from La Playa to Santa Theresa.


Kev getting more attention at La Playa.

Ingrid eventually convinced the little girl to have the tourniquet strapped around her with Kev attached to it. She then proceeded to parade around the village with Kev strapped to her for the next hour or so.


A local monkey eating a Granadilla..... it tastes amazing (the Granadilla, of course)

Salkantay trek (Day 2)

El dia Kev sentó bien una leyenda (The day Kev became a legend.....)

Jose and Rosa preparing our dinner on Day 1. He is the most amazing cook and churns out fantastic three course meals in the most trying of environments.

Huamantay. View from our first campsite at 3800m.


Horsemen taking their caballos (horses) back to their farms. These are beautiful hardy mountain horses. We also saw two gorgeous wild white horses along the way but putting the pictures up here will not do them justice.

A little bit of feline company at one of our rest stops.

Kev meets local lady at Ccolcapampa, campsite 2.

She waved to us as we walked past and when Ingrid passed, she called out and wanted to know what that was hanging off Ingrid´s backpack. She was absolutely fascinated by Kev and cracked a toothless grin when we squeezed Kev and he made the Kiwi call. She wanted to know how much we wanted for Kev :)

Salkantay trek (Day 1)

I would love to sit down and describe to you the sights, sounds and smells of walking a four day trail that takes you through some of the most breath-taking scenery in the Andes down to the fringe of the tropical jungle. Unfortunately, at the moment, it is still a jumbled mess in my head and I do not know where or how to start describing the experience.

So, after some discussion with Ingrid, we have decided to put some pictures up first and maybe put some words to the pictures at a later date.

A short introduction.

Salkantay trek is named after the mountain that the trek passes on the first day. Salkantay is the Quechua name for the mountain and translated into English, it means Savage Mountain. To date, only one attempt has been made to scale the mountain which failed and its peak is still untouched by Man. Salkantay to the Incas was a special mountain and for that reason, they called it Apu Salkantay, ´Apu´ meaning god/sacred one.

Kev´s mode of transport.... attached via a tourniquet round his neck to Ingrid´s backpack.

Ascent to Salkantay pass. We had 3 mules and 1 horse help carry our gear like tents, cooking equipment etc. We had 1 cook, 1 guide, and 2 assistants for the trek.

Lunch stop, just before we reached the top of the Pass.


Salkantay pass, 4600m. Salkantay is in the background.

Our guide, Edwin Huaman Puma. Descending Salkantay pass on the other side.

Arequipa to Cusco

Ingrid wrote:

Back to the Arequipa bus station: a slightly (and I mean slightly) more organised version of the Cusco station, for a bit of a wait before the 8.30pm eleven hour bus trip back to Cusco. I finally almost slept! Until 4am...the bus stopped again, and all was very quiet for about an hour...I dozed during this time, mindful that a repeat of Thursday night was highly likely. Only this time, it was even more impressive!!! We were barged in upon by another man speaking in rapid spanish, this time saying the only was we would get through to Cusco was by getting off now, taking all our luggage and walking 2 hours to the other side of the road block! This strike was a continuation of the giant saga regarding privatisation of the country´s water supply (again, laws that were part of the package signed by Alan Garcia as part of the Fair Trade Agreement with the US, and not at all popular). Clearly this is not a viable or affordable option for many of the Peruvian farmers who scrape by as it is, so they have formed very strong protest groups...this one had blocked off a huge part of an entire valley floor, the only route to Cusco from Arequipa, thus affecting many local buses, tour buses and trucks.


Simple road blocks

They had simply covered the road in strips of rocks that were small enough to move but big enough to be inpassable for trucks and buses at intervals along the valley, and there were groups of them sitting (pretty peacefully) at each little farming town, watching us all go by. So...we got off, luckily without too much luggage, as was only a weekend trip, (unlike many of the Russian passengers we were sharing the swanky seats with who had loads, or the Peruvian teenagers in high heeled boots....) and started walking at 5am in the biting cold! Little did we know we would still be walking 3 and a half hours later! We were pleased to have been at altitude for 3 weeks already, as those who hadn´t found it a bit tough going, despite it being mostly flat!


Pasto... what? Where are we?


Locals affected too!

Eventually we came to the end of the roadblocks and a bus came careering towards us and collected as many people as possible to take onwards to Cusco at a charge. We got home around 11am in one piece, if not a little tired, but what an adventure!!!


The end of the blockade.... 3 hours walk from where we got stopped.

Arequipa

Ingrid wrote:

So we arrived in Arequipa about 8.30am on Friday, feeling a bit worse for wear, on limited sleep! We found a hostel and I slept most of the morning. We then wandered around Arequipa...a very different city to Cusco...much bigger, more businessy, less touristy, and generally less going on it seemed, but with beautiful buildings of white sillar stone with real Spanish colonial influence evident. Walked about the town centre, and into the gorgeous cathedral,

Inside the Cathedral

had lunch in a Peruvian vegetarian restaurant that came highly recommended, and was delicioso! I then managed another nap, before going out to explore the city by night.

Arequipa at night

The next morning I explored the Santa Catalina convent...a huge almost enclosed city, probably Arequipa´s biggest attraction. Trev had been last time, so I took myself along and paid for a guided tour, which was worth it, given the sheer size! Very interesting...housed up to 200 nuns in its prime, with around 200 servants....now there are 20 nuns, and no servants! They occupy a small section, and the rest is open to the public. Beautiful cloistered courtyards painted orange and blue, linked by geranium-lined streets, frescos adorning most walls, a huge art gallery etc etc....the pictures won´t do it justice really!

Ingrid´s guide in Santa Catalina, Carmen.

We then went to a traditional Arequipenian restaurant for lunch, via the enormous central market, bustling with people and more fruit, potatoes, fish heads and chicken feet than I ever need to see in my life! Amazingly vibrant though!

Ingrid´s fruit salad at Tradicion Arequipeña

Sat on the roftop of the highest building overlooking the main plaza until sunset, which was gorgeous, sipping fresh guava juice and listening to an Andean band...complete with charanga, panpipes, flute and drums...they were hilarious, and insisted we all wear ponchos up there (got pretty chilly after sunset too!) while they sang and danced around the tables! I bought their album, so will bring the unmistakable Andean sound back to NZ!

Sunset over Arequipa´s Plaza de Armas

The trip to Arequipa

Ingrid wrote:

Our bus left Cusco at 8.30pm on Thursday from the craziest most disorganised bus station ever...people shouting ¨ArequipAreqipArequipa¨, ¨Lima Lima Lima¨etc at high pitch and even higher volume trying to sell bus tickets, the place crowded with food stalls, people everywhere, luggage everywhere, dogs everywhere.... We managed to get on the bus just fine and left Cusco just fine, only to be held up close to midnight. The bus was stationary for an hour or more, so we tried to keep snoozing in the meantime, then I heard all the passengers above us get off (we were downstairs in the fancy sleeper/cama seats). They then got back on. Then a passenger in front of me went outside to have a look, and returned informing us there was a road block, but that was all they could see.

Protesters at the road block

Next thing, a man burst in and told us all to get off the bus in rapid fire spanish, that there was a strike, that we had to pay to get through, then (after a hurried discussion with another man) that we didn´t have to pay, then we were all told to get off so we could walk through the blocked off area! So we did, in the freezing pitch black conditions of a peruvian winter night. It turned out that this was a protest about the violence in the north of Peru...I am not sure how much has filtered through to you in NZ, but there have been ongoing issues with the President here signing a free trade agreement with the US, but subsequently trampling over indigenous peoples´ rights, particularly in the Amazon regions in the north. In the last few weeks, many native jungle people have been killed by police during protests (and a few police killed as well), and there has been a massive public outcry...the general feeling I get is that the people of Peru are very anti Alan Garcia´s actions....in Cusco there have been posters of protest everywhere, and the same in Arequipa along the fence in front of the cathedral in the main square.

Buses and trucks waiting to get through the road block

Anyway, these people, from a little village in the middle of nowhere managed to effectively block the road with stones and burning tyres and would not let any buses or trucks through. While we were parked up, they covered the sides of the buses with painted messages, anti Garcia, pro indigenous rights. After a lengthy discussion with the drivers, they let us walk through the block (at which point many of the Peruvians on the bus joined in with their chanting, clearly having similar sentiments), and they cleared the road so we hopped back on the bus on the other side! They were on the whole peaceful protesters, but very effective!

The fiery blockade

La Fiesta del Corpus Christi... continued

more pictures!

School boys with the Peruvian flag (left) and the Cusco coat of arms (right)

Dancers


More dancers

Pained expressions of the effigy bearers

Old lady in traditional costume

La Fiesta del Corpus Christi

The festival of the Body of Christ is a major celebration in Cusco. It is held on 11 June and is celebrated in a very unique way in Cusco. The festival originates from an old Incan tradition where the people would parade the mummified remains of their ancestors around the main plaza in an attempt to consult with them about the future with respect to their harvests, weather, natural disasters etc. When the Spanish invaded Peru, they were horrified with the display of mummified remains and managed to convince and convert the majority of the population to Catholicism. In the place of mummified remains of ancestors, Peruvians started to parade effigies of their parish saints around the plaza. In most of Peru, the festival has taken a very religious tone and it is a very solemn event in most places. However, Cusco city has still managed to retain the combination of old tradition and new religion and devotees dress in traditional garb and do traditional dances whilst parading these effigies around the main plaza, creating a very festive atmosphere.

Mass in front of the Cathedral

The day starts of with Mass in the main plaza in front of the Cathedral. All the priests from all the parishes attend the mass and on this occasion, there was even a representative from the Vatican. Normal mass is said with all the faithful standing in the sun and lots of school representatives carrying their school flags around the altar. Holy Communion was a rather interesting affair and I was curious as to how one would give communion to the hundreds gathered. I guess it is a similar affair to Mass at St Peter´s Basilica in Vatican City and the priests go out to the crowds and give communion. The faithful slowly move forward to meet the priest and at one point, I was a little concerned when the priest nearest to us indicated that he did not have many hosts left to give. There was a bit of jostling as some tried to get the last few hosts but the priest managed to keep the small crowd calm and deal with it as best as he could.

The float carrying the Body of Christ


The Body of Christ is then paraded in an elaborate chalice carried in a float around the main plaza and then venerated by all present before the Mass is brought to a close.


After all that solemnity, the true excitement then begins. For those who know about the Hindu festival of Thaipusam, watching the devotees carry their patron saints around the plaza almost seems like an act of penance, perhaps it is one. The effigies are huge! On the shoulders of these Peruvian men, the top of the effigies reached the 2nd floor of buildings in the plaza! Each effigy belonged to a different church and each church had effigy-carriers, a band and other supporters following the effigies round the plaza. Some churches also had dancers dressed in traditional clothes. What amazed me was the colour of the costumes that people wore! Peruvians love their colours and their traditional clothes had every colour imaginable in every possible combination. It was just such a visual feast!


One of the many effigies... I am not sure which Saint this is.



Effigy bearers


Boy in traditional clothes

Although Ingrid and I stood and watched for most of the time, we were absolutely exhausted by the end of the day.


June really is an excellent month to be in Cusco because of all these festivals. I had not heard about this particular festival till I got here and absoutely loved every minute of it!