Sunday, June 29, 2008

Peru: Cusco- Inti Raymi Festival

Inti Raymi (Solstice Festival-New Year)

Pardon the language, but holy crap! I have never in my life seen so many people!!!! We ate breakfast then walked down to some ruins just off the Plaza de Armas (main square),where we were told the festival begins. We were told to get there at 8, however it didn’t start until after 9:30. We did get a great spot to stand in, right up front. We stood at the edge of the ruins area.. there is a huge stone church, which is resting on top of an Inca ruin. There is a large grassy yard, and we were right on the edge of that. Everyone was quite nice and we talked and mingled a bit. We even met a lady from Phoenix who is a teacher! Talk about it being a small word. Amparo and Laura are both teachers in Flag, so there was a lot to talk about to pass the time.

The show itself was simply amazing. With the beat of drums, flutes piercing the air and chanting, people dressed in the most intricate, colorful and beautiful clothes came out. There must have been several hundred people including warriors, women with offerings of corn, men with sheaths of grain, children, a priestess and a priest. The priest spoke to the crowd and then sang a beautiful song. It was incredibly crowded and the street was packed and blocked off, but very worth seeing.

Then the people started marching towards the square for the second part of the event. We started walking there but it was literally a wall of people. The closer we got, the more cramped it was and we finally decided to stop for coffee and head up the hill to the ruins-Sacauayan (which I’m probably spelling differently each time as I keep forgetting to look it up while I’m on the computer!!) We got a wonderful spiced chicken empanada to munch on, and just enjoyed being out of the sun and the swelling crowds.

Then we decided to brave the walk, and who do we run into, but the woman from Argentina that we met on the hike to Pisac! In a city crowded with at least hundreds of thousands of people, and possibly over a million, we run into her twice in two days! What made it even funnier, is that I commented to Barb that we hadn’t yet seen her. We walked with her and her husband a bit, but she was having trouble breathing and decided to try to find a cab. The walk was very steep and we walked up a really impressive staircase with stones worn smooth from footsteps. I felt like an ant following the progression-- I don’t think we could have changed direction or stopped often if we tried! We climbed and climbed.. it was a 2 km walk up a hill that wasn’t much less steep than Squaw Peak. The sides were lined with vendors selling everything from candy apples, dried beans (which are quite yummy and like a different version of popcorn), weavings, jewelry and (ick!!) grilled cuy (guinea pig) complete with head, tail and claws. If I had even considered trying it, I definitely won’t be!

We got into the ruins area in a swell of people, and somehow found Laura and Amparo who had gone their own way. They had gone to the top of the hill, but it was SO crowded with people that they changed their mind and decided to leave. There was some seating set up for paying customers, though we figured tickets were long gone. We all decided to head out and it took quite a while to make it down the hill given the crush of the crowd going the other way. Somehow we did make it and managed to stay together. I’m actually watching the festival show on tv as I type this, and it’s much more pleasant. The costumes, dancing and chanting is really beautiful.. I’m not sure the pictures will do it justice, but I did my best! Took a bunch of videos too but had to stop to make sure I have enough room on my memory stick for Macchu Picchu!! We must have passed ten thousand people coming down that hill, and would have been packed like sardines (hot, sweaty sardines) had we stayed! On the way back I noticed people selling chi cha in large jugs (oh, the American health system would have a field day with what they do here!). Given that it was very unlikely that it was purified water, and it looked rather disgusting roasting in the sun, we passed!

We ducked into a cute little place for a snack and headed back to our hotel. We’re all exhausted from the sun, heat and braving the crowds! I truly have never seen so many people in my life!

Forgot to mention the flag of Cusco is a rainbow! They are everywhere, which strikes me as funny given the significance of the rainbow in the US.

Heading out to MP tomorrow morning on a 6 am train. It was our only option but given the craziness of today, I suspect we’ll all be early to bed tonight anyways. Thankfully we’re coming back here and can just check out suitcases. We’ll just bring small packs with a change of clothes for the trip. I’m so very excited!!! Not sure if we’ll find, or have time, to email from there, so it will likely be when we’re back in Cusco. I’m glad we picked up hiking poles as I figure we’ll need them!!!

Sam

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