The first weekend I was in Perú, me and my group went to the Sacred Valley. I was overwhelmed by the amount of green I saw among all of the colorful houses. What overwhelmed me even more is that, in the midst of hundreds of species of potatoes and quinoa, there are people who still live like the ancient Quechua people did. Naturally, they don't live exactly like the ancient people did, but they live as closely to that lifestyle as they can.
Touring the Sacred Valley, we were able to see different ruins from the Quechua people. It was unfathomable to me that people with very little technology could still build these grand structures, most of which were high in the mountains. They went even further, carving faces out of the mountain to line up with the sun during the summer solstice. All of this was so that they could worship the sun.
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Machu Picchu. Wow. What more can I say? We got up bright and early, at about 5:00 am and we rode the bus all the way to Machu Picchu. As the sun rose, we got to look over the valley and I was blown away. The valley was absolutely breathtaking. As we took the tour, we found out that Machu Picchu actually makes a face, with the highest peak making its nose and the lowest making the bottom of its mouth. It is crazy to me how much the land relates so directly to all of their myths. It's like the chicken and the egg. It's hard to tell if the legends were adapted to fit the landscape, or if the imagination was stretched to make the landscape fit with the legends. It was an irreplaceable experience to be thousands of feet up a mountain with all of the rocks and ruins, trails and buildings. I am completely humbled and grateful to have had the opportunity to witness a culture so different from mine.
Parades and parties are no strangers to Cusco. I could have gone out any day this month and gotten a picture of traditional dancing in a parade. This month is the month of Cusco, even though Día Cusco isn't for another couple of days. People here will use any excuse to have a party and they will use any excuse to dance. What I love about Cusco, and what I assume is a characteristic of Peruvians in general, is that people are undeniably proud to come from where they come from. People are proud to be from Cusco! And they're even prouder to teach you and show you. I think the reason people here love tourists so much is because they get to show the world where they come from, little by little, one eager tourist at a time. I want to teach my children to be this proud of who they are one day.
I took a trip to San Pedro Market this week. The amount of spices and goods available was astounding! There were spices along with bags of rice, quinoa, flour, sugar, and much more. There were more goods in this one market than I would need in a lifetime! Next to all of these spices were shelves of raw meat. Cow tongues, hearts, stomachs, and even snouts were all laid out for the shoppers to see and purchase. I don't know how people eat the food purchased there without getting sick! But, they do, which is why meat is still eaten and sold like this. I've come to discover that Americans are spoiled!
At this point, I'm glad that I'm not getting tired of group tours, but this trip was amazing. Today, we took a long bus ride to a village up in the mountains. We were greeted with flower petals and kisses--literally. I felt like royalty, even though we were just coming to learn about dying wool. We began by putting on traditionally clothing of the village. Next, we got to go on a 10 minute hike where we picked our own leaves for the dying process. After we returned, we got to help them make a traditional meal, which was usually reserved for weddings, etc. Then, we learned about some history of their village and ate the food that we cooked. Then, we learned the process of cutting, cleaning, and spinning the alpaca fur. Finally, we learned about the process of dying to make each color. Honestly, with all of the natural dyes available, and with how easy it is to use them, I don't know why we don't use more natural dyes in our clothes. It was so interesting to see how these people live. They live with very little technology and a lot of natural ways of life, and they still live happily. One of the older gentleman is writing a book right now to conserve all of their history and traditions. I'm so grateful I got to visit and experience all of it while I could!
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