This was a busy day on a large tour bus that was completely
full with other groups, most of which spoke English but some of which spoke
only Spanish. This meant the tour guide,
Marita, had to say everything twice. The
bus was quite comfortable with a toilet and wifi when there was a connection
(my cell phone worked better with direct connection rather than using the
wifi). Our trek today is 385 kilometers,
so it is set up for long rides with periodic stops. The bus stopped for 30 seconds to pick up this sweet bread that was shared among all the passengers. We declined because everyone was grabbing it and breaking off pieces.
Our first stop was Andahuaylillas. “La Capilla Sixtina de las
Americas, the Sistine Chapel of the Americas
the Church of San Pedro, is located in Andahuaylillas’s quaint central plaza…
The fusion of traditional Incan spirituality and Catholicism makes this gold,
silver and bronze adorned church unique. Constructed by the Jesuits in the 16th
century on the site of a pre-Colombian ceremonial site, the Capillas Sixtina
reflects the heritage of the local people. Biblical oil paintings adorn the
walls, but so do images of the sun, revered by the Incas. The church’s organ,
still played every mass although slightly out of tune, also dates back to the
16th century, making it one of the oldest, and perhaps even the oldest, in the
Western Hemisphere.” It was a quick tour of a very beautiful chapel. In the gift shop, many beautiful things were
for sale – I got Patty some all natural lip balm.
Next, we stopped at Raqchi.
This archeological site had a large temple with equal sides, each of
which had eleven towers – it is also known as the Temple of Wiracocha. As with
many of the sites we have visited, there was much to do with the balance of
life and with placing things so that light would shine through on either the
summer or winter solstice. There was a
wall built along a mountain ridge symbolizing the snake. And there were some 220 perfectly round
buildings – qullqas – most likely used for storing grain and other commodities.
We stopped at a restaurant in Sicuani. There were tables both inside and
outside. As it was a pleasant, sunny
day, we chose an outside table and Jim and Marcie joined us. The restaurant had a nice buffet line and
with a cold Cusqueña, we had a pleasant lunch break before Marita began herding
us back on the bus.
We made only a five minute stop at La Raya – this is the highest
point on the highway, 4,310 meters or 14,172 feet above sea level. I am glad we had taken our altitude sickness
medication.
Our last stop was Pukara, where we visited the Museo Litico
de Pukara. Marita tried to give us
information about the steles and other artifacts, but our group was too large
and noisy to follow her. I split off and
learned about the ceramic toritos or small bulls, for which they are
famous. A pair of them are placed on
roof tops for good luck and fertility.
After our last stop, we continued on through Juliaca towards
Punos. We passed the international
airport where we will fly from on Friday morning. As we drove through town, at one point we
were on a one way street with our very large bus. The street was blocked by construction –
apparently, even if not legal, someone doing construction will have a load of
sand or gravel dumped in the street and on the sidewalk, temporarily blocking
the street while they remove the pile.
They were working hard at removing the pile, but the street was
blocked. After several back and forth
movements, our bus driver managed to turn left onto a side street. This was greeted with great applause and
cheers – until he went one block and turned right. This put us on the parallel street but it was
a one way street in the opposite direction.
For several blocks, there was much horn honking but the bus driver
somehow got us safely back to where the streets joined into a two way road
again.
After that, we continued on to Punos and our first view of
Lago Titikaka or Lake Titicaca. We drove
through town, which caused us to descend from the altiplano or the high plains
where we had been riding. This involved
many more switchbacks and travel through neighborhoods. As with everywhere we had been, there was
what we jokingly referred to as “horn power” – Peruvians seem to believe that
blowing their car horns is a natural part of driving.
We arrived at our hotel for the next two nights, Hacienda
Plaza. This was a very nice hotel right
on the main square or Plaza Mayor.
Neither Patty nor I felt like going out for dinner, so she stayed in the
room and elevated her feet – spending more than ten hours on a bus is not the
best thing for one’s health. I went out
to find a snack and some more water. In
Spain, there are little bodegas on nearly every corner, and they have a variety
of beverages, food and other convenience items.
In Punos, perhaps because we were in the tourist district, I had to walk
several blocks to find a store where I could buy a bag of potato chips, and
then further to another store to get bottles of cold water. As I returned to the hotel, a large religious
procession was coming down the street – this is Holy Week (semana Santa). I barely got across the street to the hotel
before the police closed the street. We
had our snack and crashed early in the evening for a good night’s rest.
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