On Monday, Nohemy, Alfredo and I set off for San Salvador to attend the temple of El Senor de Huanca high in the hills. It involved a bus journey through the Sacred Valley as far as Pisac and then we had to cross the bridge and look for a collectivo to take us on to San Salvador. We managed this okay but with three of us crammed in the back, the driver stopped to try and fit someone else in which was impossible. Nohemy really told him off!!!
On arrival in San Salvador we could see loads of people walking up the various hill paths in the direction of the temple. Nohemy said it was a long climb and we must look for another collectivo or bus to take us the last leg of the journey. 14th September is the beginning of this week long fiesta and people come from all over Peru and even other countries to pay homage to El Senor de Huanca. The place was bustling with vendors, the sides of the roads taken up with canvas covered eating places crammed with tables and benches, people cooking like crazy in the open air, canvas topped bars selling beer etc and behind all this we found the plaza where the feria (market) was taking place - I love these markets as you never know what you may find.
It took a while but we eventually found out where we might get transport up the hill. There were tons of transport police at the bottom of this track and all down the main road, mainly keeping order but also making sure no one was profiteering from transporting people up the hill, checking papers of drivers etc. We saw a mini bus coming and Alfredo asked about a lift up and we were told to move up the hill a bit more so the police wouldn´t notice us getting in! We were jolly grateful to get in and even get a seat as it was an incredibly hot day, the sun beating down unmercifully and I knew there was no way I could get up that hill on foot.
The road was only a track, winding back and forth to climb ever upwards and there were vendors selling yet more things lining the track on one or both sides all the way up. Luckily I was able to buy a sunhat through the window of the bus because I was already feeling faint from the heat - it was the hottest day by far since my arrival here.
As we neared the top the track got really congested and eventually the bus driver made us all get out and continue on foot as there was no way he could go any further. The fare was 40p each compared to the normal 10p charged for a similar journey, so that driver was definitely profiteering! However, I would have paid ten times the price rather than walk up.
It took about 25 minutes to climb the last pàrt of the hill, huffing and puffing in that intense heat so that by the time we finally reached the temple and went inside to hear the mass I was almost on the point of collapse. On the last part of the trip up, climbing loads of steps, were multitudes of beggars, knowing that people would be generous in the vicinity of El Senor. The huge temple was filled with thousands of worshippers all standing and listening to the mass. Fortunately on the edges and around columns people were seated and I was lucky enough to find a space to sit down in albeit on a very dusty floor and it took me about 20 minutes to recover from what felt like heat exhaustion. Once I recovered from the climb, I stood up again and managed to join Alfredo and Nohemy for the remainder of the mass standing. Nohemy had told me to make a wish whilst in the temple and that El Senor would grant it.
Once outside we walked around the plaza surrounding the enormous temple and the views were incredible. You will see pictures of the temple and views when I next upload photos in about a week´s time - I want to get to Cusco and get the latest pictures downloaded to CD so that I can get to them on a computer first. I managed to buy a pamphlet telling the story of El Senor de Huanca but unfortunately mislaid it on the long climb back down, otherwise I would have told part of that story in this blog entry. And yes, that was the next shock, finding out there was no transport back down and there was nothing for it but to walk.
Even though downhill on a road that zig zagged down, it took more than an hour to get to the bottom and it was gruelling in that heat. I wanted to sit down on the odd boulder on the roadside but Nohemy and Alfredo were anxious for their lunch and were determined to keep going! When we got closer to the bottom there was a shortcut down a load of very uneven and rocky steps which they veered onto and it really was dodgy going, climbing down them without slipping or falling. Talk about a sigh of relief when we finally hit the bottom!!!
We spent the next 20 minutes trying to agree on what to have for lunch as the choice in the various outlets was incredible. Nohemy fancied guinea pig but didn´t fancy paying 25 soles for a small one. We eventually agreed on roast chicken with spaghelli, souffle stuffed rocoto peppers and potatoes which only cost 7 soles each, along with a 2 litre bottle of coca cola as we were all gasping with thirst after that long hike down. (Even though we had partaken of large glasses of chicha de quinua and hunks of water melon on the way down).
After lunch I wanted to go round the feria (market stalls in the plaza) but they were too exhausted and said they would wait in the food outlet however long it took me. I enjoyed browsing round the stalls and bought some DVDs and CDs - they are so cheap here. I also bought some ceramic dishes for my bird cage, then later realised they were probably too big to get through the openings of the cage, so bought three smaller plastic bowls instead. In those crowded market places you have to keep your hands on your purse at all times as robbers abound, even in such places where people go on pilgrimage.
When I rejoined them our next job was to find a collectivo to take us back to Pisac. This took a long time and we managed to walk up and down and enjoy the ambience in the process. During that day I took quite a lot of photos, the best of which will appear in my flickr photostream next week (accessible from this blog if you look for the photo link installed 3 or 4 weeks ago, but I might add another photo link after this or the next entry). We eventually found a mini bus calling for passengers going to Pisac and boarded it, me in the front, the others in the back - from where I had a good view to take a few more interesting pictures, including one of the lorries in which people travel in far-flung places where there is no other form of transport. The bus was stuck in a traffic jam - both sides of the road were jammed with traffic but the bus continued, turned round, and didn´t properly start the journey until it was completely full of passengers. That is the system here even in bus terminals - there is no timetable - a bus appears and only starts its journey when all the seats are taken and aisle full of standing passengers - and as one bus is leaving another parked nearby takes its place and so on. It works the same way with the collectivos (shared taxis) and people carrier carros.
Getting from San Salvador to Pisac proved to be the easy part. On arrival there we found the queues of people waiting for the bus so enormous that whenever a bus appeared there was a huge surge and no way we could even get anywhere near it. After half an hour there were lorries appearing calling for passengers to Urubamba at 2 soles a head and I was willing to try it just for the sheer experience of it as there was a ladder one could climb up but Nohemy and Alfredo wouldn´t hear of it and I decided not to as well, not wanting to travel like that with a load of strangers, clinging on to the overhead bars or sides for grim death!!!
Eventually about 6 buses later we got on one and Nohemy and Alfredo found seats but I was standing in the aisle - fortunately not for the whole journey which was nearly an hour - after about 15 minutes I was able to sit down when someone got off the bus from the seat right next to where I was standing. Back home I was anxious to get back to my love bird bought in Tupac Amaru market in Cusco on Saturday, having felt guilty leaving him on his own all day. We sat out on the patio for a good hour chatting with the bird in front of us and he seemed contented. There was a slight breeze blowing by then so he got some fresh air. I really must purchase a hen for him so that he has company when I am not there - the next time I get a chance to visit the Tupac Amaru feria I will definitely get one, along with a good supply of seed. More than anything he loves spinach which fortunately we have growing in the garden. I insert a branch of spinach leaves over his cage each morning and he really enjoys tucking in because by evening the cage floor is littered with well pecked spinach leaves. The pear I put in has been ignored so far so I will try cutting it in half tomorrow so that he knows what it tastes like.
The following morning I went to the early 6.30 session of aerobics and by the time I got home I found that what I had wished for from El Senor de Huanca had already been granted, so it really is true that he grants what one wishes for. Some people wish for money and there were vendors selling packs of false money which the people were inserting into glass covered effigies in the temple. Others were making little houses with pebbles on the sides of the hill and this was their way of wishing for a house or home.
I am really pleased with my progress in the gymnasium each morning. I have been going to the weekday hour long session of aerobics for two weeks now and things that were a bit difficult in the beginning are already more than possible to do. We do step aerobics too and sometimes you need to be a ballerina to keep your balance and I get very out of breath trying to keep up with the speed of everything. The girl leading the aerobics and the others are all slim in their leotards and I am there, the ´gordita´ amongst the ´flacas´ but some of the high kicks that were impossible two weeks ago are quite easy to do now, even though I stop for a breather when there about 40 of them at a time. There are two sessions daily from 6.30 to 7.30 am, then again from 8.30 to 9.30 am and I attend whichever is most convenient depending on what else I am doing each day. I prefer to attend the early session wherever possible though. It gets light about 5.30 am so walking to the gym isn´t a problem. There are loads of people about when I leave the house at 6.15 - even the market is bustling already with vendors and people buying. People work long hours here from 7 am or even earlier until at least 7 if not 8 pm at night.
The night before last I went to a birthday party - of one of the waiters in one of the restaurants I go to in order to watch musicians play - his name is Jorge and it was his 27th birthday and he invited musicians, all the other waiters and waitresses and other friends. After work finished at the restaurant a few of us went to a nearby bar and shared about four litres of beer and then around 5.30 pm we set off in three motos to get to his home beyond the market place. Jorge is one of nine brothers and sisters and when we got to the house we were welcomed in warmly by his mother and mother in law and there was andean music playing so I felt very much at home already! It is pretty rare for a foreigner to be invited to such events so I felt quite honoured to be among the guests. Jorge went out and came back with two crates each containing 24 litre bottles of beer and shared them out among us and we were really enjoying ourselves. I danced with several of the musicians, as well as the brothers and sisters of Jorge, the eldest of which was especially welcoming, saying I would always be welcome to visit his house anytime. Later we were all served with a delicious supper of roast chicken with spaghetti and the souffle stuffed rocotos which is a very popular dish here.
Just prior to this one of the other guests was being a bit obnoxious. He took a fancy to me and was so big headed he really thought I would be interested, whereas I was utterly repelled. I was especially mad when he started trying to put down the musician sitting next to me just because he is short, calling him dwarf etc. He yanked me up for a dance and I refused to even look at him but kept looking at Wilber, Jorge´s youngest brother, and the man said ´don´t look at him, look at me´ but I refused to. It got so bad that I eventually felt very uneasy, worrying about getting home after the party as it was already dark and we weren´t in the best part of town. I made Jorge and Wilber promise to take me home when I was ready to go and they both said they would. Fortunately soon after the food was served this obnoxious guy left and after that I was able to relax and enjoy myself as everyone else was so friendly and nice. I danced for hours with lots of people, to both andean and cumbia music which is also popular here, and eventually went home around 1 am, loyally escorted by Wilber, Jorge and a couple of others.
Well that is all for now and I will write again after the weekend when hopefully I will be visiting Cusco, with the photos following later in the week.
