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Andean Journey Notes
The
"lost city of the Incas" meticulously constructed
temples are high in the Peruvian Andes on Machu Picchu,
or Old Male Mountain. The city is known worldwide
by that name. It stair steps terraces under the towering
peak of Waynupicchu, (Young Feminine Mountain.) and
is the most visited site in South America. Built around
1475 AD, during the glory days of the Inca Empire,
it's encircled by spectacular mountain spires. Since
its "discovery" by explorer Hiram Bingham almost a
century ago, people have marveled at the precise seismic
architecture, and pondered it's original purpose.
Current theory - it was a University where the elite
studied astronomy, nature and ceremonies. Sun worship
and ceremonies continue on site to this day. People
pack the place June 24th for the Inti Raymi or Winter
solstice ceremony. I didn't make that event, but on
August 8th, midway through the visual feast that is
any Andean journey; I posed for a Health Habitravel's
group photo against the famous Waynupicchu backdrop.
Lightly buzzed from coca leaves, (hotels and locals
handout leaves and tea to combat soroche or altitude
sickness), our group aced a long uphill hike to the
Gate of the Sun. 
We
marveled when our cell phone calls from there to Los
Angeles worked. We lunched on smoked salmon sandwiches
and cappuccinos at the Machu Picchu Sanctuary Lodge,
where rooms top out at $626 a night. We stayed off
site by the Urumbamba River in Aquas Caliente. This
town used to be just a train stop with a couple of
bare-minimum hostels. Now hotels offer private baths
and guarantee hot showers. Caf®s lining cobblestone
streets serve the South American specialty, guinea
pig - a delicacy none of us deigned to try, as well
as burgers and pizzas. Quechua Porters, directly descended
from Incas; fresh off four-day Inca trail treks, relax
outside Internet cafes, wearing traditional hand woven
ponchos and peaked alpaca caps. Modern conveniences
are fast colliding with ancient life ways all over
Peru, especially at top "sacred" attraction, Machu
Picchu. Don't get me wrong. Machu Picchu is a wonder
to see, but what got under my skin and into my heart,
and made me want to explore more of South American
were simpler, subtler experiences. Like a pair of
trail worn sandals left by a shaman outside a yoga
studio door; a new found Bolivian friend asking woman-to-woman
advice while a La Paz boy, covered head to toe in
black, only his eyes visible through a ski mask, shined
her shoes. She explained the boy wore this Ninja-like
outfit to "disappear" himself because he was ashamed
to be so poor he had to shine shoes, and the night
the group literally had our breath taken away when
we saw the Milky Way more clearly than we'd ever seen
it before, and all the discoveries we made of the
land and the people that follow:
August is New Year in the Andes. Everyone celebrates
Pachamama's (Mother Earth) birthday to ensure a successful
first planting. This made for colorful events throughout
our two-week journey. July 31 at Willka T'ika, the
retreat center in the Sacred Valley which became our
home away from home, we walked the energizing spiral
garden under the blue moon; that rare second full
moon in any month. That was the start of daily soul
energizing activities. Even though there were tiring
days because we were coping with the high altitude
and were often on the go, rejuvenating opportunities
were ever present. Benito, a Quechua healer/shaman,
trekked 3 days, in the sandals I mentioned, from his
highland village to the valley to read our coca leaves
and lead a healing ceremony. Two Israeli couples and
a South African woman staying at the center joined
our group for this ancient ritual. Despite language
barriers we all shared wine and laughs with Benito
by a warm fire. Fireplaces, Alpaca blankets, and Willka
T'ika's soothing take to bed hot water bottles comforted
us on crisp winter nights. August 1st we visited the
concentric Circles of Moray, enigmatic ruins presumed
to be Incan agricultural testing grounds. Pickup the
September Conde Naste Traveler and read "Bicycle Diaries,"
titled after the soon-to-be-released film about Che
Guevara's 1952 South American journey. It's a great
read, and there are excellent shots of little known
Moray. Usually Moray's quiet, but locals were there
en mass that day, transforming it into an amphitheater.
Andean music (pan flutes, drums, strings) underscored
a pageant of vibrantly costumed, constantly running
warriors, and thick-braided handmaidens, who bore
gifts for high priests and the Inca King. This reenactment
of a gathering of tribes that could have occurred
in 1500 AD, when roads interconnected the far corners
of the vast Inca world, gave a glimpse of that mighty
empire, so quickly eradicated by the Spanish conquest,
led by Francisco Pizarro in the early 1530's. Its
mind boggling to realize how swiftly the infrastructure
of the empire collapsed, but the Inca legacy survived.
Quechua, the Incan language, as well as Inca dress
and ancient rituals, thrive in present day Peru. The
first stop on our trip was Cuzco, the ancient Inca
capitol that was the "navel" of their Universe. We
crowded with others into a Spanish Colonial cathedral
that was built on top of a sacred Sun temple. Here
was stone cold proof that Spain's attempt to convert
South American natives to Catholicism had created
a hybrid religion. Later that week we visited a remote
highland school where the Quechua kids wore traditional
clothes, with an occasional coveted American baseball
cap as crowning glory. They sang us a Quechuan song,
peppered with "Jesus" and "Amen." They live in subsistence
level villages where shamans like Benito teach them
to respect the Apus - the powerful spirits of the
mountains surrounding them, but they also pray to
Jesus. They believe spirit energy inhabits everything
in the Universe. Through ancient chants and rituals
they commune with the Apus and Pachamama, and aspire
to live harmoniously in the three realms of existence
that define Andean spiritual belief. The Chakana,
or Andean cross, symbolizes these three realms. With
3 steps up and 3 steps down, it resembles a Mayan
step pyramid with mirror image underneath. On top
is the spiritual world "hanang pacha" where the Condor
soars, the actual world, "kay pacha" ruled by Pachamama,
where the Puma stalks occupies the middle step, and
the unseen world of darkness "uju pacha" ruled by
the serpent rests at the bottom. We saw the Chakana
everywhere, in weavings, jewelry, ceramics and architecture.
There were also many representations of serpents.
No matter how hard the Spaniards tried to convince
the natives that the serpent is Satan incarnate, the
natives never let go their belief that the serpent
is a magical creature, capable of slipping between
the unseen and the real worlds. Andeans do not believe
in Hell, and to the Inca their mummified ancestors
were not dead but in another state of being. On special
occasions they brought the mummies of Inca royalty
out of temples to feast with them. Perhaps that's
why the Catholic concept of the resurrection was acceptable,
and why crosses and representations of Jesus and the
Madonna, specifically the crossbreed icon, the Black
Madonna, merged easily with their own spirituality.
We came across more of this religious duality in Bolivia,
where our hands on sacred experiences increased.
Bolivia's
13,000-15,000 foot altitude Altiplano, a windswept
plain rimmed by the distant Andes, is home to Lake
Titicaca. Sacred to all native South Americans, Titicaca
is the highest fresh water lake in the world. The
Titicaca region was the center of two thriving civilizations,
the Tiawanaku and the Wari. Today most of Bolivia's
native Aymara, who descended from Tiawanakans, live
a marginal existence, while westernized Bolvians crowd
La Paz and a few other cities, seeking prosperity
and modern conveniences. Our guide Rosemarie, a beautiful
blend of Aymara and Spanish blood, immediately treated
us like family, and infused our last days in the Andes
with heartfelt spirit. When I launched Health Habitravels
I wanted to expose travelers to the history, customs,
and cultures of visited countries. Yes, we'd be safe
and comfortable, but we'd strive for a full travel
experience, not an insulated resort vacation. Right
away Bolivia lived up to that goal, and was a sensory
feast. A 3-hour drive full of contrasts from El Alto,
the impoverished ghetto above La Paz where 800,000
Aymara barely scratch out an existence, through barren
stretches of opened plains and one family farms, reminiscent
of Southwest USA's reservations, along the shores
of the awesome dark blue expanse of Lake Titicaca,
landed us at the waterfront of postcard worthy Copacabana.
The streets were unusually crowded because of festivals
celebrating Pachamama Day and also Bolivian Independence
Day. People traded, cooked and feasted in the streets.
Priests blessed vehicles by the lake and outside the
brilliant white Cathedral. Inside many attended mass,
placing flowers on the Black Madonna's altar. This
New World Mother Mary, dark complexioned, gilded gold,
her skirts flowing over a crescent moon base, symbolizing
the female/lunar affiliation, is adored throughout
Latin America. Look around Bolivia and you see her
personified in the women, with their too small Boler
hats tipped to the side, and soft feminine bodies
enveloped in elaborate shawls and layered skirts that
lap just above dainty slippers. But the softness stops
there. Hardened, tawny faces show the reality of a
life lived close to the land. The next day Rosemarie
taught us an Aymara handshake that speaks volumes
about the stark give and take life on the Altiplano.
Right palm up, left palm down, hands crossed at the
wrist, clasp another's hands and shake. This seals
the deal that when circumstances demand, which they
often do, you'll be there for each other. The Incas,
who claimed direct lineage to the Tiawanakans, governed
similarly through what they called "mita:" Imperial
powers provided for daily needs in exchange for obligatory
labor, a blend of Oligarchy and Communism. The Inca
copied the ruins at Tiawanaka, a spirit and commerce
center that thrived on the Altiplano from 600-1000
AD. It's an amazing site to visit. Digs are ongoing,
with temples and monoliths being unearthed all the
time. Fascinating expressive faces decorate the inner
walls of one of the main structures, Kalasasaya. Alan
L, Kolata, Ph.D. believes these to be portraits of
Tiawanaka's rulers. Whoever they are, they're extremely
emotive and diverse. The Tiawanakans were a complex
people. They tapped into Lake Titicaca and engineered
sophisticated irrigation systems, optimizing crop
cultivation and supporting a population of 20,000.
They worshipped one creator, Viracocha, and believed
he brought the world's first man and woman to life
on Lake Titicaca's Island of the Sun. Unlike the Inca's
whose brief hundred year empire was toppled by human
invaders, new technology indicates that a slow, death-dealing,
400-year drought turned the Tiawanakan's fertile territory
into today's unforgiving Altiplano. People abandoned
large centers in favor of subsistence level farms,
and their descendants live the same way to this day.
They also practice the old religion, believing that
to get from Pachamama they must give. They do this
through regular offerings, that combine bits of silver
and gold tinsel, kernels of corn, seeds, flower petals,
splashes of 90 proof alcohols, the blood of guinea
pigs, and their own bodily fluids. Rosemarie has great
faith in the old traditions, and on our excursion
to the Island of the Sun we participated in ceremonies
at ancient sacred sites. At one we gathered round
a large stone platform and framed Rosemarie's alcohol
doused offering of petals and seeds with fresh flowers.
Reverently we asked Pachamama and the Creator to accept
our offering, and we prayed for the well being of
our loved ones and the whole planet. As people have
done since first inhabiting this region thousands
of years ago, we scattered the offering into the lake.
Whatever your spiritual roots are, even if you don't
call yourself a spiritual person, the simple act of
taking a few minutes to pray or meditate in a special
place - be it inside a church or temple or at an ancient
sacred site, provides a chance to listen to your heart
and soul. On our boat ride back to Copacabana Rosemarie
asked us how we "felt" being on the great mother lake,
one of the deepest lakes in the world. I reflected
for a moment and was surprised that what I felt was
protected, perhaps watched over by Pachamama. There,
at mythic place of origin of Andean spirituality,
looking at quixotic shimmer of deep life giving waters
where the unseen world and the actual world seem to
merge, is where I most felt the spirit and heart of
the Andes.
Here are some books and websites to explore:
- VALLEY OF THE SPIRITS, A Journey into the Lost
Realm of the Aymara - Alan J. Kolata
- THE CONQUEST OF THE INCAS - John Hemming
- JOURNEY TO MACHU PICCHU - Carol Cumes (our Willka
T'ika Hostess)
- www.magicaljourney.com:
Carol Cumes and Mark Henning offer authentic journeys
in South America and other parts of the world
