Of all the recent travels that I have made the past 5 years throughout Latin America, it seemed a bit overdue that I just now made it beyond the Isthmus of Panama and into South America. Having been through 5 of 7 Central American countries I felt like venturing further south into South America wouldn’t surprise me, but fortunately the sites, tastes, smells, and people of Peru and Bolivia were a welcomed and exciting change from life in Guatemala and Central America.
Finally mid-July approached and I was ready to fly south to Lima, Peru and although the destination was much more foreign than locales I vacationed to as a youngster, the excitement reminded me of summer vacations past growing up in the US. Some initial, yet minimal, planning had been done in advance with my contact and good friend in Peru – certainly we’d visit Machu Picchu, Lima, Cusco, and Lake Titicaca, but the finer details and in-between destinations remained unclear, which only made the 2 weeks that lied ahead of me that much more exciting.
After arriving safely and soundly in Lima my friend’s father was kind enough to entertain and host me for the evening as my friend was already on vacation from school and wasted no time in venturing south to Cusco before I had arrived. With Lima bustling with foot traffic and plenty of activity on a Saturday night, my friend’s father and I rode into downtown to see the main squares, cathedral, Presidential Palace, and enjoy a late dinner. Before turning in for the night I was surprised to waltz over so easily to the coast and watch the waves of the Pacific Ocean. A beautiful reminder that despite the bustling metropolis and breezy, chill weather that might have you believe otherwise, Lima is a coastal town right on the Pacific complete with beaches and piers into the ocean.
Downtown Lima Central Plaza
Presedential Palace (Crowds welcoming the new resident sworn in that weekend)
Before I knew it I was catching an early morning flight on Star Peru airlines from Lima to Cusco, an otherwise 20-some grueling hour bus ride through the mountainous terrain of Peru. Although a bit a hazy from a a quick siesta in the airport terminal before boarding my flight, I was sure I’d spotted another tourist in the terminal wearing a plain blue tshirt that bore nothing more than the shape of Michgan’s Upper Peninsula. Serendipitously she made her way to the same gate as I and as we boarded the plane I asked if she was indeed a fellow Michigander. With nothing more than a surprised smile shot back at me to confirm, we bonded over being from the same home state and enjoyed the novelty of running into each other thousands of miles from that home.
After nearly a full day of security checks, browsing the latest Sky Mall gadgets, and self-serving airline meals & drink services I had finally managed to meet up with my friend at the airport in Cusco. We quickly made it into downtown for a quick bite, but the rest from travel was short lived as we soon made our way to the bus terminal for a town 3 hours away called Paucartambo.
Plaza de las Armas, Cusco
Paucartambo is the site for the Virgin del Carmen festival held every 16 of July, or for those of you hip to the Catholic Church celebrations, a celebration for Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Essentially, a celebration for the Virgin Mary. Otherwise a small, rural Peruvian pueblo with nothing much to see, Paucartambo was packed with visitors from all over the country to celebrate the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Parade and float for the Blessed Virgin Mary
We arrived to the small town and a quick walk away from the town center my friend led me a tent where I was told we were to be sleeping that night with a group of friends (surprise!). I ditched my belongings, albeit reluctantly as I worried that leaving my belongings amid a makeshift campsite of hippies seemed risky at best, and made my way into town. The streets, certainly not engineered with the forethought of hosting a crowd one might find at mid-summer Michigan Gun Show or Cabella’s Clearance Sale, were overflowing and prime spots in the center square close to all the action were “reserved.” Not such a crazy idea at first glance, but anyone who has experienced firsthand the general disorganization of Latin America knows this is an idea destined to fail. In countries where punctuality essentially doesn’t exist and where tasks as simple as paying an electricity bill can painstakingly be dragged out into a 5-step run around with your bank, one begins to wonder how well policing a simple seat reservation would go. Answer: Not well.
Parades in Paucartambo
With two cold liters of the local beer, Cusqueña, in hand, we managed to find a small spot on the street curb for a couple of us to post up and watch the parade and festivities as they passed by. While their floats were Lilliputian relative to those carried in the streets of Antigua, Guatemala for the Holy Week celebrations, their costumes and dances more than made up for the floats’ lack of grandeur. Young girls danced in traditional dresses, marching bands trumpeted tunes, and men and boys of all ages ran amuck in the streets dressed in scary and ghoulish costumes, which was reminiscent of a Halloween freight night back home in late October.
Dancers in Paucartambo
As festivities rolled on, we found solace in a local restaurant/bar just off the main square to enjoy the America Cup games, which is the yearly soccer tournament for South American teams. Before I knew it the night grew dark and rather than continue the festivities into the early hours of the morning I opted to sleep in the tent in a shivering slumber as the altitude (for those keeping score at home, Cusco is at 3,400 meters above sea level) began to affect me and I wasn’t feeling so well. Managing to catch a few hours of sleep despite the cold, I was waken up at 1:30 am so that we could catch a 2 am bus further up into the mountains to Tres Cruces for what I was told would be an “amazing sunrise.” Always one to indulge in a phantasmagoric display by Mother Nature herself, I was up for the early morning commute to the mountain top, but unprepared for the cold and altitude sickness, I was left feeling a bit sour about the whole ordeal after I was not rewarded with the most amazing sunrise experience of my life.
Looking back on it, the sunrise was beautiful, but feeling nauseous and chilled to the bone, I found it hard to focus on nature’s beauty. Although the camera doesn’t do it justice, see for yourself. What do you think?
Sunrise at Tres Cruces, above a bed of clouds
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