Journey to Peru
This was a trip that had everything: Climbing up to one of the wonders of the world two miles up in the Andes Mountains, a discovery of spiritual brotherhood in a dusty mountain town, boat rides to islands made of reeds, and, most importantly, another opportunity to share all these experiences with good friends from our parish.
In Peru, the Catholic faith is a blend of the Latin Church brought by, and imposed by, the Spanish Conquistadors, and the ancient native rituals based on reverence for nature. This blended faith is visible in the native influence in the churches, paintings, and rituals of Peruvian Catholics, which is almost everyone. Peru is a very poor third world country, with an annual income of only $200-300 a year outside Lima and the major cities. But the rural people, descendants of the indigenous Peruvian natives, have a quiet dignity about them. They are naturally friendly, and tourism is highly developed, so we enjoyed very comfortable accommodations and four star meals throughout the trip.
After flying into Lima, we travelled to Cuzco, central point for exploring the Sacred Valley of the Andes and the ruins of the Inca Empire. A visit to Ollantoytambo revealed the massive stone fortress and accompanying structures built by the Incas, with the carefully fitted stones and precision architecture. The culture, both ancient and current, is oriented to respect for, and actual worship of, nature and all its cycles. A visit to the Indian market in Pisac demonstrated the high quality of craftsmanship of textiles and other items. Weaving is a natural talent for Peruvians, both for women and men. The scarves, purses and other items were a great shopping event throughout the trip.
Later in the day we visited a brewery/Inca Bar and learned how the native corn beer is made. After a thorough sampling we concluded it was pretty good. We then travelled to the Morales Pottery Studio, and learned how pottery is made in that region from crushed stone through a special process. The resulting pottery is not only beautiful, but virtually indestructible (you can drive nails with it).
The next day we travelled by a vista dome train through the Urubamba valley to Machu Picchu, the Lost City of the Incas. No matter how many times you’ve seen the photographs, to travel up the switchbacks of the mountain and step out onto a cliff and view this magnificent jewel of Inca construction is breathtaking—literally and figuratively. At these high altitudes, we could only climb a short distance up the mountain before becoming completely out of breath. After a couple of minutes, breathing would return to normal and you could go another segment up the mountain. It was very difficult climbing, on broken stone, irregular steps with no handrails or safety features. But, the experience was well worth the stress required to experience this unique city built on the top of a mountain with huge limestones.
We spent a day touring Cuzco and its colonial Plaza de Armas and Cathedrals and shops and restaurants. Cuzco is 11,600 feet above sea level, with brilliant sunlight and clear air. Many in the group got sunburn and dry lips from the thin atmosphere and strong sunlight in mostly cloudless skies.
Throughout the trip, and especially in Cuzco, we were treated to the spectacular, colorful outfits worn by the women of the region. They wear beautifully designed and woven jackets and hats, with skirts with multiple, colorful petticoats. There is a great natural artistic streak in the people, reflected in all phases of life, from clothing to architecture to art and craft work. Combined with the dramatic mountain and valley settings, this trip provided continuous panoramas of form and color.
A highlight was a colorful folklore show in the evening which featured native music and dancing. The costumes of the dancers were spectacular, as was their skill at demonstrating the various Peruvian native dances. At one point at the end of the show, some of our Pilgrims were so taken with the spirit they went up on the stage and joined the performers in the show.
We then set out to travel from Cuzco to Puno, basically a day of uneventful bus travel. But on the way, we happened upon a magical, unplanned experience. In the small, dusty town of Raqchi, we viewed some ruins and then spent time shopping in the village market, where a dozen or so ladies sold crafts. While we were shopping, Msgr. obtained permission to celebrate our daily Mass in the town’s small but beautiful church. As we gathered in the church and Msgr. was preparing for Mass, all the ladies of the craft market shut down their market and suddenly appeared in the back of the church. Msgr. sent out to the bus for more communion hosts. At the offertory, I took up a collection. I noticed our group reached further into their wallets for this collection than usual, and we ended up with a sizable collection. As I took the last offering from our group, I turned to go up the altar, but Msgr. signaled me to turn around. There were all the ladies, desperately poor, with coins in their hands, wanting to add to the collection. They each gave the equivalent of about 40 cents US, but their annual income is only $200, so this was a very big gift by them for the church. We all learned from these wonderful, poor Peruvian ladies about real tithing at that moment. After Mass, the ladies of the village presented Msgr. with gifts for bringing the Mass to their village, and presented me with a gift of pottery because I had taken up the collection. After lots of hugs and pictures, we left with warm memories of Raqchi.
That’s not the end of the story. The next day our tour guide learned that our visit was the big news on the Provincial radio station, and the elders of Raqchi had decided to establish August 26 as an annual celebration of the day the Americans came with a Monsignor to celebrate Mass and take up a collection. You see, they only have Mass three times a year in that village, so Mass is very precious to them.
The next day we boarded excursion boats to visit Lake Titicaca and its remarkable islands. Lake Titicaca is the highest navigable lake in the world and constitutes part of the border with Bolivia. We first visited the floating islands of the Uros Indians. The islands are built entirely of reeds, as are the boats used by the natives. These islands were created 500 years ago to allow the Uros to isolate themselves from the Kollas and the Incas, and the natives still practice the old traditions of fishing, trapping birds and living on lake plants.
We left the Uros islands and travelled to Taquile Island, where we climbed a steep mountain and had an outdoor lunch and were entertained by a native musical group.
We flew back to Lima, where we toured the Cathedral and Plaza De Armas and a beautiful historic convent. That night we had our farewell dinner at the Huaca Pucliana Restaurant, and then enjoyed a production of “Adventures in LlamaLand” by the Pilgrim Players, as well as our ritual initiation of first time pilgrims.
Our last day included viewing a parade that was part of the Festival of Santa Rosa, the patron saint of Peru and a visit to the Archeological Museum of Rafael Larco, which contained a wide variety of artwork from the various indigenous periods of ancient Peru.
As with all journeys in life, we returned to Atlanta having discovered new things about the world around us, about our fellow man, and, most importantly, about ourselves. This is the nature of these “travels with Monsignor”. They are an opportunity for making new friendships and deepening existing ones, an opportunity for a personal retreat, and an opportunity to learn about other cultures. For Dale and I, this was our 14th trip with Msgr. in 12 years, and we treasure the experiences and friendships that have flowed from them.
