INSANITY. is the only word that even begins to describe the events of the last two days! People everywhere, things going on everywhere...we thought anything in the US was a holiday- really you haven't seen anything.... The festival started yesterday! They love their pre-parties here..so we all got up at 8 AM and went to see the parade at 10 (although we did not know that parade would be going until the early hours of the morning...) we walked around to see many different kinds of peruvian dancers parade through the Av El Sol and up into the square! Their outfits were so colorful and beautful! Unlike any of the other parades we had seen in the city (and yes, we have seen alot...) this one was all older adult dancers which was cool! They took it very seriously and kept in character the whole parade. After watching for a while, we went and got lunch at this amazing cafe resturant in San Blas called Jacks. It was so amazing, really if you ever in Cusco, go there! Its alittle more expensive (like 11 US dollars) but totally worth it. After that amazing lunch we walked around a bit, saw the 12 sided stone- which isn't as great as you would think...but you had to go see it i guess, and headed back to the Plaza for more of the parade! Now, each of the organization in the city was marching in the parade with a different color pancho! Everyone from Tourism Peru to the Hospitals and Clinics marched! I actually saw the nurses from Benepampa holding their sign on Av El Sol. Some of the organizations did a dance of some sort and others just walked! But really, this parade was never ending.... We went out later after dinner to check out the scene and IT WAS STILL GOING. on and on and on... we all figured by 10 it looked more like a mosh pit instead of a parade. Their were street venders set up with everything you could want from a kabob with a potato, chocolate bars, milk, some other unrecognizable drinks, soups, chicken, really anything! As much as the craziness was a blast, we did actually have a not so fun part of being in Cusco during a festival time.. As we were walking through the crowds to get to the Plaza, the girls that were up ahead of me GOT SPIT ON from one of the balconies above! As we were freakin out because that is so gross, women came up to us and started pointing at where it was.. however, we were still with friends so we had to hurry and pushed through the crowds! it was so gross and was in 2 of the girls hair and one of their face! When we finally met up with our friends, they told us that the same thing happened to them and that they were trying to rob us! Thank goodness, none of us had anything in our pockets and moved away so quickly, but all of our jacket pockets were unzipped. it was crazy and so lucky that one of us had been robbed! When we were talked to locals latter, they were saying that alot of people come into town from around the area to try and rob tourists...close call, and i mean its not like i had anything on me except 20 soles (7 american dollars).... As we were walking home that night, the party was STILL GOING. people in bright red panchos everywhere, it was like it was still 4 PM when actually it was midnight. Kids were still up hanging around the city and i dont think anyone was planning on going to bed soon! The next day, we again woke up early for the real Inti Raymi celebration! It started at a temple on Av El Sol where they started the procession. There was a man dressed up like Inca who addressed the sun god and there were at least 75 other dancers playing different parts of the old Inca civilization. you will not believe these pictures!! Then they paraded up into the Plaza where the story plot continued and the Inca was carried in! There was something about coca leaves and a priest -- it was all in quecha and i bought a guide, however in the big crowds it was stolen out of my pocket! After the craziness at the plaza, with people getting carried around, lots of dancing, and some singing, the show headed up to Saqsaywama. That is one hike up literately the side of a mountain. We didn't pay the 90 dollars for the ground seats so we were on hillside with the locals. and they were rowdy! there were some issues with people not sitting down in the front and then people next to us throwing stuff at them, everything from waterbottles to banana peels! We stayed for a while to watch some of the show, got super hungry and decided to head home for food. overall, the day was amazing! totally worth the crazy crowds and was totally different than anything culturally i had seen! i will put up pictures soon! they are so amazing with the costumes and colors i dont know how i will pick!
So, today we tried to go Whitewater rafting...but the strikes ruined our plans again!! We made it 2 hours out of the city and one of the many buses of strikers threw a rock at our car...and cracked the windshield! It was kind of scary, but also interesting to see that the strikers that we have had heard about for the last couple of weeks are just normal people that are unhappy with the government. Peru is having a lot of issues with their president right now which sucks for them. We have heard of many issues including privatizing water, and tourism changing laws. But all of the Peruvians that we have talked don't seem that fazed by it....
Yesterday, there was also another parade in the city! Jeez, i didn't think they could have another one!! There were lots of floats and dancers up the middle of the streets! The floats were on cars, and being carried, some even moved! We couldn't figure out what holiday they were actually celebrating..but it was fun! I will put up pictures when I can- some of the floats were just for fun and then others had political significances like some were geared towards amazon conservation and swine flu statements in south america!
On another topic! I talked to my mother tonight and tried to stress the significance of the festival on Wednesday...and failed...
So i figured i will put up some links to explain maybe a little better than i can!! (here ya go mom)
So, I also realized that I haven't updated the blog on my volunteer experience since I changed projects! I now work in a Public Clinic in the city called Belenpampa. It is quite a big clinic with many different departments and lots of volunteers. Its very nice that there are lots of other volunteers around because the employees just treat us like other workers. I spent the week working in the emergency room. This was unlike any emergency room that I had every been to, it 2 little rooms. One of the rooms was for "el ninos" that had very high fevers- but they would just bathe them in water and then rub their body in alcohol. I am not sure what this actually does because its still means that they still are sick no matter what their fever is, but i guess they were just trying to keep it from becoming dangerously high. One of the nursing student that worked in this section told me that a lot of the kids that come in haven't gottan vaccines which means that usually they have meningitis. The other part of the rooms are for topical, and their is only one nurse in charge of this. They did everything from injections to stitches. My first day there, a man came in with a huge gash on this hand. He had to get 7 stitches and holy crap they didnt use the amount of numming stuff that we would in the US. If that had happened in the US, the man would have been screaming murder. But he just quietly cryed as the nurse cleaned up the dead skin and then stitched up this hand. I saw a sheet with the prices from the clinic that the people were charged and in was 20 soles for 20 stitches (in American thats about 7 dollars!) So i mean i guess they cant afford the great tools and drugs. While I worked there, I saw (and was allowed to help) with stitch removals on the head and stomach, putting stitches into the hand, leg and finger, a really crazy dog bite (will write more about that latter), injections for stomach pain, and few other diseases, and I held down a few kids while the doctor injected them in the butt with pencilin. Overall, It was great experience! It was a great way to see medicine in action as well as the problems faced by a 3rd world country when they are trying to keep up with the care needed by their poor public. I changed departements next week, so who knows where I will end up!
So I am really trying to update this blog! It is so hard to keep up with all we do here! Last Sunday, we hiked up the mountain to an Inca ruin called Sacsayhuaman (yes, it is pronounced like "Sexy Women"-- and yes we still giggle when we have to say it, what can i say we are gringos...) It is this HUGE outside temple with these insane rocks on the top of a hill looking over Cusco. We hired a tour guide that spoke great English for a whopping 10 American dollars and she took us around the whole place and explained it all for like a good two hours! Again, this was some crazy rock work by the Incas! There were a bunch of symbols including rainbows, lighting bolts and some other crazy stuff which was really cool to see. We also walked over to where the Incas had towers for the priest to lived and then a watertower (yes a watertower!) and a man-made lake! We also walked through this crazy cave in which they warned us there was no light, and yea there was none. we had to use the camera flashes to see where we were going! Those pictures are wayyy to embarrassing to put up though, sorry.. After we finished out tour, we walked over to the big Christo Blanco on the hill that you can see from anywhere in the city! We were told that it was present from Palestine immigrants during World War II that went home and gave money to the city of Cusco, and Cusco bought this Jesus for the hill. Our tour guide told us that they are unsure if the Palestine immigrants know that thats where there money went because they aren't Christian.... Walking from Sacsayhuaman and Christo Blanco was a just a contrast from the old Inca religion and the Spanish-Influence Christianity that are both intertwinned in the Cuscquenna daily life. It is so interesting how they are able to keep their very old traditions and are still able to celebrate the Christian traditions as well. It is unlike any place I have ever been where they seem to make fun of the Spanish in plays and skits and dances, however, embrass their religion. Another example of this is the festival on the 24th because it is an inca holiday, and they just celebrated Corpis Christi a week ago!
So, it looks like yet again there will be no way to get out of the city this weekend... A few of us were suppose to head out to Puno which is home to a beautiful Lake Titicaca! Our plan was to stay on one of the "floating islands" for Saturday night with a host family without electricity... It is suppose to be completely amazing and the stars are so cool because of no electricity...However, the Peruvians are up in arms about new tourism laws and have no decided to have another bus strike...SUCKS. I am hoping that another weekend later in the trip will become free and we will be able to go then.. Atleast we still have Inti Raymi on the 24th and the hike to Machu Picchu on the 27th!!
Some of the crazy dress they paraded into the square in!
Some Inca Soliders!
Boys in traditional dress waiting to dance in the square
I had too, this was one of the coolest floats ive seen! It depicts the inca doing the first brain surgery, they even have fake blood!
View of the City at the top of the ruins
Christo Blanco on the Hill
The Thunderbolts-- LOOK AT THOSE ROCKS!
Aubrey and I in front of the huge rocks
Sign outside the ruins
View from the Soccer Game!
Cute kids in Costume..
One of the incredible Saints that were carried around the square...
There were 40.. so i couldnt get pictures of them all
More of the beautiful handmade signs carried in the parade