Travel humbly: Visit people and places with reverence and respect for their traditions and ways of life.
What could be wrong when you wake up to the view above? Absolutely nothing. And with a much-anticipated day of hiking in the mountains ahead of us, life in Peru was good.
One of the first things I saw through my condensation-clouded window in the morning was a small herd of llamas grazing on the meager grass.
It wasn't until I was examining my photos back at home that I noticed the yarn decorating the one llama's ears is sewn into its ears. That's just a bit creepy. I wonder if they just sewed it in with a big needle, or punched holes to thread it through. Either way, ouch!
After a full buffet breakfast, we headed out from Salkantay Lodge toward the base of Humantay, the mountain on the left in the top photo. Our destination was a glacial lake at 13,845 feet, approximately a climb of 1,150 feet from the lodge. Silver led the way while Helen brought up the rear with Vicente, our rescue support system.
Silver joked that the horses he led were our 911 system, and Vicente was our 912. If anyone couldn't hike and needed a ride, Vicente and the horses were there. They also carried extra water, a first aid kit, a small oxygen bottle, and who knows what else. Luckily, none of us ever needed their services.
Our route up the valley was never less than astonishing. For a bit, we followed a road along an Inca aqueduct to the "village" of Soraypampa. There might have been half a dozen huts. Those of us who have felt a measure of pride at having survived living in Fairbanks, Alaska in a cabin without running water and with only wood heat haven't done anything in comparison to these folks.
We also hiked by the bright blue and green tents set up for hikers who chose a less luxurious mode of travel than we did. They had to backpack their gear in, and sleep on the ground in these tents. At least they had outhouse tents set up for them. I think we were all grateful to be in our cozy lodge with running water and down comforters.
At the end of the valley we began to climb towards Humantay. The trail was narrow and rough, but not difficult. Except that part where we were climbing up to over 13,000 feet. Did I mention that part already? I won't speak for everyone else, but I was moving slowly and breathing deeply, or at least trying to. I wasn't suffering from any altitude sickness symptoms, but there's no getting past the thin atmosphere. Perhaps I can claim I was just breathless from the incredible beauty around me.
We'd hiked for an hour or so when Silver suddenly stopped and pointed at the sky. Condors. A pair of condors was riding the thermals overhead and blessing our day. Condors, pumas, and serpents make up a sacred trilogy in Incan mythology. Condors are the largest birds on Earth with a wingspan of more than nine feet, and are capable of flying to heights of nearly 20,000 feet. The Inca considered them to be messengers from the Sun, and the ones in charge of carrying the spirits of the dead to the world beyond. One reason they were attributed these powers was that they nest among the craggy cliffs of the highest mountains where tradition says that apus, guardian spirits, live. I was quite thrilled to see these condors, as was everyone else, I'm sure. If you zoom in on the second picture enough (it will probably look pixilated), you can see the ring of white feathers around her neck.
As wonderful as the condors were, the crown jewel of the day was the glacial lake. You couldn't ask for a more stereotypical turquoise gem.
Our special treat for reaching the lake was a blessing ceremony led by Santos, a shaman from the village which is thought to be the most traditionally Incan in modern Peru. Unfortunately, I didn't catch the name of the village. Actually, Santos had been blessing us with his presence all morning. As we huffed and puffed our way up the mountain, he scampered back and forth, from the front of the group to the rear and back again, playing traditional Peruvian music on his flute. How wonderful it was to be hiking through such awe-inspiring terrain and then have my spirits further lifted by lilting notes soaring on the wind. I wanted to bring Santos home with me to pipe me along all my trails.
Before starting the blessing ceremony, Santos passed around hats for us each to wear. Perhaps he thought they'd make us feel more Peruvian. Perhaps he was just hoping we'd buy them later. Personally, I just felt silly, and the hat smelled like dirty animals.
For his ceremony, Santos gave each of us three coca leaves, and asked us (with Silver acting as interpretor) to silently wish for something. I thought hard on finishing my trip safely and with strength. He then took the leaves from each of us in turn, recited a blessing in Quechua which called on a variety of apus, and laid them in a circle on a paper and cloth at his feet. Helen, Silver, and Vicente all joined us in asking for blessings on their families, an indication of the ancient beliefs still held by these modern Catholics.
He then added a variety of other items to the blessing bundle: sugar for the mountains; llama fat; sweets for Pachamama (Mother Earth) because she has a sweet tooth; anise, money, a shell, maize, cookies; thread representing gold and silver; miniature books for wisdom; white clouds of wool for fertility; and much more. Through Silver, Santos explained what each item was and why it was included. When the bundle was complete, he wrapped it in the paper, and then in a handwoven cloth.
After the bundle was securely wrapped, he came to each one of us, tapped us on the head three times with the bundle, and then ran it up and down our bodies while saying a further blessing. Once everyone had been blessed, the bundle was burned to send the blessings and wishes out into the universe. I know I wasn't alone in fearing he was planning to burn that lovely cloth, but he removed it first.
All seriousness taken care of, it was time for a more frivilous challenge. Would anyone be crazy...I mean brave...enough to take a plunge in the lake? Not wanting to show off my Alaskan toughness (yeah, right), I declined. Dee, Brenda, and Emily, however, took the dare and a full-body plunge. They all tried to claim it wasn't as cold as they'd thought it would be, but I think that was just the numbness talking. There were no bergy bits floating in that water, but it can't have been anything but icy.
Dee had carried up a bit of pisco in a soda bottle for those who dared to swim. Pisco is the traditional alcohol, distilled from grapes, for which Peru is known. You can see from their faces what they thought of it.
While a straight shot of pisco might not be the thing to drink, a pisco sour is to die for. I could drink them by the pitcher-full, and then have to crawl home on my lips. After having a chance to rest from our exertions of the day and before dinner, we had a pisco sour-making lesson. I volunteered to be the tutee, and entertained the group by making a shaken pisco sour. It was made from 14 ice cubes, 3 oz. pisco, 1 oz. lime juice, 1 oz. simple sugar, 1/2 oz egg white all added to a drink shaker (martini shaker?). After a vigorous shaking, the liquid is drained into a glass with two ice cubes. Three drops of bitters are added on top. You can also make them by blending the ingredients with the ice cubes for a more dilute drink. I preferred the shaken version.