Solstice Peru Blog

June 22, Peru Blog

Happy Solstice, Amigos!

It has been almost three months since we arrived in Peru, and it’s been at least a couple of weeks since I’ve updated this blog. We’re still in Pisac. Our friends and Steve’s colleagues, Rachel and Paul and family left yesterday. We have a wonderful time sharing the Peru Experience with them, and we look forward to more adventures with them in the future. We plan to stay around here in Pisac until July 18, with some side trips with my parents, who will arrive in early July. After this, we plan to travel to Arequipa, Colca Canyon and the southern coast of Peru.

School continues to be fabulous for River and Sage. About a week ago, the classes made a huatia: an earthen oven for baking potatoes, the same type of feast we had for Steve’s 40th birthday last month. This is the typical time of the year for huatia, and it was fun: potatoes, cheese, aji (chile) sauce, and salad. Kids, parents and teachers enjoying the beautiful mountain air and eating! River and Sage’s Spanish is improving all the time. It is fun to see Sage muttering words in Spanish when he wakes up in the morning. River has awesome pronunciation and can easily converse and get around town. He particularly loves to go shopping all by himself. Pisac is the sort of small town that is totally safe and River is enjoying becoming more independent and going on errands for the family.

The longer we spend in this area, the more connections we make with interesting people. We have gotten to know Lourdes, the founding teacher and director of the Kusi Kawsay School, and her husband Martin. They are fascinating people with interesting life histories and passions. We really enjoy all of the teachers and volunteers, and are socializing more and more with them. The founding parents of the school are great. There was a group of musician brothers and a couple of other families who got together five years ago, looking for an alternative to the state schools. They wished for a school for their children that would support their values as well as the Andean cosmo-vision. This is how Kusi Kawsay began. They were fortunate to find Lourdes from Lima, a trained Waldorf teacher who was willing to move here and train local teachers in the Waldorf methodology. The result has been fabulous. The current school site is very new. In fact, this is the first year at this new location above Pisac. The buildings and infrastructure is still being constructed. Currently, there are three primary classrooms and a Kindergarten. Construction will soon begin on two more classrooms. We feel very fortunate to be able to contribute to the growth of this new school that offers a wonderful alternative for the families in this area. We are scheming how to come back and spend more time in this area.

Speaking of families in this area, I have to write a little bit about the Taray floods that took place in late February before we arrived in Peru. Taray is the community just outside Pisac. In late February, more than half of the town was swept away by the floods, precipitated by the unusually high rainfall. Several families associated with the school lost their homes and everything they owned in the flood. Now, that I have met these people, I am struck by this tragedy and how they are moving on with their lives. Two of the founding families’ homes were totally destroyed by the flood. The government has yet to promise to help restore the community, and these families are left with the uncertainty of not knowing if they should go back to their properties and re-build, or invest elsewhere. These are the lucky families who have the resources to actually have choices. Some families lost everything they had and have been living in a tent camp just down stream from town. One of the boys in River’s class lost absolutely everything. His family is basically renting a room on the other side of the river. Even more tragic is the little boy in Sage’s class who lost his mother in the flood. She and some other women has gone to clean out the drainage canal, and were swept away by the rising water and drowned!

I am struck by how life can be so beautiful and so violent, not just here but everywhere. We live in a world where bliss and suffering co-exist, and where wisdom alternates with ignorance. Perhaps it is more evident on the surface here than in our corner of the world. I am struck by the strength and fortitude of the people of this area. I feel fortunate here to see another way of living, another way of relating to the planet. Life is much more uncertain here, but that doesn’t stop people from creating beautiful lives. It is possible to enjoy life just as it is.

I want to tell you about one of my favorite people in town: Eduosia, the senora who sells chicken soup on the plaza three days a week. We eat her soup at least twice a week. The soup itself is wonderful: huge chunks of potato, chuno, yucca, carrot and cauliflower, not to mention the chicken (or hen) with fresh herbs and lime. But even more wonderful is Eduosia. She is the rare person who blesses everyone within whom she comes in contact. For each person, she has kind word, a loving look, and the gift of her presence. She is an example of someone who truly embodies compassion and love. She sells her soup to everyone: campesinos, market vendors, tourists, locals - all sorts. I asked her last week how her business is going. Does she sell out? She tells me that she sells out everyday. Her secret is that she sells to everyone. It is the same soup, but at different prices – sliding scale, supposedly according to how big of a piece of chicken is in the soup. You can get her soup for 3,5,7 or 8 soles. But, actually, every bowl of soup is enormous, and everyone gets a second helping (or sometimes even a third!)

We recently took a side trip to the mountain town of Lares 4 days. Lares lies in a mountain valley town about 3 hours from Pisac. To get there, you head down river from Pisac a half hour to the town of Calca. From Calca, we caught a bus to Lares. The one lane dirt road to Lares goes up and up and up the canyon from Calca to a pass of 15,000 feet with incredible views of nevados (snow capped mountain peaks). The land up there high is windswept and lonely, yet there are small stone homesteads the homes of people who have been living there for centuries. I am continually impressed by the hearty folk that can live at such altitudes, with their stone and thatched roofed homes, potato fields and animals. We saw lots of llamas, alpacas, mules and sheep up in that high country. After the pass, the road plunges downward to the deep valley of Lares. Lares itself is a sleepy town. There are a number of wonderful hiking/trekking options from Lares back down to various other towns in the Sacred Valley that we hope to check out one day. Lares is most well known for its aguas termomedicinales (thermal hot springs). There is a well laid out and maintained hot spring complex about a 20 minute walk from town, up the river. Needless to say, we spent much of our time in Lares at the hot springs. There are 5 good size pools of differing temperatures and a warm swimming pool. The steep canyon walls and the rushing stream below make it an incredible spot. There is camping available at the hot springs, so maybe next time, we’ll camp!

Yesterday was the Winter Solstice. It was also the anniversary of the town of Pisac. There were much festivities in the plaza, including a parade with all of the people from the local communities decked out in their beautiful costumes. Today there was a wonderful Solstice Celebration at the school. Friends of the parent association, fellow musicians and dancers from the region of Lake Titicaca, from La Paz, Bolivia and from the Peruvian jungle (Shapibo) came and shared dances and music with the school community. It was so beautiful and heart-warming that I thought my heart was going to burst! Pisac is a very special place! On Thursady, this region celebrates the most famous celebration in Cuzco, Inti Raymi, the Sun Festival which commemorates the ancient Sun ritual of the Incas, held at Winter Solstice. It is supposed to be spectacular, and also very crowded, but we plan to go and partake in the festivities!

Hasta luego!

Annie