Exotic Peru

Dear NWSSA,

I’m listening to Peruvian music and it takes me zooming back 4,500 miles to Exotic Peru. The clock went too quickly, yet I tried to take in each every awesome moment. Images of antiquity and mystery, the faces, and hugs of gentle people, the haunting flute music, bromeliads growing at 10,00 feet, the magnificent clouds over the snow laden Andes, the current art of the children and the mastery of stone work. Ahh, these deep impressions on my soul. Like being transfused with cells of granite, bright colors and the pulse of real life.

Thanksgiving was spent with Alfonso Rodriquez Medina and his three loving sons, at their home and marble factory in Lima. Visiting him in his homeland was unforgettable. If you don’t know Alfonso, he attended Camp B several times. This master craftsman danced while he forged tools. He sang as he carved stone as gifts to the auction.

On this visit, he gave me a lovely 10” marble carving of ‘mother and child.’ Alfonso would like to attend Pilgrim Firs 2018. (Maybe we can arrange a teaching appointment for him. You’ve got to know this fine gentleman.)

Traveling with Dave Webb (NWSSA friend) and his partner Gene, plus meeting new friends in our small group of sixteen, was fun. Being south of the Equator for the first time was a big hit on this trip arranged by Friendly Planet.com/Exotic Peru.

The stone edifices of hundreds of years ago brought up many questions. How were these multi-ton boulders of granite, andesite and basalt moved uphill, precisely carved and installed without mortar? They remain in place, but when earthquakes occur, they “shake, rattle and roll” back into place. I think the Inca people had help from “galactic travelers” who knew stone and tools to create this engineering marvel.

At Machu Picchu, (7th wonder of the world) on November 27, I contemplated Inca life, and their mysterious disappearance, the Spanish invasion/colonization, and the clash/assimilation of cultures. I tried to grasp the tale of their history, but the “tales” are conflicting. I saw remnants of their toils and their obvious loss. How was life for the five hundred people who dwelled there? That night, I “astral projected” back to Machu Picchu, an experience not to forget. (I didn’t climb the Inca Trail, but I saw the crystals in the granite and the green of the grass.)

In closing, I strongly suggest going to Peru. Consult your MD about Rx for high altitude sickness prevention, and enjoy the coca leaves and tea!

Ve A Peru!    

You might want to check out some of these amazing places on the web.

• Larco Herrera Museum, Lima (45,000 Inca ceramic items) and impressive figurative stone collection, and a fine restaurant.
• 15th-century Franciscan Monastery of San Francisco in Lima.
• Cusco, the ancient capital of the Inca Empire.
• Pisac, the ruined mountain city with its marvelously terraced hillsides.
• Ollantaytambo, an Inca site.
• Maras Salt Works
• The iconic Machu Picchu at 8,000 feet
• Chinchero in the Southern Sierras at 12,200 feet.