kausay punku and pisac

we just finished a week at a volunteer stay a few miles outside of a town called pisac (which is in the sacred valley of peru). we had a really great restorative week and it was so so nice to get off the tourist tack for a bit.  we were up in the spectacular andes mountains which are frequently marked by the remains of inca terraces.

we stayed at a farm called kausay punku which means 'door' 'life' in quechua (or it may be the other way around 'life' 'door') owned by this wonderful man named arcadio.  he has very progressive views on permaculture, natural building practices, seed saving, tradional medicines etc.   he and todd were two peas in a pod and they would become engrossed in long conversations dreaming about future possibilities for the farm.  arcadio was warm and welcoming and treated us like a part of his family....he told the kids that if they ever come back to peru they will always have a home with him (i hope one of them takes him up on that!)

there were a few other volunteers there as well. a couple from germany, a couple from brasil, and a couple from france (the french man was the spitting image of todd's brother (a 20 something version) so the kids called him uncle danny......his name was raphael).
the little huts were for the volunteers, though we stayed in small room in the adobe house.

there was also a structure for cooking, but no electricity so we made many a dinner by candlelight.  it certainly took todd and i back to our peace corps days of living in rustic conditions by candlelight (and the past 20 yrs did no favors to my ability to see in low light!)

everyday we would do a few hours of work in the morning and then again after lunch.  we did a number of different tasks. we planted, we mixed compost with soil, we harvested seeds, we watered etc.  it felt so good to work with the earth....i hadn't realized how much i missed gardening.  however despite being so far from home i laughed to find myself weeding in july!

sometimes the work was very chill. for example one afternoon we spent making dream catchers for the rooms and lucy also painted a flower on the bathroom wall.  arcadio was fully in support of any efforts to beautify his farm.

the kids with the german couple and a very excited uncle danny (aka raphael)

lucy's bathroom wall art

we also took the opportunity to volunteer at the local secondary school where we taught an english class one morning. 'head, shoulders, knees and toes' was once again a hit!

riley was able to play soccer nearly every day with the boys from the village.  he made some good friends and gave them his soccer ball to keep when we left.

a grass field! not to mention the inca terraces in the backdrop.

we hiked up above our village one afternoon to some inca ruins. generally speaking i am just facinated by the incas and although these pisac ruins are cool i know they will pale in comparison to macchu picchu.

serendipitously we were in pisac for their biggest annual festival for the virgen del carmen (i never really understood the religious significance of this particular virgin). the festival lasted four days and we traveled down to pisac for two of those days.  it was spectacular and like nothing i have ever seen! the first day was the procession. there are all these different costumed and masked groups, each having its historical/cultural significance and its own dance.

the spanish are not depicted in a particularly flattering way.....these guys are the spanish lawyers and judges...with fabulously huge noses!!

this little guy was also representative of the spanish but i can't recall his role...

the groups are all proceeded by these huge glittering banners

i believe this mask represented the chileans....pretty fun mask!

not sure who this mask was representing but he was quite animated!

there were also these guys in ski masks surrounded by lady dancers.....can't recall this group's significance either.

the africans who were brought over by the spanish also had a place in this fiesta

and let's not forget the devils (both the male and female variety)

lastly in the procession (which lasted about 3 hrs and went all through town) there was the virgen herself

the second day each group performed their dance in the center of the plaza. this was fun to watch too, but we all agreed that we enjoyed the parade more. we felt so lucky to have been able to see this very unique celebration!

several of the other volunteers had left and after a week we were also ready to move on.  we ate our last meal by candlelight (which ended up being popcorn and sliced veggies because the village shop had already closed by the time we got home....todd had to laugh because i probably ate popcorn for at least a month (maybe longer!) when i first arrived in the peace corps due to the fact that i didn't know how to cook much of anything and stovetop popcorn was a skill i had mastered in college....felt like the good old days!)

the next morning we said good-bye to arcadio and the farm. the kids said good-bye to the dogs wachita and osito.

we are now slowly making our way up the sacred valley towards macchu picchu which we will see towards the end of the week (so excited!).
hasta luego!