Semana Santa

As hard as it was being away from my family on Easter, experiencing a holiday in another culture was truly something special. Here in Peru, the entire week leading up to Easter starting the Sunday before (Palm Sunday) is an important time. We had school Monday through Wednesday. On Monday, my students took a more standardized test in both communication and math. They then had the rest of the day off while the teachers corrected the multiple choice tests and sent the scores in. As much as I know the students did not enjoy the tests, I’m glad I was able to observe the procedures as I continue to learn more about the education system here. Tuesday was a normal schedule, but the students were starting to get pretty antsy for the long weekend. On Wednesday, a group of students and professors put on an afternoon program for the entire school about Semana Santa. It took us through the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection. It was a beautiful way to send us into the break!

With no school on Thursday or Friday, this past weekend was my one long break while I am here. I took the opportunity to go to Cusco, which is not too far away but still required a plane ride. I took the day on Thursday to pack and get a few more things done around the house before my adventure. I got up early on Friday and headed to the airport with my backpack and purse. I had checked in before hand and I wasn’t checking any bags, so I headed straight to what I thought was the line for security. It was LONG, but I wasn’t in rush. Turns out it was the line to check into a different airline. Once I figured that out, I got through security and to my gate in plenty of time. The short flight took me out of Lima to Cusco, a city that is about 11,000 feet above sea level. At the airport, I was picked up and given my itinerary by the travel agency. I had the rest of the day to explore Cusco. My hotel room was ready early so I checked in and rested for a little while. I didn’t want to waste my time in a hotel room but I also wanted to prevent altitude sickness as much as possible. I tried to stay hydrated and ate some candies that are supposed to help with adjusting to the altitude and I am happy to report that a headache and a smaller appetite was the extent of what I felt. The hotel was a short, scenic walk from the Plaza de Armas. I wandered around the plaza and found a ton of little shops selling souvenirs, jewelry, and things made out of alpaca. Needless to say I bought a few things for myself and my family and friends back home. My only concern was not having room in my backpack to get everything back to Lima. I walked a little farther to Mercado de San Pedro, which was a giant market with booths in and outside. There were similar souvenir stands, but more food, crafts, and even games you could play.

Around 3, I headed back to the main plaza because I had signed up for a workshop at the Choco Museo. The guide book my parents bought me before I left mentioned something about a place where you could learn all about chocolate in Peru, so of course I paid the $25. The workshop consisted of tasting raw cocoa beans, roasting them, grinding them into paste, and then making traditional Incan drinks out of the 100% coca we made as a class (my class included people from the Netherlands, the UK, and the US). We then got to make our own chocolates by putting the melted chocolate in molds and adding flavors. The teacher was interactive and made the class fun. It was also the most English I have heard since I got here. (Yes, that's a picture of a model of Machu Picchu made out of chocolate)

Oh and I almost forgot that the procession for Good Friday went right down the street we were on in the middle of the class. We had a great view from the balcony on the second floor. There was a glass coffin containing Jesus and a statue of Mary being carried around followed by a band and lots of security. I’m really glad I got to experience something so traditional and important to Semana Santa here that’s very different from the US. After the class, I wandered around the museum and store a little while I waited for my chocolates to harden. I grabbed dinner on my way back to the hotel, when I again unexpectedly ran into the Good Friday crowd as the statue of Mary was being put back in the church. I stopped and watched before continuing my walk to the hotel to get some sleep before my early day on Saturday.

My day on Saturday started with a 5:20am pick-up time and a boxed breakfast from the hotel. I got on a small bus with a few other people and we drove the two hours to the Ollantaytambo train station. The station already provided some beautiful scenery being tucked away in the mountains. We only had to wait a few minutes before our train pulled up and our hour and a half journey to Aguas Calientes began. Aguas Calientes is the small town right below Machu Picchu, which I will describe in more detail later since I was able to spend time there after Machu Picchu. From Aguas Calientes, we boarded yet another bus. While it was quite the curvy, bumpy ride, the views were unbelievable. The entrance was fairly crowded, but I suspect that’s often the case for one of the wonders of the world. We had a few minutes to use the bathroom and get situated before entering the park. I took the time to get my passport stamped with a Machu Picchu stamp. It’s a pretty unique souvenir (that was also free!). And we were off to explore the famous Incan ruins. The ruins required A LOT of walking and stairs. And as our tour guide informed us, even though Machu Picchu is at a much lower altitude than Cusco, the humidity makes the hikes just as tiring. My tour guide spoke in Spanish and also let us here some Quechua (which is the most popular native language here in Peru). We started by taking pictures at the two most popular look out points. Our tour guide took our cameras and made sure people got out of the way for our group to get some good pictures. The views definitely did not disappoint and are more incredible than pictures can capture. (I also updated the picture of Machu Picchu on my homepage of the site to one I actually took!)

We continued the tour by getting down into the actual ruins. The tour guide shared a lot of valuable information about the historic site that really made the place feel special and sacred. A few of my favorite parts were how cold the stones were even in the hot sun and astrology aspects of the architecture. Below, you can see a few close up pictures of the stones, reflecting pools they used to study the sun and moon without hurting their eyes, and a stone that pointed to the cardinal directions. Every part of the city has an impressive purpose that I can’t believe such an early civilization was able to accomplish. We saw a few alpacas on the way out, but it was starting to rain so we didn’t stop for long. The line for buses back to Aguas Calientes was one of the longest I’ve ever been in. It also rained the entire time we waited. But I just kept telling myself that I was lucky the weather was beautiful when I was actually walking through the ruins.

We finally got back to Aguas Calientes around 4 pm. I had a lunch that was included with my tour package. It was delicious Peruvian food (which I am getting very used to), including a dessert table. Now when I was organizing this trip, it was pretty late for a holiday weekend. So my train back to Ollantaytambo wasn’t until around 9pm. I spent a lot of my time shopping at a huge market area. I bought a few more souvenirs and enjoyed getting lost in the maze of booths a few times. I also spent some time in the cute little main plaza. Around 8, I entered the train station just to sit down and relax for a little while. I ran into a few of the people who were also on my tour and had the same train ticket, so we sat and talked while we waited for our train. The train ride back wasn’t as impressive given it was dark, so I rested my eyes. Upon arrival at Ollantaytambo, there was another person with my name on a whiteboard to take me back to my hotel. I was exhausted and it was late so I slept for most of the ride. I got back to my hotel around 1am and went straight to bed.

On Easter Sunday, I slept in until about 8 (which is pretty late for the school and travel schedule I’ve been running on). I got up and packed up my things (which I was surprised to find all fit into my backpack) before heading down to breakfast. Check out was 9am, but I wasn’t being picked up for the airport until 1pm. It was a beautiful morning, so I left my backpack at the front desk and headed back to the Plaza de Armas to see what was going on for Easter. The plaza was BUSY. The doors of the Cathedral were wide open. The mass was standing room only. Ladies were selling crafts right outside the doors. People were sitting all over the steps outside watching a band and flag ceremonies. I walked through the crowded cathedral, but the mass was almost done so I decided to wait until the next one. I sat on the steps outside and listened to the band play the national anthem and watched the flag ceremony. I headed back into the Cathedral after a while only to find the next mass had already started. I found a spot to sit way on the side of the alter and participated in what I remembered of mass in Spanish. The cathedral was beautiful, but I don’t have pictures to share because taking pictures was not allowed. After mass, I grabbed a bite to eat and headed back to the hotel to be picked up for the airport.

At the airport, I found the right line the first time and got through security with no problem. I made sure I was ready for my flight and then I called my family to see everyone for Easter. My family hosts the rest of my extended family in the area for Easter, so I got to talk to everyone at once. I miss them a lot, but I know I’ll get to see them very soon! The flight back to Lima was much rougher than my arrival to Cusco, both because there was turbulence and someone two rows in front of me threw up everywhere. But I made it back to Lima and my house here with no problems. Overall, I am happy with how smoothly and safely my trip went. I know I didn’t see everything Cusco has to offer, but I didn’t want to rush and I still saw some amazing views. Sunday night entailed unpacking and preparing for school on Monday. Now I have to start thinking about my last lessons and final evaluations! I have a feeling these last two weeks are going to fly by, just like this past weekend did. Thanks for sticking through this long post and I hope the pictures and stories were worth it!