Saraguro!

Hi all! I have pictures! I stole them from my friends, and some of them were nice enough to let me use their cameras and take some pictures for my own use! So you can see what I was up to this past weekend. We went to a town called Saraguro which is mainly a town of Indigenous peoples with roots all the way back to the Incas. It was a really beautiful town and we had a lot of fun!

On saturday we took a very long an beautiful hike to some sacred places that the Incas used and that the saraguro people still use today. After the hike we came back for a delicous dinner and live music with some traditional dance!

Sunday we took another hike to a cave that is also a sacred spot and is located near a "waterfall" with a little pool of water underneath that functioned as a bath for the Incas (only the noble class used it though)

In the cave some local men who are known as Shamans or healers did a cleansing ritual that was supposed to bring energy from the earth and give it back to us to enrich our lives, it was really interesting! I've really enjoyed seeing all of the different rituals and customs they have here because it helps me understand even more how we are all connected throughout the earth and that our own actions affect not only ourselves but people far far away!

I could go on and on about interconnectedness and how its the coolest thing every but I'll spare you the lecture for now...

Anyway, here are some pictures....

the "bus" we took through town to get to our hiking spot!
(I like the fruits and vegetables)

Some local women using their own form of transport

Gorgeous view from one of the inca sacred spots

The penca plant! (say hello to the origen of Tequila!) In this town they make a different drink using the nector of this plant, it's alcoholic but tastes a lot different than tequila. These plants take 20-25 years to mature, and once they do you split off the top and inside there is a little cavern that holds the liquid. Once they are mature they produce 8-16 liters of the beverage each day! Once it is used up they shrivel up and die...

this is me drinking the above mentioned alcoholic beverage. It was a communal experience, pass the cup around and around until we finished the supply. There were only a few of us up to the challenge. I quit after a while because it really didn't taste that great.

Cave in which the ritual took place

After the ritual was done, the healers cleaning up
(it's interesting because every piece you see there has its own significance, maybe someday I will sit down and write everything I've learned about the andean natives and their "religion"..its more of a worldview in my opinion)

"waterfall" that led to the incan bath

Incan bath....nice huh??

Local indigenous people at the market on Sunday. they are wearing their native clothing that pretty much all of the adults wear. You don't see as many teenagers or kids wearing it anymore.

Well that's all I've got! Hopefully you enjoyed the pictures. 3 more weeks and I'll be home! Craziness. This weekend we are traveling to Vilcabamba which is supposed to be gorgeous, so I hopefully will steal some pictures to show you! Then a week from sunday (the 13th) we leave for Perú....I can´t wait! We travel along the coast of perú for a week and then head inland towards Machu Pichu! If you don't know what Machu Picchu is...google it...you will be impressed!

Hope all is well with you guys, let me know how life is. Miss you!!

amor y besitos,
Linds