7/12 - Church, Church, Church

July 12

This morning started with Jesus! I went to the Spanish Catholic Mass at the Cusco Basilica with 4 other girls and loved every second of it. It was a 7am Saturday service and the church was packed! (Some members even stayed for 2 services.) They played the organs, sang, and did all of the other normal churchy things you would expect. It was a great experience for me and I had an indescribable feeling before, during and after the mass.  I felt inspired, calm and happy all at the same time.  Like I said yesterday, I know this stop on the (3 hour) tour happened for a reason. This is something I want to bring back to Phoenix with me and have decided to start a church crawl! Every-ish Sunday, I want to try out a new religion or church to experience everything and potentially find a good fit for me! At the very least, I'll learn and experience new things along the way. I'm very happy I had the chance to attend mass in Spanish in Peru - I don't know how these experiences can get any better...but I know there is a big mountain in my future and can't wait!

After church, we traveled through the Sacred Urambamba Valley and visited a working Salt Mine, the Inca Terrace Gardens, the town of Chinchero and the Center de Textiles tradicionales del Cusco. The views in the sacred valley were beautiful and I took a million pics!

The salt mines look like plots of snow and are owned by individual families.  I wanted to 

go ice skating on them - or jump in a salt pool! The best part of the mines were all of the little food carts around it that had fried bananas (a Peru fav) and tons of salt seasoning. I bought 2 small bags😳 

The Terrace Gardens look like a UFO. They are circular ledges to grow crops at different levels and temperatures. There are 40,000 working terraces in Peru, all started by an English woman who came to Peru in search of something more. We hiked down to the bottom and I was amazed by how small I felt in the middle. 

We then went to a traditional Incan lunch, where we had potatoes, corn, potatoes and...(drum roll please)...Guinea Pig! (Cuy!) Once I got over the idea of eating Ratatouille, it was actually pretty tasty.  I've had a no fear attitude this whole trip - can't break that streak now! When in...Peru?! :)

The textile center is in the town of Chinchero, which is a small, agriculture one in transition.  Many residents are selling their land for an international airport project and it's losing a bit of its old country feel. It reminded me of the Yagua preservation project in the jungle. The Yagua are more interested in keeping with their roots - probably because they've never had a taste of the "fancy" life, which is part of the magic of the rainforest.  Modernizing and more money aren't always good things - which is one of the big revelations I've had this trip. (Mo money, no problems...wise one Diddy.)

The Textile center is one of the only traditional pieces left of Chinchero. It is a non-profit project that employs women of all ages in the community.  They use all natural products for cleaning and dyes like the Yagua to make blankets, hats, gloves, belts, bracelets - you name it. (The weight in my suitcase is proof of this!) It made me think what my life would have been like, had I not been born in the USA. Most of the people we've visited have had very little choice in their futures - not because they are forced into a career unwillingly, but because that is the tradition and the norm.  I'm sure I could have been very happy weaving Alpaca thread into a blanket for my career, as I'm sure most of these women are. It just would have been a very different life and I can't help but wonder how hard/easy it is for them to branch out socially and culturally.

Sarah and I had dinner at a cafe (named Sara's!) and chewed up all the bandwidth - we were having withdraws! (It was getting so bad, I almost had the shakes!) We saw this Cusco celebration while out and loved being in the middle of the culture.

Next stop - 'Chu 'Chu 'Chu!