Quinsacocha Lake Ceremony above the Sacred Valley

In the mountains above Pisac, three high peaks (known as "Apus" or deities to the local people) cradle a magical lake known as Quinsacocha, a place of pilgrimage for centuries.  Many of our friends living in Pisac recommended we go up there, but for some reason, it took us a while to schedule the trip. Finally, in late November, the day came, and we took an hour-long taxi ride way way up a dirt road to the lake. Guided by a local shaman, we walked into this magical alpine valley.  In the Quechua language, "cocha" means lake.  It was such a special day for us, a day of envigoration and celebration of our time in Peru.

Rush hour in highland village: alpacas, sheep on roadway near Quinsacocha

Friendly weavers selling their handiwork at the trailhead

Cuti, our guide,  gave the adults a wool vest to bearing the Andean cross (not the Christian cross!), ancient symbol reflecting the cosmology (world view) of the local people. We were also given special walking staffs, which definitely help when you're hiking a mountain trail at 14,000 feet!

Beginning the hike into the hidden valley

Envigorating!

The Andean Cross represents the Inca Cosmology: four directions, three worlds...the heart opening ceremony took place at the high lake Quinsacocha, a wonderful, magical, spiritual place of renewal

Cuti carefully creates the "mesa" or altar, using symbolic objects that represent abundance, joy, and other values.

Blocking the wind in order to help the fire catch 

Once the altar is complete, it is wrapped up in paper and burned with llama fat and llama dung. The idea is to send the prayers upward with the smoke towards the Apus (mountain spirits).

Blessings on our family

Cuti giving each of us a blessing for health, abundance, fertility (productivity)

After the ceremony, we were free to wander around, searching for small meteorites in the meadow.

I found it humorous that the tiny meteorites looked VERY similar to sheep pellets, which were much more abundant on the meadow! Can you tell which is the meteorite???  OK, it's the one on the left, where my finger is pointing.

Walking round the lake, elated. Giving Thanks to the Apus.

Andean Geese

Where the Andes meet the Amazon: Cloud Forest

For two months now, we've been living in the Sacred Valley, rambling in and learning about the Andes mountains. But just to the east of these grand mountains, there is a very different environment: la selva, the Amazon rainforest jungle. We contacted the Amazon Conservation Association (acca.org) in Cusco and arranged visits to two of their Biological Stations,  one in the Cloud Forest (Wayqecha) and the other in the Lowland Rainforest (Villa Carmen)...At both stations, we met biologists from Peru, Canada, USA, Belize who are here to study the plants and animals, with the goal of conservation. We did a lot of walking on the well-marked trails.  Here are a few photos from our visits. 

Wayquecha Biological Station: Cloud Forest

Only 4 hours by van from Cusco, Wayquecha Biological Station protects an amazing ecosystem of moss-covered native forest at the eastern edge of the Andes. The elevation is around 10,000 feet above sea level, producing a cool, moist climate.  We encountered many colorful birds, flowers, and insects here.

Looking northeast from the edge of the Andes towards the Amazon basin

The Cloud Forest captures one third of all the rainfall in the Amazon Basin

Exploring the Orchid Trail at Wayquecha Biological Station

Star-shaped fruit, abundant in the Cloud Forest

A very small but beautiful flower--less than one quarter inch in diameter

One of many types of beetles we found in the cloud forest

So many beautiful flowers here

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Villa Carmen Biological Station: Lowland Rainforest 
From Wayquecha, we took another 4-hour van ride, and what a ride it is! The windy unpaved road drops more than 8500 feet to the western edge of the Amazon Basin. If you don't get carsick from the hundreds of curves, or vertigo from looking down over precipitous, landslide-prone slopes, you can enjoy spectacular cloudforest transitioning to lowland rainforest. Villa Carmen is only 500 meters, or about 1600 feet elevation.

We stayed in the aptly named Bamboo Cabaña, very comfortable and well-screened.

The walkway to our cabaña

Will looking at insects with Sam, a British biologist living at the station while doing his research project on monkeys

Will petting the tortoises in their enclosure

Macaws like to hang around the kitchen

The jungle abounds in insects, like this 4-inch butterfly

This teeny-tiny wasp (one half inch long) liked the orange curtains in our cabaña

Look, but don't touch me!  Jungle caterpillars often have spikes for protection.

Boat trip upriver to jungle waterfalls

Bow man with bamboo pole for pushing off river bank

Jungle trail to waterfalls

Lower waterfall, which harbors a colony of cliff swallows

Will and Gary "Eduardo" at lower waterfall

Large tree covered with ferrns, climbing vines, ants, etc. ! ! !

Will swimming in the amazing waterfall pool

Visit to Dos Loritos Wildlife Rescue Center

After the boat trip, we returned to the Biological Station. One of the ACCA staff biologists, 

Cynthia, invited us on a bike ride to a nearby Wildlife Rescue Center.  So we can say we biked in the Amazon!

Bike ride through Pilcopata to the Wildlife Rescue Center

Will playing with Chato, a young, orphaned Capuchin monkey

Will holding "Mochila", a two-toed sloth

Exploring Ancient Sites near Calca

The Sacred Valley of the Incas

High in the Andes Mountains of southern Peru, the Urubamba River has carved out a deep, fertile valley. With an abundance of water and fertile bottomland soils, the Sacred Valley of the Incas was, and still is one of Peru's most important agricultural areas.  Corn is the dominant crop, but there are many other crops, including cabbage, carrots, peas, potatoes, and squash.

Centuries-old Inca terraces at Urcos, still being used for farming

The ancient people built many stone structures in this valley--some for ritual or military purposes, others for housing royalty and their servants, and also some buildings for food storage (better preservation in the higher, drier locations far above the river). Today there are perhaps hundreds of ancient ruins from Inca and pre-Inca civilizations. We took an excursion to explore some of these near Calca.

Calca viewed from up the side valley

Round temple and walls at Urcos, a pre-Inca site

Half an hour down the valley from Pisac is the pleasant, small town of Calca, whose name means "construction of stone." There we found a guide and visited several interesting sites, starting in the main valley bottom and working our way high up the side valley.

Roger explains how this sticky plant resin was used in the mortar 

Roger,  our guide, explains the story of the toad face and channel carved into this big rock: the Princess and the pee! According to the story,  during the ceremony, the princess would perch atop the big rock,  pee into the carved channel, and if her pee reached the end of the channel (the toad's mouth),  this would signify an abundant and good year for the community.

A cultural museum will open next year just outside Urcos

Monument to immigrants from the Amazonian lowlands to Calca; Roger's parents are examples--they came from Quillabamba, just over the pass

1930's hydroelectric plant once powered the town of Calca

Canchispuquio ruins above Calca

Ruins above Calca: Canchispuquio

Ancasmarca Ruins 

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Touch the sky

Traditional weavers offer there handiwork at the center, which also helps support the condor project.

High iron content colors the water