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| Christmas Eve with our neighbors and our mission president and his wife |
Nativities around Peru, the lower one contains the Aircraft Carrier that was somehow omitted from the accounts in the Gospels
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| Left to Right Maria Quispe with Josemaria Sotec, Richard Sotec with William (Yesenia's baby), Lisbeth Sotec, Julie Sotec |
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| Maria Quispe with us |
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| Yard Denizen in the Arequipa hotel |
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| Maria Pacheco our dear friend from Tintaya |
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| Juana Aparcana's baptism. |
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| Juana with her niece Juanita |
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| Her Nephew Justin |
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| Julia, Juana's younger sister |
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| Mix of traditional and modern, Arequipa style. |
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| Juanita and Justin at their first movie |
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| Juliaca music stand and mud puddle |
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| Huge Juliaca mud puddle |
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| More mud, very glad to be above it in a travel bus! |
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| Our Ride to Puno, waiting for luggage |
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| Local Puno artist Cecilia Rodriguez' painting in out hotel El Mosoq Inn in Puno |
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| Cecilia Rodriguez' painting #2 |
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| The Puno cathedral |
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| Especially creepy mobile Christmas Toy... |
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| Puno chicken and sausage market |
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A very patient pooch
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For New Year’s there are mountains of yellow underwear everywhere. From skivvies to undershirts to long johns, everyone is buying new yellow underwear for good luck and prosperity in the coming year. There are also stands selling yellow flowers and premade flower arrangements, again for good luck in the New Year. We saw heaps of grapes for sell because eating 12 grapes at each stroke marking midnight will bring luck and prosperity too. For Abundance and Plenty, many eat a spoon of lentils - or any other grain – at midnight or put some grains in the corners of the house, in bags and pockets. Little bags filled with various grains were for sale on every corner. We could feel the excitement in the air and of course at midnight the fireworks went on forever!
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| New Year's Eve purchases |
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| Yellow flowers and grapes for New Years in Puno |
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| Yellow Underwear ad in Puno |
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| Nothing but grapes, New Years in Puno |
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| Yellow undies for New Years |
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| Random dog for Pauline |
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| The Puno version of traditional and modern |
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| The Puno version of traditional and modern #2 |
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| Modest movie popcorn in Puno |
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| New Years day on the Uros Islands |
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| New Years day our welcome to the Uros Islands |
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| Teresa, selling us a tapestry |
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| Travel between islands on totora reed boats (papyrus) |
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| Rower |
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| Julie in front of the a totora reed house |
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| Rich in front of the a totora reed house |
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| New Years day, our hike up to the top of Taquile Island 13,000 feet high |
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| A little boy tormenting a sheep |
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| Weaver/vendors on Taquile |
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| Weaver/vendors on Taquile #2 |
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| Taquile leadership on their way to mass |
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| Leader's wives on their way to mass |
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| Ladies outside of the church |
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| Taquile Island dignitaries mass |
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| From Taquile looking across to Bolivia |
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| Weaver/vendor #2 |
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| Taquile girl |
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| On our way down |
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| Lake Titikaka |
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| Puno from Lake Titikaka |
