Death by blast of air
We loved listening to General Conference last weekend. We always feel renewed and filled and ready to work harder and count our many blessings more often.
The parents and grandparents of our daughter-in-law Jenae visited Peru for the week. We had a fun time with the Giboneys and Dicksons visiting the ruins around Cusco with them. They are intrepid travelers and went to the Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu and Lake Titicaca on their own, with guides we had arranged for them. We enjoyed having them and we’re certain they will have many memories of their time here. We took a day trip with them to visit Salinas and Moray. Salinas is an area of salt pans that is still in use today. It dates back to at least the Incas, probably even earlier. There is a natural spring where the water comes out warm and extremely salty. There are shallow pans that get filled with the water until the salt crystalizes, then it is dug out and refined, iodized etc. It was an amazing sight. Historians think that Moray was used as an experimental agricultural center, where the Incas were trying to perfect their corn and other plants. But no one really knows; it’s just a theory and speculation. Each guide gives you their spin. So maybe, somebody does know but it is like a huge game of gossip where what goes in one ear comes out of the 758th guide quite differently than what went in.
We visited a textile workshop in Chinchero and were shown how they clean the sheared wool with a natural soap from a root called “saqta” that they grate and mix with water. It was amazing how clean it got the wool. They then use only natural dyes from plants, roots, berries and bugs to dye the wool after it is spun into yarn on the “p’ushkas.” They are then ready to weave the most beautiful weavings with designs that have been handed down from memory for generations.
On the morning we visited the saltpans and Moray, the weather was foggy and cool and had rained the night before. Our driver told us in all seriousness, that the weather was like that because of the earthquake in Chile. Hmmm. Well, it is probably as valid as the current global warming theories .
Peru is a country with many superstitions. In our work at the moment we have been taking photos of death records from 1905-1940. Some of the official, fascinating causes of death include. “Golpe de viento.” (Blast of wind), “mal aire,” (bad air), “Golpe de mal viento,” (Blast of bad wind). It has certainly made us wonder what ailments these people really had. Though not quite so strong as before, there is still great reluctance to drinking cold drinks and a certain conviction that sharp changes in temperature, will do you in. Well, you know, if you go from say, 40 degrees to 700 degrees, that is going to be bad for you but we are talking leaving the house without a scarf…
After our visitors left we had time left on our tickets and we cannot work on Saturday so we visited the ruins at Tipon. Our guide told us that in Quechua it means “spring” as in lots of amazing water canals and falls. It is such a beautiful site, it leaves one completely amazed. We also visited Pikillacta, “flea city” in Quechua. It didn’t mean that the city was full of fleas; rather that it was so populated it was like fleas. This city/fortress dates from the Wari culture, about 600-1100AD. We were amazed at the size and incredible ingenuity of these people. So many of the walls are still standing from this time, and the buildings still have some of the original plaster on the walls and floors. They mummified and buried their dead in the center of the city, for all intents and purposes. This seems to be a Wari trait as ruins near Lima are like this.
Near the ruins paleontologists unearthed a Glyptodon, a roughly Volkswagen shaped dinosaur. They have the remains in a Plexiglass case across from some Wari bones, pots and other archeological finds. The dinosaur is quite complete with the skeleton and its carapace being preserved…
We love working here, learning about all the history and marvel daily that we have this wonderful opportunity to live in this incredible part of the world.
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Looks like quite an adventure last week! Make sure to keep your scarves over your mouths as you move into colder weather. Wouldn't want you to die of mal aire!
ReplyDeleteLove the sites again, this week. Tipon is gorgeous! Thanks for the book photo, lovely writing. --Penny
ReplyDeleteI caught the mal aire several times from sleeping with my window open - It was horrible. ;) Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI do NOT know where to start. Or end. The pictures are amazing and the places are amazing. My sucky Century Link internet has not yet loaded three of them but the others are so beautiful. I, too, love Tipon. Dogs always top my list, of course. The history of the area is fascinating.
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