Palm Sunday- beginning of semana santa

Well what a blast Palm Sunday was! And i'm not really the religious type either. So Semana Santa is easter in spanish and if you hadn't realised, its a big deal here :)

So a few of the girls got up at 6am and headed to mass at the cathedral, but since it was so early, combined with the fact i don't speak spanish and am not catholic, i decided to give it a miss. I think it was a wise choice, as even the girls who don't speak spanish couldn't understand the priest and it was standing room only. So i was quite pleased i had a sleep in, because the day ahead was going to be a big one!

We headed off to the cemetery about lunchtime, which is where the festivities were beginning before the parade into town. So when we arrived we were shocked, as there was animals and people everywhere. It was a meeting point for the parade, where all the local Huamangan people meet, some with their animals- see the photos of the llamas dressed up specially for the parade. They have decorations that go on their heads that are used only for special occasions, and if you have animals in the parade it shows how important you are!

So at the meeting point, they had free beer for all and free food to feed 5000 people!! There were people everywhere, dancers, acrobats, bands and guest speakers. It was wonderful, and we stocked up on the free beer because everyone wanted to drink with the 'gringas'!! So as sooon as we finished our beer, someone else was yelling at us to join them and before we knew it they were filling our cups with more! It was a very very hot day, when the sun is out, it gets hot here! So the beers were flowing and we were chatting to so many local people and they were so happy we were there, and holding the Peruvian Flag (viva Peru!).

The parade started and everyone walked into town, with us following suit. It was a long walk in the heat but it was fantastic walking with the llamas, bands and acrobats! When we got closer to the plaza, Alexandria and I found some Peruvian friends that we had been drinking with and they pulled us into their part of the parade and we marched with them. Once we were in the plaza there were hundreds and hundreds of people watching and there were 2 gringas in the middle of the parade..us!! We must of looked hilarious, because we were marching with traditionally dressed ladies, and i was in shorts and a singlet and thongs!! So we just smiled and waved our flags and everyone seemed to think it was great! So our claim to fame was being part of the big parade into town...little did we know at the time we'd be parading around again!

So at the end of the parade we waited for 'jesus' to arrive. It was a massive statue being held on a donkey, lead and followed by another 2 donkeys. And surrounding Jesus was about 20 policemen forming a barrier so people couldnt get too close. And surrounding them was thousands of people holding Palm leaves. They had made the 1.5hour march into town from the monastary and just before they got to the plaza, Alexandria and I joined in the march. So we were moving at like shuffling pace, literally surrounded by hundreds of people with their palms in our faces and pushing and shoving to get closer to jesus!! Somehow, we managed to move close and were literally at the back of the 'ring of people' surrounding jesus, so it was very exciting and i can only compare it to one thing Alexandria said while we were getting squashed... It's like a mosh pit for Jesus!! Haha it was hilarious. But so much fun as well, especially considering i am not religious and i was right at the front of thousands of peruvian people who probably spent hours pushing their way up there!

So we marched around the plaza for what seemed like hours, just laughing and having a great time before we made it to the main cathedral and Jesus entered on his donkey and they moved him to a throne inside! Then it started raining which was good timing because it was nearing 6.30pm and we needed to get home for dinner! So it was a long and very eventful day, especially with all the free beer we drank, but it was such an amazing experience. And it also so amazing to contrast their festivals with our western ones, and see how westernised easter has become with 'chocolate egss'. Although i do miss them and would kill for some crunchie eggs right now, it is nice to be away from all the commercialization that had happened in our country, not even mentioning what its like in the USA!!

But Palm sunday was just the beginning of a week of festivities. Wednesday night is going to be a big one, and we have 2 public holidays on thursday and friday, plus a massive parade on Sunday. Its really enormous here and people from all over Peru fly in for the festivities here in Ayacucho. It really is famous and the biggest celebration in Peru and possibly even South America, so even though i do love the free beer all week, i am glad that i get to experience this week because of the culture. Absolutely amazing.

Will keep you posted on my other semana santa antics!!

xoxo millie

Inca Ruins

Just a short entry as I don't have much time, but on Saturday we went to Vilcashuaman which is a small town about 3.5 hours away from Ayacucho. Its a beautiful town because its composed of Incan Ruins.

During the time when the spanish invaded Peru they destroyed most Incan ruins, as they prayed to their sun gods, which isn't what they wanted, as they wanted to spread Catholicism. So it was quite surprising that the town still has as much ruins as it does. In fact its the second biggest site of Incan Ruins, after Macchu Picchu, and the only reason Macchu Picchu is still around is due to the fact that the Spanish didn't know it was there!

So it was great and luckily our tour guide, Carlos, speaks english, because we got so much information and history about the Incan times and also about the influence the spanish have had. There is one picture i took of a catholic church that was literally built straight on top of the incan sun temple.

So in all, it was a wonderful day, very long, but fan

tastic as the Incan times are so interesting. I think the worst part was driving there, as it was long and windy around the Andean mountain ranges.

So we were very precariously driving along cliff edges. At one point we drove over a little bridge made of wooden planks laid on the ground. Very scary when you're thousands of meters high!! Some of the girls had their seatbelts on...but i thought if we fell down that cliff, there would be no hope, regardless of whether we're wearing them or not! Haha

xoxo millie

Coca and Cocaina

What is the first word that pops into your head when you hear the words South America... Cocaine.

We had another guest speaker, like the guy who presented the information on the shining path, the other day, and i thought it was absolutely fantastic. We had another one actually, but i did not feel it was 'blog-worthy' as it was quite spiritual and included rubbing dead guinea pigs over our body to find what your health problems are...So needless to say, i did not blog about that one. However this speaker, Carlos, was here to talk about Coca leaves and Cocaine.

What most of you would already realise is that coca leaves are not cocaine...in the same way that a poppy plant is not an opiate or heroin. Although these two natural plants can be processed to indeed become cocaine and heroin respectively. I found it interesting to hear some girls ask and wonder whether the leaves are illegal, but of course they are not, and unless you consumed around 100 leaves, you wouldn't even be ingesting 0.5grams of cocaine. So needless to say, coca leaves are not illegal nor are they cocaine.

Cocaine or Cocaina in spanish is processed from the coca leaf, combined with many chemicals which withdraw the alkaloid out of the leaves to induce what we know as the effects of cocaine; lack of tiredness, hunger, thirst, increased energy etc etc. What is interesting is that Peru is second in the world in production of cocaine...coming a close second behind none other than Colombia, with Bolivia in third. We were told that although they are second in the world for production of cocaine, they are first in the world for quality, hence the reason that the Mexican's and Colombian's come here for their drugs. Apparently it has to due with the altitude in the jungle and the extremely fertile soil. When choosing Peru, I had no idea how big the drug trade was here and exactly how close I am centered to this drug trade living here in Ayacucho. As i think i discussed earlier in one of my blogs, the biggest coca leaf plantation is outside

of Ayacucho, on the other side of the Andes where the jungle begins...

In Peru, they produce a lot of coca leaves, but not all for the drug trade. For every 110,000 leaves harvested, 10,000 leaves are used for medicinal and spiritual purposes. The Peruvian people, especially Andean people are very spiritual and the use of coca leaves as a sacrifice to their gods in the mountains, is very very important for their health and their survival. For medicinal purposes, it is fantastic for altitude sickness. When we went on the llama trek we had coca leaf tea, which helps with the dizzy feeling and headaches from reduced oxygen at these heights above sea level. It tasted quite nice actually, better than chewing the actual leaves themselves which are so bitter!! But the Andean people chew them for extra energy and for altitude sickness, and it works.

Not surprisingly, the Mexican's and the Colombian's run the drug trade in and out of Peru and Ayacucho. They have many methods for getting the drugs out of the jungle, as coca leaves thrive in the Peruvian Andes, such as walking the cocaine out, using the walkers as distracters for vehicles as well as carving small airstrips into the jungle for planes to fly directly into the jungle from Colombia. Mostly, the drugs are smuggled into USA, but the other half are sent to Africa via ship where it is then taken

into Europe. Europe is only a close second to the USA in consumption of cocaine.

Another interesting fact about the coca leaf is Coca-Cola. Yes the drink, Coca-Cola, as the name suggests actually has some small extracts of coca leaf in it. The company are the largest exporter of coca leaves out of Peru (legally of course). Maybe that is why we drink coca-cola, not only for the caffeine to make us less tired but also due to the fact that coca leaves are a stimulant.

It is so so interesting, i do find the whole drug trade very informative and i sat on the edge of my seat asking questions. At the end of the talk, Carlos asked if we would like to have the coca leaves read, sort of like reading our future. Normally i am very skeptical of this sort of thing, but i never say no to anything really, so i went first. He did the process in Quechua (the Andean language) and then translated to english for me. So he asked me some questions, such as my name, date of birth, place of birth etc and then told me to think of a question that i would like to ask the leaves about my future. So in my head, i asked my question to the coca leaves. So then he told my coca number is 3 and to pick 3 leaves from the pile. I did so and he placed them into my hands and then asked me to drop them on the table. He then proceeded to read my leaves. He told me that the answer to my question was a 'hard yes', as it was set in the leaves that my question was answered. So i was pleased...although i won't reveal what i asked because it may be like a wish, where it won't come true if you share it with others :) He then went on to read the leaves and told me something interesting about my health. He said i have one weakness, that being my foot, he said it is not broken but it is very damaged and weak. He said my ankle is a very weak point in my body and he said i must be careful when i am trekking and always wear the correct footwear to avoid extra injury. Now if you are reading this blog, most likely you will know that about 3 months before i came to Peru i injured my foot/ankle very badly in a fall down the stairs at work. It is not broken which is also true, but was badly damaged, and it got worse when i wore sneakers on the llama trek. I was quite shocked that he knew this, and noone here knows i hurt my foot, and it wasn't like i was wearing a brace or anything to indicate my soreness....I think it was quite weird but eerily accurate. My foot is very weak and will probably continue to aggravate me for a while. So i will take his advice and wear the correct footwear ie hiking boots, and also 'jump with caution' as he called it :) He also said the coca leaves say i am lucky and they are wishing me luck on my journey and will the fullfillment of my question!

So overall it was a fantastic speech and an even more interesting reading of the coca leaves. I know people, especially dad, will be skeptical, but it was amazing. Really amazing, i was in awe of the accurateness.

xoxo millie

Day 10 with the elderly

After having a fantastic weekend at the coast, it was time to get back to reality. So Tuesday morning came and Vikki and I headed off to the old people's home. Unfortunately it wasn't as good as i was hoping it to be, as one of the ladies who we work with had passed away. As we walked in we saw the sitting room was fuller than usual with lots of ladies, and a casket. As we walked passed we had the horrible feeling that it was one of the ladies we were working with and i got the worst feeling in my stomach. The other ladies, and one of the lovely young nuns told us it was Augustina, a lady in a wheelchair passed away the night before in her sleep and asked whether we would like to pay our respects. Which of course we did. So we walked into the room, and Augustina was in a beautif

ul white marble casket with a glass panel over her upper body so we could see her. This was the first person who I had seen that had passed away and the fact that only a few days before we were caring for her and helping look after her, was quite tough. So of course i cried. I actually cried a lot, it was a combination of shock, as i wasn't expecting that one of the ladies might pass away while i was there...silly not to be prepared but i just didn't think about it and secondly because she was such a sweet lady, it was very difficult.

So our morning was a combination of tears, chopping vegetables and sitting with the other ladies. I could definately tell that they were quite shaken as well, but also that they were appreciative of the fact that we paid our respects to her and that we showed we were upset.

When we got back to the CCS house later that day and everyone asked how our day was, it was hard not to well up into tears again, but we were just glad we got to make her final days maybe a little happier or at least a little more comfortable. And knowing that makes me feel a little better about the whole situation.

I don't have a photo of Augustina unfortunately, but i have a couple of other photos here of some ladies we work with who are just lovely. The lady with the jigsaw puzzle, Chabella, is an absolute hoot, she is very lucid and with it, and helps us chop vegetables every morning. She also sings in spanish for us and asks us funny questions that we don't understand half the time. The lady directly above this writing is also so so lovely, she is actually one of my favourites, i help her into the lunch room and out again and give her hand massages with hand cream and she is just so so appreciative :)

xoxo millie

Paracas

Paracas was a wonderful little town. We arrived after about 1.5hour bus ride, quickly check into our hotel which was lovely and clean and then headed for breakfast. It was a beautiful cafe, right along the foreshore. Oh i forgot, Paracas is not part of the desert, its a town right on the peruvian coast. Back in 2007, Paracas and its neighbouring town, Pisco were absolutely flattened by an earthquake that rocked the region. Unfortunately Pisco has not rebuilt and it resembles a shanty town, however Paracas has rebuilt, obviously with the money that the tourism brings in and has some beautiful cafes, hostels and even a Hilton owned hotel!

So after breakfast we headed off on a boat to visit an island off the coast of paracas called Isla Ballistas. On the way out there, we saw dolphins and birds etc and the sea was flat calm, it was beautiful! And probably good for the girls who get motion sickness, that it was not rough. But it felt fantastic to have the wind in my hair and breathe in the salty air in the sun. It was great.

On the way out to the island there is a natural phenomenon called the 'candelabra' because it resembles some candles. To me it looked like Poseideon's trident, but nonetheless it was amazing. Its carved into the sand dunes and its completely natural. It has been there for over 500 years and like the Nazca Lines (more of these carvings but in the ground) noone knows how or why they are there. Beautiful in real life though.

After passing by this we headed on the the Islas Ballistas, which is part of the Paracas Natural Reserve, because it has so much sea life around it. We saw thousands of sea lions, penguins, vultures, and other birds. It was fantastic. Vikki and I were both seated on the right side of the boat which was great because we got a great view of the islands and all of the animals. Apparently there used to be a lot of poachers going out to kill the sea lions for their skin, so now the Peruvian government lets a family live there for 3 months for free with free food. But there is nothing on these islands, and there is nothing to do, so its a long time of solitary confinement actually!! But apparently its quite a good deal so every 3 months they send a new family out there!!

So it was wonderful visiting the islands and seeing the marine life, it was great! After we got off the boat, we toured around the little shops and bought lots of jewellery and had lunch in another little cafe. Then we headed off for a long walk along the coast. I think we walked for about 3 hours or so and about 6km!! So it was a lovely afternoon walking in the sun and at the end of the journey we found a beautiful hotel called "La Hacienda". It was amazing, one of the most poshest hotels i have ever seen and in a small run down town like Paracas?? Amazing. But obviously its quite a big tourist destination in Peruvian summer months.

So after spending the afternoon walking we spent our last night at another restaurant on the water and i tried their fish, called Linguardo. I have no idea what this fish is, but it was delicious! So at the end of our weekend, we had a wonderful time. We just had the 8 hour journey back to Ayachucho to look forward to!! Luckily we were in first class, and i mean it was fantastic. Definately the way to travel in south america, it was comfy and the seats were like beds, so it was nice and relaxing heading back home to Ayacucho.

xoxo millie

Oasis de Huacachina

On friday i spent the morning with the elderly, doing the usual, chopping vegetables and spending time with the ladies which was fantastic but I was so excited for our adventure to the coast. So we left the elderly home and went to catch the bus. I was pretty nervous about catching public transport in Peru, especially in the Andes where the roads are so narrow and literally on the edge of the cliffs, but i was pleasantly surprised! The bus ride was fantastic, even though the first class was sold out, we were very happy and comfortable in second class, which was up the top (they are double decker buses, but obviously covered). the chairs reclined 10 times more than what they do on the planes, so it was a pleasant 6.5 hour journey out of the Andes.

We then met with our tour guide in San Clemente, and took another bus into Ica. This was only 1.5 hour journey which was good, because there was a crappy vin diesel movie on with bad spanish dubbing! Haha. So we arrived into Ica after a long day and then took a taxi to Huacachina, the oasis. By the time we got there it was dark so it didn't seem as impressive as it is in the daytime. So we had dinner and went to bed for an early night. When we woke up in the morning, the first thing we saw was the massive sand dunes surrounding us! In the dark of night, you could not tell that there was sand dunes at all. It was absolutely amazing! Especially since only the day before we were in the cold, Andean mountains, and then all of a sudden we were surrounded by desert in beautiful warm heat! It was the most amazing contrast. I really felt like we should of been in Saudi Arabia, it was that amazing, and the sand dunes stretched for miles and miles, it wasn't just the one area. Although the oasis is the only one in this desert and the only one in South America. I don't even think the pictures can do it justice, it was brilliant! And the heat was a welcome return for me, as i have been freezing my ass off in Ayachucho! I'm not really a winter person either, so it was so nice to be in the heat, and also work on my tan :)

So after breakfast the adventures began! We got strapped into a sand/4wd buggy and headed for the sand dunes. Just as well we were strapped in because it was literally like a rollercoaster! It felt like we were going down these hills at 90degree angles, i was screaming with exhilaration, it was so much fun. After about 20 minutes, we stopped, actually we perched on the edge of a sand dune, got out and got ready for sand boarding. We used the same boards that people use for snowboarding but we weren't allowed to stand (thank god, you all know how clumsy I am, it would of ended badly for sure!!). So we lay down on board and held onto the straps and the driver pushed us off the hill and down we went!! It was so so scary but at the same time absolutely adrenaline rushing! I must admit (sorry family) that i swore the whole way down, a combination of s**t and f**k!! Haha!!! And the first hill was the easiest too...so you can imagine my language when we went on the intermediate and the advanced level hills!! You cannot even imagine how steep and how high these sand dunes were. The last one, was roughly 60m high the driver estimated, and i was so scared but i did it and amazing so did Vikki. She is my English friend, and is a bit older than mum and she was brilliant, i can't believe she had the nerves so do it, especially since she is afraid of heights! So off i went on the last one, and my heart was racing the whole way down and as i was screaming i got the biggest mouthful of sand which shut me up! It was also very bumpy going down, so the whole way i was so scared i was going to get flung off, so i was holding on for dear life and even got some 'air' as i bumped my way to the bottom. When i finally stopped i had the biggest sand burn on my elbow and today I have the biggest bruise on my thigh! Which is a feat for me, since I don't ever bruise, so its nice to have a war wound to prove i made it down this massive dune!!

So we drove back to the hotel as high as anything on adrenaline after our amazing adventure. It was such a great experience for sure. And then to top off my day, we spent lunchtime lounging by the hotel, working on our tans! We had a beautiful pool and the weather was hot so it was lovely to just lounge around and relax by the pool- especially since the weather in Ayachucho is so cold!

After lounging by the pool, we went to a winery for lunch which was lovely. We got a grand tour of how they make the wine and even got to stamp on the grapes with our feet! They taught us that it takes 9 days for fermentation of their sweet wines and 15 to turn it into Pisco. Pisco is the most amazing liquor, you have it with lime juice, ice, sugar and an egg white. Sounds weird but tastes fantastic!! It is also very very strong, so after one pisco sour by the pool, i felt very tipsy! So it was very interesting! And we also got to taste test which was nice! We also visited a locally owed and small family run winery, where they had the most amazing museum of artifacts. But the artifacts were like strewn all over the place. It was the most choatic room i have ever seen!! They had relics strewn all over the place!!

So overall it was a fantastic day and to top it off had dinner at a lovely restaurant back at the oasis. It was to be our last night there as we were leaving to catch the bus to Paracas at 6am. But 2 nights was great!! Best oasis (and only) that i've ever been to :)

(PS, the photos are all back to front. So logically, the timeline was bottom photo first :)

xoxo millie

Llama Trek

I'll try to make this posting shorter, as i know the last one was very long, and may have been boring for some people reading it, but to me the history of this town is so important and also so very interesting.

But this blog is about a llama trek that we went on the weekend. It only cost 500soles for the whole bus, regardless of how many people were coming, but we had 10 so it was only 50 soles each. Which works out to be about $26/27 dollars which is very cheap for a whole day of trekking. Our bus driver here at the CCS house, Alejandro and his son Jason, who also is our night doorsman some nights, were our guides. They were absolutely fantastic, and Jason spoke english which was very helpful as i don't speak much spanish. Actually thats a lie, i barely speak any spanish! Haha, but I'm getting by and I'm getting better, as a matter of fact i have spanish this arvo at 3pm, so i will concentrate harder!

So we took the bus about 2 hours to the north of Ayacucho, visiting some small towns on the way such as a village famous for its trout farming! We also stopped into a village called Santa Rosa, where we gave them some bread and had the opportunity to buy some beanies, made from Alpaca wool. Which is so much softer and nicer than Llama wool. But i didn't buy one, as my thick hair just wont fit under one, haha! They were so lovely and their little dog even had a hand-made alpaca jumper on, so he wouldn't get cold!

We were driving higher and higher, which made it colder and colder. Before we went on the trip we each gave Alejandro an additional 10soles ($3.50USD) to go and buy some supplies for the villagers, as they can rarely make it into town to buy supplies, well actually trade what they have for supplies. So we bought a box of bread rolls, heaps of lollies and pencils for the children and some rice and oil. They were so happy and grateful and the children were very excited for the lollies. It was so nice to put a smile on their faces. Jason told us that the w

omen often have 8 children each!! No wonder there were so many little mouths to feed!!

So from this village we started on our trek, and we visited the most beautiful waterfall. It was amazing and so high as well, i have some great photos so will have to post them here or on my facebook! After the waterfall we continued walking. And i must admit, the high altitude was getting to me. I had some mate de coca- which is coca tea, or tea made from coca leaves which is apparently good for altitude sickness. I'm not sure if it helped or not, but i chewed some leaves as well just for good luck and it was very bitter!! But i just can't explain how hard it was! I mean it had only been 5 days since we arrived in Ayacucho, which itself is about 9,000ft above sea level, so we had probably only just acclimatized to that when we went hiking. At the highest point we were at 15,000ft, so i daresay that i was struggling due to lack of acclimitisation rather than lack of fitness!! (Don't say anything dad!)

So we trekked for 4 hours through llama/alpaca country and it was amazing! Every now and then we saw a local andean woman carrying sticks or herding her alpaca around, but apart from them it was deserted and beautiful. The ground was not what i was expecting. It was very marshy, like full of lillypads that you walked on to avoid the water. But knowing how clumsy I am, soon i had walked into a massive puddle of water and it soaked straight into my socks. At this point I was regretting not taking my hiking boots!!

But it was wonderful, we got to see some amazing countryside and a beautiful freshwater lake up high among the mountains. Also, quite far away though, we could see so many snow capped mountains. It was beautiful. But tough! After walking a few steps we all found we were really out of breath. This is what its like in altitude, you are so out of breath all the time. Even walking down to the shops i find i am out of breath constantly. But its getting easier, as if my body remembers altitude from Nepal. So about halfway into the trek things got much easier. I was breathing better and feeling stronger and not so weak. Could've been the mate de coca too. So I am hoping that the more trekking/walking I do, the better for when Mum comes over and we do Macchu Picchu on the 30th April. I told her tough it is and she was worried but i said to her that if we can trek in Nepal for a week, we can definately do 4 days in Peru! Ever the optimist :)

Stay tuned for my next adventure, as we head to the coast this weekend. I refused to take a night bus, after their terrible record of crashed in Peru, so we are leaving Friday lunchtime and getting back here Monday night. We are staying at an Oasis (like a real one in the middle of sand and desert) on the saturday and then on sunday we are going on a boat and visiting the islands of Ica, to see sea lions, penguins, seals etc etc. Should be a great weekend coming up!! Will miss my volunteer placement on monday, and then tuesday and wednesday there is a whole town strike so all volunteers will be going to the nursing home for the elderly. Then I will start my volunteering with the children, i think. But to be honest, I dont care what I do, as long as i'm volunteering and making the most of my time here to make a difference, it doesn't matter where I am :)

But for now, I must go, spanish lessons are calling, and this was longer than I anticipated and longer than i promised you it would be. Hope you keep reading and also enjoying my adventures :)

xoxo millie