The magnificent travels of Megann Phillips: a journal
Day 09 in Peru (part 01)March 23, 2013
Coca tea and a long bus ride
We've boarded a big, comfortable tourist bus to make our way to Lago Titicaca. The temperature is controlled to be just perfect, and an attendant serves us hot or cold beverages whenever we please. When she asks for our choice, I always choose mate de coca, because it is so typically Peruvian. Dad refuses to drink any because the coca leaf is the foundation for synthesizing cocaine, but Cara and I have been pouring the stuff down our throats the entire time we've been in Peru.
All of they locals here love coca-- men, women, and children alike drink the tea and chew the leaves continually. They say it helps with altitude sickness, and that it makes you passionate. Heaven knows that I've felt perfectly fine in the high elevations (although this may be because of the medication I was prescribed specifically for altitude sickness) and that I'm absolutely, passionately, head-over-heels with Peru, so I could say the tea may be living up to its reputation.
Plus, as I drink it on the bus, it makes me feel as if I'm a genuine part of the not-so-luxurious country I see outside the windows of my luxury coach.
All of they locals here love coca-- men, women, and children alike drink the tea and chew the leaves continually. They say it helps with altitude sickness, and that it makes you passionate. Heaven knows that I've felt perfectly fine in the high elevations (although this may be because of the medication I was prescribed specifically for altitude sickness) and that I'm absolutely, passionately, head-over-heels with Peru, so I could say the tea may be living up to its reputation.
Plus, as I drink it on the bus, it makes me feel as if I'm a genuine part of the not-so-luxurious country I see outside the windows of my luxury coach.
The San Pedro Chapel... "the Sistine Chapel of Peru"
It was our first stop on tour bus journey to Titicaca. Our guides and the locals called it "the Sistine Chapel of Peru"... Maybe it was a marketing ploy, but it really was beautiful. The ceilings were painted in a detailed, fading pattern, and even though the church was relatively small, it bore enormous murals on every wall.
Considering this, the church was still remarkably similar in its design to other Peruvian churches. The representations of The Virgin Mary placed around the church held true to the traditional Peruvian standards which I have come to know thus far into my trip; her dresses took the shape of a wide, firm triangle, representing the mountains as an ode to the ancient Andean religious worship of those things which touch the sky. There were the wonderfully common gold-plated altars, the fabulously carved cylindrical pulpit protruding from the wall, the high ceilings and excess of mirrors.
I presume what really set this chapel apart from the rest was the exceptional detail in its murals and paintings... and also (maybe) it's exceptional attention to other non-catholic religious symbols. A golden, Islamic-inspired star adorned the center center of a painted ceiling, and golden suns (representations of the Incan Sun god, which was held in the utmost esteem pre Spanish colonization and is even still revered today throughout the Andes jointly with Catholicism, were hung everywhere.
Considering this, the church was still remarkably similar in its design to other Peruvian churches. The representations of The Virgin Mary placed around the church held true to the traditional Peruvian standards which I have come to know thus far into my trip; her dresses took the shape of a wide, firm triangle, representing the mountains as an ode to the ancient Andean religious worship of those things which touch the sky. There were the wonderfully common gold-plated altars, the fabulously carved cylindrical pulpit protruding from the wall, the high ceilings and excess of mirrors.
I presume what really set this chapel apart from the rest was the exceptional detail in its murals and paintings... and also (maybe) it's exceptional attention to other non-catholic religious symbols. A golden, Islamic-inspired star adorned the center center of a painted ceiling, and golden suns (representations of the Incan Sun god, which was held in the utmost esteem pre Spanish colonization and is even still revered today throughout the Andes jointly with Catholicism, were hung everywhere.
Raqchi
Well, there seems to be some confusion about Raqchi. Is it pre-Inca or Inca? Our guide insists that it is an Incan ruin, but Cara thinks he's just calling "Inca" to create hype among the tourists... I might agree with her. After all, the Raqchi used to be a temple dedicated to an over-arching god-- the source of all gods; the ultimate god-- who was not the sun god which the Incas so famously worshipped over all others. In addition, although Inca-style terracing was obvious, with Inca-style stairs and Inca-style drainage, a significant portion of the temple was built of adobe; that is distinctly not Inca. There were also many circular storage buildings, the likes of which I didn't see among the ruins of any other Incan cities we've visited in Peru.
A consensus seems to be reached when considering that the site may have been either very early Inca, or belonging to a civilization existing around the same time as the Inca which possibly inspired Incan architecture... Who knows?-- Maybe all of the hypotheses are correct in some way or another.
A consensus seems to be reached when considering that the site may have been either very early Inca, or belonging to a civilization existing around the same time as the Inca which possibly inspired Incan architecture... Who knows?-- Maybe all of the hypotheses are correct in some way or another.
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| The lone standing wall of what is assumed to be the remains of the main temple of worship at Raqchi |
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| ... and a view of the temple's wall from behind |
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| Entering the ancient temple's surrounding ruined structures |
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| A circular storage shed |
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