Going up the Mountain Today
It is quarter of nine in the morning, and we’re waiting for the van to pick us up at Hostal Buena Vista, in Cusco, to take us to Mawayni. That’s where pilgrims begin the eight-kilometer climb to the shrine of Qoyllur Rit’i.
The hostal is owned by El Fotografo’s cousin Jorge, who’s got a nice thing going here. We’re listening to the Waifs and eating local bread with eggs, cheese, ham — 100 percent energy, as Jorge says.
El Hijo likes Cusco this time around. I have no idea how well he will cope at high altitude, surrounded by tens of thousands of dancing, chanting pilgrims. Tonight we’ll find out.
Yesterday we interviewed Dr. Jorge Flores Ochoa, the famed pastoralist from the Universidad San Antonio Abad. He was gracious and thoughtful, explaining the profound connections between the Andean people, Pachamama and their cosmology.
Flores Ochoa was very interested that El Hijo was coming along. His own children accompanied him many times to Qoyllur Rit’i, starting at age five.
He looked El Hijo in the eye and said, You will see lots of children there. Little ones with their mothers. Don’t worry. Everyone does it.
Barbara
I am an American writer who lived in Lima for seven years (2007-2014), where I covered Andean traditions, melting glaciers and daily life in the capital for Miami Herald, MSNBC and Huffington Post. I now live and work in northern Florida where I champion climate change advocacy and compassionate, affordable eldercare.
