Between Study and Service, a Time for Centering

The morning after thanking our Lima host families and saying goodbye at the despedida, we left for Cusco, the capital of the Incan empire and gateway to the Sacred Valley, a valley that we would soon follow en route to Machu Picchu.

Bryan, Max, Armando and Trevor relax outside their hotel room in San Jeronimo, outside Cusco.
Bryan, Max, Armando and Trevor relax outside their hotel room in San Jeronimo, outside Cusco.

We reserved free time for most of the first day in Cusco, whether taking naps or just taking it easy, giving our bodies time to adjust. Although Machu Picchu looms larger in most imaginations, Cusco actually claims a higher elevation. Cusco sits at around 3,400 meters in the Andes, or 11,200 feet, compared with about 2,430 meters, or 8,000 feet, for Machu Picchu.  In either case, it’s a challenging transition for the body after spending five weeks along the coast in Lima.

In the evening, we welcomed Amadeo Valer Farfan, an archaeologist and guide, to the upper room at the Hotel San Jeronimo, where we were spending the first night in Cusco.  He provided a thoughtful overview of Incan history.

We also met Abraham Quispe Corrales, a 33-year-old trilingual speaker (Spanish, English and Quechua)  who was born and raised in Cusco. He would be our guide for the next four days as we explored important Incan sites en route to the one that made it on to the list of the New Seven Wonders of the World.

In the early 16th century, the Inca Empire extended over all of modern-day Peru as well as parts of Colombia and Ecuador to the north, Brazil to the east and Bolivia, Chile and Argentina to the south.  Twelve million people lived in what was called Tawantinsuyo, the quechua word for “four parts together.”  Cusco was the capital of this empire and was widely referred to as the “navel of the world.”

Cusco's Plaza Mayor, or central plaza, and la catedral del Cusco, with storm clouds rolling in. The rainy season is beginning!
Cusco’s Plaza Mayor, or central plaza, and la catedral del Cusco, with storm clouds rolling in. The rainy season is beginning!

On a hillside shouldered by Cusco, we visited Sacsayhuaman, once home to the Incas temple of the sun and, later, the site of a fierce battle between the Spanish conquistadores and Manco Inca’s army. The stonework, with precise fittings, is among the finest (and largest — one stone placed in a wall weighs more than 300 tons). Before returning to our bus, many of us tried out a set of natural rock slides and then passed through a dark cave.

Lydia, Trevor, Frances, Jessica, Danielle and Willy head into a cave at Sacsayhuamán.
Lydia, Trevor, Frances, Jessica, Danielle and Willy head into a cave at Sacsayhuamán.

 

That evening we enjoyed a presentation on traditional Andean music by Americo (Amaru) Mejia Suñiga and another member of the band Hijos del Sol; these talented Cusco musicians are adept at playing many instruments, including  the quena and other wind instruments. Before the music stopped, we were dancing to their lively music, encouraged by a young woman in traditional dress who made it all look easy.

Posing with musicians from the group, Hijos del Sol, and a dancer following a demonstration on traditional music.
Posing with musicians from the group, Hijos del Sol, and a dancer following a demonstration on traditional music.

 

We were fortunate to spend the next two nights, a Saturday and a Sunday, in the homes of Mennonites from the towns of Lucre and Huacarpay, a half hour or so by bus from downtown Cusco. Local and regional were to be held on Sunday, which posed a challenge, since Peruvians are required to shutter regular business (including church) and head to the polls.

The Mennonites in this area chose to hold early services, before the polls opened at 8 a.m.  So before the sun came up, at 5 a.m., many of our students were in church in Lucre, worshipping in Spanish and in Quechua; the Huacarpay students could sleep in a bit; church there began at 7.

Students sit in front of the first Mennonite Church in Peru in the town of Lucre.
Students sit in front of the first Mennonite Church in Peru in the town of Lucre.

The first Mennonite church in Peru, La Iglesia Evangelica Menonita de Lucre (Lucre Mennonite Evangelical Church), was founded in this small mountain town of a few thousand people in 1990. We traveled together that noon for lunch at a trout farm owned by the pastor of that church, Eloy Sullca Bombilla.

We spent the afternoon climbing at Tipón, a marvel of waterworks. A series of canals provide fresh water to what was once a private estate of the Incan leader Pachacutec, looping across a series of terraces. The Incas corralled the water for both personal use and irrigation, finding ways to incorporate striking lines of stone into the natural landscape.

Photos and editing by Karen Stoltzfus