Journey of a Lifetime
Experience something a little different ...
Myself, taking part in a ceremony on the Island of the Sun
| 7 or 14 Day
Spiritual Retreats in Iquitos, Peru April and September 2009 |
19 Day Journeys
to Peru & Bolivia March and October 2009 |
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Choose a 7 or 14 day spiritual retreat in Bolivia, South America with traditional Ayahuascero and the magical experience of exploring the patterns of your mind and body. Ceremonies and sacred rituals in places of power bring about deeper transformation – a joyful journey of self-discovery. Click here to read on ...
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Spend 19 days exploring the sacred temples of the Inkas in Peru and Bolivia, South America. Click here to read on ...
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| Scroll down to read about Peru & Bolivia | |
Some Background on Peru & Bolivia
The lack of the written word has deprived historians of records of
the everyday lives of the earliest settlers in Peru and Bolivia. The
Spanish based their records on the Inkas’ versions of the past. The
Inkas told the Spanish that before they established their empire the
land was overrun by primitives constantly at war with one another.
It is generally accepted that the earliest settlers in Peru were related
to people who had crossed from Asia and drifted through the Americas
from about 20,000 BC. People lived in small nomadic groups, mainly
hunting ad gathering but also cultivating some plants seasonally.
Traditional spiritual beliefs were handed down in oral forms until
today.
Domestication of llamas, alpacas and guinea pigs also began at this
time,
particularly important for the highland people around the Titicaca
basin. Corn, potato and the oca [another tuba] are the main crops.
Quinoa [a kind of millet] and canava [a small grain] are the main
cereals. Chicha is brewed from maize. Fish and salmon trout from Lago
Titicaca are widely sold. Llamas serve as pack animals and yield wool
when sheared and alpacas are bred for their wool.
Sophisticated irrigation and canal systems were developed and can still
be seen today. Farming productivity increased and communities had more
time to devote to creating ad producing ceramics and textiles. The
pottery also led to trade and cultural links with other communities. The
earliest buildings constructed by organised group labour were huacas,
adobe platform mounds, centres of sacred power.
Lima’s colonial centre and suburbs are fringed by the puelos joves,
which sprawl over the dusty hills overlooking the flat city. It has a
great many historic buildings and is built on both sides of the Rio
Rimac at the foot of Cerro San Cristobal. The name Lima was a corruption
of the Quechua name Rimac [speaker] that was adopted in the 16th
century.
On the northwest shore of Lago Titicaca is Puno. It has a vast array of
handicrafts, festivals and costumes and rich tradition of music and
dance. The Uros of the floating islands have intermarried with the
Aymara people and no pure Uros exist. The present Puno Bay people fish,
hunt birds and live off the lake plants, most important of which are the
reeds they use for their boats, houses and the foundations of their
islands.
The history of Bolivia has certaily been turbulent, however it is one of
South American’s most peaceful and inviting countries these days. The
total population [8,329,000 in 2000] some two thirds are Indians, the
remainder being mestizos, Europeans and others. The racial composition
varies from place to place. The highland Indians are composed of two
groups: those in La Paz and in the north of the Altiplano who speak
Aymaran, and those elsewhere who speak Quechuan [about 3 million].
The Indian women retain their traditional clothing, with bright
petticoats [polleras] and in the highlands around La Paz wear a brown or
grey bowler hat [bombin]. Indians traditionally chew the coca leaf,
which deadens hunger pains and assists with the altitude.
The music of the Quechua and Aymara peoples provide the most distinctive
Bolivian musical sound. The Indian dances take place mostly at festivals
with colourful and elaborate costumes being worn. There are now many
professional groups well established in the Western world.
Copacabana is an attractive little town on Lago Titicaca. It’s
Moorish-style cathedral is notable for its spacious atrium for four
small chapels. On the headland are the Stations of the Cross. Boats
cross Lago Titicaca regularly to visit the Islands of the Sun and Moon.
The waters are a beautiful blue, reflecting the hills and the distant
snow-capped Andes.
La Paz at 4,000m above sea level is the highest capital in the world.
The sight of the city, lying 500m below at the bottom of the steep cayon
and ringed by the Andes literally takes your breath away. At this high
altitude breathing can be a problem. La Paz is a busy city with few
colonial buildings, many banks, the huge Cathedral of San Francisco
[dating from 1549], the intriguing Witches Markets, and much, much more.
Modern Lima is seriously affected by smog for much of the year and is
surrounded by settlements of squatters. Over the years Lima has changed
and many of the hotels and larger businesses have moved to the
fashionable and social centre of Miraflores .
The best known story of the origins of the Inka Dynasty talk about Manco
Capac and his sister rising out of Lake Titicaca [8,965 sq km and 3,810
m], created by the sun as divine founders of a chosen race. This was
approximately AD1200. By the time of the Spanish Conquest, the Inka Empire stretched from the Rio Maule in central Chile, north to the
present Ecuador-Columbia border and contained most of Ecuador, Peru,
west Bolivia, north Chile and northwest Argentina.
Manco Capac established Cuzco as the capital. Today the city is a
fascinating mix of Inka and colonial Spanish architecture, colonial
churches, monasteries and convents and extensive pre-Columbian ruins are
interspersed with countless hotels, bars and restaurants that cater for
the many travellers. Almost every street has remains of Inka walls,
arches and doorways, the Inka stonework serving as the foundations for
more modern dwellings.
Macchu Picchu is the best known and most spectacular archeological Inka
city. It still is a great spiritual centre where priests, healers and
shamans carry out rituals today. We travel along the Urabumba River,
through the valley of the Inkas, where people farm the soil as they have
done for thousands of years. The train stops at Aguas Calientes at the
bottom of the mountain, which also has hot springs nearby.
At Tiawanaku stand the spectacular remains of pre-Inka civilisation. The
Aymara people in this area emerged aroud 1000 BC into a civilisation of
massive stone buildings and monuments, textile and pottery. When the
Quechua Inkas conquered the area around AD1200 they found the Aymaras at
Tiawanaku living among ruins.
This journey is an opportunity for you to experience the genuine warmth
and energy of the people, their wonderous lands and to join in the
prayers of the people and spirits that live in the Andes, the caves,
rocks, springs, rivers – and much more.
Approximate currency exchange:
$US1 = 3.5 Peruvian soles
$US1 = 7.8 Bolivian
Australian government email address for current situations in overseas
countries:
www.dfat.gov.au
References:
Box, B. [2002] South American Handbook, Footprint Handbook Ltd, UK.
Cumes, C. & Valencia, R. [1997] Pachamama’s Children, Llewellyn
Publications, MN, USA.
