I had the privilege of visiting the Sacred Valley of the Incas (Valle Sagrado de los Incas) in the Andean Highlands of Peru in November 2012. I wanted to share some photos and highlights of this wonderful experience...
Arriving in Peru just in time to witness the fascinating
Day of the Dead customs and celebrations at the local cemetery.
Day of the Dead (
Spanish:
Día de los Muertos) is a
Mexican
holiday celebrated throughout Mexico and around the world in other
cultures. The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to
pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. The celebration takes place on November 1 and 2,
in connection with the
Catholic holidays of
All Saints' Day and
All Souls' Day. Traditions connected with the holiday include building private altars honoring the deceased using
sugar skulls,
marigolds,
and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed and visiting
graves with these as gifts. They also leave possessions of the deceased. (wikipedia)
Studying Pre-Columbian Art, Philosophy and the Andean Cosmo-vision through
Art Workshops at Apulaya Centre
for Andean Culture.
http://apulaya.com
Exploring the many
archeological sites in the Sacred Valley of the
Incas including Macchu Picchu, Quenko and Saqsayhuaman, Ollantaytambo,
Pisac, and Moray, and discovering the culture of the Inca.
The
Inca Empire or
Inka Empire[2] (
Quechua:
Tawantinsuyu) was the largest empire in
pre-Columbian America.
[3] The administrative, political and military center of the empire was located in
Cusco in modern-day
Peru. The
Inca civilization arose from the highlands of Peru sometime in the early 13th century.
Volunteering to help teach painting to the children in the Huaren primary school and having fun eating fresh mangoes and playing games in the schoolyard!
Cultural Immersion in
Andean Culture and learning from the children about their highland communities and traditions such as weaving, shepherding and farming, and even learning a few words of their native language.
Quechua (
pronounced /kɛˈtʃəwə/ or
/kɛˈtʃwə/;
Spanish: [keˈtʃwa]) is the name of a people of the central Andes of South America and their language (wikipedia
Painting the significant
Apu Pitusiray mountain with natural earth pigments and with lovely assistants Anais and Beto. The natural dyes and paints in Peru are made from plants and insects and create a rich range of colors for art, architecture and fabric.
Pitusiray is a mountain in
Calca Province in the
Cuzco Region of
Peru. Its peak rises 5,800 metres above sea level (wikipedia)
Taking a break from painting the Andean Mountain landscape to eat delicious cream-filled pastries!
Trying to figure out how humans moved such large rocks to build these extensive walls...???
Sacsayhuamán (also known as
Saksaq Waman,
Sacsahuaman or
Saxahuaman) is a walled complex on the northern outskirts of the city of
Cusco, Peru, the former capital of the
Inca Empire. The complex is as many other Inca constructions made of large polished
dry stone walls, each boulder carefully cut to fit together tightly without
mortar (wikipedia)
Relaxing during a retreat.