Church Anniversary in Cauca
I know we're in for a good weekend of travelling when René or Roberto mention a place that can't be found on the map. So it was with Cauca last weekend (27-29 September, 2024). The church there was having its anniversary, and believers from as far away as the Colca Canyon (over 50km away) came in for the celebrations. On the Saturday alone they had 6 church meetings/ services (early bird service, below), and 3 on the Sunday, ranging from 1.5 hours to well over 3 hrs in length.
That sort of thing is probably going to mystify most of us, but these people have relatives and dear friends everywhere, and it's a great way for people to catch up, news to be shared, and fellowship to be enjoyed. A couple of alpacas were slaughtered in preparation, lots of chuños (the dried black potatos in the green tub below) were soaked and boiled up, and cups of hot maté (herbal tea) served with every meal.
The mill stone and grinders (below) caught my eye. Might not be as flashy as your blender, but certainly more reliable and have been around for eons.
During the night everyone crammed into a couple of adobe buildings to sleep (below). Mums, dads, kids, bubs, the elderly, the teenagers, and a couple of orphaned lambs for good measure -- with everyone squeezed in it probably didn't get too close to zero deg. C. At 2:00am it was very touch-and-go getting out of the building for a pit stop, but thankfully I didn't tread on anyone. Next time I'm going to grab a spot next to the door...
Outside it was a different matter. Technically it is spring here, but the ice on the Hilux in the morning was certainly the thickest I've ever seen on a vehicle. The engine cranked slowly (batteries in sub-zero lose a lot of their power) but fired up anyway. This was not the case for one guy's Chinese bus (approx. 12 seater, diesel). We tried jump-starting it from the Hilux, but it wouldn't get going. Then he suggested I tow him behind the Hilux. I suggested we wait for the day (and his battery) to warm up a bit, but he wanted to get going and he assured me it would start. Still with my doubts, we hooked up the tow rope and set off down the track, with my friend periodically dropping the clutch.
What a circus it was! Huge clouds of white vapour (unburned diesel) occasionally belched out of the bus's exhaust pipe, but still no go. Finally, after turning around and heading back to the settlement, the motor fired just before we came to a stop. He was stoked with the outcome, but then he wasn't the one with a bent rear bar courtesy of the exercise. Anyway I managed to straighten that out, more or less. Next time we're definitely going to let the Andean morning sun do its thing.
At the small lagoon over from the church, geese and other water birds were getting into the spring swing of things:
Others were getting ready for the day as well:
Above: a herd of alpacas itching to get out onto the pasture.
Below: queuing up for desayuno (breakfast). "Bienvenidos" above the church door means 'welcome'. They certainly know how to do that here!
Sunday after lunch we took the dirt track out of Cauca (below) and headed back to Arequipa. This is some of the highest altitude I've yet stayed in, at about 4700m. Certainly gives the term 'breathtaking' new meaning...
