A Failed Sunrise

So, last weekend, being the impulsive traveler that I am, I decided to check out this amazing sunrise that you apparently only witness in two places in the world. One is in Japan and the other is in Peru. It is near the town of Paucartambo and the site is located in Parque Manu at a place called "Tres Cruces." 

Now, I have been on many a bad road in my lifetime, but the trajectory here by far exceeds them all. It was a dirt road, which my lungs are still recovering from, with hang gliding cliffs, bad drivers DUI of chicha and beer.

I wish I could say I really enjoyed my time here, but the whole weekend was somewhat traumatic. I definitely think it was an experience, but I am not so sure I would want to have it again. Let my pictures tell the story.

After 7 hours on a dirt road that I am still recovering from, we arrived at Tres Cruces at about 3am. There was ice on the ground at over 3,800msnm. It was freezing and despite wearing two pairs of pants, underarmour, two long sleeve shirts, a hoodie, and jacket, I was freezing. We placed one sleeping bag on the ground to not sit on the frozen ground and tried to bury ourselves under the other. After waiting with a crowd of tourist for 2 hours in the freezing cold for this sunset, we began to see light.

 

Looking beautiful...

Where is the sun?

Blinded by the clouds. A failed Sun Rise :(

We traveled 7 hours and almost got hypothermia! I guess it's life. Sometimes, the sun just doesn't come out.

To be completely honest, what drew my attention the most to this place was the festivity happening at Paucartambo that weekend. I heard that the dances and parades being held in honor of Virgen del Carmen were quite the experience. These are some of the masks used.

The local "iglesia".

Everyone was at mass. I am not sure if you can see Virgen del Carmen in the back but there are hundreds of flowers all around her from her devited followers.

The parade begins! These are the Maq'tas. They are the jesters of the festivities. They are the ones that are suppose to make the people laugh and liven the party. To be completely honest, I found them somewhat frightening. I love the colors and originality of the costumes, but they really do look like something from a clown horror movie to me. Maybe I am too sensitive to a lot of things. I was really distraught when I saw them come in. I saw these little kids dressed in these costumes carrying around machine guns.

They are all revering to Virgen del Carmen.

Paucartambo was packed. I couldn't believe how many people were there.

I believe this dance is called "Majeno." It remembers past times, where aguardiente (drink of choice) was brought to Paucartambo from an area close to Arequipa. These people represent the "Arrieros" which were the one's in charge of delivering the aguardiente.

These are the protagonists. The "Majeno" is the man who dances with this elegant lady.

These are the Quapaq Ch'uncho. It is a warrior dance dedicated to the Incas. The dance represents the constant battles with the people groups in the jungle and how the bartering that occurred between them. Their hats have feathers form Guacamayos (Large Parrots) and a mask made of thin wire.

Still smiling after pulling an all nighter!

Like I said before. The place was packed!

There are so many people here and we started trying to find lunch around 12:30pm and finally ate three hours later. Here we are hungry!

Lechon is the local dish of choice. Actually, the typical dish of Paucartambo is a plate called "Merienda." It is a mix of really random things together. It includes pasta, potato, lechon...etc.

Colors everywhere!

This dance is the Misti Qanchi. It represents the province of Canchis that was founded in 1947 for the festivities of Virgen del Carmen. The dance represents the cult offered by the natives to mother corn. It is an "ambassador dance" rendering cult to Mama Carmen from a visiting people group.

These are the Chunchachas. This dance originates in the Valley of Q'osnipata and symbolizes the day these natives arrived to Paucartambo to pay tribute to the Virgen del Carmen. All of the dancers are women and it is one of the most modern dances.

These are the Negrillos. They are from Dominican origin. They have recently become part of the festivities for Virgen del Carmen.

These are the K'Champa. It is a dance representing the Inca warrior and his conquests before the Spanish arrived.

Each dance had its own band. They were very talented. I do think a lot of the dances carry the same baseline rythm.

Remember the parade I was in? This is my dance. The Mestiza Qoyacha. This is danced by single "Qoyachas" (the women) and by "Huaynas" which are the single men. It is a very happy dance where supposedly new marriages are formed... Isn't ironic that I would dance this?

These are the Qhapaq Quolla. Legend has it... that a Paucartambina (a girl form Paucartambo) on her way to Puno found the head of the Virgen Carmen in the room she was staying at. She brought it back to Paucartambo where she had a body made for the head to complete her and donated it to the church.

I can't believe how much drinking was going on in Paucartambo. It was slightly overwhelming. The night I got there there were so many people that were wondering the streets incredibly drunk.

That was my crazy trip to Paucartambo. I am still not sure what to think about it. All I can say was that it was an experience.