Spiritual Cuzco, Sacred Valley

Mid-August and still in Cuzco -- for many reasons. One benefit to becoming a resident of this fine city is that we’ve started to get to know another side of Cuzco, touching the surface of what makes this city a spiritual center and gives it a special energy that manifests itself in various ways. Some think that is why the 20-somethings to 30-somethings go crazy here, hooking up with each other much quicker than in other cities. It’s kind of permanent spring break -- but with a somewhat older crowd, colder weather, and a notable absence of bikinis and beer bongs. There are also the people who come to Cuzco seeking spiritual enlightenment in whatever form that might take: yoga retreats, ceremonies with shamans (both with and without the native, plant-derived drugs of San Pedro and Ayahuasca), meditation, etc. And the two groups aren’t mutually exclusive, producing a very interesting contradiction of forces at work in the city, among groups of friends, and in oneself.

This month’s full moon produced some intense moments in the city. On August 1 Pachamama Raymi is celebrated -- the day when people give thanks to Pachamama (Mother Earth) through elaborate, involved ceremonies. After yet another late night out we dragged ourselves out of bed to be at our friends’ bar, Nuna Machay (meaning “cave of the spirit” in the indigenous Quechua language), by 11 a.m. for a ceremony with two taitas (shamans) and a taita-in-training of sorts, Arial, a Chilean guy who happens to manage our “other” local hangout (one of those people with dual lives here in Cuzco). During four-hours we made wishes while blowing on coca leaves then handing them to other people in our group who then chewed them (coca leaves are frequently used in the Andes as a mild stimulant to provide energy and decrease appetite but also have deep cultural and spiritual meaning). We passed around hand-rolled cigarettes from shaman-blessed tobacco, glasses of port, beer, and, yes, Coca-Cola. One of friends pointed out that the image of one of the taitas -- who was dressed in traditional garb including a brilliantly multicolored cloth cap -- pouring out of a 2-liter bottle of Coke would make a great commercial for the carbonated beverage.

After what seemed like the social part of the ceremony the taitas picked out small groups of coca leaves with each representing an apu, or mountain spirit, that they named. Us travelers offered up the names of mountains from our homes, with me singling out my majestic Mt. Shasta. The taitas performed the same action for rivers (Sacramento got my shout out), placing the coca leaves on a bed of red and white flowers. Then they set to work adding substances from various packages they unwrapped, including minerals, candy, and even money. Then the package was wrapped and the taitas went around all of us and we blew on it, again making wishes. Finally it was put in a big pan on top of smoldering kindling and burnt until only ashes remained. Finally it was up to the owners of Nuna Machay to collect and bury the ashes in the same place where they buried the ashes of similar package that was the end product of the ceremony held just prior to the bar’s opening 3 months ago. Eduardo and Tavo took the package up to the mountains at 6 a.m. the next morning.

The day before my birthday Eduardo, Tavo, Alicia (a friend from Toronto) and I rented a SUV and drove out to the Sacred Valley, a place of incredible beauty that starts just a half-hour or so from Cuzco but includes other sites farther out, such as Machu Picchu. We drove through the valley, stopping at various places that peaked our interest, including a weaving center, lake, salt mines, and Ollantaytambo, a quaint city with many of the original Incan stones in streets, walls, and doorways. We climbed up the ruins of the fortress where the Spanish conquistadors (led by Francisco Pizarro’s brother) lost one of the only major battles to the Incans then started the drive back to Cuzco, only to stop nearly every five minutes to gape at the literally breathtaking scenery, starting with the nearly full moon appearing in the waning daylight. We were treated to a spectacular sunset over the glacier-covered Andean peaks and a channel of light cutting through one part of the valley, providing an ethereal, haunting beauty. Eduardo, who had been in the valley dozens of times, verified that it was one of the most gorgeous trips he had experienced there.

The next day, my birthday, I woke up feeling a bit unsettled and the perfect remedy sounded like a hike up to el Corazón de la Pacha, a Incan ruin site that is distinguished by a heart-shaped rock at the top of a small cave for yoga and meditation. The site is also known as el Templo de los Monos for a rock above el Corazón that bears carvings shaped like monkeys. Some of the tour guides don’t even mention the rock that some believe is the heart of Mother Earth and the Lonely Planet guide doesn’t mention the site by either name. Once again we are so fortunate to have befriended the locals, who take us to places many tourists never see. Niki and I practiced yoga on the flat rocks across from el Corazón and every time I unfurled myself while doing a sun salute I marveled at the view, with the seemingly impossibly high Andes in the distance and the rich gold of the savannah in the foreground. One of the major perks of setting up camp in Cuzco is this, our back yard of sorts, just a 10-minute walk (although a fairly grueling, steep one) uphill. After we were done I sat below el Corazón on a flat rock to do what is known as “taking the light” due to the sunlight shining through an opening of the cave and forming a point that, as the sun gets lower, moves up through the body’s chakras and eventually forms a small triangle on the forehead on the third eye (if you’re centered correctly) before disappearing. While meditating in the light I fell into the deepest, trance-like state I have ever experienced, which to my sometimes skeptical self proved the power of the place. After returning to our room down the hill I was completely exhausted, an extreme tiredness I could only attribute to the experience of taking the light.

I slept for about an hour and was so worn out I nearly stayed in on my birthday eve but the ever-persistent (and convincing) Niki got me out of bed. After a scrumptious dinner of tapas at one of Cuzco’s best restaurants, which included a bottle of the crisply delicious 2008 Casa Lapostelle Sauvignon Blanc from Chile), we made the rounds to the local bars, with Eduardo accompanying us to the last one where we heard the last song of the Led Zepplin/Doors/Pink Floyd tribute night (this sort of live entertainment is common in Cuzco, where I’ve heard more old music performed than ever in my life). Upon leaving that club, Siete Angelitos (named after the street it’s located on; there are also streets named Siete Diablitos and Siete Culebras [7 Serpents] in Cuzco), Eduardo got a call from a friend who wanted our help in getting rid of bad spirits that were bothering him. Yes, this is the type of thing that happens in our new hometown.

So we go to the house of the friend, also named Eduardo, who is the owner of a hostel that Niki and I immediately realized we had visited with another friend on one of our first nights in Cuzco. Eduardo (dos) lived in a penthouse of sorts, with one wall covered in windows to make the most of the view of the hilly neighborhoods, alight in twinkling pastel colors. He explained he had been bothered lately by visions of an evil shaman near his bed, shaking his head as he cast a spell, feelings of bad energy, and a bad headache that he felt was the result of the building owner trying to force the hostel out. After cleansing us and the area with drops of water, he prepared a space on a long, low table with two plates on which he lit and placed five white candles. In between the two plates was a clear glass full of water. After chanting and praying to invoke the good spirits to drive the bad ones away, we all took turns placing our hands around and on top of the glass, in which the water when we were done had turned from being still to full of bubbles. Niki, who is very sensitive to different types of energy, couldn’t take her hands away from the glass until Eduardo (dos) put his hands back over it. While she wasn’t sure the energy she felt was good, she definitely felt a presence in the room that had been invoked by our actions.

All in all the experiences and events surrounding my birthday made it one of the most distinct birthdays I have experienced and one I won‘t soon forget. Tonight we're off to Arequipa, a city 10 hours south, where we won't escape the fiesta as tomorrow is the city's biggest holiday commemorating the founding of the place known as the White City due to the color of its buildings and the glacier-capped volcano looming over the town. We'll also visit Colca Canyon, which was thought to be the deepest canyon in the world until another deeper canyon was discovered a few hours from there.