Monday, October 06, 2003
Grandma's House
I'm staying at La Casa De La Abuela, Grandma's House - roughly translated, in the beautiful City of Arequipa, in Peru.
There are some more group Pictures Here (Taken by another group member - Natasha)
http://groups.msn.com/kumuka/shoebox.msnw?Page=3
And Here - http://groups.msn.com/kumuka/natashaspictures.msnw
I'm in love with this place, it is Peru´s second largest City, and has a very colonial Feel to it, it is by far the most Affluent place we have been to in Peru so far, and is known as The White City because of the Volcanic Rock, most of the buildings are constructed with.
Yesterday, I saw one of Arequipa´s most famous daughters, Juanitta - shdidn'tdn´t have much to say for herself because she has been dead for over 500 years, a 14 year old girl, who had the misfortune of being selected for sacrifice by the Incas, who I think it is fair to say, made better stone masons than parents. Police are looking for an Inca Shaman in his 540´s, wearing a feather head dress and carrying a large mace.
Juanitta, probably the daughter of nobles was selected very early on to be sacrificed to Apu, (the Mountain God, not the Grocer in the Simpsons) due to beautyuaty, and purialthoughhogh after 500 years, we are talking serious speculation here on those points) at about 14 years old, probably in answer to a local calamity, she was dressed up rather splendidly, marched to the top of a Volcano (about 6000mtrs), given some coca leaves to chew (See Cheekey Chipmonk Cheeks), a cup of Colcha - Inca Corn Beer - and promptly sent to meet Apu via a deft blow to her temple with a mace.
She lay thburiedried in the frozen earth, and was covered by a glacier for 5 centuries, until, in the early 90´s an ajacent volcano popped it´s lid, and spat hot ash all over Juanittas freezer compartment. Cue a couple of beard toting nerds in puffer jackets out for a stroll, and the rest as they say is history.
Todays boffins mumble knowingly through their beards, saying it was quick and painless, and that it would have been considered a great honour, because she would becoimmortalmortal god herself, they say the walk up there would have taken her pretty close to death, the coca leaves and beer would have knocked her out, and the hammer on the nappa was purely belt and braces, I like to think this was the case and, take comfort in the fact that she did acimmortalitytality of sorts....
hundreds of years after the last Incas caught the bus to extintion central, she is still telling us a great deal about their lives.
Fresh from the Freezer, here she is!!!
Muchos Besos (para las Chicas)
¶ 1:52 pm
There are some more group Pictures Here (Taken by another group member - Natasha)
http://groups.msn.com/kumuka/shoebox.msnw?Page=3
And Here - http://groups.msn.com/kumuka/natashaspictures.msnw
I'm in love with this place, it is Peru´s second largest City, and has a very colonial Feel to it, it is by far the most Affluent place we have been to in Peru so far, and is known as The White City because of the Volcanic Rock, most of the buildings are constructed with.
Yesterday, I saw one of Arequipa´s most famous daughters, Juanitta - shdidn'tdn´t have much to say for herself because she has been dead for over 500 years, a 14 year old girl, who had the misfortune of being selected for sacrifice by the Incas, who I think it is fair to say, made better stone masons than parents. Police are looking for an Inca Shaman in his 540´s, wearing a feather head dress and carrying a large mace.
Juanitta, probably the daughter of nobles was selected very early on to be sacrificed to Apu, (the Mountain God, not the Grocer in the Simpsons) due to beautyuaty, and purialthoughhogh after 500 years, we are talking serious speculation here on those points) at about 14 years old, probably in answer to a local calamity, she was dressed up rather splendidly, marched to the top of a Volcano (about 6000mtrs), given some coca leaves to chew (See Cheekey Chipmonk Cheeks), a cup of Colcha - Inca Corn Beer - and promptly sent to meet Apu via a deft blow to her temple with a mace.
She lay thburiedried in the frozen earth, and was covered by a glacier for 5 centuries, until, in the early 90´s an ajacent volcano popped it´s lid, and spat hot ash all over Juanittas freezer compartment. Cue a couple of beard toting nerds in puffer jackets out for a stroll, and the rest as they say is history.
Todays boffins mumble knowingly through their beards, saying it was quick and painless, and that it would have been considered a great honour, because she would becoimmortalmortal god herself, they say the walk up there would have taken her pretty close to death, the coca leaves and beer would have knocked her out, and the hammer on the nappa was purely belt and braces, I like to think this was the case and, take comfort in the fact that she did acimmortalitytality of sorts....
hundreds of years after the last Incas caught the bus to extintion central, she is still telling us a great deal about their lives.
Fresh from the Freezer, here she is!!!
Muchos Besos (para las Chicas)
¶ 1:52 pm
