The Sacred Mountain

Looking to the left while standing on our balcony, I can see a distant snow capped mountain. After a month of looking at it from afar it was time to pay a visit, so Neil and I boarded a van at 4:30 AM to begin the journey. In this case, the peak is Nevado Ausangate - the highest peak in the Cusco region (20,945') and an epicenter of Incan mythology. Considered a God (Apu Ausangate) it remains revered today as a deity and many people make a trek there to ask for intersession at important points in their lives. This includes my Spanish teacher who went there for that purpose a couple of weeks ago when he submitted his masters thesis. It's also the site of the Quyllur Rit'i pilgrimage for the local Quechua population. Along the way we passed innumerable llamas and alpacas (raised for wool, transportation, and meat) as well as many locals in their brightly colored clothing tending their potato fields and flocks. We also witnessed one of the largest rockfalls I've ever seen, falling several thousand feet and sounding like an artillery barrage.