Friday was one of the wilder days we've had since being here. First, and update on Semana Santa traditions - on Thursday night they have what is essentially a huge street party/fair, that lasts until all hours of the night. At 10:30 there were still hundreds of people out on the plaza, eating and selling dulces like it was a Saturday afternoon. I love how the whole community is part of the holiday traditions here. Tomorrow, Easter Morning, there are of course celebratory services for the resurrection, but there is at least one other very interesting tradition - in a couple parts of town, they create an effigy of Judas, and then burn him! It has a comic element, for sure, as his last will and testament is read, leaving his soccer skills to the local team, etc. I don't know if other cities do this, nor whether we will be getting up in time to see it, but I just thought that it was a very interesting tradition.
Friday we had plans for un paseo - an outing - to Yura, about an hour outside the city, with the church we attend here. Three of the youth wanted to be baptized in the river there and the whole church piled into a bus to make an afternoon of it. Unfortunately, I woke up feeling pretty lousy and before long was sidelined for the day with a stomach bug. Laura took Noah and joined the group to a place she described as "the absolute middle of nowhere". As they were parking the bus, they made sure to avoid a small rockslide occuring nearby. After rejoicing with the baptisms, they enjoyed a big lunch and some games together in the open field there (pictures below should improve this vague description). Noah had a great time, skipping his nap to play in the dirt, kick a soccer ball, trade rocks with another boy, and be fussed over by all the Peruvian ladies. Laura, on the other hand, started feeling a bit sick partway through the day, but was patient and didn't complain. To her dismay, though, the group took their time in returning, as is the custom here. By the time they got back, Laura was exhausted, Noah was full of life, despite having slept only 15 minutes, and my stomach was only mildly improving. We had a strang evening, the three of us, and when Noah went to bed at 7:30, we followed about half an hour later.
The other crazy item I didn't mention was that in the morning while they were getting ready, there were two earthquakes! They were actually only tremors by Peruvian standards, measuring 4.8 and 4.4, but it was our first experience of anything seismic, and it sure scared the daylights out of us. No damage done, a few injuries outside the city. Not your typical Good Friday, but all part of life in Peru.
On location
Noah hard at play
And our wonderful hosts, Bob and Noel Rich
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