The weekend of 23-24 August saw myself and René travel roughly north-east out of Arequipa for about 6 hours. This got us about halfway between Arequipa and Lake Titicaca, to the village of Matazo.
Below: The main street of Matazo, with locals hanging around the general store. One of the things different about this area is that the ladies wear hats festooned with plastic flowers!
Being August, it was c-o-l-d. Normally we don't travel in the high country during winter because it just gets too difficult. But René was up for it and I try to go on as many trips as I can, to meet more of the Christians and pastors of the churches in these areas.
Below: On the road to Matazo.
Above: René trying to get phone reception at Santa Lucia, about 1/2 way to Matazo.
We left Arequipa at about 4:00am, and after a couple of hours driving we made it up onto the altiplano behind Picchu Picchu, a range of peaks to the east of the city. By the time we got to Salinas Huito, I couldn't wash the windscreen because the water in the tubes was frozen. Getting to Matazo, I tried to throw the dregs out of my coffee cup, but they were frozen too. Next morning, I went to get an apple out of the car so that I wouldn't take my meds on a empty stomach, but it was frozen solid too. While filling my water bottle on the tailgate of the Hilux, I spilled a bit and it froze before my eyes!
My Quechua friends were amused at my surprise to all of this. I mean, I've never travelled conditions this cold, and it never really crossed my mind that an apple could freeze solid during the night. No wonder they don't store much fruit or vegetables in sheds or whatnot; it would just freeze and then be useless when thawed out. Only dry goods and their beloved chuños (freeze dried potatos) make the grade.
Anyway, freezing cold aside, the purpose of the trip was to run a taller (workshop) in Matazo on the Friday afternoon. First session was led by René, taking the participants through John 3:16 and how one could prepare a talk/ sermon/ study/ Sunday School lesson from it. Then it was my turn to take the group through Jesus' conversation with the 'Rich Young Man' in Luke 18:18-30. Why does Jesus only quote 5 out of the 6 commandments from Exodus 20 re. our relationships with others? Does he have a strategy behind not mentioning the commandment re. coveting/ greed? By comparing a rich man entering the Kingdom to a camel passing through the eye of a needle, is Jesus teaching that rich people can't be saved? Why then does he cryptically say that what is impossible with men is possible with God? And what in the context can help us understand what Jesus is teaching?
Below: René busting his moves in the workshop. Notice the women seated to the left, the men to the right. I came across the same practice in Pakistan back in the 90's. It's not strictly adhered to here in the campo, but it's what usually happens.
Well, it turns out that Jesus' encouter with Zacchaeus (a filthy rich fella if ever there was) in the very next chapter shows us exactly how God does the impossible: we get to see a camel pass through the eye of a needle, as it were! God so works in Zacchaeus' heart that he is no longer greedy and grasping and covetous, but now generous and open-handed.
Below: Saturday morning breakfast. Note the dishwater thrown on the ground, which has frozen right where it landed.
Saturday after breakfast we started the 6 hour drive back to Arequipa. As a couple of the hermanas (sisters) had to get back to their farms, we took a different route and ended up going around the eastern side of the volcano Ubinas (below). The closer you get to this behemoth the more desolate the landscape becomes, because the volcano regularly spews out loads of pumice-like gravel and ash.
On the way back René and I hopped out to take a closer look at some of the cushion-shaped plants, called 'Yareta'. René is quite taken with Yareta because during the winter months it sheds some sort of resin, which he calls "lagrimas" (tears). René says when he's got a cold he inhales the aroma of the resin, in much the same way we would use menthol (or Vicks) to ease congestion. Personally I'm not sure Yareta resin really works... but then I'm not that sure about Vicks either ;-) I keep a lid on my cynicism but I'm pretty sure René suspects I'm an unbeliever anyway!
Above: A close-up of the surface of a Yareta plant, with 'lagrimas' of resin on the surface. The pink & green parts of the plant standing proud by a few millimetres are the flowers.
Below: pumice gravel desert courtesy of the volcano.
René really is lots of fun to hang around with; often we're just cracking up laughing with stuff we see or talk about (he was really tickled when I referred to a speed bump as a "sleeping policeman", for example. I think the amusing bit was the idea of running over a policeman). And he's always ready to explain things to do with training in a Quechua context, or customs and practices, the way the local government works (or doesn't) in the remote areas, and so on.
In other news, I've been helping René resurrect his old Honda XL 250, which for years has been parked up. It's running again after a carburetor clean-out, fresh fuel, and some fiddling with the electrics. Just waiting on the front wheel to come back with it's new 21" rim to replace the old 23" rim, because it's so hard to get the larger sized tyres here in Peru. Anyway, with a few more bits (like a new speedo; the old one was irredeemable) the old mechanical mule should be ready to rip once again. I think René's plan is to sell it on, and put the money towards a small car instead. Wise man!
Below: the XL250 sporting a natty new seat cover. As a younger bloke, René covered many miles on this thing, visiting churches, supporting church leaders, teaching the Scriptures. I think he originally got the machine from a retiring German missionary. The paperwork says it's 1995, but that must be the year of importation; the actual model is an early-mid 80's XL250S.
