¨Jumping for Joy at The Door of Wisdom¨
On our last episode, we had just finished shreding the sandy slopes before heading up to altitude. We got into Puno around 8:01 pm, found some grub, and hit the sack. Sleeping proved a wee bit dificult for some, as Puno sits at about 11,000 ft, especially mixed with the chilly weather. What happened next, we knew not. We crawled out of bed around eight, for we had scheduled a meeting with a shaman named Raul. He stands about 5´7¨. His pony tail extends down to mid back, with a kind face. After the first greeting, he would flash his trademark smile, one worthy of postcards across the globe. An hour van/bus ride later, we arrived at the sacred, or so he said, Pink Mountains. Not too sure of the name choice, the mountains had a pinkish tinge, but nothing flamingo-like. What transpired after this can really not be described adequately with words, for the experience spoke for itself. However, we will do our best to provide a highlight reel for your curious imaginations. It began with an offering of some sweetly scented oils combined with some coca leaves as an effort to please the powers that be. We then trotted (carefully) down the spine of a giant (rock) snake, taking us to a mystical land. It was nothing Narnia-like, but it was pretty bacon (not food, but a synonym for awesomeness). Rocks soon surrounded us, jetting out of the grassy hills. We started to climb, led by our friend Raul, stopping many a time to listen to the tales of the condor, snail, worms, family, caterpillar, and more. For all these animals were personified by rocks and told a grand Incan story. Soon, our travels took us to the Door of Wisdom, where we connected to Pacha Mama on a much deeper scale. It was magical…
