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Huaraz 'Marches' On
As the snow was setting new records at home, the rain was pouring down on Huaraz, heavier than ever before. Being Irish, you'd think we would have felt right at home. Alas, no. We may be used to rain, but rarely does the electricity fail, the rain seep in the windows and ceilings, and the streets become fast flowing rivers in seconds. The deafening thunderstorms that accompany the rain are pretty awesome, if not a little unnerving. Especially when you hear of lightning striking a huge boulder and killing a local man. Thankfully the skies have been clearer the last few days and, a bit like Spring at home, there are signs that the dry season is on its way.
As with Spring, March has brought many new things - the good, the bad and the ridiculous!
The good - various celebrations with the kids in the Casa Hogar and the football tournament with the street kids (though all these events definetly featured elements of the ridiculous as well and as such, are worthy of their own entries); our friend, Margaret, visited from Lima; our favourite cafe in Huaraz, Cafe Andino, reopened after a 3 month hiatus; one of the kids with a severe disability in the Casa Hogar finally received a new wheelchair which we'd been advocating for, for a few months; we enjoyed a night out with some of the Arco Iris staff eating the ever popular roast chicken and chips; and Karen turned another year older.
The bad - there was a lot of rain; Margaret got altitude sickness during her visit; we both got more random insect bites; our credit and debit cards were either blocked or broken at various times; Mark's phone broke; our internet continued to be unreliable; and Karen's birthday didn't exactly go to plan due to the absence of all electricity, light, water and internet for the majority of the day.
The ridiculous (ie. interesting and enjoyable in many ways but also a bit strange from our perspective) - we attended the birthday party of our 9 year-old neighbour along with his 3 best friends and extended family (this mainly involved sitting watching 'The 3 Stooges', eating local potatoes and singing 3 different versions of 'Happy Birthday'); our new noisy neighbours arrived in the apartment below and continue to blast ridiculous music most of the day; the sound of constant banging on our roof began, which we later found out was because the owners were building a new apartment above us but didn't see the need to advise us of this or that our lovely roof had become an inaccessible pile of rubble; and last but definitely not least, Peru celebrated Easter.
Easter in Huaraz was just like the cakes they enjoy - big, loud, with all the smells, bells and trimmings, but somehow a little lacking in substance. Processions of Saints accompanied by their loyal followers and bands could be seen and heard through the streets day and night during Semana Santa (Holy Week). The biggest parades were reserved for Good Friday and Easter Sunday, which took over the main avenida. Carpets of coloured sawdust depicting religious imagery were displayed on the streets, temporary shrines were set up outside people's houses surrounded by candles and incense, and all-night vigils were held across the town. Possibly the strangest sight was in the plaza near our apartment, where a doll was placed to portray an unpopular figure (a different person is elected each year). On Easter Saturday people surround the doll with plants, pumpkins and candles. Early on Easter Sunday he is set alight. I suppose this is not very different to our Guy Fawkes tradition but still, seems quite extreme when the person chosen is a public figure who is alive and well. This year the unpopular Director of the local University was the chosen victim.
This has been a significant month for Latin America - The Faulklands voted to remain a British territory, Venezuela bid farewell to Hugo Chavez and the first Latin American Pope was elected. For Peru, one of the biggest events of the month was beating Chile in the World Cup Qualifiers - an unexpected but much celebrated result. The only occasion to rival this was the celebration of Easter; a grand affair throughout predominantly Catholic Latin America.
Away from the noise of the processions, the smells of incense and the bright lights of the Catholic churches, we celebrated Easter in a much more quiet and simple way, thanking Jesus for his sacrifice for us, the most pivotal moment in history (there may have been a few Mini Eggs in there as well!). Hope you too had a special Easter!
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