JOURNEY TO SACRED PERU

Being from western Colorado, which abounds with natural hot springs, I had to add this to the website…let’s soak!

Agua Caliente’s economy is based around tourism providing all the necessary services such as hotels and restaurants, as well as its fair share of souvenir shops and stalls. Of course it’s Machu Picchu that people have came to visit and Aguas Calientes itself has little to offer the tourist apart from its thermal springs believed to possess curative powers.

The outdoor thermal pools can be found 15 minutes walk out of town (follow the main street to the right of the Plaza up hill), and costs US$3 to enter. There are changing facilities, showers, luggage storage and a small cafe selling snacks, cold drinks and beer.

There are several pools of varying size and temperature including one filled with ice cold mountain water so check first before jumping in!. The springs have been recently refurbished and are good place to relax, especially after completing the Inca Trail. Open 0500-2100. Take soap and shampoo.

If you were to call me today and tell me to fill a suitcase and grab my passport, I’d do it.  I wouldn’t even ask where we were going.  Crazy, right?  Traveling has the grace of placing you smack dab into the present moment in every moment.  The environment is new, the people unfamiliar, and often even the language is incomprehensible.  You instantly shift your focus to the here and now, and a sense of awe and wonder fills the space in your brain that was formally occupied by mundane details and worries. For a yogi, traveling instantly provides the present moment, one pointed awareness that we constantly seek on our mats and cushions.

Then, as with everything else, eventually things start to feel familiar and comfortable in each new place.  The old habits and mind stuff start to creep back in. When you are removed from your day-to-day life though, you are able to view this stuff through a new lens. Traveling allows for your perspective to change.  You shift your understanding of your tendencies (and often your normal tools for coping with them are absent), so you begin to observe the heart of the matter, that your habits and tendencies are yours alone, and you find the strength and the willingness to let go of what no longer serves you.  Then when you return home, the hope is that you retain some of the freedom that you found in your exploration of the world.

In my modest amount of travels, I’ve had many versions of this experience.  A few I’ve even laughingly named…the Mexican Margherita Awakening, the Costa Rican Bullet Ant Awareness, the Guatemalan Lake of the Mind.  But nowhere that I’ve been in the world so far magnified this experience and propelled me to a deeper relationship with the Self than the Sacred Valley in Peru.  There is something about this very spiritual place that feels almost enchanted.  Maybe it’s the thinner air that allows us to break through so much of our thick headedness, or maybe it’s the unfathomable feats of architecture and construction that took place in a culture entirely dedicated to honoring the spirit of the place. The people today are still intimately connected to their past and their culture in a way that is so hard for most of us to understand.  When they speak of the accomplishments and trials of the Incan people almost a millienia ago, they speak with ownership.  There is not a separation between the “they” of the past and the “we” of the present.  When describing the achievements of a past civilization, a local Peruvian is very likely to explain what “we did” and why.

The result of this deep and personal connection is a feeling of reverence toward everything, and this feeling is contagious.  As a visitor, you begin to move through your days with this same awareness, that everything is sacred and it is a blessing to be a part of it even for just a moment.  The ideas of gratitude and grace come to the forefront of our experience, and we can begin to understand that we carry these gifts of awareness in us always.  The hope of our retreat is that we offer support in the unfolding of this process and the tools to carry them home with you into your life.

Sacred Valley Peru vacations continue to grow in popularity with travelers who are looking for an authentic and enchanting travel experience. The Sacred Valley Peru is understood to be the land that extends between the towns of Pisac and Ollantaytambo. This past heart of the Inca Empire starts just 10 miles outside of Cusco, and trips here reward visitors with incomparable Inca ruins, stunning Andes Mountains vistas, charming towns, a good climate, and plenty of opportunities to get out and enjoy the countryside. Flowing through the Sacred Valley Peru territory is the venerable Urubamba (Vilcanota) River, which gets pretty rough in spots. You can go white water rafting in the Sacred Valley, trek through its hills and mountains, hike part of theInca Trail, or explore what the respective towns have to offer. The Sacred Valley receives water from various rivers that descend through the surrounding gorges, and the different landscapes here are enough to effectively wear out your camera. The most popular tourist attraction in or near the valley, is Machu Picchu, which lies at the valley’s north end, and it certainly must be visited if you are in the area

Also called the Urubamba Valley, it is a setting of picturesque communities, impressive terraces and many important archeological sites. Dominated by the imposing peaks of the Vilcanota mountain range, the valley has been the storehouse for agricultural products for the city of Cuzco since Inca times, and today is famous for being home to maize cobs, the sacred food of the Incas, with the largest kernels in the world.

The valley includes the area between the Inca communities of Pisac and Ollantaytambo. Its mild weather and particular geography make it ideal as a destination for exploring!

Ollantaytambo

A typical Inca community located 21 km from Urubamba at 2,800 meters above sea level, named in honor of the chief Ollanta, who was famous for courting an Inca princess, daughter of Pachacutec. One of its best-preserved areas, known as Hanan Haucaypata lies north of the main square and contains 15 estates built with elegantly crafted stonewalls.

Ollantaytambo also features an extensive archaeological site located on the imposing hillside overlooking the town, containing structures such as the Temple of the Sun, and the Manacaray or Royal Hall, the Incahuatana and the Banos de la Princesa. Ollantaytambo is a nice place to stay while on a Peru tour. The area has hotels, restaurants and horses and mountain bikes for hire. A branch leading from Ollantaytambo to the Malaga mountain pass (4,200masl), goes through towns such as picturesque Huilloc, home to the renowned wayruros (porters)

Yesterday I drove up to a car wash fundraiser and enjoyed some minutes in the sunshine while high school students washed and dried my car which really needed it.    I felt good knowing that these students were selflessly serving the program for which they were raising funds by washing cars.  I also felt good knowing that the money I would other wise spend on a regular carwash could go toward a good cause.   Similarly, this is how I feel about participating in the Journey to Sacred Peru.  Yes, a retreat to a resort in Mexico sounds great too, but there is just something special in knowing that the money I will spend to stay at Hanaq Pancha in Peru for this retreat is going directly to the Casa de Milagros orphanage.  I watched the interview with Mama Kia on the Chandler Sky Foundation website which relays her commitment to these children, and I feel so good knowing that I am a part of something that will help this heartfelt orphanage to keep taking care of these impoverished children.

I’m also really looking forward to spending time at Casa de Milagros and serving the needs of the orphanage wherever I can.  As we journey along the yoga path, we all get to a point where we realize how much yoga extends outward in all directions, that it’s not simply the time we take to get on our mats and move and breathe.  Yoga is about how we live our life and what values we hold dear to us.  Being of service is one of those values.  Seva yoga is usually described as service, but this word does not quite capture the essence of seva.  The word seva is made up of two words, ‘saha’ and ‘eva’. Saha means ‘with that’ and eva means ‘too’. The word seva means ‘together with’ and is describing those actions that seek collective upliftment through an understanding of the needs of others and are based on togetherness and integration.  Seva is an expression of compassion, of the desire to uplift and assist people.  With the practice of seva yoga, we confront the image that we have of ourselves, and begin to juxtapose it with the reality. The image is created by mistaken identification with the outside world, and is also illusory. Identification with such things as culture, nationality, gender, socialization, education, career and reputation creates what we attach to as our ‘personality’. This artificial construct called personality is the illusion that the practice of seva yoga begins to dissemble and purify. Many times during the practice of seva yoga we are asked to do tasks that are not in accordance with our way of thinking or behaving. This creates an internal friction, as the limiting and illusory aspects of the personality are challenged and it is precisely at this point that the practice really begins.  Seva yoga is part of the larger practice that is our sadhana, our commitment to evolving as a human.  Donating money to a high school fundraiser, giving away a percentage of one’s income to help those less fortunate than ourselves, investing in the journey of a lifetime to Peru and spending time at Casa de Milagros…these are all examples of seva yoga.  I feel blessed to be co-leading this trip!

-Kerry

I woke up this morning with a powerful feeling/memory of Peru.  This happens fairly often in the quiet stillness of the morning before the world wakes up and gets going.  I get a taste of the expansive, wide-open feeling that Peru impressed upon me.  I know that all travel changes you, helps you to know more about who you are by taking you out of it, but Peru is special.  I’ve had numerous conversations with friends and acquaintances who have traveled to the Sacred Valley, and the consensus is the same.  The experience is beyond words, and I’ve never been the same since.  Sure my life keeps on rolling.  I still get up, make breakfast, get the kids ready for school, practice yoga, go to work.  Life is still pretty much the same routine as it was before, but now on sweet quite mornings like this, the experience of that ancient place resonates deep inside, in my bones, and I remember how amazing it is to be a part of the circle.  I remember to honor the sacredness of my life.  I hug my kids a little longer before they walk out the door, and I come to my mat with a deeper reverence for this connection.

I am so excited to return.  To revisit this place that has such a deep and lasting impact on so many.  All of our efforts over the last several months are starting to come together, and we are ready to move forward with making this trip a reality once more.

~Kelly

Located at the base of the sacred Urubamba valley, Cuzco was the capital of the Inca empire five centuries ago. According to Incan legend, it was founded by Manco Capac and his sister-consort Mama Ocllo, sent by the sun god Inti with the task of finding a place where the gold staff they carried would sink easily into the ground. For the Incans, Cuzco (Cusco, or Qosq’o in the Quechua languag) meant “navel of the world.” There Manco Capac taught the men to farm, Mama Ocllo taught the women to weave, and the Incan culture began to flourish, tranforming Cuzco into a glittering capital as large as any European city.

Lonely Planet writes:

“This high-flying Andean city is the uneasy bearer of many grand titles. It was once the foremost city of the Inca empire, and is now the undisputed archaeological capital of the Americas, as well as the continent’s oldest continuously inhabited city. Few travelers to Peru will skip visiting this premier South American destination, which is also the gateway to Machu Picchu.  Although Cuzco was long ruled by an inca (king) or a Spanish conquistador, there’s no question of who rules the roost in the 21st century: city life is at the whim of international visitors.

While Cuzco has rapidly developed infrastructure to at least partly cope with the influx of tourism over the last few decades, its historical past retains a powerful grip on the present. Massive Inca-built walls line steep, narrow cobblestone streets and form the foundations of modern buildings. The plazas are thronged with Quechua-speaking descendants of the Incas, and ancient treasures are carefully guarded inside colonial mansions and churches.”

Welcome to journeytosacredperu.com. More to come! Check back soon!