Peruvian Thanksgiving -

Our Thanksgiving "family" consisted of 16 hungry missionaries and 8 other invited guests/helpers. Marilyn spent all day Wednesday cooking and started again early Thursday morning, but it all came together and we had a special dinner. The U.S. missionaries especially appreciated it, although all the missionaries liked the food. One Elder said he hadn't had Thanksgiving dinner for two years.  We saw several of them taking pictures of their HEAPING  plates of food.

It is interesting to cook here. We had to borrow pans from three different people and were lucky to buy a stainless steel baking pan in the market. The ovens here are small and the pans are big--not a good combination. There was no turkey available since we were told that it is eaten by some families at Christmas and does not arrive in the markets until early December. We bought six roasted chickens that were already cut into quarter sections, some of which we divided further for smaller portions. They were delicious. 

Marilyn made the usual: stuffing, sweet potatoes and apples, gravy and cakes.

We bought rolls at the bakery around the corner and had them make two apple pies and one lemon pie. We cooked the potatoes at the church which was quite the process.  The potatoes came from the market and were caked with mud so the first thing was to scrub them--twice.  After they were "clean" they were boiled in a huge pot.  Then we took the peelings off by hand, holding them with a fork because they were too hot to hold. These were the yellow potatoes which have LOTS of eyes in them so were not easy to peel  Then we mashed them with a Peruvian potato masher (shown below).  You know at home we can peel, cook and mash potatoes in just a few minutes--this process took more than an hour with three of us working on them--whew.  We had learned from previous experience that you have to use the right type of potatoes--once I tried mashing white potatoes and they were literally like big globs of glue.  We also boiled the corn on the cob at the church.

The tables are all set, awaiting the hungry masses. The children of Pilar Bejarano, and Flor Aguilar and her mother, Vitalia, are already seated in the corner.

Here are the cooks, actually one cook and two helpers. This is the kitchen at the Stake Center, which also serves as a classroom on Sunday. There is a gas stove and a sink with only cold water. There is no refrigerator.

Pilar Bejarano, the Relief Society President of our ward and our good friend.  She is washing the potatoes.  The corn on the cob is already cooking in the other big pot on the stove.

Marilyn and Flor Aguilar, a young mother in the ward.  We are cutting up fresh fruit for a huge fruit salad.

The utensil to make mashed potatoes. 

You put the cooked potato in and squeeze.  It actually takes quite a bit of power to push the cooked potatoes through the holes.  When milk and melted butter were added, the potatoes were actually quite good.  Peruvians usually make their mashed potatoes very watery and not very tasty.

One of the trickiest things was trying to re-heat the stuffing and sweet potatoes (which had been cooked the day before) because the pans they were in didn't fit in the oven. So Pilar put the pans on top of the hot potatoes and then directly on top of the burners.  The sweet potatoes did OK but the dressing got a little burned directly over the burner.  But it worked out OK.  We set things up ready to serve, buffet style.  This was a totally new concept to Pilar. She thought we were going to dish up the plates and was surprised when I said they were going to serve themselves.  As the line was going though, she commented that it was much easier that way.  Even in their homes, the mother/cook dishes up everyone's plates.

The fruit salad and butter and jam for the rolls. 

The dessert table. From right to left in front, apple pie, lemon pie, apple pie, modified pumpkin/squash dessert, and chocolate cake with white frosting and nuts on top.

The serving line loading up.

Hungry missionaries ready to chow down. Note the portions on the plates and the huge ears of corn.  It looks like field corn but has a good flavor. Also note the yellow color of the potatoes--that is without gravy.

Getting started.

Sister missionaries and elders.

Even the adults were not bashful. This is Robert Bejarano, the RS President's husband with his loaded plate.

The "adult" table. From left, Pilar, Robert, Juan Montalván (our trainer at the archives), Vitalia (Flor's mother) and Marilyn.

Two of Robert and Pilar's children, Karen and Rodrigo, hamming it up for the photo.

It was Sister Albright's birthday and the Zone Leaders surprised her with a cake.  Just what we needed was more dessert.

Cutting the cake after blowing out the one candle and singing happy birthday in English and Spanish.

From the photos  you can see that the missionaries enjoyed themselves. We got back to our apartment at 5:00 and each took an hour nap. Elder O. left for the Family History center and Sister O. taught four piano students that evening.  It was a great day and we counted our many blessings--which certainly includes the opportunity to serve here in Huaraz with these wonderful young missionaries and Peruvian members.  (Although we were really missing our "real family" that day.)

Chavin ruins (Part II) -

We decided to visit the museum in town first before going to the actual ruins site. This turned out to be a wise decision as we were able to learn from the guide the history and culture of these people, as well as the layout of the ruins, and as a result, we did not feel the need to hire a guide at the actual site. 

Chavin de Huántar was largely a ceremonial site, administered by what we would call shamans, whose ceremonies were designed to intimidate and obtain the obedience of their subjects by means of hallucinogenic drug-induced trances that apparently allowed the priests and their subjects to experience out-of-body sensations that heightened their worship at the site. They also used the sounds of running water through the myriad of channels beneath the ruins and the blowing on conch shells to enrich the experience.

This beautiful and modern museum in the town was largely funded by the Japanese government.

As we entered the ruins, we were met by this majestic animal. The officials said he was a cross between a llama and an alpaca.

He seemed friendly so I ventured closer for a better photo. They said it is not common that the two species can be mixed and like a mule, it cannot produce offspring.

As we climbed to the main plaza, I took this picture of Elder Dickson as he photographed the ruins, which are located at approximately the same elevation as Huaraz, 10,500 feet. The site sits between two small rivers that come down this canyon. The Chavin people channeled water from one of the rivers through an elaborate series of tunnels under the ruins to produce sounds for their ceremonies. The water was conducted through these tunnels and discharged into the other river.

There was a light rain falling, so overcoats and umbrellas were necessary.

This is a view of the main structure or temple. The wooden roofs are a modern addition by the archaeologists to protect the site from the heavy rains.  When we first saw this area, it reminded us a lot of Tikal in Guatemala but is not nearly as large or as impressive.

It is thought that this large circular platform with five indentations was used in their sacrificial ceremonies or possibly to grind the cocoa leaves and other drug producing plants into a powder.

Looking back down at the main plaza from the elevated front of the main structure.

One corner of the main temple. There are three levels inside.

A closer look at the stone work. Note the long rectangular stones with the smaller ones used as fillers.  We haven't seen this type of rock-work before, not in Mexico or Guatemala.

The only columns remaining at the entrance to the 3 story structure. The stones were mostly granite and brought from a quarry in the area.  You cannot see it in this picture, but there are carvings all over these columns.

The Chavin built these openings in the outer wall of the temple to allow fresh air and light to enter the many rooms inside. The smaller opening is where a ceremonial stone head was inserted.

The one original stone head in its original position in the outer wall. The small square openings to the right and left are where other stone heads were located. It is estimated that there were over 200 of these faces, each different, in the original temple walls.

A closeup. This one seems to be smiling. Notice the enlarged nostrils. Since the priests and devotees used large amounts of hallucinogenic drugs as part of the temple ritual, almost all of the stone heads have enlarged nostrils, indicating that the drugs were inhaled. Repeated used of bone inhalers enlarged the nostrils. The original "potheads" of South America.

My mother probably would have described this as "a couple of knot heads below the pot head".

A last look at the circular plaza in front of the main temple.  This is where the most important ceremonies took place.

This photo, provided by the museum, shows some of the stone heads that have been recovered at the site. Others are located in museums in Huaraz and Lima. None of the heads recovered thus far are the same. Each face has a different expression on the face. (This is the museum director.)

This was taken inside the temple showing one of the air/ventilation openings in the massive stone walls. All three levels of the structure had these ventilation openings. There were protruding stones in many of the passageways that were used to support torches to give light to the labyrinth of tunnels and rooms.  It is believed that only the most important priests lived in these structures. 

The centerpiece of the temple and focal point of their ceremonies. This is called the "lanzón" or short lance. It is 15 feet high and made of solid granite. It is believed that sacrifices were made on the floor above and the blood allowed to run down the lanzón to impress (and frighten) the worshipers inside.

This drawing gives a better idea of the shape of the lanzón. It appears to be a large sword or dagger stuck in the rock.

As we departed the ruins, this poster greeted us with these words:

  

"The archaeological monument Chavin de Huantar thanks you for your visit.

Happy trip" (We wondered what kind of "trip" they meant.)

Milestones - We passed two more milestones in our mission this week. Monday, October 3, was our "hump day" (as in "over the hump"), meaning 1/2 of our mission is completed. It has really flown by and doesn't seem to us that we have been here that long.

At the archives, we passed the 170,000 images taken mark. That's a lot of family data that will be available online worldwide in a few years, once our images are processed and indexed (transcribed) into digital database format.

Chavin de Huántar ruins (Part I) -

On Saturday, October 25, we got together with the Dicksons (the other senior couple serving in the stake) and Juan Montalván (our trainer at the archives) and drove to the Chavin ruins which are 53 miles from Huaraz but it took us about 3 hours due to the winding mountain roads.

The Chavin culture is not the oldest in Peru but one of the most significant, especially due to their early time period. Most archaeologists date them from 1200 to 300 B.C. This coincides with the Olmec culture in Mexico and Central America with whom they share some similarities. This also matches part of the time period of the Jaredites, the earliest culture described in the Book of Mormon. Even before the guide at the ruins mentioned the similarities, I noticed that the stone heads shared some common features and style with the Olmec sculptures we saw in Mexico and Guatemala.

Here are a few photos from our trip.

This is Lake Querococha at 13,037 feet on the western slopes of the Andes Mountains. We stopped to take a picture and there was a tour bus stopped and the passengers were walking down to the lake.

Recreation zone is what the sign says. I suppose there is boating on the lake in the warm, dry months.

As we were ready to leave, these two boys appeared from nowhere carrying two small lambs.

I took their picture and they asked for a "propina" (tip), so we gave them a few soles. They probably catch the tour buses that stop also.

Juan even got into the act. I think he is taking a selfie here.

Here we are at the entrance to the Kahuish tunnel at 14,850 feet elevation. The tunnel is short, you can see the other end in the picture. We are crossing the divide of the Andes. From here we will head down the eastern slope.

This political sign greeted us as we emerged from the tunnel. Also some snow flakes. Since this is still in Ancash Region, they will be voting in the runoff election for the regional president on December 7.

Not far from the tunnel exit was this statue.

The light snow collected on a few bushes. For Juan, who lives in Chiclayo on the Pacific coast, this was the first snow falling he had seen.

Looking back up at the tunnel exit as we descend the side of the mountain.

As we dropped into the valley, this pleasant scene came into view.

Llamas or alpacas (not sure which) grazing in the pasture.

This turned out to be a rest stop (but we didn't stop).

Here are the bathrooms for the rest stop. They were accessed by crossing two small bridges over the stream.

As we descended on the road, we could see this peaceful little community below. It took us another 15 minutes to reach the bottom of the valley due to the steep terrain and many switchbacks in the road. Note the green soccer field in the middle of the photo and the patchwork fields on the hillside. These will become green in the coming months as they are planted and nurtured by the rains that are beginning to fall every day now.

Looking down the valley toward the site of the Chavin ruins.

A closer look at the soccer field and stands. Next to the museum, this was the nicest structure in the area.

...To be continued in Part II..