Mountain Parishes

In February I packed my rucksack and set off for the Peruvian Andes around the world famous former Inca capital of Cuzco. The St James’ Society has remote two parishes in the neighbouring prelature of Sicuani as well as a priest working in the training of local priests. Once again I experienced the tiring effects of altitude on arriving in the tourist city of Cuzco. It was good to take a couple of days to acclimatize in this beautiful and historic city. Amongst the fascinating engineering of Inca buildings and the unique beauty of the Spanish colonial churches there was even a bar selling Greene King ales on tap!





The pleasures of a city well adapted to the needs of a healthy tourist population were soon to be forgotten as our bus left the depot. Traffic police in an attempt to improve the tragically poor history of road safety now check buses as they leave. No standing passengers allowed… until the bus turns a few corners and another 20 people board out of sight of the officials! I was glad to be near a window just to be able to breathe, although for the month of the carnival you have to keep windows tightly closed when passing groups of children if you want to avoid the customary water bombs! Ten hours of bumpy rough dirt tracks later we arrived in Velille, a town of 5000 where two priests from the Philippines serve the town and surrounding countryside stretching many miles. Here poverty levels are some of the very highest in the world, according to statistics on resources, education, health, economics. Like many people in Peru, the inhabitants of this area suffered terribly in the years blighted by terrorism especially in the 1980’s.



I was lucky enough to be in the town for the carnival celebrations just before Lent began. Great numbers from the town and surrounding villages turned out for a day of music and folk dancing… and of course water fights!






I continued my journey through the Andes heading for Bolivia where I needed to visit the Peruvian consulate in La Paz - nothing is ever straightforward in bureaucracy! On the way I visited a floating village on Lake Titicaca near Puno. Near here Ray O’Sullivan teaches in the local seminary which hopefully in years to come will be fully able to supply priests to work in these parts.

The border at Desaguadero is a bridge dividing the town in two and the responsibility for finding the right office for passport stamps lies solely with the traveller! Any hopes for a bus with a little more leg room than the Peruvian ones were soon dashed as I squeezed into a local ‘combi’ in which I felt like an oversized character from Alice in Wonderland!



What was meant to be a quick stop in La Paz and a brief visit to the consulate turned into a three day stay and sadly cut short my visit to the Gamboa family in Cochabamba who so generously and patiently welcomed me into their home for five months last year. It was though good to see them again and also to meet the three new priests studying Spanish at the language school for the St James’ Society before heading back to Lima - thankfully by plane!