Page 100 - ATHENS RIVIERA JOURNAL 2024

ON THE ROAD
ATHENS RIVIERA JOURNAL From left and clockwise: The incredible
escape views. Woman in signature bowler hat.
Quechua woman in red felt Montera hat.
Pots of yarn steeping in color. A Peruvian
table runner that took 25 days to make.
A dream bucket entry for many, the fascinating destination of Ma-
Sacred Valley. Along the rail.

chu Picchu remains popular ever since explorer Hiram Bingham intro-
duced it to the world in 1911. Surrounded by a beautiful land that’s
known as “the birthplace of the rainbow,” the imposing 15th-century
Incan citadel is visited by about 4,000 people a day. The vast majority
have arranged their trip months in advance via agencies and specialist
services, which rightfully promote the destination as an almost mys-
tical experience. Mixed media artist Patricia Garcia-Gomez, however,
took a wholly different route. Traveling “down a long dirt road,” her
last-minute adventure in the Andes is a whirlwind full of color, traditional hats, chance encoun-
ters, realizations and the taste of local tea. Today, she offers us a glimpse into this intriguing jour-
ney, echoing the words of Nobel laureate Pablo Neruda, as immortalized in his poem “Alturas de
Macchu Picchu” [Heights of Machu Picchu].

moved beyond words
Bumping down the road, dust swirling, sometimes so thickly that you could not see past the im-
mediate, we look at each other. “What have we done?” say our eyes. Sensing this, our driver clears
his throat and offers us this: “You know what they say. Sometimes the best things can be found
at the end of a long dirt road.” In hindsight, this sentiment is wonderfully true of my experiences
in Peru. We started in the Sacred Valley of the south, and then ventured to the country’s opposite
corner for the promise of a sleepy seaside stretch on the northern coast. This is a story about the
first route, which led us to the foothills of the ancient.

a leap without a plan
Most people put a lot of planning into a visit to Machu Picchu. And with good reason. The num-
ber of visitors to this sacred site has grown to an average of about 4,000 a day.
“Gone are the days where one could arrive in Cusco and decide to trek the Inca trail or visit Machu
Picchu on the spur of the moment,” reads just about every travel site. But that’s not my story. Hav-
ing had to change summer travel plans at the last minute, I arranged my trip to Peru on the spot. I
was seeking a rekindling of the spirit, with a touch of adventure. Booking last minute would bring
with it some challenges, though.
There would be no time to acclimate. Two days of acclimation are recommended for Cusco, which
has an elevation of 12,000 ft. We had only three days for our whole time in the Andes, so we would
have to hit the ground running. And tickets to the Machu Picchu were sold out months in ad-
vance, so there was no guarantee. Our plan was this: get there and create our fate in the moment.

the birthplace of the rainbow
With only three days scheduled for the Andes and all there is to do there, we have our driver take
us straight from Cusco airport to Chinchero village in the Sacred Valley. Long ago, Chinchero was
considered the “birthplace of the rainbow.” Located on the high plain of Pampa de Anta, Chin-
chero looks out to views where rainbows frequently arch across fields during the rainy season.
It is here that I become mesmerized by the women weavers. First, for the skill of their work (they
are true masters) and secondly, for their style (the braids, embroidery, and bowler hats sitting at a
rakish angle). The impression is that of an exquisite combination of the masculine and the femi-
nine, poetry and power, beauty and function. I want to trade my jeans for the embroidered skirts
and place a bowler on my head (I try, but they are too small).
The ingredients for making natural dye, like the cochineal insect that is harvested from cacti, are
laid out before us, and the women show us how they turn alpaca and sheep wool into beautiful tex-
tiles. Long hours go into each piece. A simple table runner can take over twenty-five days to make.
As we make our way through the small towns of Pisac and Urubamba, my fascination with the
hats remains. I am told later that you can often tell which village a woman comes from just from
her hat. Traditionally, the brown or green hats made from sheep’s wool indicate an Andean wom-
an, while the tall, white hats made of thatch suggest a mixed Inca/Spanish heritage. The lineage is
soulful and rich. I realize that I long for this. >

ANOTHER WORLD
100 Horses, Argentinian meat dishes, exceptional wines, smiling people and within just a few kilometers, land and sky converging.A