Putre en el altiplano

The last time I wrote, we had just gotten back from the south of Chile and from getting to know more about the Mapuche culture. Now, last week we got back from Putre, where we went to get to know the Aymara health views, as Putre is 90% Aymara. Putre is a small town in the north of Chile, about two hours from Arica. Its also at an altitude of about 11,500 ft, so we went up slowly, stopping often so that we could get used to the altitude. 

We stopped at another desert cemetery on the way up. 

Chillin in the sun during one of our breaks. 

Putre is the green below those mountains. 

Like pretty much all of Chile, Putre was breathtakingly beautiful. Expect this time it actually took your breath away because of the problems with the altitude. I was actually pretty lucky and never had major problems, no "dolor de cabeza" or "problemas de estomago". I did find myself doing some deep yoga breathing a points. 

Putre at sunrise. 

I said before that Putre is a small town but its really small. So when the town had a celebration for "dia de los carabineros" which is the day Chile has to celebrate their police force, it was hard to miss. The celebration started before we were out of class for the morning and as our class was in a building bordering the plaza, it sounded like there was a brass band inside our room. But we finished quickly and went to join in the fun.

Kiddos doing a traditional aymara dance

Los carabineros

This same day after the "celebracion" we went to experience a traditional aymara meal. Whats special about it is how its cooked--in the ground. I took pictures documenting the unraveling of our food.

Step 1: Shovel away the dirt

 Step 2: Arrive at the pink covering

Step 3: Remove the pink covering to expose the green grass-like covering.

 Step 4: Push off the steaming grass to find the pot of meat.

 Step 5: Remove the pot, take out the hot rocks, and sort the vegetables that cooked around the pot.

Step 6: EAT! 

Our meal included lamb, really large green beans, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and this tamale like thing, which was awesome. 

The classes we had in Putre were also super interesting. We had two classes with "medicos aymaras", one with a yatiri and one with a partera. The yatiri is a very respected, spritiual figure in the aymaran community. He showed us the herbs he uses and explained for what diseases he uses different herbs. He also explained to us how he 'diagnoses' a patient, which includes asking a question (like will I feel better tomorrow) will mixing up his coca leaves in a small shawl then picking up some of the leaves and seeing how they fall. Depending on how they fall, the yatiri will tell you what to do. We also had class with a partera, which is like a midwife in the aymara community. She told us how she cares for pregnant woman. One thing that I found particularly interesting is what she'll use for contraceptive, which is the shells of ostrich eggs mixed with herbs. She also demonstrated to us how she'll get a baby to change positions so the head is pointed down in the mother's uterus. I was going to explain what she did, but I realized that although I remember the general picture, I don't want to describe it inaccurately, especially because we've been told not to put up detailed information about the indigenous groups. And unfortunately I don't have any photos from these class. So this one will have to wait for an in-person exchange for me to explain more. 

For our last day in Putre we took the day off from learning and saw the sights. First we went to Lago Chungara, which is one of the highest lakes in the world. From the base you can see both el Volcan Parinacota de Chile and el Volcan Pomerape de Bolivia.

View of el lago y el Volcan Parinacota representing Chile

El lago con Volcan Pomerape de Bolivia

Me and Parinacota

The volcanos from a different angle. The small peak on the left is Pomerape in Bolivia and the larger looking one is Parinacota in Chile. Apparently we were lucky to be able to see both together--our directors told us that its usually cloudy so you can't make out the two different volcanoes. 

We also went and walked around a small, town that very traditional for the region. 

View from the top of the bell tower.

Also as we were driving, we would stop to take photos of the animals. The altiplano (which is what the region that is high in the mountains is called) is home to llamas, vicunas and flamingos. 

 Vicunas chillin

Shaggy llamas 

Flamingos in the mountains. I made this one a larger size so you could better make out the flamingos. 

Although I've mainly wrote about our excursions, we do do things in Arica. So on my to-do list for this weekend is an Arica blog to prove that I have actually been living here, so be checking back for that, family and friends.