Communing at Tinajani, Peru

This is me with Cezarico and Leisa at Tinajani in Peru.  The canyon is made up of fascinating anthropomorphic stone figures with narrow ravines and small streams running through it.  Tinajani is one of our stops on the beautiful drive to Puno from Cusco in Program 2 of our month long trip to Peru.

Cezarico is reportedly over 100 years old and lives with his dogs in a small house at the end of the road deep in the valley.  He is quite a jolly character and walked out to meet us.  He was very grateful to receive the bread and huge avocados we brought for him.

Roberto informed us that he rarely greets visitors but he said we had good energy.  So good in fact, that he asked Leisa to marry him once establishing that she was single!  Rumour has it he already has about six wives.  He invited us back for tea, and to spend the night with him (we're not sure if he was kidding) but as fate would have it, we had to continue our travels to Lake Titicaca bordering Puno that evening.  It was a challenge translating this conversation throughout all of the laughter.

Roberto's teacher Victor said when he was a child he would be playing there and told Cezarico many years later that he was often approached by many different 'big men who said they lived there'.  He asked Cezarico who they were and he informed Victor that they had been spirits; that no one had lived there except him for most of his lifetime.  

The giant stone figures, are mountain spirits incarnate.  We could feel the living energy practically breathing down our necks in this sacred place.  Behind the giant monolith behind us off to the left you can see two stone shapes resembling a mother standing behind her child.  Everywhere you look in Tinajani the faces and shapes leap from the stone and draw you into the ancient energy.  There are also a lot of land spirits in this magical space.

These amazing formations cover about 250 hectares.  A few more families have since moved into the valley but nowhere near Cezarico's little plot.  This particular evening the icy wind whipped through the Stone Gods and beckoned us to return.  We would like to have a fire ceremony here next time and invite all the spirits to join us so we can connect with our Peruvian ancestors and ask them to help us  let go of all the historical baggage that binds us to the past.  We want to honour the past, cleanse the energy that keeps us stuck there and release ourselves into the present so we can flow with grace and ease into our highest and best future. 

Of course we also want to see Cezarico again and perhaps bring him something a little stronger to help keep him warm at night!