Programs
In 2012, Q´ero – Development Assistance is offering 2 expeditions:
EXPEDITION I:
WALKING IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF INKARRI:AN EXPEDITION TO THE HIGH MOUNTAINS OF Q´ERO WITH JUAN MURILLO
September 15 - 23, 2012
After arrival in Cusco, where we spend 2 days adjusting to the altitude, we set out for Q´ero, traveling by bus through Paucartambo and Kallyaqancha. Here we pick up our horses and ride to Chua-Chua, one of Q´ero´s most enchanting communities, with wide-open views of the Apus, a spectacular waterfall, home to the mischievous Ujupacharunas (water spirits), and the unforgettable sight of alpaca and llama-caravans returning home at the end of the day. In Chua-Chua, where we spend 1 night, we make a connection with the spirit of the Qero people and formally introduce our travelers to the holy spirits of the mountains, the apus.
We then continue on to Hatun Q´ero, the ancient, sacred center of the Inca descendants. We spend 2 nights here to visit the famous Inca stone, Quchurumi, (cut stone), with enigmatic carved graphics, said by some to represent the Incas´view, hundreds of years ago, of the sky, especially the Milky Way. We walk to the Huella de Inkarri, the footprint of the ancient wanderer, the legendary founder of the Imperial City of the Incas.
Here we perform an important connection ritual with the spirit of Inkarri to rerceive his energy and to perform a ritual of cleansing our heavy energy (hucha)and absorbing only light energy (sami)
From Hatun Q´ero we ride to Colpaqucho, in the folds of Apu Huaman Ripa, performing an initiation ritual in the Andean Path, all the while listening to the old stories and participating in the timeless rituals of the last direct descendants of the Incas, but also learning about their modern-day issues. Here we connect ourselves with Apu Huaman Ripa through an important initiation with our Q´ero masters.
From Qolpacucho we return on horseback to Cheqtacucho, where our bus will meet us and take us back to Cusco. After a free day in the city to rest, shop and see a site or two, the bus awaits the following morning for the short trip to the Cusco airport, and from there to Lima and home.
Q´ero masters will accompany the group, leading ceremonies and practicing individual healing sessions with participants, as desired.
Note: This is a strenuous expedition, with high altitudes, long hours (up to 5 on horseback), potentially difficult climate conditions and lack of sanitary facilities as you know them. Please consult with family members and your physician regarding the advisability of your participation.
Note: We reserve the right not to accept a registrant if we have prior knowledge of his or her physical or mental inability to participate in any of these expeditions.
EXPEDITIONS II & III:
EXPEDITIONS TO MARCACHEA
WITH JUAN MURILLO
dates to be determined
Several of you have asked us, over time, for an opportunity to do some hands-on work in Q´ero, meet the families and children in the community, play a few games of soccer with the young boys and taste some of Marcachea´s delicious fresh trout from the river below.
We therefore developed an expedition
If any of you are interested in working with the women in the community on health-related issues such as hygiene, infant care and nutrition, or in helping us gather data on this isolated and impoverished human group which can help us persuade the appropriate Peruvian government agencies to provide assistance to them, please let us know.
For those who just want to walk, read, take pictures and, of course, eat trout, Marcachea is the ideal place to do that. The community sits between two mountain ranges and has plenty of paths to walk comfortably, even though sometimes you have to ask a herd of llamas and alpacas to let you by.
We provide comfortable, high-mountain tents to eat and sleep, port-a-potties and an outdoor shower.
The altitude in Marcachea is approximately 12,500 ft. asl.
For all further information, including detailed itinerary and costs, please write to us at : juanomurillo@yahoo.com (Juan Murillo) or bperrins@mindspring.com (Barbara Spee Perrins).