Festividad de Compadres

Today we went to a festival in Marcacocha (just north of Ollantaytambo). It was a festival where people came to celebrate their ancestors. The festival was in the high mountains (in the middle of nowhere). There were people who were set up and making food.

When we came, there were two men and a lot of people standing around them like they were doing a church service. After the service, the band started playing. I hadn't noticed them before. It was a bunch of drums and some flutes. The men walked away and a lot of the kids who were about age 16 to 3 started dancing. They were wearing their best clothes.

Many people were walking around selling ponchos and silly string. Soon, it was time for lunch and we picked a place and sat down. The lady was making beef and chicken and some corn altogether. It was really good. Mom walked around everywhere but she could not find a place without beef (she didn't like beef). So, finally, after we were finished, she got a corn with cheese.

We watched the dancing for a little while and when I went to take a picture, somebody started throwing out candy. I moved out of the way so me and the camera wouldn't get squished. After the dancing there was bullfighting.

We found a place on a high wall that was made from big stones so that we could see the bullfight. The good thing was that they didn't hurt the bulls. They didn't have swords either. So the bulls were in a pen over where the people were dancing. It was really funny when they tried to get the first bull out of the pen. It took about six people to get the bull out because the bull was scared to come out. Finally, when the bull came out, he walked to the place with the most grass and began to eat. One of the guys waved his jacket in front of the bull and the bull charged. The man jumped out of the way just in time.

A few minutes after that the wall that we were sitting on began to slip. So many people had climbed up on the wall behind us, the stones began to slip. I was on the verge of falling with Mom behind me. Then people took the bull back into the pen and were going to take another one out. Mom's rock was slipping so she got off the wall with me. We walked around a little bit. When Dad and Meghan turned up, we went down the mountains and back to the hostal.

Our friend, Winn, cooked us some dinner but I wasn't hungry and I went upstairs and into my room and fell asleep.