CARNIVAL AND TEXTILES IN BOLIVIA & PERU

FEBRUARY 6 - 21, 2012

Cynthia LeCount Samaké, Carnival expert and author of the Bolivia chapter of ¡Carnaval! (U. of  Wash. Press) and

Claudia Avila, Behind the Scenes' Latin American specialist, will accompany you on this exciting adventure to the best of

the ANDES, from Cuzco to Carnival !

We arrive in Lima on the 6th of February and fly home from LaPaz, Bolivia on February 22. American Airlines does this route most easily, but you could fly in and out of Lima, then get a flight from LaPaz back to Lima at the end of the trip; Lan Peru does this route. Most flights arrive in LIMA in the evening; you will be met at the airport either by Cynthia and Claudia-- or if you are on one of the very late flights, a designated hotel taxi driver will meet you, with a hotel sign. Check in and get a good night's sleep for a big day of sightseeing tomorrow. (No meals are included on the 6th.) We will recommend some specific AA flights later.

We'll spend a very full day in Lima, first seeing the wonderful ceramic and textile collections of the Rafael Larco Herrera Museum, housed in a beautiful old mansion with flowery gardens. It has just been renovated and the presentations are impressive, but we still love the storage section with the floor to ceiling glass shelves of mostly Moche ceramics, like a huge library of pots, all carefully arrnaged and grouped by subject. After lunch, we'll go to the Amano Museum which has some of the world's best textile collections, drawers and drawers of amazing pieces. Welcome Dinner at one of Lima's famous restaurants.

Next day, we fly over the Andes to Cuzco and check into our historical hotel.. This charming city was the center of the Inka Empire and you'll see Inka stonework at every turn around the main Plaza de Armas. We'll take it easy at first in the altitude, walking nearby to have lunch. Then we'll visit the good exhibition at the Center for Traditional Textiles of Cuzco (CTTC)

founded and managed by dynamic Peruvian weaver Nilda Callañaupa [English-speaking]. We'll meet textile artists in several remote Andean communities and spend a memorable day at mystical Machu Picchu. This ancient Inka site and Cuzco town itself are both UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Next day we drive over the altiplano to Puno, at the edge of Lake Titicaca, where we spend the night, so that early the next morning we can take a motorboat out to the Urus Islands to visit Cynthia's god-daughter, Anita, aged 6, and her family who live on the islands. After that, we continue south to the Bolivian border where you can get your visa upon arrival, with the correct documents. There we stay in a beautiful lakeview eco-hotel at Copacabana. Next morning, we may visit the Moorish style cathedral, and see great views out over the lake.

Then we continue on to LaPaz, Bolivia, by bus in the early afternoon. We can go out to mosey through the "Witches Market," near our hotel, and the food market which is also interesting to take in the bustle of  the market area. Dinners will be in our hotel's gourmet dining room, a convenient and delicious place to eat.

Next we’ll head over the altiplano to Oruro, 3 hours by First Class public bus. The mining town is called "Capital of Bolivian Folklore" and "Carnaval in Oruro" was recently declared a UNESCO "Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage." For the annual Carnival celebration, the normally calm mining town bursts into color as the population gears up for their most important annual event--and biggest party!

The Carnival revelry at Oruro begins on Thursday the 16th with the indigenous villagers performing in special traditional costume; this is very interesting for textile fanatics, since these people wear their best textiles this day. This celebration is based on asking the Earth Mother [Pachamama] for fertility for their crops and animals, so festival outfits often include fruit and vegetable necklaces, and bunches of greenery.

Then over the next couple of days, you'll be thrilled by the flamboyant costumes and energetic dancing of the thousands of dancers from the 44 dance troupes! Saturday the 18th is the opening day of Carnival, called the ENTRADA, and the dancers will perform along the parade route for 3 km. uphill to end up at the Cathderal of the Virgin of the Mineshaft. You'll learn all about the history of Carnival and the myths and legends surrounding the traditions. Sunday is a more casual day with more processions to the Cathedral; some dancers don't wear their masks this day, and some wear different [last year's] costumes. Cynthia has god-children and many friends among the mask makers and dancers so you will be welcomed by some wonderful folks. 

Note: Carnival is raucous but quite safe; however you might get splashed by water balloons!

Non-Spanish speakers are welcome; Cynthia and [especially] Claudia speak Spanish and will be available to help you bargain, order food, translate whenever you might need to be understood, or bargain for a beautiful sweater!

COST: $3595. All hotel accommodations [double rooms], all meals [except one lunch and one dinner], interior transportation, Machu Picchu train and shuttle, and museum/site entrances included; international airfare not included.  Single supplement available for $500.