Goodbye Peru, Hello Bolivia

Peru is one of those places that strikes you as just another poor place but them grows on you as you scratch the surface and discover that the richness of the culture more than makes up for the poverty of worldly possessions. I have had the good fortune of getting to know a number of Peruvians who have turned me on to some of the more beautiful aspects of Peruvian culture. Even now that I am going to be in Bolivia in a couple of days, I am still discovering new things about Peru. I am going to really miss Peru as I have completely fallen in love with it.
When I first arrived in Puno, I made friends with a photographer who is just a little bit younger than me. He saw me on my bike and realized I was confused about where I was and decided to help me find the place I was looking for. Usually, upon arriving in a new city, I am extremely wary of strangers as my white skin attracts all sorts of conmen and charlatans, but I could tell that Giorgio was not using subterfuge to try to liberate me of my possessions. I have only known Giorgio for a few days but I am so glad to have met him. He is one of the people who has helped open my eyes to the beauty of Peru by introducing to me to new things. I also got to spend some time cooking with Giorgio and friends of his as well as go on some bike rides with them. All in all, Giorgio and his friends have shown me a wonderful time in Puno.
As some of you are probably aware, this week is Semana Santa or Easter week for those who are ignorant of Latin culture. To understand Semana Santa it is important to understand that Easter is much more important than Christmas here, even as far as religious holidays are concerned. When I was living and working in Mexico, I got the day off for Christmas but two weeks off for Semana Santa. All throughout the Catholic world, but especially in Spanish-speaking countries, there are all sorts of parades and pilgrimages honoring the last living days of Jesus.
Here in Puno, there is a large procession to the top of a hill where there is a giant cross. People then light candles at the top and make there way back down the hill. My new-found amigos puneños and I decided that it would be a fun idea to drink a bunch San Pedro cactus tea and go on the procession in a happily altered state. Maybe we could speak to God that way. Despite the rain and the cold, the hill was packed with the faithful and it was still a beautiful ceremony.
In the past I have made some pretty damning statements about religion and, more specifically, Christianity. I should say, however, that I do appreciate some of the symbolism and the beauty of some religious ceremonies. Catholicism has so much history and tradition (not all of it good) that I would have to choose it over other forms of Christianity if I had a gun to my head. Evangelism doesn't hold a candle to Catholicism when it comes to integrating beauty into its ceremonies. It is just a cheap, tacky, plastic church for cheap, tacky, plastic people living in a cheap, tacky, plastic society. Catholicism gave us Michaelangelo's sistine chapel while Evangelism gave us Pat Boone and ugly, suburban megachurches.
Ganjobicicletolismo is the name I have given my religion of one in the past and I thought I might expound on it since I am the high priest of it after all. As a true cultural syncretist, I have decided that I am going to borrow some of the symbolism from Catholicism since not every single aspect of it is bad. As a non-Christian I have to say that I, nonetheless, like the concept of human sinfulness. I only wish more people could see their own sinfullness instead of the sinfulness of those around them. During the procession to the cross on top of the hill, one thing that I saw that I really liked was that there were people carrying stones up the hill and placing them on the various prayer stations before they reached the cross at the top. My friends explained to me that the rocks were symbolic of the people's sins and that carrying this burden up the hill was seen as a form of pennance. This really jived well with me since I had already kind of thought of myself as performing some kind of pennance by hauling my bike with all of its gear up the sides of massive mountains. So there you have it. I have a way of paying pennance in ganjobicletolismo. Also in the spirit of cultural syncretism, my friends and I used one of the candles used in the procession to light our weed. Marijuana use is one of the central tenets of my religion.