28 Jan 2010
Earlier this week there were devastating floods and landslides in the Sacred Valley. This is an excerpt from an email sent from the region and a further one from our friend Carlos.

….Cusco and the surrounding area have been inundated by rains for weeks now. The rain prayers seem to have been answered in spades. This area went from feast to famine, from drought to floods.

The entire weekend we spent there it rained like I have never seen it before. When we drove this morning from Cusco to the nearby Saqsaywaman, we saw the consequences. Landslides and rock slides were visible at almost every turn. Many houses have tumbled down the steep hills. Huge boulders rested in the middle of the road we were on.

When we got to Saqsaywaman, I prayed for the cessation of this deluge. But the damage has been done. Water levels of all rivers and creeks are rising even if the rain has stopped for the moment.

On our way to Chinchero, in early afternoon, we saw at one point on this major road more than half a hill that had collapsed across the road into the valley below. The crews were still clearing the debris using heavy bulldozers and backhoes. Only one lane was open to two-way traffic. At Chinchero, several rows of ancient Inca supporting walls were reinforced by wooden beams, hoping to prevent them from crumbling under the weight soggy soil.

When we approached the bridge over Urubamba this afternoon, we saw extensive flooding upriver from the bridge. Entire neighborhoods were flooded to the rooftops and treetops. The road to Pisaq is partially submerged in water near the bridge. Landslides have closed the train service to Machu Picchu and washed down parts of the road from Agua Caliente to Machu Picchu. The major bridge across Urubamba river near Pisaq, one of the two main links to Cusco, is being washed down as I write this. It has been closed all day as its supports had started shifting this morning.

This evening, two high level Inca shamans and I prayed for rain to stop and the rivers to recede. I ask you to do the same. If you decide to do it, please put all your heart and soul into the prayers. I know that the Apus will hear you if you do it that way. Your prayers CAN make a difference to the poor people in the Sacred Valley of the Inca whose lives and livelihoods are now being threatened by these floods.

Thank you for listening. God bless. Have a good night.
This is Bob Djurdjevic reporting from Urubamba, Peru.

THIS CAME A FEW DAYS LATER FROM CARLOS,
Hello my dear brothers and sisters.

I want to give my gratitude to my dear friends who has strong connection with God, with the universe, with Pachamama The cosmic mother because your pray has been heard and helped a lot, the mother nature calmed the river down, the water is coming back to its normally course, after many days of rain we have now a beautiful sunny days that help people work in what they left, they will need time to recuperate themselves, soon they will start all over again, they will have start to put the seed on the earth, they will have some hungry days until the earth produce, glad they have us, to help them on that.

I want to say thank you for economical support because with $1 you could feed one hungry person, as you know we started with one food line in Ollataytambo, there is more help coming so we are opening new ones in other damages villages. We, the mothers, ancients, and children everybody appreciate it very much