Last Adventure in Peru

My last adventure during my two month stay in Peru did not take place on a floating island or at the ruins of an Inca temple or fortress or in the jungle or on the Inca Trail. It happened here in Cusco in a church. The first weekend I was in the city I took an excursion into the Sacred Valley. By the end of the excursion, the guide, Yuri, and I had decided to meet so that he could practice his English and I my Spanish. I wasn't sure at first how or even if it would happen, but the very next day I got a call from Yuri, and we met at a cafe on the Plaza de Armas. A real friendship quickly developed. Yuri and I have gotten together for dinner just about every evening I was in Cusco and not off on some long weekend excursion.

His English was better than my Spanish when we met, and it still is. The real benefits of the friendship to me, however, have not been in any progress I might have made in Spanish but in the authentic cultural experiences only a friendship with a local can offer. Early on, Yuri invited me to the reception after the baptism of the son of a friend of his. I thought I was lucky to experience that amazing affair. I was the only foreigner there, and even though folks teased me about being the white haired gringo, it was all in fun. They clearly accepted me and were thrilled to have me in their midst.
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Little did I know that the reception would be a kind of foreshadowing of things to come. About three weeks ago, Yuri asked me to be the Godfather of his five year old daughter, Luz Alejandra. I accepted. Yesterday at 5:30 in the late afternoon, the mass took place, and there followed a reception with plenty of food, ritual, and drinking and dancing until 2:00 a.m. This time, I wasn't a guest but, as the Godfather, an integral part of the entire affair. I even had to address the crown in Spanish. It was short and sweet! Here are just a few pictures from the baptism and the reception afterward. Yuri hired someone to videotape the entire event, and he's promised me a copy when it's completed.