Las Lajas and Cuy

So, I did make a little effort to get these into somewhat of a chronological order.  They're not perfect, but who's going to know???  :-)  

On Friday, July 14, we had another non-eventful day planned - lunch with Andrés and Milena and supper and the night with Sra. Alicia, just around the corner.  However, while eating lunch, A & M offered to take us to the cathedral of Las Lajas, not far from Ipiales.  We jumped at the chance to play tourist, and so after lunch, we departed for our adventure.

The view from Andrés & Milena's living/dining room

Andrés & Milena

A few shots taken while driving through the center of Ipiales

It's hard to see, but there's a man on a skateboard-type scooter making his way through the lanes of traffic asking for money.

Traffic directors abound.  I'm not sure how much good they do in the traffic arena, but they're good at abounding.

Typical bowl of something for sale at the door of this restaurant

Since there's an army cuartel in Ipiales, it's not unusual to see soldiers "on patrol" as well.  

So we're used to seeing traffic police, regular police and soldiers on the streets. 

Perhaps not so different from home?

One of the main squares in Ipiales

Los Angeles 

USA

Pedestrian-filled sidewalks

This is the church out of which many of our friends came.

Finally arriving to the outskirts of Ipiales

One of our meeting homes is up in that complex of townhouses.

You can either drive all the way to Las Lajas, or you can park above and take the cable car down.  We chose the latter option.

It looks big and sturdy.  Hopefully that's really the case!

Looking down on the world

Milena wasn't exactly sure she wanted to risk her life on the cable car but finally decided that she didn't want to be left alone at the top.  Andrés spent the whole trip making helpful comments.  "Oh, look!  Now we're over the river!  It sure is a long way down there.  What was that bump?  Maybe we're disconnecting from the cable.  Looks like we're stopping; I wonder how long we'll be stuck here."  Etc, etc, etc.  

Las Lajas

Here's what Wikipedia has to say about Las Lajas:

Las Lajas Sanctuary (Spanish: Santuario de Las Lajas) is a basilica church located in the southern Colombian Department of Nariño, in the municipality of Ipiales, and built inside the canyon of the Guáitara River.

The present church was built in Gothic Revival style between 1916 and 1949. The name Laja comes from the name of a type of flat sedimentary rock similar to shale.

The inspiration for the church's creation was a miraculous event in 1754, when Amerindian Maria Mueces and her deaf-mutedaughter Rosa were caught in a very strong storm. The two sought refuge between the gigantic Lajas, when, to Mueces's surprise, her daughter Rosa exclaimed "the Mestiza is calling me" and pointed to the lightning-illuminated silhouette over the laja. This apparition of the Virgin Mary instigated popular pilgrimage to the site and occasional reports of cases of miraculous healing. The image on the stone is still visible today.

The existence of a shrine in this location was recorded in the accounts of friar Juan de Santa Gertrudis's journey through the southern region of the New Kingdom of Granada between 1756 and 1764. The first shrine was built here in the middle of 18th century from straw and wood. It was replaced with a new, larger shrine in 1802, which in turn was extended and connected to the opposite side of canyon with a bridge.

The current church was built between January 1, 1916, and August 20, 1949, with donations from local churchgoers. It rises 100 metres (330 ft) high from the bottom of the canyon and is connected to the opposite side of the canyon by a 50 metres (160 ft) tall bridge.

These signs indicate the electric plant, an infantil park and fallen water.

In case you brought along a picnic lunch

Along the canyon walls, people have left their plaques expressing their thanks to the Virgin of Las Lajas for miracles performed and favors granted.

Dedicated to Epaminondas (or something like that) Sarasti, the master of the chapel

He sang 50 years and served a few more.

1893 to 1948

Heading back across

And then, even though we were on our way to supper, and it was essentially already supper time, A & M swerved up beside a restaurant serving cuy so that Mom and Aunt Beth could have the experience. 

Cuy, potatoes and ají (hot sauce)

There's the head!