The Fires of Purification near the Heart of AN : The AN•visible

The Fires of Purification near the Heart of AN

Nov 14 2020 in Blog by Solara

The final week of October was action packed! On October 28, a sudden fire broke out at the bottom of our valley. This was caused by some of our neighbors burning garbage (on garbage pick up day!). Since we are just finishing an extremely dry, dry season, the fire quickly went out of control.

The fire was extremely strong and fast and quickly moved up our valley. At times, it sounded like a freight train and there were lots of loud explosions of rocks. Within two hours, it had burned the entire hill behind Casita Huaran, across the street from us, but fortunately it spared the buildings. (Fires here tend to go out when they reach the valley floor.)

Unlike the fire we had on our side of the valley a few years ago, this time neighbors, firefighters and even the Peruvian army, came to work together to put out the fire. In the afternoon, Emanaku and Pedro went up the road to be part of a bucket brigade to save a friend’s house. For the next few days, the fire spread out on the mountain tops and to the neighboring community of Arin. Luckily there were no major damages and a few of the remote mountain communities that had been threatened by the fires were saved.

THE FAMILY OF AN
Two days after the fire started, Alberto and his sweet daughter had to return to Lima. We had all greatly enjoyed having them here. It was a good taste of what the Heart of AN would feel like if it ever becomes the small community that we have long envisioned.

A few hours later, Danny Quispe of Cuzco paid us a visit. He is the one who has been delivering food and blankets to remote communities with Inka Sisters and Brothers United. Although Emanaku had met with Danny several times, it was my first time to meet him. He is a True One with a huge heart like a million suns and immediately felt like True Family. It feels like our Family of AN is coming together now. First Alberto, then Danny! And a few days later, our dear friend Maru from Lima whom we hadn’t seen in a few years, came for a brilliant visit! More True Family of AN!

Already, November is full of surprises. Last Monday, the Peruvian President was unexpectedly ousted by the Congress. Since then, there have been daily peaceful protests throughout Peru. And tomorrow, our friend Craig arrives for a short visit / heroic journey from the US!

: On October 28, there was a fast moving wildfire on the mountain opposite the Heart of AN.

: It was a powerful fire which moved quickly through the very dry mountains.

: This is the hill directly behind Casita Huaran where many of our visitors have stayed.

: The view from our upstairs balcony.

: The fire was accompanied by the sounds of exploding rocks.

: Fortunately, the fire went out when it reached the floor of our valley.

: Here is the burned hill behind Casita Huaran as seen from the Heart of AN.

: In the afternoon, Emanaku and Pedro formed part of an old fashioned bucket brigade to save the house of our friend Daniel.

: By evening, the fire had moved towards the nearby village of Arin and somewhat calmed down in our valley.

: Throughout the night, there were occasional flareups that we could see from our house.

: The following day, on his last day at the Heart of AN, Alberto and I sat on the Starseats where I showed him several new Mudras.

: This is the burned hill behind Casita Huaran. Photo was taken from our upstairs balcony.

: The sunset was exquisite on the evening of October 29.

: On the evening of October 29, the fire continued, mostly in inaccessible places.

: Through concentrated efforts of neighbors, firefighters and the Peruvian army, the remote mountain communities were saved.

: On the second evening is when the huge figures of an Apu and a llama appeared in the sky above the mountains.

: This felt like such a blessing, reminding us that we were all under their protection.

: The deeply transformed Alberto and his sweet daughter left on the morning of October 30. We all miss them greatly, especially Cachorro who had quickly adopted them as family. It really feels like our True Family of AN is finally coming together.

: A few hours later, Danny Quispe arrived for a visit. He is from Cuzco and is the one who has been delivering emergency food and blankets to many remote communities throughout this area with Inka Sisters and Brothers United. Although Emanaku had met with Danny several times, it was the first time that I got to meet him. Danny has a huge heart and is definitely a part of our True Family of AN.

: The Full Moon on the night of October 30.

: German and his gang returned on October 31 to build a terrace outside of Pedro’s house.

: We incorporated the curved step that was already there into the overall design.

: The new terrace looks beautiful!

: Pedro’s house with its beautiful new terrace.

: At the entrance to Pedro’s house are some beautiful handpainted tiles that we got at a post quarantine sale at Pablo Seminario’s in Urubamba.

: The Full Moon on October 31 felt very mysterious.

: The energies were much softer than we thought they would be. Perhaps this was because we had already been through such intense times.

: Here’s a view of the burned mountain at the entrance to our valley. The photo doesn’t show the damage on top of the mountains and above the village of Arin which took several more days to put out. Fortunately, once the rainy season finally begins (it’s late this year!), everything will become green again.

: The super sweet Alpacas of AN on November 1st. After a wild October, we wait to see what November will bring.

: Luna and Manzana are slowly getting closer, but still don’t cuddle with each other.

: German and his son came and repaired all the loose river rocks on the land.

: On November 6, we had a long overdue visit with our dear friend Maru who currently lives in Lima. It’s always super fun and deeply inspiring to get together with our True Family of AN!