Day 1,026
Lampa
Well if you want wonderful cycling, barely any traffic, fabulous scenery, good conditioned roads, not too many hills, interesting insights into another culture, then the ride around Lake Titicaca takes some beating. It even throws in two different South American countries - Bolivia and Peru! We were having a blast, the sun was out, the hoped-for tailwind hadn't materialised, but the headwind was mild and I could always play my joker, Tom to ride in front, if it got too bad. Finally though we left the lake behind, well technically to our left as we headed north towards Cusco.
We aren't quite there yet though. Tom has a few treats in store. Yesterday we pushed on, with two big hills, nearly 80 miles, and quite a bit of dirt road, to reach the small town of Lampa. Tom was getting all excited again, he had something to see!
There had been a settlement at Lampa since ancient times, that's as specific as I can find! The indigenous Tiawanaku lived here. Then in the mid 1500s the Incas arrived, making it their capital for a while, only to be overthrown by the Spanish. They built quite a few houses which remain here to this day, just. It survived battles during the fight for independence from Spain and the hero of liberation in South America, Simon Bolivar stayed here on his victory march towards Bolivia. He even gave a speech. The town is pleasant to wander around, in the usual grid pattern, but with the majority of the roads asphalt. The majority of the buildings look finished, a rarity for anywhere in Peru. Albeit a lot definitely need the maintenance guys in. There's a palace, a statue to Victor Humareda, a famous Peruvian artist and son of Lampa.
Then there is the church, the Temple of Santiago Apostle de Lampa, built over 10 years from 1675 to 1685. It dominates one of the two squares in the town. It's surrounded by fantastic mosaic flooring, has a multicoloured tiled roof, inside there are wonderful wooden carvings, renaissance paintings, and a reproduction of the Last Supper. Then there are the catacombs which we could wander around. What of these treats had brought Tom here? Well strictly speaking none of them. He'd come to see some skeletons!
Well actually not just skeletons. Another son of Lampa, Torres Belòn, did quite well for himself. He had a very successful career within many government departments and towards the end of his life decided to donate money to his hometown. He paid for the restoration of the Temple of Santiago Apostle de Lampa, and for Pieta’s Chapel and Ossuary to be built. Then he paid for a replica of Michelangelo’s Pieta to be brought from Rome. He donated his personal library of 800,000 books to the town and paid for a library to be built to house them all. He paid for a hospital to be built, over 30 schools, a gymnasium and a fair bit more.
So what did Tom want to see? Well the Ossuary of course. Built attached to the church, it’s a domed structure, the Pieta stands on the top, and inside the building is the rather gruesome sight of hundreds of skulls and full skeletons lining the walls, dug up from nearby churchyards, apparently at Torres’ request. It's a grim, weird and rather unpleasant display. Torres had it built to his design and both his and his wife’s bodies are buried at the base, I'm just not sure why he wanted to be surrounded by all those skeletons,The stunning Michelangelo’s Pieta is surly enough to honour any man. We managed to get locked in too! Fortunately a few frantic knocks on the door and we were free.
Tomorrow we are back on the road to Cusco, Tom has a few more treats in store though!
