As many of you know, we partner with Pat House of
Vanishing Worlds Expeditions in recruiting travelers for photographic safaris
toTanzania. Pat is now taking reservations for the summer safari
which promises to be outstanding. She and Andrew Uronu of Safari Tracks, Ltd.
will be taking a limited group of travelers to the southern part of Tanzania which is off the beaten track from the usual safaris
to the Serengeti. Travelers on this trip will have the rare opportunity to
travel with world-renown photographers Angela Fisher and Carol Beckwith. I have
been on two safaris with Pat and Andrew and am going on another in February. A
safari led by Andrew Uronu is an experience you will never forget and this one
in July promises to be even more unforgettable. We have attached the itinerary
for your perusal.
In our last e-letter we mentioned that Puno, the major city
on the shores of Lake Titicaca, is known for its
Carnival. In fact, Puno is touted in all the official travel literature as
being the folkloric capital of Peru.
The best known of the many festivals in the area is the Festival de la Virgen
de la Candelaria held during the first two weeks in February. The main dance of
the Candelaria festival is the diablada.
Legend has it that the dance was invented by grateful miners who were rescued by
the Virgin of Candelaria when the mine they were working in collapsed around
them. The dance is about the triumph of good over evil with the principal
characters being the devil and Jacancho, the god of minerals. Many of the dancers
wear huge devil masks and carry scepters made of snipped tin. Incorporated into
many of the masks and scepters are miners' hats. We were able to purchase some
of these scepters and had the handles cut off so that they can be wall-mounted.
