Domingo

Since it's Sunday and everything is closed I went to the cathedral to rest a little in the mid-day heat. I was cooling down and listening to Palabras de Dios and to the signing. There is no organ music in the church, only a piano and guitar. The music sounds like a mix of Celine Dion and Julio Iglasias, very popy and romantic. I think that if the constantly appearing word "Senor" was replaced with "Amor" the songs could make it to the top numbers of pop music hit list. No sadness so present in most all Polish church melodies. It's such a different kind of Christianity here... Entire multi-generational families come to mass. It's amazing how nicely behaved the kids are. There are so many kids in the entire city. It looks like every other person is carrying a baby. Because the baby carriages are not in use (also in Peru I haven't seen them). Moms and dads (in the country side usually moms, in cities usually dads) carry their babies. There are no carrieges of any kind, no backpacks or frontpacks, no baby bags used. The only thing used is a blanket which, especially in the countryside, fastens the baby to a mother's, or sibling's, back. Babies are "working" with their moms in stores, restaurants, markets, offices - they sit on blankets and look perfectly content. I haven't seen any wining. I think it's marvelous, that babies spent time with their parents instead of babysitters. And it's wonderful to see how affectionate fathers are toward their kids. We are used to grand motherly love in the west but here fathers look like they would love to brestfeed if they only could!

I looked at the schedule of buses and tomorrow I will go to Concepcion village with a Jesuit mission and try to find some river or waterfall suitable for swimming because I am totally roasted.