peregrinos a ayabaca

For the second year, I got the unique opportunity to experience a pilgrimage of devout followers of the Saint Señor Cautivo de los Milagros de Ayabaca. Señor Cautivo is own of Peru’s important Saints. Every October, pilgrims walk to the town, Ayabaca, where Señor Cautivo is the patron saint to touch the feet of a large statue of the saint. I watched thousands of people pass through my town on their way to the mountain town Ayabaca, about a two-day walk from Pampa Elera. People come from all over Peru. Some people come all the way from the southern departments such as Ica and Lima (I even heard there was a pilgrim from Chile this year). Some had been walking for over a month when they arrived to my town. It was a remarkable and even spirtual experience, to just observe so many people devoted to a saint that they would walk for days, weeks, or months to go to this town in the mountains of Northern Peru. The trek is not an easy one, as the pilgrims carry their belongings, navigate unmarked trails, climb over mountains, and some even carry large crosses or statues of the saint. This year I saw children as young as one years old to 60 or 70 year olds making the religious journey.