In this part of the Andes there’s a very thin veil between Catholicism and the old pagan gods. There are shrines dedicated to the Virgin mother everywhere, but really they’re shrines to Pachamama. Its a complicated kind of a mix, a little for the Virgin and a lot for the Mama. The people leave little gifts of candy, flowers, candels and bottles of water. I’ve been looking for a good one to take a picture of and yesterday I came on this whopper:

bottles

All those bottles are filled with water as an offering. These folks really love their mama… If you look closely, you can see three aisles and at the back of each, there is a shrine like this:

shrine

and behind the cage is a statue of Pachamama disguised as  the Virgin Mary.