When Lewis the Lion first heard about the town Copacabana in Bolivia, he was surprised. He’d always associated the name Copacabana with the famous beach in Rio de Janeiro (as well as a cheesy Barry Manilow song that Helen sometimes listened to – boy, she was so old!). He didn’t realise what an important place it was, nor that it was indeed the reason why the beach in Brazil had that name, for an important statue had once visited the place. Copacabana on the banks of Lake Titicaca was in fact the most important place of pilgrimage for Catholics in Bolivia, thanks to the revered and highly decorated image of the Virgen de Copacabana. This statue of the Virgen de Copacabana housed in the main Cathedral brings pilgrims flocking especially during the main feasts in February and August time when the statue is moved from its gold case: the only time during the year as locals believe that moving it at any other time of the year would trigger terrible floods.
The beautifully decorated statue of the Virgen de Copacabana is housed in the equally impressive Copacabana Cathedral which is Moorish in style, (obviously it has been influenced by the Spanish who came to Latin America in the 15th Century). Here are some photos that Lewis the Lion took around the cathedral.
Outside the cathedral were many people selling candles and other religious objects such as rosary beads and incense.
At first Lewis the Lion couldn’t understand why as there was nowhere to light the candles in the main cathedral itself. However, he soon discovered a small, darkened side chapel where people went to light candles and pray. Here you can see a picture with people lighting candles in front of an altar which displays a picture of the sacred image.
However, Lewis the Lion noticed that this wasn’t the only spiritual practice that went on in Copacabana. Outside the cathedral he saw stalls selling special banners.
Earlier on in the day as he was eating his trout lunch, he had noticed that many cars were covered in garlands of flowers and he wondered at first if there had perhaps been a wedding in town?
He was mistaken as he soon discovered that many people would come to Copacabana to have their cars blessed to ensure safe travel on the roads.
Lewis the Lion realised that this was an important spiritual practice for many Bolivian families and thought that the cars looked very pretty and colourful with their garlands. He also admired the way that people got dressed up in their traditional clothes for the occasion as you can see in this photo with some Cholitas sitting by their blessed van.
After visiting the cathedral and seeing the cars being blessed, together with Helen and Aurelie, Lewis the Lion then climbed a very steep hill rising out of the town of Copacabana to visit another religious site in the town.
On the way, he saw two boys racing cars down the steep slope and thought that that was a great idea for using the environment around them!
This particular hill had even more religious significance for the Catholic city of Copacabana. It was called the Cerro Calvario (Calvary Hill) and it was very aptly named as Lewis the Lion saw the Stations of the Cross marked along the steep, rocky steps leading to the top of the hill.
It was certainly a tricky climb during the heat of the day but the views from the top, overlooking the calming Lake Titicaca made it all worthwhile.
He certainly admired the devotion of the people who would come in pilgrimage to this site as it was not an easy climb and in this way they were identifying with Jesus’ last journey to his death on Mount Calvary.
Click here to see a short video of Lewis turning 360 degrees as he looks over Lake Titicaca from the Cerro Calvario hill. Again more religious artifacts adorned the top of the hillside, this time stone display cases of the mysteries of the Holy Rosary.
Lewis the Lion looked down on the pretty bay of Copacabana and was filled with a wonderful sense of relaxation and calmness.
(Click here to see a short video clip) and did one of his favourite things.
Can you guess what it was from his previous travels? Yes, he sat and watched the sun setting over the immense Lake Titicaca! As he sat there, he contemplated which other pilgrimage sites he might see as he travelled around the world? He still had so much to look forward to!
What do you know about pilgrimage?
Have you ever visited a place of pilgrimage before or is there a place where you would like to visit for spiritual reasons?