In the centre of Rio Grande do Sul I travelled back in time to the 17th century. A grandiose cathedral built by the Jesuits in 1635 still stands in the centre of Sao Miguel das Missoes. The ruins were declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in1983, and are an architectural masterpiece.
I rode the mares up to the ruins in the late afternoon and let them graze on the short grass as I watched the tall walls turn orange with the setting sun. The ruins have no ceiling and some of the walls have crumbled significantly, yet most of the structure has withstood nearly 400 years. It’s quite magnificent.
That night we rested at the CTG (Centre of Gaucho Tradition) and the next day, I visited the ruins. Walking into the old cathedral made me feel so small. The walls are so tall, the structure so grand, every rock so colossal… And to think it was built in 1635… It’s hard to fathom.
After visiting the ruins I made my way to a small museum nearby, run by a Guarani Native man.
“Welcome, please let me start by blessing you on your long journey,” the short man with dark skin said. He had read about my Long Ride in the paper.
He took me to the ceremony area of the museum and showed me a round a circle. First he placed a wooden necklace around my neck and then hit a walking stick on the ground 3 times to commence the ceremony. Then he grabbed a hand full of powdered mate leaves, placed them into a bowl in the centre of the circle, and slowly released them onto a small cauldron of coals.
“Here I want you to ask for protection to your god for your journey, your life and those around you,” he said as the smoke engulfed my body – I kneeled in front of the cauldron.
After I finished my silent prayer, I stood and we walked to another cauldron where he threw more mate on the coals.
“Here I want you to give thanks for all of the blessings in your life,” he said.
Again the smoke covered me while I kneeled in front of the coals. I said a silent prayer of thanks and rose feeling much lighter.
I couldn’t help but think about the Canadian Aboriginal people who had given me sage during my ride through southern Alberta, and told me to burn it and let the smoke cover my body when I felt afraid. They had told me to pray to my god and ask for protection just as this man had.
After the ceremony my guide took me along the museum and talked about the importance of the Guarani culture to this area before the arrival of the Jesuits.
