Difunta Correa

This was a remarkable sight -- thousands of water bottles piled up by the side of the road, heading north on the way to Upsallata -- and one that is repeated on roads all across the country. The Difunta Correa is one of the most widely and passionately loved patron saints -- the protector of travelers everywhere. The Difunta -- the dead one -- was a young woman who walked across the country to retrieve the remains of her husband, killed in the wars of independence. She died of thirst in the desert but, miraculously, her baby survived, continuing to nurse for days, until it was finally saved. In honor of the woman, the miracle, and in the hope of a safe trip, people create these small road-side shrines and symbolically offer some water to the mythical traveler who did not have a savior.