Friday, December 22, 2006
3 December 2006 Sunday in Trujillo, beautiful weather, great company and interesting & tasty activities
One of those lovely Sundays when families spend time together, enjoying each other's company. And of course I'm in Paola's home town so she and Andrew are doing the "VFR sightseeing tour". Showing me the best sights and activities...
I spent a very pleasant hour wandering into town from my hotel enjoying the sights and soaking up the atmosphere. Beautiful day - sunny but not too hot, with a cool breeze. Everyone seems to agree - with plenty of people out and about; socialising; going to church; chatting on street corners; out enjoying the day.
Investigated the 'Americana Hotel', an old colonial hotel with two large courtyards inside an ornate facade. Very tired and run down but oozing charm. A&P tell me it's up for sale - a cool 3/4 million US$ - and you'd need another $US250 to make a dint in the wear and tear. So expat 'rahj' - could be in Singapore or India...
The Plasa de Armas is particularly inviting in Trujillo. My impression is it seems to be a town with some class and old money. Very conservative and proud. The Cathedral that A&P were married in dominates the square. All yellow and white on the outside. Rather spanish colonial, as they are, on the inside. A service was being held so just sat quietly at the back. As I don't know much about the Catholics I was a bit lost but plenty of candles, chapels, icons, virgins and bleeding Christs. That's ok - it seems the thing in churches here...a small version of the ornate Catherdal in Lima central.
The square is surrounded by beautiful colonial architecture, generally in very good condition. The spanish influence is very strong here. Large colourful front walls face the street protecting private courtyards behind. The walls have multiple windows with ornate wrought iron grills protecting them. And the upstairs timber verandahs hang out over the street with intricate latice work providing privacy for those watching the public expose´ going on across the square. The huge doors into the courtyards are heavy ironworked timber, many with smaller doors set within them to enable more simple day-to-day entry. I wonder how often the big double doors actually get opened these days, especially in private buildings...The courtyard is a garden compound, often paved with a fountain in the centre surrounded by apartments for living, doing business, etc.
After watching Matthew, Paola and Andrew do two laps of Plasa de Armas in the miniture train (you know the sort that carries sight-seers around) we grabbed a cab and headed out towards Huanchaco and stopped at the Peruvian Dancing Horse Show - Caballo de Paso Peruano.
These horses are bred specially for the work and are useless to be riden in any other way. The Peruvians believe the horses are born only able to move in this 'dancing trot' and they are merely encouraged. Not sure if this is so but certainly they are trained to move this way and don't seem to walk any other way. Had a ride after the show and the horse didn't walk and even when they let Andrew take the reins the horse moved this way.
The show was on a large grass paddock and included two small children dancing in Spanish costume and the horses dancing around them with their riders dressed in a 'Spanish Mexican' style with ponchos. The kids were probably only 6-7yo but did a magnificant job. We watched from a deep shady verandah on the 'hacienda'. A very Spanish scene with Peruvians riding, dancing, serving, etc.
Before we got too settled for the afternoon (drinks in the shade were looking decidedly enticing), Andrew got us moving out to Huanchaco, Trujillos local beach, and considered by the locals as 'the' place to be. Well yes, it was very busy. The tide was in so the black sand beach with great lumps of pumice was only a couple of feet wide. Up against the seawall many handmade reed boats were leaning, with their long pointing bows reaching to the sky. They are quite stubby at the stern end and the locals ride them rather like a surf board but sitting down. Looks like a lot of fun. Don't think my constitution would appreciate swimming here though...Very popular with the locals and not a western style hotel in sight!
Had THE MOST AMAZING seafood this afternoon. Ceviche was invented here and has become a national dish. And while I have now (three weeks later) eaten quite a bit of ceviche, this is definately the BEST. It is a seafood platter of fresh fish pieces (in this case Sole and Sea Bass), octopus, calamari, squid, prawns and the local freshwater crayfish (the only inclusion I found unenticing). The seafood is not cooked but marinated in a chilli and lime. The acid of the marinade 'cooks' the white meats to a 'just pink/white' colour. The crustacians are put in a seive and have boiling water poured over them to get the 'orange look' before being added to the marinade. A very tender but spicy seafood dish. And I must say, although I had nothing alcoholic to drink, the strength of the marinade combined with a hot day, gave me quite a hangover that afternoon and a nanna nap was very welcome...Andrew tells me this is the sign of a good ceviche! If you are feeling strong you can drink the marinade - known as 'tiger juice' which is very strong and fishy. Paola did have a small amount but I didn't need any extra help.
We also tried boned baby goat slow cooked in large cuts with corriander, chilli, olive oil and the local beer. Incredibly tender and flavoursome (and again, in hindsight having tried this dish in several places, this was the pick!). Have bought a Peruvian cook book to give this a go. I'm sure if Marsh's can't supply goat; lamb or yearling beef would be an alternative.
This evening, after our nanna nap, we wandered out for coffee about 7.30pm and had yet another highly caramelised peruvian 'desert'. This is like a lemon merangue pie but instead of lemon it is condensed milk caramel and the merange is more marshmellowy than crisp. With cinnamon on top. Very sweet, very rich and very yummy! Especially with a hot double espresso to wash it down and melt the sugar from your pallete...
And to finish a decadant Sunday of food and family, we moved on from coffee to dinner at 10pm and had fantastic local steaks with fresh veges and a very pleasant spanish cab sav. As I've mentioned before Andrew has been very generous , and this dinner was the first he allowed me to pay for. The surprise was three of us ate for approx 180 soles ($70AUD) and 120 of these was the wine!
HINDSIGHT: Trujillo and Cusco seem to be the most Spanish looking squares so far. Arequipa may prove to be too...
Note to myself - need to do 3 and 4/12 Trujillo to catch up Peru to date.
One of those lovely Sundays when families spend time together, enjoying each other's company. And of course I'm in Paola's home town so she and Andrew are doing the "VFR sightseeing tour". Showing me the best sights and activities...
I spent a very pleasant hour wandering into town from my hotel enjoying the sights and soaking up the atmosphere. Beautiful day - sunny but not too hot, with a cool breeze. Everyone seems to agree - with plenty of people out and about; socialising; going to church; chatting on street corners; out enjoying the day.
Investigated the 'Americana Hotel', an old colonial hotel with two large courtyards inside an ornate facade. Very tired and run down but oozing charm. A&P tell me it's up for sale - a cool 3/4 million US$ - and you'd need another $US250 to make a dint in the wear and tear. So expat 'rahj' - could be in Singapore or India...
The Plasa de Armas is particularly inviting in Trujillo. My impression is it seems to be a town with some class and old money. Very conservative and proud. The Cathedral that A&P were married in dominates the square. All yellow and white on the outside. Rather spanish colonial, as they are, on the inside. A service was being held so just sat quietly at the back. As I don't know much about the Catholics I was a bit lost but plenty of candles, chapels, icons, virgins and bleeding Christs. That's ok - it seems the thing in churches here...a small version of the ornate Catherdal in Lima central.
The square is surrounded by beautiful colonial architecture, generally in very good condition. The spanish influence is very strong here. Large colourful front walls face the street protecting private courtyards behind. The walls have multiple windows with ornate wrought iron grills protecting them. And the upstairs timber verandahs hang out over the street with intricate latice work providing privacy for those watching the public expose´ going on across the square. The huge doors into the courtyards are heavy ironworked timber, many with smaller doors set within them to enable more simple day-to-day entry. I wonder how often the big double doors actually get opened these days, especially in private buildings...The courtyard is a garden compound, often paved with a fountain in the centre surrounded by apartments for living, doing business, etc.
After watching Matthew, Paola and Andrew do two laps of Plasa de Armas in the miniture train (you know the sort that carries sight-seers around) we grabbed a cab and headed out towards Huanchaco and stopped at the Peruvian Dancing Horse Show - Caballo de Paso Peruano.
These horses are bred specially for the work and are useless to be riden in any other way. The Peruvians believe the horses are born only able to move in this 'dancing trot' and they are merely encouraged. Not sure if this is so but certainly they are trained to move this way and don't seem to walk any other way. Had a ride after the show and the horse didn't walk and even when they let Andrew take the reins the horse moved this way.
The show was on a large grass paddock and included two small children dancing in Spanish costume and the horses dancing around them with their riders dressed in a 'Spanish Mexican' style with ponchos. The kids were probably only 6-7yo but did a magnificant job. We watched from a deep shady verandah on the 'hacienda'. A very Spanish scene with Peruvians riding, dancing, serving, etc.
Before we got too settled for the afternoon (drinks in the shade were looking decidedly enticing), Andrew got us moving out to Huanchaco, Trujillos local beach, and considered by the locals as 'the' place to be. Well yes, it was very busy. The tide was in so the black sand beach with great lumps of pumice was only a couple of feet wide. Up against the seawall many handmade reed boats were leaning, with their long pointing bows reaching to the sky. They are quite stubby at the stern end and the locals ride them rather like a surf board but sitting down. Looks like a lot of fun. Don't think my constitution would appreciate swimming here though...Very popular with the locals and not a western style hotel in sight!
Had THE MOST AMAZING seafood this afternoon. Ceviche was invented here and has become a national dish. And while I have now (three weeks later) eaten quite a bit of ceviche, this is definately the BEST. It is a seafood platter of fresh fish pieces (in this case Sole and Sea Bass), octopus, calamari, squid, prawns and the local freshwater crayfish (the only inclusion I found unenticing). The seafood is not cooked but marinated in a chilli and lime. The acid of the marinade 'cooks' the white meats to a 'just pink/white' colour. The crustacians are put in a seive and have boiling water poured over them to get the 'orange look' before being added to the marinade. A very tender but spicy seafood dish. And I must say, although I had nothing alcoholic to drink, the strength of the marinade combined with a hot day, gave me quite a hangover that afternoon and a nanna nap was very welcome...Andrew tells me this is the sign of a good ceviche! If you are feeling strong you can drink the marinade - known as 'tiger juice' which is very strong and fishy. Paola did have a small amount but I didn't need any extra help.
We also tried boned baby goat slow cooked in large cuts with corriander, chilli, olive oil and the local beer. Incredibly tender and flavoursome (and again, in hindsight having tried this dish in several places, this was the pick!). Have bought a Peruvian cook book to give this a go. I'm sure if Marsh's can't supply goat; lamb or yearling beef would be an alternative.
This evening, after our nanna nap, we wandered out for coffee about 7.30pm and had yet another highly caramelised peruvian 'desert'. This is like a lemon merangue pie but instead of lemon it is condensed milk caramel and the merange is more marshmellowy than crisp. With cinnamon on top. Very sweet, very rich and very yummy! Especially with a hot double espresso to wash it down and melt the sugar from your pallete...
And to finish a decadant Sunday of food and family, we moved on from coffee to dinner at 10pm and had fantastic local steaks with fresh veges and a very pleasant spanish cab sav. As I've mentioned before Andrew has been very generous , and this dinner was the first he allowed me to pay for. The surprise was three of us ate for approx 180 soles ($70AUD) and 120 of these was the wine!
HINDSIGHT: Trujillo and Cusco seem to be the most Spanish looking squares so far. Arequipa may prove to be too...
Note to myself - need to do 3 and 4/12 Trujillo to catch up Peru to date.
2 December Off to Trujillo
This is Part 1 of the Trujillo visit that I missed earlier. We actually didn't fly to Trujillo til the evening. But getting used to evening being the busy part of the day now. Got in and got Matthew settled. Paola decided to stay with him so Andrew and I popped next door to a really nice restaurant called the Chelsea (that also has a pumping dance floor later in the night, but we didn't sample this). Now we arrived at 10pm on a Saturday night and I thought we would be at the end of the dinner service, but no, as I have learned through constant repetition (am I slow or what?), we were the beginning of the dinner service; and as our meal progressed the restaurant filled to capacity. Andrew explained the dance floor wouldn't open til at least midnight, maybe 1am. Tried local Trujillo Pilsen beer - pretty good, full strength alcohol as all beer is in Peru, but light to taste - not very 'beerie' - and good with steak. Which of course I ordered. Haven't had a fillet steak for ages and it was tender and perfectly cooked, served with freshly steamed julienne veges. Just what I needed late at night straight before sleep (actually I'm not being silly, it was a light meal compared to much I have been quaffing in Peru).
This is Part 1 of the Trujillo visit that I missed earlier. We actually didn't fly to Trujillo til the evening. But getting used to evening being the busy part of the day now. Got in and got Matthew settled. Paola decided to stay with him so Andrew and I popped next door to a really nice restaurant called the Chelsea (that also has a pumping dance floor later in the night, but we didn't sample this). Now we arrived at 10pm on a Saturday night and I thought we would be at the end of the dinner service, but no, as I have learned through constant repetition (am I slow or what?), we were the beginning of the dinner service; and as our meal progressed the restaurant filled to capacity. Andrew explained the dance floor wouldn't open til at least midnight, maybe 1am. Tried local Trujillo Pilsen beer - pretty good, full strength alcohol as all beer is in Peru, but light to taste - not very 'beerie' - and good with steak. Which of course I ordered. Haven't had a fillet steak for ages and it was tender and perfectly cooked, served with freshly steamed julienne veges. Just what I needed late at night straight before sleep (actually I'm not being silly, it was a light meal compared to much I have been quaffing in Peru).
1 December 2006 Exploring Lima
Got out on my own today to explore Lima city. Andrew and Paola live in Miraflores which is one of the top two suburbs of Lima (the other one is Baranco - more night clubs here) and out of town on the beach. Miraflores is very salubrious (although I'm sure there are bits far less so). Most of the big chain hotels are here. Their unit is one block back from the water on top of the cliffs and there is a view of the ocean from the kitchen windows and the room I am in. We are only one block from the posh shopping complex Larco Mar - a bit like the big 'be seen' places at Noosa. There is also a very nice square with church and gardens in Miraflores central - where the tourists shop and Pizza Alley and the restaurant strip is. Explored this another day but mention it here for ease. I also went for a cliff top walk and watched the paragliders jump off the cliffs and cruise past the diners at Larco Mar.
Matthew and I had great games in the unit chasing the paragliders from window to window as they went past at our 6th floor height.
Paola and Andrew are very protective of me and worry about my safety in Lima. Especially when out alone. While I am very aware Lima is full of seedy elements and I have to be careful; it is no more dangerous than any other developing nation I have visited. In hindsight I can say this is true. Cairo, Istanbul, London and Paris are all dangerous places where you have to be careful and always 100% aware of your surroundings. Plenty of poor who need to make a living of those who have more...
Anyway, I had a great day exploring...
Lima city, there is so much to see and I just went to a few of the many things on offer:
Plaza de Armas, the main square and centre of the old city includes:
The Cathedral, very Catholic -ie. Spanish/French renaissance; opulant, intricate, many shrines -all in gold - either leaf on timber, plate on silver, or the real thing! Also saw the catecombs and their religious artworks gallery. Religious art of this type is just not my thing I have decided. Anyway I'm sure you have that understanding from other entries so won't repeat here.
The Presidential Guard outside his residence. Very resplendant in their royal blue and red uniforms. Hard to get close for a look with security even on the outside of the fence. But managed to snap a pic through the fence on zoom...
Wandered off the Plaza and saw:
A beautiful colonial mansion - fully restored - now the department of finance, with timber latticed verandahs over hanging the street and a beautiful garden courtyard in it's centre.
Museo Del Banco de Reserva - in an old bank. Amazing gold display in the old vault in the basement. Contemporary Peruvian art displays and traditional ceramics including a display of the whistling jugs - they whistle from the air hole when you pour from them.
Plaza San Martin links the main shopping mall to the Plaza de Armas and includes the La Merced Church with a striking facade, intricately carved in timber and stone, opposite a bank of contemporary design. In the square were a mass of money changers, touts and hawkers. Interesting contrast between the churches' peaceful quiet, the bank's wealth and the crush of humanity just outside their doors. It reminded me of that bible story of the money changers trading in the church and one of the disciples turned over the tables and told them they were corrupt even though they were trading under the protection of the church...(have I remembered the story correctly?)
Then left the inner city and went out to the main Peruvian Museum. Incredible place, well presented and so interesting. Gives such a good overview of civilisations in Peru across the millennia. You need this to get everything in order. There has been such a wealth of civilisations rise and fall across a relatively short period of history. The Peruvians don't seem to worry about this rise and fall. They accept it as history and accept their place in the world how as given. There doesn't seem to be resentment about each stronger race or culture overtaking the other.
HINDSIGHT: Even writing now after 3 weeks in Peru, I think this is true. Although guides have explained the Spanish conquest of Peru and how unfair the competition between the well armed Spanish and local Inca and Indians, they don't seem to hold emnity towards the Spanish. FYI - the Spanish had cavalry, supply wagons and guns and the Inca had never seen a horse or oxen, cart or cannon, gun or gun powder - or had any idea of the damage they could inflict. It is refreshing to me to see the conquored peoples actually ruling their own country. Even though they are doing a quaestionable job at it at least they are in charge of their destiny. The normal person doesn't seem to have a hand-out mentality. They just do the best they can with what they've got and don't wait for the government to solve their problems. That is only my naive opinion but...
Got out on my own today to explore Lima city. Andrew and Paola live in Miraflores which is one of the top two suburbs of Lima (the other one is Baranco - more night clubs here) and out of town on the beach. Miraflores is very salubrious (although I'm sure there are bits far less so). Most of the big chain hotels are here. Their unit is one block back from the water on top of the cliffs and there is a view of the ocean from the kitchen windows and the room I am in. We are only one block from the posh shopping complex Larco Mar - a bit like the big 'be seen' places at Noosa. There is also a very nice square with church and gardens in Miraflores central - where the tourists shop and Pizza Alley and the restaurant strip is. Explored this another day but mention it here for ease. I also went for a cliff top walk and watched the paragliders jump off the cliffs and cruise past the diners at Larco Mar.
Matthew and I had great games in the unit chasing the paragliders from window to window as they went past at our 6th floor height.
Paola and Andrew are very protective of me and worry about my safety in Lima. Especially when out alone. While I am very aware Lima is full of seedy elements and I have to be careful; it is no more dangerous than any other developing nation I have visited. In hindsight I can say this is true. Cairo, Istanbul, London and Paris are all dangerous places where you have to be careful and always 100% aware of your surroundings. Plenty of poor who need to make a living of those who have more...
Anyway, I had a great day exploring...
Lima city, there is so much to see and I just went to a few of the many things on offer:
Plaza de Armas, the main square and centre of the old city includes:
The Cathedral, very Catholic -ie. Spanish/French renaissance; opulant, intricate, many shrines -all in gold - either leaf on timber, plate on silver, or the real thing! Also saw the catecombs and their religious artworks gallery. Religious art of this type is just not my thing I have decided. Anyway I'm sure you have that understanding from other entries so won't repeat here.
The Presidential Guard outside his residence. Very resplendant in their royal blue and red uniforms. Hard to get close for a look with security even on the outside of the fence. But managed to snap a pic through the fence on zoom...
Wandered off the Plaza and saw:
A beautiful colonial mansion - fully restored - now the department of finance, with timber latticed verandahs over hanging the street and a beautiful garden courtyard in it's centre.
Museo Del Banco de Reserva - in an old bank. Amazing gold display in the old vault in the basement. Contemporary Peruvian art displays and traditional ceramics including a display of the whistling jugs - they whistle from the air hole when you pour from them.
Plaza San Martin links the main shopping mall to the Plaza de Armas and includes the La Merced Church with a striking facade, intricately carved in timber and stone, opposite a bank of contemporary design. In the square were a mass of money changers, touts and hawkers. Interesting contrast between the churches' peaceful quiet, the bank's wealth and the crush of humanity just outside their doors. It reminded me of that bible story of the money changers trading in the church and one of the disciples turned over the tables and told them they were corrupt even though they were trading under the protection of the church...(have I remembered the story correctly?)
Then left the inner city and went out to the main Peruvian Museum. Incredible place, well presented and so interesting. Gives such a good overview of civilisations in Peru across the millennia. You need this to get everything in order. There has been such a wealth of civilisations rise and fall across a relatively short period of history. The Peruvians don't seem to worry about this rise and fall. They accept it as history and accept their place in the world how as given. There doesn't seem to be resentment about each stronger race or culture overtaking the other.
HINDSIGHT: Even writing now after 3 weeks in Peru, I think this is true. Although guides have explained the Spanish conquest of Peru and how unfair the competition between the well armed Spanish and local Inca and Indians, they don't seem to hold emnity towards the Spanish. FYI - the Spanish had cavalry, supply wagons and guns and the Inca had never seen a horse or oxen, cart or cannon, gun or gun powder - or had any idea of the damage they could inflict. It is refreshing to me to see the conquored peoples actually ruling their own country. Even though they are doing a quaestionable job at it at least they are in charge of their destiny. The normal person doesn't seem to have a hand-out mentality. They just do the best they can with what they've got and don't wait for the government to solve their problems. That is only my naive opinion but...
Food, food, glorious food!
The sweet stuff first...I have tried some interesting local junk. Chorro is a donut like batter deep fried as a 6" hollow tube and filled with condensed milk caramel. It is then rolled in sugar. It doesn't taste like a donut though - more like a hot chip filled with caramel. Quite a weird combination but good - especially if just made and still hot. Another biscuit like cake they eat (forgotton the name) is made of layers of sweet biscuit with caramel between each layer. It is about 2" thick, 4" square and you slice into 4-6 pieces. Caramel seems to be a cheap and popular sweet.
At home Paola and Violetta (her home help) have fed me some wonderful food, all of which I forget the names of, but with LOTS of chilli and lime. A great condiment! One of the best is a sauce you serve in generous amounts over slices of boiled potatoes with lettuce on the side. The sauce is made of special yellow chillis, cream, stacks of white and blue cheese, and soda crackers (the equivalent of Saos at home) to thicken it. All this is put in the blender and then served. It must be eaten the day it is made. The more chillis the hotter, of course. Bring it on....
Paola also loves to make Italian and she made the best cream, cheese, bacon and mushroom sauce...and Andrew whipped up a delicious Pad Thai one night. Paola and I went to get fresh seafood and paid an incredible AUD$15/kg for fresh jumbo king prawns.
I can see the kilos piling on.
They also drink some great Spanish wines. Spanish and Oz wines seem to be the vintages of choice although Andrew said he also buys Chillian wine for quaffing. Andrew also likes his Whisky and they drink Pisco - a white brandy - Pisco Sour is the national drink and on every menu.
The sweet stuff first...I have tried some interesting local junk. Chorro is a donut like batter deep fried as a 6" hollow tube and filled with condensed milk caramel. It is then rolled in sugar. It doesn't taste like a donut though - more like a hot chip filled with caramel. Quite a weird combination but good - especially if just made and still hot. Another biscuit like cake they eat (forgotton the name) is made of layers of sweet biscuit with caramel between each layer. It is about 2" thick, 4" square and you slice into 4-6 pieces. Caramel seems to be a cheap and popular sweet.
At home Paola and Violetta (her home help) have fed me some wonderful food, all of which I forget the names of, but with LOTS of chilli and lime. A great condiment! One of the best is a sauce you serve in generous amounts over slices of boiled potatoes with lettuce on the side. The sauce is made of special yellow chillis, cream, stacks of white and blue cheese, and soda crackers (the equivalent of Saos at home) to thicken it. All this is put in the blender and then served. It must be eaten the day it is made. The more chillis the hotter, of course. Bring it on....
Paola also loves to make Italian and she made the best cream, cheese, bacon and mushroom sauce...and Andrew whipped up a delicious Pad Thai one night. Paola and I went to get fresh seafood and paid an incredible AUD$15/kg for fresh jumbo king prawns.
I can see the kilos piling on.
They also drink some great Spanish wines. Spanish and Oz wines seem to be the vintages of choice although Andrew said he also buys Chillian wine for quaffing. Andrew also likes his Whisky and they drink Pisco - a white brandy - Pisco Sour is the national drink and on every menu.
28-29-30 November 2006 Treated like a princess and out of the grub a butterfly emerged. Well maybe a moth - but whatever I am now is a darn site more comfortable and presentable than three days ago!
The amazing Paola arranged haircut and colour; pedicure, manicure and waxing; and a massage for me. She is such a kind sister-in-law. Think I might adopt her as a real sister. Could do with one of these! We also played dress-ups in her wardrobe - finding some appropriate clothes for me to wear to parties and functions with them. My travel dags are not right for lunch with the Peruvian President...
Went shopping for some dress-up shoes; window shopped; visited a huge craft market with all manner of gifts and souvenirs to give me an idea of the sorts of variety and prices to work with on my travels (benchmarking souvenirs - what a strategy); checked out gold prices and workmanship for comparison too.
Tried to organise an itinerary to get me to the sights of Peru and key places in Chile and Argentina. Re did this several times over the next few days and finally decided to stay in Peru for the whole 5+ weeks. The airfares for the Xmas/New Year period were ridiculous, the wet season seems to effect jungle and Patagonia visits terribly and of course I am very aware my poor language skills slow me down. Anyway, can come back and do Argentina-Patagonia and Chile-Chiloe with Hunter and MacLean (no excuses) and this time concentrate on seeing Peru properly and at a leisurely pace. It is important to put time aside for family too so with such a large and diverse destination and family time the 5 weeks will fly (and yes, it has, I can confirm - writing this down 3 weeks after I had the thoughts - it's Christmas in 3 days!)
HINDSIGHT: As I have travelled I have reconfirmed many times in my mind, I will definately be back in South America to explore Argentina and then Chile with top ups in Peru. And boys listen now - we are learning Spanish when I get home. Forget my silly dreams of French and Arabic. When it comes down to it, our familly speaks Spanish and South America is so easy to get to. It is cheap to travel in - and even more so if you know the language. If we can speak the language the locals can't trick us or inflate prices as much. We can meet more locals and have more fun. And at home we have our own private way of communicating that very few will understand of they over hear. Paola even has a friend coming to Australia to learn English that we could practise our Spanish on if she chooses Cairns as her base. And if they can speak two languages (or more) so can we. We have brains we just need to apply them.
The amazing Paola arranged haircut and colour; pedicure, manicure and waxing; and a massage for me. She is such a kind sister-in-law. Think I might adopt her as a real sister. Could do with one of these! We also played dress-ups in her wardrobe - finding some appropriate clothes for me to wear to parties and functions with them. My travel dags are not right for lunch with the Peruvian President...
Went shopping for some dress-up shoes; window shopped; visited a huge craft market with all manner of gifts and souvenirs to give me an idea of the sorts of variety and prices to work with on my travels (benchmarking souvenirs - what a strategy); checked out gold prices and workmanship for comparison too.
Tried to organise an itinerary to get me to the sights of Peru and key places in Chile and Argentina. Re did this several times over the next few days and finally decided to stay in Peru for the whole 5+ weeks. The airfares for the Xmas/New Year period were ridiculous, the wet season seems to effect jungle and Patagonia visits terribly and of course I am very aware my poor language skills slow me down. Anyway, can come back and do Argentina-Patagonia and Chile-Chiloe with Hunter and MacLean (no excuses) and this time concentrate on seeing Peru properly and at a leisurely pace. It is important to put time aside for family too so with such a large and diverse destination and family time the 5 weeks will fly (and yes, it has, I can confirm - writing this down 3 weeks after I had the thoughts - it's Christmas in 3 days!)
HINDSIGHT: As I have travelled I have reconfirmed many times in my mind, I will definately be back in South America to explore Argentina and then Chile with top ups in Peru. And boys listen now - we are learning Spanish when I get home. Forget my silly dreams of French and Arabic. When it comes down to it, our familly speaks Spanish and South America is so easy to get to. It is cheap to travel in - and even more so if you know the language. If we can speak the language the locals can't trick us or inflate prices as much. We can meet more locals and have more fun. And at home we have our own private way of communicating that very few will understand of they over hear. Paola even has a friend coming to Australia to learn English that we could practise our Spanish on if she chooses Cairns as her base. And if they can speak two languages (or more) so can we. We have brains we just need to apply them.
26-27 November 2006 Going back a bit to catch up the gaps
Oh how I must love my little brother...42 hours travelling Istanbul to Lima...mmm...so basically, with time changes, I spent two full 24 hour days getting to Peru. Lesson learned. There are flights direct Istanbul to Lima but for some crazy reason I couldn't get on one...this will be a conversation with the beautiful Tereasa 'guru' travel agent on my return. Never again!
But not to worry I am here, in deepest darkest Lima, Peru - and not a paddington bear to be seen...
Oh how I must love my little brother...42 hours travelling Istanbul to Lima...mmm...so basically, with time changes, I spent two full 24 hour days getting to Peru. Lesson learned. There are flights direct Istanbul to Lima but for some crazy reason I couldn't get on one...this will be a conversation with the beautiful Tereasa 'guru' travel agent on my return. Never again!
But not to worry I am here, in deepest darkest Lima, Peru - and not a paddington bear to be seen...
22 December 2006 Felic Navidad!
That is espanole for Merry Christmas! Christmas seems to be very slow taking hold in Cusco. So quiet, no evening celebrations in the streets, that I had been expecting. There may be a market tonight as men have been linemarking the square this morning. Quiet day washing, internet, bought some small gifts for the Lake Titicaca family I am staying with - Panadon, a light fruit cake, and rice. And finger puppets in case there are children.
There was an incredible thunder storm at about 2pm today. Been building up all morning. Thick blue-black clouds hanging over the city and horizon and then came the rolling thunder and crash! Down came buckets of tropical rain. But it is less than 10 degrees outside. A weird experience... where does a thunder storm develop when there is no build up of hot air under cold. I suppose it could be 10 degrees at ground level and minus something in the upper atmosphere?...
Visited one of the churches this morning. Another of these pushy gold jobs full of statues, icons, martyrs, gory deaths and sad faces. So over the top. No smiling faces, no happiness, no love. Only punishment and pain. I am having trouble reconciling the opulance of the Catholic system with the dire poverty outside its doors. Last night there were at least 5 whole families sleeping in the main street (obviously come to town for Christmas with family but without money for accommodation) and the church was not providing short term accommodation out of the weather for it's flock. Isn't the Christmas story about there being no room at the inn and the baby jesus being born in a stable. The church has again forgotten it's own parables...It also struck me how the Muslim faith would view this iconistic and alienating representation of Christianity. No wonder it is hard to break down barriers between faiths...off my soap box now.
Been trying hard to use my limited Spanish and learn a few new words. Just learning lists of practical words and trying to remember to put them in where possible. People are so kind and speak whatever English they have. It is a scream cause sometimes the only way for me to remember the word I want is to go through the list in rote til I get to the right one. By then I've forgotten what I started saying. Then I start again, and of course it's no good writing it down cause I can't spell in Spanish either - just phonetically. I feel like I need a plug for my right ear. Everything goes in the left and slips straight out the right. My forgettory is incredible! Oh well, keep on keeping on...
That is espanole for Merry Christmas! Christmas seems to be very slow taking hold in Cusco. So quiet, no evening celebrations in the streets, that I had been expecting. There may be a market tonight as men have been linemarking the square this morning. Quiet day washing, internet, bought some small gifts for the Lake Titicaca family I am staying with - Panadon, a light fruit cake, and rice. And finger puppets in case there are children.
There was an incredible thunder storm at about 2pm today. Been building up all morning. Thick blue-black clouds hanging over the city and horizon and then came the rolling thunder and crash! Down came buckets of tropical rain. But it is less than 10 degrees outside. A weird experience... where does a thunder storm develop when there is no build up of hot air under cold. I suppose it could be 10 degrees at ground level and minus something in the upper atmosphere?...
Visited one of the churches this morning. Another of these pushy gold jobs full of statues, icons, martyrs, gory deaths and sad faces. So over the top. No smiling faces, no happiness, no love. Only punishment and pain. I am having trouble reconciling the opulance of the Catholic system with the dire poverty outside its doors. Last night there were at least 5 whole families sleeping in the main street (obviously come to town for Christmas with family but without money for accommodation) and the church was not providing short term accommodation out of the weather for it's flock. Isn't the Christmas story about there being no room at the inn and the baby jesus being born in a stable. The church has again forgotten it's own parables...It also struck me how the Muslim faith would view this iconistic and alienating representation of Christianity. No wonder it is hard to break down barriers between faiths...off my soap box now.
Been trying hard to use my limited Spanish and learn a few new words. Just learning lists of practical words and trying to remember to put them in where possible. People are so kind and speak whatever English they have. It is a scream cause sometimes the only way for me to remember the word I want is to go through the list in rote til I get to the right one. By then I've forgotten what I started saying. Then I start again, and of course it's no good writing it down cause I can't spell in Spanish either - just phonetically. I feel like I need a plug for my right ear. Everything goes in the left and slips straight out the right. My forgettory is incredible! Oh well, keep on keeping on...
21/12 Rain, rain go away, come again another day...
It is summer solistice, the second most important date in the Inca calendar and where is the sun?...I suppose you can't have a cloud forest without cloud. Hit the mountain at 6.30am in the thick fog and light rain which hung around til 10ish. Got an hour of intermittant sunshine for some photos and the cloud closed in again. Poncho weight rain. Explored anyway, got startled by a Llama galloping past and climbed Wayna Picchu the crag at the back of all the photos of Machu Picchu.
The trail was extemely narrow and steep. Hard work. The views would have been awe inspiring on a clear day. Every so often we got a peak at the river and Inca site below us, and I mean IMMEDIATELY below us - a sheer drop! It took your breath away and motivated you to keep climbing on the off-chance it just might clear for a life-time memory view and if really lucky - photo...The fog was so thick on top it felt like you could step off the mountain onto a solid white mass. Reminded me of the day I topped Mt Snowdon but even thicker - if that is possible. My trail buddies (the US couple from a couple of days earlier, I now know as Fernando and Juliana) wondered aloud how close to God did the Inca high priest need to be?!
Still a very special day. HINDSIGHT: I would Touristadome train window seat up from Cusco afternoon of day 1; overnight Agua Calliente; early bus to MP; stay all day and catch the last bus back (there are at least 4 walks of different parts of MP to do); overnight Agua Calliente Day 2; early backpacker train any seat back to Cusco day 3. But if there is a next time it will be in May (low season, but dry and green) and I want to hike it.
Interesting mix of government and private enterprise. Govt sold the train service to Orient Express $100 US return pp. Also sold buses to site - flash 27 seat Mercedes coaches. But they are running on govt maintained roads. Gravel and mud single lane switch backs. Hate to think what the maintenance schedule is to keep the coaches in service...The govt even tried to sell the MP site til they got caught out.
Saw a a couple get engaged on the mountain. One of the trek groups was doing their goodbye speeches in the background behind me and I noticed a guy get down on one knee and then the girl hugged him and the group started cheering and clapping. I couldn't hear them but it was pretty obvious. Very romantic. How he kept his secret for four days on the trek...he would have been so nervous too...
When I got back to Cusco it was sooo good to have a hot shower and scrub all the mud off and thaw my feet. Not sure I could have had the patience to be wet and muddy for four days on the trail. I probably would have been ready to kill someone by then!
Buddied up with Fredrico (sat together for 4 hours on the train), an El Salvadorian from New York, for dinner. We tried Alpaca at the local Peruvian Chinese restaurant (these are known as Chifa locally). The alpaca was excellent. Tender and beef-like in texture and taste. I imagine a roast Alpaca would be very good. Also Peruvian Chinese is very good. Light and flavoursome. Their chilli soy is FANTASTIC - cut the chilli into a bowl of soy and let steep for a couple of hours. It has a KICK. Actually Chinese here is quite like Oz. Lots of fresh veges and very little battered.
It is summer solistice, the second most important date in the Inca calendar and where is the sun?...I suppose you can't have a cloud forest without cloud. Hit the mountain at 6.30am in the thick fog and light rain which hung around til 10ish. Got an hour of intermittant sunshine for some photos and the cloud closed in again. Poncho weight rain. Explored anyway, got startled by a Llama galloping past and climbed Wayna Picchu the crag at the back of all the photos of Machu Picchu.
The trail was extemely narrow and steep. Hard work. The views would have been awe inspiring on a clear day. Every so often we got a peak at the river and Inca site below us, and I mean IMMEDIATELY below us - a sheer drop! It took your breath away and motivated you to keep climbing on the off-chance it just might clear for a life-time memory view and if really lucky - photo...The fog was so thick on top it felt like you could step off the mountain onto a solid white mass. Reminded me of the day I topped Mt Snowdon but even thicker - if that is possible. My trail buddies (the US couple from a couple of days earlier, I now know as Fernando and Juliana) wondered aloud how close to God did the Inca high priest need to be?!
Still a very special day. HINDSIGHT: I would Touristadome train window seat up from Cusco afternoon of day 1; overnight Agua Calliente; early bus to MP; stay all day and catch the last bus back (there are at least 4 walks of different parts of MP to do); overnight Agua Calliente Day 2; early backpacker train any seat back to Cusco day 3. But if there is a next time it will be in May (low season, but dry and green) and I want to hike it.
Interesting mix of government and private enterprise. Govt sold the train service to Orient Express $100 US return pp. Also sold buses to site - flash 27 seat Mercedes coaches. But they are running on govt maintained roads. Gravel and mud single lane switch backs. Hate to think what the maintenance schedule is to keep the coaches in service...The govt even tried to sell the MP site til they got caught out.
Saw a a couple get engaged on the mountain. One of the trek groups was doing their goodbye speeches in the background behind me and I noticed a guy get down on one knee and then the girl hugged him and the group started cheering and clapping. I couldn't hear them but it was pretty obvious. Very romantic. How he kept his secret for four days on the trek...he would have been so nervous too...
When I got back to Cusco it was sooo good to have a hot shower and scrub all the mud off and thaw my feet. Not sure I could have had the patience to be wet and muddy for four days on the trail. I probably would have been ready to kill someone by then!
Buddied up with Fredrico (sat together for 4 hours on the train), an El Salvadorian from New York, for dinner. We tried Alpaca at the local Peruvian Chinese restaurant (these are known as Chifa locally). The alpaca was excellent. Tender and beef-like in texture and taste. I imagine a roast Alpaca would be very good. Also Peruvian Chinese is very good. Light and flavoursome. Their chilli soy is FANTASTIC - cut the chilli into a bowl of soy and let steep for a couple of hours. It has a KICK. Actually Chinese here is quite like Oz. Lots of fresh veges and very little battered.
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
20/12 Are we there yet? Are we there yet?
Really early start this morning. 5.30am pickup to join the train to Machu Pichu. Didn't have a window which was disappointing, so no pictures, but still an amazing journey through towering mountain cliffs. The steep sides rise above the train (there were windows in the roof - take note Kurandalander) with broms and lichens clinging to them, defying gravity. White clouds cover the snowy tops like merangue on a pie. The train line climbs in a series of switch backs. Forward then reverse. Then we join the path of the river and we wind along together. Frothy brown and white water belting along as fast as the train. I can't help it, the clickerty clack sends me off to sleep and I have to force myself awake to watch the scenery.
I arrive in Agua Calliente in time for breakfast. A town geared totally to the tourist trade and priced accordingly. Still another 1/2 hour bus ride from Machu Pichu. LOTS of market stalls, restaurants and hotels and not much else. It is too wet and cold to be bothered stripping off in the hot springs that give the town it's name.
The main square is fascinating; surrounded on three sides by towering mountains that seem to grow out of the square. The 4th side is where the Rio Vilcanota swings through town on its way to join the Amazon. The town itself clings to the mountainside, the hotchpotch of building styles and qualities adhering til the next earthquake or mudslide. Like so many developing countries the outside of buildings bely the interiors, but how they manage to remain standing is a mystery.
Met my guide for tomorrow - Anna Cecillia. She is obviously an Indian Peruvian but with very fine features and an aqualine nose. I am really looking forward to having a female guide. Lotso f questions....
Really early start this morning. 5.30am pickup to join the train to Machu Pichu. Didn't have a window which was disappointing, so no pictures, but still an amazing journey through towering mountain cliffs. The steep sides rise above the train (there were windows in the roof - take note Kurandalander) with broms and lichens clinging to them, defying gravity. White clouds cover the snowy tops like merangue on a pie. The train line climbs in a series of switch backs. Forward then reverse. Then we join the path of the river and we wind along together. Frothy brown and white water belting along as fast as the train. I can't help it, the clickerty clack sends me off to sleep and I have to force myself awake to watch the scenery.
I arrive in Agua Calliente in time for breakfast. A town geared totally to the tourist trade and priced accordingly. Still another 1/2 hour bus ride from Machu Pichu. LOTS of market stalls, restaurants and hotels and not much else. It is too wet and cold to be bothered stripping off in the hot springs that give the town it's name.
The main square is fascinating; surrounded on three sides by towering mountains that seem to grow out of the square. The 4th side is where the Rio Vilcanota swings through town on its way to join the Amazon. The town itself clings to the mountainside, the hotchpotch of building styles and qualities adhering til the next earthquake or mudslide. Like so many developing countries the outside of buildings bely the interiors, but how they manage to remain standing is a mystery.
Met my guide for tomorrow - Anna Cecillia. She is obviously an Indian Peruvian but with very fine features and an aqualine nose. I am really looking forward to having a female guide. Lotso f questions....
19 December Sacred Valley
Joined an english speaking guide today with a mixed group to wander the Sacred Valley together. Got drenched by a rain storm early in the day and actually lost two of our group it was so heavy. We waited for an hour in the rain and they never showed so went without them. And incredibly they chased us down in a taxi.
Before the storm visited a communal bakehouse. In many villages each house doesn't have a wood fired oven - they have a designated day to take their bread and other baking to the bakehouse to be cooked. We taste tested meat and onion filled bread pastry and also cheese and herb filled (can't remember the proper name). Straight out of the oven - hot and spicy. At the same place there was a Cuy farm. Not as good as Paola's friend's by description but interesting to see how they are kept and fed; slaughtered and dressed.
After the complusory market visit we finally got to our first archeological site for the day. A great walk up through the cold wind, all of us using altitude as an excuse for our lack of fitness. The day's catchcry became "I'm not proud; I'm happy to pant". A great view off the top even if not much of the actual built environment remains. The rocks cling to the mountain like an eagles nest and the mist and cloud rolled around below us. The mountains are very green with far peaks sporting snow. Terraced farms spread into the valleys. For historical purposes the local farmers cannot farm in the inca terraces but in some ways this seems a waste of fertile, irrigatable land.
Ollantaytambo rises above the town of the same name. At the bottom of the main, barely paved, street the terraces rise, connecting the town with the ruins. Other ruins look down on the townfrom the other two sides. Old Man's Beard is so rampant on the slopes surrounding the ruins it looks like the shurbs and bromilliads are covered in cobwebs. Anywhere young boys can reach is clean as they harvest the epiphite (not sure what for). A football pitch and bull fighting ring vie for space under the shadow of the ruins on one side; narrow ancient streets climb straight up the slopes with walled courtyards on either side. You can see these are the streets chosen by the tourist painters when they draw the scenes of rural peru with plaited women walking along village streets.
By the time we reached Chinchero it was almost dark. A very atmospheric time with purple storm clouds buiding on the horizon, the white painted adobe flourescent in the early dark and the yellow glow of the street lamps. Against my better judgement I visited the historical catholic church at the site - built with half adobe walss atop Inca foundations. Expecting yet more Spanish rennaissonce architecture and oppulance, I was pleasantly surprised and impressed. Probably the best and most real church I've visited in Peru. Beautiful early freizes painted on plaster walls, timber beams and roof. Colours softened by time - reds and blues and blacks and creams. The main alter was the only ornate part of the church and it wasn't overly guilded, just quietly so. All of our group agreed how nice it was and we were a mixed bunch.
EG. Myself; 70YO Aussie woman studying spanish; young jewish english volunteer from Arequipa; USA couple (her Singaporian, him afro-american); USA couple (her white, him Peruvian Indian); 2 men from Belgium; Dutch couple (her white, him Peruvian jew)...
Joined an english speaking guide today with a mixed group to wander the Sacred Valley together. Got drenched by a rain storm early in the day and actually lost two of our group it was so heavy. We waited for an hour in the rain and they never showed so went without them. And incredibly they chased us down in a taxi.
Before the storm visited a communal bakehouse. In many villages each house doesn't have a wood fired oven - they have a designated day to take their bread and other baking to the bakehouse to be cooked. We taste tested meat and onion filled bread pastry and also cheese and herb filled (can't remember the proper name). Straight out of the oven - hot and spicy. At the same place there was a Cuy farm. Not as good as Paola's friend's by description but interesting to see how they are kept and fed; slaughtered and dressed.
After the complusory market visit we finally got to our first archeological site for the day. A great walk up through the cold wind, all of us using altitude as an excuse for our lack of fitness. The day's catchcry became "I'm not proud; I'm happy to pant". A great view off the top even if not much of the actual built environment remains. The rocks cling to the mountain like an eagles nest and the mist and cloud rolled around below us. The mountains are very green with far peaks sporting snow. Terraced farms spread into the valleys. For historical purposes the local farmers cannot farm in the inca terraces but in some ways this seems a waste of fertile, irrigatable land.
Ollantaytambo rises above the town of the same name. At the bottom of the main, barely paved, street the terraces rise, connecting the town with the ruins. Other ruins look down on the townfrom the other two sides. Old Man's Beard is so rampant on the slopes surrounding the ruins it looks like the shurbs and bromilliads are covered in cobwebs. Anywhere young boys can reach is clean as they harvest the epiphite (not sure what for). A football pitch and bull fighting ring vie for space under the shadow of the ruins on one side; narrow ancient streets climb straight up the slopes with walled courtyards on either side. You can see these are the streets chosen by the tourist painters when they draw the scenes of rural peru with plaited women walking along village streets.
By the time we reached Chinchero it was almost dark. A very atmospheric time with purple storm clouds buiding on the horizon, the white painted adobe flourescent in the early dark and the yellow glow of the street lamps. Against my better judgement I visited the historical catholic church at the site - built with half adobe walss atop Inca foundations. Expecting yet more Spanish rennaissonce architecture and oppulance, I was pleasantly surprised and impressed. Probably the best and most real church I've visited in Peru. Beautiful early freizes painted on plaster walls, timber beams and roof. Colours softened by time - reds and blues and blacks and creams. The main alter was the only ornate part of the church and it wasn't overly guilded, just quietly so. All of our group agreed how nice it was and we were a mixed bunch.
EG. Myself; 70YO Aussie woman studying spanish; young jewish english volunteer from Arequipa; USA couple (her Singaporian, him afro-american); USA couple (her white, him Peruvian Indian); 2 men from Belgium; Dutch couple (her white, him Peruvian jew)...
18 December Wandered the town today.
4 blocks back into the locals world and away from Gringoland. Sorted my travel plans from now until new year. Cusco very expensive compared to other parts of Peru but if you get back into the locals area it is much better. Had a great 4 course Menu lunch today for 4.50 soles (approx $2AUD) on the main drag it would have cost me 20-30 soles.
Joined a guided district tour this afternoon. Was too lazy (I'm blaming it on altitude) to walk up the hills myself. Bit strange: didn't learn a lot about the area but at least the compulsory market visit taught me the difference between different qualities of alpaca wool and what to look for. Not that I'm in the market in Cairns. Visited 4 sites - Saqsaywaman (or sexy woman in silly english), Qéngo, Pukapukara and Tambomachay. The first was the best. These Incas were clever engineers building huge temples and walls with huge rocks with no iron tools, animal power, pully system or mortar. Very little seems to be known about them. Whether the Spanish didn't write it down before they destroyed everything or the locals lost the ability to pass on the oral history?...
Also visited two Spanish era attractions - the Santa Dominican Convent Qorikancha and Cusco Cathedral. What was most interesting about both was the number and quality of European religious art. All produced by Cusco Indians under instruction by the Spanish . It seems only about 10% of their production stayed in the region. Cusco was the manufacturing point for all the south american religious art. Some is so good it was mistaken, until modern dating analysis became available, as Spanish masters' work.
Tonight went to a Cusco cultural dance theatre. Excellent. About 10 dances from different parts of Cusco area. Very colourful costumes, great story telling through dance and quality performers. One of the best things I've done in Cusco and better quality than I saw in Trujillo (although different dances). It was SO cold walking back I couldn't stop my teeth chattering. Went to 'my' cafe with the open fire and thawed out there with hot chocolate and hot apple pie - what a treat.
HINDSIGHT: What is this? It's Christmas in the southern hemisphere and instead of being hot and wet it is COLD and wet. I can handle being drenched when it's warm but HATE being cold and wet. If that's altitude they can have it! It doesn't get that warm on the coast in Lima or Trujillo either. Only the jungle seems to be hot.
4 blocks back into the locals world and away from Gringoland. Sorted my travel plans from now until new year. Cusco very expensive compared to other parts of Peru but if you get back into the locals area it is much better. Had a great 4 course Menu lunch today for 4.50 soles (approx $2AUD) on the main drag it would have cost me 20-30 soles.
Joined a guided district tour this afternoon. Was too lazy (I'm blaming it on altitude) to walk up the hills myself. Bit strange: didn't learn a lot about the area but at least the compulsory market visit taught me the difference between different qualities of alpaca wool and what to look for. Not that I'm in the market in Cairns. Visited 4 sites - Saqsaywaman (or sexy woman in silly english), Qéngo, Pukapukara and Tambomachay. The first was the best. These Incas were clever engineers building huge temples and walls with huge rocks with no iron tools, animal power, pully system or mortar. Very little seems to be known about them. Whether the Spanish didn't write it down before they destroyed everything or the locals lost the ability to pass on the oral history?...
Also visited two Spanish era attractions - the Santa Dominican Convent Qorikancha and Cusco Cathedral. What was most interesting about both was the number and quality of European religious art. All produced by Cusco Indians under instruction by the Spanish . It seems only about 10% of their production stayed in the region. Cusco was the manufacturing point for all the south american religious art. Some is so good it was mistaken, until modern dating analysis became available, as Spanish masters' work.
Tonight went to a Cusco cultural dance theatre. Excellent. About 10 dances from different parts of Cusco area. Very colourful costumes, great story telling through dance and quality performers. One of the best things I've done in Cusco and better quality than I saw in Trujillo (although different dances). It was SO cold walking back I couldn't stop my teeth chattering. Went to 'my' cafe with the open fire and thawed out there with hot chocolate and hot apple pie - what a treat.
HINDSIGHT: What is this? It's Christmas in the southern hemisphere and instead of being hot and wet it is COLD and wet. I can handle being drenched when it's warm but HATE being cold and wet. If that's altitude they can have it! It doesn't get that warm on the coast in Lima or Trujillo either. Only the jungle seems to be hot.
17/12 Crashed asleep in the plane to be woken by the hostee announcing 'seat backs upright, open blinds, etc'. I flipped up the blind in my half asleep state and was immediately startled fully awake by theincredible sight that met me. A huge range of snow covered mountains, soaring peaks, deep valleys and impossibly black ravines. The sun sparled off the snow and made the scene all the more incredible. All I needed was the Snow Queen to appear on one of the slopes and I would have known I was dreaming. Less than two minutes later we were decending over green pastures and red roof tiles into Cusco; nestled comfortably in this Andean range.
Found a taxi and bed and took advantage of the sunshine in the Plaza de Armas. It is only 7am.
The sun seems very high in the sky for the time of day. More like 10am...It is summer but maybe it is an effect of altitude...
Thawed out and watched the world pass by. A very busy Sunday in the Plaza. 100's of hawkers out trying to make up for yesterday's lost trade.
HINDSIGHT: More touts and street hawkers here than anywhere I've been in Peru. And more pushy. Thinking about it; I think Turkey and Egypt were more pushy in the markets but Cusco gets the points for street hawking.
You name, they're selling it and everyones got a story to tell. Had a hilarious time with a coupe of pre-teen girls who convinced me to buy some finger puppets from them. They were obviously learning the trade. They had done the deal and swapped money for goods. Then decided they hadn't done well enough and wanted more (their commission). When trying to wheedle it out of me from a 'trade' point of view they started whinging like kids can. I thought - I'm not giving up my seat in the sun to escape these girls - so I just started whinging back to them in the same tone ad facial expressions. Of course we all broke up laughing. Even the locals thought it was hilarious some gringa was playing their game back at them. They even tried to get me to buy them ice-cream and bananas for them instead of more cash. I agreed on the bananas but the banana lady wanted .8 sole for 2 when the going rate is .5 for two. The girls were incredulous I was such a tough gringa. I think they thought money is easy for us and we don't care that much about price. Anyway it was a good lesson for them, we all had fun and my haggling skills improved.
Being at altitude certainly burns quickly. My hands got burned even though it was quite cold and intermittently sunny. Hat, sunscreen, etal saved the rest of me.
Cusco is a very pretty place with a big fountain and beautiful gardens in the square. The square is surrounded by 2 spanish influence churches (1 a Cathedral) and many two story haciendas with timber verandahs upstairs and columned arches at ground level. There was a military parade of some sort going on with marching and flag raising; a group of Lions giving 100 or so poor kids a Christmas party; couples everywhere - even elderly couples enjoying the sun and entertainment.
Very tired. Took it easy and crashed early.
Funny sight - a dog lifting it's leg on a lit full size Christmas lama in the square (after dark). I had visions of the electricity arcing back to the dog and lighting him up too...
Found a taxi and bed and took advantage of the sunshine in the Plaza de Armas. It is only 7am.
The sun seems very high in the sky for the time of day. More like 10am...It is summer but maybe it is an effect of altitude...
Thawed out and watched the world pass by. A very busy Sunday in the Plaza. 100's of hawkers out trying to make up for yesterday's lost trade.
HINDSIGHT: More touts and street hawkers here than anywhere I've been in Peru. And more pushy. Thinking about it; I think Turkey and Egypt were more pushy in the markets but Cusco gets the points for street hawking.
You name, they're selling it and everyones got a story to tell. Had a hilarious time with a coupe of pre-teen girls who convinced me to buy some finger puppets from them. They were obviously learning the trade. They had done the deal and swapped money for goods. Then decided they hadn't done well enough and wanted more (their commission). When trying to wheedle it out of me from a 'trade' point of view they started whinging like kids can. I thought - I'm not giving up my seat in the sun to escape these girls - so I just started whinging back to them in the same tone ad facial expressions. Of course we all broke up laughing. Even the locals thought it was hilarious some gringa was playing their game back at them. They even tried to get me to buy them ice-cream and bananas for them instead of more cash. I agreed on the bananas but the banana lady wanted .8 sole for 2 when the going rate is .5 for two. The girls were incredulous I was such a tough gringa. I think they thought money is easy for us and we don't care that much about price. Anyway it was a good lesson for them, we all had fun and my haggling skills improved.
Being at altitude certainly burns quickly. My hands got burned even though it was quite cold and intermittently sunny. Hat, sunscreen, etal saved the rest of me.
Cusco is a very pretty place with a big fountain and beautiful gardens in the square. The square is surrounded by 2 spanish influence churches (1 a Cathedral) and many two story haciendas with timber verandahs upstairs and columned arches at ground level. There was a military parade of some sort going on with marching and flag raising; a group of Lions giving 100 or so poor kids a Christmas party; couples everywhere - even elderly couples enjoying the sun and entertainment.
Very tired. Took it easy and crashed early.
Funny sight - a dog lifting it's leg on a lit full size Christmas lama in the square (after dark). I had visions of the electricity arcing back to the dog and lighting him up too...
16 December 2006 Forced 'rest day'. All flights to Cusco cancelled due to bad weather in Cusco. Got to have a suburban Sunday with the family. Visited the local 'mall' hangout, Larco Mar, lunch and drinks and play with Matthew. Hunter and MacLean you will be very impressed - Uncle Andrew took Matthew to the local gaming place (like used to be in The Pier) and won 600+ tickets which they had a ball redeeming on all sorts of great crap. The only problem being Uncle Andrew had all the fun playing the games - I'm sure Matthew wouldn't have won all those tickets!
This evening we had a 'quiet night at home with a few friends'. What a hoot! Two friends came over at about 9.30pm for dinner and drinks. Deigo and Sarella. They left at 3am after we ate, drank (much Aussie red wine and Pisco - the national white brandy), and danced around on the living room carpet. Got a few good lessons from Deigo and Paola (both VERY good latin dancers). They said I wasn´t too bad for a Gringa!
Only thing was, my airport pickup was 4.40am so sleep was a no show tonight. Some big nights in Peru...
This evening we had a 'quiet night at home with a few friends'. What a hoot! Two friends came over at about 9.30pm for dinner and drinks. Deigo and Sarella. They left at 3am after we ate, drank (much Aussie red wine and Pisco - the national white brandy), and danced around on the living room carpet. Got a few good lessons from Deigo and Paola (both VERY good latin dancers). They said I wasn´t too bad for a Gringa!
Only thing was, my airport pickup was 4.40am so sleep was a no show tonight. Some big nights in Peru...
Friday, December 15, 2006
Dance party Peruvian local style
I bumped into one of the guides from the Lodge in Iquitos today and we practised our new languages together for a couple of hours. I think he learned more English, than I did Spanish. But I think that´s my memory. Just not as quick to remember...
Anyway, Ramiro offered to take me to a local dance party, so I accepted. He insisted we had to meet at 7pm, although I kept saying no, 9pm at the earliest. And of course, we're in Peru, the party didn't start til 10pm...actually quite funny cause he is a jungle guy and not very city-savvy. He was less confident crossing streets full of traffic than me...Anyway, the band was Kaliente, a slang spelling of spanish for 'hot'. And they were very good.
It was held in a huge concrete floored lot behind a wall and gate. A bit like we would go to a pavillion at the showgrounds. But instead of being all under cover, one section where the band set up and the bar and toilets were, was covered. The rest was concrete floor but open to the sky. Good idea as much cooler but thankfully it didn't rain...There were tables and stools set up in the uncovered areas, and standing room only under cover. The covered space ended up the dance floor. Interestingly they only sold beer. No water, no spirits, no soft drinks. Luckily Ramiro knew this and we took water in with us. And there was one market-type stall selling kebab squewers. The rest of the food and drink was on sale out in the street.
The band was huge. At least 10 members with instruments and vocals. And three dancing girls. In Oz these women would be considered soft porn. They were dressed like adult club pole dancers and gyrated all night on a side stage. Lots of g-string butt, cleavage and long untied hair thrown around. The latino music was excellent. Their version of rock and roll was terrible (to my ear). But dancing latino all night uses muscles I'm not used to using, so after 3 hours my calf muscles were aching.
Interesting watching 1500 people gyrate. The men were dressed in jeans and t-shirts or buttoned shirts. Mostly sneakers. They all had short hair. The women were in skin tight jeans and tight revealing tops. Plenty of midrift and cleavage. They all had long hair. Generally out - but started being tied back as they got hotter. But what caught my eye was how many were in jeans - 98%. And this is mid December in the tropics... They wore high heels - thong wedges in the main. We think our gyrating is pretty 'samie' and try and put in some latino, twist, etc for variety. Well Latino is no different - they dance the same 10 steps all night, and don't put in any western moves. You get the same number of 'good' dancers, and couples who actually touch while dancing.
There were a huge proportion who stood on the dance floor watching the band. And instead of standing at the back with their beers in hand watching, they stood at the front, in the crowd, or whereever they felt like. It was very safe. No drink spiking, no pick pocketing, no drink stealing. A very fair crowd. Obviously you took care but after all the 'take care' messages - the Peruvians act much better than their reputation.
Got to go now and catch a plane. Will catch up the Lima and Trujillo backlog when possible. See ya!
I bumped into one of the guides from the Lodge in Iquitos today and we practised our new languages together for a couple of hours. I think he learned more English, than I did Spanish. But I think that´s my memory. Just not as quick to remember...
Anyway, Ramiro offered to take me to a local dance party, so I accepted. He insisted we had to meet at 7pm, although I kept saying no, 9pm at the earliest. And of course, we're in Peru, the party didn't start til 10pm...actually quite funny cause he is a jungle guy and not very city-savvy. He was less confident crossing streets full of traffic than me...Anyway, the band was Kaliente, a slang spelling of spanish for 'hot'. And they were very good.
It was held in a huge concrete floored lot behind a wall and gate. A bit like we would go to a pavillion at the showgrounds. But instead of being all under cover, one section where the band set up and the bar and toilets were, was covered. The rest was concrete floor but open to the sky. Good idea as much cooler but thankfully it didn't rain...There were tables and stools set up in the uncovered areas, and standing room only under cover. The covered space ended up the dance floor. Interestingly they only sold beer. No water, no spirits, no soft drinks. Luckily Ramiro knew this and we took water in with us. And there was one market-type stall selling kebab squewers. The rest of the food and drink was on sale out in the street.
The band was huge. At least 10 members with instruments and vocals. And three dancing girls. In Oz these women would be considered soft porn. They were dressed like adult club pole dancers and gyrated all night on a side stage. Lots of g-string butt, cleavage and long untied hair thrown around. The latino music was excellent. Their version of rock and roll was terrible (to my ear). But dancing latino all night uses muscles I'm not used to using, so after 3 hours my calf muscles were aching.
Interesting watching 1500 people gyrate. The men were dressed in jeans and t-shirts or buttoned shirts. Mostly sneakers. They all had short hair. The women were in skin tight jeans and tight revealing tops. Plenty of midrift and cleavage. They all had long hair. Generally out - but started being tied back as they got hotter. But what caught my eye was how many were in jeans - 98%. And this is mid December in the tropics... They wore high heels - thong wedges in the main. We think our gyrating is pretty 'samie' and try and put in some latino, twist, etc for variety. Well Latino is no different - they dance the same 10 steps all night, and don't put in any western moves. You get the same number of 'good' dancers, and couples who actually touch while dancing.
There were a huge proportion who stood on the dance floor watching the band. And instead of standing at the back with their beers in hand watching, they stood at the front, in the crowd, or whereever they felt like. It was very safe. No drink spiking, no pick pocketing, no drink stealing. A very fair crowd. Obviously you took care but after all the 'take care' messages - the Peruvians act much better than their reputation.
Got to go now and catch a plane. Will catch up the Lima and Trujillo backlog when possible. See ya!
14-15 December Iquitos. City of intense contrast.
Iquitos is amazing (there's that word again). A huge past wealth from rubber now faded and decaying. Although the wealth of Iquitos is in the past, no-where in Peru is the dycotomy between the haves and the have-nots so obviously demonstrated. Back in the late 1800's and until WW1 the rubber baron's wealth was legendary. There are many lavish buildings across the old town, up to 3 stories tall in Spanish Victorian style with incredible timber interiors of mahogany, cedar, rosewood - doors, stairwells, ceilings, parquetry floors, furniture...clad in intricately hand painted italian ceremic tiles. Each level has it's own themed tiles. All designed for the tropics with interior courtyards, high ceilings, breezeways above the doors and huge french doors out on to balconies. These buildings are now in majority occupied by government departments, with little or no maintenance. The exterior tiles and shutters are cracked and broken, glass is missing, interiors are missing much of their furnishings, single light bulbs swing forlornly from once chanderliered ceilings. Weeds grow in the courtyards.
Along the Malecon, or boulevarde, at some stage, modern money has been spent to pave the footpath, cement the road, make car parks, landscape garden beds. Tying together these colonial buildings with the Amazon sitting quietly, waiting, below. But all this has cracked and died. Walking along at dusk, with the pink sunset colouring the water, and softening the light and heat; half close your eyes and you can almost imagine the past lifestyles and opulant wealth.
Then look down below between the boulevarde and river, culminating about 2km downstream and you see the floating slums of Belen. 70,000 people living in houses floating on the river. Before the water rises each wet season the huts sit in the hot, stinking, poluted mud. A food market flourishes in the seasonal streets between the houses. Concrete and hardwood planks have been laid in the mud to provide some permanence for the inhabitants. The cements cleaned off after each wet, redefining the dry season Belen boundaries.
They sell everything here. And move it all to high water mark as the river rises. It is so big I struggle to fathom where all this mess goes when the river reclaims acres of mudflats. I saw turtle meat (legs with claws attached, necks with heads attached) alongside chickens (alive and portioned), all manner of river fish, pigs . As always lots of fruit and veges of varying qualities. A whole street dedicated to banana trading. A street of chillis, spices and all combinations thereof. A street of tobacco -rough cut and rolled into fat, course cigarettes and cigars. Sold as 1's or in bundles wrapped in newspaper. Smelling the burning tobacco reminded me of a combination of cigar and marajuana. A very strong, unfiltered cigarette.
The houses rise above the market on tall thin stumps waiting for the water to rise. The stumps of these anchored dwellings are at least 2 stories high. When the wet comes, the water washes all the rubbish away and cleanses the mud. And the rest of the housesfloat up to meet the high water level and life goes on at this wet sesaon level.
Families live in one room floating huts with thatched roofs. Mum, dad and at least 5 kids plus grandma or grandad. And a couple of chooks. The river is used for everything. They swim in it to cool off. They wash themselves and their clothes in it. Drink the water and cook with the water. All the animal and human waste goes straight in; as does the rubbish. And yet, they catch commercial quantities of fish here daily and dolphins are often seen...right in all this...
I went for a canoe ride around this floating river city. Which I have heard called the jungle Venice... mmm... hardly my impression. The only saving grace is that it is warm here. But whole new thoughts enter my head. When it is cold you have to find money for clothes; when it is hot you grow whole new tropical diseases and how to keep food fresh?...
Iquitos is amazing (there's that word again). A huge past wealth from rubber now faded and decaying. Although the wealth of Iquitos is in the past, no-where in Peru is the dycotomy between the haves and the have-nots so obviously demonstrated. Back in the late 1800's and until WW1 the rubber baron's wealth was legendary. There are many lavish buildings across the old town, up to 3 stories tall in Spanish Victorian style with incredible timber interiors of mahogany, cedar, rosewood - doors, stairwells, ceilings, parquetry floors, furniture...clad in intricately hand painted italian ceremic tiles. Each level has it's own themed tiles. All designed for the tropics with interior courtyards, high ceilings, breezeways above the doors and huge french doors out on to balconies. These buildings are now in majority occupied by government departments, with little or no maintenance. The exterior tiles and shutters are cracked and broken, glass is missing, interiors are missing much of their furnishings, single light bulbs swing forlornly from once chanderliered ceilings. Weeds grow in the courtyards.
Along the Malecon, or boulevarde, at some stage, modern money has been spent to pave the footpath, cement the road, make car parks, landscape garden beds. Tying together these colonial buildings with the Amazon sitting quietly, waiting, below. But all this has cracked and died. Walking along at dusk, with the pink sunset colouring the water, and softening the light and heat; half close your eyes and you can almost imagine the past lifestyles and opulant wealth.
Then look down below between the boulevarde and river, culminating about 2km downstream and you see the floating slums of Belen. 70,000 people living in houses floating on the river. Before the water rises each wet season the huts sit in the hot, stinking, poluted mud. A food market flourishes in the seasonal streets between the houses. Concrete and hardwood planks have been laid in the mud to provide some permanence for the inhabitants. The cements cleaned off after each wet, redefining the dry season Belen boundaries.
They sell everything here. And move it all to high water mark as the river rises. It is so big I struggle to fathom where all this mess goes when the river reclaims acres of mudflats. I saw turtle meat (legs with claws attached, necks with heads attached) alongside chickens (alive and portioned), all manner of river fish, pigs . As always lots of fruit and veges of varying qualities. A whole street dedicated to banana trading. A street of chillis, spices and all combinations thereof. A street of tobacco -rough cut and rolled into fat, course cigarettes and cigars. Sold as 1's or in bundles wrapped in newspaper. Smelling the burning tobacco reminded me of a combination of cigar and marajuana. A very strong, unfiltered cigarette.
The houses rise above the market on tall thin stumps waiting for the water to rise. The stumps of these anchored dwellings are at least 2 stories high. When the wet comes, the water washes all the rubbish away and cleanses the mud. And the rest of the housesfloat up to meet the high water level and life goes on at this wet sesaon level.
Families live in one room floating huts with thatched roofs. Mum, dad and at least 5 kids plus grandma or grandad. And a couple of chooks. The river is used for everything. They swim in it to cool off. They wash themselves and their clothes in it. Drink the water and cook with the water. All the animal and human waste goes straight in; as does the rubbish. And yet, they catch commercial quantities of fish here daily and dolphins are often seen...right in all this...
I went for a canoe ride around this floating river city. Which I have heard called the jungle Venice... mmm... hardly my impression. The only saving grace is that it is warm here. But whole new thoughts enter my head. When it is cold you have to find money for clothes; when it is hot you grow whole new tropical diseases and how to keep food fresh?...
There is only so much poverty one girl can absorb. Iquitos' main square area and surrounds where the gringos see is like most centres...kept relatively clean, safe and maintained. Obviously the locals show up with all the standards of living to sell their wares and their are street kids and beggars. But you have to look very few streets further to see the real Peru. Back in the rubber days the barons had all the wealth and the Indians were virtual slaves. Today, the wealth is less obviously but the locals are still slaves - slaves to this all invading poverty. School is not seen as a solution. Kids work as soon as they can walk and talk. And I wonder about contraception being expensive and not used. I have been told it is provided free by the government. But they are staunch Catholics and I think that, tradition, lack of education, fear of no-one to support them in old age and needing hands for work, encourages parents to keep breeding.
It is also incredibly noisy here. I have noticed especially so, since leaving the jungle. The town square, the water front, the markets, on the river. The people fill it with noise, as if they are frightened of quiet. If there is no noise from industry, they pour music into it from loud speakers. And those bloody tuk tuks...
NOTE: Buses here are from the 1950'2 - VJ timber interiors with wooden bench seats. Flat front exterior with no aerodynamics. High floor level with big step up.
13 December. Another big storm last night. Rained most of the night, and this morning the river level is up another few feet. We are able to get our canoe into spots yesterday we would have walked to. And it is the last day guests will be able to get to a particular part of the swamp unitl the water rises high enough to make canoeing in possible. So we took advantage of this access and went looking for a rare and endemic prehistoric bird only found in porcupine palm swamp. When these birds are babies they still have claws on their wing joints so they can climb in and out of the nest. They loose these prehistoric claws when their adult plumage develops. We found the birds and while they are outstanding to look at, their pumage is amazingly good camouflage. Their blue eye feathers look like a piece of forest fruit, their red crown plumage looks like a bromilliad flower and their russet, black and white body colours blend them perfectly with the palm corpse. My new 'birder' friends were over the moon to have seen such a rare bird.
Interesting, that as we slipped around in the river swamp we never saw signs of actual Caymans. Although we we walking on small dry peninsulas in the thick, still-water swamp, often crossing through foot deep water and mud - perfect croc country - Moises said the Caymans won't come near humans. They were not out sunning themselves within spotting distance either. I kept a close watch, being so used to crocs, but there was nothing. This is probably because they are hunted. Small numbers remain and those that survive are wary of humans - even in the reserve.
My day was perfect when we saw a troop of 6 blue and yellow Macaws and 2 sloths - slow moving and very monkey like (and one was actually climbing - they are incredibly slow movers and it is easy to understand why the term sloth is used for a couch potato person). Also huge waterlillies, in flower.
And the only eucalyptus native to the Amazon, which they call a firewood tree. It has the hardest wood of the forest and is prized for making charcoal from and then for cooking bread. It has buttress roots, smooth silver bark and a stringy dark brown outer bark that sheds off as low as high-water mark and protects the tree below this level. The other interesting tree was their capok tree. Now, it has the same yellow flower and green fruit with the cotton like interior. But...it grows to one of the largest trees in the forest. The specimen I took a photo of would be 35m tall with a trunk diameter of at least 3m. Is it just more water and better soil?...
Liz and Paul, the lovely english birder couple and I shared our guide, Moises. He has 29 years guiding experience in the area and specialises in supporting research teams of botanists, orntholoists, biologists, etc. A jungle man born and bred. Many of the villagers work at the Lodge. They take turns at guiding, boat driving, cooking, maintenance, etc. So everyone gets some work and some money. They live very simple lives in thatched huts on high stumps, with few walls, no electricity or plumbing. They are generally BIG families. Manuell, our boat driver is one of 15 kids and at 24 already has 3 1/2 of his own with his 21 yo wife. Another of the staff I spoke to has 10 siblings but at 25 is not married yet. Ramiro spends his free time in Iquitos, out of the jungle, and I get the impression he thinks city women are more his style (probably because they can earn $).
Interesting, that as we slipped around in the river swamp we never saw signs of actual Caymans. Although we we walking on small dry peninsulas in the thick, still-water swamp, often crossing through foot deep water and mud - perfect croc country - Moises said the Caymans won't come near humans. They were not out sunning themselves within spotting distance either. I kept a close watch, being so used to crocs, but there was nothing. This is probably because they are hunted. Small numbers remain and those that survive are wary of humans - even in the reserve.
My day was perfect when we saw a troop of 6 blue and yellow Macaws and 2 sloths - slow moving and very monkey like (and one was actually climbing - they are incredibly slow movers and it is easy to understand why the term sloth is used for a couch potato person). Also huge waterlillies, in flower.
And the only eucalyptus native to the Amazon, which they call a firewood tree. It has the hardest wood of the forest and is prized for making charcoal from and then for cooking bread. It has buttress roots, smooth silver bark and a stringy dark brown outer bark that sheds off as low as high-water mark and protects the tree below this level. The other interesting tree was their capok tree. Now, it has the same yellow flower and green fruit with the cotton like interior. But...it grows to one of the largest trees in the forest. The specimen I took a photo of would be 35m tall with a trunk diameter of at least 3m. Is it just more water and better soil?...
Liz and Paul, the lovely english birder couple and I shared our guide, Moises. He has 29 years guiding experience in the area and specialises in supporting research teams of botanists, orntholoists, biologists, etc. A jungle man born and bred. Many of the villagers work at the Lodge. They take turns at guiding, boat driving, cooking, maintenance, etc. So everyone gets some work and some money. They live very simple lives in thatched huts on high stumps, with few walls, no electricity or plumbing. They are generally BIG families. Manuell, our boat driver is one of 15 kids and at 24 already has 3 1/2 of his own with his 21 yo wife. Another of the staff I spoke to has 10 siblings but at 25 is not married yet. Ramiro spends his free time in Iquitos, out of the jungle, and I get the impression he thinks city women are more his style (probably because they can earn $).
12 December Pink River Dolphins...yes, pink. Grey too, but amazing fresh water pink dolphins.
Only found in the Amazon. They have evolved without a dorsal fin so they can navigate shallow , choked water and especially good sonar for the muddy water of the Amazon. They don't breach like grey dolphons; they are much shyer and don't like the noise of the outboard. If you get in the river to swim with them they just disappear. Once the engine was cut, there were quite a lot. Can't count the number of animals just the number of surfaces -water too muddy. It is said they can enchant people into the Amazon to live with them in their underwater world. Like the legend of the mermaids in the Rhine. Great book - searching for Pink Dolphins by Sy Montgomery - found it in a library in Huaraz and discovered our guide Moises helped the author with research and guiding. Will purchase a copy on my return home.
This area is so rich with life, it is hard to describe - a fish jumped into the boat this morning (a sardine, but the biggest sardine I've ever seen - would fill the tin on his own!) when we were out looking for birds this morning before breakfast. No need to go fishing...We saw hundreds of species of birds, all easy to see and quite undisturbed by our presence. Monkeys, bats, fish, dolphines, butterflies of all colours. Cairo may be a seething mass of humanity but the Amazon is a seething mass of biology.
Out forest walking again this afternoon. Saw 4 Pygmy Marmoisettes - tiny monkeys no bigger than my hand - and lots of butterflies - blue, green, brown, white. Some nearly as big as the monkey! Lots of fungii, bromilliads, and other epiphites. And the Amazon is the world's best breeder of mossies. If we have the great Aussie wave for flies, the Amazon has the great Amazon wave for mossies. Even smothered in Rid they covered every surface, rising in swarms from the rotting fruit and mud puddles. Instead of filling your nose and mouth, they target your eyes and ears. That incecent buzzing in your ears is deafening and very frustrating. They even drown out the cicadas. It is only like this in the forest where they breed. At the Lodge and on the river there are very few. It seems there are over 1800 species of birds in Peru some 450 are endemic - no wonder we are seeing so many birds.
I've had a cold shower now and de-sweated myself. Sitting quietly on my verandah over looking the river as the sun goes down. Much cooler now. The crickets and frogs have started their nightly concert. The birds are making their comforting bed-time calls. I can hear a woodpecker tap, tap, tapping (we saw 2 different breeds on our jungle excursions). The current is carrying the silt and flotsom of last night's storm downstream and adding to the logjams and weed islands already clogging the river.
Today I even saw a new banana plant growing out of a fallen one as it floated downstream. Bank errosion is a major occurance here but it is seen as part of the natural cycle. The bank can be 2m high above the current water level, all rich top soil, and it just slides into the river with rain and provides top soil to the farmers further downstream.
Only found in the Amazon. They have evolved without a dorsal fin so they can navigate shallow , choked water and especially good sonar for the muddy water of the Amazon. They don't breach like grey dolphons; they are much shyer and don't like the noise of the outboard. If you get in the river to swim with them they just disappear. Once the engine was cut, there were quite a lot. Can't count the number of animals just the number of surfaces -water too muddy. It is said they can enchant people into the Amazon to live with them in their underwater world. Like the legend of the mermaids in the Rhine. Great book - searching for Pink Dolphins by Sy Montgomery - found it in a library in Huaraz and discovered our guide Moises helped the author with research and guiding. Will purchase a copy on my return home.
This area is so rich with life, it is hard to describe - a fish jumped into the boat this morning (a sardine, but the biggest sardine I've ever seen - would fill the tin on his own!) when we were out looking for birds this morning before breakfast. No need to go fishing...We saw hundreds of species of birds, all easy to see and quite undisturbed by our presence. Monkeys, bats, fish, dolphines, butterflies of all colours. Cairo may be a seething mass of humanity but the Amazon is a seething mass of biology.
Out forest walking again this afternoon. Saw 4 Pygmy Marmoisettes - tiny monkeys no bigger than my hand - and lots of butterflies - blue, green, brown, white. Some nearly as big as the monkey! Lots of fungii, bromilliads, and other epiphites. And the Amazon is the world's best breeder of mossies. If we have the great Aussie wave for flies, the Amazon has the great Amazon wave for mossies. Even smothered in Rid they covered every surface, rising in swarms from the rotting fruit and mud puddles. Instead of filling your nose and mouth, they target your eyes and ears. That incecent buzzing in your ears is deafening and very frustrating. They even drown out the cicadas. It is only like this in the forest where they breed. At the Lodge and on the river there are very few. It seems there are over 1800 species of birds in Peru some 450 are endemic - no wonder we are seeing so many birds.
I've had a cold shower now and de-sweated myself. Sitting quietly on my verandah over looking the river as the sun goes down. Much cooler now. The crickets and frogs have started their nightly concert. The birds are making their comforting bed-time calls. I can hear a woodpecker tap, tap, tapping (we saw 2 different breeds on our jungle excursions). The current is carrying the silt and flotsom of last night's storm downstream and adding to the logjams and weed islands already clogging the river.
Today I even saw a new banana plant growing out of a fallen one as it floated downstream. Bank errosion is a major occurance here but it is seen as part of the natural cycle. The bank can be 2m high above the current water level, all rich top soil, and it just slides into the river with rain and provides top soil to the farmers further downstream.
Thursday, December 14, 2006
My first day in the Amazon ends.
It is pitch black, no stars, no lights; but the night is full of noise. Crickets, frogs, birds, owls, raindrops, leaves dropping, the occassional thunk of a falling branch. A million sounds and none man-made. I´m going to sleep to the sound of rain on the forest leaves and thatched roof. My cabin is plywood to waist height and screened above. A high pitched thatched palm roof with a screen ceiling. A verandah with hammock unscreened. At the height of the wet all the resort stands with its feet in the water (everything is on 3m stumps). There is another 2m of rising water yet to come.
The night air is thick and still and no breeze makes it through the screens. A fan would make a big difference. No pool of sweat but skin damp to touch and it is easier to sleep without clothes. Reminds me of Coconut Beach Resort mid summer. Or Freshie on a hot summer's night when the power goes out and we all end up on the front lawn looking for a cool space.
It is pitch black, no stars, no lights; but the night is full of noise. Crickets, frogs, birds, owls, raindrops, leaves dropping, the occassional thunk of a falling branch. A million sounds and none man-made. I´m going to sleep to the sound of rain on the forest leaves and thatched roof. My cabin is plywood to waist height and screened above. A high pitched thatched palm roof with a screen ceiling. A verandah with hammock unscreened. At the height of the wet all the resort stands with its feet in the water (everything is on 3m stumps). There is another 2m of rising water yet to come.
The night air is thick and still and no breeze makes it through the screens. A fan would make a big difference. No pool of sweat but skin damp to touch and it is easier to sleep without clothes. Reminds me of Coconut Beach Resort mid summer. Or Freshie on a hot summer's night when the power goes out and we all end up on the front lawn looking for a cool space.
Monkey hunting. We're going on a Monkey hunt, we're going to see a big one...
Just for the record I am part of a group of 3 visitors (2 English birders and myself) who are sharing our guide Moises - 29 years experience guiding. There are 5 guests in house at the moment (max 40).
We left the lodge by small canoe powered by a small outboard motor on the end of a long pole that has the propeller at the bottom. The boat driver (in the back) lowers the pole into the water to the correct depth for the channel and the flotsam blocking the way. It's rather like powering the canoe with a electric beater...I wondered why we didn't have an electric motor which would have been much quieter for animal spotting, until we reached further upstream where the river, flood plain, lake and swamp, chokes up with grass, water weed (hyacinth), logs, flood debris, etc. We needed the power of the deisel engine to get us through; and needed the help of the guide (in the front) with a paddle to force a channel in more difficult parts. The driver takes direction through hand signals from the guide standing in the front as he has better visibility. The guides paddle is shaped like the spade in a pack of cards. The point of the paddle gets traction on the muddy bottom or in the thick weeds. The flat side is slightly convex to assist viscosity and is used to paddle, push weed islands and logs aside or scooping weed out of the way and from catching on the front of the boat. The river has become a sea of green weed and how he knows the channel is impressive.
The greenery is alive with insects. Grasshoppers, dragonflies, spiders;all shapes, sizes and colours go busily about their business ignoring us. Their colours are almost dizzying. Red, green, blue, gold - nothing is plain here.
A small frog, not much bigger than a thumbnail jumps off the grass into the boat and across to the grass on the other side. These little frogs land on us as often as dragonflies and grasshoppers. Tammy you would be in frog heaven. The croaking goes on insecently. On the river. In the jungle. Daylight and night time.
We beached our canoe and started walking though the jungle. I don't need to explain the density of a tropical jungle or the thickness of the air. Interestingly many of the species here have been introduced to Oz and are pests at home. Water hyacinth, sensitive weed, mimosa, nut grass, morning glory...
We do not walk on prepared or maintained tracks here, just straight through the bush. I stood on a log expecting to use the lift to push up over it and my foot went straight through. It had completely rotted and the shell looked strong and complete. We crossed swamp by tree trunk bridge and water filled my 'wellies' as I sunk deeper in the mud than the height of my 'rubber'.
NOTE TO MYSELF - choose higher sided 'wellies' tomorrow!
I continued to squelsh in search of monkeys. We saw an amazing array of birdlife even 3 of the 5 species of kingfisher found in Peru. Huge birds called Horned Barkers that sound like a cow. It is easy to enjoy bird watching here. You see something new and different every few minutes. Like fishing, it's interesting when you are catching something...
We could hear the monkeys but they kept moving and were making monkeys out of us. Finally success. Titi monkeys, Howler monkeys, Squirel monkeys. All showed themselves. The Howlers were as big as tree kangaroos and the squirel monkeys obviously small like squirels.
The mozzies were insecent but not as bad as expected. The summer storm built as the afternoon passed, thick black clouds banked on the horizon, thicker each time we sighted them in a clearling. The thunder accompanying us on our jungle adventure. The Amazon seems thicker, denser, more intense than our rainforest. Certainly less controlled and more animals to be seen.
We arrived back not 5minutes before the storm broke and it has been raining constantly since. Now 11pm. Tried going Cayman spotting after dinner but too wet. All hiding under the surface. Cayman are not protected so not common.
HINDSIGHT When we were swamp walking later in my stay we crossed prime 'croc swamp' and dry banks between still water and there was not a Cayman to be seen.
Just for the record I am part of a group of 3 visitors (2 English birders and myself) who are sharing our guide Moises - 29 years experience guiding. There are 5 guests in house at the moment (max 40).
We left the lodge by small canoe powered by a small outboard motor on the end of a long pole that has the propeller at the bottom. The boat driver (in the back) lowers the pole into the water to the correct depth for the channel and the flotsam blocking the way. It's rather like powering the canoe with a electric beater...I wondered why we didn't have an electric motor which would have been much quieter for animal spotting, until we reached further upstream where the river, flood plain, lake and swamp, chokes up with grass, water weed (hyacinth), logs, flood debris, etc. We needed the power of the deisel engine to get us through; and needed the help of the guide (in the front) with a paddle to force a channel in more difficult parts. The driver takes direction through hand signals from the guide standing in the front as he has better visibility. The guides paddle is shaped like the spade in a pack of cards. The point of the paddle gets traction on the muddy bottom or in the thick weeds. The flat side is slightly convex to assist viscosity and is used to paddle, push weed islands and logs aside or scooping weed out of the way and from catching on the front of the boat. The river has become a sea of green weed and how he knows the channel is impressive.
The greenery is alive with insects. Grasshoppers, dragonflies, spiders;all shapes, sizes and colours go busily about their business ignoring us. Their colours are almost dizzying. Red, green, blue, gold - nothing is plain here.
A small frog, not much bigger than a thumbnail jumps off the grass into the boat and across to the grass on the other side. These little frogs land on us as often as dragonflies and grasshoppers. Tammy you would be in frog heaven. The croaking goes on insecently. On the river. In the jungle. Daylight and night time.
We beached our canoe and started walking though the jungle. I don't need to explain the density of a tropical jungle or the thickness of the air. Interestingly many of the species here have been introduced to Oz and are pests at home. Water hyacinth, sensitive weed, mimosa, nut grass, morning glory...
We do not walk on prepared or maintained tracks here, just straight through the bush. I stood on a log expecting to use the lift to push up over it and my foot went straight through. It had completely rotted and the shell looked strong and complete. We crossed swamp by tree trunk bridge and water filled my 'wellies' as I sunk deeper in the mud than the height of my 'rubber'.
NOTE TO MYSELF - choose higher sided 'wellies' tomorrow!
I continued to squelsh in search of monkeys. We saw an amazing array of birdlife even 3 of the 5 species of kingfisher found in Peru. Huge birds called Horned Barkers that sound like a cow. It is easy to enjoy bird watching here. You see something new and different every few minutes. Like fishing, it's interesting when you are catching something...
We could hear the monkeys but they kept moving and were making monkeys out of us. Finally success. Titi monkeys, Howler monkeys, Squirel monkeys. All showed themselves. The Howlers were as big as tree kangaroos and the squirel monkeys obviously small like squirels.
The mozzies were insecent but not as bad as expected. The summer storm built as the afternoon passed, thick black clouds banked on the horizon, thicker each time we sighted them in a clearling. The thunder accompanying us on our jungle adventure. The Amazon seems thicker, denser, more intense than our rainforest. Certainly less controlled and more animals to be seen.
We arrived back not 5minutes before the storm broke and it has been raining constantly since. Now 11pm. Tried going Cayman spotting after dinner but too wet. All hiding under the surface. Cayman are not protected so not common.
HINDSIGHT When we were swamp walking later in my stay we crossed prime 'croc swamp' and dry banks between still water and there was not a Cayman to be seen.
The people live on the river as they always have. They are partners in the Lodge I have chosen which is independant and refuses to pay the touts commissions in Iquitos. No electricity here, or hot water. The only down side is 100% humidity and everything stays wet. My trousers from today and fresh ones tonight will still be damp when I put them on tomorrow. But everyone is in the same condition and we all smell damp and peaty.
The Lodge is on a tributary of the Amazon and is a black river, full of oxides and tanin. The colour of strong black tea. The Amazon is a brown river full of top soil and sediment. Each has it's own ecosystem.
I'm in the Amazon, yes that's right, the AMAZON!!!!!
I always thought to see the Rio Amazonia and Amazon jungle you had to go to Brazil. WRONG. The best, least human wrecked parts are in the upper Amazon - Peru. Highly recommend Muyuna Lodge 140km upriver from Iquitos for anyone wanting to see the real Amazon and it´s people and animals.
11 December 2006
The blue of the sky is filtered by the fine white clouds. As they are reflected in the river, its brown water is turned to pink. The cloud is gradually building in thickness, just wisps early this morning on a clear blue sky but now at midday there are fluffy marshmellows, streaks of rice vermicelli and sheets of white tissue all competing for space on the massive expanse of blue.
The river trip started at 2km wide, now guessing, but nearer to 2.5km wide. It´s 25m deep in the channel and has barely started to spread across the flood plain. The wet only really started 3 weeks ago and already there is a steady stream of debris and silt competing for space. Our speedboat captain is very adept at judging the floating logs, vines, and water hyacinth islands for the potential damage they could do our outboard.
Bananas, coconuts, pawpaws, chickens, pigs, are shipped on huge balsawood rafts downstream to Iquitos. They float down on the current at about 8km/hr and once unloaded are broken up and sold for timber and firewood. The men get lifts back upstream on motorised launches and start over again. There are all manner of craft in the river carrying people, crops and animals. Small settlements appear on the banks out of the jungle - surviving on fishing and crops.
I always thought to see the Rio Amazonia and Amazon jungle you had to go to Brazil. WRONG. The best, least human wrecked parts are in the upper Amazon - Peru. Highly recommend Muyuna Lodge 140km upriver from Iquitos for anyone wanting to see the real Amazon and it´s people and animals.
11 December 2006
The blue of the sky is filtered by the fine white clouds. As they are reflected in the river, its brown water is turned to pink. The cloud is gradually building in thickness, just wisps early this morning on a clear blue sky but now at midday there are fluffy marshmellows, streaks of rice vermicelli and sheets of white tissue all competing for space on the massive expanse of blue.
The river trip started at 2km wide, now guessing, but nearer to 2.5km wide. It´s 25m deep in the channel and has barely started to spread across the flood plain. The wet only really started 3 weeks ago and already there is a steady stream of debris and silt competing for space. Our speedboat captain is very adept at judging the floating logs, vines, and water hyacinth islands for the potential damage they could do our outboard.
Bananas, coconuts, pawpaws, chickens, pigs, are shipped on huge balsawood rafts downstream to Iquitos. They float down on the current at about 8km/hr and once unloaded are broken up and sold for timber and firewood. The men get lifts back upstream on motorised launches and start over again. There are all manner of craft in the river carrying people, crops and animals. Small settlements appear on the banks out of the jungle - surviving on fishing and crops.
Ok guys I´m catching up...
To try and keep track of my muddled entries...I have covered the mountain country of Huaraz, the 2nd half of my Trujillo stay. Still to come - arriving in Peru and settling in in Lima, 1st half of Trujillo, and the Amazonias expedition.
Going to tackle the Amazon now...see next entry...
To try and keep track of my muddled entries...I have covered the mountain country of Huaraz, the 2nd half of my Trujillo stay. Still to come - arriving in Peru and settling in in Lima, 1st half of Trujillo, and the Amazonias expedition.
Going to tackle the Amazon now...see next entry...
Exploring Mountains Part 2
Next day the weather didn´t seem much better but you can't choose your weather...so set off on the bus again (the two germans from the day before were there again too). Today we headed south to Catac and then in search of a huge flower spike. Now this is a bromilliad that grows to 2m in diameter and then when fully grown (100yrs old by now) throws a 10m high flower spike with 20,000 flowers. It is considered a living fossil as it is one of the most ancient plants on earth. Well I didn´t see a 10m high spike but I did see some pretty amazing plants of some metres high. There were also natural sparkling mineral springs (so already carbonated) and lots of Lamas. Then as it got colder and we climbed further to altitude I got to hike to a glacier, visit an ice cave, throw snow and get snowed on - all at 5600m. The highest altitude I expect to visit. I only had a 2km round trip from the car park to the glacier and back and it took a good 2 hours. Yes, altitude does effect you!...It was FREEZING. I was wearing thermal pants and top, plus thermal outer and thermal slick, gloves, beanie and hat (to keep the snow out of neck). I stayed warm til my hands and feet got wet (to be expected in the snow) and then it was COLD with a capital C. The Germans and a Polish lady from Canada I had buddied with, were even colder so I didn´t feel so bad.
By the end of the day my brain was tired and I had developed a thumping headache. All altitude related but overall I think I coped really well. That night I travelled back to Lima on the overnight bus. Slept off the exhaustion, and the headache went of it's own accord as we decended from the mountains.
HINDSIGHT: Fantastic experience this Peru. One day on the coast with the ocean rolling in, the next at high altitude with snow and glaciers, and the next day 35 degrees and 100% humidity in a tropical jungle spotting macaws and cruising the Amazon!!!!!
Next day the weather didn´t seem much better but you can't choose your weather...so set off on the bus again (the two germans from the day before were there again too). Today we headed south to Catac and then in search of a huge flower spike. Now this is a bromilliad that grows to 2m in diameter and then when fully grown (100yrs old by now) throws a 10m high flower spike with 20,000 flowers. It is considered a living fossil as it is one of the most ancient plants on earth. Well I didn´t see a 10m high spike but I did see some pretty amazing plants of some metres high. There were also natural sparkling mineral springs (so already carbonated) and lots of Lamas. Then as it got colder and we climbed further to altitude I got to hike to a glacier, visit an ice cave, throw snow and get snowed on - all at 5600m. The highest altitude I expect to visit. I only had a 2km round trip from the car park to the glacier and back and it took a good 2 hours. Yes, altitude does effect you!...It was FREEZING. I was wearing thermal pants and top, plus thermal outer and thermal slick, gloves, beanie and hat (to keep the snow out of neck). I stayed warm til my hands and feet got wet (to be expected in the snow) and then it was COLD with a capital C. The Germans and a Polish lady from Canada I had buddied with, were even colder so I didn´t feel so bad.
By the end of the day my brain was tired and I had developed a thumping headache. All altitude related but overall I think I coped really well. That night I travelled back to Lima on the overnight bus. Slept off the exhaustion, and the headache went of it's own accord as we decended from the mountains.
HINDSIGHT: Fantastic experience this Peru. One day on the coast with the ocean rolling in, the next at high altitude with snow and glaciers, and the next day 35 degrees and 100% humidity in a tropical jungle spotting macaws and cruising the Amazon!!!!!
6-7 December 2006 Exploring mountain country.
Ok, cause I´ve been slack these two days seem to get muddled in my mind but...I took 2 day tours, which seems to be the best way to explore the Cordillera Blanca surrounding Huaraz.
First day I caught a bus with about 8 tourists and 24 high school kids from Lima. I was the only one who spoke no Spanish and the guide was Spanish speaking. It was a fun day. The school group´s supervising teacher was their English teacher and yet she spoke VERY little English. The kids constantly wanted to take photos with me and we had lots of laughs all trying to make each other understood. They were really nice kids. Well behaved, well spoken and respectful. An achievement to get 24 kids to do this on a school trip (this was like their schoolies week but is held the week before school finishes and is arranged through school fundraising. They had been saving for 2 years for the trip and so really wanted to get a lot out of it. It is probably the only trip away from Lima most of them have ever had). The kids all had film cameras, and no-one had walkmans or P2Ps or designer clothes. Their teacher explained although all the kids wanted to go on to university only 4-5 of the group would actually get a place. And these were the lucky ones to have stayed at school to senior.
There were 2 Isrealie girls on the bus, 3 South Americans, 2 Germans and me. Each of the foreiners spoke a little Spanish and if I looked completely lost would give me a quick summery of the important points. But mostly it was about looking out the window at the view so all was fine.
First stop was the town of Carhuaz, traditional mountain town. What I remember most was that the Plasa de Armas was filled with flowering rose bushes, there was a funeral procession through town with a brass band playing Latino music, and a pedestrian got hit by a taxi because she insisted on walking down the middle of the street in the traffic. Got a great photo of two friends sitting on a park bench talking. Young women - one dressed western, one dressed mountain traditional - totally unaware of their differences, and comfortable with their differences.
Then we stopped at old Yungay, where the worst natural disaster of the Andres occured in 1970. The 18,000 people of the town were buried alive in a huge avalanche and mud slide. It was incredibly hot here and as we walked through the park like bushland and visited the memorial we could have been in the south of France (or Spain, I suppose). I felt it was rather a depressing place to include on the itinerary and we seemed to be here for ages. Without understanding the detail of the commentary it is hard to understand if this is like a pilgrimage site for the Peruvians.
Incredibly, the heavy cloud that had hung on the high mountains all morning (and stopped me seeing their snow covered 6000m peaks) decended and turned a stifling hot day into a freezing cold one. As we climbed the mountain pass to Lagunas Llanganuco (pronounced Yanganuco), the weather closed in and the high pass was slippery , gravel and narrow. Bromilliads clung to the rock faces bounding the road - what are tropical epiphites doing here?...The girls in the back seat screamed as we rounded each switch back curve and the back of the bus hung out over the cliff. Luckily we met very little traffic and our bus could use the whole of the one lane road.
The Lake itself is beautiful and heads up toward a glacier and snow capped mountains. Unfortunately the cloud and incecent rain took away a lot of the scenery but it wasn't hard to imagine on a clear day the brilliant clear green/blue lake contrasting with white glittering snow. I took a short walk along the shore to absorb what atmosphere I could and bought a hot cob of corn to warm me as I waited in the drizzle for the bus to return.
We didn´t get back to Huaraz til nearly 8pm (lunch at 4pm - so Peruvian). But I did get to meet and talk to the Isrealies and one of the Peruvians over lunch. We were supposed to meet for a drink that evening in Huaraz but the agreed meeting point seemed very dodgy when I got there in a cab so I just told him to take me back to my warm hostel and had a quite night getting to know two canadian girls volunteering in Peru for three months.
Ok, cause I´ve been slack these two days seem to get muddled in my mind but...I took 2 day tours, which seems to be the best way to explore the Cordillera Blanca surrounding Huaraz.
First day I caught a bus with about 8 tourists and 24 high school kids from Lima. I was the only one who spoke no Spanish and the guide was Spanish speaking. It was a fun day. The school group´s supervising teacher was their English teacher and yet she spoke VERY little English. The kids constantly wanted to take photos with me and we had lots of laughs all trying to make each other understood. They were really nice kids. Well behaved, well spoken and respectful. An achievement to get 24 kids to do this on a school trip (this was like their schoolies week but is held the week before school finishes and is arranged through school fundraising. They had been saving for 2 years for the trip and so really wanted to get a lot out of it. It is probably the only trip away from Lima most of them have ever had). The kids all had film cameras, and no-one had walkmans or P2Ps or designer clothes. Their teacher explained although all the kids wanted to go on to university only 4-5 of the group would actually get a place. And these were the lucky ones to have stayed at school to senior.
There were 2 Isrealie girls on the bus, 3 South Americans, 2 Germans and me. Each of the foreiners spoke a little Spanish and if I looked completely lost would give me a quick summery of the important points. But mostly it was about looking out the window at the view so all was fine.
First stop was the town of Carhuaz, traditional mountain town. What I remember most was that the Plasa de Armas was filled with flowering rose bushes, there was a funeral procession through town with a brass band playing Latino music, and a pedestrian got hit by a taxi because she insisted on walking down the middle of the street in the traffic. Got a great photo of two friends sitting on a park bench talking. Young women - one dressed western, one dressed mountain traditional - totally unaware of their differences, and comfortable with their differences.
Then we stopped at old Yungay, where the worst natural disaster of the Andres occured in 1970. The 18,000 people of the town were buried alive in a huge avalanche and mud slide. It was incredibly hot here and as we walked through the park like bushland and visited the memorial we could have been in the south of France (or Spain, I suppose). I felt it was rather a depressing place to include on the itinerary and we seemed to be here for ages. Without understanding the detail of the commentary it is hard to understand if this is like a pilgrimage site for the Peruvians.
Incredibly, the heavy cloud that had hung on the high mountains all morning (and stopped me seeing their snow covered 6000m peaks) decended and turned a stifling hot day into a freezing cold one. As we climbed the mountain pass to Lagunas Llanganuco (pronounced Yanganuco), the weather closed in and the high pass was slippery , gravel and narrow. Bromilliads clung to the rock faces bounding the road - what are tropical epiphites doing here?...The girls in the back seat screamed as we rounded each switch back curve and the back of the bus hung out over the cliff. Luckily we met very little traffic and our bus could use the whole of the one lane road.
The Lake itself is beautiful and heads up toward a glacier and snow capped mountains. Unfortunately the cloud and incecent rain took away a lot of the scenery but it wasn't hard to imagine on a clear day the brilliant clear green/blue lake contrasting with white glittering snow. I took a short walk along the shore to absorb what atmosphere I could and bought a hot cob of corn to warm me as I waited in the drizzle for the bus to return.
We didn´t get back to Huaraz til nearly 8pm (lunch at 4pm - so Peruvian). But I did get to meet and talk to the Isrealies and one of the Peruvians over lunch. We were supposed to meet for a drink that evening in Huaraz but the agreed meeting point seemed very dodgy when I got there in a cab so I just told him to take me back to my warm hostel and had a quite night getting to know two canadian girls volunteering in Peru for three months.
Sunday, December 10, 2006
December 5,6,7 Huaraz and the Cordillera Blanca
Remeber H is W and LL is Y...now try and pronounce it again...
I think I'm now seeing some of the real Peru. I have been protected and buffered til now. Being looked after so well by Andrew and Paola, living their life, which even for we first worlders is pretty flash. I haven't had to manage on my own with the language, food, transport, etc. They have been incredibly kind, generous and attentive. And it's been lots of fun. In fact - just what I needed. But now I'm seeing Peru how I saw other parts of the world.
I left the bossom of my family at the bus station in Trujillo on the night sleeper bus to Huaraz. Now, this service puts Oz buses to shame. In fact it puts the airlines to shame too. I had a 'bus bed' which is the equivalent of a business class seat in a plane. With full recline, 'inflight' catering, movie, blanket...There are only 3 seats across the bus, two on one side and one on the other. Second class is upstairs on the double decker. Now I tried this too on the return as the sleepers were sold out. And second class is still pretty good. 4 seats across with the aisle in the middle, blanket and 3/4 recline, movie and snack. First class was 50 sols (AUD$20) for a 9 hour journey.
Got into Huaraz at 6am, it was about 10 degrees and stayed that all day. Remember this is SUMMER, but we're in the mountains. The altitude here is 3100m (Cuzco 3300m, Machu Pichu 2500m) so it's pretty high. Spent my arrival day acclimatising. Until you experience altitude I don't think you can understand its very real effects.
I'm not particulary athletic, but I'm also not unfit and certainly would put myself in the above average category for normally active people. I took the altitude tablets I brought with me, tried cocoa tea (disgusting) and ate plenty of limes. Even so the street I had to walk up to my hostel which was no steeper than Simon Street had me breathing heavily. The key seems to be slow the pace, breath deeply and not to eat heavy foods or drink alcohol.
Wandered up to the local trout farm today and inspected trout from finglings to 18" long beauties. Then proceeded to sample the wares with a simple luch of grilled fresh trout with local boiled potatoes (yellow, rather floury and with a soggy outer 1/4 inch - yep that's just how they come I've learned) and salad. But...the trout was so fresh the head, spine and tail just peeled away from the flesh in one easy movement. (The only other place that has been the case was in Selime in Cappacocia Turkey, but that's another story) The little local 'restaurant' at the gate to the farm was run by a tiny old lady who prepared everything fresh. She kept her shop swept and clean. The kitchen was very clean (I checked) but I had to laugh...she had put trout fingerlings in little plastic bags of water and hung them around the servery opening. I'm not sure if they were for display or if she hoped to sell them as souvenirs (at home you would buy one to take home as a pet). But they had died in the tiny bags of water and she had just left them all there sunk in the bottom of the bags...
Walking back down into the town and around the Plasa de Armas (remember I said every town has one of these in its heart), I was struck by the poverty. This is where you realise it is easier to be poor in the warm. I'm sure the people of India and Asia are no less poverty striken but they are warm. These people have to find clothes to keep themselves and their families warm, find heating for their hovels and manage the intense cold while they perform their domestic duties. I watched women washing clothes in the mountain river that flowed through town with bare feet and hands. Air temp 10 degrees, water temp about 5 degrees.
The women are a study. Many wear traditional clothing which is very colourful and seems mismatched. They all wear slip on loafer shoes, with knee high stockings. Then over this they wear leggings of various colours. Then an assortment of colours and textures and fabrics in skirts layered, more and more thickly as they get older (or colder). So in this layering there will be a brodie anglise lace layer, cotton, wool, all different colours and patterns. Then as a top layer there will be something as an outer layer usually in a traditional pattern/weave. Many of the layers are traditional lama or alpaca wool. My guess is the layers rarely come off and more are added as the under ones wear out or it gets colder. They don't wear all these layers on the tops. Just under shirt, blouse, jumper and maybe coat. And then it is all topped off with a high peaked square wool hat with feather decoration. Now the hat makes sense after being snowed on as the brim keeps the snow out of the neck of your clothes and the sun off your face. All these layers make them look fat but they are not. They have skinny legs and normal upper bodies with no fat on their faces.
From what I could gather asking around and observing; the mountain women marry very young - many at 13. They have big families over many years and start to wear traditional dress after they have had children. All the young girls wear western clothes especially jeans. Contaception is available without presciption but costs money so they don't use it. Infant mortality is very high. This seems to be exaserbated by the altitude. Making carrying babies harder, child birth harder and the first two years of life very difficult. Any respiratory problems up here can kill a baby.
It seems Peru has 38% of its population under 18yo.
The other thing that has struck me through out Peru (and the world) is how short the people are. But I have to reassess. The French are not short and the East is not short. Not compared to Peruvians. And Coastal Peruvians are not short compared to mountain people. The women are commonly 4ft6in and the men 5ft4in. I'm sure this has to do with being born and raised at altitude. They are also incredibly worn. The cold and exposure ages them fast. Their skin is leathery and dark, their teeth bad. Women who could not be more than mid thirties look 70. They have babies slung across their backs and the stature of old women.
This shortness probably has influenced the city womens love of 5in heels!
Remeber H is W and LL is Y...now try and pronounce it again...
I think I'm now seeing some of the real Peru. I have been protected and buffered til now. Being looked after so well by Andrew and Paola, living their life, which even for we first worlders is pretty flash. I haven't had to manage on my own with the language, food, transport, etc. They have been incredibly kind, generous and attentive. And it's been lots of fun. In fact - just what I needed. But now I'm seeing Peru how I saw other parts of the world.
I left the bossom of my family at the bus station in Trujillo on the night sleeper bus to Huaraz. Now, this service puts Oz buses to shame. In fact it puts the airlines to shame too. I had a 'bus bed' which is the equivalent of a business class seat in a plane. With full recline, 'inflight' catering, movie, blanket...There are only 3 seats across the bus, two on one side and one on the other. Second class is upstairs on the double decker. Now I tried this too on the return as the sleepers were sold out. And second class is still pretty good. 4 seats across with the aisle in the middle, blanket and 3/4 recline, movie and snack. First class was 50 sols (AUD$20) for a 9 hour journey.
Got into Huaraz at 6am, it was about 10 degrees and stayed that all day. Remember this is SUMMER, but we're in the mountains. The altitude here is 3100m (Cuzco 3300m, Machu Pichu 2500m) so it's pretty high. Spent my arrival day acclimatising. Until you experience altitude I don't think you can understand its very real effects.
I'm not particulary athletic, but I'm also not unfit and certainly would put myself in the above average category for normally active people. I took the altitude tablets I brought with me, tried cocoa tea (disgusting) and ate plenty of limes. Even so the street I had to walk up to my hostel which was no steeper than Simon Street had me breathing heavily. The key seems to be slow the pace, breath deeply and not to eat heavy foods or drink alcohol.
Wandered up to the local trout farm today and inspected trout from finglings to 18" long beauties. Then proceeded to sample the wares with a simple luch of grilled fresh trout with local boiled potatoes (yellow, rather floury and with a soggy outer 1/4 inch - yep that's just how they come I've learned) and salad. But...the trout was so fresh the head, spine and tail just peeled away from the flesh in one easy movement. (The only other place that has been the case was in Selime in Cappacocia Turkey, but that's another story) The little local 'restaurant' at the gate to the farm was run by a tiny old lady who prepared everything fresh. She kept her shop swept and clean. The kitchen was very clean (I checked) but I had to laugh...she had put trout fingerlings in little plastic bags of water and hung them around the servery opening. I'm not sure if they were for display or if she hoped to sell them as souvenirs (at home you would buy one to take home as a pet). But they had died in the tiny bags of water and she had just left them all there sunk in the bottom of the bags...
Walking back down into the town and around the Plasa de Armas (remember I said every town has one of these in its heart), I was struck by the poverty. This is where you realise it is easier to be poor in the warm. I'm sure the people of India and Asia are no less poverty striken but they are warm. These people have to find clothes to keep themselves and their families warm, find heating for their hovels and manage the intense cold while they perform their domestic duties. I watched women washing clothes in the mountain river that flowed through town with bare feet and hands. Air temp 10 degrees, water temp about 5 degrees.
The women are a study. Many wear traditional clothing which is very colourful and seems mismatched. They all wear slip on loafer shoes, with knee high stockings. Then over this they wear leggings of various colours. Then an assortment of colours and textures and fabrics in skirts layered, more and more thickly as they get older (or colder). So in this layering there will be a brodie anglise lace layer, cotton, wool, all different colours and patterns. Then as a top layer there will be something as an outer layer usually in a traditional pattern/weave. Many of the layers are traditional lama or alpaca wool. My guess is the layers rarely come off and more are added as the under ones wear out or it gets colder. They don't wear all these layers on the tops. Just under shirt, blouse, jumper and maybe coat. And then it is all topped off with a high peaked square wool hat with feather decoration. Now the hat makes sense after being snowed on as the brim keeps the snow out of the neck of your clothes and the sun off your face. All these layers make them look fat but they are not. They have skinny legs and normal upper bodies with no fat on their faces.
From what I could gather asking around and observing; the mountain women marry very young - many at 13. They have big families over many years and start to wear traditional dress after they have had children. All the young girls wear western clothes especially jeans. Contaception is available without presciption but costs money so they don't use it. Infant mortality is very high. This seems to be exaserbated by the altitude. Making carrying babies harder, child birth harder and the first two years of life very difficult. Any respiratory problems up here can kill a baby.
It seems Peru has 38% of its population under 18yo.
The other thing that has struck me through out Peru (and the world) is how short the people are. But I have to reassess. The French are not short and the East is not short. Not compared to Peruvians. And Coastal Peruvians are not short compared to mountain people. The women are commonly 4ft6in and the men 5ft4in. I'm sure this has to do with being born and raised at altitude. They are also incredibly worn. The cold and exposure ages them fast. Their skin is leathery and dark, their teeth bad. Women who could not be more than mid thirties look 70. They have babies slung across their backs and the stature of old women.
This shortness probably has influenced the city womens love of 5in heels!
Coy, or Guinea Pig, for Lunch
Yes, my friends, I have been brought up to 'eat what you are given and be thankful for there are starving children in Africa'...now this attitude means I will have a go at anything. Hey, if I can eat frilly lizard and skippy, snails and baby octopuses, why not Coy?
So, Paola's friend offered to prepare fresh Guinea pig from her farm for our lunch and I accepted with enthusiasm. Saturday was the day, we spent my dollars on gold and celebrated by eating queeker! Now my analysis of the culinary experience is - don't bother.
Sorry, the meat itself is the texture and colour of chicken thigh meat, and slightly sweeter. Certainly tender. But it's a lot of work for very little reward, food wise. Bit like quail really. All that mucking around preparing and then having the get the meat off the tiny bones. To do it justice it really is a fingers in job. And the GP skin is thick and fatty - like a cross between pork and chicken. And you are supposed to eat it. I couldn't eat the fat/skin. I don't eat it on pork or steak or corned beef so I felt I was being consistant and fair. It is served as a chicken thigh would be with thigh, leg and foot. And yes, their little claws are still on but you just don't look too close and I didn't pick it up in my fingers so I didn't have to shake hands.
Now it seems, the two main breeds are the curly hair and the straight hair. But for meat it depends more on what they are fed. Paola's friend said the best tasting animals are fed on lucern (they call it alphalfa) and fresh grass. Those animlas grain fed or fed on fish meal dont't taste as good. GPs on the farm can grow to 2kg!!
By the way we drank a Peruvian 2002 Merlo/Marbec with the beasties
Yes, my friends, I have been brought up to 'eat what you are given and be thankful for there are starving children in Africa'...now this attitude means I will have a go at anything. Hey, if I can eat frilly lizard and skippy, snails and baby octopuses, why not Coy?
So, Paola's friend offered to prepare fresh Guinea pig from her farm for our lunch and I accepted with enthusiasm. Saturday was the day, we spent my dollars on gold and celebrated by eating queeker! Now my analysis of the culinary experience is - don't bother.
Sorry, the meat itself is the texture and colour of chicken thigh meat, and slightly sweeter. Certainly tender. But it's a lot of work for very little reward, food wise. Bit like quail really. All that mucking around preparing and then having the get the meat off the tiny bones. To do it justice it really is a fingers in job. And the GP skin is thick and fatty - like a cross between pork and chicken. And you are supposed to eat it. I couldn't eat the fat/skin. I don't eat it on pork or steak or corned beef so I felt I was being consistant and fair. It is served as a chicken thigh would be with thigh, leg and foot. And yes, their little claws are still on but you just don't look too close and I didn't pick it up in my fingers so I didn't have to shake hands.
Now it seems, the two main breeds are the curly hair and the straight hair. But for meat it depends more on what they are fed. Paola's friend said the best tasting animals are fed on lucern (they call it alphalfa) and fresh grass. Those animlas grain fed or fed on fish meal dont't taste as good. GPs on the farm can grow to 2kg!!
By the way we drank a Peruvian 2002 Merlo/Marbec with the beasties
Still finishing off Trujillo
Sunday morning I struggled out of bed at 10am to meet Andrew and Paola for breakfast at 'my' cafe at 11am. Now I am finally getting used to Peruvian meal times. Breakfast is at 11am. Lunch is at 4pm and dinner at 10pm. Now this works when you sleep til 10am, the shops open at 11am and you don't even think about going out in the evening before 12midnight. Realistically - predinner drinks 7.30-9.30pm, dinner til midnight, dancing il you can't dance no more. And there is dancing at every function. Lunch or evening. There is music everywhere and everyone can keep the beat. They can't all dance well but they all have a bloody good try, even if it's just clapping along...
Andrew very patiently went gold shopping with me today. Paola and I had done the comparision shopping in Lima previously so we know what we could get in the big smoke and reckoned Trujillo was the place to buy. I think he did well and I have three nice pieces in 18crt. As I have been a very conservative shopper I think I deserved the investment. I also bought a few bits for the boys at a party supplies shop. Cheap as chips. Not Peruvian but FUN...
Sunday morning I struggled out of bed at 10am to meet Andrew and Paola for breakfast at 'my' cafe at 11am. Now I am finally getting used to Peruvian meal times. Breakfast is at 11am. Lunch is at 4pm and dinner at 10pm. Now this works when you sleep til 10am, the shops open at 11am and you don't even think about going out in the evening before 12midnight. Realistically - predinner drinks 7.30-9.30pm, dinner til midnight, dancing il you can't dance no more. And there is dancing at every function. Lunch or evening. There is music everywhere and everyone can keep the beat. They can't all dance well but they all have a bloody good try, even if it's just clapping along...
Andrew very patiently went gold shopping with me today. Paola and I had done the comparision shopping in Lima previously so we know what we could get in the big smoke and reckoned Trujillo was the place to buy. I think he did well and I have three nice pieces in 18crt. As I have been a very conservative shopper I think I deserved the investment. I also bought a few bits for the boys at a party supplies shop. Cheap as chips. Not Peruvian but FUN...
8-9 December Back in Trujillo
Got back from Huaraz Friday morning on the overnight bus service. Had time for a quick clean up and then met Andrew at his conference to have a look around his mining trade expo. Intresting to see how a trade fair is conducted in mining and in Peru. Very similar to every one I´ve been to. Lots of stands 3x3m, freebies, sales people, gimmicks, mascots...interestingly the south american version still includes skinny girls in lycra catwoman type suits handing out brochures.
The latinos are obsessed with the female form. Separate to Andrews show, I have formed the impression that to Peruvians (and I´m sure its across latin America) the tighter the pants, the lower the hipster, the more pushed up and out the breasts, the higher the heel, the better! They are not austentacious with jewellery (probably cause it would be lifted off them) but boy they are showy with their bodies. Their jeans and trackie dacks could not be more figure hugging - Dupont Lycra would be making a fortune here, as would 'wonder bra'.
Anyway, back to the point (no pun intended), it was interesting to see what the mining industry in Peru is up to. Andrews company seems to be leading the way with socially and environmentally sustainable development - a new concept here. And they are having some wins, slowly. His stand was the most like something I would expect in Oz. A bloke in a suit as mascot dressed as a local animal, weavers demonstrating their wares from the community, wine tasting from the region, a DVD environment doco made on the development playing, and finally all the stuff on the mine techniques themselves. No lycra lady when I was there...
We then went to the finalie lunch which the Peruvian President was supposed to attend but was a no-show. I was looking forward to meeting him...oh well. Met the equivalent of the DG of EPA (if we had a national version) - Manuell. And a journalist - Monica, who publishes a magazine keeping the miners honest on social, environment and community issues. There were dancing displays from each of the regions of Peru. This was very interesting cause alhough they were all quite different they had common threads of colour, pace and energy.
That night we were supposed to go to dinner with Manuell but Matthew was quite sick so it was cancelled. Andrew gave me some recommendations for night entertainment in Trujillo so I thought I would explore on my own.
HINDSIGHT: We all got sick in Trujillo. Matthew had a throat infection and temperature, Andrew a terrible phlemy cough, Paola sinusitus, and me a heavy cold. And Paola and I also got the Trujillo trots (we think from the official lunch - food was sitting around for long periods).
So...I headed off to my favourite cafe for dinner and shared a table with Ruby and Evelyn, two 50yo Peruvian ladies who spoke as much english as I did Spanish (actually they spoke a little more english, but that's not hard). We had a hilarious time communicating with single nouns and sign language. Lovely people who were very surprised I had survived as long as I had 'solo' and 'sin espanole'. Then about 10.30pm I went to Andrew's suggestion 'Tributa Bar' in a corner of a colonial building on the corner of Plasa de Armas. Found myself a beer (yes, my god, I'm drinking beer - Pilsen is almost ok but I can't manage more than 2 middies for the night. At least it's lighter than Oz beers) and a stool out on the latticed terrace upstairs and waited for the show.
Well, talk about contrasts. A seven piece band played Beatles and John Lennon covers from 11.10pm -4am. In fact they may have played til dawn, I don't know, I bailed at 4am. At home I can outstay the band but not here. They have me beat. The keyboard player can't have been more than 15yo and he was AMAZING. I found out later he co-ordinates all these tribute nights as well as being an accomplished musician. The crowd was older and more conservative than a usual club due to the era but there were still plenty of 'young' people. Although the average age was probably in their 30's. It was not a huge crowd and although it got busy it was never a crush. Something I also noticed when I was out with A&P in Lima at a club. Live bands are common and the crowd is managed much more professionally and limited to sensible numbers. During the evening I chatted to two english speaking blokes. Both well educated - hence the English - Dito worked for an asparagus and artichoke grower (Peru is the largest grower of these two veges in the world and export almost all of it) and Ceasar had his own womens sports shoe wholesale business. They had become friends at university studying their masters. Absolute gentlemen. Put the Egyptians and Turks to shame (ahh but some of that is yet to be written about...).
The contrast was that the day before I was being snowed on at high altitude on a glacier, staying in a town surrounded by grinding poverty; and here I was on the coast listening to live music with educated and entertaining company surrounded by all the trappings of western wealth. (More on the Glacier later)
Got back from Huaraz Friday morning on the overnight bus service. Had time for a quick clean up and then met Andrew at his conference to have a look around his mining trade expo. Intresting to see how a trade fair is conducted in mining and in Peru. Very similar to every one I´ve been to. Lots of stands 3x3m, freebies, sales people, gimmicks, mascots...interestingly the south american version still includes skinny girls in lycra catwoman type suits handing out brochures.
The latinos are obsessed with the female form. Separate to Andrews show, I have formed the impression that to Peruvians (and I´m sure its across latin America) the tighter the pants, the lower the hipster, the more pushed up and out the breasts, the higher the heel, the better! They are not austentacious with jewellery (probably cause it would be lifted off them) but boy they are showy with their bodies. Their jeans and trackie dacks could not be more figure hugging - Dupont Lycra would be making a fortune here, as would 'wonder bra'.
Anyway, back to the point (no pun intended), it was interesting to see what the mining industry in Peru is up to. Andrews company seems to be leading the way with socially and environmentally sustainable development - a new concept here. And they are having some wins, slowly. His stand was the most like something I would expect in Oz. A bloke in a suit as mascot dressed as a local animal, weavers demonstrating their wares from the community, wine tasting from the region, a DVD environment doco made on the development playing, and finally all the stuff on the mine techniques themselves. No lycra lady when I was there...
We then went to the finalie lunch which the Peruvian President was supposed to attend but was a no-show. I was looking forward to meeting him...oh well. Met the equivalent of the DG of EPA (if we had a national version) - Manuell. And a journalist - Monica, who publishes a magazine keeping the miners honest on social, environment and community issues. There were dancing displays from each of the regions of Peru. This was very interesting cause alhough they were all quite different they had common threads of colour, pace and energy.
That night we were supposed to go to dinner with Manuell but Matthew was quite sick so it was cancelled. Andrew gave me some recommendations for night entertainment in Trujillo so I thought I would explore on my own.
HINDSIGHT: We all got sick in Trujillo. Matthew had a throat infection and temperature, Andrew a terrible phlemy cough, Paola sinusitus, and me a heavy cold. And Paola and I also got the Trujillo trots (we think from the official lunch - food was sitting around for long periods).
So...I headed off to my favourite cafe for dinner and shared a table with Ruby and Evelyn, two 50yo Peruvian ladies who spoke as much english as I did Spanish (actually they spoke a little more english, but that's not hard). We had a hilarious time communicating with single nouns and sign language. Lovely people who were very surprised I had survived as long as I had 'solo' and 'sin espanole'. Then about 10.30pm I went to Andrew's suggestion 'Tributa Bar' in a corner of a colonial building on the corner of Plasa de Armas. Found myself a beer (yes, my god, I'm drinking beer - Pilsen is almost ok but I can't manage more than 2 middies for the night. At least it's lighter than Oz beers) and a stool out on the latticed terrace upstairs and waited for the show.
Well, talk about contrasts. A seven piece band played Beatles and John Lennon covers from 11.10pm -4am. In fact they may have played til dawn, I don't know, I bailed at 4am. At home I can outstay the band but not here. They have me beat. The keyboard player can't have been more than 15yo and he was AMAZING. I found out later he co-ordinates all these tribute nights as well as being an accomplished musician. The crowd was older and more conservative than a usual club due to the era but there were still plenty of 'young' people. Although the average age was probably in their 30's. It was not a huge crowd and although it got busy it was never a crush. Something I also noticed when I was out with A&P in Lima at a club. Live bands are common and the crowd is managed much more professionally and limited to sensible numbers. During the evening I chatted to two english speaking blokes. Both well educated - hence the English - Dito worked for an asparagus and artichoke grower (Peru is the largest grower of these two veges in the world and export almost all of it) and Ceasar had his own womens sports shoe wholesale business. They had become friends at university studying their masters. Absolute gentlemen. Put the Egyptians and Turks to shame (ahh but some of that is yet to be written about...).
The contrast was that the day before I was being snowed on at high altitude on a glacier, staying in a town surrounded by grinding poverty; and here I was on the coast listening to live music with educated and entertaining company surrounded by all the trappings of western wealth. (More on the Glacier later)
8-9 December 2006 Peru - a country of intense poverty but incredible acceptance
Because I've been so slack my thoughts are running backwards and many of my ideas have already developed. I've had time to think about them before writing. I hope I don't confuse my faithful readers by mentioning things that don't have context yet.
I'm sitting in a cafe Andrew introduced me to on my second evening in Trujillo (we´re in central northern coastal Peru now). I have been coming here a bit - the food is good, the coffee great, service attentive and the people watching better than average. And they let me practise my Spanish ordering with patience...I am struck by contrasts.
Here I am in a cafe that would compete in Paris, Sydney, Cairns, Istanbul, or Damascus (and actually rock the socks off Cairo...) and two streets away is incredible poverty that forces people to rob and cheat to feed their children...
I walked past a shop selling treadle sewing machines on the way here. And why not...they are reliable and dont need electricity. And when your're poor you either dont have access to, or can't afford, electricity. I saw many shoe repairers in the mountain/country towns I visited plying their trade in the street markets. No electricity there either. Lots of people in the mountains wear sandles made of recycled car tyres. Cheap, hard wearing...
I believe US$1000 month is a good wage for a doctor, many people survive on less than 10 sols/day (US$3). It is legal to work from age 7 and many families rely on every child contributing to the family's income. Kids are supposed to go to school from 6yrs to 16yrs but most are lucky to stay til 11yrs, especially in the mountains and city slums. The education system is very poor and teachers are poorly paid too. Again I believe 800 sols a week (US$250) - now that could actually be a monthly wage when I think about it. School hours are 7.30am-1pm and so the kids are free in the afternoon to study or, as is normal, to work.
Fresh fruit and fruit juice is plentiful and cheap. A bag of fruit is normally 1 sol at the market. You can buy a big bag of deep fried banana stips of 1 sol. Prepackaged manufactured 'junk' food tends to be biscuits, cake and chips and is sold in portion control packs and is relatively expensive. A 40g chocolate bar or packet of chips is 1/2 sol. Biscuits are sold in single serve 8 biscuit packs for 1/2 sol.
The Peruvians love sweets. In fact I've noticed this a lot. Poor countries seem to OD on sugar based junk rather than fat based junk. They have lots of caramel sweets and 'lollies' rather than chocolates. Lots of cheap boiled lollies in big bags. Crystalised fruits, etc.
The poverty is all invading. And the % of the population with money very intensly concentrated. The further you go from the city the poorer the people, the higher in the mountains, the same. And the further into the outer satelite suburbs of big cities the poverty is just as grinding. But they know nothing else and seem very accepting. Government mismanagement of the economy over many years has made them self reliant for survival techniques. I am so much more accepting and understanding of crime in Peru. The majority of crime here is about survival. The majority of crime in the west is opportunistic (handout mentality) and/or drug fuelled.
Because I've been so slack my thoughts are running backwards and many of my ideas have already developed. I've had time to think about them before writing. I hope I don't confuse my faithful readers by mentioning things that don't have context yet.
I'm sitting in a cafe Andrew introduced me to on my second evening in Trujillo (we´re in central northern coastal Peru now). I have been coming here a bit - the food is good, the coffee great, service attentive and the people watching better than average. And they let me practise my Spanish ordering with patience...I am struck by contrasts.
Here I am in a cafe that would compete in Paris, Sydney, Cairns, Istanbul, or Damascus (and actually rock the socks off Cairo...) and two streets away is incredible poverty that forces people to rob and cheat to feed their children...
I walked past a shop selling treadle sewing machines on the way here. And why not...they are reliable and dont need electricity. And when your're poor you either dont have access to, or can't afford, electricity. I saw many shoe repairers in the mountain/country towns I visited plying their trade in the street markets. No electricity there either. Lots of people in the mountains wear sandles made of recycled car tyres. Cheap, hard wearing...
I believe US$1000 month is a good wage for a doctor, many people survive on less than 10 sols/day (US$3). It is legal to work from age 7 and many families rely on every child contributing to the family's income. Kids are supposed to go to school from 6yrs to 16yrs but most are lucky to stay til 11yrs, especially in the mountains and city slums. The education system is very poor and teachers are poorly paid too. Again I believe 800 sols a week (US$250) - now that could actually be a monthly wage when I think about it. School hours are 7.30am-1pm and so the kids are free in the afternoon to study or, as is normal, to work.
Fresh fruit and fruit juice is plentiful and cheap. A bag of fruit is normally 1 sol at the market. You can buy a big bag of deep fried banana stips of 1 sol. Prepackaged manufactured 'junk' food tends to be biscuits, cake and chips and is sold in portion control packs and is relatively expensive. A 40g chocolate bar or packet of chips is 1/2 sol. Biscuits are sold in single serve 8 biscuit packs for 1/2 sol.
The Peruvians love sweets. In fact I've noticed this a lot. Poor countries seem to OD on sugar based junk rather than fat based junk. They have lots of caramel sweets and 'lollies' rather than chocolates. Lots of cheap boiled lollies in big bags. Crystalised fruits, etc.
The poverty is all invading. And the % of the population with money very intensly concentrated. The further you go from the city the poorer the people, the higher in the mountains, the same. And the further into the outer satelite suburbs of big cities the poverty is just as grinding. But they know nothing else and seem very accepting. Government mismanagement of the economy over many years has made them self reliant for survival techniques. I am so much more accepting and understanding of crime in Peru. The majority of crime here is about survival. The majority of crime in the west is opportunistic (handout mentality) and/or drug fuelled.
Wow...I didn't realise it was so long since I'd been blogging. Got some catching up to do...No wonder I feel like writing. It's like all the ideas are banked up inside.
Sunday 10 December 2006 Iquitos, Amazonias, Peru
Sounds exotic doesn't it...well it is...actually arriving here was the incentive I needed to blow the cork off my creative bottle of bubbles.
Got back into Lima from a northern Peru adventure late last night (that's another story), crashed and even Matthew (the 3 yo nephew) slept in this morning til after 8am. Hot showers, clean hair, breakfast and washed clothes and it was suddenly 11am. Just enough time for Andrew and I to tackle the bureacracy of LAN to try and sort out one of my flights (everything must be done in person); for me to pack for this journey; and all of us to enjoy another of Paola's tastbud tingling lunches (spinach, basil pesto, garlic, onion, blue cheese, cream and saos (for thickening) all in the blender and served on fettucine with a grilled pork chop. The key to turning this very italian meal into a peruvian one was the condiment we added - FRESH lime juice with corriander and chilli - you would never think this would work but IT DOES.) Then off to the airport for my foray into the northern Amazonian jungle of Peru.
Flew into Iquitos late afternoon as the sun was setting. The river snaked below me through the thick green jungle, with so many twists and turns it was almost impossible to follow it and keep track of the left and right sides of the river. The clouds were banked low on the horizon hinting at rain but promising nothing. They were coloured pink and orange with the late sun with indigo blue adding to their intensity as the sky peeped between them. I disembarked the plane onto the tarmac and the first thing that hit me was the thicknes of the air. I was home. The humidity and heat stuck to my body and immediately started to seep into my clothes. Within minutes my cotton trousers were clinging to my legs and my jacket was off and around my waist. Two burned out passenger planes sat on the edge of the runway immediately reminding me of that movie "Air America" with Mel Gibson. Long thick lush green grass surrounded these planes and grew up to the edge of the runway cement, the security fence was hung with families waiting for their loved ones, waving and calling out across the distance. I felt rather like Kathleen Turner in "Romancing the Stone", when she arrived in Cartigenia Columbia (I know the spelling's wrong but I haven't got a map with me to check).
The slow moving fans in the arrival hall made little impression on the air as we all waited for luggage. And luggage there was. Iquitos is a city of 500,000 only accessible by air and river. It is a week by boat to the nearest city in either Peru or Brazil so air is the only option to escape or arrive. And with christmas coming, arrive they did - with all manner of bags and boxes, parcels and sacks. Travelling into this city I was struck by the incredible combination of cultures -erroding colonial architecture with a spanish missionary and victorian influence; people slowed by the humidity of a lifetime, slumped in chairs in the doorways or windows of their homes or bars seeking any breeeze on the offing; bare chests on the men, singlet shirts on both men and women; loud, brassy, eminently dancable latino music blaring from the radio of the taxi, the doors and windows of bars and shops; and hundreds of tuk-tuks and motorbikes buzzing and honking along the road - like mosquitos - as if I had blinked and arrived in Vietnam. Vibrant and well worn would be a good word to decribe Iquitos.
Like everywhere in Peru the Plaza de Armas is not only the centre of town but the centre of the community and the social pivot for all the town's happenings. My hostel is half a block off the town square. This is a town used to tourism, there are restaurants on every corner, police and traffic and numerous people with a helpful word in English. Tomorrow I am off into the jungle for three days to seek the illusive pink dolphin, and all manner of other amazing amazonian creatures, but more of that once I've found them...
Sunday 10 December 2006 Iquitos, Amazonias, Peru
Sounds exotic doesn't it...well it is...actually arriving here was the incentive I needed to blow the cork off my creative bottle of bubbles.
Got back into Lima from a northern Peru adventure late last night (that's another story), crashed and even Matthew (the 3 yo nephew) slept in this morning til after 8am. Hot showers, clean hair, breakfast and washed clothes and it was suddenly 11am. Just enough time for Andrew and I to tackle the bureacracy of LAN to try and sort out one of my flights (everything must be done in person); for me to pack for this journey; and all of us to enjoy another of Paola's tastbud tingling lunches (spinach, basil pesto, garlic, onion, blue cheese, cream and saos (for thickening) all in the blender and served on fettucine with a grilled pork chop. The key to turning this very italian meal into a peruvian one was the condiment we added - FRESH lime juice with corriander and chilli - you would never think this would work but IT DOES.) Then off to the airport for my foray into the northern Amazonian jungle of Peru.
Flew into Iquitos late afternoon as the sun was setting. The river snaked below me through the thick green jungle, with so many twists and turns it was almost impossible to follow it and keep track of the left and right sides of the river. The clouds were banked low on the horizon hinting at rain but promising nothing. They were coloured pink and orange with the late sun with indigo blue adding to their intensity as the sky peeped between them. I disembarked the plane onto the tarmac and the first thing that hit me was the thicknes of the air. I was home. The humidity and heat stuck to my body and immediately started to seep into my clothes. Within minutes my cotton trousers were clinging to my legs and my jacket was off and around my waist. Two burned out passenger planes sat on the edge of the runway immediately reminding me of that movie "Air America" with Mel Gibson. Long thick lush green grass surrounded these planes and grew up to the edge of the runway cement, the security fence was hung with families waiting for their loved ones, waving and calling out across the distance. I felt rather like Kathleen Turner in "Romancing the Stone", when she arrived in Cartigenia Columbia (I know the spelling's wrong but I haven't got a map with me to check).
The slow moving fans in the arrival hall made little impression on the air as we all waited for luggage. And luggage there was. Iquitos is a city of 500,000 only accessible by air and river. It is a week by boat to the nearest city in either Peru or Brazil so air is the only option to escape or arrive. And with christmas coming, arrive they did - with all manner of bags and boxes, parcels and sacks. Travelling into this city I was struck by the incredible combination of cultures -erroding colonial architecture with a spanish missionary and victorian influence; people slowed by the humidity of a lifetime, slumped in chairs in the doorways or windows of their homes or bars seeking any breeeze on the offing; bare chests on the men, singlet shirts on both men and women; loud, brassy, eminently dancable latino music blaring from the radio of the taxi, the doors and windows of bars and shops; and hundreds of tuk-tuks and motorbikes buzzing and honking along the road - like mosquitos - as if I had blinked and arrived in Vietnam. Vibrant and well worn would be a good word to decribe Iquitos.
Like everywhere in Peru the Plaza de Armas is not only the centre of town but the centre of the community and the social pivot for all the town's happenings. My hostel is half a block off the town square. This is a town used to tourism, there are restaurants on every corner, police and traffic and numerous people with a helpful word in English. Tomorrow I am off into the jungle for three days to seek the illusive pink dolphin, and all manner of other amazing amazonian creatures, but more of that once I've found them...
