(A/N: Sorry for all the bouncing around with entries lately, I'm now picking up where I left off in my last few weeks in Lima...in real time, I head to the US in a week! Can't believe it, but I hope to crank out a ton of entries when I get home, thanks for being patient!)
Sunday May 17, 2009 11:51 PM
Lindsey’s house (fellow Multisa)
Monday
We celebrated Kara’s 21st birthday at her house with a big dinner of papas a la huacaina (potatoes with this yummy yellow, slightly spicy sauce) and escabiche (cold chicken with onions, peppers, etc). Then a big group of us went out to Barranco to dance the night away with the birthday girl!
Thursday
After classes (including our final exam for Spanish), we had two special classes set up through ISA. The first was to learn how to play the cajon, which is a rectangular box with a hole in one side. Originally used by African slaves to carry goods, they began to use empty ones as drums and created a whole new instrument. I’ve got a cool video of the whole routine we learned, check it out at the bottom of the post! Our second class was a traditional Peruvian dance. It was sort of like a double-time waltz, with lots of quick foot movements, but a lot of fun.
Later, we went to Barranco again for drinks and live music in a former 1920’s train car-turned-restaurant. It was so elegant with all its original decoration, including intricate stained glass windows and a huge silver cash register. Then it was another night of dancing! I love the discotecas in Peru – there is such an awesome mix of salsa, cumbia, American pop, hip hop & rock, and techno.
Friday
Another Intercambio, this time at a Karaoke bar! We had our own private room so we stayed there for hours and turned it into a dance party (of course). It was a blast singing to popular songs in English and Spanish with our fellow Peruvian friends.
Sunday
I went to support several of my friends getting tattoos to remember this trip (don’t worry Mom and Dad, I’m not coming home with a surprise…) and then walked around craft fairs in Miraflores with Jaime and Kara.
You can fill in all the blanks from this week with a LOT of paper writing, but that’s just not as interesting to talk about. We are heading into our final week (tear!) so I’ve been focused on getting all my work done in time. We’ve also been watching several movies in art class that depict different aspects of Peruvian life, and they are quite shocking with some of the themes they discuss, such as incestual father-daughter relations and poverty in Lima. If you ever have the chance to pick up Madeinusa, you should definitely watch it.
One more week with the Multisas, stay tuned! Coli
Monday, July 6, 2009
Friday, July 3, 2009
Guest Blog: Parents in Southern Peru!
Coli’s Parents Visit Peru – Part 3
Friday, May 8th
We hailed a taxi ($1.70) for two of us to the Cusco airport to return to Lima and another taxi to Nicole’s host home. We’re beginning to get into the rhythm of traveling the Peruvian way. I have been talking in multiple Spanish sentences at a time, but when I do that, then I get a rapid response of Castellano (Spanish) back from the locals. When I got in a jam, I turned to the real pro - Cyndee. She had a knack at understanding the fast speaking people and responded well to help us move along on our journey.
The last two hotels had no hot (or warm) water, so it was so nice to get a shower at the house. Since our travels will take us close to when we need to get our flight home, we shopped for water and uvas sin semillas (seedless grapes) and then repacked for the flight, plus luggage to return with most of Nicole’s purchases, collectibles, and clothes she couldn’t afford to carry on her back for the extra two months in South America after her study-abroad finishes – three of the weeks will be working in a poor village outside Quito, Ecuador with “Volunteers for Peace”.
We then spent 1.5 hours with a very patient and resourceful Lucia (ISA staff) to help us schedule our weekend excursions. Lucia reserved buses, a boat, hostel, etc. We then headed back to Miraflores, to two of the biggest souvenir markets in Peru (the Indian Market and the Inca Plaza). We were hungry so we first ate at Pepe’s. I doused my chicken with aji, of course. After shopping, we headed back to Pepe’s for fresh cooked doughnuts covered with a syrup. Not enough soles (money) to pay for dessert (too many souvenirs) or for a taxi back home, so I left Cyndee at the table and headed to the ATM machine next door (pre-established the location earlier). Uh oh! “No link available”. I spent the next twenty minutes walking to seven bank’s ATMs. They all said either “No link available” or “No balance available”. All the passwords for our backup cards were back at the house. Luckily, Cyndee remembered a password off the top of her head for one of our charge cards. Whew! She saved the day (well, night). We walked a few blocks to Kennedy Parque where Cyndee got three gorgeous pairs of earings for 14 soles (less than $5.00 total). Lastly, we walked for ten minutes to the Parque de Amor
(a provocative Sculpture of Love), an artistic highlight that is associated with Miraflores.
The next morning we got a taxi to the bus (Cruz del Sur). The buses were like first class all the way – then we heard that there were even more plush seats and service on the first floor or the bus. We had leg rests, food and beverage service, and movies. Our first stop was to Paracas in order to take a boat cruise to the Islas Ballestas, Peru’s version of the Galapagos Islands that included all sorts of birds, sea lions, and penguins. It was a beautiful day with beautiful surroundings. We continued on the next bus to Oasis de Huacachina – for one of the most intense adrenal-rush experiences of our lives. We arrived a few hours early for our dune-buggy appointment, so we lounged by the hotel pool and had a snack at their restaurant. At first I thought we would all get our own dune buggy to ride the sand dunes, but NO! We had a professional racecar-style driver strap in the other 11 of us in rollercoaster style harnesses. What were we in for??? We were in for the ride of our lives!!! These were not sand dunes…these were sand mountains! Even at the top of 300, 400, and 1000 foot apexes, we could only see more sand on the horizon. Amazing! The driver’s goal was to push everything to the limits – the speed, the turns, cresting the top of the hills, going airborne, etc. There was lots of screaming going on. Four times we stopped to do some “sandboarding” – which is like snowboarding (single ski) but instead of snow we skied down sand. For most of us, we laid down on the ski more like a toboggan. That was fine for little people, but I had to work hard to keep my arms in on this little board, otherwise they would be sandpapered to death (not like snow). These driving pros timed our night to peak on the sand ridge just as a sunset was commencing. What a sight. What a rare experience!
After a delicious dinner, we took a local bus to Nasca for tomorrow’s excursion. Fortunately another hostel’s guy met the bus. When we told him we already had reservations, he have us a general direction for our hostel. When we got close, none of the locals knew of the hostel or the street it was on. The three women were cooking foods outside their laundry mat. But they were so nice and a young boy went around trying to help us from his bicycle. We found the hostel just one block over and half a block up from them. And those people didn’t even recognize the name of the street. Maybe they keep renaming the streets or the locals have their own names
We had reservations for 9 a.m. for a van to take us to our 20 minute flight over the famous Nazca lines. The ancient Nazca civilization dug these massive figures between 500 BC and 500 AD, but they weren’t discovered by modern civilization until they were noticed from an airplane in 1927. Like Nicole said in her blog, we saw all the famous figures such as the monkey, spider, whale, and hummingbird (to give you an idea of the size, the hummingbird is 217 by 315 ft). The six-seater plane was very comfortable until the pilot would tip the plane sharply so the wing’s tip would point to the figures. This led Cyndee to make a contribution into the little bag from the seat pocket. Our flight was allocated to us almost two hours after we were told, so I had to beg the van driver (with money too) to drop off the other three people, take us to our hotel to pick up our things and he got us to the bus station with 15 minutes to spare - another close call. We had the plush bus again as we traveled 4.5 hours north back to Lima and the house. Aaaah!
We packed everything up, thanked Austry for her hospitality, got a taxi to the airport, and got to the check-in line at the airport. I told the airline that I would need to pay for an extra check-in bag. They said only one bag per person. I told them that we had all of our daughter’s stuff and there was no other option. I also told them that their website said that I could pay for a second bag. I was then told – “Oh, that is only for domestic flights. In the small print it says only one bag per person for international.” So our creative juices started flowing since “failure was not an option” (Apollo 13 motto). We got out of line and put anything heavy into our carry-on and then merged the three bags of stuff into two bags. I kept dragging the bag to be weighed until we got both maxed out on weight. Fortunately the third bag could collapse a lot to be considered a “carry-on”. Now the exciting part – Nicole was expecting to be returning to the airport around 9 p.m. from her excursion and we had to be through security at 10 p.m. We were looking forward to seeing her on Mother’s Day and trade a few stories over food. We kept waiting, but no Nicole. We found out later that they didn’t arrive until 11 p.m. This put us late into the security lines. In fact, when I was at the security processing point, a guy said “Are you Randon”, I said “Yes” and he took us through a special door to our gate. As soon as we got on board, they closed the door to the plane! There was never a dull moment on our trip, however everything always worked out.
*** We have to honestly say that our visit to Peru is one of the highlights of our life!
It wouldn’t have happened without Nicole broadening her horizons, inviting us to visit, and planning an unforgettable itinerary…and the joy of working things out along the way in a foreign country. Thank you Nicole and the kind people of Peru for this experience!
Abrazos y besos (hugs and kisses)
Mom and Dad (Cyndee and Rand)
(AN: Wow, this is actually the first time that I found out what my parents did after we parted on Monday. I'm so happy they had the chance to experience some of Peru's highlights - and hopefully you enjoyed reading about them from another perspective!)
Friday, May 8th
We hailed a taxi ($1.70) for two of us to the Cusco airport to return to Lima and another taxi to Nicole’s host home. We’re beginning to get into the rhythm of traveling the Peruvian way. I have been talking in multiple Spanish sentences at a time, but when I do that, then I get a rapid response of Castellano (Spanish) back from the locals. When I got in a jam, I turned to the real pro - Cyndee. She had a knack at understanding the fast speaking people and responded well to help us move along on our journey.
The last two hotels had no hot (or warm) water, so it was so nice to get a shower at the house. Since our travels will take us close to when we need to get our flight home, we shopped for water and uvas sin semillas (seedless grapes) and then repacked for the flight, plus luggage to return with most of Nicole’s purchases, collectibles, and clothes she couldn’t afford to carry on her back for the extra two months in South America after her study-abroad finishes – three of the weeks will be working in a poor village outside Quito, Ecuador with “Volunteers for Peace”.
We then spent 1.5 hours with a very patient and resourceful Lucia (ISA staff) to help us schedule our weekend excursions. Lucia reserved buses, a boat, hostel, etc. We then headed back to Miraflores, to two of the biggest souvenir markets in Peru (the Indian Market and the Inca Plaza). We were hungry so we first ate at Pepe’s. I doused my chicken with aji, of course. After shopping, we headed back to Pepe’s for fresh cooked doughnuts covered with a syrup. Not enough soles (money) to pay for dessert (too many souvenirs) or for a taxi back home, so I left Cyndee at the table and headed to the ATM machine next door (pre-established the location earlier). Uh oh! “No link available”. I spent the next twenty minutes walking to seven bank’s ATMs. They all said either “No link available” or “No balance available”. All the passwords for our backup cards were back at the house. Luckily, Cyndee remembered a password off the top of her head for one of our charge cards. Whew! She saved the day (well, night). We walked a few blocks to Kennedy Parque where Cyndee got three gorgeous pairs of earings for 14 soles (less than $5.00 total). Lastly, we walked for ten minutes to the Parque de Amor
(a provocative Sculpture of Love), an artistic highlight that is associated with Miraflores.
The next morning we got a taxi to the bus (Cruz del Sur). The buses were like first class all the way – then we heard that there were even more plush seats and service on the first floor or the bus. We had leg rests, food and beverage service, and movies. Our first stop was to Paracas in order to take a boat cruise to the Islas Ballestas, Peru’s version of the Galapagos Islands that included all sorts of birds, sea lions, and penguins. It was a beautiful day with beautiful surroundings. We continued on the next bus to Oasis de Huacachina – for one of the most intense adrenal-rush experiences of our lives. We arrived a few hours early for our dune-buggy appointment, so we lounged by the hotel pool and had a snack at their restaurant. At first I thought we would all get our own dune buggy to ride the sand dunes, but NO! We had a professional racecar-style driver strap in the other 11 of us in rollercoaster style harnesses. What were we in for??? We were in for the ride of our lives!!! These were not sand dunes…these were sand mountains! Even at the top of 300, 400, and 1000 foot apexes, we could only see more sand on the horizon. Amazing! The driver’s goal was to push everything to the limits – the speed, the turns, cresting the top of the hills, going airborne, etc. There was lots of screaming going on. Four times we stopped to do some “sandboarding” – which is like snowboarding (single ski) but instead of snow we skied down sand. For most of us, we laid down on the ski more like a toboggan. That was fine for little people, but I had to work hard to keep my arms in on this little board, otherwise they would be sandpapered to death (not like snow). These driving pros timed our night to peak on the sand ridge just as a sunset was commencing. What a sight. What a rare experience!
After a delicious dinner, we took a local bus to Nasca for tomorrow’s excursion. Fortunately another hostel’s guy met the bus. When we told him we already had reservations, he have us a general direction for our hostel. When we got close, none of the locals knew of the hostel or the street it was on. The three women were cooking foods outside their laundry mat. But they were so nice and a young boy went around trying to help us from his bicycle. We found the hostel just one block over and half a block up from them. And those people didn’t even recognize the name of the street. Maybe they keep renaming the streets or the locals have their own names
We had reservations for 9 a.m. for a van to take us to our 20 minute flight over the famous Nazca lines. The ancient Nazca civilization dug these massive figures between 500 BC and 500 AD, but they weren’t discovered by modern civilization until they were noticed from an airplane in 1927. Like Nicole said in her blog, we saw all the famous figures such as the monkey, spider, whale, and hummingbird (to give you an idea of the size, the hummingbird is 217 by 315 ft). The six-seater plane was very comfortable until the pilot would tip the plane sharply so the wing’s tip would point to the figures. This led Cyndee to make a contribution into the little bag from the seat pocket. Our flight was allocated to us almost two hours after we were told, so I had to beg the van driver (with money too) to drop off the other three people, take us to our hotel to pick up our things and he got us to the bus station with 15 minutes to spare - another close call. We had the plush bus again as we traveled 4.5 hours north back to Lima and the house. Aaaah!
We packed everything up, thanked Austry for her hospitality, got a taxi to the airport, and got to the check-in line at the airport. I told the airline that I would need to pay for an extra check-in bag. They said only one bag per person. I told them that we had all of our daughter’s stuff and there was no other option. I also told them that their website said that I could pay for a second bag. I was then told – “Oh, that is only for domestic flights. In the small print it says only one bag per person for international.” So our creative juices started flowing since “failure was not an option” (Apollo 13 motto). We got out of line and put anything heavy into our carry-on and then merged the three bags of stuff into two bags. I kept dragging the bag to be weighed until we got both maxed out on weight. Fortunately the third bag could collapse a lot to be considered a “carry-on”. Now the exciting part – Nicole was expecting to be returning to the airport around 9 p.m. from her excursion and we had to be through security at 10 p.m. We were looking forward to seeing her on Mother’s Day and trade a few stories over food. We kept waiting, but no Nicole. We found out later that they didn’t arrive until 11 p.m. This put us late into the security lines. In fact, when I was at the security processing point, a guy said “Are you Randon”, I said “Yes” and he took us through a special door to our gate. As soon as we got on board, they closed the door to the plane! There was never a dull moment on our trip, however everything always worked out.
*** We have to honestly say that our visit to Peru is one of the highlights of our life!
It wouldn’t have happened without Nicole broadening her horizons, inviting us to visit, and planning an unforgettable itinerary…and the joy of working things out along the way in a foreign country. Thank you Nicole and the kind people of Peru for this experience!
Abrazos y besos (hugs and kisses)
Mom and Dad (Cyndee and Rand)
(AN: Wow, this is actually the first time that I found out what my parents did after we parted on Monday. I'm so happy they had the chance to experience some of Peru's highlights - and hopefully you enjoyed reading about them from another perspective!)
Guest Blog: Parents in Machu Picchu
Coli’s Parents Visit Peru – Part 2
Tuesday, May 5th
After a few hours of sleep, we were up at 4:00 a.m. to head to the Lima airport for a 5:40 departure. Nicole bade us farewell as we sped off in a taxi. We wished her well in D.C. Cyndee did a fantastic job of packing her stuff for our upcoming excursion. Everything had to be carried on our backs for four days, plus a hip bag.
Check-in went very smoothly. We got through security and arrived at the gate to find out what? It couldn’t be…fog in Lima? Imagine that!!! I thought that the challenge of our trip to Peru would be to climb Machu Picchu. Little did we know that an even bigger challenge was the journey to get to the base of Machu Picchu (Aguas Caliente) by the end of the day. Already, we had a tight schedule in Cusco for visiting the sites and then make all of our transportation connections. At first, the delay was one hour. Then another announcement – another 3 hour delay. They speak good English at the airport, so I asked them “Is that three hours from now? Or three hours from the original time?” They told me “from now” which would make it 9:40 a.m. That was quite a while, so we decided to sleep for a bit. I set my travel alarm for 9:00, in plenty of time for boarding. I don’t know how, but at 8:30 something subconscious made me wake up to find one of the four gates with people lining up. That was our flight! I ran into line and whistled three times to awaken Cyndee. Our van transport left 10 minutes later with all of us aboard. I don’t know about other sleepers and those that went upstairs to cushier places to recline and eat. They said since the sun burned the fog off sooner, the plane leaves soon to alleviate the backlog of flights. I can’t imagine what impact missing that flight would’ve been.
One note for any of you planning on visiting Machu Picchu – don’t miss it! But be aware that the demand and pricing has risen tremendously the past two years. For two weeks I tried to get a decent price on a flight from Lima to Cusco. The cost for the one hour flight was in the range of $460 to $590 U.S. dollars per person. Occasionally a deal would pop up for a few minutes that was in the $260-$280 range. Both times, Nicole and I went back a few minutes later and the deal was gone. I scoured internet travel sites to get some feedback and advice. I saw a number of people saying “What’s up with these absurd prices?” One advice was to look on Spanish websites – that that was were the better prices were…that the English speaking sites had higher prices listed. After hours of searching the internet (I didn’t want to pay $1,000 for a one-hour flight for two people), I got lucky when I noticed some paid advertising sites in the right margin. By the way, there are essentially only two airlines that make this trip – the big one Air Peru and a smaller one – Taca Airlines. Anyway, I clicked on eDreams.com. I found a roundtrip price for $161 per person. I grabbed them. Guess what – it was a website from Spain, with the monies booked in Britain, to fly on Taca Airlines in Peru. I checked the Taca Airlines website directly then and other times and the cheapest was $460 each! Wow!!! The new global world of business J
We get a taxi, outside the airport gates, where the fares are in half, to get to the heart of the most visited tourist area of Peru – Cusco at 12,000 feet above sea level. As you know, we were shorter on time. We met Nicole’s ISA travel agent connection to get our train tickets for our final leg of the day’s trip and the following days return to another city. He preferred the money in U.S. dollars. We walked to an ATM and our card kept getting rejected. Finally we went to another bank and everything worked fine. We took Nicole’s advice and got the combo ticket for many highlites of Cusco and the Sacred Valley region. We went to the Plaza de Armas (main square) and toured the cathedral. Then on to a number of diverse and interesting museums. We didn’t have time to stop to eat, so we munched on granola bars and cheese crackers that we brought with us. We had train tickets for a 7:00 p.m. departure in a city that was two hours away, so we had to find a special local bus location called a “colectivo”. It was very unique because they had three buses sitting there for three destinations mostly for locals. We said we were going to Ollantaytambo which was bus #2. We paid 5 soles each ($1.70 U.S.) to go two hours through the Andes Mountains! The unique thing though is that the bus doesn’t leave until it is full. Then we take off and another empty bus will take its place. We had to have some faith that the bus would fill soon enough to get us to the train on time. The trip was scenic through the Andes, but quite curvy as the bus would ascend and descend the mountain passes. Oh, the drivers like to be fast and aggressive. Yee-haaaaa!!!
We made it to Ollantaytambo with a half hour to spare. On the platforms of the train station there were a number of women cooking a variety of foods in these portable charcoal grills – like camping sized. I had the most delicious fried egg sandwich and Cyndee had a bowl of chicken and spaghetti. It warmed the body because the temperature dives into the 40’s after the sun disappears. It was usually sunny and very warm during the sunlit hours. We had reservations at a nice hotel (Thanks Nicole!). The owner took us at 9 p.m. to the ticket office for Machu Picchu (“MP”) so we were set for the morning.
Wednesday, May 6th
The only other thing we needed was to purchase the bus tickets that took us up to the entrance gates (which they wanted in US dollars only ($14 each) – strange!) The hotel owner had told us that people line up at 5 a.m. and the first bus leaves at 5:30. Both Fodors and Fromers said the first bus left at 6:30 a.m. Visiting Machu Picchu is a rare experience. The only thing rarer there are passes to climb the adjacent mountain (Wayna Picchu) to get the best views down onto the Machu Picchu site. Only four hundred distributed per day…first come, first served. We got on the fourth bus, so I figured that’s about 200 people, but I didn’t know if tour guides get to reserve some ahead of time. So I thought we might be okay. When we got through the entrance gate, we had to sprint across the whole span of the Machu Picchu site to get the Wayna Picchu (“WP”) passes. We got there at 6:15 and they said they have a few left for the 7:00 or we could wait till the 10:00 gates opened. We opted for 7:00 before the heat of the day was too intense. We registered at the gate and began our trek. Only 100 are let in for the four time periods. Sadly we had to walk down MP before we could ascend WP. It took us 1.5 hours to get to the top of WP. We hovered at the top for 30 minutes and the descent took one hour – 3 hours in total. I have found that at 9 to 10,000 above sea level incapacitates me pretty quickly when I climb. Cyndee and I took a very measured approach – we climbed a ways, then paused till our heart stopped racing. We saw snow-capped mountains, various birds and flora. But the most spectacular experience was the various views down onto Machu Picchu. We did a lot of photos and video all along the way. One thing that was very bizarre is that I only drank one inch of water, two mouthfuls for the whole climb up WP.
Then the real purpose for being there – Machu Picchu. It was hard to imagine the effort to build such immense agricultural terraces and houses and religious structures out of stone that fit together so snuggly that it was waterproof. How fortunate we are that Hiram Bingham (from U.S.) revealed the hidden site to the world in 1911. From 1912 to 1916, the National Geographic and Yale University worked to uncover and secure the site. It was built between 1460 and 1540. Also, that the Spanish conquerors hadn’t found out about MP, since they destroyed or dismantled many of the other religious sites throughout the Sacred Valley of the Andes. What a glorious day we had exploring the site from 10 until 1:30 p.m. We took the bus down to pick up our belongings and headed to the train station.
We noticed a communication error. Our agent had our train returning to Cusco tonight instead of our plans to visit three more sites first. We went to the train station to see if I could change the ticket and maybe get an earlier departure. NO changes within 24 hours. After multiple attempts at broken Spanish, I found out that they stop to pick up passengers in Ollantaytambo (“Ollanty”) where we wanted to stay overnight. We boarded. For numerous reasons the train would stop on the tracks and resume. At one point it hit me. I yelled to Cyndee “Get your stuff and get off the train NOW!!!” We ran to the steps and the conductor kept saying “no salida” (no departure). I said ‘Si para nuestro hotel aqui esta noche’ (Yes, for our hotel here tonight), so they let us pass. Wow!
Thursday, May 7th
Ollanty is the only Inca-designed town that is still inhabited. In fact our hostel was right in the heart of it all. The next morning we got up early to climb the architectural ruins. There were amazing storehouses way up in the cliffs. Then we did another ‘colectivo’ bus to Pisak and climbed another breathtaking (literally and figuratively) archeological site. In town is the immensely famous Pisak market – hundreds of vendors with everything imaginable, as well as a fresh fruit, vegetable, and meat section. Another colectivo to Saqsayhuaman one hour before sunset. We walked those ruins – the most sacred of all the Inca locations. Taxi to Cusco and we attended a cultural folk-music and dance show. After that, we had a delicious meal – an eight inch cordon bleu with a large plate of fries, a salad and soda for $4.00 each! Of course, I got my aji fix there too.
One last thing…I’m a little hesitant to share this, but it was a big part of my three days experience. I think I was on an Andes Mountain high (you’ve heard of Rocky Mountain highs (John Denver)). I don’t believe I slept for three days. I laid in bed for four hours each night but wide awake with the noggin reflecting on the past day and planning the upcoming one. I climbed mountains and major archeological sites but I never had a sore muscle. I was energetic and alert and ready to go…and go…and go…the whole time.
It never caught up with me either. That was the Twilight Zone experience of my life.
Mom and Dad (Cyndee and Rand)…to be continued
Tuesday, May 5th
After a few hours of sleep, we were up at 4:00 a.m. to head to the Lima airport for a 5:40 departure. Nicole bade us farewell as we sped off in a taxi. We wished her well in D.C. Cyndee did a fantastic job of packing her stuff for our upcoming excursion. Everything had to be carried on our backs for four days, plus a hip bag.
Check-in went very smoothly. We got through security and arrived at the gate to find out what? It couldn’t be…fog in Lima? Imagine that!!! I thought that the challenge of our trip to Peru would be to climb Machu Picchu. Little did we know that an even bigger challenge was the journey to get to the base of Machu Picchu (Aguas Caliente) by the end of the day. Already, we had a tight schedule in Cusco for visiting the sites and then make all of our transportation connections. At first, the delay was one hour. Then another announcement – another 3 hour delay. They speak good English at the airport, so I asked them “Is that three hours from now? Or three hours from the original time?” They told me “from now” which would make it 9:40 a.m. That was quite a while, so we decided to sleep for a bit. I set my travel alarm for 9:00, in plenty of time for boarding. I don’t know how, but at 8:30 something subconscious made me wake up to find one of the four gates with people lining up. That was our flight! I ran into line and whistled three times to awaken Cyndee. Our van transport left 10 minutes later with all of us aboard. I don’t know about other sleepers and those that went upstairs to cushier places to recline and eat. They said since the sun burned the fog off sooner, the plane leaves soon to alleviate the backlog of flights. I can’t imagine what impact missing that flight would’ve been.
One note for any of you planning on visiting Machu Picchu – don’t miss it! But be aware that the demand and pricing has risen tremendously the past two years. For two weeks I tried to get a decent price on a flight from Lima to Cusco. The cost for the one hour flight was in the range of $460 to $590 U.S. dollars per person. Occasionally a deal would pop up for a few minutes that was in the $260-$280 range. Both times, Nicole and I went back a few minutes later and the deal was gone. I scoured internet travel sites to get some feedback and advice. I saw a number of people saying “What’s up with these absurd prices?” One advice was to look on Spanish websites – that that was were the better prices were…that the English speaking sites had higher prices listed. After hours of searching the internet (I didn’t want to pay $1,000 for a one-hour flight for two people), I got lucky when I noticed some paid advertising sites in the right margin. By the way, there are essentially only two airlines that make this trip – the big one Air Peru and a smaller one – Taca Airlines. Anyway, I clicked on eDreams.com. I found a roundtrip price for $161 per person. I grabbed them. Guess what – it was a website from Spain, with the monies booked in Britain, to fly on Taca Airlines in Peru. I checked the Taca Airlines website directly then and other times and the cheapest was $460 each! Wow!!! The new global world of business J
We get a taxi, outside the airport gates, where the fares are in half, to get to the heart of the most visited tourist area of Peru – Cusco at 12,000 feet above sea level. As you know, we were shorter on time. We met Nicole’s ISA travel agent connection to get our train tickets for our final leg of the day’s trip and the following days return to another city. He preferred the money in U.S. dollars. We walked to an ATM and our card kept getting rejected. Finally we went to another bank and everything worked fine. We took Nicole’s advice and got the combo ticket for many highlites of Cusco and the Sacred Valley region. We went to the Plaza de Armas (main square) and toured the cathedral. Then on to a number of diverse and interesting museums. We didn’t have time to stop to eat, so we munched on granola bars and cheese crackers that we brought with us. We had train tickets for a 7:00 p.m. departure in a city that was two hours away, so we had to find a special local bus location called a “colectivo”. It was very unique because they had three buses sitting there for three destinations mostly for locals. We said we were going to Ollantaytambo which was bus #2. We paid 5 soles each ($1.70 U.S.) to go two hours through the Andes Mountains! The unique thing though is that the bus doesn’t leave until it is full. Then we take off and another empty bus will take its place. We had to have some faith that the bus would fill soon enough to get us to the train on time. The trip was scenic through the Andes, but quite curvy as the bus would ascend and descend the mountain passes. Oh, the drivers like to be fast and aggressive. Yee-haaaaa!!!
We made it to Ollantaytambo with a half hour to spare. On the platforms of the train station there were a number of women cooking a variety of foods in these portable charcoal grills – like camping sized. I had the most delicious fried egg sandwich and Cyndee had a bowl of chicken and spaghetti. It warmed the body because the temperature dives into the 40’s after the sun disappears. It was usually sunny and very warm during the sunlit hours. We had reservations at a nice hotel (Thanks Nicole!). The owner took us at 9 p.m. to the ticket office for Machu Picchu (“MP”) so we were set for the morning.
Wednesday, May 6th
The only other thing we needed was to purchase the bus tickets that took us up to the entrance gates (which they wanted in US dollars only ($14 each) – strange!) The hotel owner had told us that people line up at 5 a.m. and the first bus leaves at 5:30. Both Fodors and Fromers said the first bus left at 6:30 a.m. Visiting Machu Picchu is a rare experience. The only thing rarer there are passes to climb the adjacent mountain (Wayna Picchu) to get the best views down onto the Machu Picchu site. Only four hundred distributed per day…first come, first served. We got on the fourth bus, so I figured that’s about 200 people, but I didn’t know if tour guides get to reserve some ahead of time. So I thought we might be okay. When we got through the entrance gate, we had to sprint across the whole span of the Machu Picchu site to get the Wayna Picchu (“WP”) passes. We got there at 6:15 and they said they have a few left for the 7:00 or we could wait till the 10:00 gates opened. We opted for 7:00 before the heat of the day was too intense. We registered at the gate and began our trek. Only 100 are let in for the four time periods. Sadly we had to walk down MP before we could ascend WP. It took us 1.5 hours to get to the top of WP. We hovered at the top for 30 minutes and the descent took one hour – 3 hours in total. I have found that at 9 to 10,000 above sea level incapacitates me pretty quickly when I climb. Cyndee and I took a very measured approach – we climbed a ways, then paused till our heart stopped racing. We saw snow-capped mountains, various birds and flora. But the most spectacular experience was the various views down onto Machu Picchu. We did a lot of photos and video all along the way. One thing that was very bizarre is that I only drank one inch of water, two mouthfuls for the whole climb up WP.
Then the real purpose for being there – Machu Picchu. It was hard to imagine the effort to build such immense agricultural terraces and houses and religious structures out of stone that fit together so snuggly that it was waterproof. How fortunate we are that Hiram Bingham (from U.S.) revealed the hidden site to the world in 1911. From 1912 to 1916, the National Geographic and Yale University worked to uncover and secure the site. It was built between 1460 and 1540. Also, that the Spanish conquerors hadn’t found out about MP, since they destroyed or dismantled many of the other religious sites throughout the Sacred Valley of the Andes. What a glorious day we had exploring the site from 10 until 1:30 p.m. We took the bus down to pick up our belongings and headed to the train station.
We noticed a communication error. Our agent had our train returning to Cusco tonight instead of our plans to visit three more sites first. We went to the train station to see if I could change the ticket and maybe get an earlier departure. NO changes within 24 hours. After multiple attempts at broken Spanish, I found out that they stop to pick up passengers in Ollantaytambo (“Ollanty”) where we wanted to stay overnight. We boarded. For numerous reasons the train would stop on the tracks and resume. At one point it hit me. I yelled to Cyndee “Get your stuff and get off the train NOW!!!” We ran to the steps and the conductor kept saying “no salida” (no departure). I said ‘Si para nuestro hotel aqui esta noche’ (Yes, for our hotel here tonight), so they let us pass. Wow!
Thursday, May 7th
Ollanty is the only Inca-designed town that is still inhabited. In fact our hostel was right in the heart of it all. The next morning we got up early to climb the architectural ruins. There were amazing storehouses way up in the cliffs. Then we did another ‘colectivo’ bus to Pisak and climbed another breathtaking (literally and figuratively) archeological site. In town is the immensely famous Pisak market – hundreds of vendors with everything imaginable, as well as a fresh fruit, vegetable, and meat section. Another colectivo to Saqsayhuaman one hour before sunset. We walked those ruins – the most sacred of all the Inca locations. Taxi to Cusco and we attended a cultural folk-music and dance show. After that, we had a delicious meal – an eight inch cordon bleu with a large plate of fries, a salad and soda for $4.00 each! Of course, I got my aji fix there too.
One last thing…I’m a little hesitant to share this, but it was a big part of my three days experience. I think I was on an Andes Mountain high (you’ve heard of Rocky Mountain highs (John Denver)). I don’t believe I slept for three days. I laid in bed for four hours each night but wide awake with the noggin reflecting on the past day and planning the upcoming one. I climbed mountains and major archeological sites but I never had a sore muscle. I was energetic and alert and ready to go…and go…and go…the whole time.
It never caught up with me either. That was the Twilight Zone experience of my life.
Mom and Dad (Cyndee and Rand)…to be continued
Guest Blog: Parents in Lima
(A/N:) While you patiently wait for more updates from me, I thought I'd add some "bonus footage" - three guest blog entries directly from my parents on their visit to Peru. Enjoy!
Coli’s Parents Visit Peru – Part 1
It was 10:40 a.m. on April 9th. I got the word. Nicole (aka Coli) found that the week of May 3rd would be a good time for us to visit her in Lima – yeah! There were no excursions, and the university workload seemed decent for that week. Coli told us that she was leaving “this afternoon” on an excursion and would be back to internet access on Monday. At once Cyndee and I reviewed our commitments, assessed what our busy son Brandon had planned, and found someone for him to stay with for the 12 days. Whew!
Fortunately, we had heard about a very reasonable airline that flies to Latin America, the Caribbean, as well as the U.S. – Spirit Airlines. The cost of flying to South America is usually worse than going to Europe because there is very limited competition or choices. We got roundtrip tickets for $310 each!!! With pride, the next day I sent her a note with the good news that we were booked for May 1st to the 11th.
Monday, we get a note back. “Great news that you’re coming, and by the way there was another note awaiting me – I was chosen as a Thomas R. Pickering finalist and guess what? They are flying me to Washington, D.C. for an interview on behalf of the State Department……the same week you are coming to visit me in Peru.” Well, we were so proud and knew that we would just work around it and at least we would have the end of that week together, which was also Mother’s Day. How perfect was that?
Well, stay tuned J
The first weekend we were to arrive, we knew that Nicole would be in Iquito (the Amazon region of Northern Peru), so she planned a weekend of activities for us that she had enjoyed south of Lima. In the middle of her busy week she worked many hours with the ISA staff to lay-out an itinerary for our whole week and a half. Thank you Coli!
It was early the morning of May 1st. Everything was arranged, we were packed, and we got to the airport to find that the flight was cancelled until the next day…due to “the fog” in Lima. At first, I thought this was a cover story, but as you’ve read in Coli’s blog, we also came to ‘not like’ the fog in Lima. It was true. In fact, her trip to Iquitos was also cancelled due to “the fog”. Now her trip was rescheduled to the following weekend - yes Mother’s Day weekend. Nicole had found out that her flight back from D.C. was arriving at 4:40 a.m. Friday and her flight to connect up with the rest of her group (Multisas) in Iquitos was to leave from the airport at 7:30 a.m. so we were not going to see her at all that weekend…maybe a lucky 15 minutes in the airport on Sunday as she flew in to Lima as we were preparing to fly back to “the States”.
We were desperate to let Coli and the ISA staff know that we were cancelled and that all the detailed reservations that were made on our behalf for that weekend would have to be reworked for another time. Luckily the ISA staff in the U.S. had cell phone contact with the ISA staff in Lima, because that Friday was a holiday for them – like our Labor Day.
The good news was that Nicole would be in town Sunday with us and Monday, working around her classes. She surprised us by meeting us at the airport Saturday night (Spirit Airlines was terrific). That was good, because she hadn’t had a chance to teach me how to negotiate with the taxi drivers yet. When her house mom, Austry, heard that we were coming to Lima, she offered to let us stay with them. This was such a loving gesture from a lovely lady. Nicole kindly let us use her queen-sized bed, while she used a small bed in another bedroom that was currently used for storage. She had unique gifts for each of us, including Brandon, which included shirts, Peruvian treats, Inka Kola, carved gourds, jewelry, etc.
Now on to our daily itinerary in Peru. Since no one can compare with Nicole’s descriptive writing style that we have all enjoyed while reading her daily blogs, Cyndee and I will tell you where we visited and the unique experiences we had, which were quite numerous.
Sunday, May 3rd
Starting in the morning, Coli took us to see two terrific museums on pre-Columbian civilizations. The first one was the Museo de Antropología, Arqueología e Historia and then on to the Museo Antropolgico de Rafeal Herrera, which was incredible (see Coli’s blog for details). I couldn’t believe my eyes (ojos) as I watched Nicole negotiate with the taxi drivers. She even turned them down if they didn’t accept her offer and walked to another taxi and ended up getting an okay. For example, later we went to downtown Lima (El Centro) which took 20 to 25 minutes for 7 soles (about $2.30 US) for three people! I spent the rest of the trip trying to emulate her success. It was a fun part of the cultural experience throughout Lima. I also couldn’t believe my ears (orejas) when I heard the words come out of our American daughter’s mouth. It was like a Latino ventriloquist was speaking through my daughter’s lips. She has become so fluent with the Spanish (Castellano) language. One of the ISA staff members mentioned that Nicole had become very natural with the language and had done an excellent job of erasing any “U.S. accent”. Bravo Coli!
In mid-afternoon, we went to Ashley and Caroline’s house where they hosted a big barbeque. We were able to meet all the fellow students (Multisas) that were doing the multi-country study-abroad with Nicole. Each student was fascinating to talk to and as a group they had a great spirit about them. We had a buffet of foods to select from – various vegetables (especially potato) and fruit varieties unseen in the U.S.
Later that afternoon, the three of us headed to el Centro (city center) and Plaza de Armas, the main historic plaza. We visited the stunning Iglesia de San Francisco with its intricate altars and then fortuitously saw a line of people outside the Government Palace (Palacio del Gobierno) for a free special exhibit inside the on la tomba del Señor de Sipan. It was the result of a major archeological tomb discovery - sort of Peru’s King Tut tomb equivalent with quite a bit of gold artifacts.
Nicole had a special treat in store for us tonight. It was dark when the taxi dropped us off outside some lavish gates. We were at Las Piletas Mágicas (the Magic Fountains). There were acres and acres of lighted water-fountain technological displays. Some had changing colors, classical music, video clips in water sprays, and a number of playful water-parks. Coli took the dare and headed into a set of concentric circles of water jets. They would take turns spraying and not…jump up 2 feet, then 10 feet, then nothing. Those who dared, but guessed wrong got drenched. Cyndee and Nicole walked through a “tunnel” that was totally created by arching jets of water while I videotaped and photographed them.
The best part of the day though for Mom and Dad was just being with Nicole – lots of hugs (abrazos) and kisses (besos), and just catching up on her experiences and the adventures in store for us during the upcoming week.
Monday, May 4th – Our final day with Nicole
After Coli gave us a tour of her University de Pacifico and the ISA office, we left to tour
the Barranco barrio (neighborhood) to see the over-century-old Bohemian architecture. We came back to the house for lunch to eat a typical homemade Peruvian meal of arroz con pollo (chicken and rice). When Nicole headed to class in the afternoon, we headed back to the city center to take a stroll to many churches and historical buildings. Lots of stunning architecture. Nicole met up with us after class to catch the last tour of the catacombs of the Iglesia de San Francisco, where over 25,000 bodies were buried. At one point, we were in the level below the cathedral floor. I yelled up through the grates for someone to save me, but I guess my Spanish wasn’t good enough because they left me to rot.
For dinner, Nicole had another special treat planned for us at Junius. It was an elegant buffet and dinner show in the hip and classy Miraflores suburb of Lima. Cyndee and I were introduced to dozens of Peruvian dishes of all kinds of meats, fruits, vegetables, and desserts. I was introduced to my favorite new condiment, called ají (pronounced ah-hee). It is more delicious than the variety of salsas, buffalo-wing sauces, or concoctions we have in our barbeque joints. Yum-yum! I made sure to ask for it wherever I went. It comes in various grades of hotness too. The highlight of the evening though was the dancers that were clad in sophisticated traditional clothing, tools, and decorative items while accompanied by a talented musical ensemble.
We headed back to the house for our final chats and preparations for our morning adventure to visit one of the top historical sites in the world – Machu Picchu!
All we can say is that those two days with Nicole were magical and special for us. What she has experienced in the three months since we saw her last!
Mom and Dad (Cyndee and Rand) …to be continued
Coli’s Parents Visit Peru – Part 1
It was 10:40 a.m. on April 9th. I got the word. Nicole (aka Coli) found that the week of May 3rd would be a good time for us to visit her in Lima – yeah! There were no excursions, and the university workload seemed decent for that week. Coli told us that she was leaving “this afternoon” on an excursion and would be back to internet access on Monday. At once Cyndee and I reviewed our commitments, assessed what our busy son Brandon had planned, and found someone for him to stay with for the 12 days. Whew!
Fortunately, we had heard about a very reasonable airline that flies to Latin America, the Caribbean, as well as the U.S. – Spirit Airlines. The cost of flying to South America is usually worse than going to Europe because there is very limited competition or choices. We got roundtrip tickets for $310 each!!! With pride, the next day I sent her a note with the good news that we were booked for May 1st to the 11th.
Monday, we get a note back. “Great news that you’re coming, and by the way there was another note awaiting me – I was chosen as a Thomas R. Pickering finalist and guess what? They are flying me to Washington, D.C. for an interview on behalf of the State Department……the same week you are coming to visit me in Peru.” Well, we were so proud and knew that we would just work around it and at least we would have the end of that week together, which was also Mother’s Day. How perfect was that?
Well, stay tuned J
The first weekend we were to arrive, we knew that Nicole would be in Iquito (the Amazon region of Northern Peru), so she planned a weekend of activities for us that she had enjoyed south of Lima. In the middle of her busy week she worked many hours with the ISA staff to lay-out an itinerary for our whole week and a half. Thank you Coli!
It was early the morning of May 1st. Everything was arranged, we were packed, and we got to the airport to find that the flight was cancelled until the next day…due to “the fog” in Lima. At first, I thought this was a cover story, but as you’ve read in Coli’s blog, we also came to ‘not like’ the fog in Lima. It was true. In fact, her trip to Iquitos was also cancelled due to “the fog”. Now her trip was rescheduled to the following weekend - yes Mother’s Day weekend. Nicole had found out that her flight back from D.C. was arriving at 4:40 a.m. Friday and her flight to connect up with the rest of her group (Multisas) in Iquitos was to leave from the airport at 7:30 a.m. so we were not going to see her at all that weekend…maybe a lucky 15 minutes in the airport on Sunday as she flew in to Lima as we were preparing to fly back to “the States”.
We were desperate to let Coli and the ISA staff know that we were cancelled and that all the detailed reservations that were made on our behalf for that weekend would have to be reworked for another time. Luckily the ISA staff in the U.S. had cell phone contact with the ISA staff in Lima, because that Friday was a holiday for them – like our Labor Day.
The good news was that Nicole would be in town Sunday with us and Monday, working around her classes. She surprised us by meeting us at the airport Saturday night (Spirit Airlines was terrific). That was good, because she hadn’t had a chance to teach me how to negotiate with the taxi drivers yet. When her house mom, Austry, heard that we were coming to Lima, she offered to let us stay with them. This was such a loving gesture from a lovely lady. Nicole kindly let us use her queen-sized bed, while she used a small bed in another bedroom that was currently used for storage. She had unique gifts for each of us, including Brandon, which included shirts, Peruvian treats, Inka Kola, carved gourds, jewelry, etc.
Now on to our daily itinerary in Peru. Since no one can compare with Nicole’s descriptive writing style that we have all enjoyed while reading her daily blogs, Cyndee and I will tell you where we visited and the unique experiences we had, which were quite numerous.
Sunday, May 3rd
Starting in the morning, Coli took us to see two terrific museums on pre-Columbian civilizations. The first one was the Museo de Antropología, Arqueología e Historia and then on to the Museo Antropolgico de Rafeal Herrera, which was incredible (see Coli’s blog for details). I couldn’t believe my eyes (ojos) as I watched Nicole negotiate with the taxi drivers. She even turned them down if they didn’t accept her offer and walked to another taxi and ended up getting an okay. For example, later we went to downtown Lima (El Centro) which took 20 to 25 minutes for 7 soles (about $2.30 US) for three people! I spent the rest of the trip trying to emulate her success. It was a fun part of the cultural experience throughout Lima. I also couldn’t believe my ears (orejas) when I heard the words come out of our American daughter’s mouth. It was like a Latino ventriloquist was speaking through my daughter’s lips. She has become so fluent with the Spanish (Castellano) language. One of the ISA staff members mentioned that Nicole had become very natural with the language and had done an excellent job of erasing any “U.S. accent”. Bravo Coli!
In mid-afternoon, we went to Ashley and Caroline’s house where they hosted a big barbeque. We were able to meet all the fellow students (Multisas) that were doing the multi-country study-abroad with Nicole. Each student was fascinating to talk to and as a group they had a great spirit about them. We had a buffet of foods to select from – various vegetables (especially potato) and fruit varieties unseen in the U.S.
Later that afternoon, the three of us headed to el Centro (city center) and Plaza de Armas, the main historic plaza. We visited the stunning Iglesia de San Francisco with its intricate altars and then fortuitously saw a line of people outside the Government Palace (Palacio del Gobierno) for a free special exhibit inside the on la tomba del Señor de Sipan. It was the result of a major archeological tomb discovery - sort of Peru’s King Tut tomb equivalent with quite a bit of gold artifacts.
Nicole had a special treat in store for us tonight. It was dark when the taxi dropped us off outside some lavish gates. We were at Las Piletas Mágicas (the Magic Fountains). There were acres and acres of lighted water-fountain technological displays. Some had changing colors, classical music, video clips in water sprays, and a number of playful water-parks. Coli took the dare and headed into a set of concentric circles of water jets. They would take turns spraying and not…jump up 2 feet, then 10 feet, then nothing. Those who dared, but guessed wrong got drenched. Cyndee and Nicole walked through a “tunnel” that was totally created by arching jets of water while I videotaped and photographed them.
The best part of the day though for Mom and Dad was just being with Nicole – lots of hugs (abrazos) and kisses (besos), and just catching up on her experiences and the adventures in store for us during the upcoming week.
Monday, May 4th – Our final day with Nicole
After Coli gave us a tour of her University de Pacifico and the ISA office, we left to tour
the Barranco barrio (neighborhood) to see the over-century-old Bohemian architecture. We came back to the house for lunch to eat a typical homemade Peruvian meal of arroz con pollo (chicken and rice). When Nicole headed to class in the afternoon, we headed back to the city center to take a stroll to many churches and historical buildings. Lots of stunning architecture. Nicole met up with us after class to catch the last tour of the catacombs of the Iglesia de San Francisco, where over 25,000 bodies were buried. At one point, we were in the level below the cathedral floor. I yelled up through the grates for someone to save me, but I guess my Spanish wasn’t good enough because they left me to rot.
For dinner, Nicole had another special treat planned for us at Junius. It was an elegant buffet and dinner show in the hip and classy Miraflores suburb of Lima. Cyndee and I were introduced to dozens of Peruvian dishes of all kinds of meats, fruits, vegetables, and desserts. I was introduced to my favorite new condiment, called ají (pronounced ah-hee). It is more delicious than the variety of salsas, buffalo-wing sauces, or concoctions we have in our barbeque joints. Yum-yum! I made sure to ask for it wherever I went. It comes in various grades of hotness too. The highlight of the evening though was the dancers that were clad in sophisticated traditional clothing, tools, and decorative items while accompanied by a talented musical ensemble.
We headed back to the house for our final chats and preparations for our morning adventure to visit one of the top historical sites in the world – Machu Picchu!
All we can say is that those two days with Nicole were magical and special for us. What she has experienced in the three months since we saw her last!
Mom and Dad (Cyndee and Rand) …to be continued
Monday, June 29, 2009
News Broadcast from Ecuador
Monday, June 29, 2009 6:14 PM
Internet Cafe in Lumbisi, Ecuador
I know it´s been awhile since I've updated, so I just wanted to jot a quick entry to let everyone know what I've been up to the past month or so...
After the end of my program and two weeks of traveling through Peru and Ecuador (more detailed entries to come soon, promise), I started my Volunteer's for Peace program in a indigenous community called Lumbisi. It's about a 40 minute taxi ride outside Quito (the capital of Ecuador) and has a population of "about 800 families". I ended up loving the experience here so much that when my program ended the 21st, I had no desire to leave and decided to stay for another week and a half. Sadly, I leave in a day or two, but I'll be traveling for about two more weeks through Colombia and possibly Venezuela - my plans change every five minutes, but that's part of the excitment, I guess. Then it's back to the States (boo plane ticket prices but yay to see everyone...counting down the days to the Hannon Family reunion Mimi :)
Since I'm in such a small community, finding internet can be quite the adventure, hence the delay in updates. Hopefully when traveling I'll have more access and can give you all the juicy details of my life in Ecuador.
Hasta entonces, mucho amor de Coli!
Until then, much love from me!
Internet Cafe in Lumbisi, Ecuador
I know it´s been awhile since I've updated, so I just wanted to jot a quick entry to let everyone know what I've been up to the past month or so...
After the end of my program and two weeks of traveling through Peru and Ecuador (more detailed entries to come soon, promise), I started my Volunteer's for Peace program in a indigenous community called Lumbisi. It's about a 40 minute taxi ride outside Quito (the capital of Ecuador) and has a population of "about 800 families". I ended up loving the experience here so much that when my program ended the 21st, I had no desire to leave and decided to stay for another week and a half. Sadly, I leave in a day or two, but I'll be traveling for about two more weeks through Colombia and possibly Venezuela - my plans change every five minutes, but that's part of the excitment, I guess. Then it's back to the States (boo plane ticket prices but yay to see everyone...counting down the days to the Hannon Family reunion Mimi :)
Since I'm in such a small community, finding internet can be quite the adventure, hence the delay in updates. Hopefully when traveling I'll have more access and can give you all the juicy details of my life in Ecuador.
Hasta entonces, mucho amor de Coli!
Until then, much love from me!
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Just Call Me Tarzan
Sunday, May 10, 2009 11:56 PM
My house in Lima
Our last two days in the Amazon/Iquitos...
Saturday
We took our boat to another alberque (lodge), and on the way we looked for pink dolphins (no luck, but we saw some gray ones) again. Our tour guide also stopped the boat and told us we could swim. None of us were wearing swimsuits, but most of us jumped in the river anyways, jeans and all. I don’t know who started it, but since you couldn’t see anything underwater from all the silt deposits, we all ended up taking our soaked clothes off and twirling them in the air (maybe TMI, but hey, skinny dipping in the Amazon is a great story). We then ate lunch and hung out at the alberque before we went fishing for piranhas! They were tricky little devils, they would nibble at the chicken on our wooden fishing poles, but never enough to get caught on the hook. I think Hannah was the only one to actually catch one.
We then traveled by boat (we normally would have hiked down a path, but the river is 12 ft higher than normal so everything is flooded) to a giant kapok tree. En route we passed large termite nests building like beehives on trees and large floating plants. I picked one up at the guides request but there was a huge spider on it so I quickly dropped it back where it belonged.
Speaking of our guide and dangerous animals…he would use his machete at times to cut branches out of our path but at one point he suddenly started hacking like crazy at the large tree next to our boat. We were so confused but it turns out that there was a snake that was about to get on our boat. And not just any snake – the flur de lance, the most poisonous reptile in the Americas, whose bite kills within three hours. I thought we had our fill of hazardous animals for the day but on the boat back to our lodge, someone was playing with my hair when people started exclaiming and screaming. I was freaked out because I had no idea what was on my head – it ended up being the biggest spider we had seen that day, at least 4 inches wide. After all the nature excitement, a relaxing night of dinner, indigenous drum show, talking, and listening to the sounds of the jungle were in order.
Sunday
We rode around bird watching for a bit before heading to a natural animal zoo, I guess you could call it. It was just a bunch of wild animals in the open vicinity of a local hut. There were different types of monkeys jumping from tree to tree, and one came down and jumped right on my back, before several of its curious friends hopped down to us too. They gave a whole new meaning to “monkeying around;” they were rather devilish, one jumped on me, grabbing me by the shirt and almost pulling it off. There were also coati (the same animals from Iguazú) and I was so jealous that Henry (plus two native guys) got to carry a huge anaconda (the rest of us had just put on insect repellant so we weren’t allowed to do anything more than pet it).
One of the funniest animals I have ever seen in my life was the sloth (oso perezoso, or “lazy bear” in Spanish). It had its limbs stuck out of its body like a turtle, moved like a robot, and a drugged up expression (I don’t know how else to describe it, it has huge dilated pupils and a lazy little grin on its face). I got to hold it by its dirty matted fur and it made this screeching sound while digging its claws into my neck and arms. Those things were sharp! Although it was only for a couple seconds, he left an impression in my skin for the rest of the day.
Our last stop of the tour was an indigenous Jagua village, where we got to shoot off a 4 foot long blow dart gun (I got it right in the heart!) and participate in traditional dances with the locals. After that, we made our way back to Iquitos, where we had several hours to wander, shop, and eat before flying back to Lima!
Wuaaaaaa ahhhhhh ahhhh! (That means “I love the Amazon” in Tarzan speak), Nicole
My house in Lima
Our last two days in the Amazon/Iquitos...
Saturday
We took our boat to another alberque (lodge), and on the way we looked for pink dolphins (no luck, but we saw some gray ones) again. Our tour guide also stopped the boat and told us we could swim. None of us were wearing swimsuits, but most of us jumped in the river anyways, jeans and all. I don’t know who started it, but since you couldn’t see anything underwater from all the silt deposits, we all ended up taking our soaked clothes off and twirling them in the air (maybe TMI, but hey, skinny dipping in the Amazon is a great story). We then ate lunch and hung out at the alberque before we went fishing for piranhas! They were tricky little devils, they would nibble at the chicken on our wooden fishing poles, but never enough to get caught on the hook. I think Hannah was the only one to actually catch one.
We then traveled by boat (we normally would have hiked down a path, but the river is 12 ft higher than normal so everything is flooded) to a giant kapok tree. En route we passed large termite nests building like beehives on trees and large floating plants. I picked one up at the guides request but there was a huge spider on it so I quickly dropped it back where it belonged.
Speaking of our guide and dangerous animals…he would use his machete at times to cut branches out of our path but at one point he suddenly started hacking like crazy at the large tree next to our boat. We were so confused but it turns out that there was a snake that was about to get on our boat. And not just any snake – the flur de lance, the most poisonous reptile in the Americas, whose bite kills within three hours. I thought we had our fill of hazardous animals for the day but on the boat back to our lodge, someone was playing with my hair when people started exclaiming and screaming. I was freaked out because I had no idea what was on my head – it ended up being the biggest spider we had seen that day, at least 4 inches wide. After all the nature excitement, a relaxing night of dinner, indigenous drum show, talking, and listening to the sounds of the jungle were in order.
Sunday
We rode around bird watching for a bit before heading to a natural animal zoo, I guess you could call it. It was just a bunch of wild animals in the open vicinity of a local hut. There were different types of monkeys jumping from tree to tree, and one came down and jumped right on my back, before several of its curious friends hopped down to us too. They gave a whole new meaning to “monkeying around;” they were rather devilish, one jumped on me, grabbing me by the shirt and almost pulling it off. There were also coati (the same animals from Iguazú) and I was so jealous that Henry (plus two native guys) got to carry a huge anaconda (the rest of us had just put on insect repellant so we weren’t allowed to do anything more than pet it).
One of the funniest animals I have ever seen in my life was the sloth (oso perezoso, or “lazy bear” in Spanish). It had its limbs stuck out of its body like a turtle, moved like a robot, and a drugged up expression (I don’t know how else to describe it, it has huge dilated pupils and a lazy little grin on its face). I got to hold it by its dirty matted fur and it made this screeching sound while digging its claws into my neck and arms. Those things were sharp! Although it was only for a couple seconds, he left an impression in my skin for the rest of the day.
Our last stop of the tour was an indigenous Jagua village, where we got to shoot off a 4 foot long blow dart gun (I got it right in the heart!) and participate in traditional dances with the locals. After that, we made our way back to Iquitos, where we had several hours to wander, shop, and eat before flying back to Lima!
Wuaaaaaa ahhhhhh ahhhh! (That means “I love the Amazon” in Tarzan speak), Nicole
It's a Jungle Out There!
Friday, May 8, 2009 Nighttime
Ecolodge in the middle of the Amazon
Well, after 20 hours in airplanes or airports, I miraculously made it all the way from Washington DC to Iquitos, the largest city in the world that is inaccessible by car. Although I originally had an image of a small fishing village with straw huts on the water’s edge, I had later read that it was actually a city of 400,000. My preconceptions of stepping off the plane and landing smack dab in the middle of a huge canopy rainforest were further proved wrong as we hit the tarmac to be greeted by fields and sporadic trees. I was picked up by a guide and driven through Iquitos to meet with the rest of the group at their hotel.
The drive itself was fascinating, and I could observe a lot of differences between Iquitos and Lima. Besides the main streets that I rode down, many of the roads and sidewalks were unpaved, dusty paths. Also, besides the few large vans meant for tourist groups, I didn’t see a single car on the way to the hotel. Everyone rode around on either motorcycles or these 3 wheeled motorcycles connected to a little cab for two people. Many of the buildings lining the street appeared “run down” with their concrete walls and mismatched tin roofs, but I found an incredible beauty in the varied colors of faded and peeling paint.
After a happy reunion with the group, we were off on a canoe-shaped motorboat with thatched palm roof for the hour’s ride from Iquitos to our lodge on the Amazon River. I dozed a bit since I was so exhausted but woke up startled when everyone started exclaiming over seeing a pink dolphin jump out of the water. There were several dolphins hanging around in the water near us, so that was pretty cool.
The lodge itself is awesome. The huge main building, where meals are served, is interconnected by wooden pathways to the smaller cabins for sleeping. There is even a hut with hammocks that face out to the river. All the structures are made from wood but have thatched palms as roofs. Also, there is no electricity, so we use kerosene lamps at night– I’m actually writing by lamplight at the moment.
After a delicious lunch – the standard rice, beans, and chicken, but with a flavoring distinctly from the jungle with a tart, lemony sauce - we took a boat to a nearby village. We went on a short hike (with big rubber boots) past water buffalo and slightly flooded paths (apparently the Amazon is over 12 feet higher than usual) to a shaman’s hut. A shaman is the local medicine man, who uses different plants and herbs to treat his patients. He demonstrated many of these different treatments and we even got to try some of the plants and liquids commonly used. We then headed back to the village and a local woman demonstrated how to use the special wooden press for sugar cane. We took turns trying it and then we all got to drink fresh sugar cane juice with lemon – so delicious. We were back on the boat just in time for sunset, which was gorgeous over the water. The rest of our night was spent at the lodge eating another great meal and making up song games in the lodge.
Coli
Ecolodge in the middle of the Amazon
Well, after 20 hours in airplanes or airports, I miraculously made it all the way from Washington DC to Iquitos, the largest city in the world that is inaccessible by car. Although I originally had an image of a small fishing village with straw huts on the water’s edge, I had later read that it was actually a city of 400,000. My preconceptions of stepping off the plane and landing smack dab in the middle of a huge canopy rainforest were further proved wrong as we hit the tarmac to be greeted by fields and sporadic trees. I was picked up by a guide and driven through Iquitos to meet with the rest of the group at their hotel.
The drive itself was fascinating, and I could observe a lot of differences between Iquitos and Lima. Besides the main streets that I rode down, many of the roads and sidewalks were unpaved, dusty paths. Also, besides the few large vans meant for tourist groups, I didn’t see a single car on the way to the hotel. Everyone rode around on either motorcycles or these 3 wheeled motorcycles connected to a little cab for two people. Many of the buildings lining the street appeared “run down” with their concrete walls and mismatched tin roofs, but I found an incredible beauty in the varied colors of faded and peeling paint.
After a happy reunion with the group, we were off on a canoe-shaped motorboat with thatched palm roof for the hour’s ride from Iquitos to our lodge on the Amazon River. I dozed a bit since I was so exhausted but woke up startled when everyone started exclaiming over seeing a pink dolphin jump out of the water. There were several dolphins hanging around in the water near us, so that was pretty cool.
The lodge itself is awesome. The huge main building, where meals are served, is interconnected by wooden pathways to the smaller cabins for sleeping. There is even a hut with hammocks that face out to the river. All the structures are made from wood but have thatched palms as roofs. Also, there is no electricity, so we use kerosene lamps at night– I’m actually writing by lamplight at the moment.
After a delicious lunch – the standard rice, beans, and chicken, but with a flavoring distinctly from the jungle with a tart, lemony sauce - we took a boat to a nearby village. We went on a short hike (with big rubber boots) past water buffalo and slightly flooded paths (apparently the Amazon is over 12 feet higher than usual) to a shaman’s hut. A shaman is the local medicine man, who uses different plants and herbs to treat his patients. He demonstrated many of these different treatments and we even got to try some of the plants and liquids commonly used. We then headed back to the village and a local woman demonstrated how to use the special wooden press for sugar cane. We took turns trying it and then we all got to drink fresh sugar cane juice with lemon – so delicious. We were back on the boat just in time for sunset, which was gorgeous over the water. The rest of our night was spent at the lodge eating another great meal and making up song games in the lodge.
Coli
Back in the Good Ole USA...for a Day
Friday, May 8, 2009 4:30 AM
Airport in Lima
About a month ago, I was selected as one of forty finalists for the Thomas R. Pickering Fellowship, so Tuesday night I was on a flight to Washington, D.C. for a final interview.
Being back in the United States for the first time in 3.5 months:
My first reaction to getting off the plane at my layover in Miami Wednesday morning was “No! I’m not ready to be back!” but after seeing a big group of school children, I felt so at home. I had forgotten how diverse everyone is in the United States and it was so heartwarming to see the kids laughing and talking together.
My second reaction was “Hey, I’m short again!” Even though I’m only 5’4 or 5’5, I am considered tall in Peru. I tower over other girls – even when they are wearing 3 inch wedges – and tend to be about the same height as most guys.
My third reaction was “Yay!” when I realized how easy it was to find public bathrooms where 1) I didn’t have to pay, 2) came with toilet paper, 3) had a seat cover, and 4) I could flush said toilet paper down the toilet itself. I’ve grown accustomed to having 1 or 2 of these conditions met at a time but not all together.
There were so many other little things that I had forgotten about that seemed amazing to me. For instance, when I went to lunch at the Cheesecake Factory with my Aunt Deirdre (we had a great visit since she lives close to the hotel I was staying at), and I remembered I could have free tap water with ice, I might have actually gasped aloud. And for dinner, I was able to have food similar to a gyro that I’ve been craving for several months now!
The interview Thursday morning went fine and I had the opportunity to tour the Foreign Service Institute. It was interesting to see the perspective of the United States in foreign affairs in a different light. After my interview was done, I began the long process of flights and layovers to get into Lima and I’m still in the airport waiting to fly directly to Iquitos to visit the Peruvian part of the Amazon.
Stay tuned for my crazy weekend in the jungle! Coli
Airport in Lima
About a month ago, I was selected as one of forty finalists for the Thomas R. Pickering Fellowship, so Tuesday night I was on a flight to Washington, D.C. for a final interview.
Being back in the United States for the first time in 3.5 months:
My first reaction to getting off the plane at my layover in Miami Wednesday morning was “No! I’m not ready to be back!” but after seeing a big group of school children, I felt so at home. I had forgotten how diverse everyone is in the United States and it was so heartwarming to see the kids laughing and talking together.
My second reaction was “Hey, I’m short again!” Even though I’m only 5’4 or 5’5, I am considered tall in Peru. I tower over other girls – even when they are wearing 3 inch wedges – and tend to be about the same height as most guys.
My third reaction was “Yay!” when I realized how easy it was to find public bathrooms where 1) I didn’t have to pay, 2) came with toilet paper, 3) had a seat cover, and 4) I could flush said toilet paper down the toilet itself. I’ve grown accustomed to having 1 or 2 of these conditions met at a time but not all together.
There were so many other little things that I had forgotten about that seemed amazing to me. For instance, when I went to lunch at the Cheesecake Factory with my Aunt Deirdre (we had a great visit since she lives close to the hotel I was staying at), and I remembered I could have free tap water with ice, I might have actually gasped aloud. And for dinner, I was able to have food similar to a gyro that I’ve been craving for several months now!
The interview Thursday morning went fine and I had the opportunity to tour the Foreign Service Institute. It was interesting to see the perspective of the United States in foreign affairs in a different light. After my interview was done, I began the long process of flights and layovers to get into Lima and I’m still in the airport waiting to fly directly to Iquitos to visit the Peruvian part of the Amazon.
Stay tuned for my crazy weekend in the jungle! Coli
Parents in Peru, Part Two!
Monday May 4, 2009 11:34 PM
My house in Lima
My last day with the parents! In the morning after giving a tour of my school and the ISA office, we headed to the Barranco barrio so that they could see the beautiful old architecture. We came back to the house for lunch to eat a typical homemade Peruvian meal and they devoured the arroz con pollo. While I headed to class in the afternoon, I unleashed my parents in the city center to church and museum hop. I met up with them after my class ended to catch the last tour of the catacombs of the Iglesia de San Francisco.
We walked throughout the still-functioning monastery currently home to 200 monks, passing under ornate wooden-carved domes hosting shrieking bats, through corridors lined by azulejos (decorate tiles) and fading wall murals of old Franciscan brothers, around cloisters bordered by hundreds of glowing wax candles, in rooms hosting priceless artworks and furniture, to the grand finale – the catacombs underneath the church. Hosting over 25,000 bodies interred between the 17th and 19th centuries, we walked in between the old brick walls (with a mortar combination of limestone and egg whites, among other materials) to view piles of femurs and skulls. At one point I looked up set of stairs and saw directly into the church- turns out it was a passageway I had noticed from the church the night before. It was originally the entry point for the monks carrying in the body directly after the funeral.
For dinner, I made reservations at Junius, the same buffet and dinner show that I ate at during my first weekend in Lima. My dad wanted to take a bus from the city center to Miraflores, which was probably not the best idea since we were on the bus for 1 hour, 45 minutes before we finally got off and grabbed a taxi the rest of the way to the restaurant. Of course the food was delicious and the show was great, but it was really cool to compare it to my first time. I was familiar with some of the dances, such as the Marianera with the horse, which I saw at the Paso de Caballos. I also knew almost all the names for the dishes they served as well. Actually, as I was eating, I felt like there was something missing from the food and then I realized – there wasn’t any spiciness! I guess they tone it down for all tourists. I couldn’t even find ají on the buffet, but the waiter brought me some and warned me how hot it was several times. But it was actually relatively mild compared to what I have grown accustomed to – this is all so ironic considering medium Buffalo wings were too spicy for me before coming to Peru! At any rate, we headed home with our stuffed stomachs so my parents could sleep before their 5:30 AM flight to Cusco and I could pack for my flight at night to Washington, D.C.!
I'm leaving on a jet plane! Coli
My house in Lima
My last day with the parents! In the morning after giving a tour of my school and the ISA office, we headed to the Barranco barrio so that they could see the beautiful old architecture. We came back to the house for lunch to eat a typical homemade Peruvian meal and they devoured the arroz con pollo. While I headed to class in the afternoon, I unleashed my parents in the city center to church and museum hop. I met up with them after my class ended to catch the last tour of the catacombs of the Iglesia de San Francisco.
We walked throughout the still-functioning monastery currently home to 200 monks, passing under ornate wooden-carved domes hosting shrieking bats, through corridors lined by azulejos (decorate tiles) and fading wall murals of old Franciscan brothers, around cloisters bordered by hundreds of glowing wax candles, in rooms hosting priceless artworks and furniture, to the grand finale – the catacombs underneath the church. Hosting over 25,000 bodies interred between the 17th and 19th centuries, we walked in between the old brick walls (with a mortar combination of limestone and egg whites, among other materials) to view piles of femurs and skulls. At one point I looked up set of stairs and saw directly into the church- turns out it was a passageway I had noticed from the church the night before. It was originally the entry point for the monks carrying in the body directly after the funeral.
For dinner, I made reservations at Junius, the same buffet and dinner show that I ate at during my first weekend in Lima. My dad wanted to take a bus from the city center to Miraflores, which was probably not the best idea since we were on the bus for 1 hour, 45 minutes before we finally got off and grabbed a taxi the rest of the way to the restaurant. Of course the food was delicious and the show was great, but it was really cool to compare it to my first time. I was familiar with some of the dances, such as the Marianera with the horse, which I saw at the Paso de Caballos. I also knew almost all the names for the dishes they served as well. Actually, as I was eating, I felt like there was something missing from the food and then I realized – there wasn’t any spiciness! I guess they tone it down for all tourists. I couldn’t even find ají on the buffet, but the waiter brought me some and warned me how hot it was several times. But it was actually relatively mild compared to what I have grown accustomed to – this is all so ironic considering medium Buffalo wings were too spicy for me before coming to Peru! At any rate, we headed home with our stuffed stomachs so my parents could sleep before their 5:30 AM flight to Cusco and I could pack for my flight at night to Washington, D.C.!
I'm leaving on a jet plane! Coli
Parents in Peru!
Sunday, May 3, 2009 11:11 PM
My house in Lima
My parents have finally arrived to Lima! Although the fog also caused their original flight to Lima on Friday night to be cancelled (I really don’t like the fog), I greeted them at the airport when they finally got in late last night (Saturday) and we had a full day of sightseeing in Lima today since they missed their bus for the excursion to the Nazca lines that I planned (I really, really don’t like the fog).
Before my parents arrived…
Friday was a national holiday, like our Labor Day, so we had no classes. I spent most of the day on essays and presentations for classes but danced the night away with some Multisas and our Peruvian friends. Henry, Lucia, and I woke up bright and early again Saturday morning to go to Gamarra, a huge collection of streets overrun by pedestrians and stores with bargain prices from clothes and other items. After filling my once-empty tote bag with purchases and emptying my once-full wallet, we grabbed a menú from a hole-in-the-wall restaurant for four soles (US$1.33) that included a drink, huge bowl of soup, and a main plate pilled with rice, beans, salad, and res de seco (beef with a sauce). Though we were absolutely stuffed, we then had the brilliant idea to take several combis (small bus-vans) to Plaza San Miguel to a huge Metro grocery store to demolish a liter of ice cream, several different bags of cookies, and cake. Hyped on sugar and low on sleep, we excitedly headed back to my house to dance to music in my living room until it was time to pick up my parents! It was great seeing them, although I actually had a hard time thinking and speaking in English at first since I had only spoken Spanish the whole day.
Today (Sunday)
Our first stop on the “Parents in Peru” tour was to the barrio Pueblo Libre to see two fantastic museums on pre-Columbian civilizations. The first was the one (Museo de Antropología, Arqueología e Historia) I had visited previously with my art class so I played tour guide to my parents before we headed to the Museo Antropolgico de Rafeal Herrera, which was incredible. There was a really well-designed main gallery that focused on each of the pre-Columbian cultures and included artifacts such as typical clothing ornaments, pottery, and textiles. I thought it was fascinating how they would gauge their ears to wear decorative earrings that looked big enough to use as spikes in railroad construction. They also wore large nose rings that were so big, they covered the entire mouth and chin.
Also, the museum has woven textiles that hold the world record for the most intricate thread count – so small it’s impossible to create with a needle or loom (they still have no idea how it was woven so finely). One of my favorite parts of the museum was the archives, which housed rooms filled with thousands of ceremonial pottery in pristine condition that depict of all aspects of society at the time. It’s great that so much can be inferred from the pieces. There was also a gallery displaying erotic pottery, either depicting religious sex, the naturalness of sex, warnings against an excess of sex (often with skeleton depictions), or some that were like how-to manuals. As you can imagine, there were some extremely graphic ones.
During the afternoon, we went to Ashley and Caroline’s house for a big parrilla (barbeque) and my parents met all the Multisas while chowing down on some delicious food. From there, we headed to the Centro (city center) and Plaza de Armas, the main historic plaza. We watched some sort of big changing of the guard ceremony at the Palacio del Gobierno (Palace of the Government), or Peru’s White House equivalent, before walking around the rest of the Plaza. We visited the gorgeous Iglesia de San Francisco with its intricate altars and then happened across a special exhibit inside the Palacio del Gobierno on la tomba del Señor de Sipan. Besides seeing more awesome pre-Incan artifacts, it was a neat opportunity to see the inside of the ornate Palacio del Gobierno.
Our last stop of the night was to Las Piletas Mágicas (Magic Fountains), which I had visited previously on the Mirabus city tour. My parents seemed to like the surprise and we discovered a whole other section with even more fountains than I had visited last time. I also ran into my Trade professor – pretty cool to see someone I know in a city of 8 million.
Looking forward to another day with the padres! Coli
My house in Lima
My parents have finally arrived to Lima! Although the fog also caused their original flight to Lima on Friday night to be cancelled (I really don’t like the fog), I greeted them at the airport when they finally got in late last night (Saturday) and we had a full day of sightseeing in Lima today since they missed their bus for the excursion to the Nazca lines that I planned (I really, really don’t like the fog).
Before my parents arrived…
Friday was a national holiday, like our Labor Day, so we had no classes. I spent most of the day on essays and presentations for classes but danced the night away with some Multisas and our Peruvian friends. Henry, Lucia, and I woke up bright and early again Saturday morning to go to Gamarra, a huge collection of streets overrun by pedestrians and stores with bargain prices from clothes and other items. After filling my once-empty tote bag with purchases and emptying my once-full wallet, we grabbed a menú from a hole-in-the-wall restaurant for four soles (US$1.33) that included a drink, huge bowl of soup, and a main plate pilled with rice, beans, salad, and res de seco (beef with a sauce). Though we were absolutely stuffed, we then had the brilliant idea to take several combis (small bus-vans) to Plaza San Miguel to a huge Metro grocery store to demolish a liter of ice cream, several different bags of cookies, and cake. Hyped on sugar and low on sleep, we excitedly headed back to my house to dance to music in my living room until it was time to pick up my parents! It was great seeing them, although I actually had a hard time thinking and speaking in English at first since I had only spoken Spanish the whole day.
Today (Sunday)
Our first stop on the “Parents in Peru” tour was to the barrio Pueblo Libre to see two fantastic museums on pre-Columbian civilizations. The first was the one (Museo de Antropología, Arqueología e Historia) I had visited previously with my art class so I played tour guide to my parents before we headed to the Museo Antropolgico de Rafeal Herrera, which was incredible. There was a really well-designed main gallery that focused on each of the pre-Columbian cultures and included artifacts such as typical clothing ornaments, pottery, and textiles. I thought it was fascinating how they would gauge their ears to wear decorative earrings that looked big enough to use as spikes in railroad construction. They also wore large nose rings that were so big, they covered the entire mouth and chin.
Also, the museum has woven textiles that hold the world record for the most intricate thread count – so small it’s impossible to create with a needle or loom (they still have no idea how it was woven so finely). One of my favorite parts of the museum was the archives, which housed rooms filled with thousands of ceremonial pottery in pristine condition that depict of all aspects of society at the time. It’s great that so much can be inferred from the pieces. There was also a gallery displaying erotic pottery, either depicting religious sex, the naturalness of sex, warnings against an excess of sex (often with skeleton depictions), or some that were like how-to manuals. As you can imagine, there were some extremely graphic ones.
During the afternoon, we went to Ashley and Caroline’s house for a big parrilla (barbeque) and my parents met all the Multisas while chowing down on some delicious food. From there, we headed to the Centro (city center) and Plaza de Armas, the main historic plaza. We watched some sort of big changing of the guard ceremony at the Palacio del Gobierno (Palace of the Government), or Peru’s White House equivalent, before walking around the rest of the Plaza. We visited the gorgeous Iglesia de San Francisco with its intricate altars and then happened across a special exhibit inside the Palacio del Gobierno on la tomba del Señor de Sipan. Besides seeing more awesome pre-Incan artifacts, it was a neat opportunity to see the inside of the ornate Palacio del Gobierno.
Our last stop of the night was to Las Piletas Mágicas (Magic Fountains), which I had visited previously on the Mirabus city tour. My parents seemed to like the surprise and we discovered a whole other section with even more fountains than I had visited last time. I also ran into my Trade professor – pretty cool to see someone I know in a city of 8 million.
Looking forward to another day with the padres! Coli
Baranco and Neblina
Thursday April 30, 2009 2:29 AM
My house in Lima
Monday, April 27, 2008
Today Kara, Lindsey, and I left early this morning to explore Barranco, the bohemian neighborhood. Although we had been there before during the night, it was too dark to appreciate the unique colors and styles of all the houses in the area. We spent several hours just wandering and enjoying the unique architecture. We made a point to stop by the Puente del Suspiros (Bridge of Sighs), supposedly named for a tragic love-stricken aristocratic girl who pined after a street sweeper from her window. Legend says that your wish is granted if you walk across the bridge without breathing, but I started laughing as we walked briskly across the wooden planks and unfortunately didn’t make it. We also enjoyed the view of the ocean far below us at the base of the cliffs before we caught a bus back to near school.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Another morning at the beach, followed by a field trip in our Trade class to ADEX, a trade body comprised of companies that represent 33% of trade in Peru. We had a small intercambio with ISA in Barranco and went to dinner for anticuchos (cow hearts on a skewer) and picarones (sort of like fried doughnuts, but made from yam and with a honey sauce), followed by a salsa class. We tried crossing the Puente de Suspiros again, although I’m not sure if it counts on your second time. At any rate, I forgot to take a deep breath and ended up sprinting across the bridge. We looked like fools, I’m sure.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Well, today was a reminder that sometimes things don’t always work out the way you planned. Though I currently should be in the midst of the Amazon jungle, a heavy fog (neblina) descended over Lima (and smells abhorrently of fish), preventing any flights from leaving. So we ended up sitting in the airport for eight hours while they determined whether to cancel our flight completely – which they did. In the end, we rescheduled our trip for next weekend. I’m definitely excited that I’m still going but it also means that things will be even more complicated with my parent’s visit – can’t believe they arrive tomorrow night! Looks like I at least get to greet them when they arrive, and I’m sure everything will work out for the best so we can spend time together in between both our travels. We finally got home around 12:30 AM and I had so much pent up energy that I went running with James and Lauren until 2:20. Now that I’m home, I’m ready to crash!
TIP OF THE DAY: Don’t buy candy bars from airports. And if you do, make sure they don’t try and estafarte (rip you off) – especially when the register rings up the price at 3.00 to make you think, “Oh, 3 soles/1 USD, that’s not too bad,” when in reality you receive little change back and discover that it was actually US$3 and S/.9 for a little candy bar! Sorry, just a little bitter.
Can't wait to see the padres! Coli
My house in Lima
Monday, April 27, 2008
Today Kara, Lindsey, and I left early this morning to explore Barranco, the bohemian neighborhood. Although we had been there before during the night, it was too dark to appreciate the unique colors and styles of all the houses in the area. We spent several hours just wandering and enjoying the unique architecture. We made a point to stop by the Puente del Suspiros (Bridge of Sighs), supposedly named for a tragic love-stricken aristocratic girl who pined after a street sweeper from her window. Legend says that your wish is granted if you walk across the bridge without breathing, but I started laughing as we walked briskly across the wooden planks and unfortunately didn’t make it. We also enjoyed the view of the ocean far below us at the base of the cliffs before we caught a bus back to near school.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Another morning at the beach, followed by a field trip in our Trade class to ADEX, a trade body comprised of companies that represent 33% of trade in Peru. We had a small intercambio with ISA in Barranco and went to dinner for anticuchos (cow hearts on a skewer) and picarones (sort of like fried doughnuts, but made from yam and with a honey sauce), followed by a salsa class. We tried crossing the Puente de Suspiros again, although I’m not sure if it counts on your second time. At any rate, I forgot to take a deep breath and ended up sprinting across the bridge. We looked like fools, I’m sure.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Well, today was a reminder that sometimes things don’t always work out the way you planned. Though I currently should be in the midst of the Amazon jungle, a heavy fog (neblina) descended over Lima (and smells abhorrently of fish), preventing any flights from leaving. So we ended up sitting in the airport for eight hours while they determined whether to cancel our flight completely – which they did. In the end, we rescheduled our trip for next weekend. I’m definitely excited that I’m still going but it also means that things will be even more complicated with my parent’s visit – can’t believe they arrive tomorrow night! Looks like I at least get to greet them when they arrive, and I’m sure everything will work out for the best so we can spend time together in between both our travels. We finally got home around 12:30 AM and I had so much pent up energy that I went running with James and Lauren until 2:20. Now that I’m home, I’m ready to crash!
TIP OF THE DAY: Don’t buy candy bars from airports. And if you do, make sure they don’t try and estafarte (rip you off) – especially when the register rings up the price at 3.00 to make you think, “Oh, 3 soles/1 USD, that’s not too bad,” when in reality you receive little change back and discover that it was actually US$3 and S/.9 for a little candy bar! Sorry, just a little bitter.
Can't wait to see the padres! Coli
A Typical Week in Peru
Sunday, April 26, 2009 00:57
My house in Lima
In International Trade and Negotiation, we presented a case study debate style on the Brazil vs. United States cotton case in the World Trade Organization. After learning about the Indigenísmo art movement in our Peruvian culture class, my night was free and I was set on getting out of the house. Since I’m one of the few people that don’t have a roommate and my host mom and I often have very different schedules, I feel a little lonely at times. Not really bad, but I just get the itch to hang out with other people. A group of us ended up at a café to hang out for a bit and then to a shop that sells really cheap DVDs.
Tuesday
I really enjoy my Spanish class, today we learned words that only women used. Most of them referred to emotions or polite exclamations. Apparently, all the words for guys that women weren’t supposed to use are all the curse words, but that is changing a bit so that women use them. At our weekly ISA meeting we learned about all the upcoming events and tried several different Peruvian pastries to culturally immerse us, of course. I love the program here! I ate lunch at the cafeteria at school, where the daily menu is between S/. 4.50 and S/. 5.50 and includes drink, appetizer, main meal, and dessert! Delicious and costs only about $1.50.
After class, some of us watched The Boy in the Striped Pajamas at Lindsey’s house (highly recommend, although very sad) It’s so great that we are allowed to hang out at each other’s houses, unlike in Buenos Aires. Apparently today was Japanese day or something at our university because during the day they had martial arts demonstrations and Japanese character tattoos and at night they had free sushi, which we thoroughly enjoyed. We decided that we were going to put ourselves out there and meet some Peruvian students, although Alex’s attempt to sit in the middle of the school’s courtyard with a sign that said “Amigas, Por fa” (“Friends - of the girl variety - please”) were unsuccessful. We finally just went up to a group of girls as we were leaving the school and said “We only have American friends, will you be our friends?” Though they probably should have ran in the other direction, they were more than happy to talk with us and make several playdates in the upcoming future. We deserve pats on the back for that one.
My late night activities consisted of going to Parque Kennedy with a group and wandering aimlessly. After heading to a club and dancing for a bit, we called it a night. By the way, superlative for weirdest English translation of a drink goes to: “Pisco, juice of lemon, clear of egg, rubber syrup, bitter ice, and bitter of narrowness.” Mmmm, how appetizing.
Wednesday
We keep up our routine of heading to beach Wikiki to lay out on the rocks/surf before classes in the afternoon. At night, Kara, Hannah, Lindsey, and I met up with 5 or 6 Peruvians that we had met through our first Intercambio at the oldest bodega (winery) in Lima and chatted for a while. We then went to English Pub, where they were having a private party for international students from the biggest universities in Lima.
Thursday
Daytime = classes. In Spanish class we did more translation work and learned that “simpatico”, which generally means “nice” has the connotation of “good-looking” in Perú. We laughed about how we’ve been describing people as nice while our host family and other people must have thought we were calling them cute. At night, Henry, Alex, Ashley, and I went to salsa lessons with Lucia (from ISA) and a couple Intercambio friends. I had a blast afterwards when we went to Son de Cuba salsa club and tried out the few new moves we had learned. The two story club had an awesome atmosphere, and all the music was courtesy of a live ten-person Cuban band! We spent a while just listening to them play, it was ¡regio! (great!)
Friday
At night, ISA planned another Intercambio for us and fifteen Peruvians at a bowling alley in the huge Jockey Plaza. It was a lot of fun and I was actually able to teach several Peruvians in Spanish how to bowl because it was the first time for many of them. Afterwards we headed to this amazing ice cream place called 4D, where they had giant colorful mounds of the most delectable-looking ice cream. I ended up calling it an early night after that but had spent a great night conversing with many Peruvians.
Saturday
After spending the day getting papers done, I danced the night away at a birthday party for one of the guys from the Intercambio and all his friends that we’ve been hanging out with. The house we went to was super nice, most of our university friends are definitely from a higher socioeconomic status.
Sunday
Got up early for Caballo a Paso, a horse show that is held once a year. We didn’t really understand how big it was until our ISA program directors literally were mobbed when trying to sell their extra tickets to people waiting in the sold-out line. I had never really been to a horse show before and I wasn’t sure what to expect from today. The horses, called pasos, are a special breed from this area and supposedly have the smoothest gait in the world. They walk as though they were marching and kicking their feet out haphazardly. It’s a very weird gait but it looked like they were keeping in time to the music. The coolest part of the day was when the horsemen would dance around the arena in their traditional costumes while their partner steered their horse around so that it appeared it was dancing too.
Well, there you have a week out of my life in Lima. It was nice to stay put for a weekend! Coli
My house in Lima
A bit more of what I do on a daily basis...if its boring, keep scrolling!
MondayIn International Trade and Negotiation, we presented a case study debate style on the Brazil vs. United States cotton case in the World Trade Organization. After learning about the Indigenísmo art movement in our Peruvian culture class, my night was free and I was set on getting out of the house. Since I’m one of the few people that don’t have a roommate and my host mom and I often have very different schedules, I feel a little lonely at times. Not really bad, but I just get the itch to hang out with other people. A group of us ended up at a café to hang out for a bit and then to a shop that sells really cheap DVDs.
Tuesday
I really enjoy my Spanish class, today we learned words that only women used. Most of them referred to emotions or polite exclamations. Apparently, all the words for guys that women weren’t supposed to use are all the curse words, but that is changing a bit so that women use them. At our weekly ISA meeting we learned about all the upcoming events and tried several different Peruvian pastries to culturally immerse us, of course. I love the program here! I ate lunch at the cafeteria at school, where the daily menu is between S/. 4.50 and S/. 5.50 and includes drink, appetizer, main meal, and dessert! Delicious and costs only about $1.50.
After class, some of us watched The Boy in the Striped Pajamas at Lindsey’s house (highly recommend, although very sad) It’s so great that we are allowed to hang out at each other’s houses, unlike in Buenos Aires. Apparently today was Japanese day or something at our university because during the day they had martial arts demonstrations and Japanese character tattoos and at night they had free sushi, which we thoroughly enjoyed. We decided that we were going to put ourselves out there and meet some Peruvian students, although Alex’s attempt to sit in the middle of the school’s courtyard with a sign that said “Amigas, Por fa” (“Friends - of the girl variety - please”) were unsuccessful. We finally just went up to a group of girls as we were leaving the school and said “We only have American friends, will you be our friends?” Though they probably should have ran in the other direction, they were more than happy to talk with us and make several playdates in the upcoming future. We deserve pats on the back for that one.
My late night activities consisted of going to Parque Kennedy with a group and wandering aimlessly. After heading to a club and dancing for a bit, we called it a night. By the way, superlative for weirdest English translation of a drink goes to: “Pisco, juice of lemon, clear of egg, rubber syrup, bitter ice, and bitter of narrowness.” Mmmm, how appetizing.
Wednesday
We keep up our routine of heading to beach Wikiki to lay out on the rocks/surf before classes in the afternoon. At night, Kara, Hannah, Lindsey, and I met up with 5 or 6 Peruvians that we had met through our first Intercambio at the oldest bodega (winery) in Lima and chatted for a while. We then went to English Pub, where they were having a private party for international students from the biggest universities in Lima.
Thursday
Daytime = classes. In Spanish class we did more translation work and learned that “simpatico”, which generally means “nice” has the connotation of “good-looking” in Perú. We laughed about how we’ve been describing people as nice while our host family and other people must have thought we were calling them cute. At night, Henry, Alex, Ashley, and I went to salsa lessons with Lucia (from ISA) and a couple Intercambio friends. I had a blast afterwards when we went to Son de Cuba salsa club and tried out the few new moves we had learned. The two story club had an awesome atmosphere, and all the music was courtesy of a live ten-person Cuban band! We spent a while just listening to them play, it was ¡regio! (great!)
Friday
At night, ISA planned another Intercambio for us and fifteen Peruvians at a bowling alley in the huge Jockey Plaza. It was a lot of fun and I was actually able to teach several Peruvians in Spanish how to bowl because it was the first time for many of them. Afterwards we headed to this amazing ice cream place called 4D, where they had giant colorful mounds of the most delectable-looking ice cream. I ended up calling it an early night after that but had spent a great night conversing with many Peruvians.
Saturday
After spending the day getting papers done, I danced the night away at a birthday party for one of the guys from the Intercambio and all his friends that we’ve been hanging out with. The house we went to was super nice, most of our university friends are definitely from a higher socioeconomic status.
Sunday
Got up early for Caballo a Paso, a horse show that is held once a year. We didn’t really understand how big it was until our ISA program directors literally were mobbed when trying to sell their extra tickets to people waiting in the sold-out line. I had never really been to a horse show before and I wasn’t sure what to expect from today. The horses, called pasos, are a special breed from this area and supposedly have the smoothest gait in the world. They walk as though they were marching and kicking their feet out haphazardly. It’s a very weird gait but it looked like they were keeping in time to the music. The coolest part of the day was when the horsemen would dance around the arena in their traditional costumes while their partner steered their horse around so that it appeared it was dancing too.
Well, there you have a week out of my life in Lima. It was nice to stay put for a weekend! Coli
Penguins vs. Aliens
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Bus from Nazca to Lima
Yesterday (Saturday) we traveled to Paracas in order to take a boat cruise to the Islas Ballestas, Peru’s version of the Galapagos Islands. The islands really are just barren rock – volcanic rock that is normally a dark gray or reddish color, but appear pure white from all the guano (bird droppings). There’s not a single green plant – but the rocks are absolutely teaming with birds of all sorts, sea lions, and penguins (!). The only man-made structures on these islands are for the guano industry, which is harvested from the island every 6-8 years for fertilizer and other purposes (for all you chip lovers, it is an ingredient of Doritos). There are two guards that live there for 3 months at a time completely cut off from society. I have to say, that can’t be the world’s best job. But the islands themselves were awesome and we 'ooohed' and 'awwwed' over the cute baby sea lions plopping into the water and silly penguins waddling around the ledge to peer at us.
Final stop that night: Nazca, sight of the famous Nazca lines (there are also the nearby Palpa lines from an even older civilization but they don’t the PR for some reason). Between the two, there are seventy human figures and 10,000 lines. The ancient Nazca civilization dug these massive figures between 500 BC and 500 AD, but they weren’t discovered by modern civilization until they were noticed from the air in 1927. We went to a planetarium that night, where we learned a bit about the history and theories behind the lines. Some say they were for ceremonial water purposes and pointed to water sources themselves, while others (including the German scientist Maria Reiche, who spent decades studying the lines) believe they are used as an ancient astronomical calendar – good chances, since some of the lines mark the summer and winter solstice. Then of course, there are those who say aliens constructed them. Well, the first two theories seem pretty valid to me (not that I’m knocking the idea of aliens), but it still amazes me that they were able to construct what appears to be intricate figures from the sky, but are just indented paths from the ground.
Sunday we woke up at the crack of dawn to have the chance to see the lines by air, which was awesome. I was in the front with the pilot n a tiny six-seater plane, and we saw all the famous figures such as the monkey, spider, whale, and hummingbird (to give you an idea of the size, the hummingbird is 217 by 315 ft). I was also surprised to see how many random lines just criss crossed the landscape. Definitely a cool experience. On our long bus ride back to Lima, we stopped for lunch at a place that makes pisco, the famous Peruvian liquor, and we got to see both the traditional and modern production techniques on a bodega tour.
Yay for ISA excursions! Coli
Bus from Nazca to Lima
Yesterday (Saturday) we traveled to Paracas in order to take a boat cruise to the Islas Ballestas, Peru’s version of the Galapagos Islands. The islands really are just barren rock – volcanic rock that is normally a dark gray or reddish color, but appear pure white from all the guano (bird droppings). There’s not a single green plant – but the rocks are absolutely teaming with birds of all sorts, sea lions, and penguins (!). The only man-made structures on these islands are for the guano industry, which is harvested from the island every 6-8 years for fertilizer and other purposes (for all you chip lovers, it is an ingredient of Doritos). There are two guards that live there for 3 months at a time completely cut off from society. I have to say, that can’t be the world’s best job. But the islands themselves were awesome and we 'ooohed' and 'awwwed' over the cute baby sea lions plopping into the water and silly penguins waddling around the ledge to peer at us.
Final stop that night: Nazca, sight of the famous Nazca lines (there are also the nearby Palpa lines from an even older civilization but they don’t the PR for some reason). Between the two, there are seventy human figures and 10,000 lines. The ancient Nazca civilization dug these massive figures between 500 BC and 500 AD, but they weren’t discovered by modern civilization until they were noticed from the air in 1927. We went to a planetarium that night, where we learned a bit about the history and theories behind the lines. Some say they were for ceremonial water purposes and pointed to water sources themselves, while others (including the German scientist Maria Reiche, who spent decades studying the lines) believe they are used as an ancient astronomical calendar – good chances, since some of the lines mark the summer and winter solstice. Then of course, there are those who say aliens constructed them. Well, the first two theories seem pretty valid to me (not that I’m knocking the idea of aliens), but it still amazes me that they were able to construct what appears to be intricate figures from the sky, but are just indented paths from the ground.
Sunday we woke up at the crack of dawn to have the chance to see the lines by air, which was awesome. I was in the front with the pilot n a tiny six-seater plane, and we saw all the famous figures such as the monkey, spider, whale, and hummingbird (to give you an idea of the size, the hummingbird is 217 by 315 ft). I was also surprised to see how many random lines just criss crossed the landscape. Definitely a cool experience. On our long bus ride back to Lima, we stopped for lunch at a place that makes pisco, the famous Peruvian liquor, and we got to see both the traditional and modern production techniques on a bodega tour.
Yay for ISA excursions! Coli
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Sand Dunes and Stars
Sunday, April 18, 2009
Hotel in Nazca
Yesterday was an unforgettable experience. We passed the bus ride watching movies and had just started Aladdin as we pulled into the Oasis de Huacachina. The desert dunes of the “Arabian nights” on the TV screen flowed seamlessly into the barren sand landscape all around us. The Oasis really was a desert oasis, complete with a small lake surrounded by buildings and palm trees, band-wagoned at the base of large mountains of sand. After dropping our bags off at another cute hotel, we were off in some dune buggies heading towards the sand dunes themselves.
Our driver had a penchant for speed and we took off climbing the sand with unbelievable twists and turns. The buggy was going so fast that our bodies were tossed around in our heavy-duty harnesses as we screamed from the top of our lungs. This bested any rollercoaster I’ve been on; the buggy would alternate zooming up mountains (sometimes on a side angle so it felt like we were in the grand prix) and plunging down hundreds of meters at a time. All we could see around us was sand, making me feel as though I were in a virtual 4D ride. At the horizon, we could see the large red-orange sun pre-dominating the sky with its bright and deep hues.
My breath was taken away when we came to a stop at the top of one dune and caught the full effect of the sunset on the desert sand. It seemed like something straight out of Aladdin and I still can’t grasp how I’m witnessing this incredible sight from Perú. From Cusco and the Andean mountains one weekend, La Merced forest the next, and now the desert, the landscape changes so drastically, I don’t know how they fit it into one small country (Fact: Peru has 84 of the world’s 154 biological zones). As the sun set beyond us, we skipped and rolled down the mountain a ways until plopping down in the sand as the last curve of the sun had hidden beyond the horizon. We first discovered how difficult it was to climb up the sliding sand and were off in our dune buggies for part 2 of our desert adventure – sand boarding.
There we were, at the top of a 100 meter pile of sand – about a 30 story building. And we were expected to go down it on a tiny stick on our feet? Many started to go down the mountain using the boards as boogie boards, so I thought I would do that first. It was a blast as I smoothly coasted down the mountain. While waiting for the dune buggy to come down to us, I thought I would try to board down a small slope, and I successfully slid down the sand a good 20 or 30 feet without falling on my first time. I was really excited, especially considering I’ve never done any sort of skiing or boarding before. When we stopped at an even bigger mountain to go down again, I decided I was definitely going down the full way on my feet. Standing on the precipice, my adrenaline was fully pumping before I tipped over and plunged down. Surpisingly, I had a good sense of balance right off the bat and I kept going without falling, although I did bail when I started picking up too much speed because I was afraid of running into some friends at the bottom (and had flashbacks of the last time I went sledding…shout out to the Smith family).
That was the end of our short sand-boarding careers. We strapped back into our belt harnesses just in time to be romped through the dunes to our hotel in the oasis. We came back to swim in a highly chlorinated pool and wash the sand off us. After a dinner around the Oasis lake, we looked up at the palm trees and stars, which were incredible.
Later that night, five of us made the decision to trek up the large mountain/dune behind our hotel. The way up was really tough, the fine loose sand seemed to make me fall back a step for every two I took forward and I eventually took to clambering up on all fours. It was definitely worth it when we reached the top. Our tiny little oasis was below us and we could see the dark outlines of the dunes surrounding it. The highlight, however, were the stars stretched out above us. It was incredible how many we could see, all flickering with various bursts of light. The sky was so clear we could see parts of the Milky Way.
Salsa and other music drifted up to us from a discoteca below as sounds traveled great distances over the sand with ease. Once the heat of the exertion wore off and the chill of the night kicked in, we all huddled close together while lying in the sand and looking at the stars. To our right, a large orange moon hung in the sky like a large bowl and we caught several shooting stars as they traveled between blinks of light. From the very summit, we could see over the other side of the mountain to the city of Ica. When we were ready to head back to our warm sand-free (relatively) beds, we began to run down the hill, which was so much easy than climbing and ten times more fun! With each leap, our feet would sink down to the ankle in sand before quickly plunging forward again. I literally felt like I was walking on the moon! Surprisingly, I didn’t fall.
Another day, another adventure! Coli
Hotel in Nazca
Yesterday was an unforgettable experience. We passed the bus ride watching movies and had just started Aladdin as we pulled into the Oasis de Huacachina. The desert dunes of the “Arabian nights” on the TV screen flowed seamlessly into the barren sand landscape all around us. The Oasis really was a desert oasis, complete with a small lake surrounded by buildings and palm trees, band-wagoned at the base of large mountains of sand. After dropping our bags off at another cute hotel, we were off in some dune buggies heading towards the sand dunes themselves.
Our driver had a penchant for speed and we took off climbing the sand with unbelievable twists and turns. The buggy was going so fast that our bodies were tossed around in our heavy-duty harnesses as we screamed from the top of our lungs. This bested any rollercoaster I’ve been on; the buggy would alternate zooming up mountains (sometimes on a side angle so it felt like we were in the grand prix) and plunging down hundreds of meters at a time. All we could see around us was sand, making me feel as though I were in a virtual 4D ride. At the horizon, we could see the large red-orange sun pre-dominating the sky with its bright and deep hues.
My breath was taken away when we came to a stop at the top of one dune and caught the full effect of the sunset on the desert sand. It seemed like something straight out of Aladdin and I still can’t grasp how I’m witnessing this incredible sight from Perú. From Cusco and the Andean mountains one weekend, La Merced forest the next, and now the desert, the landscape changes so drastically, I don’t know how they fit it into one small country (Fact: Peru has 84 of the world’s 154 biological zones). As the sun set beyond us, we skipped and rolled down the mountain a ways until plopping down in the sand as the last curve of the sun had hidden beyond the horizon. We first discovered how difficult it was to climb up the sliding sand and were off in our dune buggies for part 2 of our desert adventure – sand boarding.
There we were, at the top of a 100 meter pile of sand – about a 30 story building. And we were expected to go down it on a tiny stick on our feet? Many started to go down the mountain using the boards as boogie boards, so I thought I would do that first. It was a blast as I smoothly coasted down the mountain. While waiting for the dune buggy to come down to us, I thought I would try to board down a small slope, and I successfully slid down the sand a good 20 or 30 feet without falling on my first time. I was really excited, especially considering I’ve never done any sort of skiing or boarding before. When we stopped at an even bigger mountain to go down again, I decided I was definitely going down the full way on my feet. Standing on the precipice, my adrenaline was fully pumping before I tipped over and plunged down. Surpisingly, I had a good sense of balance right off the bat and I kept going without falling, although I did bail when I started picking up too much speed because I was afraid of running into some friends at the bottom (and had flashbacks of the last time I went sledding…shout out to the Smith family).
That was the end of our short sand-boarding careers. We strapped back into our belt harnesses just in time to be romped through the dunes to our hotel in the oasis. We came back to swim in a highly chlorinated pool and wash the sand off us. After a dinner around the Oasis lake, we looked up at the palm trees and stars, which were incredible.
Later that night, five of us made the decision to trek up the large mountain/dune behind our hotel. The way up was really tough, the fine loose sand seemed to make me fall back a step for every two I took forward and I eventually took to clambering up on all fours. It was definitely worth it when we reached the top. Our tiny little oasis was below us and we could see the dark outlines of the dunes surrounding it. The highlight, however, were the stars stretched out above us. It was incredible how many we could see, all flickering with various bursts of light. The sky was so clear we could see parts of the Milky Way.
Salsa and other music drifted up to us from a discoteca below as sounds traveled great distances over the sand with ease. Once the heat of the exertion wore off and the chill of the night kicked in, we all huddled close together while lying in the sand and looking at the stars. To our right, a large orange moon hung in the sky like a large bowl and we caught several shooting stars as they traveled between blinks of light. From the very summit, we could see over the other side of the mountain to the city of Ica. When we were ready to head back to our warm sand-free (relatively) beds, we began to run down the hill, which was so much easy than climbing and ten times more fun! With each leap, our feet would sink down to the ankle in sand before quickly plunging forward again. I literally felt like I was walking on the moon! Surprisingly, I didn’t fall.
Another day, another adventure! Coli
Off on Another Adventure...
Friday, April 17, 2009 11ish AM
Bus to Oasis de Huacachina
We are starting out on our excursion to Ica, Paracas, the Nazca lines, and Las Islas Ballestas! We are going to be doing a lot of cool stuff, so I’m pretty stoked! Last night (Thursday) was tons of fun. I went with Lindsey, James, Henry, Lauren, and Lauren’s host mom to the New York Casino, where my host mom Austry works in Public Relations. One of the perks of this is getting VIP seats for the really famous Bolivian folk group, the Jarqas. I was surprised to hear so many people singing along to their songs, but I guess they are really well-known. After the concert, we hailed a cab to Barranco, the bohemian neighborhood. We met up with the rest of the Multisas and several students we had met at an Intercambio. Sargiento Pimiento is a rock bar and we had a fun time chilling and dancing to some of the American songs that came on until we headed to another random empty discoteca near the Parque Municipal.
I’ve been in Peru for about 3 weeks now, and here are some of my observations:
While Buenos Aires had much more of a big city vibe, Lima feels more residential, without all the high rises and super crowded sidewalks. This is probably because they generally don’t build over six stories (earthquakes), but it is interesting that a city of 8 million can be so spread out.
I can definitely see a strong American pop culture influence in Lima. Most of the fashions that I see here are exactly what I would see in the US, brand names and all. Plus, American fast food chain restaurants such as KFC, Pizza Hut, Chilis, etc, seem to be everywhere (just like in the US!).
Security seems to be a big concern here, at least in the barrios that I’ve visited. A large percentage of houses and businesses that I walk by have a huge gate (often complemented with barbed tops or electric fences) or a security guard (sometimes just a person hired to sit in a chair outside the house all night). Though I hardly ever saw a police officer in Buenos Aires, they are out in full force here, patrolling the streets in cars, bikes, or standing at strategic corners and buildings. Sometimes it seems a bit superfluous, but I guess they would know better than me. I wonder if they are a legacy of the 1990s, when there was an atmosphere of fear from the Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) and Tupac Amaru guerilla movements.
Well, excited for our latest excursion! Coli
Bus to Oasis de Huacachina
We are starting out on our excursion to Ica, Paracas, the Nazca lines, and Las Islas Ballestas! We are going to be doing a lot of cool stuff, so I’m pretty stoked! Last night (Thursday) was tons of fun. I went with Lindsey, James, Henry, Lauren, and Lauren’s host mom to the New York Casino, where my host mom Austry works in Public Relations. One of the perks of this is getting VIP seats for the really famous Bolivian folk group, the Jarqas. I was surprised to hear so many people singing along to their songs, but I guess they are really well-known. After the concert, we hailed a cab to Barranco, the bohemian neighborhood. We met up with the rest of the Multisas and several students we had met at an Intercambio. Sargiento Pimiento is a rock bar and we had a fun time chilling and dancing to some of the American songs that came on until we headed to another random empty discoteca near the Parque Municipal.
I’ve been in Peru for about 3 weeks now, and here are some of my observations:
While Buenos Aires had much more of a big city vibe, Lima feels more residential, without all the high rises and super crowded sidewalks. This is probably because they generally don’t build over six stories (earthquakes), but it is interesting that a city of 8 million can be so spread out.
I can definitely see a strong American pop culture influence in Lima. Most of the fashions that I see here are exactly what I would see in the US, brand names and all. Plus, American fast food chain restaurants such as KFC, Pizza Hut, Chilis, etc, seem to be everywhere (just like in the US!).
Security seems to be a big concern here, at least in the barrios that I’ve visited. A large percentage of houses and businesses that I walk by have a huge gate (often complemented with barbed tops or electric fences) or a security guard (sometimes just a person hired to sit in a chair outside the house all night). Though I hardly ever saw a police officer in Buenos Aires, they are out in full force here, patrolling the streets in cars, bikes, or standing at strategic corners and buildings. Sometimes it seems a bit superfluous, but I guess they would know better than me. I wonder if they are a legacy of the 1990s, when there was an atmosphere of fear from the Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) and Tupac Amaru guerilla movements.
Well, excited for our latest excursion! Coli
Settling In
Wednesday April 15, 2009 11 AM
Playa Wikiki, Miraflores, Lima
Yesterday was our first day of Spanish Conversation and Composition, which was fantastic. We read articles to learn new vocabulary and then worked on translating jokes from Spanish to English and vice versa. It really made us think about how so many things don’t translate – like knock knock jokes (especially ones that rely on word play). My International Trade and Negotiation Policy class is going fine, we are currently focusing on the makeup of Perú and Latin American economies and we have a case study on the WTO Brazil vs. US cotton case. I’m enjoying my Arte y Cultura del Perú class a lot more than I thought too. So, overall, classes are going well.
Last night 8 of us went to the movies because we were determined to see a Peruvian film. Due to unforeseen circumstances, we ended up seeing El Padre Poderoso ("the powerful father") since it sounded like it would at least be in Spanish. Oh, were we wrong. We discovered that not only was it not in Spanish, it was originally called Swing Vote in English. Though not what we expected, we enjoyed the movie. It was new perspective to watching an American election movie with a lot of cultural humor, I kept wondering what our fellow Peruvians in the theater thought.
And now this morning we all came down to the beach to surf and relax since our class doesn’t start till 2 pm. I know, I don’t mean to rub it in. Behind us rise the dirt cliffs with grassy tops and the classy buildings of the Miraflores coast. The entire beach we are lying on is composed of small and medium sized pebbles that sound like a roaring crowd in a stadium as the powerful green-grey waves drag them back into the sea. The pebbles are all different colors which are especially brilliant when wet, I’m having a hard time limiting myself to a few rocks for my collection because they are so pretty. The sea breeze and mist that teases our faces every so often feels refreshing in contrast to the powerful sun and burning stones underneath us. To the left, we can make out the tiny back surf bodysuits of our friends as they struggle to paddle out and remain upright on their boards (that was me last week).
Well, time to head back for class! Coli
TIP OF THE DAY: Wear sunscreen. My skin is so on fire that it feels like it has consumed the spiciest ají sauce in Peru. In fact, my back has probably radiated enough heat to single-handedly create a hole in the ozone layer above Lima.
Playa Wikiki, Miraflores, Lima
Yesterday was our first day of Spanish Conversation and Composition, which was fantastic. We read articles to learn new vocabulary and then worked on translating jokes from Spanish to English and vice versa. It really made us think about how so many things don’t translate – like knock knock jokes (especially ones that rely on word play). My International Trade and Negotiation Policy class is going fine, we are currently focusing on the makeup of Perú and Latin American economies and we have a case study on the WTO Brazil vs. US cotton case. I’m enjoying my Arte y Cultura del Perú class a lot more than I thought too. So, overall, classes are going well.
Last night 8 of us went to the movies because we were determined to see a Peruvian film. Due to unforeseen circumstances, we ended up seeing El Padre Poderoso ("the powerful father") since it sounded like it would at least be in Spanish. Oh, were we wrong. We discovered that not only was it not in Spanish, it was originally called Swing Vote in English. Though not what we expected, we enjoyed the movie. It was new perspective to watching an American election movie with a lot of cultural humor, I kept wondering what our fellow Peruvians in the theater thought.
And now this morning we all came down to the beach to surf and relax since our class doesn’t start till 2 pm. I know, I don’t mean to rub it in. Behind us rise the dirt cliffs with grassy tops and the classy buildings of the Miraflores coast. The entire beach we are lying on is composed of small and medium sized pebbles that sound like a roaring crowd in a stadium as the powerful green-grey waves drag them back into the sea. The pebbles are all different colors which are especially brilliant when wet, I’m having a hard time limiting myself to a few rocks for my collection because they are so pretty. The sea breeze and mist that teases our faces every so often feels refreshing in contrast to the powerful sun and burning stones underneath us. To the left, we can make out the tiny back surf bodysuits of our friends as they struggle to paddle out and remain upright on their boards (that was me last week).
Well, time to head back for class! Coli
TIP OF THE DAY: Wear sunscreen. My skin is so on fire that it feels like it has consumed the spiciest ají sauce in Peru. In fact, my back has probably radiated enough heat to single-handedly create a hole in the ozone layer above Lima.
Don't Go Chasing Waterfalls-Come n Ride the Train!
Sunday, April 12, 2009 4:00 PM (approx)
Train from Guancayo back to Lima
Saturday morning: Many of us were a bit hesitant about spending S/25 on an excursion that sounded like a hike through the jungle followed by a short wade through a river at the end. They really should have advertised it as hiking upstream through a river for four hours, including climbing several waterfalls. I obviously had no idea what I was getting myself into but we definitely got our money’s worth.
However, we were still disillusioned the first 45 minutes or so as we made our way through a simple river side path (starting at the bridge we went to yesterday) that dipped in and out of the jungle. I was definitely not dressed for the occasion with my falling apart sneakers, pair of jeans, and pretty button-up shirt (limited wardrobe choices, what can I say). It’s pretty laughable now that we were all so hesitant to get our sneakers wet when we waded through our first brook (instead we decided to climb across a precariously fallen tree trunk). Little did we know that we would be up to chests in water in an hour.
It was a perfect adventure through the jungle, scaling walls with jungle vines that were so strong they supported all our weight, crisscrossing through the river dozens of times, pulling ourselves up waterfalls with a single rope, climbing cliff walls, and viewing our final destination of a three story waterfall (I thought we were going to climb that one too). At one point when we were pushing through a narrow pass in the river I was the first to go and the current was so strong that I was stuck up to my neck in the river’s powerful flow and I couldn’t move any of my limbs - it took two really strong guides in front and behind to pull me out. After our final waterfall, we crossed our river for a final time and made our way back through the jungle. Our last stop of the day was to a coffee plantation, where we saw them roasting and grinding the beans. It was the first coffee I’ve ever liked (and it was yummy!) and the bag that I bought was so fresh the grounds was still warm!
We then took a bus to Tarma, which has a huge traditional Semana Santa procession with “carpets of flowers” (they literally cover every surface of the ground with flowers arranged in intricate patterns). We had the random fortune of talking to some people from a tourist agency (originally we just wanted to store our backpacks and use the bathroom) who took us on a mini tour to try manjar blanco (super sweet, perhaps comparable to Argentina’s dulce de leche) and dropped us off in another small town for their Semana Santa celebration, which was incomparable to any Easter egg hunt in the US.
There were at least four or five huge bands all around the main plaza square and we just kept wandering from band to band dancing to the music with everyone in the crowd. Then came the fireworks. Much like the bands, there were large wooden structures placed all around the square that took turns shooting off huge fireworks and sparks and unique lighted figures. It was awesome, and though at first I thought “Why don’t we have fireworks like this in the US!” I realized once sparks were shot off into crowds and rained down on us that safety regulations would never allow it. The whole experience was too much for words, it was so fun and unique. We tried lots of street food before rain put an early end to the party and the next few hours were a random blur of busing to Tarma, going to a discoteca, and miraculously meeting up with the whole group and our tour guides. The few hours following that consisted in a terrifyingly high-speed ride along slick roads to Guancayo in order to make it to the 7 am train on time (we made it with 10 minutes to spare).
Since we strategically stayed up all night, I slept a good portion of the train trip (through 66 tunnels and 59 bridges, for you data buffs) and now we only have a few hours left! The view right now really is incredible as we shakily pass through tall mountains, the winding river below, and the infrequent small towns with crumbling buildings. It’s interesting to see all the residents stop what they are doing to watch the train and wave at the passengers.
Later... I discovered that there is a club on the back of the train! The very last car is an open air car with a bar and as soon as we walked into the car, the director guy (we had met him on Friday at the discoteca) announced that because we were there the dancing was ready to start! Trying to dance, especially salsa, was hilarious because the train would pitch us in all sorts of crazy directions, but we did several trains on the train (ha!). Perfect way to pass the rest of the trip back to Lima!
¡Feliz Páscua! (Happy Easter!) Coli
Train from Guancayo back to Lima
Saturday morning: Many of us were a bit hesitant about spending S/25 on an excursion that sounded like a hike through the jungle followed by a short wade through a river at the end. They really should have advertised it as hiking upstream through a river for four hours, including climbing several waterfalls. I obviously had no idea what I was getting myself into but we definitely got our money’s worth.
However, we were still disillusioned the first 45 minutes or so as we made our way through a simple river side path (starting at the bridge we went to yesterday) that dipped in and out of the jungle. I was definitely not dressed for the occasion with my falling apart sneakers, pair of jeans, and pretty button-up shirt (limited wardrobe choices, what can I say). It’s pretty laughable now that we were all so hesitant to get our sneakers wet when we waded through our first brook (instead we decided to climb across a precariously fallen tree trunk). Little did we know that we would be up to chests in water in an hour.
It was a perfect adventure through the jungle, scaling walls with jungle vines that were so strong they supported all our weight, crisscrossing through the river dozens of times, pulling ourselves up waterfalls with a single rope, climbing cliff walls, and viewing our final destination of a three story waterfall (I thought we were going to climb that one too). At one point when we were pushing through a narrow pass in the river I was the first to go and the current was so strong that I was stuck up to my neck in the river’s powerful flow and I couldn’t move any of my limbs - it took two really strong guides in front and behind to pull me out. After our final waterfall, we crossed our river for a final time and made our way back through the jungle. Our last stop of the day was to a coffee plantation, where we saw them roasting and grinding the beans. It was the first coffee I’ve ever liked (and it was yummy!) and the bag that I bought was so fresh the grounds was still warm!
We then took a bus to Tarma, which has a huge traditional Semana Santa procession with “carpets of flowers” (they literally cover every surface of the ground with flowers arranged in intricate patterns). We had the random fortune of talking to some people from a tourist agency (originally we just wanted to store our backpacks and use the bathroom) who took us on a mini tour to try manjar blanco (super sweet, perhaps comparable to Argentina’s dulce de leche) and dropped us off in another small town for their Semana Santa celebration, which was incomparable to any Easter egg hunt in the US.
There were at least four or five huge bands all around the main plaza square and we just kept wandering from band to band dancing to the music with everyone in the crowd. Then came the fireworks. Much like the bands, there were large wooden structures placed all around the square that took turns shooting off huge fireworks and sparks and unique lighted figures. It was awesome, and though at first I thought “Why don’t we have fireworks like this in the US!” I realized once sparks were shot off into crowds and rained down on us that safety regulations would never allow it. The whole experience was too much for words, it was so fun and unique. We tried lots of street food before rain put an early end to the party and the next few hours were a random blur of busing to Tarma, going to a discoteca, and miraculously meeting up with the whole group and our tour guides. The few hours following that consisted in a terrifyingly high-speed ride along slick roads to Guancayo in order to make it to the 7 am train on time (we made it with 10 minutes to spare).
Since we strategically stayed up all night, I slept a good portion of the train trip (through 66 tunnels and 59 bridges, for you data buffs) and now we only have a few hours left! The view right now really is incredible as we shakily pass through tall mountains, the winding river below, and the infrequent small towns with crumbling buildings. It’s interesting to see all the residents stop what they are doing to watch the train and wave at the passengers.
Later... I discovered that there is a club on the back of the train! The very last car is an open air car with a bar and as soon as we walked into the car, the director guy (we had met him on Friday at the discoteca) announced that because we were there the dancing was ready to start! Trying to dance, especially salsa, was hilarious because the train would pitch us in all sorts of crazy directions, but we did several trains on the train (ha!). Perfect way to pass the rest of the trip back to Lima!
¡Feliz Páscua! (Happy Easter!) Coli
Monday, May 18, 2009
A Good Friday in La Merced
Friday April 10, 2009 8:30 PM (approx)
Random Cabin Lodge in the Selva (Jungle)
What another loco day. We woke up at 4 am and took a bus until 10:30 to Tarma, where we got a huge van/tour guide to take us around La Merced (the forest area) for the day. Since I was in the very back of the van with the wind blowing in my ear, I had a hard time hearing our guide to know what was going on, but every stop was memorable without fail. Our first stop was a quick walk across this huge swaying bridge over a large river before piling back in the van. (AN: I’ve spent way too many hours in various forms of transportation during the past two days, whether train, bus, van, boat, taxi, tuk tuk).
Our next stop, I still can’t get over – we pulled off into this traditional village turned tourist trap and the next thing we knew we were dressed in their traditional clothes, which I can best describe as Fred Flinstone baggy outfits, and danced in a circle with children and traditional music played by a group of percussionists. I couldn’t stop laughing over the randomness of it all. We had just enough time to buy some traditional crafts and eat grilled bananas and some other fruit before we were whisked away to the van again (though we were delayed for a little bit by a mud/rock slide across the road).
Our third stop let us actually walk around and stretch a bit, albeit through very muddy pathways. As we slogged down the path and picked our way through the rocks (the van ride up the mountain had been very steep and rocky dirt path as well), we came across a great lookout of a waterfall while snacking on coconut. We climbed to another waterfall and this time we actually swam in it. I clambered over the slippery rocks and actually up into the falls themselves! It was a blast as water pounded down on me, with extreme force at times.
Final stop was for our “lunch” but since it was already 6 PM and we had yet to actually eat a real meal, I would say it was more of a “briliner.” I got mollina chincarron, a fish that was battered and served with awesome sauce, avocado, and cucumber salad, fried yucca, grilled platanos, and, of course, rice. While they cooked the food, we took a boat out on the river as the sun was setting between mountains covered with banana and avocado plants.
We had a bit of a long ride that night to where we were going to sleep (I don’t even know the town, but we ended up in middle-of-nowhere cabin lined with wooden bunk beds). That night, we went to another boliche, which was this cool mix between modern laser lights and dance floor and two-story jungle hut complete with real palm trees and vine covered walls.
Until our next adventure, Coli
Random Cabin Lodge in the Selva (Jungle)
What another loco day. We woke up at 4 am and took a bus until 10:30 to Tarma, where we got a huge van/tour guide to take us around La Merced (the forest area) for the day. Since I was in the very back of the van with the wind blowing in my ear, I had a hard time hearing our guide to know what was going on, but every stop was memorable without fail. Our first stop was a quick walk across this huge swaying bridge over a large river before piling back in the van. (AN: I’ve spent way too many hours in various forms of transportation during the past two days, whether train, bus, van, boat, taxi, tuk tuk).
Our next stop, I still can’t get over – we pulled off into this traditional village turned tourist trap and the next thing we knew we were dressed in their traditional clothes, which I can best describe as Fred Flinstone baggy outfits, and danced in a circle with children and traditional music played by a group of percussionists. I couldn’t stop laughing over the randomness of it all. We had just enough time to buy some traditional crafts and eat grilled bananas and some other fruit before we were whisked away to the van again (though we were delayed for a little bit by a mud/rock slide across the road).
Our third stop let us actually walk around and stretch a bit, albeit through very muddy pathways. As we slogged down the path and picked our way through the rocks (the van ride up the mountain had been very steep and rocky dirt path as well), we came across a great lookout of a waterfall while snacking on coconut. We climbed to another waterfall and this time we actually swam in it. I clambered over the slippery rocks and actually up into the falls themselves! It was a blast as water pounded down on me, with extreme force at times.
Final stop was for our “lunch” but since it was already 6 PM and we had yet to actually eat a real meal, I would say it was more of a “briliner.” I got mollina chincarron, a fish that was battered and served with awesome sauce, avocado, and cucumber salad, fried yucca, grilled platanos, and, of course, rice. While they cooked the food, we took a boat out on the river as the sun was setting between mountains covered with banana and avocado plants.
We had a bit of a long ride that night to where we were going to sleep (I don’t even know the town, but we ended up in middle-of-nowhere cabin lined with wooden bunk beds). That night, we went to another boliche, which was this cool mix between modern laser lights and dance floor and two-story jungle hut complete with real palm trees and vine covered walls.
Until our next adventure, Coli
Semana Santa
Thursday April 9, 2009 9:30ish
Comfort Hotel, Guancayo, Perú
Another spur of the moment trip! Lucia from ISA invited us to go with her to the sierra, or mountains, for Semana Santa (Holy Week) since Pascua (Easter) is this Sunday. Six Multisas, two semester students, and Lucia’s friend all agreed to go and next thing you know we are boarding the 7 am train from Lima to Guancayo. The railroad was in the late 1800’s, mostly by Chinese immigrants, and was (up until recently) the highest passenger rail car (still the second highest/highest in the Americas though; its highest station is over 14,000 ft above sea level). The ride was a substantial 13 hours, although it probably could have been a lot shorter if the train didn’t feel like it was moving at walking pace. It trundled up and down mountains, back and forth switchbacks, and wobbled from left to right along the track. All in all, there was a lot of movement and not a lot of speed. To pass the time, I mostly slept in awkward positions sprawled across the table four of us shared or up against the straight-backed seats. I have to say, they did do a good job with giving us stuff to do, they came around with cards and games for us and at one point we played bingo. The breakfast and lunch they served was pretty tasty too. At one stop we got out to stretch our legs and it was snowing slightly! I couldn’t believe it. The passage is famous for being really beautiful as it winds through mountain valleys, and it lived up to the reputation. Nevertheless, we were more than ready to get off the train when it arrived in Guancayo.
We got situated in our hotel and headed out to the main plaza, which was bustling with Semana Santa activities. Many people were lined up to get inside the church while others peddled either their intricate creations with palms or guagua (sounds like wawa) bread. We bought a little to try and it tasted like cinnamon sweet bread with some sprinkled jelly candies. After that, we wandered around trying more street foods, including a dish that came with carne dorado (meat with a special seasoning), boiled potatoes, and choclo (corn on the cob, but in Peru the kernels are really meaty and remind me more of potato). We also tried this delicious warm drink that reminded me of arroz con leche (dessert made with rice, kind of like a sweet pudding) and a scrumptious turkey sandwich with onion and lemon juice and spices. We then went to a restaurant with traditional dance performances and tried more anticuchos (cow heart) and cow stomach. We spent a little bit at a discoteca with some of the train workers (Lucia’s friends, she used to work on it) but turned in earlish for the next day.
La Merced (forest), here we come! Coli
Comfort Hotel, Guancayo, Perú
Another spur of the moment trip! Lucia from ISA invited us to go with her to the sierra, or mountains, for Semana Santa (Holy Week) since Pascua (Easter) is this Sunday. Six Multisas, two semester students, and Lucia’s friend all agreed to go and next thing you know we are boarding the 7 am train from Lima to Guancayo. The railroad was in the late 1800’s, mostly by Chinese immigrants, and was (up until recently) the highest passenger rail car (still the second highest/highest in the Americas though; its highest station is over 14,000 ft above sea level). The ride was a substantial 13 hours, although it probably could have been a lot shorter if the train didn’t feel like it was moving at walking pace. It trundled up and down mountains, back and forth switchbacks, and wobbled from left to right along the track. All in all, there was a lot of movement and not a lot of speed. To pass the time, I mostly slept in awkward positions sprawled across the table four of us shared or up against the straight-backed seats. I have to say, they did do a good job with giving us stuff to do, they came around with cards and games for us and at one point we played bingo. The breakfast and lunch they served was pretty tasty too. At one stop we got out to stretch our legs and it was snowing slightly! I couldn’t believe it. The passage is famous for being really beautiful as it winds through mountain valleys, and it lived up to the reputation. Nevertheless, we were more than ready to get off the train when it arrived in Guancayo.
We got situated in our hotel and headed out to the main plaza, which was bustling with Semana Santa activities. Many people were lined up to get inside the church while others peddled either their intricate creations with palms or guagua (sounds like wawa) bread. We bought a little to try and it tasted like cinnamon sweet bread with some sprinkled jelly candies. After that, we wandered around trying more street foods, including a dish that came with carne dorado (meat with a special seasoning), boiled potatoes, and choclo (corn on the cob, but in Peru the kernels are really meaty and remind me more of potato). We also tried this delicious warm drink that reminded me of arroz con leche (dessert made with rice, kind of like a sweet pudding) and a scrumptious turkey sandwich with onion and lemon juice and spices. We then went to a restaurant with traditional dance performances and tried more anticuchos (cow heart) and cow stomach. We spent a little bit at a discoteca with some of the train workers (Lucia’s friends, she used to work on it) but turned in earlish for the next day.
La Merced (forest), here we come! Coli
Cumpleaños y Clase
23:39 Tuesday 7 April 2009
My house in Lima
¡Cumpleaños Feliz! Well, Happy Birthday (they also call it a santo) to me today! Tonight was wonderful, and although I couldn’t be with my friends and family back in the US for the first time, my Multisa family made it very memorable. My host mom Austry, being the sweetheart that she is, wanted to have a birthday dinner for me, and when Maria Elena and Lucia (our ISA directors) found out it was my birthday, they convinced Austry to let all 15 of us come. We all sat together laughing and talking in the living room while chowing down on Domino’s pizza (just like my birthdays in the US!). I was really touched by the thoughtfulness of everyone, I received some gifts and then several of the boys made their grand entrance with a huge bouquet of flowers (one of everything, since they didn’t know which was my favorite). It was just nice to have everyone together and the cake was delicious, which we cut in traditional fashion- first a big circle in the center, then slices from the outside. I can’t believe that I’m no longer a teenager! Everyone teased me about how young I am compared to most on the trip but I feel old! Just kidding. Kind of.
Other noteworthy news: I started my first day of class yesterday with Art and Culture of Peru (in Spanish). I think it will be really interesting, we are doing several museum visits and covering a broad range of mediums and topics. Today I had International Trade and Negotiation Policy (in English) and it seems like it will also be interesting, especially learning from a Latin American perspective. The Universidad del Pacífico is the top school for economics and business in the country, and we can already tell that they will be a lot more demanding here. I start my Advanced Spanish class next week as well. More than one class and multiple project and papers? What is that about? Guess I’ll actually have to do studying and research and all that. I feel like I learn 24 hours a day outside the classroom, I don’t really need to be graded, do I?
On another note, today the former president of Peru, Alberto Fujimori, was convicted to a 25 year sentence in prison for murder and corruption charges. This court decision is monumental, because it is one of the first times a Latin American leader is being held accountable for his corrupt actions. While some applaud the justice of the decision, others, who are grateful to Fujimori for improving the economy and wiping out the Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) guerillas in the 1990s, feel he doesn’t deserve it. One host mom actually cried when she found out, and there is now growing support for his daughter’s campaign for presidency since she has vowed to pardon him if elected. All in all, it’s a very complicated issue, you really should google some info about the Sendero Luminoso movement and how devastating it was to Peruvian society (along the same lines as the Dirty War in Argentina).
Well, for a birthday present to myself, tomorrow I’m off to the beach in the morning for a surfing lesson before classes! Coli
My house in Lima
¡Cumpleaños Feliz! Well, Happy Birthday (they also call it a santo) to me today! Tonight was wonderful, and although I couldn’t be with my friends and family back in the US for the first time, my Multisa family made it very memorable. My host mom Austry, being the sweetheart that she is, wanted to have a birthday dinner for me, and when Maria Elena and Lucia (our ISA directors) found out it was my birthday, they convinced Austry to let all 15 of us come. We all sat together laughing and talking in the living room while chowing down on Domino’s pizza (just like my birthdays in the US!). I was really touched by the thoughtfulness of everyone, I received some gifts and then several of the boys made their grand entrance with a huge bouquet of flowers (one of everything, since they didn’t know which was my favorite). It was just nice to have everyone together and the cake was delicious, which we cut in traditional fashion- first a big circle in the center, then slices from the outside. I can’t believe that I’m no longer a teenager! Everyone teased me about how young I am compared to most on the trip but I feel old! Just kidding. Kind of.
Other noteworthy news: I started my first day of class yesterday with Art and Culture of Peru (in Spanish). I think it will be really interesting, we are doing several museum visits and covering a broad range of mediums and topics. Today I had International Trade and Negotiation Policy (in English) and it seems like it will also be interesting, especially learning from a Latin American perspective. The Universidad del Pacífico is the top school for economics and business in the country, and we can already tell that they will be a lot more demanding here. I start my Advanced Spanish class next week as well. More than one class and multiple project and papers? What is that about? Guess I’ll actually have to do studying and research and all that. I feel like I learn 24 hours a day outside the classroom, I don’t really need to be graded, do I?
On another note, today the former president of Peru, Alberto Fujimori, was convicted to a 25 year sentence in prison for murder and corruption charges. This court decision is monumental, because it is one of the first times a Latin American leader is being held accountable for his corrupt actions. While some applaud the justice of the decision, others, who are grateful to Fujimori for improving the economy and wiping out the Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) guerillas in the 1990s, feel he doesn’t deserve it. One host mom actually cried when she found out, and there is now growing support for his daughter’s campaign for presidency since she has vowed to pardon him if elected. All in all, it’s a very complicated issue, you really should google some info about the Sendero Luminoso movement and how devastating it was to Peruvian society (along the same lines as the Dirty War in Argentina).
Well, for a birthday present to myself, tomorrow I’m off to the beach in the morning for a surfing lesson before classes! Coli
From the Old Capital to the New Capital
Sunday, April 5, 2009
My house in Lima
Saturday (in Cusco)
In the morning we took a group tour of the Catedral on the Plaza de Armas. It is one of the richest churches in South America, and with its intricate carvings and paintings, abundant gold-leaf, and an alter with several hundred pounds of silver on it, I can see why. Many of the painting adorning the walls of the cathedral were painted by indigenous people, and it was interesting seeing the local influences in the artwork; for instance, a Last Supper painting featured local fruit and cuy del horno (guinea pig dish) as the main dishes and Judas was actually painted in the likeness of Francisco Pizarro (the Spanish conquistador who defeated the Incans) holding a bag of gold.
We took another tour with Edi at the Iglesia de San Domingo. It was formerly the Incan Temple of the Sun because the walls were completely plated with gold. Surprisingly, a lot of the original Incan structure was kept intact within the church and it gave great insight into the religious life of the Incan culture. I was once again impressed by the Incan architecture as we examined their piping system – they could carved pipes in the middle of the stonework, including perfectly curved elbows that was smaller at one end to pressurize the water.
Before the flight back to Lima, I sat in the Plaza de los Hijos, which was frequented by many locals, before exploring a nearby local marketplace stocked with every sort of raw food, lunch stall, and souvenir stand. I was overwhelmed with smells (some better than others), sights, and sounds, as I witnessed women chopping up raw meats (even a whole pig’s head that seemed to lazily look back at me with its lolling tongue hanging out) and measuring grains. Others were preparing huge portions of food for locals crowded around their counters for lunch. Life is at such a different pace here, it’s hard to find any sort of clock or person wearing a watch (which almost made me late for our bus to the airport).
Later that night back in Lima, Lucia (she works for ISA but is my age) invited us to go to the VIP section of a discoteca to celebrate her brother’s birthday. It was a blast, with a great mix of music, balloons being throwing everywhere, and a large dancing cuy (?!?).
Sunday
At night, we met at Parque Kennedy in Miraflores. It’s a popular place for people to meet up and has a beautiful church in front of a huge park. Since today was Palm Sunday, there were a lot of people selling intricate creations out of palm leaves. From the park, we left for a city tour on a Mirabus Double Decker sight-seeing bus, driving throughout Miraflores (past Larco Mar and the Parque del Amor), San Isidrio (where I live), and el Centro (city center, where the main government buildings and historic churches are). We stopped at the Magic Fountains, which was this huge park filled with different high-tech water fountains, it was absolutely gorgeous. We also stopped at the historic and grand Hotel Bolívar in one of the main plazas in the city center for some refreshments. I saw so many stunningly gorgeous buildings and places tonight, Lima definitely deserves a better reputation for all its beauty in my opinion.
Looking forward to the next two months in this city! Coli
My house in Lima
Saturday (in Cusco)
In the morning we took a group tour of the Catedral on the Plaza de Armas. It is one of the richest churches in South America, and with its intricate carvings and paintings, abundant gold-leaf, and an alter with several hundred pounds of silver on it, I can see why. Many of the painting adorning the walls of the cathedral were painted by indigenous people, and it was interesting seeing the local influences in the artwork; for instance, a Last Supper painting featured local fruit and cuy del horno (guinea pig dish) as the main dishes and Judas was actually painted in the likeness of Francisco Pizarro (the Spanish conquistador who defeated the Incans) holding a bag of gold.
We took another tour with Edi at the Iglesia de San Domingo. It was formerly the Incan Temple of the Sun because the walls were completely plated with gold. Surprisingly, a lot of the original Incan structure was kept intact within the church and it gave great insight into the religious life of the Incan culture. I was once again impressed by the Incan architecture as we examined their piping system – they could carved pipes in the middle of the stonework, including perfectly curved elbows that was smaller at one end to pressurize the water.
Before the flight back to Lima, I sat in the Plaza de los Hijos, which was frequented by many locals, before exploring a nearby local marketplace stocked with every sort of raw food, lunch stall, and souvenir stand. I was overwhelmed with smells (some better than others), sights, and sounds, as I witnessed women chopping up raw meats (even a whole pig’s head that seemed to lazily look back at me with its lolling tongue hanging out) and measuring grains. Others were preparing huge portions of food for locals crowded around their counters for lunch. Life is at such a different pace here, it’s hard to find any sort of clock or person wearing a watch (which almost made me late for our bus to the airport).
Later that night back in Lima, Lucia (she works for ISA but is my age) invited us to go to the VIP section of a discoteca to celebrate her brother’s birthday. It was a blast, with a great mix of music, balloons being throwing everywhere, and a large dancing cuy (?!?).
Sunday
At night, we met at Parque Kennedy in Miraflores. It’s a popular place for people to meet up and has a beautiful church in front of a huge park. Since today was Palm Sunday, there were a lot of people selling intricate creations out of palm leaves. From the park, we left for a city tour on a Mirabus Double Decker sight-seeing bus, driving throughout Miraflores (past Larco Mar and the Parque del Amor), San Isidrio (where I live), and el Centro (city center, where the main government buildings and historic churches are). We stopped at the Magic Fountains, which was this huge park filled with different high-tech water fountains, it was absolutely gorgeous. We also stopped at the historic and grand Hotel Bolívar in one of the main plazas in the city center for some refreshments. I saw so many stunningly gorgeous buildings and places tonight, Lima definitely deserves a better reputation for all its beauty in my opinion.
Looking forward to the next two months in this city! Coli
The Bellybutton of the World
(AN: As mentioned in a previous post, Cusco translates to bellybutton of the world)
Friday April 3, 2009
Hotel in Cusco
Kara and I walked around the Plaza de Armas to visit both La Catedral de Cusco and La Compañia de Jesús (the two main churches), followed by the Museo de Arte Popular. We joined Hannah and Lindsey at the Museo del Templo del Qoricancha, which had a lot of information and artifacts about pre-Columbian cultures. There were even several well-preserved mummies displayed in their permanent fetal position thanks to their burial in large jars. They were usually wrapped like a cocoon in large blankets before being placed in these Andean versions of coffins - the more blankets, the richer they were. There were also several skulls that were purposely deformed; when the babies were young, they would place a wooden board on the skull to elongate and flatten it (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull anyone? It has both the skulls and Iguazú falls in it!).
After trying several new exotic fruits that I had never seen before, we wandered aimlessly through the streets of the San Blas area with its picturesque buildings – many of the walls were made from straw and mud – and sloped stone streets. We then stumbled across a restaurant that gave the term “hole in the wall” a whole new meaning (it really was through a small crumbling doorway and had a stapled tarp for a roof). It was full of locals so we took their lead and ordered the menú for S/3.50 (little over US$1): sopa de Quinua (popular Andean soup) and revuelto de patitas (rice and potatoes with an amazing sauce). We also ordered lomo de alpaca and everything was delicious and filling. Speaking of food, our digestive systems have been making some transitions to the food here – nothing too drastic, but definitely noticeable.
We then met with the rest of the group and saw the famous 12 angle rock that is part of a building formerly owned by a powerful Incan family (actually, it might have dated back to the Wari culture, who were in Cusco since the 5th century AD). The original shape of Cusco was shaped like a puma, so this building was considered the stomach (middle of the city). The green tinged rocks of the building were placed in a formation like a flower, another way to prevent destruction from earthquakes.
After it hailed on us again, we then took a trolley tour throughout the city and wound our way up to a large statue of Jesus on a mountain overlooking the city. At night, Kara and I went to see a traditional Andean dance performance at the cultural center, after which we tried skewers of anticuchos (cow hearts) from a street vendor. A group of us went out later to the artsy Mama Africa, a discoteca (what they call clubs here) that had a balcony that looked out over the Plaza de Armas. Standing out on the large balcony with intricate woodwork dating from centuries back, it was an almost surreal contrast between the modern music and club scene behind me and the historic buildings lit by lamplight in front of me.
Last day in Cusco tomorrow!
Coli
Friday April 3, 2009
Hotel in Cusco
Kara and I walked around the Plaza de Armas to visit both La Catedral de Cusco and La Compañia de Jesús (the two main churches), followed by the Museo de Arte Popular. We joined Hannah and Lindsey at the Museo del Templo del Qoricancha, which had a lot of information and artifacts about pre-Columbian cultures. There were even several well-preserved mummies displayed in their permanent fetal position thanks to their burial in large jars. They were usually wrapped like a cocoon in large blankets before being placed in these Andean versions of coffins - the more blankets, the richer they were. There were also several skulls that were purposely deformed; when the babies were young, they would place a wooden board on the skull to elongate and flatten it (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull anyone? It has both the skulls and Iguazú falls in it!).
After trying several new exotic fruits that I had never seen before, we wandered aimlessly through the streets of the San Blas area with its picturesque buildings – many of the walls were made from straw and mud – and sloped stone streets. We then stumbled across a restaurant that gave the term “hole in the wall” a whole new meaning (it really was through a small crumbling doorway and had a stapled tarp for a roof). It was full of locals so we took their lead and ordered the menú for S/3.50 (little over US$1): sopa de Quinua (popular Andean soup) and revuelto de patitas (rice and potatoes with an amazing sauce). We also ordered lomo de alpaca and everything was delicious and filling. Speaking of food, our digestive systems have been making some transitions to the food here – nothing too drastic, but definitely noticeable.
We then met with the rest of the group and saw the famous 12 angle rock that is part of a building formerly owned by a powerful Incan family (actually, it might have dated back to the Wari culture, who were in Cusco since the 5th century AD). The original shape of Cusco was shaped like a puma, so this building was considered the stomach (middle of the city). The green tinged rocks of the building were placed in a formation like a flower, another way to prevent destruction from earthquakes.
After it hailed on us again, we then took a trolley tour throughout the city and wound our way up to a large statue of Jesus on a mountain overlooking the city. At night, Kara and I went to see a traditional Andean dance performance at the cultural center, after which we tried skewers of anticuchos (cow hearts) from a street vendor. A group of us went out later to the artsy Mama Africa, a discoteca (what they call clubs here) that had a balcony that looked out over the Plaza de Armas. Standing out on the large balcony with intricate woodwork dating from centuries back, it was an almost surreal contrast between the modern music and club scene behind me and the historic buildings lit by lamplight in front of me.
Last day in Cusco tomorrow!
Coli
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