Well, this is just beyond the ends of the earth of negligence....it has been.......well, it has been A WHILE.....to say the least. Let me give you a quick break down, so we dont get too crazy confused here.
1. After Puno, Ayla and I headed to Cusco for language school at San Blas (not as nice as the pictures show online, due to some major reconstruction efforts....and an excessive amount of Dutch invasion)........But great, nonetheless......i had a fabulous host family with an Abuela and an Abuelo that would just make you go awwwwwww!!!!! if you had the pleasure......Started picking up some spanish (for reals) and made some headway in understanding some of the subtleties of the Peruvian culture (like there are 7 women for every man....and my Abuela thought it would be a grand idea to share her husband with some of these extras) and my neurotic professor..........
2. In the weekend between the two weeks at school we visited the ALMIGHTY MACHU PICCHU.....it WAS as fabulous as everyone says....but the mountains and the hiking around it were more to my liking than the actual structures which inspire much awe in people (or people THINK should inspire so much awe in them).......on the way we stopped in Ollantaytambo, a small village in the Sacred Valley, had a great time....walked out on the highway a bit, ran into some cows and chickens........Then in Aguas Calientes, soaked our feet in some hot springs while Carlos, the bartender brought us some Pina Coladas (which ended up being FREE Pina Coladas....come on guys, this guy is making so much money....we didnt feel too bad leaving when we couldnt find the guy in his Cabana).....
3.....well right now im in Cordoba, Argentina with my friend Ilie, who says its time to go catch the bus to Mendoza......wine country, here i come! But soooooooooooooon, i will add a better #3, and many more.
Hope all is well!
A Broad Abroad.......abroad from her blog.......
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Thursday, February 19, 2009
David.....and other amusements.....
Alright, so David.
David was a street comedian, well placed on the way back to our hostel from yet another......you guessed it.....Plaza De Armas. There was a large group of people gathered around a large open area, and I figured it might be worth seeing, considering it was evident that the area wasnt filled with the spray-painting artists who usually draw these types of crowds......Also, I quickly saw a short Peruvian man dressed in a (cute?) little black dress and stockings......the high heels came later. As quickly as i spotted him, he spotted Ayla´s and my white little faces amongst the crowd. Immediately we were the absolute center of attention. He asked us what country we were from and marveled in the fact we were real live Americanas (Norte). Then promptly made us reveal to half of Puno what our names were.......i half expected to be called by name by the street vendors the next morning, but i suppose they were busy vending, and not watching the other street players.
This spectacle continued for about 15 minutes, and included 6 besos (kisses); three each. One on the left cheek, one on the right.....and a big ol´suprise at the end-one on the lips! My first Peruvian kiss-couldnt have asked for a better back story! Luckily, a couple (also white-er) from France and Paraguay came and unwillingly stole the show from us-David (who has been constangly talking and making everyone buckle over in laughter this entire time), asked the man (the boyfriend) to dance. Here is when his beige strappy heels came into play. Oh! But first-David tried the whole 3 besos thing with the girlfriend...she politely refused the 3rd suprise by a turn of the cheek-David acted completely and utterly offended-she explained that those were only for her fellow traveling companion. David´s solution-BOTH girlfriend AND boyfriend got the full 3! Which, naturally, leads back to the beige strappy heels.......David, prancing around, attempting to garner as many tips from the crowd as possible before actually having to dance with a man (although he didnt seem much to mind the prospect), shook his hip a little too enthusiastically to the side, in an apparent attempt to prove a point, and slipped on his little heels and fell-announcing to the entire crowd (this time), that he was wearing carefully matching beige panties! Needless to say, this was immensely hilarious-especially taking into account that gender roles in Peru consistently stray as far away from any Liberache or Las Vegas spectacle as possible. Deciding that it probably couldnt get much better than that-and remembering we had an early bus to catch to our next home, Cusco,-we took advantage of the relief our fellow blanco travelers had provided us, and slipped away from the crowd, only to hear David yelling after us, Ayla y Ruby, you are leaving me!?! Si, we responded, and bid our farewells with big ol´Texan smiles on our faces-Just for the foreigner-loving Mr. David the ever-amusing Cross-Dresser of Puno.
The next morning, we headed off to Cusco, with front seats in the bus and a very friendly older Brittish gentleman (aren´t they all gentlemen in England?), who proceded to tell us of his adventures around the world-which sounded absolutely out of this world-and then revealed to us that he has a wife who works.....and apparently doesnt mind him putzing off to lands far far away, spending her money. But who knows......we didnt get too far into that. Perhaps he was a Duke of the British Royalty and just needed some sort of cover story......he could have been a Duke. He certainly had the charming people skills of one who attended one of the finest finishing schools....
Well, amigos (a title very commonly and warmly used around these parts-a little gem which i have fallen in love with) , i must sign off. I still need to pack for my trip tomorrow to Tacna, a Peruvian-Chilean boarder town. So, alas, I will have to write about my stay in Cusco after i have already departed this great little, bustling city. But-first a little sneak preview to what i have been doing here: My housemate, Wim Pieter Westerkamp (can you think of a more Dutch name?....and yes, he ALWAYS goes by Wim Pieter, not Wim, not Pieter, Wim Pieter.......but allows for my little 2.5 year old host brother to call him Wim Pieter Pan.....most adorable thing to hear in a Peruvian accent, I am absolutely convinced....but i digress......)....okay, Wim Pieter Pan is a great house mate and we walk to and from school together each day, or take a taxi if its pouring, as it often does in Cusco around this time of year. Along with Wim Pieter Pan, my host mother (more like grandmother), Wilma, is absolutely fabulous, quick-to-laugh and incessantly patient with my learning the pronunciation of the double ¨l¨ Her husband, whose name I will most likely never catch, is also extraordinarly helpful and loveable-especially when he asks what the meaning of a word his old North American boss used to yell constantly: Sonofabitch. You try explaining to a man 3 times your age, in broken (more like shattered) spanish, what exactly, a sonofabitch is........adventures abound.
Until next time,
Muchas besos...........well, maybe we´ll stick with 2...... ;)
R
David was a street comedian, well placed on the way back to our hostel from yet another......you guessed it.....Plaza De Armas. There was a large group of people gathered around a large open area, and I figured it might be worth seeing, considering it was evident that the area wasnt filled with the spray-painting artists who usually draw these types of crowds......Also, I quickly saw a short Peruvian man dressed in a (cute?) little black dress and stockings......the high heels came later. As quickly as i spotted him, he spotted Ayla´s and my white little faces amongst the crowd. Immediately we were the absolute center of attention. He asked us what country we were from and marveled in the fact we were real live Americanas (Norte). Then promptly made us reveal to half of Puno what our names were.......i half expected to be called by name by the street vendors the next morning, but i suppose they were busy vending, and not watching the other street players.
This spectacle continued for about 15 minutes, and included 6 besos (kisses); three each. One on the left cheek, one on the right.....and a big ol´suprise at the end-one on the lips! My first Peruvian kiss-couldnt have asked for a better back story! Luckily, a couple (also white-er) from France and Paraguay came and unwillingly stole the show from us-David (who has been constangly talking and making everyone buckle over in laughter this entire time), asked the man (the boyfriend) to dance. Here is when his beige strappy heels came into play. Oh! But first-David tried the whole 3 besos thing with the girlfriend...she politely refused the 3rd suprise by a turn of the cheek-David acted completely and utterly offended-she explained that those were only for her fellow traveling companion. David´s solution-BOTH girlfriend AND boyfriend got the full 3! Which, naturally, leads back to the beige strappy heels.......David, prancing around, attempting to garner as many tips from the crowd as possible before actually having to dance with a man (although he didnt seem much to mind the prospect), shook his hip a little too enthusiastically to the side, in an apparent attempt to prove a point, and slipped on his little heels and fell-announcing to the entire crowd (this time), that he was wearing carefully matching beige panties! Needless to say, this was immensely hilarious-especially taking into account that gender roles in Peru consistently stray as far away from any Liberache or Las Vegas spectacle as possible. Deciding that it probably couldnt get much better than that-and remembering we had an early bus to catch to our next home, Cusco,-we took advantage of the relief our fellow blanco travelers had provided us, and slipped away from the crowd, only to hear David yelling after us, Ayla y Ruby, you are leaving me!?! Si, we responded, and bid our farewells with big ol´Texan smiles on our faces-Just for the foreigner-loving Mr. David the ever-amusing Cross-Dresser of Puno.
The next morning, we headed off to Cusco, with front seats in the bus and a very friendly older Brittish gentleman (aren´t they all gentlemen in England?), who proceded to tell us of his adventures around the world-which sounded absolutely out of this world-and then revealed to us that he has a wife who works.....and apparently doesnt mind him putzing off to lands far far away, spending her money. But who knows......we didnt get too far into that. Perhaps he was a Duke of the British Royalty and just needed some sort of cover story......he could have been a Duke. He certainly had the charming people skills of one who attended one of the finest finishing schools....
Well, amigos (a title very commonly and warmly used around these parts-a little gem which i have fallen in love with) , i must sign off. I still need to pack for my trip tomorrow to Tacna, a Peruvian-Chilean boarder town. So, alas, I will have to write about my stay in Cusco after i have already departed this great little, bustling city. But-first a little sneak preview to what i have been doing here: My housemate, Wim Pieter Westerkamp (can you think of a more Dutch name?....and yes, he ALWAYS goes by Wim Pieter, not Wim, not Pieter, Wim Pieter.......but allows for my little 2.5 year old host brother to call him Wim Pieter Pan.....most adorable thing to hear in a Peruvian accent, I am absolutely convinced....but i digress......)....okay, Wim Pieter Pan is a great house mate and we walk to and from school together each day, or take a taxi if its pouring, as it often does in Cusco around this time of year. Along with Wim Pieter Pan, my host mother (more like grandmother), Wilma, is absolutely fabulous, quick-to-laugh and incessantly patient with my learning the pronunciation of the double ¨l¨ Her husband, whose name I will most likely never catch, is also extraordinarly helpful and loveable-especially when he asks what the meaning of a word his old North American boss used to yell constantly: Sonofabitch. You try explaining to a man 3 times your age, in broken (more like shattered) spanish, what exactly, a sonofabitch is........adventures abound.
Until next time,
Muchas besos...........well, maybe we´ll stick with 2...... ;)
R
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
....Long time, no blog....
Alrighty. Lets get some reminiscing started.....as it is reminiscing for me due to the fact I did the following about 2 weeks ago.....so no more wasting time! On with it!
After Arequipa, the El Ciudad Blanco, we took yet another bus ride up a bit north to Puno, the major Peruvian town on the shores of Lake Titikaka. It was, and continues to be my favorite place we have visited. It is a smaller town nestled in a bowl which overlooks the crystalline blue waters of the highest navigable lake in the world. Even though there was a festival for the Virgin De Candelaria....or something like that....there are a lot of parties for virgins around here......we quickly found a room in the hostal La Florida. After taking a bike-taxi-cart-thingy up the hill from the bus station-amazing what a man on a bike can do with 2 grown women and their gigantic backpacks! I felt like I should have eaten a little less ´arroz y pollo´ when I looked back and saw him sweating and panting under our Western baggage and booties!
The first day we mostly just walked around....a lot. First sun burn of the trip!.....at 12,500 ft above sea level, it is an easy feat for a boarderline transparent Alaskan to accomplish. We found one of the many tour agencies and promptly booked a boat ride and visits to 2 of the islands on Lake Titikaka. 30 Soles......9 dollars, plus a $1.50 tip, got us an entire day out on the lake and an absolutely scruptious traditional meal on Tequile Island of a local white fish, papas fritas and a finishing touch of coca tea.....for the altitude, of course.
During the wanderings of our first day, we came across the local market, which went on and on and on.....including everything you can imagine: from carrots to lamb heads (ayla wasnt too keen on hanging around these types of things....as i stared on in amazement of the complete lack of refrigeration, which i would later learn to be completely the norm)...to skirts and shoes and potatos, oh my! It was quite a beautiful, boisterous sight. Naturally, we got stared at.......not like a ´why are you here, this is our place´stare.......more like a ´dear god those women need to put on some sunscreen and a gigantic sombrero!´kind of stare. Two local women actually stopped us and told us we were going to burn if we didnt do something about it.....little did we know.....
That night we also found the most wonderful street close to our hostel, with earrings (feeding our bangles obsession....one sole per pair, who wouldnt?!) and pastry stands mixed in with meats-on-a stick (dont ask what kind) topped off with a tasty potato on the end. I dont think vegetables exist on shishkebabs (spelling?) here.....or much of any greenery for that matter. We took in dinner at a great little local place ´lomo´something....salado maybe. Beef stirfry for all intents and purposes. And we decided to get a good night´s sleep for our 6am pick up for our Lake Titikaka adventure!
Even with half-opened eyes and seats in the back, our boat ride to the Uros Islands, or Floating Islands, was very beautiful. Our boat took a path through the lake´s reeds and stopped at a floating check point to pay the tax into the land (water?) of the floating islands. We stopped at the first island and got out onto the soft bed of totora reeds of which the islands are made of. The islanders keep replinishing these reeds as the bottom layers disintigrate into the lake......i like to think of this manner of living as an integrated part of the ecosystem, constantly replenishing the lake with nutrients while taking more to replace what has been given back. We sat in front of our guide and a large, intricately painted map of Lake Titikaka framed by an Uros woman weaving in traditional garb, and on the other side, the cutest little girl i have ever seen dressed in the most brilliantly colored skirt, shirt, vest and hat I have ever seen outside of the pages of national geographic. The presentation began with the little girl singing in Aymara, their conqueror´s language (the Ayamaras), then in English.....the language of the tourist conquistadors.....which made me feel a little strange.....most everyone else seemed to enjoy it-how can you deny the cuteness of a four year old girl singing Mary Had a Little Lamb.....but i still felt a bit wary of the situation....as if taking a tour boat to their home wasnt unnatural enough, listening to a little girl perform in a foreign language to her while the other neoprene/khaki zip-offs/¨Machu Picchu¨-clad tourists snapped photo after photo......needless to say it was a bit apart from any other human-human interaction I have experienced.
Despite this curious situation, I enjoyed the scenery and learning about a group of people I had barely even thought to have existed. One woman showed Ayla and I her house, where she and 5 of her children stayed.....it was approximately the size of my room now in Cusco, maybe a bit smaller.....but looked very cozy, just the same, with tapestries hanging woven by her and presumably others in the community, and even had a little solar-powered television in the corner-an absolutely amazing sight in such a drastically different environment. I wonder if she likes Tina Fe´s impersonation of Sarah Palin as much as I do......
Following the Uros Islands, who´s description can only be given justice in pictures (which i can share with you if you send me your email), we reboarded the boat for a 2 hour ride to the Island of Tequile. Upon climbing up a long, winding cobble stone ramp along the side of the island, we encountered two little boys who bombarded Ayla as I was taking a picture of her......they stuck around to be in a photo with me, and then told us their photos cost one sole........Ayla conceded, and then we promptly got told by some fellow tourists (from Holland........all tourists are from Holland here....) that it was not the correct thing to do-that our tour guide had told us that if we pay them, they will become lazy and not want to go to school, remaining at the beck and call of tourists for the rest of their lives. I wasnt sure how to internalize this, and still am uncertain of how to digest this peculiar cultural interaction and the opinions associated, but, if only for the sake of our fellow tourists and our desire for avoiding ´animal in the cage´emotions attached to these people who were kind enough to allow us on their island, we avoided one sole pictures after that.
After Arequipa, the El Ciudad Blanco, we took yet another bus ride up a bit north to Puno, the major Peruvian town on the shores of Lake Titikaka. It was, and continues to be my favorite place we have visited. It is a smaller town nestled in a bowl which overlooks the crystalline blue waters of the highest navigable lake in the world. Even though there was a festival for the Virgin De Candelaria....or something like that....there are a lot of parties for virgins around here......we quickly found a room in the hostal La Florida. After taking a bike-taxi-cart-thingy up the hill from the bus station-amazing what a man on a bike can do with 2 grown women and their gigantic backpacks! I felt like I should have eaten a little less ´arroz y pollo´ when I looked back and saw him sweating and panting under our Western baggage and booties!
The first day we mostly just walked around....a lot. First sun burn of the trip!.....at 12,500 ft above sea level, it is an easy feat for a boarderline transparent Alaskan to accomplish. We found one of the many tour agencies and promptly booked a boat ride and visits to 2 of the islands on Lake Titikaka. 30 Soles......9 dollars, plus a $1.50 tip, got us an entire day out on the lake and an absolutely scruptious traditional meal on Tequile Island of a local white fish, papas fritas and a finishing touch of coca tea.....for the altitude, of course.
During the wanderings of our first day, we came across the local market, which went on and on and on.....including everything you can imagine: from carrots to lamb heads (ayla wasnt too keen on hanging around these types of things....as i stared on in amazement of the complete lack of refrigeration, which i would later learn to be completely the norm)...to skirts and shoes and potatos, oh my! It was quite a beautiful, boisterous sight. Naturally, we got stared at.......not like a ´why are you here, this is our place´stare.......more like a ´dear god those women need to put on some sunscreen and a gigantic sombrero!´kind of stare. Two local women actually stopped us and told us we were going to burn if we didnt do something about it.....little did we know.....
That night we also found the most wonderful street close to our hostel, with earrings (feeding our bangles obsession....one sole per pair, who wouldnt?!) and pastry stands mixed in with meats-on-a stick (dont ask what kind) topped off with a tasty potato on the end. I dont think vegetables exist on shishkebabs (spelling?) here.....or much of any greenery for that matter. We took in dinner at a great little local place ´lomo´something....salado maybe. Beef stirfry for all intents and purposes. And we decided to get a good night´s sleep for our 6am pick up for our Lake Titikaka adventure!
Even with half-opened eyes and seats in the back, our boat ride to the Uros Islands, or Floating Islands, was very beautiful. Our boat took a path through the lake´s reeds and stopped at a floating check point to pay the tax into the land (water?) of the floating islands. We stopped at the first island and got out onto the soft bed of totora reeds of which the islands are made of. The islanders keep replinishing these reeds as the bottom layers disintigrate into the lake......i like to think of this manner of living as an integrated part of the ecosystem, constantly replenishing the lake with nutrients while taking more to replace what has been given back. We sat in front of our guide and a large, intricately painted map of Lake Titikaka framed by an Uros woman weaving in traditional garb, and on the other side, the cutest little girl i have ever seen dressed in the most brilliantly colored skirt, shirt, vest and hat I have ever seen outside of the pages of national geographic. The presentation began with the little girl singing in Aymara, their conqueror´s language (the Ayamaras), then in English.....the language of the tourist conquistadors.....which made me feel a little strange.....most everyone else seemed to enjoy it-how can you deny the cuteness of a four year old girl singing Mary Had a Little Lamb.....but i still felt a bit wary of the situation....as if taking a tour boat to their home wasnt unnatural enough, listening to a little girl perform in a foreign language to her while the other neoprene/khaki zip-offs/¨Machu Picchu¨-clad tourists snapped photo after photo......needless to say it was a bit apart from any other human-human interaction I have experienced.
Despite this curious situation, I enjoyed the scenery and learning about a group of people I had barely even thought to have existed. One woman showed Ayla and I her house, where she and 5 of her children stayed.....it was approximately the size of my room now in Cusco, maybe a bit smaller.....but looked very cozy, just the same, with tapestries hanging woven by her and presumably others in the community, and even had a little solar-powered television in the corner-an absolutely amazing sight in such a drastically different environment. I wonder if she likes Tina Fe´s impersonation of Sarah Palin as much as I do......
Following the Uros Islands, who´s description can only be given justice in pictures (which i can share with you if you send me your email), we reboarded the boat for a 2 hour ride to the Island of Tequile. Upon climbing up a long, winding cobble stone ramp along the side of the island, we encountered two little boys who bombarded Ayla as I was taking a picture of her......they stuck around to be in a photo with me, and then told us their photos cost one sole........Ayla conceded, and then we promptly got told by some fellow tourists (from Holland........all tourists are from Holland here....) that it was not the correct thing to do-that our tour guide had told us that if we pay them, they will become lazy and not want to go to school, remaining at the beck and call of tourists for the rest of their lives. I wasnt sure how to internalize this, and still am uncertain of how to digest this peculiar cultural interaction and the opinions associated, but, if only for the sake of our fellow tourists and our desire for avoiding ´animal in the cage´emotions attached to these people who were kind enough to allow us on their island, we avoided one sole pictures after that.
Tequile was absolutely gorgeous, with a main square, agricultural terracing, which I find to be emmensely, yet very simply beautiful in its precision and utility, and many sheep and other amusing domestics. Housing was simple and it seemed to be a very peaceful place to live-staying away from the major tourist arenas, of course. I saw my first black sheep which was hilarious at the time-now i realize they are quite common, and am now a bit confused by our idiomatic expression......
On our way back from Tequile (also....photos available.... :) we had a wonderful chat with two couples from Holland and France about our travels and respective home countries, and got even more color on the top of the boat as we traveled towards Puno.
I must sign off now....but stay tuned for stories of David, the cross-dressing street comedian with a thing for foreign ladies...and men.....and more about the language school i am currently attending in Cusco....and oh yeah, the journey to Machu Picchu!
Enviar con muchas amor,
R
Monday, February 9, 2009
¿Que?
Let´s see....the last time I left off I believe I was in Arequipa, or the ¨White City¨ (named for its many buildings made out of the volcanic rock of the surrounding volcanoes, including El Misti which looms over the town like an empress.....which is pretty much what the Incas thought of her, which led to one of our most exciting adventures in the city. If i remember correctly from the thick-accented student guide who bore with my strange questions regarding agriculture, etc, apparently the Incas were very afraid of these volcanoes and offered child sacrifices as a plea for mercy. British and Peruvian archaeologists and their aides have found 14 child sacrifices on these mountains, the most famous of which, The Ice Maiden, they found literally laying on top of the snow at some rediculous height......2-3,000 meters or so. She is called as such due to the fact that she (along with the others) were completely frozen within their burial sites, and are thus extremely coveted in the field because of the amount of original tissue that remains, and the impressive condition of their clothing and other associated articles of their sacrifice.
One of the other child sacrifices was on display in a frozen chamber, and it was wee bit spooky when i realized i was staring at a 13 year old girl who, from the back, still looked as alive as alive could be (because her hair and clothing was so well preserved), was actually over 500 years old. I wondered how i would feel if indeed there was an afterlife, and i was staring at my earthly body which was sacrificed by my ancestors for the continuation of my society, and i saw 2 American girls in jeans and flip-flops carrying rediculously touristy backpacks around listening to another woman who looked a little bit more like me, but was speaking in some strange language, explaining to these Gringos, who were blatently staring at me, who i was and what i was about...............for the little lady who knowingly gave her life for her civilization, i secretly hoped that indeed there was no afterlife, and that she was simply an Incan child sacrifice found on a mountain and brought down for flip-flopped tourists to gawk at.
A more lively experience was found at the local monastery, which i have mentioned previously....you know the one with the rich lady who rounded up all the rich family´s daughters and started a monestary, which sounded more like a big party with a bit of religion mixed in til the mean old Dominican nun came along and ruined all the fun?....thats the one. Well, despite the Dominican meany, it was still bundles of fun! Ayla and i toured around the place by ourselves for just under 3 hours, discovering new little nooks and crannies and attempting to weave a story about how the lives of these nuns were carried on (after the party ended), in this 20,000 square foot complex with 6 streets of its own and only a few receiving windows from which outside food, and occasionally visitors, could be met. The ovens, which you can see in a few of my pictures in my costco account.....(note: I dont think ill be able to upload photos on this blog, so anyone for costco?)....okay, so the ovens were one of my favorite parts, they, including many other ammenities (beds, benches, table tops, counters, etc) were built into the stone walls of which served as the main structure of the monestary. One was so large, it was taller than Ayla! (who is about 5´8´´) These often also had holes in the top of them where a pot could rest and be heated by the fire underneath......the only thing different from ovens today was no metal and no gas! Interestingly enough, when we visited the floating islands (Uros) on Lake Titikaka, they had very similar looking ovens, which were still very much in use. Pretty amazing to see the movement of technologies such as that, or perhaps the separate genesis of the same brilliant idea in towns separated by many miles and mountains. Many of the pictures you can see on my account are from this monestary, and you can see its beauty and charming peculiarity for yourself-one other thing i would like to mention though......my other favorite part-the baths, at least we were certain they were baths......they looked like gigantic bowls carved out of rock with an orangish tint, and they were all so nicely lined up in 2 rows flanking a common waterway (reminiscent of roman aquaducts, except WAY smaller) it was hard not to think of them as a little piece of architecture or artwork that any artisan these days would have loved to feast their eyes upon.
Okay, well more to come, especially about the wonders of Lake Titikaka....and the fellow tourists we found on it......but i must go pick up my laundry from a Lavanderia!
Hope all is well on the other side of the equator!
R
One of the other child sacrifices was on display in a frozen chamber, and it was wee bit spooky when i realized i was staring at a 13 year old girl who, from the back, still looked as alive as alive could be (because her hair and clothing was so well preserved), was actually over 500 years old. I wondered how i would feel if indeed there was an afterlife, and i was staring at my earthly body which was sacrificed by my ancestors for the continuation of my society, and i saw 2 American girls in jeans and flip-flops carrying rediculously touristy backpacks around listening to another woman who looked a little bit more like me, but was speaking in some strange language, explaining to these Gringos, who were blatently staring at me, who i was and what i was about...............for the little lady who knowingly gave her life for her civilization, i secretly hoped that indeed there was no afterlife, and that she was simply an Incan child sacrifice found on a mountain and brought down for flip-flopped tourists to gawk at.
A more lively experience was found at the local monastery, which i have mentioned previously....you know the one with the rich lady who rounded up all the rich family´s daughters and started a monestary, which sounded more like a big party with a bit of religion mixed in til the mean old Dominican nun came along and ruined all the fun?....thats the one. Well, despite the Dominican meany, it was still bundles of fun! Ayla and i toured around the place by ourselves for just under 3 hours, discovering new little nooks and crannies and attempting to weave a story about how the lives of these nuns were carried on (after the party ended), in this 20,000 square foot complex with 6 streets of its own and only a few receiving windows from which outside food, and occasionally visitors, could be met. The ovens, which you can see in a few of my pictures in my costco account.....(note: I dont think ill be able to upload photos on this blog, so anyone for costco?)....okay, so the ovens were one of my favorite parts, they, including many other ammenities (beds, benches, table tops, counters, etc) were built into the stone walls of which served as the main structure of the monestary. One was so large, it was taller than Ayla! (who is about 5´8´´) These often also had holes in the top of them where a pot could rest and be heated by the fire underneath......the only thing different from ovens today was no metal and no gas! Interestingly enough, when we visited the floating islands (Uros) on Lake Titikaka, they had very similar looking ovens, which were still very much in use. Pretty amazing to see the movement of technologies such as that, or perhaps the separate genesis of the same brilliant idea in towns separated by many miles and mountains. Many of the pictures you can see on my account are from this monestary, and you can see its beauty and charming peculiarity for yourself-one other thing i would like to mention though......my other favorite part-the baths, at least we were certain they were baths......they looked like gigantic bowls carved out of rock with an orangish tint, and they were all so nicely lined up in 2 rows flanking a common waterway (reminiscent of roman aquaducts, except WAY smaller) it was hard not to think of them as a little piece of architecture or artwork that any artisan these days would have loved to feast their eyes upon.
Okay, well more to come, especially about the wonders of Lake Titikaka....and the fellow tourists we found on it......but i must go pick up my laundry from a Lavanderia!
Hope all is well on the other side of the equator!
R
Sunday, February 8, 2009
¿Photos?
Hello! Don´t have much time at the moment, but wanted to say that if anyone wants to see my pictures (in rough form....aka, no captions), they can by accessing my costco photo account. If you could just send me your email address in either my email or as a comment on this blog, I can add you and ¨share¨my album with you.
Hope all is well!
R
Hope all is well!
R
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Commo Una Serpiente
Okay!
It has been 5 days since I arrived and I have already made it down to Arequipa, the second largest city in Peru, and about a 15 hour bus ride from Lima. Despite even what an American man told us about Lima, upon deboarding the plane, Lima proved to be a beautiful city in its own way. Ayla and I were picked up by Lucho´s niece´s family at the airport-Lucho is a friend of my parents who used to play on my dad´s soccer team....also know as "Luigi", I´ve been told. We stayed with them in their apartment in the barrio of Surco in Lima in their ´7-year-old son´s (Mateo) room......two grown women in a twin bed was a bit of a squish, but we were cozy. :) They also had a son, Salvador......who is quite possibly the cutest baby I have ever seen in my life and was a good distraction.....he and I spoke about the same amount of Spanish.
Apparently most major cities in Peru have a "Plaza de Armas" in the center of town, and so far we have seen two, one in Lima and the other today, in Arequipa. In Lima, there is a large cathedral on one side of the Plaza, and as we were leaving a bride and groom got out of a white VW bug (very popular here for some reason...) and took pictures in the center park-a centerpiece that was oddly fitting among the insanity of traffic and churro carts. An art show was also on display-one piece communicated the negative sentiment of many Peruvians towards Fujimori, a previous president who stabilized the currency of Peru-the nuevo sol (and with it had large advancements in the economic and social rhelms), but has since been exiled due to a mess of corruption and money laundering scandals and the decision of the Peruvian Congress that he was ´morally unfit´ to govern.....among other previous incedences of abuses of power including suspending the constitution and leading an ´autogolpe´, or a coup from within which was seen as a dictorial move, and threatened a suspension of international aid he had won before by making import and export regulations and international investment regulations much more liberal......moving away from a more socialist government and arguably creating a situation in which the 50% of the population already under the poverty line, would be destined to stay there.
The schools in Peru generally provide a minimal, relatively poor education. There are many private schools, especially in Lima, which even the middle class attends. Lucho´s niece and her husband are both teachers in private schools, and told me of this situation, as well as the one in the highlands. In the mountains (sierras) the major source of income and the sustained lifestyle, however meager, is based on farming and thus manual labor. As a result, quite often, children have to walk an hour or two or three to attend school for a minimum amount of time per day, to be able to return to the farm to work-and I believe they stop schooling after they have learned the basics of reading and writing. It was quite amazing to look out over Lima, population 8 million, and think that much of the food the city consumed, including us, came from these farms where people were leading a less than luxurious life. Lucho´s niece told us that many people from small villages move to the bigger cities-Lima, Arequipa, Cusco-to find work. From her apartment, we could see the famous hillsides surrounding Lima where the underprivileged live. It will be interesting to see the differences in Argentina and Chile, if we end up traveling there.
During our days in Lima, Ayla and I never really knew what was going to happen next, and were very suprised at the overwhelming amount of hospitality afforded to us. Breakfast, lunch and dinner was served to us every day-even on the morning which the mother had to go to school in the morning-the grandfather came over before we woke up and cooked us breakfast! (hot dogs and huevos....seems like a grandpa breakfast to me!) They also took us to the beach in Lima in the barrio of Barranco (Mine and Ayla´s favorite barrio), and we were quite obviously the whitest people in sight......in 45 minutes i had a sun burn-turns out the Pacific Northwest´s sun has nothing on Peru!
On our last day in Lima we had lunch with the whole family (grandparents, brothers and the family that hosted us).......chicken and rice seems like a typical dish, with sweet potatos, native to Peru, along side with a slightly spicy cream sauce, which I could never really make out the contents of......but it was muy rico (tasty)! Not surprisingly, the entire family piled into Lucho´s nieces minivan (not like my caravan at home.....much skinnier with no trunk to speak of, and handled like a compact in the crazy lima traffic) to take us all to the bus station that evening.
We took a night bus to Arequipa which lasted about 15 hours, from 630pm to 10am the next morning. It would have been a relatively comfortalble ride-a first rate coach, for sure- but as Lucho´s niece had warned us, the roads in the mountains up to Arequipa ( 2350 meters, elevation) were like a serpent (commo una serpiente). Weaving back and forth at rediculous angles that one couldn´t imagine a double decker tour bus could make, Ayla and I barely caught a wink of sleep. However, it was the best time I think I have ever spent at 5am- looking out over the huge rock formations with desert-like appearance in the soft orange light of dawn.
We are now visiting Arequipa for 2 days, seeing the sights, including the Monasterio de Santa Catalina, where the second child of the wealthiest Peruvian families used to enter religious service. Apparently musicians and other entertainers were often invited into the monastery and the lives of the nuns were generally very lively and especially priveleged, with each nun having a few servants to themselves.......until......a straight Dominican nun was sent to this ´hedonistic´ monestary, and made things very different for the nuns-keeping them inside the walls for most of their now, much more pious lives. Now, it is open to the public due to pressure from Arequipa´s governor (to milk the tourists´pockets, naturally), and we´ll be opening OUR pockets tonight!
Adios!
It has been 5 days since I arrived and I have already made it down to Arequipa, the second largest city in Peru, and about a 15 hour bus ride from Lima. Despite even what an American man told us about Lima, upon deboarding the plane, Lima proved to be a beautiful city in its own way. Ayla and I were picked up by Lucho´s niece´s family at the airport-Lucho is a friend of my parents who used to play on my dad´s soccer team....also know as "Luigi", I´ve been told. We stayed with them in their apartment in the barrio of Surco in Lima in their ´7-year-old son´s (Mateo) room......two grown women in a twin bed was a bit of a squish, but we were cozy. :) They also had a son, Salvador......who is quite possibly the cutest baby I have ever seen in my life and was a good distraction.....he and I spoke about the same amount of Spanish.
Apparently most major cities in Peru have a "Plaza de Armas" in the center of town, and so far we have seen two, one in Lima and the other today, in Arequipa. In Lima, there is a large cathedral on one side of the Plaza, and as we were leaving a bride and groom got out of a white VW bug (very popular here for some reason...) and took pictures in the center park-a centerpiece that was oddly fitting among the insanity of traffic and churro carts. An art show was also on display-one piece communicated the negative sentiment of many Peruvians towards Fujimori, a previous president who stabilized the currency of Peru-the nuevo sol (and with it had large advancements in the economic and social rhelms), but has since been exiled due to a mess of corruption and money laundering scandals and the decision of the Peruvian Congress that he was ´morally unfit´ to govern.....among other previous incedences of abuses of power including suspending the constitution and leading an ´autogolpe´, or a coup from within which was seen as a dictorial move, and threatened a suspension of international aid he had won before by making import and export regulations and international investment regulations much more liberal......moving away from a more socialist government and arguably creating a situation in which the 50% of the population already under the poverty line, would be destined to stay there.
The schools in Peru generally provide a minimal, relatively poor education. There are many private schools, especially in Lima, which even the middle class attends. Lucho´s niece and her husband are both teachers in private schools, and told me of this situation, as well as the one in the highlands. In the mountains (sierras) the major source of income and the sustained lifestyle, however meager, is based on farming and thus manual labor. As a result, quite often, children have to walk an hour or two or three to attend school for a minimum amount of time per day, to be able to return to the farm to work-and I believe they stop schooling after they have learned the basics of reading and writing. It was quite amazing to look out over Lima, population 8 million, and think that much of the food the city consumed, including us, came from these farms where people were leading a less than luxurious life. Lucho´s niece told us that many people from small villages move to the bigger cities-Lima, Arequipa, Cusco-to find work. From her apartment, we could see the famous hillsides surrounding Lima where the underprivileged live. It will be interesting to see the differences in Argentina and Chile, if we end up traveling there.
During our days in Lima, Ayla and I never really knew what was going to happen next, and were very suprised at the overwhelming amount of hospitality afforded to us. Breakfast, lunch and dinner was served to us every day-even on the morning which the mother had to go to school in the morning-the grandfather came over before we woke up and cooked us breakfast! (hot dogs and huevos....seems like a grandpa breakfast to me!) They also took us to the beach in Lima in the barrio of Barranco (Mine and Ayla´s favorite barrio), and we were quite obviously the whitest people in sight......in 45 minutes i had a sun burn-turns out the Pacific Northwest´s sun has nothing on Peru!
On our last day in Lima we had lunch with the whole family (grandparents, brothers and the family that hosted us).......chicken and rice seems like a typical dish, with sweet potatos, native to Peru, along side with a slightly spicy cream sauce, which I could never really make out the contents of......but it was muy rico (tasty)! Not surprisingly, the entire family piled into Lucho´s nieces minivan (not like my caravan at home.....much skinnier with no trunk to speak of, and handled like a compact in the crazy lima traffic) to take us all to the bus station that evening.
We took a night bus to Arequipa which lasted about 15 hours, from 630pm to 10am the next morning. It would have been a relatively comfortalble ride-a first rate coach, for sure- but as Lucho´s niece had warned us, the roads in the mountains up to Arequipa ( 2350 meters, elevation) were like a serpent (commo una serpiente). Weaving back and forth at rediculous angles that one couldn´t imagine a double decker tour bus could make, Ayla and I barely caught a wink of sleep. However, it was the best time I think I have ever spent at 5am- looking out over the huge rock formations with desert-like appearance in the soft orange light of dawn.
We are now visiting Arequipa for 2 days, seeing the sights, including the Monasterio de Santa Catalina, where the second child of the wealthiest Peruvian families used to enter religious service. Apparently musicians and other entertainers were often invited into the monastery and the lives of the nuns were generally very lively and especially priveleged, with each nun having a few servants to themselves.......until......a straight Dominican nun was sent to this ´hedonistic´ monestary, and made things very different for the nuns-keeping them inside the walls for most of their now, much more pious lives. Now, it is open to the public due to pressure from Arequipa´s governor (to milk the tourists´pockets, naturally), and we´ll be opening OUR pockets tonight!
Adios!
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