So after my last post I manuevered my way through the crowd in the square and up the dark cobblestone path to the Andean Moon hostel. It was a damp, cold, windy night and while it wasn´t raining anymore, I felt like the rain hadn´t quite finished yet...I climbed the spiral staircase and tiptoed my way to my room (the narrow, thin wooden hallways seemed too fragile to bare much weight!) and had to bang on the door several times to get Andy to open it for me...he was already asleep. I tried to pack my bags and get ready for the trek but decided to put it off to the morning...I was chilled to the bone and so tired...I just couldn´t wait to get into bed. I heard quite a ruckus going on downstairs in the hostel´s kitchen and was sure it was my group but couldn´t muster the energy to go down and join them. Instead, I fell asleep under layers upon layers of thick woolen (most likely made from llamas) blankets and slept straight through until my $4 target alarm clock buzzed off at the lovely and very dark hour of 5:30 am...Wednesday.
I woke up from a relatively sound sleep to find that the electricity had gone out overnight. I couldn´t be sure my camera batteries had charged fully and worse yet, had no light to pack the stuff! Ugh, why had I procrastinated!? I somehow found my way to the tiny bathroom and let the ¨hot¨water run for what seemed like forever...my day was really going to be off to a bad start if the hot shower I was promised before 4 days of camping wasn´t going to pan out...fortunately, it did eventually warm up. I had to shampoo and lather in the dark but at least it was hot in this cold. Afterwards it was a struggle with Andy and I both fumbling around in the dark with headlamps trying to pack our bags again for the trek...and then suddenly we heard a loud click and the electricity was going again! Thank God!!!
I tried to lighten up my bag but nothing seemed to help...I honestly think the bag itself is just heavy because I really didn´t feel like I had much in it! We brought our stuff downstairs to the open air courtyard and then went back up to the second floor roof deck where the air was as crisp as the view of the early morning sky...the hostel was nestled in the valley of several mountains and the view was so incredible it seemed fake...
We went back downstairs to the kitchen for breakfast which was a 4 inch diameter pancake with butter and jam, super concentrated coffee which you add hot water to to make it like regular coffee and fresh papaya juice. I usually like papayas but as papaya juice was the last thing I had to drink before the altitude and nausea hit me last weekend I just couldn´t bear to have a sip...the coffee was a bit disappointing so I shared my stash of hazelnut flavored instant coffee with my table...including Andy and the two ´flips´as Andy called them...the girls are from the Philippines and Micci works in Canada as a caretaker and Maria is a nurse in Kentucky. They grew up together and now travel together at least once a year...
We heard all about the night before...our guide Jose was drinking in the kitchen and a small group joined him as everyone was returning from dinner...the drinking escalated and I´ll leave it at that, but judging from reports I was surprised anyone made it to breakfast on time!
We all checked out of the hostel, purchased some aqua sin gas for the morning trek (which we were told was going to be about 4-5 hours of a steady incline to lunch) and struggled with our daypacks and the duffle bags we were to turn over to the porters...down the cobblestone pathway to the square where our bus was waiting for us. An open air vehicle was parked behind it with a group of 20 scruffy looking men...donned with hats and gloves and sandles: our porters. Of course we were hounded by women carrying baskets trying to get a last minute sale...ponchos, hats, gloves, water bottle carriers...we got on the bus and the anticipation was palpable...
We drove through the countryside for about 30 minutes...saw little children in school uniforms walking in small groups along the railway...fields and fields of corn...cows grazing...women working in the fields...men working on the roads...llamas wandering about...and more political paintings up on the sides of houses and bulidings which I forgot to mention previously...every little town has a preference for a presidential candidate and they paint their name and symbol up on a public structure in their town...Jose explained that so many people here are illiterate that they use symbols on their ballots...one guy´s symbol is a soccer ball, another a loaf of bread, another a shovel and yet another has a mountain as his symbol...interesting.
We arrived at the base of the Camino Inka and had the opportunity to use a bathroom before the trek...it was our last chance at a real toilet with a seat for the rest of the week! Of course we had to supply our own toilet paper. Our porters hopped out and started packing up our duffle bags...they can carry a maximum weight of 25 kg. I don´t know how they do it! More women tried to sell us last minute items and some of the guys purchased bandanas...the sky was clear and although it was still cold, we were anticipating a really hot day and they wanted their necks covered up...
We fumbled with our walking sticks and started down the dirt and gravel path to the Inka trail sign and entry point. We stopped to take a group photo and made Jose figure out about 12 cameras...this took a while. Finally we were in the queue for the trail´s check point...only 500 people are admitted each day and it is strictly regulated. They checked our passports and we got a new stamp added...for the Camino de Inka.
Then we crossed a wooden bridge over a river with rapids...and we were officially off!
I have to stop here because we´re stopping to get coffee before our trip home but I was write more later! 24 hours of travel today, ugh!
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Ollantaytambo
Our guide Jose makes this town´s name seem so easy to pronounce...that is, until I try to say it myself and royally screw it up. Go ahead, just try it. Anyway, this is where I am tonight...it is a town in the Sacred Valley. We´re staying in a cute little hostel off this tiny cobblestone pathway/windtunnel. It is open air in the center and has spiral staircases and poor Andy reminds me of Will Ferrel in Elf when he´s living in the North Pole! Everything is miniature.
Our day started early around 6:30 am for continental breakfast at the Hotel Prisma. Everyone had their red Gap Adventures duffle bags ready to weigh on the ancient scale in the lobby and make sure it wasn´t exceeding 6kg...this seemed a challenge for everyone. Mine was 5.25 kg but I later realized that I am certainly carrying more than that on my back...am going to have to rearrange things tonight. Breakfast consisted of Andean granola (which was like puffed wheat and puffed quinoa), soupy yogurt (I can´t say I´m a fan), fresh squeezed juices (pineapple, orange and papaya, the later of which I would not recommend) as well as some breads, variety of teas and instant coffee w/leche caliente (hot milk). We shared a table with Ben and Clair-a married couple from the UK who are just starting their year long travel abroad...I am so jealous. 10 days is simply not long enough. We checked out of our room and stowed the remainder of our luggage with the hotel (I hope it will be safe) and lined up to get on our eyesore of a bus...en route we stopped back again at Sacsaywaman (the back of the structure) and Jose explained that many people consider it only in terms of military significance while in reality he believes it was a major religious structure for the Incas...serving as a temple to the god of lightning. All of the rocks btw are not indiginous to Cuzco and in fact, archeologists have not even found the quarry from which they came...certainly a mystery. Adding to that the fact that the Incas did not have a written language so much of what we know about their practices is bias opinion from the Spaniards who overtook them...
We drove through Cuzco and unfortunately witnessed the unloading of a meat truck at the ungodly hour of 7am. The city was bustling and I have no idea how our driver managed to get through those city streets...
We winded up, up and up above Cuzco and about 45 mins later came upon a weaving village that is sponsored by Gap. Our bus drove up this narrow dirt path lined with rocks and only large enough for one vehicle, and certainly didn´t seem big enough for our bus...I tried not to think about it. Once we arrived there were roosters, children, baby pacas and llamas all crossing the roads into the village. Women were clad from head to toe in traditional Peruvian clothes...red woven A-line skirts just past their knees with matching jackets, white blouses with an elaborately embroidered bib like design, matching jackets- also with intricate embroidery and a small red hat with white rim. Most had their hair pulled back in two long, low lying braids. I find it hard to believe that they dress like this on a regular basis and sort of felt bad that they dressed up for us (it was rather obvious, they all seemed to be wearing tshirts underneath). When I asked Jose about this he explained that these women lived on this rural hillside without any means for income and without education or skills. Gap hired people to re-train the women the traditional handicraft of weaving, supplied them with the animals and education they needed and set them up to earn their own living. He asked one of the women how long it would have taken for her to make her garment from scratch and she looked exhasperated...tres meses she replied (3 months). There were woman of all ages there, with babies and young children though I can´t say I saw one man nor any little boys. I´m really not sure to make of this but am planning to corner Jose later and find more out...at any rate, the women showed us the different types of wool they use (from llama, paca and alpacas). They have a farm with very skittish animals and they explained that they wait until the summer (as it is currently winter in Peru) to shave the animals of their fur otherwise they would not survive. Then the wool is washed (thankfully- if you saw the coats of these animals you certainly would not want to wear anything coming from them!) and spun onto spools by hand...it looks like it requires an enormous amount of patience to make the spools. Jose commented several times that it was ´easy´ work and I resisted my urge to ask to see him do it...
Then the women showed us how they dye the spools...they use organic herbs from the hillside...mainly eucalyptus for various shades of green. They also have these cacti parasites...basically white bugs...that invade the cacti surrounding the village...they collect them and heat them up to form a ash-like powder...then they grind the ash and it magically turns red. They use this to create wools of all shades of red...they use these heavy clay pots to heat up the dye and add some water and then the spools...they will use the same pot a number of times and each color will be more and more diluted or of a lighter shade...
One of the women who was dying fabric was eating dried beans...they looked like extra large black eyed peas...she offered us some and Jose warned us that they are really hard. I tried one...it has to be peeled and then the bean itself is like a cream color...it doesn´t have much taste but maybe similar to a chickpea if you can imagine eating one dry. It was super hard though, much harder than a jaw breaker! I was careful, certainly didn´t want to deal with any dental emergencies here!
Then the women all had their own stalls set up with the goods that they´ve handmade themselves. I really can´t say I enjoyed this at all...you feel pressured to buy, you want to do something for them...but then we can only have 6kg of stuff! One woman was carrying the bag on her back with what I imagined to be a toddler in it judging by the size, but we didn´t see a baby popping it´s head out like we usually do...and then the hidden baby started wailing...she took the thing off to reveal layers of blankets inside and the tiniest baby! He or she was probably no more than a month old...all wrapped up with tons of blankets and no air circulation on the back of this woman...talk about a SIDS nightmare. I have come to the conclusion that we are way too uptight in the US. The woman took the bag off her bag and passed the baby over to his mother for...you guessed it, a public breastfeeding session! I have seen at least a dozen women breastfeeding openly here and believe it or not, have only counted 4 smokers...and 2 of those were foreigners...just an interesting observation.
Did I mention that 4 of the people in our group rode the way back down the hillside on the roof of the bus??
We moved on to ruins and I´m not even going to attempt to spell the name of the place because I will botch it, but it was some serious hiking although Jose said we would ónly be walking´today. Ha! It was an ancient Inca site, also where the rocks do not seem to be indiginous to the area...and must have been carried long to get to this place. There was also a hillside with holes...Jose explained that each hole was a burial site but that many of them had been looted and only minimal ornaments remained. The Inca believed that when you died you would be reborn into another life...but that you would need all your stuff from this life for your next life...so they traditionally buried people with all of their belongings...
There was also a site at the end of the ruins that had several small temples including a temple of the sun. They know it was a sun temple because it has a rock in the center which is used to determine the winter and summer solstices.
I forgot my sunblock and it was hot as hell out there today. I also realized that my backpack weighs far too much so I´m going to have to do some major reorganizing tonight. I think it´s actually the backpack itself that is heavy because I really don´t have much in there, I swear!
For lunch we got 2 choices: typical Peruvian menu (at a local restaurant they will serve a set menu including appetizer, main course and dessert for approximately 3 soles) or expensive catering to foreigners buffet style restaurant for a ridiculous 35 soles. I chose the later along with the Irish girls...so we dropped off the majority of the bus at the local place and Jose promptly assured us that we made the right choice and the other place was ´shit´. LOL. We relaxed in the open air setting and had an excellent assortment of foods to choose from...I got the Peruvian chicken dish (although come to think of it, as many farm animals that I have seen I have not seen one chicken so I am starting to become suspicious), over arroz blanco (white rice) with grilled vegetables and an assortment of cakes and nescafe for dessert...after all, I will be needing those carbs! The Irish girls are cool...they are on a 3 week vacation and have already been to the Amazon...I found it funny that the music in the background was basically a Peruvian sample of Christmas tunes...we could at least identify ´we three kings´ and ´oh come all ye faithful´...
Jose came back to report that there was a problem. Apparently the local restaurant had run out of food and so the rest of our group was MIA. He was off with the bus driver to find them...luckily they didn´t go too far, they did get their 3 soles lunch however, none of them could identify anything they had consumed so I was feeling pretty good about my expensive option...after all, from here on out it will be whatever they make us at camp...
We arrived at the ´Andean Moon´hostel around 4 and then headed back out to tour more ruins...this time Ollantaylambo. It had turned windy and cold so we all put on our rain jackets. We walked through the cobblestone town (I don´t know how any cars drive through here without popping all tires) and entered into this ruin site which basically looks like large stone stairs on the side of a mountain...Jose explained that it seems as though this was a project that was unfinished rather than ruins...some pieces of stone are lying haphazardly and my god they are huge! Archeologists have identified the quarry where these rocks are found and it is approximately 2 miles away and on the other side of the river. Jose also explained that unlike the previous site, it appears that rather than making some sort of ´glue´, the Incas instead drew holes and notches into these stones to make them fit together (Ikea furniture anyone?). Climbing the stairs was tough, I was sweating and panting by the time I reached the top and I thought I was in pretty decent shape! We are at a slightly lower altitude today though being high on Diamox I can´t say I´m noticing it either way anymore, which is surely a good thing!
It did start raining while we were up there and the winds were really strong. The site is in the center of several mountains so it was cool to see the storm clouds rolling in from the distance and slowly come upon us. We walked the length of the site and headed for the salida where these 2 little girls approached Jose...begging him for something but I couldn´t catch what they were saying. The people here speak a combination of Spanish and Quechua which I guess is the local dialect. Anyway, the girls apparently were asking if they could perform for us...Jose finally relented and the two burst out in song and dance. It was cute but of course ended with open hands asking for money and looking super sad when all you handed over was un sol per girl...
I was chilled to the bone between the wind and the rain...we stopped back at the hotel briefly and decided to head back out for dinner. We came upon this place called ´Cafe Corazones´randomly and went in because it looked warm and cozy...here it is actually an organic cafe using all the foods grown and produced locally, fresh vegetables, all natural ingredients, no soy products...the cafe was dreamt up by a woman from the UK who visited Peru in 2007 and wanted to do something about the poverty in this region. She had never run a restaurant but being that the people here are farmers it seemed like the perfect option to raise funds and awareness at the plight of this community. She wanted to help the women and children here become more self-sufficient and independent. Shortly after her project began an NGO (non-governmental organization) was founded alongside her cafe. It is called the ´Living Heart Association´and focuses on health, education and sustainabiliy. One of their projects is helping the children of the area to learn Spanish, the national language of Peru instead of the Quechua dialect. They also provide injectable contraceptives (I am assuming Depo-Provera) for those women interested in spacing their children. Parasites are a major issue in the water supply here and many children and women also suffer from malnutrition because of them...until they can figure out a way to truly purify the water sources, they have started a pilot project where they are medicating school children twice a year and instructing parents to treat their children with an anti-parasitic herbal remedy at home twice a week with breakfast...the project has found that all of the children have reached their best potential weight within 9 months. These are just a few of the projects they are running...they had photos and posterboards throughout the small cafe...and the food was excellent besides. If you are interested in helping email livingheartperu@gmail.com. They ask for school supplies, medicine, clothing and other donations including used digital cameras to help document the children´s progress...all packages must be less than 5kg or they have to pay taxes on them.
There is also some sort of party going on outside tonight...seems odd for a Tuesday but all the kids are dressed to the nines and families alike...dancing, singing, bands, huge plastic statues. I´m not sure what´s going on but we did get a chance to check it out for a little bit...it is still going strong as I type this!
I changed some dollars into soles for the rest of the trek and now just need to go back and rearrange my backpack (have I mentioned this enough today?). I have seen today that weather in one day can go from hot as hell to downright frigid at night...and miserable with the added rain. I hear there are a lot of mosquitos on the trail but I just can´t even believe it with it getting so cold at night...what kind of mosquitos are these anyway?? I did pick up some sunblock today...don´t know where that Target sunblock we debated over ended up Mom...but hopefully this will suffice. We have to be up by 6am tomorrow...I am praying for a hot shower as it will be my last opportunity at one for the next few days through whatever mother nature conjours up...cross your fingers for dry and warm. All and all a great, albeit exhausting day. Excited for what tomorrow brings...
Our day started early around 6:30 am for continental breakfast at the Hotel Prisma. Everyone had their red Gap Adventures duffle bags ready to weigh on the ancient scale in the lobby and make sure it wasn´t exceeding 6kg...this seemed a challenge for everyone. Mine was 5.25 kg but I later realized that I am certainly carrying more than that on my back...am going to have to rearrange things tonight. Breakfast consisted of Andean granola (which was like puffed wheat and puffed quinoa), soupy yogurt (I can´t say I´m a fan), fresh squeezed juices (pineapple, orange and papaya, the later of which I would not recommend) as well as some breads, variety of teas and instant coffee w/leche caliente (hot milk). We shared a table with Ben and Clair-a married couple from the UK who are just starting their year long travel abroad...I am so jealous. 10 days is simply not long enough. We checked out of our room and stowed the remainder of our luggage with the hotel (I hope it will be safe) and lined up to get on our eyesore of a bus...en route we stopped back again at Sacsaywaman (the back of the structure) and Jose explained that many people consider it only in terms of military significance while in reality he believes it was a major religious structure for the Incas...serving as a temple to the god of lightning. All of the rocks btw are not indiginous to Cuzco and in fact, archeologists have not even found the quarry from which they came...certainly a mystery. Adding to that the fact that the Incas did not have a written language so much of what we know about their practices is bias opinion from the Spaniards who overtook them...
We drove through Cuzco and unfortunately witnessed the unloading of a meat truck at the ungodly hour of 7am. The city was bustling and I have no idea how our driver managed to get through those city streets...
We winded up, up and up above Cuzco and about 45 mins later came upon a weaving village that is sponsored by Gap. Our bus drove up this narrow dirt path lined with rocks and only large enough for one vehicle, and certainly didn´t seem big enough for our bus...I tried not to think about it. Once we arrived there were roosters, children, baby pacas and llamas all crossing the roads into the village. Women were clad from head to toe in traditional Peruvian clothes...red woven A-line skirts just past their knees with matching jackets, white blouses with an elaborately embroidered bib like design, matching jackets- also with intricate embroidery and a small red hat with white rim. Most had their hair pulled back in two long, low lying braids. I find it hard to believe that they dress like this on a regular basis and sort of felt bad that they dressed up for us (it was rather obvious, they all seemed to be wearing tshirts underneath). When I asked Jose about this he explained that these women lived on this rural hillside without any means for income and without education or skills. Gap hired people to re-train the women the traditional handicraft of weaving, supplied them with the animals and education they needed and set them up to earn their own living. He asked one of the women how long it would have taken for her to make her garment from scratch and she looked exhasperated...tres meses she replied (3 months). There were woman of all ages there, with babies and young children though I can´t say I saw one man nor any little boys. I´m really not sure to make of this but am planning to corner Jose later and find more out...at any rate, the women showed us the different types of wool they use (from llama, paca and alpacas). They have a farm with very skittish animals and they explained that they wait until the summer (as it is currently winter in Peru) to shave the animals of their fur otherwise they would not survive. Then the wool is washed (thankfully- if you saw the coats of these animals you certainly would not want to wear anything coming from them!) and spun onto spools by hand...it looks like it requires an enormous amount of patience to make the spools. Jose commented several times that it was ´easy´ work and I resisted my urge to ask to see him do it...
Then the women showed us how they dye the spools...they use organic herbs from the hillside...mainly eucalyptus for various shades of green. They also have these cacti parasites...basically white bugs...that invade the cacti surrounding the village...they collect them and heat them up to form a ash-like powder...then they grind the ash and it magically turns red. They use this to create wools of all shades of red...they use these heavy clay pots to heat up the dye and add some water and then the spools...they will use the same pot a number of times and each color will be more and more diluted or of a lighter shade...
One of the women who was dying fabric was eating dried beans...they looked like extra large black eyed peas...she offered us some and Jose warned us that they are really hard. I tried one...it has to be peeled and then the bean itself is like a cream color...it doesn´t have much taste but maybe similar to a chickpea if you can imagine eating one dry. It was super hard though, much harder than a jaw breaker! I was careful, certainly didn´t want to deal with any dental emergencies here!
Then the women all had their own stalls set up with the goods that they´ve handmade themselves. I really can´t say I enjoyed this at all...you feel pressured to buy, you want to do something for them...but then we can only have 6kg of stuff! One woman was carrying the bag on her back with what I imagined to be a toddler in it judging by the size, but we didn´t see a baby popping it´s head out like we usually do...and then the hidden baby started wailing...she took the thing off to reveal layers of blankets inside and the tiniest baby! He or she was probably no more than a month old...all wrapped up with tons of blankets and no air circulation on the back of this woman...talk about a SIDS nightmare. I have come to the conclusion that we are way too uptight in the US. The woman took the bag off her bag and passed the baby over to his mother for...you guessed it, a public breastfeeding session! I have seen at least a dozen women breastfeeding openly here and believe it or not, have only counted 4 smokers...and 2 of those were foreigners...just an interesting observation.
Did I mention that 4 of the people in our group rode the way back down the hillside on the roof of the bus??
We moved on to ruins and I´m not even going to attempt to spell the name of the place because I will botch it, but it was some serious hiking although Jose said we would ónly be walking´today. Ha! It was an ancient Inca site, also where the rocks do not seem to be indiginous to the area...and must have been carried long to get to this place. There was also a hillside with holes...Jose explained that each hole was a burial site but that many of them had been looted and only minimal ornaments remained. The Inca believed that when you died you would be reborn into another life...but that you would need all your stuff from this life for your next life...so they traditionally buried people with all of their belongings...
There was also a site at the end of the ruins that had several small temples including a temple of the sun. They know it was a sun temple because it has a rock in the center which is used to determine the winter and summer solstices.
I forgot my sunblock and it was hot as hell out there today. I also realized that my backpack weighs far too much so I´m going to have to do some major reorganizing tonight. I think it´s actually the backpack itself that is heavy because I really don´t have much in there, I swear!
For lunch we got 2 choices: typical Peruvian menu (at a local restaurant they will serve a set menu including appetizer, main course and dessert for approximately 3 soles) or expensive catering to foreigners buffet style restaurant for a ridiculous 35 soles. I chose the later along with the Irish girls...so we dropped off the majority of the bus at the local place and Jose promptly assured us that we made the right choice and the other place was ´shit´. LOL. We relaxed in the open air setting and had an excellent assortment of foods to choose from...I got the Peruvian chicken dish (although come to think of it, as many farm animals that I have seen I have not seen one chicken so I am starting to become suspicious), over arroz blanco (white rice) with grilled vegetables and an assortment of cakes and nescafe for dessert...after all, I will be needing those carbs! The Irish girls are cool...they are on a 3 week vacation and have already been to the Amazon...I found it funny that the music in the background was basically a Peruvian sample of Christmas tunes...we could at least identify ´we three kings´ and ´oh come all ye faithful´...
Jose came back to report that there was a problem. Apparently the local restaurant had run out of food and so the rest of our group was MIA. He was off with the bus driver to find them...luckily they didn´t go too far, they did get their 3 soles lunch however, none of them could identify anything they had consumed so I was feeling pretty good about my expensive option...after all, from here on out it will be whatever they make us at camp...
We arrived at the ´Andean Moon´hostel around 4 and then headed back out to tour more ruins...this time Ollantaylambo. It had turned windy and cold so we all put on our rain jackets. We walked through the cobblestone town (I don´t know how any cars drive through here without popping all tires) and entered into this ruin site which basically looks like large stone stairs on the side of a mountain...Jose explained that it seems as though this was a project that was unfinished rather than ruins...some pieces of stone are lying haphazardly and my god they are huge! Archeologists have identified the quarry where these rocks are found and it is approximately 2 miles away and on the other side of the river. Jose also explained that unlike the previous site, it appears that rather than making some sort of ´glue´, the Incas instead drew holes and notches into these stones to make them fit together (Ikea furniture anyone?). Climbing the stairs was tough, I was sweating and panting by the time I reached the top and I thought I was in pretty decent shape! We are at a slightly lower altitude today though being high on Diamox I can´t say I´m noticing it either way anymore, which is surely a good thing!
It did start raining while we were up there and the winds were really strong. The site is in the center of several mountains so it was cool to see the storm clouds rolling in from the distance and slowly come upon us. We walked the length of the site and headed for the salida where these 2 little girls approached Jose...begging him for something but I couldn´t catch what they were saying. The people here speak a combination of Spanish and Quechua which I guess is the local dialect. Anyway, the girls apparently were asking if they could perform for us...Jose finally relented and the two burst out in song and dance. It was cute but of course ended with open hands asking for money and looking super sad when all you handed over was un sol per girl...
I was chilled to the bone between the wind and the rain...we stopped back at the hotel briefly and decided to head back out for dinner. We came upon this place called ´Cafe Corazones´randomly and went in because it looked warm and cozy...here it is actually an organic cafe using all the foods grown and produced locally, fresh vegetables, all natural ingredients, no soy products...the cafe was dreamt up by a woman from the UK who visited Peru in 2007 and wanted to do something about the poverty in this region. She had never run a restaurant but being that the people here are farmers it seemed like the perfect option to raise funds and awareness at the plight of this community. She wanted to help the women and children here become more self-sufficient and independent. Shortly after her project began an NGO (non-governmental organization) was founded alongside her cafe. It is called the ´Living Heart Association´and focuses on health, education and sustainabiliy. One of their projects is helping the children of the area to learn Spanish, the national language of Peru instead of the Quechua dialect. They also provide injectable contraceptives (I am assuming Depo-Provera) for those women interested in spacing their children. Parasites are a major issue in the water supply here and many children and women also suffer from malnutrition because of them...until they can figure out a way to truly purify the water sources, they have started a pilot project where they are medicating school children twice a year and instructing parents to treat their children with an anti-parasitic herbal remedy at home twice a week with breakfast...the project has found that all of the children have reached their best potential weight within 9 months. These are just a few of the projects they are running...they had photos and posterboards throughout the small cafe...and the food was excellent besides. If you are interested in helping email livingheartperu@gmail.com. They ask for school supplies, medicine, clothing and other donations including used digital cameras to help document the children´s progress...all packages must be less than 5kg or they have to pay taxes on them.
There is also some sort of party going on outside tonight...seems odd for a Tuesday but all the kids are dressed to the nines and families alike...dancing, singing, bands, huge plastic statues. I´m not sure what´s going on but we did get a chance to check it out for a little bit...it is still going strong as I type this!
I changed some dollars into soles for the rest of the trek and now just need to go back and rearrange my backpack (have I mentioned this enough today?). I have seen today that weather in one day can go from hot as hell to downright frigid at night...and miserable with the added rain. I hear there are a lot of mosquitos on the trail but I just can´t even believe it with it getting so cold at night...what kind of mosquitos are these anyway?? I did pick up some sunblock today...don´t know where that Target sunblock we debated over ended up Mom...but hopefully this will suffice. We have to be up by 6am tomorrow...I am praying for a hot shower as it will be my last opportunity at one for the next few days through whatever mother nature conjours up...cross your fingers for dry and warm. All and all a great, albeit exhausting day. Excited for what tomorrow brings...
en route to Sacred Valley!
Good morning everyone! We met up with our group last night from Gap adventures, 14 people total it looks like and we got our duffle bags and walking sticks, etc. It was a challenge getting all our stuff for the rest of the week to fit into a duffle bag that weighs only 6kg and then our backpack. I´m pretty proud of myself, mine weighs only 5.5 kg, however, my personal backpack probably weighs 7! ha!
The reason for the weight limit is because the porters will be carrying all of our stuff and are limited to 25k each. Apparently they run ahead of us every time and set up camp and have all our stuff ready when we get there...including tables for eating, etc. The porters were not being treated well until fairly recently when Peru started setting limits on what they can carry. They are supposed to get minimum wage of the equivalent of $160 USD per trek, but I also read that many companies give them less than this and coerce them into signing a declaration that states they received a fair wage. I suppose there aren´t many job opportunities here for them to choose among so for some it may be better than nothing...anyway, I already feel bad that I´m going to be letting someone else carry all my crap, but at least with gap it seems that they take good care of the porters...
Anyway, the group seems good...a few girls from Ireland, some guys from the UK...a couple of couples though I´m not sure if they´re couples or brother-sister pairs but we shall find out soon enough.
Today we´re headed for the Sacred Valley and we´ll be staying in a hotel one more night...then tomorrow morning we leave bright and early for our trek to Machu Picchu. I´ll try to post again tonight but I hear the Sacred Valley is really rural so not sure how prevalent internet will be...
Adios!
The reason for the weight limit is because the porters will be carrying all of our stuff and are limited to 25k each. Apparently they run ahead of us every time and set up camp and have all our stuff ready when we get there...including tables for eating, etc. The porters were not being treated well until fairly recently when Peru started setting limits on what they can carry. They are supposed to get minimum wage of the equivalent of $160 USD per trek, but I also read that many companies give them less than this and coerce them into signing a declaration that states they received a fair wage. I suppose there aren´t many job opportunities here for them to choose among so for some it may be better than nothing...anyway, I already feel bad that I´m going to be letting someone else carry all my crap, but at least with gap it seems that they take good care of the porters...
Anyway, the group seems good...a few girls from Ireland, some guys from the UK...a couple of couples though I´m not sure if they´re couples or brother-sister pairs but we shall find out soon enough.
Today we´re headed for the Sacred Valley and we´ll be staying in a hotel one more night...then tomorrow morning we leave bright and early for our trek to Machu Picchu. I´ll try to post again tonight but I hear the Sacred Valley is really rural so not sure how prevalent internet will be...
Adios!
I love Diamox!
I am like a new woman today after 3 doses of Diamox...wow, what a world of difference it makes to not have a constant horrible headache. Andy and I set out early...we were up around 6 am and couldn´t fall back asleep so eventually decided to get up and get the day started. First we decided to hit up the Mercado San Pedro for some fresh jugo...Andy met Rena yesterday who was one of the many juice ladies in the market...we had to politely refuse everyone else just to get to Rena´s stand. She made us jugo de naranja y mango (orange-mango juice) and it was delicious! We walked through the rest of the market which was similar to a farmer´s market in the US...stands of fruits, vegetables, grains in huge bags, meats...you name it. There were little children running all around. It was fairly busy for 7 am!
Then we moved on to Jack´s...the breakfast place we were trying to find yesterday. It was recommended in Lonely Planet which was quite obvious when we got there and it was filled with Westerners and Europeans. Not to mention the group of women out front selling their handicrafts...Andy got pancakes with carmalized bananas and I got juevos rancheros which put Honey´s to shame! But it was sooooo much food! I also had a whole pot of coca tea which was a little pot brimming with coca leaves...I sure felt it this time, in fact was fairly tachycardic to 110bpm after breakfast!
After desayuno we headed out onto the streets...where we were harrassed by an old woman with a llama. Of course we had to stop and take a photo but then she kept telling us she needed more money which was annoying. And then she continued to follow us up a very steep hill...I don´t know if she forgot we took pictures with her already or if she really wasn´t happy with the 3 soles we gave her! Andy wanted to stop in this art store and he showed some interest in one particular piece of artwork...well this prompted the woman there to get on the phone with her colleague because she didn´t speak enough English to negotiate with us. She kept saying ´cinco minutos´so we waited and then finally this poor woman had literally run up the hill to talk to us. They eventually settled on a price of 200 soles and we are to pick it up next week...on Domingo. I bought some more postcards and a pack of coca candies for altitude sickness...why not?
Then these young girls grabbed us...wearing traditional clothes and holding what we have come to find out are baby pacas (not goats or lambs as we previously thought). They were so cute so we got more photos but they seriously try to rob you blind afterwards...begging for un mas sole por favor...
So Peru doesn´t seem to need any laws regarding breastfeeding in public. Women everywhere are breastfeeding while they are selling their arts and crafts, etc. Speaking of, we saw several more of those virgin Mary photos breastfeeding Jesus...they are everywhere. This time, I got a pic :)
We kept walking up this very steep cobblestone walkway where men work working in the middle creating some sort of rail system it seemed...pretty impressive. It was drizzling a little so we ducked into a small cafe and Andy had a pisco sour and I got a cafe mocha...yum. Between the coca tea, coca candy and espresso I was practically floating down the streets after that!
We decided to hike up to the top of Cuzco to see Sacsaywoman...an immense Inca ruin of both military and religious significance. En route we passed through an area of Cuzco known as San Blas...there was a beautiful fountain and a square with the Iglesia de San Blas. I decided to pay the 15 soles to check it out while Andy hung out outside playing with the kids and getting talked into buying finger puppets of llamas. Once inside the church, I paid another 5 soles for a private tour. Maria told me all about this famous wooden carving inside...it was carved from one tree (reminded me of the alter in Meet the Parents). The carving was enormous and was apparently carved over a period of 20 years by a man who was sick with leprosy. The bottom of the carving represents hell and the people in it...which mostly consisted of Henry VIII and all of his wives because they were sinners. Their arms were twisted backwards because they had to hold the weight of the world on their shoulders for sinning during their time on earth. Above them were demons holding fruits that were native to the area...including grapes, oranges, etc. Above them were babies whose arms were also twisted backwards. Apparently these babies were born and died before they had a chance to be baptized so they were stuck in percatory (sp?). Above them were depictions of San Blas himself, the patron saint of ear, nose and throat. His feast day is February 3 where you can go to the churches and be blessed with crossed candlesticks to cure ailments of the ear, nose and throat. Higher up were doctors of the church...I forget who exactly and Jesus was depicted at the very top. Most disturbing was a skull next to Jesus´ feet...I asked Maria about this and she explained that the Virgin of Good Success (whoever that is) appeared to the artist every night to motivate him to keep up his carvings on this piece...and when he was almost done he realized just how much money he could make from this and had agreed to sell it for a certain amount of money...that night he fell off the top of the carving to his death and his skull was placed at Jesus´ feet...what a lovely story huh? The Catholics are pretty morbid...
The alter was doused in 22k gold and had the Virgin of Good Success who looked like every other depiction of the Virgin Mary to me...along with San Blas. There were paintings all around the church that were depictions of different periods in San Blas´ life. Finally at the back of the church, Maria showed me a painting that was used to sway the Incas into Catholicism. She explained that originally this church was a temple for the Inca god of lightning...but when the Spaniards invaded Cuzco they forced the Incas into believing in Catholicism and some creative artists painted these pictures of the Virgin Mary and Jesus sitting on top of a moon with coca leaves in the background...it was basically a hidden message that the Spaniards didn´t even catch onto...
After my visit to the church and paying off all the children outside because they were ´so hungry´, now how could you say no to that? We ventured up the longest staircase I have ever seen en route to Sacsaywaman (aka sexy woman). We had to keep asking school children and their parents if we were going the right way and sure enough we were...dios mio, so many steps! The views of Cuzco and the surrounding hillsides were amazing though from that height...When we got to the top there was a small store, thankfully so we could get some agua mineral...and then a super store with only products made from paca, baby pacas and llamas. Sweaters, hats, gloves, scarves, rugs, bedspreads...you name it. And all woven from these poor animals. I tried to ask the sales woman in Spanish if the animals were hurt in the process and she assured me they weren´t, but seems hard to believe...anyway, we tried on some hats and took some photos but left without purchasing anything. Prices were muy caro anyway (too expensive).
We continued our trek to sexy woman and ended up at this huge Jesus statue on the hillside which was pretty cool. At first it was just us and a handful of European tourists who we were chatting with, and then suddenly three tour buses stopped off and the site was overcome with people...we continued on to Sacsaywaman which was good practice for our upcoming trek...The name translates to ¨Satisfied Falcon¨and basically served as a fort during the Spanish conquest. It dates back to 1536 and only about 20% of the structure remains...the stones fit together perfectly, it was built by the Incas but the Spaniards eventually overtook them and stole many of the rocks to use to build their own homes in Cuzco. Most of the Incan forces were killed although the leader, Manco Inca survived. The dead were eaten by carrion-eating Andean condors which is why they include eight condors in Cuzco´s coat of arms...there´s a fun fact for you!
We actually decided not to go in because they charged the equivalent of $35 USD. I guess we´re cheap. We headed down a winding path and stumbled upon another market...the first booth we approached sold Choclo con queso which is apparently one of the traditional foods in Cuzco...it´s a certain type of corn, boiled and served with a huge chunk of cheese...it sounds kinda strange but it was delicious. Andy also bought a wool hat from this woman that she had to mend on the spot...a young pit bull also approached us while we were eating and as many of the dogs around here look rabid, I decided to keep him on my good side and shared my comida.
This only brings us to about 3 pm today but I have to run...tonight we are meeting up with our group at the hotel and we need to pack up our stuff for the rest of the week. Tomorrow we are headed with the group to the Sacred Valley and then onto Machu Picchu on Wednesday...
I´m so glad I finally got to experience Cuzco, it was miserable acclimating to this altitude but I think I am finally there...more later!
Then we moved on to Jack´s...the breakfast place we were trying to find yesterday. It was recommended in Lonely Planet which was quite obvious when we got there and it was filled with Westerners and Europeans. Not to mention the group of women out front selling their handicrafts...Andy got pancakes with carmalized bananas and I got juevos rancheros which put Honey´s to shame! But it was sooooo much food! I also had a whole pot of coca tea which was a little pot brimming with coca leaves...I sure felt it this time, in fact was fairly tachycardic to 110bpm after breakfast!
After desayuno we headed out onto the streets...where we were harrassed by an old woman with a llama. Of course we had to stop and take a photo but then she kept telling us she needed more money which was annoying. And then she continued to follow us up a very steep hill...I don´t know if she forgot we took pictures with her already or if she really wasn´t happy with the 3 soles we gave her! Andy wanted to stop in this art store and he showed some interest in one particular piece of artwork...well this prompted the woman there to get on the phone with her colleague because she didn´t speak enough English to negotiate with us. She kept saying ´cinco minutos´so we waited and then finally this poor woman had literally run up the hill to talk to us. They eventually settled on a price of 200 soles and we are to pick it up next week...on Domingo. I bought some more postcards and a pack of coca candies for altitude sickness...why not?
Then these young girls grabbed us...wearing traditional clothes and holding what we have come to find out are baby pacas (not goats or lambs as we previously thought). They were so cute so we got more photos but they seriously try to rob you blind afterwards...begging for un mas sole por favor...
So Peru doesn´t seem to need any laws regarding breastfeeding in public. Women everywhere are breastfeeding while they are selling their arts and crafts, etc. Speaking of, we saw several more of those virgin Mary photos breastfeeding Jesus...they are everywhere. This time, I got a pic :)
We kept walking up this very steep cobblestone walkway where men work working in the middle creating some sort of rail system it seemed...pretty impressive. It was drizzling a little so we ducked into a small cafe and Andy had a pisco sour and I got a cafe mocha...yum. Between the coca tea, coca candy and espresso I was practically floating down the streets after that!
We decided to hike up to the top of Cuzco to see Sacsaywoman...an immense Inca ruin of both military and religious significance. En route we passed through an area of Cuzco known as San Blas...there was a beautiful fountain and a square with the Iglesia de San Blas. I decided to pay the 15 soles to check it out while Andy hung out outside playing with the kids and getting talked into buying finger puppets of llamas. Once inside the church, I paid another 5 soles for a private tour. Maria told me all about this famous wooden carving inside...it was carved from one tree (reminded me of the alter in Meet the Parents). The carving was enormous and was apparently carved over a period of 20 years by a man who was sick with leprosy. The bottom of the carving represents hell and the people in it...which mostly consisted of Henry VIII and all of his wives because they were sinners. Their arms were twisted backwards because they had to hold the weight of the world on their shoulders for sinning during their time on earth. Above them were demons holding fruits that were native to the area...including grapes, oranges, etc. Above them were babies whose arms were also twisted backwards. Apparently these babies were born and died before they had a chance to be baptized so they were stuck in percatory (sp?). Above them were depictions of San Blas himself, the patron saint of ear, nose and throat. His feast day is February 3 where you can go to the churches and be blessed with crossed candlesticks to cure ailments of the ear, nose and throat. Higher up were doctors of the church...I forget who exactly and Jesus was depicted at the very top. Most disturbing was a skull next to Jesus´ feet...I asked Maria about this and she explained that the Virgin of Good Success (whoever that is) appeared to the artist every night to motivate him to keep up his carvings on this piece...and when he was almost done he realized just how much money he could make from this and had agreed to sell it for a certain amount of money...that night he fell off the top of the carving to his death and his skull was placed at Jesus´ feet...what a lovely story huh? The Catholics are pretty morbid...
The alter was doused in 22k gold and had the Virgin of Good Success who looked like every other depiction of the Virgin Mary to me...along with San Blas. There were paintings all around the church that were depictions of different periods in San Blas´ life. Finally at the back of the church, Maria showed me a painting that was used to sway the Incas into Catholicism. She explained that originally this church was a temple for the Inca god of lightning...but when the Spaniards invaded Cuzco they forced the Incas into believing in Catholicism and some creative artists painted these pictures of the Virgin Mary and Jesus sitting on top of a moon with coca leaves in the background...it was basically a hidden message that the Spaniards didn´t even catch onto...
After my visit to the church and paying off all the children outside because they were ´so hungry´, now how could you say no to that? We ventured up the longest staircase I have ever seen en route to Sacsaywaman (aka sexy woman). We had to keep asking school children and their parents if we were going the right way and sure enough we were...dios mio, so many steps! The views of Cuzco and the surrounding hillsides were amazing though from that height...When we got to the top there was a small store, thankfully so we could get some agua mineral...and then a super store with only products made from paca, baby pacas and llamas. Sweaters, hats, gloves, scarves, rugs, bedspreads...you name it. And all woven from these poor animals. I tried to ask the sales woman in Spanish if the animals were hurt in the process and she assured me they weren´t, but seems hard to believe...anyway, we tried on some hats and took some photos but left without purchasing anything. Prices were muy caro anyway (too expensive).
We continued our trek to sexy woman and ended up at this huge Jesus statue on the hillside which was pretty cool. At first it was just us and a handful of European tourists who we were chatting with, and then suddenly three tour buses stopped off and the site was overcome with people...we continued on to Sacsaywaman which was good practice for our upcoming trek...The name translates to ¨Satisfied Falcon¨and basically served as a fort during the Spanish conquest. It dates back to 1536 and only about 20% of the structure remains...the stones fit together perfectly, it was built by the Incas but the Spaniards eventually overtook them and stole many of the rocks to use to build their own homes in Cuzco. Most of the Incan forces were killed although the leader, Manco Inca survived. The dead were eaten by carrion-eating Andean condors which is why they include eight condors in Cuzco´s coat of arms...there´s a fun fact for you!
We actually decided not to go in because they charged the equivalent of $35 USD. I guess we´re cheap. We headed down a winding path and stumbled upon another market...the first booth we approached sold Choclo con queso which is apparently one of the traditional foods in Cuzco...it´s a certain type of corn, boiled and served with a huge chunk of cheese...it sounds kinda strange but it was delicious. Andy also bought a wool hat from this woman that she had to mend on the spot...a young pit bull also approached us while we were eating and as many of the dogs around here look rabid, I decided to keep him on my good side and shared my comida.
This only brings us to about 3 pm today but I have to run...tonight we are meeting up with our group at the hotel and we need to pack up our stuff for the rest of the week. Tomorrow we are headed with the group to the Sacred Valley and then onto Machu Picchu on Wednesday...
I´m so glad I finally got to experience Cuzco, it was miserable acclimating to this altitude but I think I am finally there...more later!
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Altitude sickness sucks...
And I don´t care what they say about this coca tea, it isn´t doing anything! Woke up this morning with quite possibly the worst headache of my life, thought...ok I´m just hungry, need some of that tea that the Peruvians swear by...for those of you who are wondering, I did not make it to church but I´m sure God understands.
Andy and I trekked through the Plaza which was all blocked off to traffic with it being Sunday...it was a nice break from the exhaust fumes! We went up all these hills trying to find this restaurant but we finally were just starving and stopped at this really cute outdoor place for desayuno. The menu had all the American options as well as Peruvian dishes. I settled on waffles with nutella and scrambled eggs...though I can´t say I was able to eat much. The waffle was in the shape of a flower with a tiny little heart shaped waffle next to it, so cute. Andy got an egg sandwich on fresh bread...it looked delicious. And of course fresh squeezed jugo de naranja, yum! Had some coca tea in the off chance it would help, but can´t say it did...
I really wasn´t feeling well so the rest of the day is a blur...I paid 4 soles, best money ever spent btw, on a cab ride back to the hotel where I promptly fell asleep trying to shake this headache. Ultimately I reluctantly started taking my Diamox (thanks Dr. David) in the hopes that it will kick in and get me back to myself in time for our hike on Wednesday. I slept all day and fortunately woke up feeling better and ready to eat...we had pizza in our hotel, how very uncultured of us. So for good measure I had a steaming hot cup of coca tea. It´s growing on me but still can´t say it´s helping this headache!
It´s almost 10 pm now and of course since it´s Sunday everything seems closed and I am wide awake. Such is life..hopefully will wake up feeling better tomorrow...I´m thinking my next vacation will most definitely be at sea level!
Andy and I trekked through the Plaza which was all blocked off to traffic with it being Sunday...it was a nice break from the exhaust fumes! We went up all these hills trying to find this restaurant but we finally were just starving and stopped at this really cute outdoor place for desayuno. The menu had all the American options as well as Peruvian dishes. I settled on waffles with nutella and scrambled eggs...though I can´t say I was able to eat much. The waffle was in the shape of a flower with a tiny little heart shaped waffle next to it, so cute. Andy got an egg sandwich on fresh bread...it looked delicious. And of course fresh squeezed jugo de naranja, yum! Had some coca tea in the off chance it would help, but can´t say it did...
I really wasn´t feeling well so the rest of the day is a blur...I paid 4 soles, best money ever spent btw, on a cab ride back to the hotel where I promptly fell asleep trying to shake this headache. Ultimately I reluctantly started taking my Diamox (thanks Dr. David) in the hopes that it will kick in and get me back to myself in time for our hike on Wednesday. I slept all day and fortunately woke up feeling better and ready to eat...we had pizza in our hotel, how very uncultured of us. So for good measure I had a steaming hot cup of coca tea. It´s growing on me but still can´t say it´s helping this headache!
It´s almost 10 pm now and of course since it´s Sunday everything seems closed and I am wide awake. Such is life..hopefully will wake up feeling better tomorrow...I´m thinking my next vacation will most definitely be at sea level!
Saturday, September 4, 2010
First day in Cuzco
We arrived in Lima Peru around 4 am and connected to our Cuzco flight...my Phillies shirt attracted some attention by fellow Americans...also on a similar trip. My bags were on the carosel before I was even there to pick them up (this was a first)...we changed some USD for Soles (Peruvian currency) and were promptly greeted by our choice of American fast food joints...Starbucks, McDonalds and Dunkin Donuts. How disappointing after thousands of miles and 15 hours of travel time! I was hoping for something a bit more ¨Peruvian¨. Despite my annoyance at finding all of our American conveniences after barely setting foot in Peru, it certainly didn´t stop me from grabbing a cup of coffee at Starbucks. Apparently my Spanglish isn´t up to speed...I got a ´cafe americano´instead of el cafe. Oh well. Oh, and they nicknamed Andy Andre, haha.
We breezed through customs and soon found ourselves on our final leg of our trip headed for Cuzco. I really hadn´t slept much on the red eye flight but we ascended on the plane just in time for the sunrise to illuminate the Andes mountains...what a sight! I certainly couldn´t sleep after that...The mountains were incredible...very amber-brown in color with snowcapped peaks and deep ravines with squiggly rivers running through (at least that´s what it looked like from my vantage point)....our pilot whose last name was ¨Gaylord¨believe it or not, made some expert manuveurs through mountain canyons to get us to a safe landing...
Upon arrival to Cuzco we were immiately hounded by approximately 38 (muy cortos) men offering to carry our bags, provide us a taxi etc. We politely refused every time (no gracias) and risked life and limb trying to get our bags off of the lightning speed baggage belt! They don´t mess around...they want you outta there fast! I used my impeccable Spanish skills to negotiate a deal on our taxi ride to Hotel Prismo. It was sorta cold and overcast and we seemed to be driving through town just as everyone was starting their morning commute. There are lots of hatchback cars similar to mine but much smaller on the road, and public buses )that look more like mini vans...jam packed with people. We were at a red light next to a woman holding her baby who was about an inch from our window. We were delivered to Hotel Prismo and were surprised at just how cute the hotel is! Hadas- it reminds me of the place we stayed in Hue Vietnam...little balconies to people´s rooms on the inside with a small cafe. A young boy insisted on carrying all of our luggage (bless him) up the 4 flights of stairs...after we were served our first steaming hot cup of coca tea...tasted similar to black tea to me...with leaves floating around in it...I thought it was pretty good, Andy thought it needed some azucar -sugar.
Our room is small but clean (and certainly not a dump Dr. Hyatt!). We have a little terrace that looks over the street with a great view of a hillside with Cuzco written into it somehow...it´s very quaint. We changed and headed out to explore El Plaza del Armas...
Almost immediately we were attacked by 2 women dressed in traditional garb forcing a baby lamb into my arms! Of course to take a picture it costs money...´whatever you want to pay´one minute turned into ´´oh that no work´ the next when we tried to give them less than un sol. They finally settled on a couple soles. We were starving...a young artist boy trying to sell us his work directed us to ´Govinda Lila´s´ a small little vegetarian restaurant run by the sweetest little woman...it was one room with her kitchen sort of hidden by a large cabinet holding her handmade postries. She whipped us up 2 sopas 'soup' and we shared a vegetable curry with quinoa. For dessert we had fresh jugo 'juice'...pineapple and papaya...and just as we were paying la cuenta, the schoolchildren started running by outside with donkeys...apparently they race donkeys here in the mid afternoon! They were dressed in hats and all sorts of colorful Peruvian garb...and the kids were getting really mad at the slow ones who absolutely refused to run. The poor donkeys...but it was quite a sight! Afterwards we wandered through the San Blas section and stumbled upon a cooking contest...complete with chefs on stage with white hats and judges and everything...pretty interesting.
I don´t know if it was the altitude of 11,000 feet that suddenly hit us after lunch but we were exhausted and headed back to the hotel for a nap. It was only noon but felt like midnight to me! Oh and btw, if you are in need of reading glasses, cell phones or are craving an ice cream cone...Cuzco is the place to be. Ive never seen so many optical places...and they have these soft serve ice cream machines out front of almost every store! The streets are cobblestone and immaculately clean. There are people in uniforms walking around with brooms quickly sweeping up litter...and all of the women here strap their baby on their back with this cloth folded into a triangular shape. It´s no baby bjorn but seems to do the trick...and some of these kids are pretty big to be carried on someone´s back but I guess it´s easier than dragging them through the streets...which tend to be pretty crowded. I also have yet to see a real carseat...seems as though women sit in the backseat of cars holding their babies.
I suspect that Peru doesn´t have any emission standards because the exhaust fumes on the streets are overwhelming...we made it back to the hotel and I climbed right into bed...the sheets smelled heavenly of laundry detergent and there are layers of wool blankets...I tried my best not to think of when the last time ...if ever...they saw a washing machine was, but I was so tired I really didn´t care! The bed was warm and comfortable...we woke up in time for dinner around 6pm, I was happy that the shower was scalding hot. We tried Índigos for dinner...boasting Thai food. I must say, the Tom Yam Gai sopa was an a fairly good rendition of the real Thai version...spicy with lemongrass and I guess in Peru they add some zucchini. We sat next to a wood burning stove and listened to some of our favorite karaoke tunes play overhead ...I can´t even recall any of the songs now but the last time I heard them was surely at karaoke. All I could think of were the poorly made Japanese home movies playing in the background at Yakatori Boy. Is it sad that I recall specific events from those films -I would insert question mark here but I cannot seem to get this keyboard to let me type it! This restaurant also had tables with swings for chairs which was different...and the servers were really nice, and patient with me attempting my Spanish skills once more. Andy tried the masaman curry...a thick spicy curry with chicken, vegetables and Thai spices which was also pretty good...but maybe went a bit overboard with the peanut butter.
We walked through the center square...it´s a brisk night, but clear and the plaza is busy. We arrived just after a wedding...they still throw rice on the couple afterwards here apparently...we saw them drive off in a convertible with a collection of aluminum cans clanking off the rear bumper! There are a lot of churches here...las iglesias. Andy wants to go to mass tomorrow but we just found out its at 7am! I don´t know if I´ll be up for that...we´ll see. Oh, and we caught the tail end of a brazo fuerte competition...yes, that´s right...arm wrestling. It was rather anticlimatic as the loser didn´t stand a chance...but it was a big ordeal. Maybe a Saturday night thing to do around here...the auditorium was pretty filled...
There was a small art-craft gallery that we walked through...one vendor had many religious paintings. One was rather explicit of the virgin Mary breastfeeding Jesus...complete with exposed breasts and drops of milk. I really wanted a picture of that but Andy was too embarassed to let me take a photo in front of the artist. In retrospect, I guess it would have been disrespectful and maybe not culturally sensitive...
Anyway...after this we´ll probably check out a lounge or bar...then off to bed. Sunday is a big brunch day here so looking forward to that! Will have to get some restaurant recommendations...
Buenas Noches!
We breezed through customs and soon found ourselves on our final leg of our trip headed for Cuzco. I really hadn´t slept much on the red eye flight but we ascended on the plane just in time for the sunrise to illuminate the Andes mountains...what a sight! I certainly couldn´t sleep after that...The mountains were incredible...very amber-brown in color with snowcapped peaks and deep ravines with squiggly rivers running through (at least that´s what it looked like from my vantage point)....our pilot whose last name was ¨Gaylord¨believe it or not, made some expert manuveurs through mountain canyons to get us to a safe landing...
Upon arrival to Cuzco we were immiately hounded by approximately 38 (muy cortos) men offering to carry our bags, provide us a taxi etc. We politely refused every time (no gracias) and risked life and limb trying to get our bags off of the lightning speed baggage belt! They don´t mess around...they want you outta there fast! I used my impeccable Spanish skills to negotiate a deal on our taxi ride to Hotel Prismo. It was sorta cold and overcast and we seemed to be driving through town just as everyone was starting their morning commute. There are lots of hatchback cars similar to mine but much smaller on the road, and public buses )that look more like mini vans...jam packed with people. We were at a red light next to a woman holding her baby who was about an inch from our window. We were delivered to Hotel Prismo and were surprised at just how cute the hotel is! Hadas- it reminds me of the place we stayed in Hue Vietnam...little balconies to people´s rooms on the inside with a small cafe. A young boy insisted on carrying all of our luggage (bless him) up the 4 flights of stairs...after we were served our first steaming hot cup of coca tea...tasted similar to black tea to me...with leaves floating around in it...I thought it was pretty good, Andy thought it needed some azucar -sugar.
Our room is small but clean (and certainly not a dump Dr. Hyatt!). We have a little terrace that looks over the street with a great view of a hillside with Cuzco written into it somehow...it´s very quaint. We changed and headed out to explore El Plaza del Armas...
Almost immediately we were attacked by 2 women dressed in traditional garb forcing a baby lamb into my arms! Of course to take a picture it costs money...´whatever you want to pay´one minute turned into ´´oh that no work´ the next when we tried to give them less than un sol. They finally settled on a couple soles. We were starving...a young artist boy trying to sell us his work directed us to ´Govinda Lila´s´ a small little vegetarian restaurant run by the sweetest little woman...it was one room with her kitchen sort of hidden by a large cabinet holding her handmade postries. She whipped us up 2 sopas 'soup' and we shared a vegetable curry with quinoa. For dessert we had fresh jugo 'juice'...pineapple and papaya...and just as we were paying la cuenta, the schoolchildren started running by outside with donkeys...apparently they race donkeys here in the mid afternoon! They were dressed in hats and all sorts of colorful Peruvian garb...and the kids were getting really mad at the slow ones who absolutely refused to run. The poor donkeys...but it was quite a sight! Afterwards we wandered through the San Blas section and stumbled upon a cooking contest...complete with chefs on stage with white hats and judges and everything...pretty interesting.
I don´t know if it was the altitude of 11,000 feet that suddenly hit us after lunch but we were exhausted and headed back to the hotel for a nap. It was only noon but felt like midnight to me! Oh and btw, if you are in need of reading glasses, cell phones or are craving an ice cream cone...Cuzco is the place to be. Ive never seen so many optical places...and they have these soft serve ice cream machines out front of almost every store! The streets are cobblestone and immaculately clean. There are people in uniforms walking around with brooms quickly sweeping up litter...and all of the women here strap their baby on their back with this cloth folded into a triangular shape. It´s no baby bjorn but seems to do the trick...and some of these kids are pretty big to be carried on someone´s back but I guess it´s easier than dragging them through the streets...which tend to be pretty crowded. I also have yet to see a real carseat...seems as though women sit in the backseat of cars holding their babies.
I suspect that Peru doesn´t have any emission standards because the exhaust fumes on the streets are overwhelming...we made it back to the hotel and I climbed right into bed...the sheets smelled heavenly of laundry detergent and there are layers of wool blankets...I tried my best not to think of when the last time ...if ever...they saw a washing machine was, but I was so tired I really didn´t care! The bed was warm and comfortable...we woke up in time for dinner around 6pm, I was happy that the shower was scalding hot. We tried Índigos for dinner...boasting Thai food. I must say, the Tom Yam Gai sopa was an a fairly good rendition of the real Thai version...spicy with lemongrass and I guess in Peru they add some zucchini. We sat next to a wood burning stove and listened to some of our favorite karaoke tunes play overhead ...I can´t even recall any of the songs now but the last time I heard them was surely at karaoke. All I could think of were the poorly made Japanese home movies playing in the background at Yakatori Boy. Is it sad that I recall specific events from those films -I would insert question mark here but I cannot seem to get this keyboard to let me type it! This restaurant also had tables with swings for chairs which was different...and the servers were really nice, and patient with me attempting my Spanish skills once more. Andy tried the masaman curry...a thick spicy curry with chicken, vegetables and Thai spices which was also pretty good...but maybe went a bit overboard with the peanut butter.
We walked through the center square...it´s a brisk night, but clear and the plaza is busy. We arrived just after a wedding...they still throw rice on the couple afterwards here apparently...we saw them drive off in a convertible with a collection of aluminum cans clanking off the rear bumper! There are a lot of churches here...las iglesias. Andy wants to go to mass tomorrow but we just found out its at 7am! I don´t know if I´ll be up for that...we´ll see. Oh, and we caught the tail end of a brazo fuerte competition...yes, that´s right...arm wrestling. It was rather anticlimatic as the loser didn´t stand a chance...but it was a big ordeal. Maybe a Saturday night thing to do around here...the auditorium was pretty filled...
There was a small art-craft gallery that we walked through...one vendor had many religious paintings. One was rather explicit of the virgin Mary breastfeeding Jesus...complete with exposed breasts and drops of milk. I really wanted a picture of that but Andy was too embarassed to let me take a photo in front of the artist. In retrospect, I guess it would have been disrespectful and maybe not culturally sensitive...
Anyway...after this we´ll probably check out a lounge or bar...then off to bed. Sunday is a big brunch day here so looking forward to that! Will have to get some restaurant recommendations...
Buenas Noches!
Friday, September 3, 2010
En route to Peru...
I am leaving for Peru in just a few hours...it is hard to believe. I planned this trip 4 months ago and it seems like just yesterday! Everything has been such a whirlwind the past few weeks and it seems like I've been running around NONstop! Aside from people asking me about the trip I honestly have not had much time to even think about it. I'm sure it will set in when I am on the plane :) I'm glad that I'm getting over this cold...or whatever it was (thanks Lea!)...and am hoping that Earl keeps his distance and doesn't interfere with our flight schedule (fingers crossed). Packing last night was rather difficult to say the least, in fact- the upstairs of my place looks like Earl stopped by. But ultimately, everything made it into the appropriate bags (I hope) and I have enough medications to treat a small village (though lets hope I won't need to do that). Keeping it to a minimum was a challenge...and it required a lot of restraint but I did not even bring one pair of platform heels :( I carefully weighed their ability to double as a hammer in case of emergency (thanks for showing me that Marcos) but ultimately decided they weren't worth the added weight. I am hoping I won't miss them too much! And a special thank you to Sharon and Joann for supplying us with those tightly rolled half rolls of toilet paper...I am sure they will come in handy on the Inca Trail :) My heart is racing...not sure if it was my Venti Starbucks from this morning or just the excitement building...but it's a fun -I'm about to go on vacation- feeling :) YAY! Peru!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)