I got into town in the late morning. There are no taxis in San Pedro only your two feet, so I started hoofing it to find a place to stay. It was hard to find a place to stay because this town is full of tourists. I finally found a place which cost about 16 dollars a night, which is a lot for someone on a budget, but I was afraid that I would not find a place. It was a dorm style hostal with six people in a room. It was comfortable, but a little tight.
After I got settled, I went to look around town and to book tours out in the desert. I found a place which offered me three tours over three days for 70 dollars, which I thought was a pretty good deal. The three tours included a trip to Valle de Luna, valley of the moon, Laguna Altiplanicas, Altiplanic Lagoons, and Geysers del Tatio, Tatio Geysers.
After booking the tours, I went out to explore the village. I found a really nice resaurant that had pasta for fairly cheap and I had lunch there. It was quite good for both the budget and my stomach.
After the lunch, I explored the local church and the town some more. The tour for Valle de Luna left at three in the afternoon. The views were spectacular. We saw the valley of the Moon which really did look like the moon, then we saw the Valley of Death. This valley was named valley of death because literally nothing can live there. After this we went back to the valley of the moon where we saw salt mines and the three marys, which are rock formations which supposedly look like the three marys from catholic tradition, but it really was not that clear. The salt mines were great. After a hot day in the sun, you could hear the salt rocks expanding in the coolness of the evening. It was really quite odd. After the salt mines we went to the great dune, a huge pile of sand. We climbed up and watched the sunset over the mountains and the valley. It was truly spectacular to see the colors change across the horizon. From the top of the dune, we could see a rock formation which was called the ampitheater, because it looked like an ampitheater. Our guide said that legend has it that Pink Floyd would play there someday. I doubt it.
After the visit we returned to San Pedro, but on our way, we could see the moon just peak above the horizon opposite the sun. It was truly fantastic. I do not know if you have ever seen people watch a solar eclipse either in person or on tv, but typically everyone gets very excited as the sun passes passed the moon and when it breaks free from behind it, people start clapping and yelling. This is what it was like when the moon peaked above the ridge. It was spectacular.
Another important note for this journey are the people I met on the tour. I met a couple from Holland and it just so happens that they love America, Americans, and politics. What an amazing match. The man works as a debate coach for political candidates all over Europe. He works with the Christian Democrat Party in Holland, which sponsors Christian Democrat Parties in newly formed or developing democracies in Eastern Europe. It was really interesting to hear about his work. His friend, he told me, works as the highest advisor to the Dutch Prime Minister. He said that if I came to the Netherlands, he would put together a three week program for me about debate techniques, Dutch politics, and he would try and introduce me to many people and places in the Hauge --- the dutch center of politics, as well as the center for the International Court of Justice. What a great opportunity.
We also talked, on the trip, about American politics, my goals, etc. We talked about the state of the world and suprising to both of us, we saw the world in a very positive light. We discussed the role of positive thinking, goal making, and creating your life. It was really interesting. He gave me some really good advice about creating the life that I want. After the tour they offered to take me to dinner. They took me out to a really nice restaurant where they ordered a great bottle of Chilean Syrah wine. I had a lasagna, without mean, type dish that was excellent and fresh.
During dinner we discussed wine, politics, Belgium, ballet, orchestra, and tennis. It was great. After dinner they asked me how old I was and I told them twenty. They were amazed at how young I was. It was so nice to meet them and talk with them. I hope that someday soon I can take them up on their offer to visit Amsterdam and Holland.
After dinner, I returned to my hostal to go to sleep.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Border Crossings --- Good Bye Peru!
I got to Tacna, Peru, just north of the Peruvian-Chilean border today around 7am. I then caught a taxi to the international bus terminal, where I got into another taxi with three other people in it. The taxi driver helped us cross the border, which was a lot easier then I expected it would be. Then the taxi driver took us to the bus station in Arica, Chile. Before left the bus terminal I bought my night bus ticket for Calama, Chile. I also left my bags at a secure baggage area in the bus terminal and now I am out exploring Arica, Chile. Arica, is an interesting town. It is situated on the Pacific coast and it has everything that a larger city would have. Pedestrian malls, shopping centers, cultural areas, etc. It was really fun to explore. I even ended up getting some really good ice cream on the pedestrian mall. I strolled up and down the coast watching the waves on the Pacific. The waves were really, really big. Something about the weather and the seasons made these time the best time for waves and surfing on the northern coast of Chile, so lots of surfers were out and about. In Arica, there is a catholic church which was designed and built by Eiffel, the guy who designed and built the Eiffel Tower in Paris, entirely out of cast iron --- except the doors which were wood. Arica, like every city in South America had a large square as well. It had a really nice fountain in it which changed every few minutes. I spent most of my day sitting on a bench reading a book and enjoying the wonderfully warm sun. It was really quite relaxing. As the sun went down, I found a pizza place and had a really nice pizza. After the pizza I caught a taxi out to the bus station where I waited for my bus to Calama. I met a girl who is studying medicine in Argentina. She was on her way back from visiting her family in Peru during a school break. She showed me pictures of Arequipa, her home town, and we talked a lot about South America. When I went to get on the bus, I checked my bags, and for the first time in the entire trip, my bags were searched. It was very strange because I was not use to strangers going through my bags asking me lots of questions. They wanted to know where I was going, where I was coming from, why I had so many books, why I had so many bags, why I had a laptop, where I was from, etc. It was quite the process. They quite literally took everything out of my bag and inspected it. I felt quite violated, but secure --- I guess.
Lake Tititaca
I got picked up from my hostal around 6:45am and we went down to the port where the boat was waiting to take us out to the islands of Lake Tititaca. Again we had a mixture of people on the boat. Some people were from Australia, the UK, Brazil, Germany, Belgium, and the US. It was fun to hang out with the people. I spent most of my time with the people from the UK and the US. It was really neat to meet them.
Our boat went very slowly out into the lake and about a half hour after we left we arrived at the Uros Islands. These islands are ´floating´ islands that the native people build. The island we visited was the flamingo island. They take reed roots and cut them up in squares and tie them together. Afterwards they cut reeds from the water and place them on top of the reed squares. This creates a boyant island that they literally live on. They even cut sections off of the islands if the people who live on those sections are bad. Quite the way to solve problems. Sometimes, I think that would be nice in the USA.
After a demonstration by the President of the island, they passed around the reeds and we were told that they eat the white ends of the reeds. I assume that they are full of fiber, something I have been told is important in my diet by my mother. I tried it and really it wasn´t that bad. After the demonstration we could explore the island. I bought two gourd bird figurines which are pretty cool. They look like the birds that they eat on the island.
Afterwards, I paid 10 soles to take a ride on a traditional reed boat. Before we left on the boat ride, the women of the village sang us a couple of songs. One was a traditional Uros song, and one was their rendition of twinkle twinkle little star. It wasn´t quite the melody I was use to, but it was nice. The boat ride was really pretty fun. Then we got back on our motor powered boat to head out to a ´real island´ Isla Taquile. Before we could go out on the main water though, the captain had to stop the boat and clean off the prop from the reeds. It reminded me of when we have to do this up north on the lake. We always call it salad and the prop salad shooter. It was funny to see that they deal with ´salad´ all over the world.
At that island, I had lunch --- a traditional omlet with fried patatos and we saw traditional songs and dances of the people. We also learned about their clothing. Their clothing has a lot of meaning. Single males wear stocking caps that are partially red and partially white. Married men wear all red stocking caps. The women are differentiated by the size of their pompoms on their sawls. The larger the pompoms the longer they have been married. If they aren´t married their pompoms are very small.
After Taquile Island, we got back on the boat and took an excruciatingly slow ride back to port. It easily took over 3.5 hours and the boat just puttsed along. A couple times we had to stop because I think the boat was overheating. Not to pleasant. When I got back to land I picked up my bus ticket from my hostel and I went to the bus station where I caught my 10 hour night bus to Tacna, Peru.
Our boat went very slowly out into the lake and about a half hour after we left we arrived at the Uros Islands. These islands are ´floating´ islands that the native people build. The island we visited was the flamingo island. They take reed roots and cut them up in squares and tie them together. Afterwards they cut reeds from the water and place them on top of the reed squares. This creates a boyant island that they literally live on. They even cut sections off of the islands if the people who live on those sections are bad. Quite the way to solve problems. Sometimes, I think that would be nice in the USA.
After a demonstration by the President of the island, they passed around the reeds and we were told that they eat the white ends of the reeds. I assume that they are full of fiber, something I have been told is important in my diet by my mother. I tried it and really it wasn´t that bad. After the demonstration we could explore the island. I bought two gourd bird figurines which are pretty cool. They look like the birds that they eat on the island.
Afterwards, I paid 10 soles to take a ride on a traditional reed boat. Before we left on the boat ride, the women of the village sang us a couple of songs. One was a traditional Uros song, and one was their rendition of twinkle twinkle little star. It wasn´t quite the melody I was use to, but it was nice. The boat ride was really pretty fun. Then we got back on our motor powered boat to head out to a ´real island´ Isla Taquile. Before we could go out on the main water though, the captain had to stop the boat and clean off the prop from the reeds. It reminded me of when we have to do this up north on the lake. We always call it salad and the prop salad shooter. It was funny to see that they deal with ´salad´ all over the world.
At that island, I had lunch --- a traditional omlet with fried patatos and we saw traditional songs and dances of the people. We also learned about their clothing. Their clothing has a lot of meaning. Single males wear stocking caps that are partially red and partially white. Married men wear all red stocking caps. The women are differentiated by the size of their pompoms on their sawls. The larger the pompoms the longer they have been married. If they aren´t married their pompoms are very small.
After Taquile Island, we got back on the boat and took an excruciatingly slow ride back to port. It easily took over 3.5 hours and the boat just puttsed along. A couple times we had to stop because I think the boat was overheating. Not to pleasant. When I got back to land I picked up my bus ticket from my hostel and I went to the bus station where I caught my 10 hour night bus to Tacna, Peru.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Bus to Puno
I got up early this morning and left the hostal before 7am. I couldn´t find the gourd that I had bought the other day, and I think someone may have taken it. I had it down in the common room of the hostal and then it was gone. I was quite pissed. I took a taxi (about 1 dollar) to the bus station where I booked a bus to Puno, Peru on the shores of Lake Tititaca --- the highest navigable lake in the world. I ended up getting the ticket for 25 soles about 10 bucks, really pretty good. It just happened to be that Alex, my friend from the Machu Picchu trek was there and we were on the same bus.
The bus was long about 6-7 hours, but it was nice to get out of the Cusco area where I had been spending quite a few days. I arrived in Puno in the afternoon and I was greeted by many people wanting to give me tours of Lake Tititaca and get me hostals. I said that one woman could help me. She got me a hostal for 25 soles about 10 bucks for the night. The taxi was about a dollar to the hostal and then I paid 40 soles or about 20 dollars for the full day cuise on Lake Tititaca. I also booked a bus from Puno to Tacna, Peru tomorrow night. Tacna is the staging area for crossing the Peruvian-Chilean border, so my adventure in Peru is almost over... I think.
Afterwards, I got unpacked, and looked for the gourd again... still nothing. I then went out to discover Puno. I ran into Alex and his new friend while out and about. We went out for a Pisco Sour, the national drink of Peru, and I had a Chicken Sandwhich. In spanish Pollo is chicken. After we had our drink, I found an internet cafe where I could update my blog and respond to my e-mails. I tried calling home but the computers here in Puno aren´t too good. Really, Puno is pretty much a dump, but its proximity to Lake Tititaca keeps it going. I´m actually really glad that I am only spending one night here. Because of the altitude, it is very cold here. I am excited to get to Tacna on Thursday, where the weather should be warmer again.
Well, I´m going to go back to my hostal and get some rest. I have a big day tomorrow.
Buenos Noches! (Good night!)
The bus was long about 6-7 hours, but it was nice to get out of the Cusco area where I had been spending quite a few days. I arrived in Puno in the afternoon and I was greeted by many people wanting to give me tours of Lake Tititaca and get me hostals. I said that one woman could help me. She got me a hostal for 25 soles about 10 bucks for the night. The taxi was about a dollar to the hostal and then I paid 40 soles or about 20 dollars for the full day cuise on Lake Tititaca. I also booked a bus from Puno to Tacna, Peru tomorrow night. Tacna is the staging area for crossing the Peruvian-Chilean border, so my adventure in Peru is almost over... I think.
Afterwards, I got unpacked, and looked for the gourd again... still nothing. I then went out to discover Puno. I ran into Alex and his new friend while out and about. We went out for a Pisco Sour, the national drink of Peru, and I had a Chicken Sandwhich. In spanish Pollo is chicken. After we had our drink, I found an internet cafe where I could update my blog and respond to my e-mails. I tried calling home but the computers here in Puno aren´t too good. Really, Puno is pretty much a dump, but its proximity to Lake Tititaca keeps it going. I´m actually really glad that I am only spending one night here. Because of the altitude, it is very cold here. I am excited to get to Tacna on Thursday, where the weather should be warmer again.
Well, I´m going to go back to my hostal and get some rest. I have a big day tomorrow.
Buenos Noches! (Good night!)
Monday, July 14, 2008
Day 2 in Cusco
Today, I slept late trying to recover from my trek. Afterwards I got ready for the day and took my laundry to a place to get cleaned. After treking for 5 days your clothes, especially your socks become very, very stinky. Always pack more socks and underwear then you think you need and if you are going treking for a long time wear underarmor underwear, you´ll thank yourself later. Now I´m blogging like crazy so that you can read about my adventures. The plan is that this afternoon I am going to book my bus for Puno for tomorrow. The bus I want to take stops at 5 different sites in Peru on the way.
Well, here is my update for the day. I did not get the bus that I wanted and instead I plan on going to the bus station in the morning and booking a bus from Cusco to Puno then. Looking for the bus company though, I found the USA Consulate to Peru in Cusco. It made me feel good to see the Great Seal hanging on a building.
The rest of the day I walked around Cusco. I treated myself to a dinner of fairly American pasta. It was pretty good. I also spent sometime in a square that was filled with artists who were just working on things in the square. I spent quite a bit of time just chilling there watching them.
I was haggled by a woman to buy a gord (sp?) that was etched with a really cool design. I bought it for 25 soles or about 8 dollars. I ended up going back to the hostal rather early. I talked with Ann a woman from the UK. She seemed rather old to be hanging out in a hostal, like late 50´s or early 60´s. She was traveling around the world just by herself. Quite the treker. I also went up to my bedroom early. I played solitare on my laptop until about 11pm and then I went to bed.
Well, here is my update for the day. I did not get the bus that I wanted and instead I plan on going to the bus station in the morning and booking a bus from Cusco to Puno then. Looking for the bus company though, I found the USA Consulate to Peru in Cusco. It made me feel good to see the Great Seal hanging on a building.
The rest of the day I walked around Cusco. I treated myself to a dinner of fairly American pasta. It was pretty good. I also spent sometime in a square that was filled with artists who were just working on things in the square. I spent quite a bit of time just chilling there watching them.
I was haggled by a woman to buy a gord (sp?) that was etched with a really cool design. I bought it for 25 soles or about 8 dollars. I ended up going back to the hostal rather early. I talked with Ann a woman from the UK. She seemed rather old to be hanging out in a hostal, like late 50´s or early 60´s. She was traveling around the world just by herself. Quite the treker. I also went up to my bedroom early. I played solitare on my laptop until about 11pm and then I went to bed.
Machu Picchu
Alex and I got up at 4am for the Machu Picchu day. Alex walked up the mountain and I took the bus... I had had enough walking for awhile. The bus left at 5:20 and Machu Picchu opens at 6am. Most people want to get there early to see the sunrise as did the rest of our group. However, it happened to be that the day we went to Machu Picchu the mountain and ruins were covered in a dense cloud. So, we couldn´t see the sunrise, but it was still pretty amazing. As we sat there the clouds slowly left and we could see more and more of the ruins. It was pretty incredible.
Machu Picchu on Wikipedia
I inserted the above link so that you can read more about Machu Picchu. I highly suggest it.
Machu Picchu is one of the new 7 wonders of the world, along with Petra, the Great Wall of China, the Colessium, Christ the Redeemer Statue, Chichen Iza, and the Taj Mahal. You can also check information on the new 7 wonders of the world at New 7 Wonders. On this site you will find out that the world voted on the new 7 wonders of the world. You will also read that they are starting a competition for the 7 wonders of nature soon. You should definitely vote for your favorite 7 natural wonders. I voted for the Grand Canyon, the Redwood Forest, the Great Barrier Reef, Igazu Falls, the Amazon, Mt. Kilamanjaro, and the Cliffs of Moor.
We took a tour with our guide of Machu Pichu and then we climbed up Machu Picchu Mountain to get some really good views of the ruins. Although this was really hard, the views from above were pretty amazing and worth the climb. Most people want to climb Wana Picchu the mountain everyone sees in the typical picture of Machu Picchu, but I really don´t think the views from this mountain are as nice as Machu Picchu Mountain (I can tell because I looked at Alex´s pictures on his digital camera). For some reason though Wana Picchu is more popular and only 400 people a day can go up to protect it from erosion.
After climbing Machu Picchu mountain and wandering around the ruins, I returned to Aguas Calientes, on the bus. I had lunch with the Irish and the Dutch and then we visited the hot springs in Aguas Calientes. These springs are not near as nice as the springs in Santa Teresa, so I suggest that you cut those from your trip and just go to the ones at Santa Teresa. After the hot springs, we returned to get our train tickets and go to the train station. We took a train from Aguas Calientes to a small town where we got on a bus that took us to the center of Cusco. After this, I walked to my hostal and went to bed.
Machu Picchu on Wikipedia
I inserted the above link so that you can read more about Machu Picchu. I highly suggest it.
Machu Picchu is one of the new 7 wonders of the world, along with Petra, the Great Wall of China, the Colessium, Christ the Redeemer Statue, Chichen Iza, and the Taj Mahal. You can also check information on the new 7 wonders of the world at New 7 Wonders. On this site you will find out that the world voted on the new 7 wonders of the world. You will also read that they are starting a competition for the 7 wonders of nature soon. You should definitely vote for your favorite 7 natural wonders. I voted for the Grand Canyon, the Redwood Forest, the Great Barrier Reef, Igazu Falls, the Amazon, Mt. Kilamanjaro, and the Cliffs of Moor.
We took a tour with our guide of Machu Pichu and then we climbed up Machu Picchu Mountain to get some really good views of the ruins. Although this was really hard, the views from above were pretty amazing and worth the climb. Most people want to climb Wana Picchu the mountain everyone sees in the typical picture of Machu Picchu, but I really don´t think the views from this mountain are as nice as Machu Picchu Mountain (I can tell because I looked at Alex´s pictures on his digital camera). For some reason though Wana Picchu is more popular and only 400 people a day can go up to protect it from erosion.
After climbing Machu Picchu mountain and wandering around the ruins, I returned to Aguas Calientes, on the bus. I had lunch with the Irish and the Dutch and then we visited the hot springs in Aguas Calientes. These springs are not near as nice as the springs in Santa Teresa, so I suggest that you cut those from your trip and just go to the ones at Santa Teresa. After the hot springs, we returned to get our train tickets and go to the train station. We took a train from Aguas Calientes to a small town where we got on a bus that took us to the center of Cusco. After this, I walked to my hostal and went to bed.
Trek Day 4
I woke up in the morning, ate breakfast and we started our trek. We walked along a trail until we reached Hydroelectrica. This city is a check point for Machu Picchu and you must sign in with your passport number to continue. After this check point we reached a small little town and there we ate lunch. After lunch we paid the cooks to bring our bags from this small town to Aguas Calientes (Hot Springs or Hot Waters) where we would spend our last night before Machu Picchu.
We then walked along the train tracks to Aguas Calientes. This would seem very easy because it is flat, but walking along train tracks in Peru is very hard. Each railroad tie is set a little differently and there is hardly any regularity to it. If you don´t walk on the railroad ties, you walk on shell rock which makes it really easy to trip and fall --- especially if you are me. So it took a lot of concentration. Along the walk we could see part of Machu Picchu from the trek. It was pretty exciting and kept you going.
Finally we arrived in Aguas Calientes, the front door to Machu Picchu. We each got placed in our Hostals and I took a much needed hot shower. It was so wonderful. :)
After my shower I went out for a burger with my ´roommate´ Alex. We both felt like we deserved a nice American treat. After that we went to our real dinner that the cooks made for us. After that dinner, it was fish and was not very good, I went out with the Germans for some pizza.
So I had three dinners, which, yes Mom, I know is bad, but I had just walked so much, I deserved it. I returned to the hostal where I found a huge spider on the wall. I picked it up with a towel and tried to throw it out of the window, but it climbed out of the towel and I just threw the entire towel out of the window. You would do the same if you saw the size of this spider. (I am just glad that I did not see any snakes, I hate them much more.)
After I closed the window and assured myself that there weren´t any other creepy crawling things in my room, I went to bed.
We then walked along the train tracks to Aguas Calientes. This would seem very easy because it is flat, but walking along train tracks in Peru is very hard. Each railroad tie is set a little differently and there is hardly any regularity to it. If you don´t walk on the railroad ties, you walk on shell rock which makes it really easy to trip and fall --- especially if you are me. So it took a lot of concentration. Along the walk we could see part of Machu Picchu from the trek. It was pretty exciting and kept you going.
Finally we arrived in Aguas Calientes, the front door to Machu Picchu. We each got placed in our Hostals and I took a much needed hot shower. It was so wonderful. :)
After my shower I went out for a burger with my ´roommate´ Alex. We both felt like we deserved a nice American treat. After that we went to our real dinner that the cooks made for us. After that dinner, it was fish and was not very good, I went out with the Germans for some pizza.
So I had three dinners, which, yes Mom, I know is bad, but I had just walked so much, I deserved it. I returned to the hostal where I found a huge spider on the wall. I picked it up with a towel and tried to throw it out of the window, but it climbed out of the towel and I just threw the entire towel out of the window. You would do the same if you saw the size of this spider. (I am just glad that I did not see any snakes, I hate them much more.)
After I closed the window and assured myself that there weren´t any other creepy crawling things in my room, I went to bed.
Trek Day 3
I woke up in the morning after a really good nights rest and I ate breakfast, again made by the cooks. We then went on our way to trek to our lunch place. The walk was rather short, but beautiful. We walked for 4-5 hours. We reached a place where we ate lunch and then we (cheated) and took a van to our camping site in Santa Maria.
We cheated a little bit so that we could get to our camping site early and visit the hot springs at Santa Maria. After days of treking, it was amazing to spend 2 hours in the hot springs to sooth my muscles. It was really neat. The pools were built into these rocks who literally had hot water flowing out of them. It was SO nice. I highly suggest these hot springs if you ever get the chance to come to Cusco, Peru.
After the hot springs we went back to the campsite where the cooks had made us dinner. We ate dinner and listened to some pretty old 80´s music from the United States. It was kind of a little party. After the ´party´ I went to bed.
We cheated a little bit so that we could get to our camping site early and visit the hot springs at Santa Maria. After days of treking, it was amazing to spend 2 hours in the hot springs to sooth my muscles. It was really neat. The pools were built into these rocks who literally had hot water flowing out of them. It was SO nice. I highly suggest these hot springs if you ever get the chance to come to Cusco, Peru.
After the hot springs we went back to the campsite where the cooks had made us dinner. We ate dinner and listened to some pretty old 80´s music from the United States. It was kind of a little party. After the ´party´ I went to bed.
Trek Day 2
So we skipped the first leg of our Trek because we spent a day in the village, which was fine with me-- we had a lot of walking to do. Before we started the trek we ate a breakfast which was actually pretty small. This day we walked up Salkanty Pass. Salkanty is a very large mountin in Peru and is part of the Andes. It is so steep and rugged that no person has ever climbed to the top. The pass was 4600m or about 15,000 ft. That is pretty high up, actually it is higher up then Mt. Rainer, the tallest mountain in the continental United States. As we climbed it got colder and colder because of the altitude. Also it became harder and harder to breath because the air got thinner and thinner.
You all know that I am not the most athletic person or the most fit person, so this was rather hard for me, but, I did it. I made it up Salkanty pass! It was quite the acomplishment. It took close to 5 hours to get up the mountain and then another 4 or so hours down. In between our cooks made us lunch in a flat portion of the mountain. It was actually really hard to go down as well because it was so steep. The views were quite impressive though. It was interesting to see the changes in climate and vegitation as we came down from the very cold tundra top of the pass to the Cusco rainforest below.
After more than 8 hours of really difficult treking, we reached our campsite, where I ate some popcorn for a snack and skipped dinner for 10 hours of sleep.
You all know that I am not the most athletic person or the most fit person, so this was rather hard for me, but, I did it. I made it up Salkanty pass! It was quite the acomplishment. It took close to 5 hours to get up the mountain and then another 4 or so hours down. In between our cooks made us lunch in a flat portion of the mountain. It was actually really hard to go down as well because it was so steep. The views were quite impressive though. It was interesting to see the changes in climate and vegitation as we came down from the very cold tundra top of the pass to the Cusco rainforest below.
After more than 8 hours of really difficult treking, we reached our campsite, where I ate some popcorn for a snack and skipped dinner for 10 hours of sleep.
Trek Day 1
So, we woke up and the road blocks and strikes were still going on. So, we had a nice breakfast prepared by the cooks and visited with the people we would be spending the next five days with. After breakfast we got the plan from the guide. The plan was to have a local guide give us a tour of local Incan ruins. He also suggested that we could buy a sheep from a local farmer and they would prepare us a special lunch. It cost us each about 10 soles, or 3 dollars and the farmer proceeded to go out to the pasture, grab a sheep, bring it out in front of us, and kill it. It was a little disturbing. They cut its throat and then drained the blood from it as much as possible. Afterwards they broke its hooves and started to gut it. In the middle of killing it though, the farmer had to go sharpen his knife on a rock, so the sheep sat there half dead, half alive waiting for its death. I would qualify that as cruel and unusual punishment.
After the sacraficing of the sheep, we treked up the hill to see some Incan ruins. On the way up we saw many irrigation channels and they absolutely stunned me. Much of Peru get little if any rain during the winter, so farmers rely on the glacier melts and springs to provide water for their crops. They make channels through out their farm land to get the water to the places they need it. It is really quite impressive.
The ruins were also pretty interesting. We were told that the government is helping the village research and rebuild parts of the ruins in the hopes that someday the village could increase their tourism for profit. This is also probably why they would not let us pass on the road blocks. When we got to the top of the ruins there was a big soccer field or pitch and village children had followed us up the hill. A bunch of people from the group ended up playing a soccer match with the village children. It was quite the site to see. It ended up being that this detour was pretty cool.
We returned for lunch --- the sheep if you remember. It was prepared specially in a Peruvian style. The sheep was cut up and hot coals were placed in a hole in the ground. The hole was then covered with tarp and then dirt and the sheep was allowed to cook there. It is supposedly a very good and popular way to cook in Peru. The sheep was very good and the lunch in general was very good. The sheep was a little tough, but it was good.
After lunch we were told that we were just going to chill out for the rest of the day and that we would probably leave around 3am for our next trek site. I took a nap and many people toured the village. This village was really quite interesting. Everyday the farmers would take their cows and animals up the hill to pasture, then return to do other things. In the afternoon, they would go back up the hill to gather their animals to bring them back for the night. The children played all day and we spent a lot of time with them. They loved our flashlights and cameras --- especially when we took their picture and showed them their images on the digital screen. I am pretty sure it was the prime definition of culture shock.
I did not see this, but the Irish and Dutch saw the local women get together to play a soccer match in the village. They got together and played even in their skirts. They told us about this and we talked for a long time about how Western civilization doesn´t really have community anymore. How we don´t go bowling or play sports together. This is something that my family has talked about a lot as well. We go home to our private sanctuary. We work on our backyard to make it ours and special to us. We build fences away from others. Perhaps this is why our communities aren´t as safe. If we trust everyone and know everyone, when someone does something wrong to you they don´t just commit a crime against you personally but a crime against the community. It is just an interesting thought and I think the moral of the story is that we can all try to create better communities by doing things wiht others.
We ate dinner that night in the ´mansion´ that was built by the government in the hopes that it could be used as a hostal when the incan ruins were finished and the village became a tourist site. So, we technically were the first tourists to use the government project. It was pretty neat. After dinner we started a fire, but our van arrived and we were told that we needed to get going to our next campsite or the road blocks may come back tomorrow. We quickly packed our things, said our goodbyes to the children, and got in the van to go.
The road blocks were so impressive. The size of the rocks were just crazy. In some places the rocks were as large as cars because the the farmers had used dynomite to have huge rocks fall on the road.
We arrived at our campsite though and we set up our tent. It was very cold because we had went up in altitude, but we made it though it. Tomorrow we would start the real trek and it was going to be quite the adventure.
After the sacraficing of the sheep, we treked up the hill to see some Incan ruins. On the way up we saw many irrigation channels and they absolutely stunned me. Much of Peru get little if any rain during the winter, so farmers rely on the glacier melts and springs to provide water for their crops. They make channels through out their farm land to get the water to the places they need it. It is really quite impressive.
The ruins were also pretty interesting. We were told that the government is helping the village research and rebuild parts of the ruins in the hopes that someday the village could increase their tourism for profit. This is also probably why they would not let us pass on the road blocks. When we got to the top of the ruins there was a big soccer field or pitch and village children had followed us up the hill. A bunch of people from the group ended up playing a soccer match with the village children. It was quite the site to see. It ended up being that this detour was pretty cool.
We returned for lunch --- the sheep if you remember. It was prepared specially in a Peruvian style. The sheep was cut up and hot coals were placed in a hole in the ground. The hole was then covered with tarp and then dirt and the sheep was allowed to cook there. It is supposedly a very good and popular way to cook in Peru. The sheep was very good and the lunch in general was very good. The sheep was a little tough, but it was good.
After lunch we were told that we were just going to chill out for the rest of the day and that we would probably leave around 3am for our next trek site. I took a nap and many people toured the village. This village was really quite interesting. Everyday the farmers would take their cows and animals up the hill to pasture, then return to do other things. In the afternoon, they would go back up the hill to gather their animals to bring them back for the night. The children played all day and we spent a lot of time with them. They loved our flashlights and cameras --- especially when we took their picture and showed them their images on the digital screen. I am pretty sure it was the prime definition of culture shock.
I did not see this, but the Irish and Dutch saw the local women get together to play a soccer match in the village. They got together and played even in their skirts. They told us about this and we talked for a long time about how Western civilization doesn´t really have community anymore. How we don´t go bowling or play sports together. This is something that my family has talked about a lot as well. We go home to our private sanctuary. We work on our backyard to make it ours and special to us. We build fences away from others. Perhaps this is why our communities aren´t as safe. If we trust everyone and know everyone, when someone does something wrong to you they don´t just commit a crime against you personally but a crime against the community. It is just an interesting thought and I think the moral of the story is that we can all try to create better communities by doing things wiht others.
We ate dinner that night in the ´mansion´ that was built by the government in the hopes that it could be used as a hostal when the incan ruins were finished and the village became a tourist site. So, we technically were the first tourists to use the government project. It was pretty neat. After dinner we started a fire, but our van arrived and we were told that we needed to get going to our next campsite or the road blocks may come back tomorrow. We quickly packed our things, said our goodbyes to the children, and got in the van to go.
The road blocks were so impressive. The size of the rocks were just crazy. In some places the rocks were as large as cars because the the farmers had used dynomite to have huge rocks fall on the road.
We arrived at our campsite though and we set up our tent. It was very cold because we had went up in altitude, but we made it though it. Tomorrow we would start the real trek and it was going to be quite the adventure.
Leaving for the Trek
This is a continuation of the Cusco Day 1 post, but that post was getting long and this is quite the story, so I am making it seperate. Please check out the Cusco Day 1 post again, as I added more information.
So, I was picked up by the Agency from my hostal around 9:30 and we drove around and met some other people as well. We then went to a plaza where many more people were waiting to go on our trek. The trek included: Claire and Johnny from Ireland, Alex and Me from the the United States, Sarah and Ronco from the Netherlands, Yanca and Henning from Germany, and a family of 5 from Denmark. It was quite the representation from the developed world.
After a few problems and trying to negotiate prices on sleeping bags and trying to settle some confusions we were off to our first camping site. We were driving along outside of Cusco when suddenly there are massive rocks on the road. These were the road blocks that the Agency was talking about. Come to find out that the protests in Cusco and these protests were related. The native farmers of Peru all own their own land and basically farm for subsistance, or for their own needs. This happened when in their history a leftist government took all the land away from some form of plantations where the native people worked and redistrubted it to the native peoples who could not produce enough to export for profit and they became terribly inefficient. At the time the plantations ran the show they basically used the natives as ´slaves´ but they did get a wage, just a very small one. This land redistribution was liked by the natives. Currently, the Peruvian government is talking about redistributing the land again, but this time away from the natives in the hope that they can become more productive, export more products, and become more wealthy as a country. (I just have to put a plug in, this exactly the economics stuff I study in International Economics and will study in Growth and Development Economics, so this experience, while a little scary was very educational.) The reason they blocked the roads is because everything basically comes to standstill in the country because they use their roads so heavily, also the tourists are the ones who bring the most money to the country, so if you stop the tourists, it gets reactions from many of the government officials and the people of Peru in general.
Going back to the rocks. We would try to take our van and go around the rocks as much as possible. At one point our drivers and guides got out of the van to move rocks from the street. When they did so and we started going through the rock barriers, people came running out of the fields to try and stop our van, but we got away.
At another block there were not only rocks but people standing on the road. Our driver stopped quite aways away from the block and went to negotiate with them. The guides and driver ended up bribing the people to move out of the way with Soles, the local currency, and by lying to them saying that we were a local van with locals in it. The people moved out of the road and clear a path from the rocks, but as we were driving through the natives were yelling... they a locals they lied to us, and the driver hit the gas and we got away.
At another block there was a fire in the middle of the road with a huge tree laying across the road as the fire was engulfing the tree. We drove around the tree on the shoulder of the road.
Somewhere in between all these road blocks we saw a government semi tractor trailor come with a huge bulldozer on it because they were going to remove the rocks from the road. It didn´t help.
At the last block we got to there was a group of women and children who would not let us pass. The driver and guide tried to negotiate with them for probably a half hour, but they refused to let us pass. Instead they said that we could stay in their village for the night and spend the day visiting an Incan ruin that was above their village. A little strange, but that is what we did. We popped our tents in the village and slept the night. We probably arrived at this village at 12:30 or 1am. So the adventure had begun with a bang. I slept in a tent with the American, Alex, who was 21 and spending some time in South America because he took a year off from school to visit the world--- or South America I guess.
It was quite the adventure.
So, I was picked up by the Agency from my hostal around 9:30 and we drove around and met some other people as well. We then went to a plaza where many more people were waiting to go on our trek. The trek included: Claire and Johnny from Ireland, Alex and Me from the the United States, Sarah and Ronco from the Netherlands, Yanca and Henning from Germany, and a family of 5 from Denmark. It was quite the representation from the developed world.
After a few problems and trying to negotiate prices on sleeping bags and trying to settle some confusions we were off to our first camping site. We were driving along outside of Cusco when suddenly there are massive rocks on the road. These were the road blocks that the Agency was talking about. Come to find out that the protests in Cusco and these protests were related. The native farmers of Peru all own their own land and basically farm for subsistance, or for their own needs. This happened when in their history a leftist government took all the land away from some form of plantations where the native people worked and redistrubted it to the native peoples who could not produce enough to export for profit and they became terribly inefficient. At the time the plantations ran the show they basically used the natives as ´slaves´ but they did get a wage, just a very small one. This land redistribution was liked by the natives. Currently, the Peruvian government is talking about redistributing the land again, but this time away from the natives in the hope that they can become more productive, export more products, and become more wealthy as a country. (I just have to put a plug in, this exactly the economics stuff I study in International Economics and will study in Growth and Development Economics, so this experience, while a little scary was very educational.) The reason they blocked the roads is because everything basically comes to standstill in the country because they use their roads so heavily, also the tourists are the ones who bring the most money to the country, so if you stop the tourists, it gets reactions from many of the government officials and the people of Peru in general.
Going back to the rocks. We would try to take our van and go around the rocks as much as possible. At one point our drivers and guides got out of the van to move rocks from the street. When they did so and we started going through the rock barriers, people came running out of the fields to try and stop our van, but we got away.
At another block there were not only rocks but people standing on the road. Our driver stopped quite aways away from the block and went to negotiate with them. The guides and driver ended up bribing the people to move out of the way with Soles, the local currency, and by lying to them saying that we were a local van with locals in it. The people moved out of the road and clear a path from the rocks, but as we were driving through the natives were yelling... they a locals they lied to us, and the driver hit the gas and we got away.
At another block there was a fire in the middle of the road with a huge tree laying across the road as the fire was engulfing the tree. We drove around the tree on the shoulder of the road.
Somewhere in between all these road blocks we saw a government semi tractor trailor come with a huge bulldozer on it because they were going to remove the rocks from the road. It didn´t help.
At the last block we got to there was a group of women and children who would not let us pass. The driver and guide tried to negotiate with them for probably a half hour, but they refused to let us pass. Instead they said that we could stay in their village for the night and spend the day visiting an Incan ruin that was above their village. A little strange, but that is what we did. We popped our tents in the village and slept the night. We probably arrived at this village at 12:30 or 1am. So the adventure had begun with a bang. I slept in a tent with the American, Alex, who was 21 and spending some time in South America because he took a year off from school to visit the world--- or South America I guess.
It was quite the adventure.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Quick update.
I am back from my trek to Machu Pichu and what an adventure it was. I am safe and can´t wait to write about each day of the trek. For now, I am going to go to bed and try and get some much needed rest. Buenos Noches! (Good night!)
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Things I didn´t know I loved so much.
This is meant to be a running list of things that I am grateful for in my American life. It isn´t a list of things I don´t like about South America, it is just a list of things that I am blessed to have in the United States. Whenever I need something to be thankful for when I return, I´ll have this list! Maybe it will help you realize as well how lucky we are to live in the most developed, prosperous, and rich country in the world.
1.) Central Heating.
2.) Promptness.
3.) Hot Showers.
4.) Comfortable beds.
5.) 12 hour clocks.
6.) Chipolte.
7.) Blizzards at DQ.
8.) A smoke free home.
9.) The ability to speak like an adult.
10.) The ability to walk to class in less then 10 minutes.
11.) Ability to call people in the US when I want.
12.) Reading in English.
1.) Central Heating.
2.) Promptness.
3.) Hot Showers.
4.) Comfortable beds.
5.) 12 hour clocks.
6.) Chipolte.
7.) Blizzards at DQ.
8.) A smoke free home.
9.) The ability to speak like an adult.
10.) The ability to walk to class in less then 10 minutes.
11.) Ability to call people in the US when I want.
12.) Reading in English.
Day 1 in Cusco
Well, it is almost 7am here and I´m not on my trek to Macchu Pichu. Something must have gone wrong with the tour operator or something. I just hope I get it straightened out because I paid over $300 for this trek. (As you can probably tell I´m more upset then I was over the shower.) I did contact the guy I coordinated the tour through and he is working with me to try and get on a tour tomorrow, which will be nice. I will just have to spend an extra day in Cusco and cut something else from my trip or find away around it.
I think that the thing I am learning the most on this trip is patience, which for anyone who knows me is not my strong point. After a 30 hour bus ride and delay in my trek, I´m either going to be pissed off or go with the flow and I think going with the flow is a better plan.
I did wake up at 4:30am though to go with the hostal owner to try and track down the tour, but it was to no avail. Let me say something about sleeping in Cusco though. This hostal doesn´t have central heat or heat at all. Actually all the windows are open. It gets very cold here during the evening so last night I wore boxers, sweatpants, two t-shirts, a longsleeve shirt and my St. Thomas hoodie. I was under three blankets and I was still shivering. Burrrrrrr. My plan thus has changed, first I´m going to go back to sleep and get some more rest, attempt to take another shower, get in touch with the tour and get in on one for tomorrow and then explore Cusco (the longest populated city in the western hemisphere). Plan B actually sounds pretty good.
I did follow plan B. I actually went back to sleep and then I got ready for the day. After getting cleaned up, I went to explore the city of Cusco. I went to the Plaza de Armas and strolled around. It was very nice. I then took a tour of the Cathedral of Cusco, another Cathedral that John Paul II celebrated mass in. The Cathedral is very old, but not as old as many things in Peru because it has been demolished many times with many earthquakes. You can see many cracks all over the Cathedral from the movement in the Earth. The most impressive thing about the Cathedral is its altar. It is covered in 24k gold. The Cathedral was actually built on top of an Incan temple by the Spanish when they conquered the area. This was a literal way that the Spanish could squash the religious beliefs of the Incan people.
After the Cathedral, I went and walked down a small street that has two Incan walls on both sides. These walls are very old and are considered the oldest in Cusco. After I walked down this street I walked down another street that had many shops and more Incan walls. I walked past a stone in a wall that is very famous. It is a 12 sided stone that fits perfectly into the space it needs to be in. In the pictures that I put up, you will see that the stones are carefully and perfectly shaped to fit together. It is amazing because they were only using small hammers and chisels. There is rarely mortar in between the stones because they are so perfectly cut, that they have little room between them giving them stability. Many locals stand around the 12 sided stone and try to tell you about it, but they only want a tip, or so I read in my Lonely Planet Guide, so I just took a picture and kept walking. I stopped at a small market, where I bought a leather photo album and a traditional Peruvian stocking cap. It is pretty cool and has Alpaca´s on it.
After going down this street, I went back to the Plaza de Armas where I sat down and watched a demonstration parade that was going through town. I have been told numerous times that you are suppose to stay very far away from protests in foriegn countries, so I stayed away and watched from a distance. I had a long conversation about Peruvian politics with a man from Cusco, who was also watching the protests. He said that the people were angry with welfare reforms of the current government. We talked about their last President, who, here, is considered a dictator and has been in jail on fraud and money laundering charges. I was quite pleased that my spanish was good enough to hold this intelligent conversation.
After I had this conversation and the parade went away. I walked around the city for a little while longer and I went to the market. This market is where the city gets almost everything it needs. I saw meat just hanging in the stalls, tons of flowers, woven goods, leather goods, resturants, and more. Some of the most interesting things I saw was the cows mouths and noses which people bought, and were sitting right on the counter. It was really pretty disgusting and totally unsanitary, but that is the way they live.
I went back to the hostal around 4pm because the director of the Agency who was booking my trek was going to meet me to go over the information I needed. After being a half hour late --- typical in South America, she came and she said that we would leave between 10:30 and 11 that night. She said that things had been confusing because there were planned and current strikes all across the country of Peru. She said that they were blocking the roads, but I didn´t really understand what she meant. That is why we were leaving so late at night because the strikes were suppose to be in full force the next day and getting to the start of our trek would be impossible. I was still pretty excited, but I stayed in the hostal to get some rest before the big trek. Later in the evening, I got a call from the Agency director who said that the strikes were getting worse so we were going to leave between 9:30 and 10.
I think that the thing I am learning the most on this trip is patience, which for anyone who knows me is not my strong point. After a 30 hour bus ride and delay in my trek, I´m either going to be pissed off or go with the flow and I think going with the flow is a better plan.
I did wake up at 4:30am though to go with the hostal owner to try and track down the tour, but it was to no avail. Let me say something about sleeping in Cusco though. This hostal doesn´t have central heat or heat at all. Actually all the windows are open. It gets very cold here during the evening so last night I wore boxers, sweatpants, two t-shirts, a longsleeve shirt and my St. Thomas hoodie. I was under three blankets and I was still shivering. Burrrrrrr. My plan thus has changed, first I´m going to go back to sleep and get some more rest, attempt to take another shower, get in touch with the tour and get in on one for tomorrow and then explore Cusco (the longest populated city in the western hemisphere). Plan B actually sounds pretty good.
I did follow plan B. I actually went back to sleep and then I got ready for the day. After getting cleaned up, I went to explore the city of Cusco. I went to the Plaza de Armas and strolled around. It was very nice. I then took a tour of the Cathedral of Cusco, another Cathedral that John Paul II celebrated mass in. The Cathedral is very old, but not as old as many things in Peru because it has been demolished many times with many earthquakes. You can see many cracks all over the Cathedral from the movement in the Earth. The most impressive thing about the Cathedral is its altar. It is covered in 24k gold. The Cathedral was actually built on top of an Incan temple by the Spanish when they conquered the area. This was a literal way that the Spanish could squash the religious beliefs of the Incan people.
After the Cathedral, I went and walked down a small street that has two Incan walls on both sides. These walls are very old and are considered the oldest in Cusco. After I walked down this street I walked down another street that had many shops and more Incan walls. I walked past a stone in a wall that is very famous. It is a 12 sided stone that fits perfectly into the space it needs to be in. In the pictures that I put up, you will see that the stones are carefully and perfectly shaped to fit together. It is amazing because they were only using small hammers and chisels. There is rarely mortar in between the stones because they are so perfectly cut, that they have little room between them giving them stability. Many locals stand around the 12 sided stone and try to tell you about it, but they only want a tip, or so I read in my Lonely Planet Guide, so I just took a picture and kept walking. I stopped at a small market, where I bought a leather photo album and a traditional Peruvian stocking cap. It is pretty cool and has Alpaca´s on it.
After going down this street, I went back to the Plaza de Armas where I sat down and watched a demonstration parade that was going through town. I have been told numerous times that you are suppose to stay very far away from protests in foriegn countries, so I stayed away and watched from a distance. I had a long conversation about Peruvian politics with a man from Cusco, who was also watching the protests. He said that the people were angry with welfare reforms of the current government. We talked about their last President, who, here, is considered a dictator and has been in jail on fraud and money laundering charges. I was quite pleased that my spanish was good enough to hold this intelligent conversation.
After I had this conversation and the parade went away. I walked around the city for a little while longer and I went to the market. This market is where the city gets almost everything it needs. I saw meat just hanging in the stalls, tons of flowers, woven goods, leather goods, resturants, and more. Some of the most interesting things I saw was the cows mouths and noses which people bought, and were sitting right on the counter. It was really pretty disgusting and totally unsanitary, but that is the way they live.
I went back to the hostal around 4pm because the director of the Agency who was booking my trek was going to meet me to go over the information I needed. After being a half hour late --- typical in South America, she came and she said that we would leave between 10:30 and 11 that night. She said that things had been confusing because there were planned and current strikes all across the country of Peru. She said that they were blocking the roads, but I didn´t really understand what she meant. That is why we were leaving so late at night because the strikes were suppose to be in full force the next day and getting to the start of our trek would be impossible. I was still pretty excited, but I stayed in the hostal to get some rest before the big trek. Later in the evening, I got a call from the Agency director who said that the strikes were getting worse so we were going to leave between 9:30 and 10.
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