Thursday, July 08, 2004
From One Adventure to Another...
Seattle, USA
Well, this is it, our very last blog. We have now been home for a week, and boy, things are still pretty weird. We know that we have changed somehow having just had an amazing year-long experience, but aside from a few babies we missed while we were gone, everything and everyone at home seems to be pretty much the same. It's as if we stepped back from a time machine just two days after leaving.
As usual, Jen hasn't had much issue adjusting, and has been enjoying her reunions with her co-workers and friends; she has already been back to work at the Library for three days now. I go back to work on Monday, and return to my flying schedule, as least for the near future (I'll be in Denver next week). Being apart from each other is going to be a bit tough, seeing as Jen and I have spent the last year together almost 24/7; we definitely like being together a lot more than being apart!
There are a few observations to make from the last week at home. Coming back to North America after spending so much time overseas makes us realize a few things. For one, we certainly don't mind the cleanliness and sanitation of life at home. Regular garbage pickup, non-smoking regulations, and unleaded gas (albeit ridiculously expensive) all contribute to what we think is a relatively clean environment.
However, things do seem somewhat oversized and excessive here. It's odd, but there seems to be a lot of waste, quite unnecessarily. We get the impression that less should actually mean more, but that's obviously not the case for many things at home, from the large cars on the road, to the superstores like Home Depot and Walmart, to even our own house, which is crammed full of junk, we now realize. We just spent a year living comfortably out of two bags; we've been struggling to unpack our house, having discovered how much useless crap we have... so much of it now seems unnecessary.
Of course, all this enlightenment doesn't mean that we're going to be selling our truck any time soon, nor are we going to be downsizing to a little shack with a tin roof. Nevertheless, hopefully it does mean that we're going to perhaps live life a little simpler, and perhaps a bit slower. Time will tell.
We want to thank you all for your participation and for following us along our journey in the past year. This One Year, One World website has allowed us to keep in touch with friends and family and hopefully has allowed you to get a glimpse of the incredible world that we saw. Amazingly, the website has actually grown to the point where it's averaging about 8000 hits a week now... pretty incredible! It's somewhat bizarre to have so many people seeing what we've been doing, but we hope that it inspires some of you to drop the shackles of comfort and routine and head out for the open road yourselves!
In the meantime, there is a lot to keep us busy here at home, as we start to settle back into our lives at home. Indeed, as the title of this last blog suggests, we do have another little adventure coming up soon... Jen arrives home being about four months pregnant! We've known since New Zealand, and luckily, have not had to deal with any morning sickness or nausea issues from then until now. The lucky kid growing inside of Jen has already visited eight countries! Travelling might just be in his/her blood. It's definitely an exciting time for us and our families.
Thanks once again for all your e-mails and Guestbook postings; we really appreciate hearing from you. We hope you have enjoyed travelling along with us as much as we have enjoyed travelling this past year... don't forget to let us know when you set off on your own journey!
Until next time, safe travels, and take care.
Signing off,
Winston & Jen
Seattle, USA
Well, this is it, our very last blog. We have now been home for a week, and boy, things are still pretty weird. We know that we have changed somehow having just had an amazing year-long experience, but aside from a few babies we missed while we were gone, everything and everyone at home seems to be pretty much the same. It's as if we stepped back from a time machine just two days after leaving.
As usual, Jen hasn't had much issue adjusting, and has been enjoying her reunions with her co-workers and friends; she has already been back to work at the Library for three days now. I go back to work on Monday, and return to my flying schedule, as least for the near future (I'll be in Denver next week). Being apart from each other is going to be a bit tough, seeing as Jen and I have spent the last year together almost 24/7; we definitely like being together a lot more than being apart!
There are a few observations to make from the last week at home. Coming back to North America after spending so much time overseas makes us realize a few things. For one, we certainly don't mind the cleanliness and sanitation of life at home. Regular garbage pickup, non-smoking regulations, and unleaded gas (albeit ridiculously expensive) all contribute to what we think is a relatively clean environment.
However, things do seem somewhat oversized and excessive here. It's odd, but there seems to be a lot of waste, quite unnecessarily. We get the impression that less should actually mean more, but that's obviously not the case for many things at home, from the large cars on the road, to the superstores like Home Depot and Walmart, to even our own house, which is crammed full of junk, we now realize. We just spent a year living comfortably out of two bags; we've been struggling to unpack our house, having discovered how much useless crap we have... so much of it now seems unnecessary.
Of course, all this enlightenment doesn't mean that we're going to be selling our truck any time soon, nor are we going to be downsizing to a little shack with a tin roof. Nevertheless, hopefully it does mean that we're going to perhaps live life a little simpler, and perhaps a bit slower. Time will tell.
We want to thank you all for your participation and for following us along our journey in the past year. This One Year, One World website has allowed us to keep in touch with friends and family and hopefully has allowed you to get a glimpse of the incredible world that we saw. Amazingly, the website has actually grown to the point where it's averaging about 8000 hits a week now... pretty incredible! It's somewhat bizarre to have so many people seeing what we've been doing, but we hope that it inspires some of you to drop the shackles of comfort and routine and head out for the open road yourselves!
In the meantime, there is a lot to keep us busy here at home, as we start to settle back into our lives at home. Indeed, as the title of this last blog suggests, we do have another little adventure coming up soon... Jen arrives home being about four months pregnant! We've known since New Zealand, and luckily, have not had to deal with any morning sickness or nausea issues from then until now. The lucky kid growing inside of Jen has already visited eight countries! Travelling might just be in his/her blood. It's definitely an exciting time for us and our families.
Thanks once again for all your e-mails and Guestbook postings; we really appreciate hearing from you. We hope you have enjoyed travelling along with us as much as we have enjoyed travelling this past year... don't forget to let us know when you set off on your own journey!
Until next time, safe travels, and take care.
Signing off,
Winston & Jen
Friday, July 02, 2004
We Can Flush Toilet Paper Now
Seattle, USA
Wow. It's going to take a bit of time for us to adjust to being home. It's a bit trippy being here right now.
We have been home a whole day now, after taking about 35 hours to fly from Ayacucho to Seattle via Lima, Sao Paulo, and L.A. This also marks the first full day that I haven't touched my camera in the past year. Weird.
Incidentally, just yesterday in Ayacucho, riots broke out as protesting teachers clashed with police; several dozen people were injured and a few buildings were burned. Our friend Donna tells us that things are pretty bad there right now; we hope that things settle down soon.
After using the toilet earlier today, I inadvertantly deposited the toilet paper in the garbage can next to the toilet, as we have been doing in most toilets (when there was one) during the past year. Ack! Who would have thought that our bathroom habits would have been modified?
And boy, are things expensive back at home. $5.00 for a bowl of noodles! Heh, I know, that's pretty cheap, but we've been paying a fraction of that for most meals the past year. And gasoline prices... we read all about the increases while we were gone, but... they are ridiculous!
It took about two hours to go through the mountain of mail that we accumulated. Most of it was bills and junk, but it was pretty fun to have Christmas in July. Thanks to those of you who sent us Christmas cards and wedding invitations, even though you knew we were out of town!
It's odd now, being in our house where we suddenly seem to have so much stuff, most of it probably unnecessary. Sadly though, we are being hit pretty quickly by reality; Jen went into work today to deal with some administrative details, and I just put in an order for our cell phones, in preparation for getting back to work. Sigh. It was nice being unconnected for a year.
We have posted the last couple of pictures on the Peru Two page, and so the only things remaining to do on this website are a few final columns and the final home page. We have had several requests for a "Travel Tips" page, which we will do and post within the next few days.
Many people we know here are wrapped up in 4th of July (American Independance Day) plans for the long weekend. We won't be doing much celebrating ourselves as we've got a house to unpack and two backbacks to empty. It's a bizarre feeling, but it does feel good to be home after all!
Seattle, USA
Wow. It's going to take a bit of time for us to adjust to being home. It's a bit trippy being here right now.
We have been home a whole day now, after taking about 35 hours to fly from Ayacucho to Seattle via Lima, Sao Paulo, and L.A. This also marks the first full day that I haven't touched my camera in the past year. Weird.
Incidentally, just yesterday in Ayacucho, riots broke out as protesting teachers clashed with police; several dozen people were injured and a few buildings were burned. Our friend Donna tells us that things are pretty bad there right now; we hope that things settle down soon.
After using the toilet earlier today, I inadvertantly deposited the toilet paper in the garbage can next to the toilet, as we have been doing in most toilets (when there was one) during the past year. Ack! Who would have thought that our bathroom habits would have been modified?
And boy, are things expensive back at home. $5.00 for a bowl of noodles! Heh, I know, that's pretty cheap, but we've been paying a fraction of that for most meals the past year. And gasoline prices... we read all about the increases while we were gone, but... they are ridiculous!
It took about two hours to go through the mountain of mail that we accumulated. Most of it was bills and junk, but it was pretty fun to have Christmas in July. Thanks to those of you who sent us Christmas cards and wedding invitations, even though you knew we were out of town!
It's odd now, being in our house where we suddenly seem to have so much stuff, most of it probably unnecessary. Sadly though, we are being hit pretty quickly by reality; Jen went into work today to deal with some administrative details, and I just put in an order for our cell phones, in preparation for getting back to work. Sigh. It was nice being unconnected for a year.
We have posted the last couple of pictures on the Peru Two page, and so the only things remaining to do on this website are a few final columns and the final home page. We have had several requests for a "Travel Tips" page, which we will do and post within the next few days.
Many people we know here are wrapped up in 4th of July (American Independance Day) plans for the long weekend. We won't be doing much celebrating ourselves as we've got a house to unpack and two backbacks to empty. It's a bizarre feeling, but it does feel good to be home after all!
Wednesday, June 30, 2004
Last Blog from the Road
Lima, Peru
Well, as they say, all good things come to an end.
This particular thing transcends the word "good", we think.
The numbers? Well the numbers say 365 days, 27 countries, 50 flights, 5 continents, and 2 backpacks.
But the essence of our One Year, One World experience isnŽt in the numbers. It's not even really in the pictures (although we really appreciate everyone's positive comments), or the blogs.
We think the essence of our journey is in the people... the friends we have made, the people we have met, the individuals who have touched us with their lives. Our lives are now further enriched by the contact we have had with so many different (and similar) people from so many varied and colourful backgrounds. From tourmates to guides, local vendors to hospitality staff, massive crowds to solitary individuals, old friends living overseas to random new friends and travellers... we have learned much from them all and have grown as a result of these encounters.
This is obviously a somewhat emotional time for us, as we sit here in the airport waiting for our final flights home. We have been doing a lot of reflecting and remniscing during the last few days, and still feel somewhat caught up in a maelstrom of mixed emotions.
We're excited and have a great deal of anticipation for our return home, where we're eager to be reunited with family and friends. At the same time, we're somewhat apprehensive and anxious about our adjustment to "normal" life; we're definitely reluctant about having to deal with the daily details of starting up regular life again. We're not really coming back from a vacation after all, this is more like a whole change in lifestyle.
We're sad to be leaving the road, and a bit disappointed that we werenŽt able to see some of the destinations that we were hoping to visit. But weŽre also a bit tired and wouldn't mind a change of clothes, a familiar bed, and maybe a warm bowl of soup noodles.
The greatest emotion of all right now though, is perhaps that of gratitude; we know we have lived a dream in the last year, and are incredibly grateful for having had the opportunity to travel. This year has been fulfilling and enlightening in so many ways; we have both grown as individuals and as a couple because of it.
Well, on that note, IŽll publish this last blog from the road! WeŽll have perhaps a few more blogs and webpage updates once we get things sorted out at home, but after that, that'll pretty much be it!
Lima, Peru
Well, as they say, all good things come to an end.
This particular thing transcends the word "good", we think.
The numbers? Well the numbers say 365 days, 27 countries, 50 flights, 5 continents, and 2 backpacks.
But the essence of our One Year, One World experience isnŽt in the numbers. It's not even really in the pictures (although we really appreciate everyone's positive comments), or the blogs.
We think the essence of our journey is in the people... the friends we have made, the people we have met, the individuals who have touched us with their lives. Our lives are now further enriched by the contact we have had with so many different (and similar) people from so many varied and colourful backgrounds. From tourmates to guides, local vendors to hospitality staff, massive crowds to solitary individuals, old friends living overseas to random new friends and travellers... we have learned much from them all and have grown as a result of these encounters.
This is obviously a somewhat emotional time for us, as we sit here in the airport waiting for our final flights home. We have been doing a lot of reflecting and remniscing during the last few days, and still feel somewhat caught up in a maelstrom of mixed emotions.
We're excited and have a great deal of anticipation for our return home, where we're eager to be reunited with family and friends. At the same time, we're somewhat apprehensive and anxious about our adjustment to "normal" life; we're definitely reluctant about having to deal with the daily details of starting up regular life again. We're not really coming back from a vacation after all, this is more like a whole change in lifestyle.
We're sad to be leaving the road, and a bit disappointed that we werenŽt able to see some of the destinations that we were hoping to visit. But weŽre also a bit tired and wouldn't mind a change of clothes, a familiar bed, and maybe a warm bowl of soup noodles.
The greatest emotion of all right now though, is perhaps that of gratitude; we know we have lived a dream in the last year, and are incredibly grateful for having had the opportunity to travel. This year has been fulfilling and enlightening in so many ways; we have both grown as individuals and as a couple because of it.
Well, on that note, IŽll publish this last blog from the road! WeŽll have perhaps a few more blogs and webpage updates once we get things sorted out at home, but after that, that'll pretty much be it!
Final Days in Peru
Lima, Peru
Sunday morning, we were picked up by our guide Leo and driver Arnand in a minivan in Arequipa. Driving out of the city, we stopped by for a view of the three volcanoes that frame the city, including Misti, which is till active. The scenary leaving Arequipa is very dry, deserty and not too pretty. Once you are outside the beautiful colonial area, the homes are little one storeyed shacks with tins roofs.
We drove for a while along a new road, then entered a national reserve. Here we saw families of vicunas in the wild. Not sure if you remember, vicunas is part of the camelid family (along with alpaca, llama and guanaco), and has the softest wool (a scarf will cost you upwards of $100 USD). Each family of vicunas in the wild include one adult male, and up to 6 females with their young. Once a juvenile male becomes an adult, he is forced to leave the colony and find his own.
Further along, as we start getting higher up the mountains, we see many llamas and alpacas grazing. The people up here are all breeders; there is a ton of land, with the type of vegetation that is appropriate for these animals. We reached a pass at 4,900m (the highest point we reached on this whole trip) and stopped to view the landscape that surrounded us. At the top of this pass, we can see 8 different volcanoes that belong to the Andes, including Ampato, where they found the ice maiden in 1995 (see Arequipa blog).
As we started to descend, we saw a couple of vizcacha, these funny animals that are half squirrel, half rabbit. The two we saw were just sleeping on the side of the dirt road; one was upright with its paws on a rock, while the other was laying horizontally like a cat. They looked so funny being oblivious to our stopping just feets away while they snoozed in the sunlight. The temperature outside was -15C, so it was quite cold. They have rabbit eats and the size, but with a squirrel tail and snout. Quite funny.
As we drove down towards the Colca Valley, we started to see more traces of ice, snow and waterfalls. There are also many more llamas, alpacas, sheep and cattle. We eventually drove down to the town of Chivay, at 3900m about sea level where we stopped for lunch and checked into our hotel. I ended up sleeping the rest of the afternoon while Winston went to the nearby hotsprings.
Chivay itself is very small. What's interesting is the women's costumes. They are ultra colourful, covered with embroidery, from their cloaks down to their skirts. I think Winston will post some photos soon. That night, we enjoyed local music and dancing while having dinner.
The next morning, we left town at 6am and headed along the canyon. We stopped in at a couple of small villages along the way, and looked at their churches. Each village has a colonial church, constructed soon after the Spanish arrived in the late 1500s. The people that lived in this valley were excellent agriculturalists, and built thousands of terraces on both sides of the canyon valley, as well as irrigation canals from the top of the surrounding mountains. These were built during pre-inca era, and history states that when the Incas came, they left everything alone and relied on the expertise of the local people.
We arrived at the condor view point and spent an hour watching these magnificent birds glide in the area. I lost count of the number of birds that we saw, since they kept returning to their nests and coming out again. It was interesting to see the variations of colours from the young to the old. The younger ones (both male and female have similar colourings) are black and white, and look very impressive when their wings are fully expanded. The older ones, are fully brown. We saw one guy repeatedly. It was easy to notice because it was missing a feather or two on one of its wings. It came really close to the crowd that had gathered to watch; in one occasion, it was just maybe 5 feet above our heads. It was a very cool experience.
Then it was a long ride back to Arequipa. Leaving the canyon just before 9am, we arrived at the Arequipa airport at 2:15pm. Along the way, we stopped back in Chivay for a boxed lunch, and then another rest stop. At the rest stop we had a good laugh over a bleating sheep that circled the building looking for 'someone', we think. We eventually did see another sheep with a lamb, but that original sheep was still baaing somewhere behing the building. For some reason, both sheep were interested in walking into the restrooms and restaurant, only to be chased away, of course.
From Arequipa to Lima, we flew with Aero Continente, which was full of tourists returning from Cuzco. I think I slept part of the way, I can't remember now but we were pretty tired from two days of driving through the canyon. Back in Lima, we spent time catching up on emails at the airport before heading to the Cruz del Sur bus terminal in the old city for our 9pm departure to Ayacucho.
The reason why we flew to Lima from Arequipa was to avoid a long 14hr bus ride to Ica, then wait for several hours, before transferring on another long 7 hour ride to Ayacucho. So, we thought we would be smart and fly halfway there. We were actually hoping to fly from Lima to Ayacucho as well, but we were not able to secure a seat from Arequipa as the airlines did not have offices there (In Peru, only the airline offices themselves can issue the tickets, and since two out of the three airlines to Ayacucho do not fly to Arequipa, and the third one did not fly on Tuesdays, we were out of luck). We thought it was a good idea at the time to take the over night bus (on what we thought was a more comfortable service of bus).
As it turns out, the bus was not as comfortable as the ones we had taken with Ormeno. I had the back of the seat in front of me on my knees all night, but did manage to get some sleep. Luckily Winston had taken a dramamine (motion sickness pill that makes you drowsy) so he managed to sleep through the ride. Sometime after 6am, we woke up to find the bus stopped with no driver. It turns out that the bus had broken down, and took the drivers about 3 hours to 'fix' the problem. I don't really know what the problem was, but we did drive that second half with engine smoke coming out the side. We sure were glad when we finally arrived in Ayacucho.
We met up with Winston's friend Eldonna and her fiance soon after. It was great to see Donna again, and to meet her David, a super nice Peruvian man who speaks no English. Who knew that by the end of the day, we could understand his Spanish, and he could understand our mixture of broken Spanish and some English. Ayacucho was an interesting place to see; it certainly was not the 'charming' colonial city as described in Lonely Planet. The area has been hit hard by terrorists (Shining Path guerilla group) in the early 90s and the city has been left in shambles since. There were a lot of fighting back then between the government and the terrorists, and the wealthy left for Lima, while those from the mountain villages came to town when their villages were destroyed.
The city is considered one of the three poorest in all of Peru. It also doesn't help that there is currently a huge teacher strike all over the country. Apparently the government has told schools that parents are now expected to pay for the education of their kids in public schools, so there has been an outcry from the community as well as those in the profession. In a town where poverty is already a problem, how can they add on the extra burden of paying for their children's education?
Anyway, problems aside, we visited David's extended family and met a ton of his aunts, uncles and cousins. We were greeted with a very warm reception, and served a delicious lunch with the family. It was great to spend time with a real Peruvian family, and converse (with Donna acting as the interpreter). After lunch, we hung out on the rooftop with the dogs and cats, and ate some local fruits. Ah, what a great way to end our stay in Peru.
In the late afternoon, David went to play football with his cousins while Donna took us on a walk around town. We met up again in the evening, and enjoyed a lovely pizza dinner. It was so much fun talking about different issues and we now know that we will have to come back again someday to go visit the countryside with them.
We flew back to Lima this morning on a tiny but comfortable prop plane. The 50min flight definitely beats the 13.5hr bus ride the night before. Our next flight is at 1:55pm to Sao Paolo, then on to LA and finally Seattle tomorrow, July 1st. The next time you hear from us, we'll be back home!
Lima, Peru
Sunday morning, we were picked up by our guide Leo and driver Arnand in a minivan in Arequipa. Driving out of the city, we stopped by for a view of the three volcanoes that frame the city, including Misti, which is till active. The scenary leaving Arequipa is very dry, deserty and not too pretty. Once you are outside the beautiful colonial area, the homes are little one storeyed shacks with tins roofs.
We drove for a while along a new road, then entered a national reserve. Here we saw families of vicunas in the wild. Not sure if you remember, vicunas is part of the camelid family (along with alpaca, llama and guanaco), and has the softest wool (a scarf will cost you upwards of $100 USD). Each family of vicunas in the wild include one adult male, and up to 6 females with their young. Once a juvenile male becomes an adult, he is forced to leave the colony and find his own.
Further along, as we start getting higher up the mountains, we see many llamas and alpacas grazing. The people up here are all breeders; there is a ton of land, with the type of vegetation that is appropriate for these animals. We reached a pass at 4,900m (the highest point we reached on this whole trip) and stopped to view the landscape that surrounded us. At the top of this pass, we can see 8 different volcanoes that belong to the Andes, including Ampato, where they found the ice maiden in 1995 (see Arequipa blog).
As we started to descend, we saw a couple of vizcacha, these funny animals that are half squirrel, half rabbit. The two we saw were just sleeping on the side of the dirt road; one was upright with its paws on a rock, while the other was laying horizontally like a cat. They looked so funny being oblivious to our stopping just feets away while they snoozed in the sunlight. The temperature outside was -15C, so it was quite cold. They have rabbit eats and the size, but with a squirrel tail and snout. Quite funny.
As we drove down towards the Colca Valley, we started to see more traces of ice, snow and waterfalls. There are also many more llamas, alpacas, sheep and cattle. We eventually drove down to the town of Chivay, at 3900m about sea level where we stopped for lunch and checked into our hotel. I ended up sleeping the rest of the afternoon while Winston went to the nearby hotsprings.
Chivay itself is very small. What's interesting is the women's costumes. They are ultra colourful, covered with embroidery, from their cloaks down to their skirts. I think Winston will post some photos soon. That night, we enjoyed local music and dancing while having dinner.
The next morning, we left town at 6am and headed along the canyon. We stopped in at a couple of small villages along the way, and looked at their churches. Each village has a colonial church, constructed soon after the Spanish arrived in the late 1500s. The people that lived in this valley were excellent agriculturalists, and built thousands of terraces on both sides of the canyon valley, as well as irrigation canals from the top of the surrounding mountains. These were built during pre-inca era, and history states that when the Incas came, they left everything alone and relied on the expertise of the local people.
We arrived at the condor view point and spent an hour watching these magnificent birds glide in the area. I lost count of the number of birds that we saw, since they kept returning to their nests and coming out again. It was interesting to see the variations of colours from the young to the old. The younger ones (both male and female have similar colourings) are black and white, and look very impressive when their wings are fully expanded. The older ones, are fully brown. We saw one guy repeatedly. It was easy to notice because it was missing a feather or two on one of its wings. It came really close to the crowd that had gathered to watch; in one occasion, it was just maybe 5 feet above our heads. It was a very cool experience.
Then it was a long ride back to Arequipa. Leaving the canyon just before 9am, we arrived at the Arequipa airport at 2:15pm. Along the way, we stopped back in Chivay for a boxed lunch, and then another rest stop. At the rest stop we had a good laugh over a bleating sheep that circled the building looking for 'someone', we think. We eventually did see another sheep with a lamb, but that original sheep was still baaing somewhere behing the building. For some reason, both sheep were interested in walking into the restrooms and restaurant, only to be chased away, of course.
From Arequipa to Lima, we flew with Aero Continente, which was full of tourists returning from Cuzco. I think I slept part of the way, I can't remember now but we were pretty tired from two days of driving through the canyon. Back in Lima, we spent time catching up on emails at the airport before heading to the Cruz del Sur bus terminal in the old city for our 9pm departure to Ayacucho.
The reason why we flew to Lima from Arequipa was to avoid a long 14hr bus ride to Ica, then wait for several hours, before transferring on another long 7 hour ride to Ayacucho. So, we thought we would be smart and fly halfway there. We were actually hoping to fly from Lima to Ayacucho as well, but we were not able to secure a seat from Arequipa as the airlines did not have offices there (In Peru, only the airline offices themselves can issue the tickets, and since two out of the three airlines to Ayacucho do not fly to Arequipa, and the third one did not fly on Tuesdays, we were out of luck). We thought it was a good idea at the time to take the over night bus (on what we thought was a more comfortable service of bus).
As it turns out, the bus was not as comfortable as the ones we had taken with Ormeno. I had the back of the seat in front of me on my knees all night, but did manage to get some sleep. Luckily Winston had taken a dramamine (motion sickness pill that makes you drowsy) so he managed to sleep through the ride. Sometime after 6am, we woke up to find the bus stopped with no driver. It turns out that the bus had broken down, and took the drivers about 3 hours to 'fix' the problem. I don't really know what the problem was, but we did drive that second half with engine smoke coming out the side. We sure were glad when we finally arrived in Ayacucho.
We met up with Winston's friend Eldonna and her fiance soon after. It was great to see Donna again, and to meet her David, a super nice Peruvian man who speaks no English. Who knew that by the end of the day, we could understand his Spanish, and he could understand our mixture of broken Spanish and some English. Ayacucho was an interesting place to see; it certainly was not the 'charming' colonial city as described in Lonely Planet. The area has been hit hard by terrorists (Shining Path guerilla group) in the early 90s and the city has been left in shambles since. There were a lot of fighting back then between the government and the terrorists, and the wealthy left for Lima, while those from the mountain villages came to town when their villages were destroyed.
The city is considered one of the three poorest in all of Peru. It also doesn't help that there is currently a huge teacher strike all over the country. Apparently the government has told schools that parents are now expected to pay for the education of their kids in public schools, so there has been an outcry from the community as well as those in the profession. In a town where poverty is already a problem, how can they add on the extra burden of paying for their children's education?
Anyway, problems aside, we visited David's extended family and met a ton of his aunts, uncles and cousins. We were greeted with a very warm reception, and served a delicious lunch with the family. It was great to spend time with a real Peruvian family, and converse (with Donna acting as the interpreter). After lunch, we hung out on the rooftop with the dogs and cats, and ate some local fruits. Ah, what a great way to end our stay in Peru.
In the late afternoon, David went to play football with his cousins while Donna took us on a walk around town. We met up again in the evening, and enjoyed a lovely pizza dinner. It was so much fun talking about different issues and we now know that we will have to come back again someday to go visit the countryside with them.
We flew back to Lima this morning on a tiny but comfortable prop plane. The 50min flight definitely beats the 13.5hr bus ride the night before. Our next flight is at 1:55pm to Sao Paolo, then on to LA and finally Seattle tomorrow, July 1st. The next time you hear from us, we'll be back home!
Saturday, June 26, 2004
Going home?
Arequipa, Peru
Well, we've decided that we're going to empty our savings account and continue travelling for another year. We're just going to keep on heading East, and see where our noses take us.
I wish.
No, really, in between enjoying Peruvian festivals and scenery during the last week or so, we have been slowly starting to prepare our minds for the adjustment that will be happening in five days when we fly home. Jen is probably more ready than I am to be returning home, but we're both of the opinion that a year has been a decent amount of the time to be on the road.
Of course, getting used to a regular routine is going to be an adjustment in itself. We have essentially becomed accustomed to having a new adventure practically every day for the last year. Of course, when we're stuck behind a desk and longing to be out of the country, we can always pull up the website and refresh our memories of the incredible experience we've had.
And so, to help make things easier to adjusting to life at home, we've been talking about things that we're looking forward to seeing and doing once we return to Seattle. Of course, seeing our families is probably the biggest thing we're looking forward to, and also our friends.
But I think it is the simple things at home that have the most appeal right now. Playing with our cat, Loki. Ordering #8 (spicy noodles) at our favourite Vietnamese restaurant, Tan Duc. Sleeping in our queen-size, clean, and comfortable bed. Sleeping in the same bed for more than a few days. Cooking. (Believe that one or not!)
Not breathing in leaded gas fumes from smoking automobiles and busses. Not inhaling second-hand smoke at Internet cafes. Fresh salad. Plain old white rice. Chopsticks. Having the bank account grow instead of shrink. Blue jeans. Sneakers. Cotton shirts. A decent haircut from my barber Jose. An electric shaver. Our piano.
Not having to open up our backpacks every day. Not having to wear a money belt all the time. Not having to carry passports and plane tickets. Not having to lock up the laptop. Having a broadband wireless Internet connection. Playing hockey.
Ahh... now that makes me smile when I think of home! We'll try not to think about taxes, traffic, overtime, weeds, or bills...
Boy, this is going to be an interesting time!
Arequipa, Peru
Well, we've decided that we're going to empty our savings account and continue travelling for another year. We're just going to keep on heading East, and see where our noses take us.
I wish.
No, really, in between enjoying Peruvian festivals and scenery during the last week or so, we have been slowly starting to prepare our minds for the adjustment that will be happening in five days when we fly home. Jen is probably more ready than I am to be returning home, but we're both of the opinion that a year has been a decent amount of the time to be on the road.
Of course, getting used to a regular routine is going to be an adjustment in itself. We have essentially becomed accustomed to having a new adventure practically every day for the last year. Of course, when we're stuck behind a desk and longing to be out of the country, we can always pull up the website and refresh our memories of the incredible experience we've had.
And so, to help make things easier to adjusting to life at home, we've been talking about things that we're looking forward to seeing and doing once we return to Seattle. Of course, seeing our families is probably the biggest thing we're looking forward to, and also our friends.
But I think it is the simple things at home that have the most appeal right now. Playing with our cat, Loki. Ordering #8 (spicy noodles) at our favourite Vietnamese restaurant, Tan Duc. Sleeping in our queen-size, clean, and comfortable bed. Sleeping in the same bed for more than a few days. Cooking. (Believe that one or not!)
Not breathing in leaded gas fumes from smoking automobiles and busses. Not inhaling second-hand smoke at Internet cafes. Fresh salad. Plain old white rice. Chopsticks. Having the bank account grow instead of shrink. Blue jeans. Sneakers. Cotton shirts. A decent haircut from my barber Jose. An electric shaver. Our piano.
Not having to open up our backpacks every day. Not having to wear a money belt all the time. Not having to carry passports and plane tickets. Not having to lock up the laptop. Having a broadband wireless Internet connection. Playing hockey.
Ahh... now that makes me smile when I think of home! We'll try not to think about taxes, traffic, overtime, weeds, or bills...
Boy, this is going to be an interesting time!
Inti Raymi and Arequipa
Arequipa, Peru
Once we were awake enough to be walking through Cuzco, we realized that it was a FULL day of festivities in town. It seemed like everyone who lived in the sacred area and hundreds of miles around Cuzco were in town that day. The parade of communities (with costumes and music) began at about 10 in the morning, and was still going full blast when we walked back to the hotel at 10pm! It was virtually impossible to cross the street anywhere near the square, or Ave Sol, the main street.
We also found places where the locals all ate their meals. Miny kebab, soup, chica and other food stands abound. Winston got a satay looking thing and said it was quite good. It sure smelt delicious! We finally got to Kintara, a Japanese restaurant that had been closed the two times we tried to go there. Service was extremely slow, but the food was delicious so it was worth it. We tried to go again the next evening, but surprise surprise, it was closed for Inti Raymi!
Thursday morning, we woke up to the sound of rain. Oh oh. We (and all of Cuzco) had the day planned to be outdoors. Oh well. A little rain never hurt anyone. It was ironic though, that in the 8 days we had been in Cuzco, it only rained on the most crucial day! Inti Raymi, is the party of the Sun God. The sun is very important to the Incas, so they celebrated this huge feast annually in order to be rewarded the following year.
We found out early on that the tour we signed up for transport and guide services was not the most efficient. Due to the rain, people arrived late, and things got a bit confusing over which bus people belonged to. It was also a cold morning, so the vendors did well selling hats, gloves and especially poncho. We bought 2 ourselves, even though we had on rain jackets already. The rain never did stop once the whole time we were waiting on the bus.
Finally at 10am (we had been waiting since 8am), we finally set off on foot to Qorikancha, the Sun Temple. Just a few blocks away, it was funny to see all the tourists in their brightly coloured disposable ponchos. There were as many local tourists as well. When we got to Qorikancha, the ceremony has just begun.
There were rows and rows of dancers, all in different coloured costumes. Our guide explained the different functions of each group of performers. There were women designated as virgins of the sun, musicians, sweepers, warriors, women who throw flowers when the inca goes by, different priests, the Inca and his wife, Qoya. I'm probably missing something, but you get the gist. All, there were also representatives of the four corners of the Inca empire (north, east, south , west).
It was neat to approach the temple, and see all the people moving from the building outside to the terraces. The music was very pleasant and festive. Our guide explained that they had been using this very same music since the Incan times (1400s). The Inca's speech was in Quechuan, the language of the Inca people. Since many people in Cuzco still continue to speak the language, we can only deduce that they were descendants from the Incan empire. The Inca greets the Sun God, then invites everyone to join them for the festivities at Sacsaywaman (a ruined temple on top of a hill above Cuzco).
Next, the crowd moves over to the main square, and waited for the arrival of the procession. First to arrive were the conch blowers, to announce the arrival of the procession. Then the different groups (dancers, warriors, flower people, etc.) arrived one at a time. Both the Inca and his wife were carried in on their thrones, the Inca always the last one in the procession. He is all decked out in gold, and makes all the speeches.
At the main square, the Inca greets the mayor and other important people of Cuzco, and says a few more words to the Sun. Again, he extends the invitation to Sacsaywaman, for the final celebration.š There were so many people at the square that we had people pushing against us the entire time trying to catch a glimpse of the ceremony. There were also constant requests for us to let kids and older locals in front of us. Luckily we were covered for this part of the ceremony as we were in a covered walkway in front of the shops, across from the Cathedral.
Finally it's time to head back to the bus and head towards Sacsaywaman. This took some time as we somehow had extra people on our bus (not enough seats) and finally we got things sorted out. Driving to Sacsaywaman was an ordeal. The road up goes through residential area, and some slopes. It was not designed to handle hundreds of buses, all trying to get up at the same time. Needless to say, there were a ton of traffic jam. The downhill lane was nonexistent, there were 2 lanes of uphill only, all full of buses. It took so long to get up there that Winston managed a 30min nap.
Wow, what a sight when we got to the area. We went to Sacsaywaman just 2 weeks ago with Rochelle, Jon and Becky, and the only thing out there was green pasture and the ruins. This time, we started seeing people, cars, horses and tents before we could even see the temple. Many of the local people come up the night before, and families just camp out. There was a lot of smoke everywhere. In fact, most of the ground looked dug up. What the people had done were to build adobe fireplaces for cooking. When I say many, I mean over hundreds of these smoky stacks can be seen. It was interesting.
In a corner of the field, a carousel like ride was set up, as were carnival games. We didn't get up close, but I would imagine that it was full of local people. Once we actually got off the bus (that took a while if you can imagine the number of pedestrians everywhere) we walked through a maze of food and handicraft stalls towards the stage area. Sacsaywaman has a flat center area, and that's where the stage and tourist bleachers are set up. On one side of the stage, is the terraced temple with the giant cut up stones, where it is closed to the public, and used as part of the ceremonies. Immediately across from it, is a small hill, surrounded by boulders of different sizes and also some terraced Inca cut stones. It is here that the locals and some tourists gather (free vs the USD $50 and $70 seats).
There were people everywhere on the rocks. Every year, the locals show up early in the morning to claim the best seats. Some of them will sell a space for you in return for some soles. We were counting on getting a couple of these rock space, so we did not sign up for the tourist seats. By the time we arrived, the ceremony was about to start. We looked around to see IF there was any place we might be able to sit, when we were beckoned by a couple of locals, perched on a rock about 10 feet above us.
Boy, we got so lucky. The seats were amazing. We were just slightly higher than the top bleacher seats, almost directly across from the center stage. It was a great view, better than any of the $70 seats, and we only paid 5 soles for them (about $1.50USD). Remember the rain.. so in our yellow and orange ponchos, we were part of the lollipop looking crowd out there.
The ceremony aside, it was interesting just to watch people. There were local vendors walking around selling beer, ponchos, and all kinds of snacks. People either sat on the ends of rocks, or stood (we got seats, very lucky). I got to dangle my feet down a straight rock face, so there was absolutely no obstruction anywhere.
There were more performers here than in the city. This time, there were more dancers and chiefs for the four areas of the Inca Civilization. There were also 4 rows of flag bearers, on the different levers of the stone terraces across from us. It was a neat sight to see the large flags being waved to the music. The flags are all rainbow coloured, the flag of Cuzco.
There were several parts of the ceremony. Luckily we had a printed guide with us (in English) so we could follow along. First the Inca gave a message to the sun, and everyone sings. Then the four regional chiefs gave a report and offerings, all with dancing. Next is the ceremony of the chicha, maize beer. Winston tried some on the Inca trail and says "never again!"
Afterwards, they lit the sacred fire which will remain burning till the next Inti Raymi. Parts of the flames were brought to 6 different haystacks on the field and these were set on fire. Unfortunately the wind/rain blew the smoke in the direction of the stage so picture taking was not ideal for a bit. Next is the sacrifice of the llama. Luckily they no longer kill a live llama, so it's just a simulation. Still, they pull out something that looks like the heart and lungs.
Then they bless some bread and mix them with the blood, which is then shared by the Inca, with the priests and other participants (somehow I doubt they really partake in that stuff these days). At the very end, the Inca gives his final message, and would you believe it, after raining all day (by now it is 4pm), the sun comes out just over the center stage, and a rainbow appears to our left. It was all a bit surreal, but very cool because the Inca had just raised his hands to praise the sun. Hm, maybe there is some validity to this sun worshipping stuff ;)
At the very end, the Inca returns to his throne, and he is carried around the field, waving at everyone. It was definitely a very interesting and colourful ceremony. Getting back to Cuzco was also an event itself. We decided not to take the bus down (it'll probably be another traffic jam) opting instead to walk, as we did when we were up there 2 weeks ago. Of course, first we had to walk by the popcorn and cotton candy sellers, then the rows and rows of handicraft sellers on the ground. It was a very slow and packed crowd. We ended up on a upper terrace and had to climb down several steep water runways to get down to the path. It was a fun adventure though!
The evening was very quiet in comparison to the previous night. The only people that seemed to be about were tourists. All the locals probably went back home. We had to get up early the next morning, for our long 12 hour bus ride to Arequipa. We had to stopover in Puno, where were first visited when we arrived in Peru. It was nice to see Lake Titicaca again one last time. The bus ride itself was quite smooth, just extremely long. We finally arrived in Arequipa at 9pm last night. Yawn!!
This morning, we went to see the famous Santa Catalina Monastery. It is actually a convent, and today there are 30 nuns still living there. It was created in the late 1500s by a wealthy widow, and she only selected wealthy nuns for her convent. Traditionally the nuns were 2nd born daughters of wealthy Spaniards. So these nuns had a comfortable lifestyle, with 1-4 slaves each. Walking around the one city block compound, full of fruit trees, squares, cobblestone walkways, and rooms, we sure coule imagine what it was like those hundreds of years ago. Wealthier nuns had bigger rooms, and larger kitchens. In fact, history says that these nuns would invite musicians and performers to entertain them. It wasn't till the late 1800s that the hedonistic lifestyle was stopped, and 30 years ago, the mayor of Arequipa forced the monastery to open their doors to the public. It was a nice 2 hour visit, that's for sure. A beautiful and picturesque place.
We also visited Juanita, the famous 500 year old ice maiden of Peru. She was found at the top of Mt. Ampato, which has been covered under glaciers for a long time until the eruption of neighbouring Mt. Sabancaya, which began in 1990. In 1995, a team that has been researching high altitude sacred sites went to the summit. Here, they found Juanita, believed to have been sacrificed when she was 12-13 years old. Because she had been buried beneath glaciers for so long, she was very well preserved, along with her apparel, ceramics and metals. They also found 2 other mummies on the same mountain, also with ceremonial objects. Altogether researchers have located 18 Incan child mummies, all sacrified on mountain tops, from Peru down to Argentina. It was definitely a very interesting piece of history, and even more interesting to see the frozen body of Juanita (she is being stored at -20 celcius).
It was interesting walking around Arequipa. We are staying by the main square, which is a beautiful area centered by a large fountain, and surrounded by flowering plants and park benches. The cathedral takes up a complete block on the north side of the square. We went inside the cathedral earlier today, and it is unlike any other catheral we have seen. Since it was just recently reconstructed in 2001, the interior is quite contemporary. Winston whispered to me when we were sitting down at the pew that this was the first 'peach' church he had ever been too. Indeed, the interior is all peach, except for the white trims.
There are many colonial buildings, and the streets are all cobblestoned. The three sides of the square are lined with shops, hotels and restaurants. The buildings are all two storeyed, so the second levels are filled with cafe seating. Unfortunately we ran out of time to sit and people watch up there.
We are leaving early tomorrow morning for the Colcas Canyon. We will spend the night there, hopefully see some condors, and be back on Monday afternoon for our flight to Lima. Then it's time for an overnight bus to Ayacucho on Monday night, arriving there on Tuesday morning. Soon enough, Wednesday, is the beginning of our long trip back home. It is difficult to imagine that we are down to our last few days.
Arequipa, Peru
Once we were awake enough to be walking through Cuzco, we realized that it was a FULL day of festivities in town. It seemed like everyone who lived in the sacred area and hundreds of miles around Cuzco were in town that day. The parade of communities (with costumes and music) began at about 10 in the morning, and was still going full blast when we walked back to the hotel at 10pm! It was virtually impossible to cross the street anywhere near the square, or Ave Sol, the main street.
We also found places where the locals all ate their meals. Miny kebab, soup, chica and other food stands abound. Winston got a satay looking thing and said it was quite good. It sure smelt delicious! We finally got to Kintara, a Japanese restaurant that had been closed the two times we tried to go there. Service was extremely slow, but the food was delicious so it was worth it. We tried to go again the next evening, but surprise surprise, it was closed for Inti Raymi!
Thursday morning, we woke up to the sound of rain. Oh oh. We (and all of Cuzco) had the day planned to be outdoors. Oh well. A little rain never hurt anyone. It was ironic though, that in the 8 days we had been in Cuzco, it only rained on the most crucial day! Inti Raymi, is the party of the Sun God. The sun is very important to the Incas, so they celebrated this huge feast annually in order to be rewarded the following year.
We found out early on that the tour we signed up for transport and guide services was not the most efficient. Due to the rain, people arrived late, and things got a bit confusing over which bus people belonged to. It was also a cold morning, so the vendors did well selling hats, gloves and especially poncho. We bought 2 ourselves, even though we had on rain jackets already. The rain never did stop once the whole time we were waiting on the bus.
Finally at 10am (we had been waiting since 8am), we finally set off on foot to Qorikancha, the Sun Temple. Just a few blocks away, it was funny to see all the tourists in their brightly coloured disposable ponchos. There were as many local tourists as well. When we got to Qorikancha, the ceremony has just begun.
There were rows and rows of dancers, all in different coloured costumes. Our guide explained the different functions of each group of performers. There were women designated as virgins of the sun, musicians, sweepers, warriors, women who throw flowers when the inca goes by, different priests, the Inca and his wife, Qoya. I'm probably missing something, but you get the gist. All, there were also representatives of the four corners of the Inca empire (north, east, south , west).
It was neat to approach the temple, and see all the people moving from the building outside to the terraces. The music was very pleasant and festive. Our guide explained that they had been using this very same music since the Incan times (1400s). The Inca's speech was in Quechuan, the language of the Inca people. Since many people in Cuzco still continue to speak the language, we can only deduce that they were descendants from the Incan empire. The Inca greets the Sun God, then invites everyone to join them for the festivities at Sacsaywaman (a ruined temple on top of a hill above Cuzco).
Next, the crowd moves over to the main square, and waited for the arrival of the procession. First to arrive were the conch blowers, to announce the arrival of the procession. Then the different groups (dancers, warriors, flower people, etc.) arrived one at a time. Both the Inca and his wife were carried in on their thrones, the Inca always the last one in the procession. He is all decked out in gold, and makes all the speeches.
At the main square, the Inca greets the mayor and other important people of Cuzco, and says a few more words to the Sun. Again, he extends the invitation to Sacsaywaman, for the final celebration.š There were so many people at the square that we had people pushing against us the entire time trying to catch a glimpse of the ceremony. There were also constant requests for us to let kids and older locals in front of us. Luckily we were covered for this part of the ceremony as we were in a covered walkway in front of the shops, across from the Cathedral.
Finally it's time to head back to the bus and head towards Sacsaywaman. This took some time as we somehow had extra people on our bus (not enough seats) and finally we got things sorted out. Driving to Sacsaywaman was an ordeal. The road up goes through residential area, and some slopes. It was not designed to handle hundreds of buses, all trying to get up at the same time. Needless to say, there were a ton of traffic jam. The downhill lane was nonexistent, there were 2 lanes of uphill only, all full of buses. It took so long to get up there that Winston managed a 30min nap.
Wow, what a sight when we got to the area. We went to Sacsaywaman just 2 weeks ago with Rochelle, Jon and Becky, and the only thing out there was green pasture and the ruins. This time, we started seeing people, cars, horses and tents before we could even see the temple. Many of the local people come up the night before, and families just camp out. There was a lot of smoke everywhere. In fact, most of the ground looked dug up. What the people had done were to build adobe fireplaces for cooking. When I say many, I mean over hundreds of these smoky stacks can be seen. It was interesting.
In a corner of the field, a carousel like ride was set up, as were carnival games. We didn't get up close, but I would imagine that it was full of local people. Once we actually got off the bus (that took a while if you can imagine the number of pedestrians everywhere) we walked through a maze of food and handicraft stalls towards the stage area. Sacsaywaman has a flat center area, and that's where the stage and tourist bleachers are set up. On one side of the stage, is the terraced temple with the giant cut up stones, where it is closed to the public, and used as part of the ceremonies. Immediately across from it, is a small hill, surrounded by boulders of different sizes and also some terraced Inca cut stones. It is here that the locals and some tourists gather (free vs the USD $50 and $70 seats).
There were people everywhere on the rocks. Every year, the locals show up early in the morning to claim the best seats. Some of them will sell a space for you in return for some soles. We were counting on getting a couple of these rock space, so we did not sign up for the tourist seats. By the time we arrived, the ceremony was about to start. We looked around to see IF there was any place we might be able to sit, when we were beckoned by a couple of locals, perched on a rock about 10 feet above us.
Boy, we got so lucky. The seats were amazing. We were just slightly higher than the top bleacher seats, almost directly across from the center stage. It was a great view, better than any of the $70 seats, and we only paid 5 soles for them (about $1.50USD). Remember the rain.. so in our yellow and orange ponchos, we were part of the lollipop looking crowd out there.
The ceremony aside, it was interesting just to watch people. There were local vendors walking around selling beer, ponchos, and all kinds of snacks. People either sat on the ends of rocks, or stood (we got seats, very lucky). I got to dangle my feet down a straight rock face, so there was absolutely no obstruction anywhere.
There were more performers here than in the city. This time, there were more dancers and chiefs for the four areas of the Inca Civilization. There were also 4 rows of flag bearers, on the different levers of the stone terraces across from us. It was a neat sight to see the large flags being waved to the music. The flags are all rainbow coloured, the flag of Cuzco.
There were several parts of the ceremony. Luckily we had a printed guide with us (in English) so we could follow along. First the Inca gave a message to the sun, and everyone sings. Then the four regional chiefs gave a report and offerings, all with dancing. Next is the ceremony of the chicha, maize beer. Winston tried some on the Inca trail and says "never again!"
Afterwards, they lit the sacred fire which will remain burning till the next Inti Raymi. Parts of the flames were brought to 6 different haystacks on the field and these were set on fire. Unfortunately the wind/rain blew the smoke in the direction of the stage so picture taking was not ideal for a bit. Next is the sacrifice of the llama. Luckily they no longer kill a live llama, so it's just a simulation. Still, they pull out something that looks like the heart and lungs.
Then they bless some bread and mix them with the blood, which is then shared by the Inca, with the priests and other participants (somehow I doubt they really partake in that stuff these days). At the very end, the Inca gives his final message, and would you believe it, after raining all day (by now it is 4pm), the sun comes out just over the center stage, and a rainbow appears to our left. It was all a bit surreal, but very cool because the Inca had just raised his hands to praise the sun. Hm, maybe there is some validity to this sun worshipping stuff ;)
At the very end, the Inca returns to his throne, and he is carried around the field, waving at everyone. It was definitely a very interesting and colourful ceremony. Getting back to Cuzco was also an event itself. We decided not to take the bus down (it'll probably be another traffic jam) opting instead to walk, as we did when we were up there 2 weeks ago. Of course, first we had to walk by the popcorn and cotton candy sellers, then the rows and rows of handicraft sellers on the ground. It was a very slow and packed crowd. We ended up on a upper terrace and had to climb down several steep water runways to get down to the path. It was a fun adventure though!
The evening was very quiet in comparison to the previous night. The only people that seemed to be about were tourists. All the locals probably went back home. We had to get up early the next morning, for our long 12 hour bus ride to Arequipa. We had to stopover in Puno, where were first visited when we arrived in Peru. It was nice to see Lake Titicaca again one last time. The bus ride itself was quite smooth, just extremely long. We finally arrived in Arequipa at 9pm last night. Yawn!!
This morning, we went to see the famous Santa Catalina Monastery. It is actually a convent, and today there are 30 nuns still living there. It was created in the late 1500s by a wealthy widow, and she only selected wealthy nuns for her convent. Traditionally the nuns were 2nd born daughters of wealthy Spaniards. So these nuns had a comfortable lifestyle, with 1-4 slaves each. Walking around the one city block compound, full of fruit trees, squares, cobblestone walkways, and rooms, we sure coule imagine what it was like those hundreds of years ago. Wealthier nuns had bigger rooms, and larger kitchens. In fact, history says that these nuns would invite musicians and performers to entertain them. It wasn't till the late 1800s that the hedonistic lifestyle was stopped, and 30 years ago, the mayor of Arequipa forced the monastery to open their doors to the public. It was a nice 2 hour visit, that's for sure. A beautiful and picturesque place.
We also visited Juanita, the famous 500 year old ice maiden of Peru. She was found at the top of Mt. Ampato, which has been covered under glaciers for a long time until the eruption of neighbouring Mt. Sabancaya, which began in 1990. In 1995, a team that has been researching high altitude sacred sites went to the summit. Here, they found Juanita, believed to have been sacrificed when she was 12-13 years old. Because she had been buried beneath glaciers for so long, she was very well preserved, along with her apparel, ceramics and metals. They also found 2 other mummies on the same mountain, also with ceremonial objects. Altogether researchers have located 18 Incan child mummies, all sacrified on mountain tops, from Peru down to Argentina. It was definitely a very interesting piece of history, and even more interesting to see the frozen body of Juanita (she is being stored at -20 celcius).
It was interesting walking around Arequipa. We are staying by the main square, which is a beautiful area centered by a large fountain, and surrounded by flowering plants and park benches. The cathedral takes up a complete block on the north side of the square. We went inside the cathedral earlier today, and it is unlike any other catheral we have seen. Since it was just recently reconstructed in 2001, the interior is quite contemporary. Winston whispered to me when we were sitting down at the pew that this was the first 'peach' church he had ever been too. Indeed, the interior is all peach, except for the white trims.
There are many colonial buildings, and the streets are all cobblestoned. The three sides of the square are lined with shops, hotels and restaurants. The buildings are all two storeyed, so the second levels are filled with cafe seating. Unfortunately we ran out of time to sit and people watch up there.
We are leaving early tomorrow morning for the Colcas Canyon. We will spend the night there, hopefully see some condors, and be back on Monday afternoon for our flight to Lima. Then it's time for an overnight bus to Ayacucho on Monday night, arriving there on Tuesday morning. Soon enough, Wednesday, is the beginning of our long trip back home. It is difficult to imagine that we are down to our last few days.
Tuesday, June 22, 2004
Don't Cry for Me Argentina
Lima, Peru
We are back in Lima again (for the third time). Buenos Aires was a wonderful city, with tons to do and see. It would have been a perfect holiday spot except my poor lungs and sinuses were not very happy with the ciggy smoke everywhere.
We booked an inexpensive 5 day 4 night package to BA out of Lima on the 17th (it was a bit last minute, but the departure worked out well with Scott and Rochelle's). Flying out at midnight and arriving at 7am (Argentina is 2 hours ahead of Peru, which is another 2 hours ahead of Seattle) was tough. Luckily we were able to check into our room at the Gran Hotel Argentinos at 9am, and basically just crashed till our phone rang at 1pm.
Our guides Marcello (who speaks no English) and his wife Rossana (who speaks English) were waiting to brief us on our stay and offer us additional tour options. At this time, we realized that somewhere between immigration and customs, we had lost my ticket! Argh! Between being groggy from the red eye flight and plain tiredness, we must have just not paid enough attention. In the year of travel, we have not lost anything important so this was a first.
Luckily with Rossana's help (over 3 days and lots of Spanish), we finally managed to get me a replacement ticket with a $25 penalty (a small price to pay for not getting stuck in Argentina, though legally I could stay here for 3 months). Whew.
Buenos Aires is very cosmopolitan, as Winston has mentioned. It is easy to enjoy all the cafes, restaurants, theatres and shops that are available. There is definitely no shortage of activities there. We filled in our 4 nights very quickly. The first night we went to the futbol (soccer/football) game between the two rival city teams. That was very exciting though a bit chaotic getting to the stadium.
The next day, we went on a half day city tour, and saw the different neighbourhoods. The further north you go, the weathier the neighbourhoods while south is the area of the poor. Interestingly, River Plate (the football team we watched last night) is the team for the north, while Boca Jr is the team down south. It was interesting driving around the Boca area. All the houses and stores there are painted with the same blue and yellow stripes. Flags were hung all over the place.
Also in the Boca area is a very colourful street called Caminito. A one block street, it was created as a place for artist and musicians to gather and display their talents a long time ago. Interestingly, all the buildings are painted different colours, and papermache or wood statues of people hang off balconies beckoning those down below. It is a very interesting place. We did not get to stay long there but we were told that there is a lot of tango being danced on the streets and in the cafes.
In the north, we drove through the neighbourhoods of Palermo, Retiro and Recoleta. These are all beautiful places, with lots of green spaces and gardens. We stopped by the rose garden and walked around. There is also a new neighbourhood called Puerto Madero, which used to be the old port. Now it is a trendy area with lofts, restaurants and offices. It reminds us of Woolloomooloo in Sydney.
That evening, we went to see a show called Opera Pampa. It is an hour long outdoor event, depicting the history of Argentina, beginning with the Indians in the Andes. There were beautiful costumes, dancing, singing and thoroughbred horses. There must have been over 20 horses in the show. It was a nice done event. We were a bit apprehensive when we saw that the show was outside, because it was a very cold evening. Luckily they provided nice warm fleece ponchos so we were able to stay cozy. In fact, we asked for some snacks cause we were hungry and dinner wasnŽt till 9:30pm, and they brought us hot empanadas (meat pastries). Yummy!
Dinner itself was quite interesting. We sat with a friendly Columbian honeymooners who had shared a ride with us on the way over. Conversing in half English and spots of Spanish, we enjoyed the evening finding out about each otherŽs countries. They assured us that Columbia is absolutely safe right now. It is only CNN that has the hostage situations blown out of proportions, and the only danger spot is in the middle of the jungle. Ah, back to the dinner. It was a traditional Argentinian bbq, with ribs, steaks and pig. Interesting, though the meats were fairly fat.
On Saturday, we went for a fascinating tour of the Colon Theatre. Completed in 1908, it screams luxury and culture when you are inside. We got to see the entrance areas, waiting rooms, main Auditorium, practice rooms, store rooms for shoes, wigs, costumes, etc. and set design. It was very cool, and I couldnŽt help but think how wonderful it would be to work in a place like that. Can you imagine a place that stores every piece of equipment and costume used from 1908?!
In the afternoon, we joined a tour to go visit the town of San Isidro, and the Tiger River. San Isidro, as Winston mentioned before, is an upscale neighbourhood with nice colonial houses. Several decades ago when Buenos Aires went through yellow fever and other diseases, the wealthy moved up north and set up residences there. Our short train ride showed us mansions with swimming pools and tennis courts.
The Tiger River area itself was very interesting. In the area is the Parana Delta, where pieces of land all reside among streams and rivers. We enjoyed the hour long cruise, viewing the cute homes on the islands, and the many birds in the area.
That night, we went to dinner and tango show at El Querandi, a restaurant that has been inexistance since 1920s. Located in an old colonial house, it was a neat setting. Dinner here was ala carte, and there was plenty of options. It was quite delicious, and I know Winston enjoyed his bottle of red wine too. The tango show itself was fantastic, as were the musicians on stage. We were entertained by 2 singers, and 6 dancers for an hour. We were always awed by the speed at which they can move their legs.
We had a lazy Sunday, but it was ok since it rained all day. We made a last minute decision to go see the ballet at 5pm, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Immediately afterwards, we went to another dinner and tango show called Senor Tango. This was outside of the downtown area, in a stable like place, that was decorated western style. A bit Las Vegas like, but still, quite enjoyable. It was a fine way to end our stay in Buenos Aires, with lots of singing, dancing and music.
Our flight to Lima was not till 9pm on Monday night, so I browsed through the shops a bit in the afternoon. It was a long night, flying into Lima at 12:30am, and waiting till our 5:45am flight to Cuzco. I started this blog in Lima at the airport yesterday, but am now in Cuzco. We were so tired yesterday that we crashed at the hotel the entire day. It was worth it though, now we are ready to explore Cuzco again, and tomorrow is the big Inti Raymi festival (the reason why we came back here). Already I can see the stage being setup at the Plaza de Armas and Cathedral. It should be a very interesting day.
Lima, Peru
We are back in Lima again (for the third time). Buenos Aires was a wonderful city, with tons to do and see. It would have been a perfect holiday spot except my poor lungs and sinuses were not very happy with the ciggy smoke everywhere.
We booked an inexpensive 5 day 4 night package to BA out of Lima on the 17th (it was a bit last minute, but the departure worked out well with Scott and Rochelle's). Flying out at midnight and arriving at 7am (Argentina is 2 hours ahead of Peru, which is another 2 hours ahead of Seattle) was tough. Luckily we were able to check into our room at the Gran Hotel Argentinos at 9am, and basically just crashed till our phone rang at 1pm.
Our guides Marcello (who speaks no English) and his wife Rossana (who speaks English) were waiting to brief us on our stay and offer us additional tour options. At this time, we realized that somewhere between immigration and customs, we had lost my ticket! Argh! Between being groggy from the red eye flight and plain tiredness, we must have just not paid enough attention. In the year of travel, we have not lost anything important so this was a first.
Luckily with Rossana's help (over 3 days and lots of Spanish), we finally managed to get me a replacement ticket with a $25 penalty (a small price to pay for not getting stuck in Argentina, though legally I could stay here for 3 months). Whew.
Buenos Aires is very cosmopolitan, as Winston has mentioned. It is easy to enjoy all the cafes, restaurants, theatres and shops that are available. There is definitely no shortage of activities there. We filled in our 4 nights very quickly. The first night we went to the futbol (soccer/football) game between the two rival city teams. That was very exciting though a bit chaotic getting to the stadium.
The next day, we went on a half day city tour, and saw the different neighbourhoods. The further north you go, the weathier the neighbourhoods while south is the area of the poor. Interestingly, River Plate (the football team we watched last night) is the team for the north, while Boca Jr is the team down south. It was interesting driving around the Boca area. All the houses and stores there are painted with the same blue and yellow stripes. Flags were hung all over the place.
Also in the Boca area is a very colourful street called Caminito. A one block street, it was created as a place for artist and musicians to gather and display their talents a long time ago. Interestingly, all the buildings are painted different colours, and papermache or wood statues of people hang off balconies beckoning those down below. It is a very interesting place. We did not get to stay long there but we were told that there is a lot of tango being danced on the streets and in the cafes.
In the north, we drove through the neighbourhoods of Palermo, Retiro and Recoleta. These are all beautiful places, with lots of green spaces and gardens. We stopped by the rose garden and walked around. There is also a new neighbourhood called Puerto Madero, which used to be the old port. Now it is a trendy area with lofts, restaurants and offices. It reminds us of Woolloomooloo in Sydney.
That evening, we went to see a show called Opera Pampa. It is an hour long outdoor event, depicting the history of Argentina, beginning with the Indians in the Andes. There were beautiful costumes, dancing, singing and thoroughbred horses. There must have been over 20 horses in the show. It was a nice done event. We were a bit apprehensive when we saw that the show was outside, because it was a very cold evening. Luckily they provided nice warm fleece ponchos so we were able to stay cozy. In fact, we asked for some snacks cause we were hungry and dinner wasnŽt till 9:30pm, and they brought us hot empanadas (meat pastries). Yummy!
Dinner itself was quite interesting. We sat with a friendly Columbian honeymooners who had shared a ride with us on the way over. Conversing in half English and spots of Spanish, we enjoyed the evening finding out about each otherŽs countries. They assured us that Columbia is absolutely safe right now. It is only CNN that has the hostage situations blown out of proportions, and the only danger spot is in the middle of the jungle. Ah, back to the dinner. It was a traditional Argentinian bbq, with ribs, steaks and pig. Interesting, though the meats were fairly fat.
On Saturday, we went for a fascinating tour of the Colon Theatre. Completed in 1908, it screams luxury and culture when you are inside. We got to see the entrance areas, waiting rooms, main Auditorium, practice rooms, store rooms for shoes, wigs, costumes, etc. and set design. It was very cool, and I couldnŽt help but think how wonderful it would be to work in a place like that. Can you imagine a place that stores every piece of equipment and costume used from 1908?!
In the afternoon, we joined a tour to go visit the town of San Isidro, and the Tiger River. San Isidro, as Winston mentioned before, is an upscale neighbourhood with nice colonial houses. Several decades ago when Buenos Aires went through yellow fever and other diseases, the wealthy moved up north and set up residences there. Our short train ride showed us mansions with swimming pools and tennis courts.
The Tiger River area itself was very interesting. In the area is the Parana Delta, where pieces of land all reside among streams and rivers. We enjoyed the hour long cruise, viewing the cute homes on the islands, and the many birds in the area.
That night, we went to dinner and tango show at El Querandi, a restaurant that has been inexistance since 1920s. Located in an old colonial house, it was a neat setting. Dinner here was ala carte, and there was plenty of options. It was quite delicious, and I know Winston enjoyed his bottle of red wine too. The tango show itself was fantastic, as were the musicians on stage. We were entertained by 2 singers, and 6 dancers for an hour. We were always awed by the speed at which they can move their legs.
We had a lazy Sunday, but it was ok since it rained all day. We made a last minute decision to go see the ballet at 5pm, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Immediately afterwards, we went to another dinner and tango show called Senor Tango. This was outside of the downtown area, in a stable like place, that was decorated western style. A bit Las Vegas like, but still, quite enjoyable. It was a fine way to end our stay in Buenos Aires, with lots of singing, dancing and music.
Our flight to Lima was not till 9pm on Monday night, so I browsed through the shops a bit in the afternoon. It was a long night, flying into Lima at 12:30am, and waiting till our 5:45am flight to Cuzco. I started this blog in Lima at the airport yesterday, but am now in Cuzco. We were so tired yesterday that we crashed at the hotel the entire day. It was worth it though, now we are ready to explore Cuzco again, and tomorrow is the big Inti Raymi festival (the reason why we came back here). Already I can see the stage being setup at the Plaza de Armas and Cathedral. It should be a very interesting day.
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