Hey Everybody,
So we got into La Paz two days ago, but after having taken two buses, a ferry, and a taxi, I was not up to blogging about it. La Paz is huge! I wasn´t expecting it. Huge, and polluted, and very chaotic. The first night we got there, it was pretty much sensory overload. For whatever reason, the bus we were on decided not to drop us at the bus terminal but instead on some random road, which was more stressful than you might imagine. After eventually stumbling upon some dingy, but decent hostal, we pretty much crashed for the night. The next morning we woke up feeling much more equipped to deal with the craziness of La Paz. I discovered my love of saltenas, which are the best meat pies ever made! actually! They are juicy, and spicy, and probably one of the only Bolivian foods with a decent amount of vegetables to accompany the meat :)
We also bought our bus tickets to Potosi, and we were all good to go when we got an e-mail from Felipe approximately two hours before our bus was scheduled to leave. (Felipe is the guy in charge of the volunteer organization in Potosi). We e'mailed him about a week and a half ago to let him know that we would most likely be arriving on the 28th or 29th. We of course didn´t hear back from him, but we were not overly concerned because he is not the most prompt e-mail responder. In retrospect, perhaps we should have been a little more concerned, lol. So whatever, we open the e-mail, and it is Felipe telling us that he is actually taking a bus to La Paz as we speak, and will be there by morning. Consequently, he thought we should delay our travels to Potosi, so that we could travel together. Well then! Not sure if any of you have traveled extensively in South America, but returning bus tickets is not the easiest thing to do when one speaks limited Spanish and the people at the train station work on commission :)
We decided it might be a good idea to call Felipe, and so we found a locutorio and dialled the number that was supposedly his cell phone. At first it went to voicemail, and so I was left stumbling trying to compose a message that would make sense to him. At some point during my ramblings, someone picked up the phone. I assumed it was Felipe, and so we started talking, except that his Spanish is much faster than my own, and so there was much confusion. However, then the person I was talking to got all confused about my travel plans to Potosi, because he thought we were going for a couple of days rather than a couple of months. At this point, I began to become a little suspicious. Just who exactly was I talking to? When I asked him this, he said something that might have been to the effect of "I am Felipe´s brother", possibly he told me that he was not Felipe and had no clue what I was talking about, or possibly it really was Felipe and we had just managed to be mutually confused. Honestly I have no idea. Unable to maintain my composure on the phone, I told whoever I was talking to that we were heading to Potosi, and would write an email to felipe with the details of this plan. Upon hanging up, Em and I laughed until we cried.
So yes, now we are in Potosi, waiting for Felipe to get back here, at which point who knows what will happen. Nothing like a good adventure :)
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Saturday, September 26, 2009
My Cusquenan Weekend; Part II
Sorry for not finishing sooner- I got distracted by Maccu Picchu :)
So as I was saying, Sunday was also an amazing day. Manuel is a professional musician, in addition to being the sound and lights guy for a bunch of different theatres. He was kind enough to invite us to a community music production- a wonderful collaboration between Manuel´s music group and a group of kids from a local elementary school.
Originally he thought that it was in the same location as they had it the last month, and so he met us at our hostel at around 3:00 and we started walking. Now Cusco is very high, with very little oxygen, and it also happens to be built into the side of the mountain...see where I´m going with this? So basically, we walked straight up for about 45 minutes. I don´t think my heart has ever pumped as fast as it was when we were climbing. I actually couldn´t talk. It was ridiculous. Luckily, Manuel seemed to tire, too, just not the same degree. Eventually we made it to the top of the hill, near the ruins of saksaywaman (called sexy woman by the majority of people in Cusco), only to discover that it was in fact on top of a completely different part of the mountain! So we then climbed all the way back down, hailed a taxi, and drove to the next site. Unfortunately, the taxi driver had no idea where we were going, which led to us getting out and walking up many more flights of stairs. Good times :)
Finally we arrived at our destination- this tiny little park beside a church. Success!! Only problem was that no one had any idea where the music production was supposed to be either, which led to a whole bunch of tardiness. While waiting, one of the guys from Manuel´s group procured a full bag of coca leaves (yes I am referring to the same plant as the one used to make cocaine, however coca leaves and cocaine are in no way related, as many locals are wont to tell me). At first, I just assumed we were going to chew on them to keep ourselves occupied- little did I know that there is a beautiful ceremony that accompanies coca leaf chewing. So, to start, you painstakingly search for three perfectly formed coca leaves- this is more challenging than it sounds because they are typically very dry and brittle. Once you have selected the coca leaves, you blow on them, and present them to another person in the circle. They then accept the leaves, blow on them, and then place them in their mouths. You continue to do this until everyone has a large wad of coca leaves in their mouth. What I did not realize was that coca leaves have anaesthetic (sp?) properties, leaving your mouth feeling as though you have sucked on too many
Hall throat candies :) It was an interesting sensation. Back to the ceremonial aspects of coca leaves- it was just such a warm and friendly gesture. Emily and I felt perfectly accepted within their group, and it was an honour to have participated in it.
Then out came the beer, and I discovered they do libations too!! One person starts with a glass, fills it to whatever depth they want, then passes the bottle to the next person. It took me quite a while to figure out what I was supposed to be doing with the bottle- at first I thought they wanted me to drink from it but this seemed a little rude. Anyways, they sprinkle a little bit on the earth, and throw a few drops behind them, and then drink the rest and pass the cup to the next person. The next person repeats the entire process, until everyone in the circle has had a chance to thank the Earth for providing for them. It was very cool! They also did tobacco smudging, very similar to some of the native ceremonies, but this once I skipped out on because I didn´t think smoke on top of a lack of oxygen would be very good for my health.
After all of these wonderful gestures, the music finally started, and it was beautiful. There were many pan floutists, and a couple of drummers. After watching for a bit, we realized that in the group, every person has one or two notes that they are in charge of playing, and then to produce the melody they basically all take turns playing their note. The amount of coordination this takes blows my mind! Then the dancing started, which was so much fun!!! They dance in circles, and somehow they all seem to know when they should be changing directions. Naturally, Emily and I had no idea, and as a result, spent many minutes getting our arms yanked out of their sockets. It was marvelous!!! After the dancing came the drinking, and they really do not enjoy taking no for an answer. As a result, I drank way too much beer for life, and I don´t even like beer! At some point during the night, I climbed the soccer posts, which seemed like a very natural thing to do. Apparently, Peruvians do not normally do this, and so Manuel and Emily spent many a minute discussing the levels of craziness/inebriation I was exhibiting :) What I found most amusing was the very drunk Pablo that decided to join me on top of the soccer posts. Hilarity! He was not sober enough to speak Spanish simply enough for me to understand, and so we just spent a whole lot of time being very confused. At some point, I think he was trying to convince me that he was acutally a famous singer, although I am not really sure of this.
Post all of these musical festivities, we returned to the main part of Cusco and decided to go out dancing with Jesus and Manuel. First we went to this bar called Muse- very strange decor, but quite enjoyable. The bartenders thought I was married because I have a ring on the fourth finger of my right hand (apparently it´s backwards in Peru). They were very relieved when I told them I was not, and proceeded to propose rather loudly. Oh dear! Hilarious! Then I got bored, because Muse was playing too much Reggae, so we went to a different club whose name I don´t know, and I came to the conclusion that clubbing in Peru is the same as clubbing anywhere. Same type of music, although I must say that there is more salsa dancing, which is spectacular!!
Alas, thus ended my rather lovely Cusquenian weekend. Such a learning experience, and so much fun :)
So as I was saying, Sunday was also an amazing day. Manuel is a professional musician, in addition to being the sound and lights guy for a bunch of different theatres. He was kind enough to invite us to a community music production- a wonderful collaboration between Manuel´s music group and a group of kids from a local elementary school.
Originally he thought that it was in the same location as they had it the last month, and so he met us at our hostel at around 3:00 and we started walking. Now Cusco is very high, with very little oxygen, and it also happens to be built into the side of the mountain...see where I´m going with this? So basically, we walked straight up for about 45 minutes. I don´t think my heart has ever pumped as fast as it was when we were climbing. I actually couldn´t talk. It was ridiculous. Luckily, Manuel seemed to tire, too, just not the same degree. Eventually we made it to the top of the hill, near the ruins of saksaywaman (called sexy woman by the majority of people in Cusco), only to discover that it was in fact on top of a completely different part of the mountain! So we then climbed all the way back down, hailed a taxi, and drove to the next site. Unfortunately, the taxi driver had no idea where we were going, which led to us getting out and walking up many more flights of stairs. Good times :)
Finally we arrived at our destination- this tiny little park beside a church. Success!! Only problem was that no one had any idea where the music production was supposed to be either, which led to a whole bunch of tardiness. While waiting, one of the guys from Manuel´s group procured a full bag of coca leaves (yes I am referring to the same plant as the one used to make cocaine, however coca leaves and cocaine are in no way related, as many locals are wont to tell me). At first, I just assumed we were going to chew on them to keep ourselves occupied- little did I know that there is a beautiful ceremony that accompanies coca leaf chewing. So, to start, you painstakingly search for three perfectly formed coca leaves- this is more challenging than it sounds because they are typically very dry and brittle. Once you have selected the coca leaves, you blow on them, and present them to another person in the circle. They then accept the leaves, blow on them, and then place them in their mouths. You continue to do this until everyone has a large wad of coca leaves in their mouth. What I did not realize was that coca leaves have anaesthetic (sp?) properties, leaving your mouth feeling as though you have sucked on too many
Hall throat candies :) It was an interesting sensation. Back to the ceremonial aspects of coca leaves- it was just such a warm and friendly gesture. Emily and I felt perfectly accepted within their group, and it was an honour to have participated in it.
Then out came the beer, and I discovered they do libations too!! One person starts with a glass, fills it to whatever depth they want, then passes the bottle to the next person. It took me quite a while to figure out what I was supposed to be doing with the bottle- at first I thought they wanted me to drink from it but this seemed a little rude. Anyways, they sprinkle a little bit on the earth, and throw a few drops behind them, and then drink the rest and pass the cup to the next person. The next person repeats the entire process, until everyone in the circle has had a chance to thank the Earth for providing for them. It was very cool! They also did tobacco smudging, very similar to some of the native ceremonies, but this once I skipped out on because I didn´t think smoke on top of a lack of oxygen would be very good for my health.
After all of these wonderful gestures, the music finally started, and it was beautiful. There were many pan floutists, and a couple of drummers. After watching for a bit, we realized that in the group, every person has one or two notes that they are in charge of playing, and then to produce the melody they basically all take turns playing their note. The amount of coordination this takes blows my mind! Then the dancing started, which was so much fun!!! They dance in circles, and somehow they all seem to know when they should be changing directions. Naturally, Emily and I had no idea, and as a result, spent many minutes getting our arms yanked out of their sockets. It was marvelous!!! After the dancing came the drinking, and they really do not enjoy taking no for an answer. As a result, I drank way too much beer for life, and I don´t even like beer! At some point during the night, I climbed the soccer posts, which seemed like a very natural thing to do. Apparently, Peruvians do not normally do this, and so Manuel and Emily spent many a minute discussing the levels of craziness/inebriation I was exhibiting :) What I found most amusing was the very drunk Pablo that decided to join me on top of the soccer posts. Hilarity! He was not sober enough to speak Spanish simply enough for me to understand, and so we just spent a whole lot of time being very confused. At some point, I think he was trying to convince me that he was acutally a famous singer, although I am not really sure of this.
Post all of these musical festivities, we returned to the main part of Cusco and decided to go out dancing with Jesus and Manuel. First we went to this bar called Muse- very strange decor, but quite enjoyable. The bartenders thought I was married because I have a ring on the fourth finger of my right hand (apparently it´s backwards in Peru). They were very relieved when I told them I was not, and proceeded to propose rather loudly. Oh dear! Hilarious! Then I got bored, because Muse was playing too much Reggae, so we went to a different club whose name I don´t know, and I came to the conclusion that clubbing in Peru is the same as clubbing anywhere. Same type of music, although I must say that there is more salsa dancing, which is spectacular!!
Alas, thus ended my rather lovely Cusquenian weekend. Such a learning experience, and so much fun :)
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
My Cusquenan weekend!
Hola a todos,
I am on my twenty minute break from spanish class, so I don´t have much time, however I felt that it was necessary to share my most spectacular weekend with you.
Saturday we woke up at a very leisurely 8 o´clock- late for us because the sun rises around 5:30 and wakes us up. I then stayed in bed and luxuriously read the three musketeers. Funniest book ever! I definitely recommend it if you haven´t already read it. I think Planchet, D´artagnan´s servant is my favourite, although D´Artagnan himself is a close second. Then Manuel and Jesus decided to take us out for lunch in un restaurante tipico, which was wonderful. We started with these enormous glasses of chicha, which is this fermented corn drink that is definitely an acquired taste. The glasses were seriously as big around as my face- I had to hold it with two hands!!!! I felt very much like a 3 year old again, trying desperately to drink without spilling all over myself. Manuel and Jesus can down 5 of these gigantic glasses in one sitting. I don´t know where they put it. I am slowly getting used to it...who knows, by the end of the trip I may even love it. It is defintely the drink of choice for cusquenans.
I am also slowly but surely getting used to having to kiss everyone as a greeting. I definitely offended a couple people, unintentionally, by shaking their hand instead of doing the much more socially acceptable kiss on the cheek.
Anyways, after lunch, they took us to this beautiful roof top terrace where you could see the entire city. Emily and I sang songs, and danced, and I of course did handstands all over the place. After that, they took us to this wonderful cafe where we had peruvian hot chocolate, which actually is the best thing I have ever tasted!!! Emily and I believe it is the milk they use- whole milk instead of partially skimmed- seriously who came up with the idea of reduced-fat milk? So unnecessary. And THEN they took us to un teatro to watch a Cusquenan production. It was wonderful! It was basically a play symbolizing the fiesta de la somebody...can´t remember her name. And so it showed the battle between the Incas and the Spanish, and cultural traditions of both groups. There were acrobats and jugglers and fire spinners! Que bueno!! So yes, that was our saturday.
Sunday was even more spectacular, but it is going to have to wait until after Spanish class...
Be back soon :)
I am on my twenty minute break from spanish class, so I don´t have much time, however I felt that it was necessary to share my most spectacular weekend with you.
Saturday we woke up at a very leisurely 8 o´clock- late for us because the sun rises around 5:30 and wakes us up. I then stayed in bed and luxuriously read the three musketeers. Funniest book ever! I definitely recommend it if you haven´t already read it. I think Planchet, D´artagnan´s servant is my favourite, although D´Artagnan himself is a close second. Then Manuel and Jesus decided to take us out for lunch in un restaurante tipico, which was wonderful. We started with these enormous glasses of chicha, which is this fermented corn drink that is definitely an acquired taste. The glasses were seriously as big around as my face- I had to hold it with two hands!!!! I felt very much like a 3 year old again, trying desperately to drink without spilling all over myself. Manuel and Jesus can down 5 of these gigantic glasses in one sitting. I don´t know where they put it. I am slowly getting used to it...who knows, by the end of the trip I may even love it. It is defintely the drink of choice for cusquenans.
I am also slowly but surely getting used to having to kiss everyone as a greeting. I definitely offended a couple people, unintentionally, by shaking their hand instead of doing the much more socially acceptable kiss on the cheek.
Anyways, after lunch, they took us to this beautiful roof top terrace where you could see the entire city. Emily and I sang songs, and danced, and I of course did handstands all over the place. After that, they took us to this wonderful cafe where we had peruvian hot chocolate, which actually is the best thing I have ever tasted!!! Emily and I believe it is the milk they use- whole milk instead of partially skimmed- seriously who came up with the idea of reduced-fat milk? So unnecessary. And THEN they took us to un teatro to watch a Cusquenan production. It was wonderful! It was basically a play symbolizing the fiesta de la somebody...can´t remember her name. And so it showed the battle between the Incas and the Spanish, and cultural traditions of both groups. There were acrobats and jugglers and fire spinners! Que bueno!! So yes, that was our saturday.
Sunday was even more spectacular, but it is going to have to wait until after Spanish class...
Be back soon :)
Friday, September 18, 2009
My brain is exploding!!!
Hey everybody,
Cuzco (or Cusco- after a bit of confusion, I have decided both are actually used equally) is awesome!!! We are staying in a very cute hostal that is a five minute walk from a small local market, which means that every morning for breakfast we get up and walk to the market for some freshly sqeezed juice. This morning´s was awesome- the put beets and carrots in it! Then for lunch, we go back to the market and split a menu, because they are way too big to finish alone. You start with this giant bowl of soup- today´s had several chicken feet, and then there is the actual meal- normally meat and rice and potatoes, followed by some kind of dessert. And all this for the low price of 3 soles (1 USD).
After about a week of being generally confused, and having no clue how to articulate most of our thoughts, we decided some spanish lessons were in order. Luckily Cusco is the most touristy town we have been in yet, and there were a multitude to choose from. We decided to go with a school called Mundo Antiguo- not sure of the significance. As it stands, currently, we do four hours of lessons a day, by the end of which, our brains are fried past the point of recognition. As a result, if this post makes no sense, it is because our spanish lesson finished about an hour ago, and I haven´t had my nap yet :) We are learning a ton, though. I can now have a conversation as long as it is only in the present tense, which is a very exciting accomplishment. Today we learned the conjugations of all the irregular spanish verbs, plus how to use pronombres directs y indirects which is not the same as in french!! Ahhhh!!!! The bad news about these very intensive Spanish lessons is that we are left with absolutely no energy to explore the touristy sites at the end of the day. We sleep, eat, and breathe Spanish.
Yesterday, we did make it to the plaza armas, where I was accosted at least ten times by young boys wishing to shine my shoes. Apparently they are in a horrifying state of uncleanliness, and they just cant seem to fathom why I would refuse to let them make them "muy bonitos". I also got chastised by the police for putting my shoes on the bench. I was thinking that perhaps some new shoes might be in order. Around the plaza de armas, there are literally dozens of touristy souvenir shops. There are also ladies dressed in traditional garb holding llamas so that tourists can take their picture for a small fee. The weird thing is that people pay for this. It is a bit disconcerting to be in the tourist centre because all the signs and all the menus are in English, giving it an atmosphere that is almost European. We decided that there must be more to Cusco than immediately apparent and so we walked perhaps ten minutes past the plaza and lo and behold normal peruvian life!! It is just bizarre. One block and it is as if you are in a different world.
A couple of days ago, Em decided to get a watch bracelet made for her by one of the street vendors, and so while we were waiting to pay one of the other guys came up to me and started chatting, which was fine. But then he conned me into trying on some of his jewelery- I should have refused more vehemently. And then he decided to take a picture of me while I wasn´t paying attention!!! Ahhh!! I was a little weirded out, mostly amused though. So far my brown skin has definitely been working in my favour as Em gets way more attention than I do, which is fun for me, and not so fun for her =)
As far as reading goes, I have already finished All that matters, my stroke of insight, and I am halfway through the 3 musketeers. What am I going to read when I´m finished!?!?!? Suggestions anybody?
Cuzco (or Cusco- after a bit of confusion, I have decided both are actually used equally) is awesome!!! We are staying in a very cute hostal that is a five minute walk from a small local market, which means that every morning for breakfast we get up and walk to the market for some freshly sqeezed juice. This morning´s was awesome- the put beets and carrots in it! Then for lunch, we go back to the market and split a menu, because they are way too big to finish alone. You start with this giant bowl of soup- today´s had several chicken feet, and then there is the actual meal- normally meat and rice and potatoes, followed by some kind of dessert. And all this for the low price of 3 soles (1 USD).
After about a week of being generally confused, and having no clue how to articulate most of our thoughts, we decided some spanish lessons were in order. Luckily Cusco is the most touristy town we have been in yet, and there were a multitude to choose from. We decided to go with a school called Mundo Antiguo- not sure of the significance. As it stands, currently, we do four hours of lessons a day, by the end of which, our brains are fried past the point of recognition. As a result, if this post makes no sense, it is because our spanish lesson finished about an hour ago, and I haven´t had my nap yet :) We are learning a ton, though. I can now have a conversation as long as it is only in the present tense, which is a very exciting accomplishment. Today we learned the conjugations of all the irregular spanish verbs, plus how to use pronombres directs y indirects which is not the same as in french!! Ahhhh!!!! The bad news about these very intensive Spanish lessons is that we are left with absolutely no energy to explore the touristy sites at the end of the day. We sleep, eat, and breathe Spanish.
Yesterday, we did make it to the plaza armas, where I was accosted at least ten times by young boys wishing to shine my shoes. Apparently they are in a horrifying state of uncleanliness, and they just cant seem to fathom why I would refuse to let them make them "muy bonitos". I also got chastised by the police for putting my shoes on the bench. I was thinking that perhaps some new shoes might be in order. Around the plaza de armas, there are literally dozens of touristy souvenir shops. There are also ladies dressed in traditional garb holding llamas so that tourists can take their picture for a small fee. The weird thing is that people pay for this. It is a bit disconcerting to be in the tourist centre because all the signs and all the menus are in English, giving it an atmosphere that is almost European. We decided that there must be more to Cusco than immediately apparent and so we walked perhaps ten minutes past the plaza and lo and behold normal peruvian life!! It is just bizarre. One block and it is as if you are in a different world.
A couple of days ago, Em decided to get a watch bracelet made for her by one of the street vendors, and so while we were waiting to pay one of the other guys came up to me and started chatting, which was fine. But then he conned me into trying on some of his jewelery- I should have refused more vehemently. And then he decided to take a picture of me while I wasn´t paying attention!!! Ahhh!! I was a little weirded out, mostly amused though. So far my brown skin has definitely been working in my favour as Em gets way more attention than I do, which is fun for me, and not so fun for her =)
As far as reading goes, I have already finished All that matters, my stroke of insight, and I am halfway through the 3 musketeers. What am I going to read when I´m finished!?!?!? Suggestions anybody?
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Hola!
So I am back in Arequipa now after a whirlwind trip to Cotahuasi Canyon. The original plan was to leave the night of the 6th, and spend five nights in the canyon, and come home on the 13th. Hence, the day of the 6th was spent running around like chickens with our heads cut off searching for gear, food, and clothing for our six day trek. The guy who rented us gear wanted to keep our passports as collateral- we thought that was a rather terrible idea, and so instead we left him 100USD. He seemed to think this was a novel idea. So we quickly packed and then ran to terrepuerto- the local bus station, only to discover that all the tickets for that night were already sold out. That was the end of plan one.
We ended up leaving the following night at 4:30, and for some silly reason I decided it would be a good idea to drink two glasses of strawberry juice at around 3:00 that afternoon. Naturally, after about an hour on the bus I really had to go to the washroom. However, this is generally frowned upon while on Peruvian buses. Nonetheless, I managed to talk to bus driver into stopping to let me off to find a bathroom. Then I got back to the bus, and the bus was gone!!!! My heart just about stopped. Apparently the bus driver decided three minutes was an exorbitant amount of time, and had decided to leave without me. Luckily, some other passengers were looking out for me and managed to convince him to stop about 100m up. Since then I have learned it is better to dehydrate oneself before all 12 hour bus trips, and so now I don´t drink anything for about five hours before getting on the bus- much safer :) Other than that, the bus ride was quite tame. Oh wait- we had to go through a 6000m pass, which was freezing and gave me a horrible headache. The air is just so strange- you try and breathe deeply but your lungs stop expanding long before you feel you have enough air.
Finally we arrived in Cotahuasi at 4:00 am completely exhausted, only to be told that the bus that goes to the drop-off for trekking leaves at six that same morning. Unable to fathom hiking for eight hours on two hours of sleep, we decided to get a hostel room and crash for a couple of hours and then go to the hot springs, which I have decided are my new favourite thing.
The next morning we got up at five and began our hiking adventure. Trying to find any information on how long it was between villages was quite an adventure. The locals would all say you could trek to the furthest village in about a day, and then you would talk to a guide who would tell you it takes about seven hours to get to the first village! All in all we were quite confused, and mildly apprehensive. However, we set out with high hopes.
Day 1: Hiked to Sipia in about 2 hours- which was a 150m waterfall- really beautiful with very nice rock plateaus to sit above the drop off. Emily and Kurt (A traveller from Iowa we picked up in Arequipa) just about had a heart attack watching me climb to the edge :) From there it was a three hour completely uphill trek to Chaupo, and then a two hour trek to Mayo. I very nearly died! I have decided I don´t ever want to gain 40 pounds- it just makes life so much more difficult. I was out of breath after like 12 steps upwards. The altitude probably didn´t help either. We finally arrived in Mayo and I pretty much collapsed- the backpack bruised my collarbones and my hips!! Ridiculous.
Day 2: Woke up and trekked to Quechualla, which was very cool! It is the main village in the canyon- max 50 people! Their agricultural systems are absolutely stunning though. They manage to construct these plateaus that are on a small angle. Then at the top of the plateau they somehow manage to dam the river. When they want to water their fields, they open the gate, and the water, very slowly and perfectly, flows evenly between each row of alfalfa, or potatoes or whatever they were growing. We were all very impressed by this. I don´t know how they manage to grow anything at all- it is just soooo dry!!! We were drinking at least six litres of water a day, and we were still dehydrated at the end of it. But they manage to grow grapes, and oranges, and papaya, and other things! We tried their homemade wine- nastiest thing ever but Kurt enjoyed it.
Day 3: Hiked to Ushua, the deepest point in the canyon. Emily got a cactus/burr thing stuck in her foot. It was vicious. And touching it just led to being stabbed. Kurt just about died laughing watching the two of us try and remove the damn thing.
Day 4: Hiked back to Mayo, swam in the hot springs- these ones were more lukewarm springs, and all that kept going through my mind was the large quatities of bacteria I was sitting in. yuck! The stars that night were amazing. There is no light, and so you can see pretty much everything. The milky way is bigger in the southern hemisphere! I thought this was exciting. And you can still see Orion´s belt :) Other than that, Emily and I resorted to creating our own constallations. We found running man, upside-down eiffel tower, ninja star, and cheshire cat :D
Day 5: Trekked all the way back!
I don´t think I have ever had such chapped lips in my life! They actually have scabs, and are constantly in pain. It was an amazing trip and the locals were all so accomodating and helpful! One day we met this traveller named Rick. He was an American who went through what sounded like an ugly divorce, and decided to trek around the world. He must be about 70 but he looks about 50. He was hilarious! He is convinced that coca leaves (you chew them, and they are supposed to help fight altitude sickness and aid digestion) are the solution to all life´s ailments, and consequently all the pharmaceutical companies in the states have banned them because it would ruin their business. He is also convinced that both the avian flu and the swine flu were engineered by scientists to make the flu vaccine seem necessary. Through this vaccine, the US was going to carry out a mass genocide - to what end, I am still unsure. What a character! He recently bought a burro (a donkey is the same I think), which was quite cute. I must say, by the end of the hike I was quite envious.
We finally arrived back in Cotahuasi city where we met a couple of Germans, a guy from New Zealand, and some other travellers from the US. That night was the beginning of the festival of Senor Chaycalla, and so everyone in Cotahuasi was out in full force. We discovered that there are actually nearly 500 people in town! So many! The festival was a lot of fun. One of the prize foods is french fries, covered in chow mein, slathered with mayo, and then sprinkled with hot dog bits. It made my stomach turn just looking at it! They also had fireworks that just about took out a couple of people! They didn´t aim them high enough and so sparks kept hitting people. It was actually really funny :) They also had this really crazy 15 foot high, bamboo man constructed with a whole bunch of fireworks attached. At the end of the night they lit it on fire and the entire thing burned to the ground. It was really cool, but I was midly terrified because the power lines were perhaps ten feet in front of this large firework man (shake head).
Note to Laura- you thought our ladder placements were sketchy this summer- nothing compared to those in Cotahuasi!! They had three 15 feet wooden ladders, that they then tied together with some rope to make a rather tall extended ladder. They then placed this on a rocky bank against a telephone pole at perhaps a 60ยบ angle from the floor. Three people then had to stand on the bottom while one climbed up to fiddle with the power lines. The thing was swaying and creaking- I was just waiting for someone to die, but luckily all was well :) So funny!
Tonight we head to Cusco. From here on out, it is pretty much just travelling for the purpose of getting to Potosi where the real work shall begin :) Cusco is rather high though, so we might have to stay a couple of nights to acclimatize. We shall see. Plus, I really want to see Macchu Picchu!!
Miss you all,
T
So I am back in Arequipa now after a whirlwind trip to Cotahuasi Canyon. The original plan was to leave the night of the 6th, and spend five nights in the canyon, and come home on the 13th. Hence, the day of the 6th was spent running around like chickens with our heads cut off searching for gear, food, and clothing for our six day trek. The guy who rented us gear wanted to keep our passports as collateral- we thought that was a rather terrible idea, and so instead we left him 100USD. He seemed to think this was a novel idea. So we quickly packed and then ran to terrepuerto- the local bus station, only to discover that all the tickets for that night were already sold out. That was the end of plan one.
We ended up leaving the following night at 4:30, and for some silly reason I decided it would be a good idea to drink two glasses of strawberry juice at around 3:00 that afternoon. Naturally, after about an hour on the bus I really had to go to the washroom. However, this is generally frowned upon while on Peruvian buses. Nonetheless, I managed to talk to bus driver into stopping to let me off to find a bathroom. Then I got back to the bus, and the bus was gone!!!! My heart just about stopped. Apparently the bus driver decided three minutes was an exorbitant amount of time, and had decided to leave without me. Luckily, some other passengers were looking out for me and managed to convince him to stop about 100m up. Since then I have learned it is better to dehydrate oneself before all 12 hour bus trips, and so now I don´t drink anything for about five hours before getting on the bus- much safer :) Other than that, the bus ride was quite tame. Oh wait- we had to go through a 6000m pass, which was freezing and gave me a horrible headache. The air is just so strange- you try and breathe deeply but your lungs stop expanding long before you feel you have enough air.
Finally we arrived in Cotahuasi at 4:00 am completely exhausted, only to be told that the bus that goes to the drop-off for trekking leaves at six that same morning. Unable to fathom hiking for eight hours on two hours of sleep, we decided to get a hostel room and crash for a couple of hours and then go to the hot springs, which I have decided are my new favourite thing.
The next morning we got up at five and began our hiking adventure. Trying to find any information on how long it was between villages was quite an adventure. The locals would all say you could trek to the furthest village in about a day, and then you would talk to a guide who would tell you it takes about seven hours to get to the first village! All in all we were quite confused, and mildly apprehensive. However, we set out with high hopes.
Day 1: Hiked to Sipia in about 2 hours- which was a 150m waterfall- really beautiful with very nice rock plateaus to sit above the drop off. Emily and Kurt (A traveller from Iowa we picked up in Arequipa) just about had a heart attack watching me climb to the edge :) From there it was a three hour completely uphill trek to Chaupo, and then a two hour trek to Mayo. I very nearly died! I have decided I don´t ever want to gain 40 pounds- it just makes life so much more difficult. I was out of breath after like 12 steps upwards. The altitude probably didn´t help either. We finally arrived in Mayo and I pretty much collapsed- the backpack bruised my collarbones and my hips!! Ridiculous.
Day 2: Woke up and trekked to Quechualla, which was very cool! It is the main village in the canyon- max 50 people! Their agricultural systems are absolutely stunning though. They manage to construct these plateaus that are on a small angle. Then at the top of the plateau they somehow manage to dam the river. When they want to water their fields, they open the gate, and the water, very slowly and perfectly, flows evenly between each row of alfalfa, or potatoes or whatever they were growing. We were all very impressed by this. I don´t know how they manage to grow anything at all- it is just soooo dry!!! We were drinking at least six litres of water a day, and we were still dehydrated at the end of it. But they manage to grow grapes, and oranges, and papaya, and other things! We tried their homemade wine- nastiest thing ever but Kurt enjoyed it.
Day 3: Hiked to Ushua, the deepest point in the canyon. Emily got a cactus/burr thing stuck in her foot. It was vicious. And touching it just led to being stabbed. Kurt just about died laughing watching the two of us try and remove the damn thing.
Day 4: Hiked back to Mayo, swam in the hot springs- these ones were more lukewarm springs, and all that kept going through my mind was the large quatities of bacteria I was sitting in. yuck! The stars that night were amazing. There is no light, and so you can see pretty much everything. The milky way is bigger in the southern hemisphere! I thought this was exciting. And you can still see Orion´s belt :) Other than that, Emily and I resorted to creating our own constallations. We found running man, upside-down eiffel tower, ninja star, and cheshire cat :D
Day 5: Trekked all the way back!
I don´t think I have ever had such chapped lips in my life! They actually have scabs, and are constantly in pain. It was an amazing trip and the locals were all so accomodating and helpful! One day we met this traveller named Rick. He was an American who went through what sounded like an ugly divorce, and decided to trek around the world. He must be about 70 but he looks about 50. He was hilarious! He is convinced that coca leaves (you chew them, and they are supposed to help fight altitude sickness and aid digestion) are the solution to all life´s ailments, and consequently all the pharmaceutical companies in the states have banned them because it would ruin their business. He is also convinced that both the avian flu and the swine flu were engineered by scientists to make the flu vaccine seem necessary. Through this vaccine, the US was going to carry out a mass genocide - to what end, I am still unsure. What a character! He recently bought a burro (a donkey is the same I think), which was quite cute. I must say, by the end of the hike I was quite envious.
We finally arrived back in Cotahuasi city where we met a couple of Germans, a guy from New Zealand, and some other travellers from the US. That night was the beginning of the festival of Senor Chaycalla, and so everyone in Cotahuasi was out in full force. We discovered that there are actually nearly 500 people in town! So many! The festival was a lot of fun. One of the prize foods is french fries, covered in chow mein, slathered with mayo, and then sprinkled with hot dog bits. It made my stomach turn just looking at it! They also had fireworks that just about took out a couple of people! They didn´t aim them high enough and so sparks kept hitting people. It was actually really funny :) They also had this really crazy 15 foot high, bamboo man constructed with a whole bunch of fireworks attached. At the end of the night they lit it on fire and the entire thing burned to the ground. It was really cool, but I was midly terrified because the power lines were perhaps ten feet in front of this large firework man (shake head).
Note to Laura- you thought our ladder placements were sketchy this summer- nothing compared to those in Cotahuasi!! They had three 15 feet wooden ladders, that they then tied together with some rope to make a rather tall extended ladder. They then placed this on a rocky bank against a telephone pole at perhaps a 60ยบ angle from the floor. Three people then had to stand on the bottom while one climbed up to fiddle with the power lines. The thing was swaying and creaking- I was just waiting for someone to die, but luckily all was well :) So funny!
Tonight we head to Cusco. From here on out, it is pretty much just travelling for the purpose of getting to Potosi where the real work shall begin :) Cusco is rather high though, so we might have to stay a couple of nights to acclimatize. We shall see. Plus, I really want to see Macchu Picchu!!
Miss you all,
T
Saturday, September 5, 2009
We´re in Arequipa!!!
Hey everybody, sorry about the earlier difficulties with commenting. Hopefully this site is more user friendly. So yes, where were we on our crazy peruvian adventures... (note to father: lima citizens are called limeros - not really sure on the spelling). Our second day in Lima was not quite as thrilling as our first night. after a leisurely desayuno (breakfast), we hopped on a microbus heading to lima centro, supposedly the city centre where all the museums and galleries are located. The microbuses are a lot of fun! There is a driver and then a guy who stands by the doors to let everyone know where the bus is going. This is not really useful if you have no clue where you are going, but entertaining none the less, as he speaks incredibly fast and always seems on the verge of tumbling out of the bus. Eventually we got to central lima, only to discover that none of the roads have street signs, which lead to a whole lot of being lost for the majority of the afternoon. The traffic is as crazy as Ghana, and so crossing the street was always an adrenaline rush.
We eventually stumbled into a tiny hole in the wall restaurant where we had jugo de fresca (strawberry juice)- so good!!!! So far, neither Emily nor I have gotten sick from the food, however, we feel that it is just a matter of time :) We stopped in a park- which was very strange. The park is in the middle of the main road basically, completely fenced off except for two entrances. At one end of the park, there is a beautiful fountain with these super well groomed gardens, and then at the other end, there is a jungle-gym, a soccer field, and a blow up Shrek family. "Wow" was the only appropriate term. After being surrounded by the never ending noise and chaos of downtown Lima, Emily and I decided to call it quits and head back to our hostel for a well-deserved nap. The amount of sleeping I´ve done on this trip is bordering on ridiculous, but oh well, I suppose I am finally on holiday- sorta.
After spending a little more time exploring Lima, we decided it was time to move on. So we hopped on a Cruz del Sur bus that would take us to Arequipa overnight. I am not sure how to describe these buses. Hm, okay first of all, the music, which is played loudly for your enjoyment, consists of the worst re-makes of popular american songs I have ever heard. Imagine a breathy sounding woman singing Hey Jude and Rock with You along with pan flutes and bad spanish guitar. It was irritating to say the least. Then they decided to play movies for us. Again there are no head phones, so you are forced to listen. So first we watched Monster in Law, which is NOT better the second time, followed by Oceans 13, which might have been good if I had seen Oceans 11 or 12, followed by the Polar Express. Christmas anyone? All in all, I probably got four hours of sleep on the 16 hour bus ride- good times. Emily and I are contemplating flying from Arequipa to Lima on the way home.
Arequipa is absolutely beautiful. Gorgeous mountains in the background, charming buildings painted bright oranges, blues, and reds, plazas filled with lovely monuments and, more importantly, ice cream vendors. We decided to go visit the Monestaria De Santa Catalina, a beautiful building built some time in the 1500s for a group of nuns. Did you know they used to be called "mistresses" instead of "sisters"? I thought this was interesting. Some bishop-or-other decided that title was unacceptable and changed it at some point. Anywhoo, I won´t bore you with the details- but if you are ever in Arequipa I definitely recommend it. We then finished the day on top of a restaurant terrace drinking pisco sours and eating chocolate cake. Does life get any better than this?
Tomorrow we are going to see the Petroglyphs, possibly do some rafting down the Chile river. Monday, we are planning a 3-day trek into the valley of the Cotuhuasi canyon- the deepest canyon in the world!!! When I get the chance, I will try and post some pictures, although I must say Emily and I are very bad at rememering to take any at all.
Lots of love,
Toni
We eventually stumbled into a tiny hole in the wall restaurant where we had jugo de fresca (strawberry juice)- so good!!!! So far, neither Emily nor I have gotten sick from the food, however, we feel that it is just a matter of time :) We stopped in a park- which was very strange. The park is in the middle of the main road basically, completely fenced off except for two entrances. At one end of the park, there is a beautiful fountain with these super well groomed gardens, and then at the other end, there is a jungle-gym, a soccer field, and a blow up Shrek family. "Wow" was the only appropriate term. After being surrounded by the never ending noise and chaos of downtown Lima, Emily and I decided to call it quits and head back to our hostel for a well-deserved nap. The amount of sleeping I´ve done on this trip is bordering on ridiculous, but oh well, I suppose I am finally on holiday- sorta.
After spending a little more time exploring Lima, we decided it was time to move on. So we hopped on a Cruz del Sur bus that would take us to Arequipa overnight. I am not sure how to describe these buses. Hm, okay first of all, the music, which is played loudly for your enjoyment, consists of the worst re-makes of popular american songs I have ever heard. Imagine a breathy sounding woman singing Hey Jude and Rock with You along with pan flutes and bad spanish guitar. It was irritating to say the least. Then they decided to play movies for us. Again there are no head phones, so you are forced to listen. So first we watched Monster in Law, which is NOT better the second time, followed by Oceans 13, which might have been good if I had seen Oceans 11 or 12, followed by the Polar Express. Christmas anyone? All in all, I probably got four hours of sleep on the 16 hour bus ride- good times. Emily and I are contemplating flying from Arequipa to Lima on the way home.
Arequipa is absolutely beautiful. Gorgeous mountains in the background, charming buildings painted bright oranges, blues, and reds, plazas filled with lovely monuments and, more importantly, ice cream vendors. We decided to go visit the Monestaria De Santa Catalina, a beautiful building built some time in the 1500s for a group of nuns. Did you know they used to be called "mistresses" instead of "sisters"? I thought this was interesting. Some bishop-or-other decided that title was unacceptable and changed it at some point. Anywhoo, I won´t bore you with the details- but if you are ever in Arequipa I definitely recommend it. We then finished the day on top of a restaurant terrace drinking pisco sours and eating chocolate cake. Does life get any better than this?
Tomorrow we are going to see the Petroglyphs, possibly do some rafting down the Chile river. Monday, we are planning a 3-day trek into the valley of the Cotuhuasi canyon- the deepest canyon in the world!!! When I get the chance, I will try and post some pictures, although I must say Emily and I are very bad at rememering to take any at all.
Lots of love,
Toni
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