Peru in a (very large) Nutshell

Peru certainly does not lack diversity. From people, to geography, to climate, to topography, this country truly has it all. And it really packs it in—it's a relatively small country with a rich history to match. Mom and I found an analogy in our travels--we packed a staggeringly diverse array of activities into our short two week visit!

That is not to say we didn't have our snags. For one, I began the journey with a severe sinus infection, the worst possible affliction to have when changing altitudes by the thousands of feet at least every day, if not every hour! To top it off, with 4 days left to go, Mom got a head cold AND bronchitis, with a fever. But since when does anything stop us? Despite our questionable health, and a severe lack of sleep, we took every manner of trains, planes and buses from the coast to the mountains to the valley to the rainforest to the desert and back again. Yikes.

One consequence of our intrepid adventure was the lack of time to update this blog! To TRY to avoid an entry even longer than the first (I may have failed--I'm truly sorry! I don't expect you to read it all though), I have selected a few poignant photos, written short blurbs, and linked to online photo albums for each leg of our excursion. Click the headings to get to those albums. Photos have captions in the online albums to give a bit of background and chronology. I hope you enjoy reading about our adventure...and I hope I can update more regularly from now on. But I make no promises... :)

2/6: Lima – A wedding, a National Festival, and Pisco Sour

We had an adventure getting into Lima on a local combi--the chaotic minibuses that travel all around the cities of South America. After being dropped absolutely NOWHERE near where we intended, we commenced our exploration. Within 30 seconds of entering a quaint church, a bride began her walk down the aisle, and we caught a few minutes of a Peruvian wedding ceremony. A few blocks further, we found ourselves in the midst of a gigantic local celebration—the National Pisco Sour Festival. We watched the Lima Philharmonic play for free on the steps of the National Cathedral, and ran into a community Salsa dance party in Miraflores. We then had our requisite taste of Pisco Sour, the national drink of Peru, right on the Pacific coast of Lima.

2/7-2/8: The Sacred Valley – Land of the Incas

Starting in Cusco, we began our historical and cultural tour of the Inca (Quechua) culture. We stayed overnight in the royal city, which included a short history lesson from a local teenager and the most delicious mojitos we have ever tasted. The next day we started with some delicious Coca tea (yup, they make tea with cocaine plants...and chew them too--it helps with altitude sickness!) We then traveled by local bus to Pisaq to see the early-morning market. In Pisaq, we visited our first Inca ruins with a fellow traveler from Argentina (whom we met in our hostel). We had a fantastic private tour, and learned enough about the Inca culture to carry us through Machu Picchu and other Inca sites. We then continued to Ollantaytambo on more local buses (ours almost broke down 3 times--yikes!!). After a long journey--yes, that was one day--we went to sleep early to wake up at 4:30am for the train to Machu Picchu.








2/9-2/10: Exploring Machu Picchu – Did we really climb a 8900 ft. mountain?


Yup. With the good fortune of having two full days in Machu Picchu, we took our time getting there the first day. We walked to the site museum and learned all about the Inca culture, technology, religion, etc., then (probably illegally) flagged down the bus on its way to Machu Picchu. We explored the first day and resolved to hike up Waynapicchu the second day. The climb up was about an hour and 15 minutes--1200 feet straight up steep Inca steps. The tedious climb included a cave so small that even my tiny self had to basically slither out on my stomach. We stayed up there watching the clouds move over Machu Picchu, and then I almost died coming down the mountain on the rainy, slippery, two-inch-thick, impossibly steep rock stairs. I have small feet, and only about a third of my foot fit on each stair. I was definitely freaking! Although it was a harrowing experience, I recommend it to anyone and everyone—the tiring but breathtaking hike was so worth it! I was left wondering...how on EARTH did the Incas live like this??




2/11-2/13: The Amazon Rainforest – We went Piranha fishing and I caught a Sardine...

After the most idyllic boat ride up the Tambopata River to Posada Amazonas, our Ecolodge in the middle of the rainforest, we listened to the sounds of the jungle as two Howler Monkeys duked it out in the trees. The next day, we took a trip to an oxbow lake, where we were lucky to see 5 of the 250 giant river otters remaining in the world. We spotted some unique bird species as well, went piranha fishing (yes, I caught a sardine...and mom caught 2 PIRANHAS!) and then had a quick break before walking to the Clay Licks to watch Macaws eat some tasty lunch. On our way there, we ran into what must have been 5 packs of monkeys—they were everywhere! After that, we took an ethnobotanical tour through the gardens of the local Shaman, where we learned the medicinal values of some Amazonian plants. They have everything from anesthesia, to natural viagra, to a cancer treatment that has been coopted by a German company. Yeah Western capitalism...not. We even got to try some elixirs—impotence-prevention included. Don't worry though, the dose was too small to do anything :) After a night in our open room, with bats flying around and frogs in our bathroom, we said goodbye with another fabulous trip down-river to the airport.






2/14: En Route to Lake Titicaca – From the Spaniards to the Pre-Incas


We started with the “Sistine Chapel of the Americas,” an elaborate nod to the influence
of the Spanish. Then, we saw some more Inca ruins and ate a traditional lunch with a

baby alpaca (yes, we ate alpaca, but no, we didn't eat the baby. Just played haha). We then learned a bit about the people who inhabited Peru before the Incas. It turns out the Incas weren't so innovative—most of their culture was stolen from those they conquered. At least they weren't as brutal as the Spanish...

2/15-2/16: Lake Titicaca – Cultural Exchange and then some


Mom and I had an amazing stay on Amantani Island with a Quechua family. After visiting the floating reed islands of Uros, we arrived to a warm welcome and got straight to work gardening with Rufino, our host father. We hiked up yet another mountain to watch the most beautiful sunset Amantani has ever seen (according to our guide, who lived there his whole life). Then we danced the night away after being dressed in traditional clothing by Norma, Rufino's daughter. Finally, after saying goodbye, we visited the picturesque island of Taquile, where we hiked some more (whew), saw some beautiful knit-work, and then ate lunch overlooking Lake Titicaca (on an absolutely perfect day, to boot).

2/17: Arequipa – The White City


Our short visit in Arequipa, considered the most beautiful city in Peru, brought us to the famous Santa Catalina monastery, a city-within-a-city. We ate lunch overlooking the colonial-era square, and saw lots of white architecture owing to the abundance of Sillac stone in the area.



2/18: The Nazca Lines – Not even pictures can do it justice

I can try to explain, but it just isn't possible...the enigma of the Nazca lines still to this day baffles archaeologists and historians. Flying in a 6-seat Cessna with two other passengers (6 included the two pilots...) we marveled at the animals, plants, and other figures etched into the rocky sand by the Nazca people over 1000 years ago. What I can't fathom is how anyone lived here—I felt like I was on the surface of the moon or Mars.




So, are you dizzy yet? I certainly was...but in a good way :) To sum it all up, we had a busy, but fantastic, visit to Peru. We did more than I could have possibly imagined, and sicknesses and all, had a great time traveling together!

After our long bus ride back to Lima, we said a very tearful goodbye in the airport, and went our separate ways (I left for Japan and Mom for New York).

Now I'm on my own (so to speak) in bustling Tokyo after a great overnight visit in LA. I'll be updating again soon, and hope you can stop by to read about Japan...if you can still stand reading through all of this!!

Miss you all, and send me your address if you would like a postcard!

--Liz

Beautiful Bogota

After an overnight flight, we arrived bright and early, around 6:30am, in the tiny airport in Bogota, Colombia. We had a veritable adventure getting out of there...our Spanish is (to put it nicely) questionable. We finally found the money exchange office and got on the road to La Candelaria--the historic section of Bogota--around 7am.

Well, we were surprised to find out that this is the "busy season" for travelers in Bogota. It wasn't until visiting three hostels that we found a room--third time's a charm! We finally put our bags down, agreed on a very cheap price for the room (30,000 pesos, or ~$7 each, per night), and took off exploring.

After picking up arepas rellenas con queso on the street, we found our way into an old square, only to find out later in a guidebook that it is thought to be the very first site of the city of Bogota, dating back to around 1538. It was early--At 7:30 in the morning, there were very few people to be found. But some people were up and about, mostly students (we quickly realized that there are about 10 universities just in La Candelaria!)


We were so happy to be here in Colombia, we just had to take a few pictures!

After letting the fact that we were actually here sink in, we continued our exploration. We found a hostel that looked interesting, and out of curiosity, we popped in. It turns out that the person who owns the hostel spoke perfect English, and he helped us to find the most exciting and interesting places in the city. We kept along walking to find some of them and stopped at a fresh fruit stand and got the yummiest pineapple we have ever had!

Mmmmmm.

After walking for a bit we found our way to the main square, Plaza de Bolivar. All of the types of architecture in Colombia (neo-classical, colonial, pre-colonial) are repesented in the buildings surrounding the square, but the highlight is definitely the cathedral with the mountains shooting up behind it:


After visiting the tourist office and getting some more info, we visited the National Police Museum, which has a collection of artifacts from Pablo Escobar. The Colombian National Police were responsible for capturing and killing him in Medellin, after a very long hunt. The museum had a collection of the most graphic pictures of him and his accomplices, some of them mugshots but some of them taken after they were shot with pools of blood around them and everything. Eek! It was clearly an attempt to prove the strength and superiority of the National Police. Such propaganda.

The freshly murdered Pablo Escobar is in the middle; some of his accomplices are around him, including a 14-year-old boy!

The weirdest artifacts they had were the piece of roof that he was shot on, with his blood stains on it (below) and even a life-size replica of his body after he was shot down, in a glass case and everything...



Whoa, creepy. We definitely got the chills looking at that.


Afterwards, we found our way back to the square, where protests were taking place. The day before we got there was a really important one in Colombia--4 political figures who had been held hostage in the jungle for almost 8 years by the guerrilla soldiers were released after negotiations with the government. However, there are still more hostages, and the protests were mostly centered around getting the others released as well. Some of them have been held in the jungle for over 10 years! So, naturally, today was one of the most important days in recent history for Colombia. However, interestingly enough, this news barely made a briefing in the New York Times, while Al Jazeera and BBC are the only places I could find full articles about it. It goes to show that most of South America is off the radar in US news media....even in an international newspaper such as the Times.

One of the interesting things about the gathering was that the National Police were completely monopolizing the protest, with tents and everything set up. I guess they really wanted to make their presence known. Weird. You could tell from the museum that they are really making an effort to be an important, respected, well-liked force in Colombian society. Which all seems a little off-color to me, but it was definitely interesting to see. Especially with the history of Colombian violence...I guess they want to restore order by becoming a police state? Hmm.

Our next big stop was the Museo del Oro, one of the most important sites in the city. It has the most impressive collection in the world of gold artifacts from ancient cultures, all found in Colombia. The indigenous peoples who inhabited Colombia before the Spanish conquests had many rituals that involved gold, and they made the most unbelievable, intricate gold pieces. The museum has something like 40,000 gold artifacts!


One thing that is common in Colombia is free tours. We got a free tour in English with our admission, which was amazing because we were able to understand the context of the artifacts. Everything in the tribal cultures revolved around their spiritual beliefs. They worshipped and revered the jaguar, which was the ultimate symbol of power and strength, and it is represented in a great deal of the art. Also, they believed in transcendental states of being, and the reincarnation of humans into other species. The important people in the tribe, such as the chieftans, would perform ceremonies that included all kinds of mind-altering drugs, including cocaine, to transcend their bodies and enter into the realm of animals and nature. Nature, humans, and animals were all on the same level, and the indigenous peoples' respect for nature was extremely central to their practices and beliefs. The duality of things in the universe (man/woman, human/animal, heaven/earth) was also very central to their ideology, as represented in pieces such as the gold masks below:

These earrings were just so amazing, I had to take a picture of them. Wow, it puts Alexander Calder to shame.

The picture below is of the most important artifact in the museum, an all-gold sculpture of the tribal people and their chieftan. Unfortunately it's blurry but it was incredible.


Some background, if you are interested--these gold artifacts were mostly found in and around Lake Guatavita, the site of the legend of El Dorado. When Gonzala Jiminez de Quesada, a major Spanish conquistador, first entered the region, the Muiscas (the most prevalent indigenous culture) inhabited the area. They performed this incredible ceremony where the chieftan covered himself entirely in gold and chanted while the members of the tribe would throw gold artifacts, mostly in containers (which is why they are preserved) into the lake as an offering to the Gods. Some of the remaining tribal peoples still perform this ritual.

The last, most captivating part of the tour was the simulation of this ceremony. We walked into a dark circular room with a lake-like circle in the center, complete with gold artifacts on different levels of glass platforms below the surface. Then, the audio began, and a chieftan performed the chants as light slowly illuminated what must have been thousands of pieces of gold found in the lake. The chieftan who recorded the chant is one of the chieftans of the surviving tribes. It was a truly jaw-dropping experience. Below is more gold artifacts, in this case jewelry, that the Muiscas wore.

After this amazing experience, we took a walk around the city and explored some more. It was fun to just come across buildings like the one below. While a lot of the buildings in the city are pretty run-down, some of them are painted with really bright colors, with ornate balconies and cupolas.

Finally, we ended a great day with an incredible meal at a local eatery, which cost us about $3 for 2 full plates of arroz con pollo (chicken and rice) and a huge bowl of homemade chicken soup. To add to the experience, there was a blackout in the restaurant. At one point I had to shine my flashlight on the kitchen in the back so they could light candles--it was pitch black! But wow, so delicious.




Day 2 of our adventure in Bogota was another full one. We left our hostel (pictured below--it was so great!) at around 9am for a walk to the funicular, which took us up the mountain to Monserrate.

Once up on top, we could see the whole city below. It was a beautiful day.

Our hostel is in there somewhere...

Posing atop Monserrate!

On the path leading up to the church, there was one statue for each Station of the Cross. This has clearly proven itself to be the most important story in the Bible to the Colombians. The suffering of Christ is depicted everywhere, and almost every church has some painting or statue of the fallen Christ. When he is made to carry the cross to his site of crucifixion, he falls a few times in his state of suffering, and this powerful story is the one that is most represented in Colombia. In this church at Monserrate, the Fallen Christ is the centerpiece of the altar.

The views from the church were amazing...mountains and the city and forests...it was really beautiful.

The church at Monserrate

Along the path to the church, views of the mountains and gardens

Going STRAIGHT down the mountain in the cable car...yikes.

Our next stop was the home of Simon Bolivar, one of the most important liberators of South America from the Spanish colonizers. He is essentially equivalent to our George Washington, and is universally revered in South America. He lived in Bogota and was the first president of the newly liberated state.

Bust of Simon Bolivar surrounded by flags of the freed nations

Next, we ate lunch in a 400-year-old restaurant in La Candelaria, Fulanitos. To us, the food was definitely interesting...I wouldn't call it very appetizing or delicious but it was an experience. The Colombians in the restaurant seemed to be enjoying it, though. One of the things we tried was a fruit that is unique to the region, a lulo. They make a smoothie-like drink out of it by coarsely mashing the fruit and adding water and sugar to it. Everyone else in the restaurant was drinking and so of c0urse we had to try it. Being that we had never tasted such a thing before, it was a little bizarre to us. But intriguing.

Mom tried the fruit and quickly realized how sour it is!

We tried to see the changing of the guard at the Presidential Palace, but after a long time trying to find out if it was happening, we finally concluded that it was not happening. We read that it was on Wednesdays at 5, but then the tourist office told us 4. Then we went to the palace and the guards told us 5, but they weren't really sure. Then they said it wasn't happening at all, but was happening on Thursday instead. After asking about 5 people, we finally concluded that it probably wasn't going to happen... but nobody seemed to know for sure, not even the guards themselves! Our communication barrier definitely contributed, but it seemed like everyone had a different story (and this has happened in more than just in this instance--everyone has a different idea of what is going on!) Things here are clearly much more laid-back, and not so rigidly scheduled as they are in the states.

So, we took a local bus instead to the Museo Nacional, and saw some cool mummies and learned a little bit about the history of the Spanish conquest and the pre-Colombian society. Then we walked to the most beautiful church, Iglesia San Francisco. Churches in Colombia are almost all really ornate (clearly following from the Spanish tradition, something we noticed in Spain last year). But this one takes the cake--the entire altar is a gold-covered carving, with Saints, Jesus, the Madonna, and all other sorts of religious symbols represented. It was mind-boggling!


After another very long day, we went to bed early and got ready to visit the Catedral de Sal in Zipaquira the next day.

The Packing Experience

Well, packing was certainly interesting. I thought I had much less than I actually did, especially with my traveling pharmacy-in-a-backpack.

My first attempt to pack everything in the backpack I got from my aunt and uncle worked, but when I tried to pick it up I almost fell down. You can see why:

A little too big?

That's a lot of backpack.

About 4 1/2 hours before leaving for the airport, my dad and I decided I needed something a little smaller. The result:

And somehow it still fits the same amount. And I don't feel like I'm carrying a whole person on my back :)

After packing, taking my last shower at home, and eating Little Vincents Pizza (yum), I did a final check that I had everything. And off we went to the airport!