Guayaquil, Ecuador
March 20, 2004
Well, we leave for the Galapagos tomorrow morning for our 8-day cruise. I'm looking forward to playing with penguins, tanning with tortoises, and any other aliterative combinations I can think of.
The past week has been a time of sun, sand, and swimming. Mike, Brooke, Lucy, Kim and I departed Quito March 11 on an overnight bus to Puerto Lopez, one of the northernmost towns on the Ecuadorian 'Ruta del Sol' (Sun Route). After a few days of exploring this fishing village, we set off last Monday to Montanita, the surf capital of Ecuador. Finally, yesterday we took an afternoon bus into Guayaquil, Ecuador's largest city and a hot, humid, urban environment (think New York in August every day of the year).
I'm trying out a few styles of writing. In this episode I'm doing little stories on a specific subject and starting with a title. Give me some feedback on what style you prefer, this or journal-esque recounting of recent events. Any feedback will help me develop my writing skills and style.
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BAD LUCK IN PUERTO LOPEZ, PART 1: THE TANNINNG INCIDENT
In Quito, the day before we left for the coast, Lucy, Kim and I decided to head off to the local Target-esque store, MegaMaxi, to stock up on things we needed for the coast. I bought a couple pairs of shorts, a toothbrush, some shampoo and some 16 spf Ecuadorian brand sunblock. Our first day in Puerto Lopez we headed out to the beach to get to work on our tans. We figured that since we were going to be spending so much time in the sun on our cruise to the Galapagos, it would be smart to get our skin producing melanin to deal with it. I've never been much of a sun freak, but it seemed like a good idea. I slapped some sunblock on: 30spf on my arms and face and 16 on my back and legs. We spent a few hour laying out in the beach, the sun so intense because we're near the Equator and it's almost the fall equinox (when the sun is pointed right at the equator). Well, that afternoon when we returned to our hotel, I found myself the owner of a bright red, stinging back.
The next day, Kim was looking at the lotion that I bought in Quito and noticed that it contained things like peanut oil and such. I grabbed the bottle and noticed something I hadn't really thought about before: the lotion was a 'bronceadora', not a 'bloqueadora'. To translate, that's a bronzer, not a sunblock!! Needless to say, one should always translate the language when buying something as important as sunblock.
BAD LUCK IN PUERTO LOPEZ, PART 2: GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
The next day was my worst day so far on this whole South American Adventure. We had decided to take an excursion north of the town to a national park on the coast called Parque Machalilla, which has one of the best beaches in all of Ecuator, Los Frailes. We packed up our gear and headed to the town market to buy some food for the excursion. We met a guy in town who offered to drive us to the beach for $3. We jumped in the back of his truck and started down the highway towards the park. I'm always looking for interesting pictures, so I decided to take a pic of Mike in the truck as the scenery whizzed by. I suddenly felt my hair blowing in the wind as I watched my prized SF Giants hat fly off down the road. Some locals quickly dashed to pick it up as we continued our rapid advance towards the park. Oh well, it's just a hat. But it was a harbinger of something to come.
After the beach, we took the bus back to town and returned to our hotel for some hammock time. I took a quick shower, grabbed my bag and headed out to our hotel's pool for a few relaxing hours. It wasn't until I returned to the room that I realized that my digital camera was missing. We thoroughly searched the room, but to no avail. My camera was gone. It's possible that I left it on the beach or in the hammock when I got up. But I know that I packed it in my bag when we left the beach and I don't remember taking it out of my bag at the hammock. When we returned from the beach I remember unloading my bag on the bed. The girls then went out to the pool. I think that I left it on my bed and that someone passing by saw it through the window and grabbed it while I was taking a shower (the door was unlocked) or when I was out at the pool (door definitely locked). Either way, I no longer have my digital camera.
So, I'm here in Guayaquil and looking to buy a new camera. I haven't decided whether I'll try to buy a digital camera or just get a point-and-shoot film camera. I can't promise that I'll have any more slide shows to share with you guys, but I'll try. I'm not so much sad about the camera (although I would love to have it back), but more so I'm disappointed that all the photos from the last 2-1/2 weeks are gone. Oh well, it's just a camera.
MONTANITA: BEWARE THE UNDERTOW
After leaving Puerto Lopez last Monday, we took a short jaunt down the coast to the surf town of Montanita. I was looking forward to trying my hand at surfing, although Kim had run into someone at the airport who said she was there one day when 4 people drowned by getting swept up by the undertow. Still, I had no intention of risking my life in the surf and figured I would have to be extra careful of getting myself into a situation that wasn't comfortable.
We went out to the beach that afternoon. The scene is idyllic, a long gradual incline into the surf with an unrelenting barrage of wave crashing down about 150ft from the surf's edge. As we walked into the surf, we could definitely sense the power of the waves. The ebb of the water as it returned to the ocean wasn't so strong that it would knock you off your feet, but it was definitely stronger that anything I had felt before.
The next day, we were at lunch when suddenly we saw everyone on the street start running towards the shore. Mike went out to see what happened, but couldn't make heads or tails of the situation. That afternoon, we found out that some guy had drowned in the undertow. In the US, search parties would be organized to find the guy, but here everyone seemed to be resigned that he was simply gone.
Thursday afternoon we spent a few hours tanning and swimming under the Ecuatorial sun since it was a rare overcast day, protecting us from the sun's strength. I left the beach after tanning (it was the first day I didn't have to wear a t-shirt after 'the tanning incident') and body surfing for a few hours. I'm glad I left when I did. It turns out that this North Carolina girl who was hanging out with us, Hillary, decided to go for a stroll on the beach. About 100ft from where we had been hanging out she saw something in the water, looking kind of like a chest. Other people saw the same thing and a small crowd started to form. It turned out that the body of the dead swimmer had finally surfaced and floated ashore. Everyone in our group had a somewhat shellshocked afternoon as we all pondered our own mortality.
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Well, that's it for me for now. I'll write again after I return from the Galapagos. I won't be able to check email until next sunday, but feel free to send me messages, should you wish to do so.
Cao,
Tim
Tuesday, March 09, 2004
I made to Quito, Ecuador last Wednesday and found myself in a city with many of the ammenities of most modern cities. The Ecuadorians seem to have really benefitted from dollarization (they converted to using the American Dollar after a financial crisis a few years back). Your average Ecuadorian seems to be better off than your average Peruvian. That being said, I haven't spent any time in the big cities of Peru, just the Andean ones. But Ecuador is a much smaller country, so I think that it is easier for them to keep up the roads and stay connected to each other.
The 'smallness' of Ecuador is what makes it so appealing to the traveller. You can point your finger in any direction and find a new type of terrain and adventure to go with it. They have jungle, cloud forest, highland Andean cities, marshes and a long stretch of beaches. I'm looking forward to exploring as many different types of terrain as I can before I leave.
On Wednesday, I met a few of my friends at a hostel here called The Secret Garden in the San Blas area of Quito. Quito is an oddly designed city since, as it is situated in a long valley and stretches for miles and miles north to south, but is only a few of miles wide. This makes getting around the city a bit more difficult as there are two main centers, the New City in the North and the Old City in the South. The New City is the center of many tourist accomodations, restaurants, and language schools, but has a very typical, touristy urban feel. The Old City, on the other hand, mostly consists of beautiful Colonial architecture, the houses of Ecuadorian government, and many churches. San Blas is nestled between these two very distinct worlds.
My first full day here I wandered the Old City with my friends Brooke and Mike (also from the Bay Area) and we just marveled at the feel of a colonial city. Later in the evening, I partook in one of my favorite activities when I'm at home in the States, we went to see a movie, 21 Grams. I had not seen a movie in a theater in 4 months and, I have to admit, it was one of the things I was looking forward to by being in a big city.
We decided to get out of Quito this past weekend and head east to see the cloud forest, an interesting type of terrain - a mix between the jungle and the highlands. There is an immense amount of vegitation, but as it is at a higher altitude, the temperature is bit colder. The good thing is that there are not as many bugs (you don't have to worry about mosquitoes) and the clouds do seem to just hover above and inbetween the mountains. It's a beautiful sight.
We made our way near a town called Baeza to a lodge built by an expat Brit called The Magic Roundabout. It was a relaxing few days, consisting of sitting in hammocks, playing with two frisky dogs (Winston, a golden lab, and Guiness, a Alaskan Husky), witnessing the birth of 3 kittens (unfortunately one was mauled to death by Guiness), and trudging through forest streams to see cascading waterfalls on the vast property behind the lodge.
We returned to Quito on Sunday to meet up with our friend Kim, who had flown up from Cusco. The last couple days have been focused mainly on solidifying our travel plans to the Galapagos by visiting a multitude of travel agents. We finally decided today upon a trip that will have us leaving on March 21 abord the yacht Encantada and returning March 28. It was tough to decide what criteria to base our decision on, but we were ultimately attracted to the itinerary (we get to see almost all the eastern islands) and, to be frank, the fact that the ship had sails (although they don't really use them).
We have a week and a half to fill up before we head off on our voyage and I think we've decided to move west and get ourselves some beach action to prepare for the Galapagos.
I'll try to send you another update before we head off to the Galapagos.
The 'smallness' of Ecuador is what makes it so appealing to the traveller. You can point your finger in any direction and find a new type of terrain and adventure to go with it. They have jungle, cloud forest, highland Andean cities, marshes and a long stretch of beaches. I'm looking forward to exploring as many different types of terrain as I can before I leave.
On Wednesday, I met a few of my friends at a hostel here called The Secret Garden in the San Blas area of Quito. Quito is an oddly designed city since, as it is situated in a long valley and stretches for miles and miles north to south, but is only a few of miles wide. This makes getting around the city a bit more difficult as there are two main centers, the New City in the North and the Old City in the South. The New City is the center of many tourist accomodations, restaurants, and language schools, but has a very typical, touristy urban feel. The Old City, on the other hand, mostly consists of beautiful Colonial architecture, the houses of Ecuadorian government, and many churches. San Blas is nestled between these two very distinct worlds.
My first full day here I wandered the Old City with my friends Brooke and Mike (also from the Bay Area) and we just marveled at the feel of a colonial city. Later in the evening, I partook in one of my favorite activities when I'm at home in the States, we went to see a movie, 21 Grams. I had not seen a movie in a theater in 4 months and, I have to admit, it was one of the things I was looking forward to by being in a big city.
We decided to get out of Quito this past weekend and head east to see the cloud forest, an interesting type of terrain - a mix between the jungle and the highlands. There is an immense amount of vegitation, but as it is at a higher altitude, the temperature is bit colder. The good thing is that there are not as many bugs (you don't have to worry about mosquitoes) and the clouds do seem to just hover above and inbetween the mountains. It's a beautiful sight.
We made our way near a town called Baeza to a lodge built by an expat Brit called The Magic Roundabout. It was a relaxing few days, consisting of sitting in hammocks, playing with two frisky dogs (Winston, a golden lab, and Guiness, a Alaskan Husky), witnessing the birth of 3 kittens (unfortunately one was mauled to death by Guiness), and trudging through forest streams to see cascading waterfalls on the vast property behind the lodge.
We returned to Quito on Sunday to meet up with our friend Kim, who had flown up from Cusco. The last couple days have been focused mainly on solidifying our travel plans to the Galapagos by visiting a multitude of travel agents. We finally decided today upon a trip that will have us leaving on March 21 abord the yacht Encantada and returning March 28. It was tough to decide what criteria to base our decision on, but we were ultimately attracted to the itinerary (we get to see almost all the eastern islands) and, to be frank, the fact that the ship had sails (although they don't really use them).
We have a week and a half to fill up before we head off on our voyage and I think we've decided to move west and get ourselves some beach action to prepare for the Galapagos.
I'll try to send you another update before we head off to the Galapagos.
Tuesday, March 02, 2004
I realize that everybody has been receiving duplicate blogs whenever I send them out (the new one plus the next recent one). I don't know why this occurs, but I can't figure out how to prevent it. I think it's a problem with Yahoo. Sorry, just delete the old one.
Well, I take off for Ecuador tomorrow morning at 7:30am. After a few hours stopover in Lima, I should get to Quito by 2pm. I'm meeting some friends from school when I get there and will figure out whether the Galapagos is a viable adventure. I've been getting many different stories from travelers regarding costs and if it is too much, I'll have to put it off for now. While I'm up in Ecuador, I probably won't be able to include many photos with my blogs, but I'll keep you up-to-date of my adventures.
Well, before I head off I'll tell you about . . .
A Francoise Kind of Adventure
PHOTOS
My friend Francoise came to visit me a few weeks ago, taking a break from her hectic job in New York's Financial District, working for Merrill Lynch. She arrived on Saturday, February 8, only being able to stay until the following Sunday, the 14th.
Our first two days were spent hanging out in Cusco, attending a BBQ with my uncle Ricardo. Francoise, who is self-professed non-dancer, was coerced into cutting a rug and I have to say that she underestimates her rhythmic talents.
Sunday, we walked the Cusco circuit and then bought our tickets for that night to head off to Copacabana, Bolivia on the south end of Lake Titicaca, just across the border with Peru. My tourist visa was about to run out, so the easiest way to get it renewed is to leave the country and then return.
We left Cusco late at night, around 11pm, and after spending a couple hours freezing to death at the Puno bus terminal that morning, where we caught our connecting bus, we arrived in Copacabana at around 10am. I had heard some good things about a hotel there called La Cupla, so we wandered up the hill and got a room.
The town's name sounds like it was inspired by the more famous beach area in Rio de Janeiro, but as we found out when we arrived, Rio's Copacabana is actually named after this little lake-side hamlet. It seems that Copacabana has a large, rather magnificent moor-inspired church that attracts pilgrims from all over Bolivia and Peru.
After checking into our hotel, we went down to the water's edge to find a restaurant that my book recommended. This would be the first of a series of meals featuring the area's star culinary attraction . . . trucha. For those of you who don't speak Spanish, trucha is trout. Specifically, trout from the lake and boy does it make a difference when you order the local delicacy. Over the next few days we would have trucha prepared in many different styles and it was all so yummy.
The next morning, we hopped on a local boat to take us to the Isla del Sol. The boat was jam-packed with other tourists and the next two-and-a-half hours was one of the most uncomfortable travel experiences of my life. The boat was packed with cheap metal and red vinyl chairs and they seemed to just keep loading as many people as they could fit on board. If that wasn't bad enough, we hit an intense rainstorm which caused a bunch of leaks, leading to my entire left side being drenched, as I was right next to the window.
The Isla del Sol is an impressive island, the main attraction being a couple of towns and long walk over the spine of the island, a tall ridge of peaks from which you can see for miles around the lake. Legend has it that this is where the original Incas were born. We hiked the peaks for a few hours and, after eating a lunch of . . . . yup, you guessed it, trucha, we took the afternoon boat back to Copacabana. The return trip was much more enjoyable.
We were a little worried about our trip back to Puno the next day because a two-day transportation strike had been declared in Bolivia. As I was checking out of our hotel the next morning, the attendant offered to find a taxi for us. It sounded like a good offer, but as he called his contacts, he was turned down one-by-one. Finally, he found someone to take us and we headed for the border. We had originally resigned ourselves to walking to the border, but was happy to break the strike (actually, we both felt a little guilty). Luckily, Copacabana is only 8 km from the Peruvian border and, as there was no strike in Peru, if we could make it there, we'd have no problem getting back to Puno.
Our taxi could only drive us as far as a road block, about 5 km down the road. When we arrived there, I couldn't tell if the strikers were pissed off at us. Our driver seemed a little cautious, but after a few minutes it became apparent that he was going to hand us over to another cab, on the other side of the roadblock, who would take us the rest of the way. We jumped in the cab and were whisked away to the border, where we passed through without any problems.
From the border, we decided to walk a few km to the main town, where we caught a minibus back to Puno. I promised Francoise that we would not travel on any buses with chickens running around and, after a quick break so that she could use the facilities of 'the worst bathroom in the world', we were on our way. There were no chickens, but it wasn't the most enjoyable bus ride I've taken.
Returning to Cusco that night at 3am, we decided to rest for the day before we headed off on a one-day Machu Picchu excursion. Unfortunately, we weren't able to get tickets for Friday, as the train was sold out. As this is low season, the trains are usually not full. But this year is different. My theory is that since the dollar is so weak compared to the Euro and terrorism fears keep people from doing much traveling in Europe, South America is currently a popular destination for Americans. In Cusco I come in contact with a lot of Europeans traveling on their own, but Americans seem to like to travel only in group excursions. Thus I only encounter them in places that their groups would allow them. This would explain why whenever I go to Machu Picchu, the place seems to be crawling with them. It's odd.
Saturday marked our Machu Picchu day trip. It can be quite a haul: catching a train at 6am, getting into Aguas Calientes by 10am, catching a bus up to the ruins, seeing the ruins, catching the return train at 4pm, and arriving back in Cusco at around 8pm. We had been joking for the last few days that the Peru cultural committee should use a cool new slogan: Do the 'Chu! (as in maCHU picCHU). I think we annoyed everyone on the bus ride up to the ruins by rhyming anything we could think of with 'chu'. It's a pretty rhyme-able word. Try it out. I will go with YOU to the CHU, so don't be BLUE. Etc, etc, ad nauseam.
Unfortunately, our day was marred by nearly constant rain at the ruins. The famous Machu Picchu view was covered most of the time by clouds and mist, peaking out for only a few minutes at a time. We wandered the ruins, and I think Francoise was impressed (it's hard not to be).
Well, generally, that was our trip. We went out dancing after we returned from the 'Chu, but as it was Dia de Amistad (Day of Friendship, Valentine's day for us), the clubs were crowded with 15-year-olds. Nothing makes you feel old like hanging out with 15-year-olds.
Anyway, I'll send you updates from Ecuador!
Well, I take off for Ecuador tomorrow morning at 7:30am. After a few hours stopover in Lima, I should get to Quito by 2pm. I'm meeting some friends from school when I get there and will figure out whether the Galapagos is a viable adventure. I've been getting many different stories from travelers regarding costs and if it is too much, I'll have to put it off for now. While I'm up in Ecuador, I probably won't be able to include many photos with my blogs, but I'll keep you up-to-date of my adventures.
Well, before I head off I'll tell you about . . .
A Francoise Kind of Adventure
PHOTOS
My friend Francoise came to visit me a few weeks ago, taking a break from her hectic job in New York's Financial District, working for Merrill Lynch. She arrived on Saturday, February 8, only being able to stay until the following Sunday, the 14th.
Our first two days were spent hanging out in Cusco, attending a BBQ with my uncle Ricardo. Francoise, who is self-professed non-dancer, was coerced into cutting a rug and I have to say that she underestimates her rhythmic talents.
Sunday, we walked the Cusco circuit and then bought our tickets for that night to head off to Copacabana, Bolivia on the south end of Lake Titicaca, just across the border with Peru. My tourist visa was about to run out, so the easiest way to get it renewed is to leave the country and then return.
We left Cusco late at night, around 11pm, and after spending a couple hours freezing to death at the Puno bus terminal that morning, where we caught our connecting bus, we arrived in Copacabana at around 10am. I had heard some good things about a hotel there called La Cupla, so we wandered up the hill and got a room.
The town's name sounds like it was inspired by the more famous beach area in Rio de Janeiro, but as we found out when we arrived, Rio's Copacabana is actually named after this little lake-side hamlet. It seems that Copacabana has a large, rather magnificent moor-inspired church that attracts pilgrims from all over Bolivia and Peru.
After checking into our hotel, we went down to the water's edge to find a restaurant that my book recommended. This would be the first of a series of meals featuring the area's star culinary attraction . . . trucha. For those of you who don't speak Spanish, trucha is trout. Specifically, trout from the lake and boy does it make a difference when you order the local delicacy. Over the next few days we would have trucha prepared in many different styles and it was all so yummy.
The next morning, we hopped on a local boat to take us to the Isla del Sol. The boat was jam-packed with other tourists and the next two-and-a-half hours was one of the most uncomfortable travel experiences of my life. The boat was packed with cheap metal and red vinyl chairs and they seemed to just keep loading as many people as they could fit on board. If that wasn't bad enough, we hit an intense rainstorm which caused a bunch of leaks, leading to my entire left side being drenched, as I was right next to the window.
The Isla del Sol is an impressive island, the main attraction being a couple of towns and long walk over the spine of the island, a tall ridge of peaks from which you can see for miles around the lake. Legend has it that this is where the original Incas were born. We hiked the peaks for a few hours and, after eating a lunch of . . . . yup, you guessed it, trucha, we took the afternoon boat back to Copacabana. The return trip was much more enjoyable.
We were a little worried about our trip back to Puno the next day because a two-day transportation strike had been declared in Bolivia. As I was checking out of our hotel the next morning, the attendant offered to find a taxi for us. It sounded like a good offer, but as he called his contacts, he was turned down one-by-one. Finally, he found someone to take us and we headed for the border. We had originally resigned ourselves to walking to the border, but was happy to break the strike (actually, we both felt a little guilty). Luckily, Copacabana is only 8 km from the Peruvian border and, as there was no strike in Peru, if we could make it there, we'd have no problem getting back to Puno.
Our taxi could only drive us as far as a road block, about 5 km down the road. When we arrived there, I couldn't tell if the strikers were pissed off at us. Our driver seemed a little cautious, but after a few minutes it became apparent that he was going to hand us over to another cab, on the other side of the roadblock, who would take us the rest of the way. We jumped in the cab and were whisked away to the border, where we passed through without any problems.
From the border, we decided to walk a few km to the main town, where we caught a minibus back to Puno. I promised Francoise that we would not travel on any buses with chickens running around and, after a quick break so that she could use the facilities of 'the worst bathroom in the world', we were on our way. There were no chickens, but it wasn't the most enjoyable bus ride I've taken.
Returning to Cusco that night at 3am, we decided to rest for the day before we headed off on a one-day Machu Picchu excursion. Unfortunately, we weren't able to get tickets for Friday, as the train was sold out. As this is low season, the trains are usually not full. But this year is different. My theory is that since the dollar is so weak compared to the Euro and terrorism fears keep people from doing much traveling in Europe, South America is currently a popular destination for Americans. In Cusco I come in contact with a lot of Europeans traveling on their own, but Americans seem to like to travel only in group excursions. Thus I only encounter them in places that their groups would allow them. This would explain why whenever I go to Machu Picchu, the place seems to be crawling with them. It's odd.
Saturday marked our Machu Picchu day trip. It can be quite a haul: catching a train at 6am, getting into Aguas Calientes by 10am, catching a bus up to the ruins, seeing the ruins, catching the return train at 4pm, and arriving back in Cusco at around 8pm. We had been joking for the last few days that the Peru cultural committee should use a cool new slogan: Do the 'Chu! (as in maCHU picCHU). I think we annoyed everyone on the bus ride up to the ruins by rhyming anything we could think of with 'chu'. It's a pretty rhyme-able word. Try it out. I will go with YOU to the CHU, so don't be BLUE. Etc, etc, ad nauseam.
Unfortunately, our day was marred by nearly constant rain at the ruins. The famous Machu Picchu view was covered most of the time by clouds and mist, peaking out for only a few minutes at a time. We wandered the ruins, and I think Francoise was impressed (it's hard not to be).
Well, generally, that was our trip. We went out dancing after we returned from the 'Chu, but as it was Dia de Amistad (Day of Friendship, Valentine's day for us), the clubs were crowded with 15-year-olds. Nothing makes you feel old like hanging out with 15-year-olds.
Anyway, I'll send you updates from Ecuador!
Monday, February 16, 2004
It's been a few weeks since I last wrote and some new things have happened . . . my friend Francoise just returned to New York after visiting for a week. Originally, I was going to go to Mollendo (a beach town near Arequipa) with my uncle Ricardo this week and then have another visitor next week, my friend Bhavna from London. But they cancelled, both Ricardo and Bhavna couldn't get off from work for their respective vacations. So here I stay in Cusco.
I'm planning to leave in 2 weeks (March 1) to head up to Ecuador for about 2 months. I have some friends from school who are also heading up there and we're hoping to splurge a little on a week long cruise to the Galapagos. Everything I've heard has been consistent, the Galapagos Islands are one of the best excursions you can take in South America. What makes the islands so great is the wildlife, which have never had natural predators so they're not afraid of humans. This means that you can see them up close and swim amongst them without a problem. The Galapagos tend to be a bit more expensive than many places down here, but we're going there off-season, so we should be able to get a little break on the price.
I've almost made it to the end of all the grammar in my Spanish lessons, which I took 3 more weeks of between Basil and Francoise's respective visits. I'm at the point where I have all the grammar crammed in my head, but I have to put it into practice so that it becomes more natural. Because of this, I've decided not to take lessons for a few weeks (I'll probably take another week up in Quito, where my school has another outpost) and just concentrate on my own study and practice with my family. This means that I have to try to read spanish-language newspapers and novels, practice speaking and writing in all the different tenses, and translate radio programs and popular music to improve my ear. My language skills are getting better, but I just have to work a little harder to be able to get closer to my dream of fluency.
Well, I'll write more in the next couple weeks before I head out on my trip and get you caught up. But for now I will conclude:
MY TRAVELS WITH BASIL, part 2
PHOTOS
After taking the bus back from Puno and our little island adventure, we arrived in Cusco at 3am, not knowing if we were going to be able to pick up again later that day, Friday, and head off to Machu Picchu. Hastily leaving behind the bus at Cusco's Terminal Terrestre and all the passengers who were going to continue to sleep on it until morning, we jumped into a taxi and returned home to catch as many zzzz's as we could.
The next day we arranged with Ricardo (who works for Peru Rail) to get evening tickets to Aguas Calientes (who's real name is Machu Picchu Pueblo) from Ollantaytambo, in the Sacred Valley of the Incas and the last stop before our destination (about an hour and a half away). We ate lunch in Cusco and jumped on a bus to Ollantaytambo. After viewing the Inca ruins there, we caught the train, arrived in Aguas Calientes, and checked into our simple-but-sufficient hotel.
We woke the next morning and ate quickly, ready to really take on our Machu Picchu adventure. We strolled down to the bus station, taking time to play with a very vivacious dog who loved to play catch with a smooth stone that it adored. The trip up the mountain is a winding road that consists of about 11 or 12 switch-backs until you finally reach the entrance gate of the ruins.
After entering, we took the first turnoff path to the left which takes you up to the Hut of the Caretaker of the Funerary Rock, which oversees the entire compound and is where all famous pictures of Machu Picchu are taken (you know the one, with the mountains rising behind the ruins). As it was the rainy season, the mist moved quickly from a valley to our left up over the mountain, obstructing the view of the ruins from time to time. It really was rather exciting to see so much mist rising and falling quickly in the valleys that surround the monument, it's one of those views that's so impressive that you really can just perch yourself up there and watch for a few hours.
We took the path down and walked through the ruins, referencing our tour book to explain all the different important components: the Ceremonial Baths, the Temple of the Sun, the Sacred Plaza, etc. Honestly, walking through ruins is interesting, but after a while it all looks the same.
The most exciting and adventurous thing that I wanted to do on this trip that I didn't have time to do three years ago was to climb the large mountain that rises up behind the main site, Huayna Picchu. It's about a 2-hour trek up and back and they make you sign in and out at the entrance gate, so that they can keep track of everyone. It isn't that dangerous, but you have to be in relatively good shape, people have been known to fall off.
The climb up is definitely taxing, at times having to hold onto rope supports on the side of the trail and climbing up steep, muddy staircases made of rock, even having to crouch through a cave at one point. Before we started up, I thought the trail only takes you to a set of ruins near the top. But you actually go all the way to the precipice of the mountain, a spectacular view with Machu Picchu below, surrounded by mist-filled valleys. We perched ourselves on our own rock slab and just enjoyed the moment before heading back down.
Having finished most of the ruins, we headed back down to Aguas Calientes, stopping for lunch at a French-Peruvian restaurant before catching our train. As my uncle Ricardo works for the company that provides food and concessions on the trains, he had a little undercover work for us. The day before, he had handed us each a $100 dollar bill and instructed us buy as much Peru-oriented merchandise on the train as we could, without asking for receipts, and then return the merchandise after our trip. Apparently, they had heard reports that some of the employees were taking the price tags off the merchandise and selling them for a few dollars more, pocketing the difference.
As this was a higher class train than the one we had taken the night before (it was the Vistadome, not the Backpacker, but certainly not as posh as the highest priced Hiram Bingham, which costs $430 round trip and must be like riding on the Orient Express), we were treated to an unexpected sight: a fashion show. Each car has a handsome pair of attendants, male and female, who, when we reached a certain plateau near the end of the trip, turned up some music (from traditional Peruvian to Madonna) and started to model various alpaca clothing. Basil and I acted the part of tourists needing to buy gifts for home and bought as much as we could with our money. I'm happy to report that the attendants in our car passed the test, providing receipts without being asked and charging us the appropriate prices.
Back in Cusco for the final day of Basil's trip, we decided to make a meal for my family. We usually have a woman who helps my grandmother make meals most days (Monday through Saturday), but Sunday is the day we need to fend for ourselves. We often take turns making a meal and this was my first time. Peruvian food typically starts with a soup and then a main course, all with some sort of complex recipe. Since moving here, I have missed the simplicity of many modern american meals (at least the ones that I make), so we decided to make one of my favorite pasta-oriented creations: angel hair pasta with garlic, tomato, basil (the herb, not the man), and olive oil with a side of steamed broccoli.
It was an experience, since we are not used to cooking for so many people, at this altitude, or without many basic american culinary instruments. We miscalculated the time it takes to boil water at an altitude of 11,000 feet. This, combined with lack of usable burners, pushed back our 1pm lunch back to 2pm. My grandmother enjoys pretty much anything that is done for her, especially if it means that she has a day off from cooking, so she enjoyed our meal. But I think my grandfather, who's used to a bit more complicated dishes, didn't seem to enjoy it that much. He didn't say anything, but I could tell. Needless to say, by the next day the steamed broccoli had been turned into some sort of broccoli salad.
Well, that's pretty much it for Basil's Peruvian adventure. The next day I went back to school and he returned to Los Angeles to start work on the re-shoots for the Will Ferrell film 'Anchorman'. His visit was short, but fun and very appreciated.
I'm planning to leave in 2 weeks (March 1) to head up to Ecuador for about 2 months. I have some friends from school who are also heading up there and we're hoping to splurge a little on a week long cruise to the Galapagos. Everything I've heard has been consistent, the Galapagos Islands are one of the best excursions you can take in South America. What makes the islands so great is the wildlife, which have never had natural predators so they're not afraid of humans. This means that you can see them up close and swim amongst them without a problem. The Galapagos tend to be a bit more expensive than many places down here, but we're going there off-season, so we should be able to get a little break on the price.
I've almost made it to the end of all the grammar in my Spanish lessons, which I took 3 more weeks of between Basil and Francoise's respective visits. I'm at the point where I have all the grammar crammed in my head, but I have to put it into practice so that it becomes more natural. Because of this, I've decided not to take lessons for a few weeks (I'll probably take another week up in Quito, where my school has another outpost) and just concentrate on my own study and practice with my family. This means that I have to try to read spanish-language newspapers and novels, practice speaking and writing in all the different tenses, and translate radio programs and popular music to improve my ear. My language skills are getting better, but I just have to work a little harder to be able to get closer to my dream of fluency.
Well, I'll write more in the next couple weeks before I head out on my trip and get you caught up. But for now I will conclude:
MY TRAVELS WITH BASIL, part 2
PHOTOS
After taking the bus back from Puno and our little island adventure, we arrived in Cusco at 3am, not knowing if we were going to be able to pick up again later that day, Friday, and head off to Machu Picchu. Hastily leaving behind the bus at Cusco's Terminal Terrestre and all the passengers who were going to continue to sleep on it until morning, we jumped into a taxi and returned home to catch as many zzzz's as we could.
The next day we arranged with Ricardo (who works for Peru Rail) to get evening tickets to Aguas Calientes (who's real name is Machu Picchu Pueblo) from Ollantaytambo, in the Sacred Valley of the Incas and the last stop before our destination (about an hour and a half away). We ate lunch in Cusco and jumped on a bus to Ollantaytambo. After viewing the Inca ruins there, we caught the train, arrived in Aguas Calientes, and checked into our simple-but-sufficient hotel.
We woke the next morning and ate quickly, ready to really take on our Machu Picchu adventure. We strolled down to the bus station, taking time to play with a very vivacious dog who loved to play catch with a smooth stone that it adored. The trip up the mountain is a winding road that consists of about 11 or 12 switch-backs until you finally reach the entrance gate of the ruins.
After entering, we took the first turnoff path to the left which takes you up to the Hut of the Caretaker of the Funerary Rock, which oversees the entire compound and is where all famous pictures of Machu Picchu are taken (you know the one, with the mountains rising behind the ruins). As it was the rainy season, the mist moved quickly from a valley to our left up over the mountain, obstructing the view of the ruins from time to time. It really was rather exciting to see so much mist rising and falling quickly in the valleys that surround the monument, it's one of those views that's so impressive that you really can just perch yourself up there and watch for a few hours.
We took the path down and walked through the ruins, referencing our tour book to explain all the different important components: the Ceremonial Baths, the Temple of the Sun, the Sacred Plaza, etc. Honestly, walking through ruins is interesting, but after a while it all looks the same.
The most exciting and adventurous thing that I wanted to do on this trip that I didn't have time to do three years ago was to climb the large mountain that rises up behind the main site, Huayna Picchu. It's about a 2-hour trek up and back and they make you sign in and out at the entrance gate, so that they can keep track of everyone. It isn't that dangerous, but you have to be in relatively good shape, people have been known to fall off.
The climb up is definitely taxing, at times having to hold onto rope supports on the side of the trail and climbing up steep, muddy staircases made of rock, even having to crouch through a cave at one point. Before we started up, I thought the trail only takes you to a set of ruins near the top. But you actually go all the way to the precipice of the mountain, a spectacular view with Machu Picchu below, surrounded by mist-filled valleys. We perched ourselves on our own rock slab and just enjoyed the moment before heading back down.
Having finished most of the ruins, we headed back down to Aguas Calientes, stopping for lunch at a French-Peruvian restaurant before catching our train. As my uncle Ricardo works for the company that provides food and concessions on the trains, he had a little undercover work for us. The day before, he had handed us each a $100 dollar bill and instructed us buy as much Peru-oriented merchandise on the train as we could, without asking for receipts, and then return the merchandise after our trip. Apparently, they had heard reports that some of the employees were taking the price tags off the merchandise and selling them for a few dollars more, pocketing the difference.
As this was a higher class train than the one we had taken the night before (it was the Vistadome, not the Backpacker, but certainly not as posh as the highest priced Hiram Bingham, which costs $430 round trip and must be like riding on the Orient Express), we were treated to an unexpected sight: a fashion show. Each car has a handsome pair of attendants, male and female, who, when we reached a certain plateau near the end of the trip, turned up some music (from traditional Peruvian to Madonna) and started to model various alpaca clothing. Basil and I acted the part of tourists needing to buy gifts for home and bought as much as we could with our money. I'm happy to report that the attendants in our car passed the test, providing receipts without being asked and charging us the appropriate prices.
Back in Cusco for the final day of Basil's trip, we decided to make a meal for my family. We usually have a woman who helps my grandmother make meals most days (Monday through Saturday), but Sunday is the day we need to fend for ourselves. We often take turns making a meal and this was my first time. Peruvian food typically starts with a soup and then a main course, all with some sort of complex recipe. Since moving here, I have missed the simplicity of many modern american meals (at least the ones that I make), so we decided to make one of my favorite pasta-oriented creations: angel hair pasta with garlic, tomato, basil (the herb, not the man), and olive oil with a side of steamed broccoli.
It was an experience, since we are not used to cooking for so many people, at this altitude, or without many basic american culinary instruments. We miscalculated the time it takes to boil water at an altitude of 11,000 feet. This, combined with lack of usable burners, pushed back our 1pm lunch back to 2pm. My grandmother enjoys pretty much anything that is done for her, especially if it means that she has a day off from cooking, so she enjoyed our meal. But I think my grandfather, who's used to a bit more complicated dishes, didn't seem to enjoy it that much. He didn't say anything, but I could tell. Needless to say, by the next day the steamed broccoli had been turned into some sort of broccoli salad.
Well, that's pretty much it for Basil's Peruvian adventure. The next day I went back to school and he returned to Los Angeles to start work on the re-shoots for the Will Ferrell film 'Anchorman'. His visit was short, but fun and very appreciated.
Sunday, January 25, 2004
You haven't heard from me for a few weeks because I had a guest in town two weeks ago, my good friend Basil, whom I went to UCLA with. This past week I went back to Spanish school and, quite frankly, didn't feel like writing or going to the Internet cafe. Sorry to all those who have written to me in the last few weeks, a response will come this week.
Well, here it is, Sunday the 25th of January . . . I'm sitting in bed, listening to the new Travis CD (which I bought for 5 soles, approx. $1.45 . . . it's impossible to buy real CDs here, they just don't sell them), it's partly cloudy outside, the Golden Globes are on tonight, and I'm about to tell you about . . .
MY TRAVELS WITH BASIL, part 1
PHOTOS
Basil arrived to Cusco on Thursday, Jan. 8 after a laborious amount of time traveling from Los Angeles to Miami, Miami to Lima, Lima to Cusco. I left school early so that I could pick him up at the airport at 11am. While I was waiting, a crowd of anxious fans seemed to be milling about, with even a few television cameras. Could it be people waiting anxiously for Basil, like myself?? Why did they want to capture his arrival on tape?? How did they know when he was coming in?? Well, they weren't waiting for Basil like myself, but rather for some futbol players coming in from Lima . . . Cienciano, the Copa Sudamerica campeons de Cusco!!
After that bit of commotion, I finally saw Basil and whisked him off to beautiful Chateu LaTorre. With the elevation change, I thought it best that we take it easy the first day so that he could acclimatize (0 to 11,000ft in one day!). We settled in for lunch and I was quite surprised by the amount of Spanish Basil had retained from his years studying it in school. His level was about at the same level as mine is now (although he says my listening comprehension is better). Throughout the week, he would attempt and succeed at some interesting discussions with my grandparents, who adored him. At times, of course, you just pretend like you know what they're talking about and smile.
Later that evening, we went out to pizza with my uncle Ricardo, when I noticed I was feeling a bit odd. Afterwards, we had plans to go to a friend's house and watch the Peru national futbol team play the Argentine national team, but I felt very achy and had to go home. Well, as luck would have it, I did come down with the flu that very night. Unfortunately, Basil also came down with a less intense cold the next day. We'd both be sick the week that he was here, but it wouldn't stop us from doing anything (which is why, two weeks later, I'm still getting over the last remnants of the illness).
That Friday I stayed home from school and sent Basil off on his own to discover Cusco. By Saturday, I was feeling well enough to venture out, so we met Ricardo for afterwork drinks, a Saturday afternoon tradition as most people who work 6 days a week get out by 1pm on Sat. Well, this lead to a bit of drunken tomfoolery, which climaxed when Ricardo tried to drink a burning shot of anis from a metal shot glass, without using his his hands. To the drunken mind this might seem like a fun thing to do, but I have to tell you that the only result was a pair of burnt lips which, over the next few days, swelled profusely. There are, at times, casualties in the quest for divertido (spanish for 'fun'). Well, we were hoping to go out dancing that evening, but the afternoon left us in no state to do anything other than pass out.
Come Sunday, Basil and I were determined to go out and see some of the sights. Since I arrived here in November, I have purposely avoided seeing any of the tourist sights, knowing that I'd have plenty of opportunity to see them repeatedly when my many guest came for a visit. So this Sunday, Basil and I set out to visit Sacsayhuaman, the Inca ruins above Cusco (which is the head in the original puma design of the city). We decided to walk there from the Plaza de Armas, which is a rather tiring ascent up hundreds of stairs.
After about half an hour, we made it to the top and meandered though the ruins. The most defining thing about these ruins are the absolutely immense size of stones, weighing many tons, which are fitted perfectly together. Like the pyramids of ancient Egypt, we have no idea how they transported these gigantic stones to their present location. Other highlights of Sacsayhuaman include smoothed stone grooves in the side of a hill which make excellent slides and a cave which becomes pitch dark and transports you from one side of a hill to the other.
Originally, we planned on taking a trip to Lake Titicaca on Monday, but we decided to push it back a day and try to get a bit healthier, knowing that this part of the trip would be a bit more strenuous. On Tuesday, we hopped on an early bus to Puno, arrived around 3pm and decided to check into 3-star hotel in order to have another night comfortable accommodations before we headed out to the lake the next day. The rest of the day was spent booking our travel out to islands on the lake and trip home on Thursday.
About 7am the next morning, we were picked up by our guide and taken, along with our fellow passengers (including a family from Uruguay and a bunch of Aussies, Germans, and French), to a boat in Puno bay. We proceeded out to the 'floating islands' of the Uros people. These are literally man-made islands, made of reeds, that the Uros people have lived on for hundreds of years. Altogether, there are about 50 of them. Only a few are open to tourists to peruse. Of course, the presence of the tourist trade means that most everybody on the island that you are visiting tries to sell you artisan goods. I'm not a big fan of little chachkis, so I didn't really have much interest (we joked that if you turn over any of these little replicas of reed boats, you'd probably fine the moniker 'Made in China' . . . they all look so produced). After visiting one island, we were treated to a reed boat ride over to another island, so we could purchase more chachkis.
After our Uros experience, we again boarded the boat and began our journey to the first of two real islands we would be visiting on the lake, Isla Taquile. We docked and hour and a half later and were treated to the first bit of sun that we saw the whole day. Lucky for us, the sun seemed to be out only over the islands that we were visiting that day. We hiked up a stone path for half an hour and eventually little houses started appearing along the way. The scene seemed something out of The Lord of the Rings and we were in The Shire. I expected Hobbits to jump out and greet us at any moment. Eventually, we made our way into the main village of the town, where we had a bit of time to explore the shops before meeting for a damned good lunch, featuring a very tasty fish, fresh from the lake. The men of the island are known for their knitting, and knitted products are what they sell in their shops. They have a custom on Taquile that the men wear different types of hats based on their marriage status . . . married men wear red knitted caps and unmarried men wear red and white ones.
After lunch, we walked to the other side of the island, descending hundreds of steep steps to another port to catch our boat. Our boat was manned by a family, with the father acting as captain, his wife as first mate, and their children along for the ride, very much providing entertainment for the passengers. One of their sons was old enough to walk and they seemed to have no problem letting him go anywhere on the boat, even on the narrow sideboards or playing on the front deck while we were out on the lake.
After another 45 minutes, we reached our final destination for the day, Isla Amantani, where we were paired up with island families for the night. Basil and I followed our house mother up and up and up and up the slope of the island until we finally reached her humble home. We were ushered into our room, which was surprisingly much more accommodating than I anticipated. I had a feeling that our room, because of the money that tourism brings, was probably the most comfortable in the house.
After a little rest, Basil and I went to explore a bit before we had to return home for dinner. We continued up a nearby path and found a rock to sit on and watch the island. Nearby, a couple of island toddlers found us very interesting, but only from afar. When I approached, all smiles were forgotten and the boys just stood there timidly. We had been warned that the islanders were naturally quite timid. I tried to dazzle the kids by taking their picture with my digital camera and showing them their picture. Usually, this gets a great reaction from children (and is a great way to get them to want their picture taken without having to pay them). These kids had no idea what to think, so eventually I thought it best to go back to my rock.
We returned to the house, had a rest, and then joined the parents in the kitchen for dinner. There is no electricity on either island and the Lake Titicaca region is remarkably cold, so the kitchen was the warmest place around. It consisted of a mud structure with a typical thatched roof to protect it from the elements. The wood burning stove was in one corner and was what gave off the most light. We sat on a wood log and talked with the father of the family as we sipped our delicious (and very natural) soup and ate our rice and stew main plate. The father was at home for only a month because he works in Lima selling alpaca goods and only returns for two months out of the year, once in January and again in August. He does all this so that his family has money and so that his kids can get an education (there are five, 4 boys and 1 girl).
After dinner, the host families on the island like to dress up the new arrivals in traditional clothes and meet at a central event space to teach them traditional dances. I didn't actually get the idea that this is something they particularly like to do, but rather is an agreed upon activity to support tourism on the island. Either way, it was enjoyable and we spent the night spinning in circles until we were ready to drop. The rain started to piss down while we danced (maybe we unknowingly were part of a rain dance?). Fortunately, our host family's house was only a short walk away, so we dashed into the rain, finding our way among the dark stone pathways with flashlights. We climbed into our beds, and fell asleep to the sounds of hard rain. I woke several times during the night and the rain continued to come down until dawn.
As luck would have it, we happened to be on the island on the day of the islander's big festival of the year. On this day, contingents from each of the islands 8 villages, climb to one of two temples on each of the two main peaks of the island, Pachamama or Pachatata (Mother Earth or Father Earth, respectively), and make offerings to the earth. While at one time this probably would have included only animals and food produced on the island, in our modern times, this now includes industrially-produced, store-bought food items, including bottled soda, crackers, rice, and the like. The ceremony was to start at 11am, but an onslaught of cold rain found us seeking cover from the elements for an hour or two. It was rather miserable.
After the underwhelming ceremony finally concluded, we walked to an area between the two peaks for a feast. Luckily, the sun came out and we basked in it. Our hosts rolled out a long cloth upon which they poured a feast of potatoes, roots, beans, and just about any other brown and starchy thing you can think of. Fortunately, this wasn't the feast, just the appetizer. Afterward, they served some yummy soup and fried fish with rice and potatoes. Mmmmm . . . soup and fish.
After the feast, we briskly walked down the mountain, picked up our bags from our host family, said goodbye (in the form of a hug and 50 soles, as a thank you), and rushed off to our awaiting boat. The ride back to Puno was hell for me, as the combination of a congested head and the rough waves, conspired to make me mildly seasick. As Basil is the master of planning (and he should be, as he's a First Assistant Director on Hollywood films) he handed me some dramamine and, in an hour, I was all better (seasick-wise). As we approached the port of Puno, we got caught in a particularly choppy and intense storm, so while everyone else was bouncing up and down, turning a light shade of green, I was perfectly fine.
We finally reached dry land and rushed off to catch our bus back to Cusco, arriving at 3am on Friday morning, tired but looking forward to the next leg of our trip . . . Machu Picchu.
To be continued . . .
Well, here it is, Sunday the 25th of January . . . I'm sitting in bed, listening to the new Travis CD (which I bought for 5 soles, approx. $1.45 . . . it's impossible to buy real CDs here, they just don't sell them), it's partly cloudy outside, the Golden Globes are on tonight, and I'm about to tell you about . . .
MY TRAVELS WITH BASIL, part 1
PHOTOS
Basil arrived to Cusco on Thursday, Jan. 8 after a laborious amount of time traveling from Los Angeles to Miami, Miami to Lima, Lima to Cusco. I left school early so that I could pick him up at the airport at 11am. While I was waiting, a crowd of anxious fans seemed to be milling about, with even a few television cameras. Could it be people waiting anxiously for Basil, like myself?? Why did they want to capture his arrival on tape?? How did they know when he was coming in?? Well, they weren't waiting for Basil like myself, but rather for some futbol players coming in from Lima . . . Cienciano, the Copa Sudamerica campeons de Cusco!!
After that bit of commotion, I finally saw Basil and whisked him off to beautiful Chateu LaTorre. With the elevation change, I thought it best that we take it easy the first day so that he could acclimatize (0 to 11,000ft in one day!). We settled in for lunch and I was quite surprised by the amount of Spanish Basil had retained from his years studying it in school. His level was about at the same level as mine is now (although he says my listening comprehension is better). Throughout the week, he would attempt and succeed at some interesting discussions with my grandparents, who adored him. At times, of course, you just pretend like you know what they're talking about and smile.
Later that evening, we went out to pizza with my uncle Ricardo, when I noticed I was feeling a bit odd. Afterwards, we had plans to go to a friend's house and watch the Peru national futbol team play the Argentine national team, but I felt very achy and had to go home. Well, as luck would have it, I did come down with the flu that very night. Unfortunately, Basil also came down with a less intense cold the next day. We'd both be sick the week that he was here, but it wouldn't stop us from doing anything (which is why, two weeks later, I'm still getting over the last remnants of the illness).
That Friday I stayed home from school and sent Basil off on his own to discover Cusco. By Saturday, I was feeling well enough to venture out, so we met Ricardo for afterwork drinks, a Saturday afternoon tradition as most people who work 6 days a week get out by 1pm on Sat. Well, this lead to a bit of drunken tomfoolery, which climaxed when Ricardo tried to drink a burning shot of anis from a metal shot glass, without using his his hands. To the drunken mind this might seem like a fun thing to do, but I have to tell you that the only result was a pair of burnt lips which, over the next few days, swelled profusely. There are, at times, casualties in the quest for divertido (spanish for 'fun'). Well, we were hoping to go out dancing that evening, but the afternoon left us in no state to do anything other than pass out.
Come Sunday, Basil and I were determined to go out and see some of the sights. Since I arrived here in November, I have purposely avoided seeing any of the tourist sights, knowing that I'd have plenty of opportunity to see them repeatedly when my many guest came for a visit. So this Sunday, Basil and I set out to visit Sacsayhuaman, the Inca ruins above Cusco (which is the head in the original puma design of the city). We decided to walk there from the Plaza de Armas, which is a rather tiring ascent up hundreds of stairs.
After about half an hour, we made it to the top and meandered though the ruins. The most defining thing about these ruins are the absolutely immense size of stones, weighing many tons, which are fitted perfectly together. Like the pyramids of ancient Egypt, we have no idea how they transported these gigantic stones to their present location. Other highlights of Sacsayhuaman include smoothed stone grooves in the side of a hill which make excellent slides and a cave which becomes pitch dark and transports you from one side of a hill to the other.
Originally, we planned on taking a trip to Lake Titicaca on Monday, but we decided to push it back a day and try to get a bit healthier, knowing that this part of the trip would be a bit more strenuous. On Tuesday, we hopped on an early bus to Puno, arrived around 3pm and decided to check into 3-star hotel in order to have another night comfortable accommodations before we headed out to the lake the next day. The rest of the day was spent booking our travel out to islands on the lake and trip home on Thursday.
About 7am the next morning, we were picked up by our guide and taken, along with our fellow passengers (including a family from Uruguay and a bunch of Aussies, Germans, and French), to a boat in Puno bay. We proceeded out to the 'floating islands' of the Uros people. These are literally man-made islands, made of reeds, that the Uros people have lived on for hundreds of years. Altogether, there are about 50 of them. Only a few are open to tourists to peruse. Of course, the presence of the tourist trade means that most everybody on the island that you are visiting tries to sell you artisan goods. I'm not a big fan of little chachkis, so I didn't really have much interest (we joked that if you turn over any of these little replicas of reed boats, you'd probably fine the moniker 'Made in China' . . . they all look so produced). After visiting one island, we were treated to a reed boat ride over to another island, so we could purchase more chachkis.
After our Uros experience, we again boarded the boat and began our journey to the first of two real islands we would be visiting on the lake, Isla Taquile. We docked and hour and a half later and were treated to the first bit of sun that we saw the whole day. Lucky for us, the sun seemed to be out only over the islands that we were visiting that day. We hiked up a stone path for half an hour and eventually little houses started appearing along the way. The scene seemed something out of The Lord of the Rings and we were in The Shire. I expected Hobbits to jump out and greet us at any moment. Eventually, we made our way into the main village of the town, where we had a bit of time to explore the shops before meeting for a damned good lunch, featuring a very tasty fish, fresh from the lake. The men of the island are known for their knitting, and knitted products are what they sell in their shops. They have a custom on Taquile that the men wear different types of hats based on their marriage status . . . married men wear red knitted caps and unmarried men wear red and white ones.
After lunch, we walked to the other side of the island, descending hundreds of steep steps to another port to catch our boat. Our boat was manned by a family, with the father acting as captain, his wife as first mate, and their children along for the ride, very much providing entertainment for the passengers. One of their sons was old enough to walk and they seemed to have no problem letting him go anywhere on the boat, even on the narrow sideboards or playing on the front deck while we were out on the lake.
After another 45 minutes, we reached our final destination for the day, Isla Amantani, where we were paired up with island families for the night. Basil and I followed our house mother up and up and up and up the slope of the island until we finally reached her humble home. We were ushered into our room, which was surprisingly much more accommodating than I anticipated. I had a feeling that our room, because of the money that tourism brings, was probably the most comfortable in the house.
After a little rest, Basil and I went to explore a bit before we had to return home for dinner. We continued up a nearby path and found a rock to sit on and watch the island. Nearby, a couple of island toddlers found us very interesting, but only from afar. When I approached, all smiles were forgotten and the boys just stood there timidly. We had been warned that the islanders were naturally quite timid. I tried to dazzle the kids by taking their picture with my digital camera and showing them their picture. Usually, this gets a great reaction from children (and is a great way to get them to want their picture taken without having to pay them). These kids had no idea what to think, so eventually I thought it best to go back to my rock.
We returned to the house, had a rest, and then joined the parents in the kitchen for dinner. There is no electricity on either island and the Lake Titicaca region is remarkably cold, so the kitchen was the warmest place around. It consisted of a mud structure with a typical thatched roof to protect it from the elements. The wood burning stove was in one corner and was what gave off the most light. We sat on a wood log and talked with the father of the family as we sipped our delicious (and very natural) soup and ate our rice and stew main plate. The father was at home for only a month because he works in Lima selling alpaca goods and only returns for two months out of the year, once in January and again in August. He does all this so that his family has money and so that his kids can get an education (there are five, 4 boys and 1 girl).
After dinner, the host families on the island like to dress up the new arrivals in traditional clothes and meet at a central event space to teach them traditional dances. I didn't actually get the idea that this is something they particularly like to do, but rather is an agreed upon activity to support tourism on the island. Either way, it was enjoyable and we spent the night spinning in circles until we were ready to drop. The rain started to piss down while we danced (maybe we unknowingly were part of a rain dance?). Fortunately, our host family's house was only a short walk away, so we dashed into the rain, finding our way among the dark stone pathways with flashlights. We climbed into our beds, and fell asleep to the sounds of hard rain. I woke several times during the night and the rain continued to come down until dawn.
As luck would have it, we happened to be on the island on the day of the islander's big festival of the year. On this day, contingents from each of the islands 8 villages, climb to one of two temples on each of the two main peaks of the island, Pachamama or Pachatata (Mother Earth or Father Earth, respectively), and make offerings to the earth. While at one time this probably would have included only animals and food produced on the island, in our modern times, this now includes industrially-produced, store-bought food items, including bottled soda, crackers, rice, and the like. The ceremony was to start at 11am, but an onslaught of cold rain found us seeking cover from the elements for an hour or two. It was rather miserable.
After the underwhelming ceremony finally concluded, we walked to an area between the two peaks for a feast. Luckily, the sun came out and we basked in it. Our hosts rolled out a long cloth upon which they poured a feast of potatoes, roots, beans, and just about any other brown and starchy thing you can think of. Fortunately, this wasn't the feast, just the appetizer. Afterward, they served some yummy soup and fried fish with rice and potatoes. Mmmmm . . . soup and fish.
After the feast, we briskly walked down the mountain, picked up our bags from our host family, said goodbye (in the form of a hug and 50 soles, as a thank you), and rushed off to our awaiting boat. The ride back to Puno was hell for me, as the combination of a congested head and the rough waves, conspired to make me mildly seasick. As Basil is the master of planning (and he should be, as he's a First Assistant Director on Hollywood films) he handed me some dramamine and, in an hour, I was all better (seasick-wise). As we approached the port of Puno, we got caught in a particularly choppy and intense storm, so while everyone else was bouncing up and down, turning a light shade of green, I was perfectly fine.
We finally reached dry land and rushed off to catch our bus back to Cusco, arriving at 3am on Friday morning, tired but looking forward to the next leg of our trip . . . Machu Picchu.
To be continued . . .
Monday, January 05, 2004
So what's been going on since Xmas? Not a whole heck of a lot. I just finished my 3 week pause in classes and realize that I really need to continue with them because they provide an overall structure for my trip and, no surprise, really improve my spanish.
It's odd being the traveller who is staying put. Cusco is such a tourist town, travelers coming and going, I make friends and then, within a couple of weeks, they leave. I went back to school today and there are a whole new group of people. I suppose I should befriend more Peruvians, but the language is still a bit of a barrier.
PHOTOS. I decided to create a little photographic tour of Cusco from my perspective, more to come later. Click the link or go to:
http://public.fotki.com/timSAA/cusco_tour_part_i/
NEW YEAR'S EVE. Even though I had been invited by my Peruvian friend Sandy to go to Urubamba for New Year's eve, I decided that I wanted to stay put and see how it is celebrated by Cusquenos in Cusco. Well, as it turns out, it seems as though a lot of Cusquenos go to Urubamba to celebrate since the town becomes infested with Peruvian tourists from Arequipa and Lima who come to party for the week.
I met my Dutch friend Alex at a restaurant that his friend Juliana, a Peruvian girl that he has taken a liking to, just bought with her sister. After playing a Jenga-like game for an hour, we met up with my friend Nadia and went out to the Plaza to see what was going on. The place was crowded with people waiting for the new year. We met some of Nadia's friends, bought some champagne, and hung out.
When midnight finally came, the place exploded, and not in a good way. No, Cusco was not lit up with just reverie, but with fireworks. And not some great fireworks display, but random people lighting off firecrackers, M80s, and occasional bottle rockets. We stood in a street and saw people starting to literally throw firecrackers at passers-by. We started to grow a little fearful.
We knew it was time to take cover when some dumb-ass decided it was a good idea to set off bottle rockets down the street toward the crowd, instead of into the sky. The final straw was when one of these rockets flew towards us and exploded right between our heads, causing Nadia to have a small wound on her cheek. Thankfully, it was easily taken care of with a band-aid.
We decided to take shelter in a nearby alleyway. This protected us for a while until a family came out and decided that it was a good idea to let their 5-year-old light off some firecrackers. When he accidentally dropped some lit firecrackers at our feet, we knew it was time to go. When one of my friends commented to her that maybe it wasn't a good idea for her kid to have firecrackers, but she responded with something like (in Spanish) "He's just a kid, he doesn't know better". Then why give him firecrackers?
Anyway, the night ended with us heading over to my uncle Ricardo's favorite club, El Ritmo Latino, for a night of dancing (and I guess a bit of drunken reverie . . . but not me, of course).
I can't say I had the best time. Those fireworks really made me want to hit someone. I guess the Cusqueno's do know something: it's better to go to Urubamba for New Year's. Note to self.
Tim
It's odd being the traveller who is staying put. Cusco is such a tourist town, travelers coming and going, I make friends and then, within a couple of weeks, they leave. I went back to school today and there are a whole new group of people. I suppose I should befriend more Peruvians, but the language is still a bit of a barrier.
PHOTOS. I decided to create a little photographic tour of Cusco from my perspective, more to come later. Click the link or go to:
http://public.fotki.com/timSAA/cusco_tour_part_i/
NEW YEAR'S EVE. Even though I had been invited by my Peruvian friend Sandy to go to Urubamba for New Year's eve, I decided that I wanted to stay put and see how it is celebrated by Cusquenos in Cusco. Well, as it turns out, it seems as though a lot of Cusquenos go to Urubamba to celebrate since the town becomes infested with Peruvian tourists from Arequipa and Lima who come to party for the week.
I met my Dutch friend Alex at a restaurant that his friend Juliana, a Peruvian girl that he has taken a liking to, just bought with her sister. After playing a Jenga-like game for an hour, we met up with my friend Nadia and went out to the Plaza to see what was going on. The place was crowded with people waiting for the new year. We met some of Nadia's friends, bought some champagne, and hung out.
When midnight finally came, the place exploded, and not in a good way. No, Cusco was not lit up with just reverie, but with fireworks. And not some great fireworks display, but random people lighting off firecrackers, M80s, and occasional bottle rockets. We stood in a street and saw people starting to literally throw firecrackers at passers-by. We started to grow a little fearful.
We knew it was time to take cover when some dumb-ass decided it was a good idea to set off bottle rockets down the street toward the crowd, instead of into the sky. The final straw was when one of these rockets flew towards us and exploded right between our heads, causing Nadia to have a small wound on her cheek. Thankfully, it was easily taken care of with a band-aid.
We decided to take shelter in a nearby alleyway. This protected us for a while until a family came out and decided that it was a good idea to let their 5-year-old light off some firecrackers. When he accidentally dropped some lit firecrackers at our feet, we knew it was time to go. When one of my friends commented to her that maybe it wasn't a good idea for her kid to have firecrackers, but she responded with something like (in Spanish) "He's just a kid, he doesn't know better". Then why give him firecrackers?
Anyway, the night ended with us heading over to my uncle Ricardo's favorite club, El Ritmo Latino, for a night of dancing (and I guess a bit of drunken reverie . . . but not me, of course).
I can't say I had the best time. Those fireworks really made me want to hit someone. I guess the Cusqueno's do know something: it's better to go to Urubamba for New Year's. Note to self.
Tim
Friday, December 26, 2003
Well, it's the day after Xmas and I finally have a week to just relax, study Spanish, and do some writing, before I head back to school. The last couple of weeks have been a bit hectic (as I'm sure they have been for everyone) with my trip to Arequipa and returning with just a few days before Xmas.
Xmas in Cusco is a big deal. While it has been somewhat commercialized as in the States, it definitely feels a lot more religious down here. Which makes sense since almost everyone here is very Catholic. The Plaza de Armas had been decorated for weeks with lights in the form of silhouettes of Xmas-oriented animals (and llamas too, don't forget the llamas!!). In our neighborhood, Santa Monica, which is one of the more affluent areas, there is quite a bit decoration on the houses. In addition to the standard 'lights on houses' motif, you do see a lot more Nativity scenes down here. Lots of Nativity scenes. My favorite comes from a house around the corner from ours, in which the owners have decorated an old tree in front with hanging presents and, high up in the trunk (about 12 feet off the ground), a miniature wood house with a nativity scene inside.
PHOTOS. Click the link or go to:
http://public.fotki.com/timSAA/xmas_in_cusco/
The one thing that was stressing me out about Xmas this year was knowing what the present protocol was for down here. As people here (including my family) don't really have much money, Xmas is not as much of a commercial venture. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of stores here with gifts, music and decoration. In fact, a few shops near our house even had a dancing Mickey Mouse and Barney (as in the big, ugly purple dinosaur) out in front, trying to lure parents and their children inside. To solve my conundrum, I asked a few family members and the general consensus that I got is that presents are mostly for the children.
So I went out shopping at some shops nearby and got gifts for my cousins, but as I continued at a the central market the following day, I thought to myself that this might be the only Xmas I'm ever down here. I've had 31 Xmases with my American family and none with my Peruvian family, so I decided to just get something for everyone. Heck, it's a bit consumer-oriented, but I am an American. Besides, our money goes so far here that it was nice for once to buy presents for people and not worry about going broke.
As Xmas approached, I learned that in latin countries Xmas eve is the big thing. It's kind of like New Year's and the Fourth of July combined. Everyone stays up late and waits for Xmas day at midnight, at which point you sit down for dinner and open presents afterwards.
Early in the evening, as my uncle Adolfo and his daughter Pamela were preparing the dinner, I was able to do my favorite activity in Cusco so far: I just hung out in the kitchen with family. We got a boom box and I grabbed my iPod and we just listened to music, talked, cooked dinner, and drank a few beers. I've had a few times like that and I just love them, relaxing with the family. As you might imagine, music is a big part of life down here and my family just loves it, so we had a good 'ol time.
Afterwards, I headed off with my uncle Ricardo to deliver my present for his daughter, Melissa. I'm very close with his ex-wife Maria Elisa's family - partly because they live so close (just 5 minutes walking) and partly because they all speak english fluently (except Melissa, she's very timid about it). I called Sarah to wish her a happy Xmas, and by the time I finished, I came down stairs and Melissa was already playing with the game I gave her (see photos for an explanation). She's very sporty, so she likes games that use hand-eye coordination.
We returned home to find that our guests for the evening had arrived: my uncle Adolfo's business partner, Tania, her son, Luigi (short for Luis Guillermo), and her brother. We settled in to wait for midnight.
When I was in Arequipa, I bought a CD of the most famous Peruvian Creole singer, Eva Ayllon, so I put it on to sparked some energy. Tania danced with my Grandpa Adolfo, and my uncle Adolfo danced with my Grandma Livia. It was a grand time.
Midnight finally came, and everyone went outside to light off fireworks: firecrackers and a couple roman candles. Throughout the city you could hear fireworks being fired off. Occasionally, you could see some bottle rockets surge into the sky.
We all retreated back into the house for a family hug and then sat down for dinner. Adolfo had prepared a turkey roll stuffed with spices, along with this mashed potato-apple puree dish . . . they were terrific!
After dinner, we went into the living room by the Xmas tree and collected all the presents. Everyone opened their presents and were quite happy. I gave my grandparents, down jackets; my uncle Adolfo, a dress shirt; my aunt Patricia, some CDs; my uncle Ricardo, a comforter; and my cousin Patricia, a purse. We were all so exhausted, I finally crept upstairs and passed out.
The next morning Adolfo's kids returned to open their presents. I gave the twins, Ganesh and Lashmi, a couple of board games, Junior Pictionary and Uno, respectively. To my cousin Maria Fernanda, who will turn 15 in March, I gave her her first purse, a little black denim thing with reversed white stitching (her sister Pamela liked it so much, she kept trying to steal it away from her). And to Pamela, I gave a red wallet.
This was also kind of a sad day because all of Adolfo's kids, who are out of school for summer vacation, were leaving to go live at their other grandparent's house for a couple months in Calca, a town, about 45 minutes away, in the Sacred Valley of the Incas. So, after a few hours, I helped them collect their things and then they all left in a taxi to go back to their mother's place.
Finally, Ricardo prepared this fantastic dish for Xmas day lunch that consisted of beef with mustard sauce and mashed potatoes. He's a great chef and is hoping to be able to study the culinary arts in the next few years and get work as a chef, or open a restaurant.
Tuckered out by the great lunch, I went to my aunt Maria Elisa's house to relax and watch movies for the rest of the day.
Thus concludes my Xmas day in Cusco, Peru.
I hope you all had a great holiday,
Tim
Xmas in Cusco is a big deal. While it has been somewhat commercialized as in the States, it definitely feels a lot more religious down here. Which makes sense since almost everyone here is very Catholic. The Plaza de Armas had been decorated for weeks with lights in the form of silhouettes of Xmas-oriented animals (and llamas too, don't forget the llamas!!). In our neighborhood, Santa Monica, which is one of the more affluent areas, there is quite a bit decoration on the houses. In addition to the standard 'lights on houses' motif, you do see a lot more Nativity scenes down here. Lots of Nativity scenes. My favorite comes from a house around the corner from ours, in which the owners have decorated an old tree in front with hanging presents and, high up in the trunk (about 12 feet off the ground), a miniature wood house with a nativity scene inside.
PHOTOS. Click the link or go to:
http://public.fotki.com/timSAA/xmas_in_cusco/
The one thing that was stressing me out about Xmas this year was knowing what the present protocol was for down here. As people here (including my family) don't really have much money, Xmas is not as much of a commercial venture. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of stores here with gifts, music and decoration. In fact, a few shops near our house even had a dancing Mickey Mouse and Barney (as in the big, ugly purple dinosaur) out in front, trying to lure parents and their children inside. To solve my conundrum, I asked a few family members and the general consensus that I got is that presents are mostly for the children.
So I went out shopping at some shops nearby and got gifts for my cousins, but as I continued at a the central market the following day, I thought to myself that this might be the only Xmas I'm ever down here. I've had 31 Xmases with my American family and none with my Peruvian family, so I decided to just get something for everyone. Heck, it's a bit consumer-oriented, but I am an American. Besides, our money goes so far here that it was nice for once to buy presents for people and not worry about going broke.
As Xmas approached, I learned that in latin countries Xmas eve is the big thing. It's kind of like New Year's and the Fourth of July combined. Everyone stays up late and waits for Xmas day at midnight, at which point you sit down for dinner and open presents afterwards.
Early in the evening, as my uncle Adolfo and his daughter Pamela were preparing the dinner, I was able to do my favorite activity in Cusco so far: I just hung out in the kitchen with family. We got a boom box and I grabbed my iPod and we just listened to music, talked, cooked dinner, and drank a few beers. I've had a few times like that and I just love them, relaxing with the family. As you might imagine, music is a big part of life down here and my family just loves it, so we had a good 'ol time.
Afterwards, I headed off with my uncle Ricardo to deliver my present for his daughter, Melissa. I'm very close with his ex-wife Maria Elisa's family - partly because they live so close (just 5 minutes walking) and partly because they all speak english fluently (except Melissa, she's very timid about it). I called Sarah to wish her a happy Xmas, and by the time I finished, I came down stairs and Melissa was already playing with the game I gave her (see photos for an explanation). She's very sporty, so she likes games that use hand-eye coordination.
We returned home to find that our guests for the evening had arrived: my uncle Adolfo's business partner, Tania, her son, Luigi (short for Luis Guillermo), and her brother. We settled in to wait for midnight.
When I was in Arequipa, I bought a CD of the most famous Peruvian Creole singer, Eva Ayllon, so I put it on to sparked some energy. Tania danced with my Grandpa Adolfo, and my uncle Adolfo danced with my Grandma Livia. It was a grand time.
Midnight finally came, and everyone went outside to light off fireworks: firecrackers and a couple roman candles. Throughout the city you could hear fireworks being fired off. Occasionally, you could see some bottle rockets surge into the sky.
We all retreated back into the house for a family hug and then sat down for dinner. Adolfo had prepared a turkey roll stuffed with spices, along with this mashed potato-apple puree dish . . . they were terrific!
After dinner, we went into the living room by the Xmas tree and collected all the presents. Everyone opened their presents and were quite happy. I gave my grandparents, down jackets; my uncle Adolfo, a dress shirt; my aunt Patricia, some CDs; my uncle Ricardo, a comforter; and my cousin Patricia, a purse. We were all so exhausted, I finally crept upstairs and passed out.
The next morning Adolfo's kids returned to open their presents. I gave the twins, Ganesh and Lashmi, a couple of board games, Junior Pictionary and Uno, respectively. To my cousin Maria Fernanda, who will turn 15 in March, I gave her her first purse, a little black denim thing with reversed white stitching (her sister Pamela liked it so much, she kept trying to steal it away from her). And to Pamela, I gave a red wallet.
This was also kind of a sad day because all of Adolfo's kids, who are out of school for summer vacation, were leaving to go live at their other grandparent's house for a couple months in Calca, a town, about 45 minutes away, in the Sacred Valley of the Incas. So, after a few hours, I helped them collect their things and then they all left in a taxi to go back to their mother's place.
Finally, Ricardo prepared this fantastic dish for Xmas day lunch that consisted of beef with mustard sauce and mashed potatoes. He's a great chef and is hoping to be able to study the culinary arts in the next few years and get work as a chef, or open a restaurant.
Tuckered out by the great lunch, I went to my aunt Maria Elisa's house to relax and watch movies for the rest of the day.
Thus concludes my Xmas day in Cusco, Peru.
I hope you all had a great holiday,
Tim
Monday, December 22, 2003
You haven't heard from me in the last week because I've been in Arequipa, the second largest city in Peru. It's southwest of Cusco and several hundred kilometers of difficult mountain travel. In fact it takes 9 hours of bus travel to get there.
It's a pretty city, much warmer than Cusco as it has an altitude of 2325m (7627 ft) above sea level, compared to 3326m (10,909 ft) in Cusco. It's also more modern, as it's about 45 km to the main Pan American highway, which connects it with Lima and the coast. I've been here before, when I was 5 years old, and the only defining feature that I could remember was the volcano, El Misti, which hovers over the city. Because of the volcano, the city is prone to earthquakes and thus is not built up very high, as it would be more dangerous. The most recent earthquake, in 2001, destroyed one of the towers of the main cathedral, which has since been rebuilt.
I NOW HAVE PHOTOS AVAILABLE!!!! To see photos of Arequipa, click here!
There were two main reasons for my trip. First, as a more modern city, Arequipa actually has a modern multiplex (Cusco has 1 screen, and reportedly it's not in great shape) and the only film I really was sad that I was going to miss in the States was "Lord of the Rings: Return of the King". Well, as it turns out, thanks to piracy studios now want to open films around the world on the same day. Thus, on Wednesday, my friend Christina and I found ourselves at the 12:00pm showing of LOTR. We were quite happy to find the theater had stadium seating and we bought ourselves some popcorn and 2 cokes for the whopping price of $1.50 each. It's a long film, but I was glad to be able to see the final film of the trilogy.
The second reason to be in Arequipa, as I have mentioned before, was that the final game of the Copa Sudamerica was being played between Cusco's Cienciano and Argentina's River Plate futbol teams. The day before I had left Cusco, I bought 4 tickets for my friends Graham, Christina, Alex, and I, who were meeting in Arequipa for the game.
Besides seeing LOTR, the first few days in Arequipa were uneventful. The city is much different than Cusco in that it doesn't really have much nightlife, other than Friday and Saturday nights. It's really a working town and doesn't attract that much tourism. We found ourselves meeting every night for a couple bottles of the local beer, Arequipena, and then retiring early.
The day of the game, there was a sudden influx of people wearing red Cienciano shirts and the common chant, 'Upa upa upapa, Cienciano is El Papa,' could be heard in all corners of the downtown area. It was a great day for people watching, as many Cusquenos filled the streets and the Plaza de Armas. They seemed to get a kick out of seeing me, a gringo, wearing the Cienciano shirt I bought in Cusco. As it turns out, I found out from my mother last week that my father graduated from the Collegio de las Ciencias, where the team gets its name from (and was originally made up of alumni, when the team was founded in 1899). So, it's really part of the family.
I don't know what we were thinking, but we thought we wouldn't have a problem getting into the game, even if we got a late start. So we met at Graham and my hostel, Tambo Viejo, at 4pm and started walking to the stadium. We had chosen our hostel because it was near the stadium. The only problem was that when we got to the stadium, no one was there. It turns out that it was taking place at the OTHER stadium, the one for the university. We quickly found directions and got there about 20 minutes later.
As we approached we saw a long line of people, far from the stadium. We were in disbelief to find that this was the line for our section. Luckily, the line moved quickly, but by the time we got to the stadium they weren't letting people into our section. They told us to go to the upper section. We found another door for our section and explained that the other security guys told us to go there, and after pleading for a moment, they let us in. Of course, there were no seats available in the center section, but then we spotted a few seats off in the corner by the goal in the front row. We settled in and spent the next couple hours soaking in the atmosphere: a sea of red, the endless chants, the wave. Before the game started we had this magical half hour of sunset, which lit up the stadium with this warm, orange light that was reflecting off the clouds above. They waited to turn on the lights until the sky was quite dark.
Finally, the teams came out of their Coca-Cola sponsored tunnels. There was quite a large number of police, and even the SWAT team, to protect the opposing team. People got a bit violent towards River Plate, so much so that every time they came out the police had to guard the mouth of the tunnel with their plastic riot shields. We later heard stories that the tiny contingent of River Plate fanatics behind one of the goals had to endure endless taunts and water balloons of urine being hurled at them.
The game started and the crowd settled in to watch. Rather than a high scoring game, like the one in River Plate, this one was all about suspense. From the start, it seemed that the main referee had it in for Cienciano, calling every little foul (mostly unintentional) that was made, while ignoring fouls that River Plate made. By the half mark, there were several Cienciano players who had yellow cards (get two and you're out of the game). As the refs left for half time, the crowd had obviously turned against them and started hurling whatever they had on hand, and they had to be protected by the police.
It really all came down to the second half. First, Cienciano would have a blow against them when one of their players got his second yellow card (yellow + yellow = red card) and thus had to leave the game. In futbol, when one of your players has to leave, you don't get to replace him with another. Thus River Plate had an advantage of 11 players to 10. Cienciano finally got their shot when one of their players got fouled right in front of the goal. His penalty kick penetrated the River Plate line and was just out of reach of the goalie to score. The stadium went wild. There was a sense of relief that Cienciano had the upper hand with about 20 minutes to go.
Cienciano would have to contend with another disadvantage about 9 minutes later, when another of their players received another red card and had to leave the game. This meant that River Plate was now playing with 11 players against 9 for the last 10 minutes. Cienciano now did not have the option to play offensively and had to put all their effort into defense, which was their greatest strength. A palpable sense of anxiety descended into the crowd as all they could hope for was for River Plate not to score. From our angle, way across the field, it looked as if a couple shots they took had gone in, but what a sense of relief when we realized the ball had gone just over. The time ticked down and Cienciano tried as much as possible to get it into the other side of the field to give them some breathing room, but River Plate would always charge ahead. The tension built with each goal attempt and then, suddenly, it was all over. Cienciano had withstood the onslaught with only 9 men and run down the clock. They were the champions of South America!!
To understand how important this was, you have to realize that no Peruvian team had ever won championship like this. Until 2 years ago, the competition was split into 2 different championships, one for the northern countries of South America (Columbia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, etc.) and one for the souther countries of SA (Brazil, Argentina, Chile, etc.). Colombia almost always won in the north. The most recent time a Peruvian team had gone to the finals was in 1975 and usually the 3 teams from Lima dominate the regional competition. To equate it with American sports teams, this isn't like the Boston Red Sox winning the World Series, it's like one of the farm teams of the Boston Red Sox somehow getting the opportunity to play in the major league and then going all the way. Cienciano's win was like the Bad News Bears of futbol winning the continental competition in only it's 2nd year. It's unprecedented.
The Peruano sitting next to us explained that this was the best thing to happen to Peru, EVER. Now that seems hard to believe, but then again, you don't know how much these people love futbol.
PHOTOS OF THE GAME:
http://public.fotki.com/timSAA/arequipa_copa_suram/
Hope you enjoyed my brief sojourn into the world of sports, but as quickly as it began . . . whoosh! . . . it was over. At least until the Copa America competition comes to Peru in July.
Felices Fiestas!
Tim
It's a pretty city, much warmer than Cusco as it has an altitude of 2325m (7627 ft) above sea level, compared to 3326m (10,909 ft) in Cusco. It's also more modern, as it's about 45 km to the main Pan American highway, which connects it with Lima and the coast. I've been here before, when I was 5 years old, and the only defining feature that I could remember was the volcano, El Misti, which hovers over the city. Because of the volcano, the city is prone to earthquakes and thus is not built up very high, as it would be more dangerous. The most recent earthquake, in 2001, destroyed one of the towers of the main cathedral, which has since been rebuilt.
I NOW HAVE PHOTOS AVAILABLE!!!! To see photos of Arequipa, click here!
There were two main reasons for my trip. First, as a more modern city, Arequipa actually has a modern multiplex (Cusco has 1 screen, and reportedly it's not in great shape) and the only film I really was sad that I was going to miss in the States was "Lord of the Rings: Return of the King". Well, as it turns out, thanks to piracy studios now want to open films around the world on the same day. Thus, on Wednesday, my friend Christina and I found ourselves at the 12:00pm showing of LOTR. We were quite happy to find the theater had stadium seating and we bought ourselves some popcorn and 2 cokes for the whopping price of $1.50 each. It's a long film, but I was glad to be able to see the final film of the trilogy.
The second reason to be in Arequipa, as I have mentioned before, was that the final game of the Copa Sudamerica was being played between Cusco's Cienciano and Argentina's River Plate futbol teams. The day before I had left Cusco, I bought 4 tickets for my friends Graham, Christina, Alex, and I, who were meeting in Arequipa for the game.
Besides seeing LOTR, the first few days in Arequipa were uneventful. The city is much different than Cusco in that it doesn't really have much nightlife, other than Friday and Saturday nights. It's really a working town and doesn't attract that much tourism. We found ourselves meeting every night for a couple bottles of the local beer, Arequipena, and then retiring early.
The day of the game, there was a sudden influx of people wearing red Cienciano shirts and the common chant, 'Upa upa upapa, Cienciano is El Papa,' could be heard in all corners of the downtown area. It was a great day for people watching, as many Cusquenos filled the streets and the Plaza de Armas. They seemed to get a kick out of seeing me, a gringo, wearing the Cienciano shirt I bought in Cusco. As it turns out, I found out from my mother last week that my father graduated from the Collegio de las Ciencias, where the team gets its name from (and was originally made up of alumni, when the team was founded in 1899). So, it's really part of the family.
I don't know what we were thinking, but we thought we wouldn't have a problem getting into the game, even if we got a late start. So we met at Graham and my hostel, Tambo Viejo, at 4pm and started walking to the stadium. We had chosen our hostel because it was near the stadium. The only problem was that when we got to the stadium, no one was there. It turns out that it was taking place at the OTHER stadium, the one for the university. We quickly found directions and got there about 20 minutes later.
As we approached we saw a long line of people, far from the stadium. We were in disbelief to find that this was the line for our section. Luckily, the line moved quickly, but by the time we got to the stadium they weren't letting people into our section. They told us to go to the upper section. We found another door for our section and explained that the other security guys told us to go there, and after pleading for a moment, they let us in. Of course, there were no seats available in the center section, but then we spotted a few seats off in the corner by the goal in the front row. We settled in and spent the next couple hours soaking in the atmosphere: a sea of red, the endless chants, the wave. Before the game started we had this magical half hour of sunset, which lit up the stadium with this warm, orange light that was reflecting off the clouds above. They waited to turn on the lights until the sky was quite dark.
Finally, the teams came out of their Coca-Cola sponsored tunnels. There was quite a large number of police, and even the SWAT team, to protect the opposing team. People got a bit violent towards River Plate, so much so that every time they came out the police had to guard the mouth of the tunnel with their plastic riot shields. We later heard stories that the tiny contingent of River Plate fanatics behind one of the goals had to endure endless taunts and water balloons of urine being hurled at them.
The game started and the crowd settled in to watch. Rather than a high scoring game, like the one in River Plate, this one was all about suspense. From the start, it seemed that the main referee had it in for Cienciano, calling every little foul (mostly unintentional) that was made, while ignoring fouls that River Plate made. By the half mark, there were several Cienciano players who had yellow cards (get two and you're out of the game). As the refs left for half time, the crowd had obviously turned against them and started hurling whatever they had on hand, and they had to be protected by the police.
It really all came down to the second half. First, Cienciano would have a blow against them when one of their players got his second yellow card (yellow + yellow = red card) and thus had to leave the game. In futbol, when one of your players has to leave, you don't get to replace him with another. Thus River Plate had an advantage of 11 players to 10. Cienciano finally got their shot when one of their players got fouled right in front of the goal. His penalty kick penetrated the River Plate line and was just out of reach of the goalie to score. The stadium went wild. There was a sense of relief that Cienciano had the upper hand with about 20 minutes to go.
Cienciano would have to contend with another disadvantage about 9 minutes later, when another of their players received another red card and had to leave the game. This meant that River Plate was now playing with 11 players against 9 for the last 10 minutes. Cienciano now did not have the option to play offensively and had to put all their effort into defense, which was their greatest strength. A palpable sense of anxiety descended into the crowd as all they could hope for was for River Plate not to score. From our angle, way across the field, it looked as if a couple shots they took had gone in, but what a sense of relief when we realized the ball had gone just over. The time ticked down and Cienciano tried as much as possible to get it into the other side of the field to give them some breathing room, but River Plate would always charge ahead. The tension built with each goal attempt and then, suddenly, it was all over. Cienciano had withstood the onslaught with only 9 men and run down the clock. They were the champions of South America!!
To understand how important this was, you have to realize that no Peruvian team had ever won championship like this. Until 2 years ago, the competition was split into 2 different championships, one for the northern countries of South America (Columbia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, etc.) and one for the souther countries of SA (Brazil, Argentina, Chile, etc.). Colombia almost always won in the north. The most recent time a Peruvian team had gone to the finals was in 1975 and usually the 3 teams from Lima dominate the regional competition. To equate it with American sports teams, this isn't like the Boston Red Sox winning the World Series, it's like one of the farm teams of the Boston Red Sox somehow getting the opportunity to play in the major league and then going all the way. Cienciano's win was like the Bad News Bears of futbol winning the continental competition in only it's 2nd year. It's unprecedented.
The Peruano sitting next to us explained that this was the best thing to happen to Peru, EVER. Now that seems hard to believe, but then again, you don't know how much these people love futbol.
PHOTOS OF THE GAME:
http://public.fotki.com/timSAA/arequipa_copa_suram/
Hope you enjoyed my brief sojourn into the world of sports, but as quickly as it began . . . whoosh! . . . it was over. At least until the Copa America competition comes to Peru in July.
Felices Fiestas!
Tim
Saturday, December 13, 2003
I finally received my floppy disk drive, so I'll be able to write more frequently if it's not too taxing on your Inboxes. Actually, the pace I've been going is pretty good. I'll have to figure out how to add photographs. I haven't really been taking them since I knew I wouldn't be able to send them.
This week was a bit tough. I came down with my first illness. Just a cold, but ever since it started I've also been getting stomach cramps. I'm not sure if it's related, but hopefully they will go away soon. I'd love to develop a stomach of steel while I'm down here, but it has always been sensitive. I can't eat cheese here since most of it is not homogenized. I just get ill whenever I eat it, which is a shame, because I really love cheese. Mmmmmmm . . . . queso.
Anyway a couple of updates on previous entries . . . a sad one and a happy one:
KITTEN UPDATE. The news is not good. All four of the little kitties have now died. My aunt Maria Elisa didn't leave her room for 2 weeks caring for the little ones and did everything she could, but the odds were stacked against them from the beginning. For starters, they were born a week to a few days premature. Secondly, they had no mother to keep them warm, clean them, and give them her special mommy kitty milk.
Gertrudis, the only black one (the rest were white), woke up one day and was freezing. Maria Elisa put a hot water bottle into their bed, but it was possibly a bit to warm. Gertrudis started crying after a while, and Maria Elisa found that she was really warm. She just never recovered.
The other one, Laurita, was the biggest and the one we thought for sure would survive. After she lost the warmth of all the other kitties, she just kind of gave up. At the last minute we found out that one of my aunt's friends had a cat that had kittens about a week older than these. They took Laurita over and had her hang out with the other kittens to get their sent on her. Then they let the mother cat come back and she sniffed around and accepted her as one of her own. She immediately started cleaning her and Laurita was the cleanest she had ever been. Sadly, she lasted about a day or two and then she too passed away.
CIENCIANO . . . RED FURY. Well, the first game of the South America Cup final was on Wednesday night, Cienciano vs. Argentina's River Plate. I went to watch it with a few of my friends from school at my uncle Ricardo's favorite hang out, El Ritmo Latino. My friends were happy to be watching it in a real cusqueno hangout, rather than with a bunch of gringos.
And what a game it was. Cienciano scored the first goal and the place went nuts. We were all so happy and then a minute later River Plate scored back. Everyone looked depressed. A little while later River Plate scored again. We all sat in stunned silence.
The thing I can't understand about Cienciano is how they have made it this far. They so obviously have less control over the ball, often kicking it downfield when in trouble or making ludicrous long range offensive passes that always get picked off by the other team. River Plate looked like a team with control and strategy. If not for the truly awesome talents of the Cienciano goalkeeper, they would have trounced them. But he makes some amazing catches or deflections, it's just that every once in a while he just could not physically be where the ball was.
So, the score was 2-1 in favor of River Plate with most of the play taking place in Cienciano's defensive half. Then Cienciano does what they always do, pull an amazing play out of nowhere. In fact we were dumbfounded. As there are only commercial breaks only at halftime, small animated ads pop up in the corners of the screen while the game is being played. Well, one of these ads was in the upper left hand corner of the screen, as the play was in midfield. Suddenly, a Cienciano player boots it into the air toward the goal and another player deflects it in. Most of the play was obstructed by the ad, so there was a pause after the play and then we all went wild!
Cienciano scored another goal a while after the obstructed play and we all thought we were actually going to win. Cienciano, the little team that could, running on a lot of heart and a little prayer. Of course, with 5 minutes left to go, River Plate scored back and the game ended with a tied score of 3-3.
The Cuscquenos did not mind one bit. From their point of view, tying against a great team in their home stadium was a major feat. The festivities in the Plaza de Armas went on through the night. As I walked home, I watched as truckloads of people screamed and honked their way toward the Plaza.
It all comes down to next week's game in Arequipa. The reason it is not in their home town is that the Cusco stadium doesn't have a big enough capacity to host the final. So, on Tuesday or Wednesday I'm making my way to Arequipa (if I get tickets on Monday) and will see the game on Friday night with some friends from school.
How's that for my attempt at sportswriting?
Hope you're all not freezing.
Tim
This week was a bit tough. I came down with my first illness. Just a cold, but ever since it started I've also been getting stomach cramps. I'm not sure if it's related, but hopefully they will go away soon. I'd love to develop a stomach of steel while I'm down here, but it has always been sensitive. I can't eat cheese here since most of it is not homogenized. I just get ill whenever I eat it, which is a shame, because I really love cheese. Mmmmmmm . . . . queso.
Anyway a couple of updates on previous entries . . . a sad one and a happy one:
KITTEN UPDATE. The news is not good. All four of the little kitties have now died. My aunt Maria Elisa didn't leave her room for 2 weeks caring for the little ones and did everything she could, but the odds were stacked against them from the beginning. For starters, they were born a week to a few days premature. Secondly, they had no mother to keep them warm, clean them, and give them her special mommy kitty milk.
Gertrudis, the only black one (the rest were white), woke up one day and was freezing. Maria Elisa put a hot water bottle into their bed, but it was possibly a bit to warm. Gertrudis started crying after a while, and Maria Elisa found that she was really warm. She just never recovered.
The other one, Laurita, was the biggest and the one we thought for sure would survive. After she lost the warmth of all the other kitties, she just kind of gave up. At the last minute we found out that one of my aunt's friends had a cat that had kittens about a week older than these. They took Laurita over and had her hang out with the other kittens to get their sent on her. Then they let the mother cat come back and she sniffed around and accepted her as one of her own. She immediately started cleaning her and Laurita was the cleanest she had ever been. Sadly, she lasted about a day or two and then she too passed away.
CIENCIANO . . . RED FURY. Well, the first game of the South America Cup final was on Wednesday night, Cienciano vs. Argentina's River Plate. I went to watch it with a few of my friends from school at my uncle Ricardo's favorite hang out, El Ritmo Latino. My friends were happy to be watching it in a real cusqueno hangout, rather than with a bunch of gringos.
And what a game it was. Cienciano scored the first goal and the place went nuts. We were all so happy and then a minute later River Plate scored back. Everyone looked depressed. A little while later River Plate scored again. We all sat in stunned silence.
The thing I can't understand about Cienciano is how they have made it this far. They so obviously have less control over the ball, often kicking it downfield when in trouble or making ludicrous long range offensive passes that always get picked off by the other team. River Plate looked like a team with control and strategy. If not for the truly awesome talents of the Cienciano goalkeeper, they would have trounced them. But he makes some amazing catches or deflections, it's just that every once in a while he just could not physically be where the ball was.
So, the score was 2-1 in favor of River Plate with most of the play taking place in Cienciano's defensive half. Then Cienciano does what they always do, pull an amazing play out of nowhere. In fact we were dumbfounded. As there are only commercial breaks only at halftime, small animated ads pop up in the corners of the screen while the game is being played. Well, one of these ads was in the upper left hand corner of the screen, as the play was in midfield. Suddenly, a Cienciano player boots it into the air toward the goal and another player deflects it in. Most of the play was obstructed by the ad, so there was a pause after the play and then we all went wild!
Cienciano scored another goal a while after the obstructed play and we all thought we were actually going to win. Cienciano, the little team that could, running on a lot of heart and a little prayer. Of course, with 5 minutes left to go, River Plate scored back and the game ended with a tied score of 3-3.
The Cuscquenos did not mind one bit. From their point of view, tying against a great team in their home stadium was a major feat. The festivities in the Plaza de Armas went on through the night. As I walked home, I watched as truckloads of people screamed and honked their way toward the Plaza.
It all comes down to next week's game in Arequipa. The reason it is not in their home town is that the Cusco stadium doesn't have a big enough capacity to host the final. So, on Tuesday or Wednesday I'm making my way to Arequipa (if I get tickets on Monday) and will see the game on Friday night with some friends from school.
How's that for my attempt at sportswriting?
Hope you're all not freezing.
Tim
Monday, December 08, 2003
The big story of the last week is the playoffs for the South American futbol tournament. In every country, there are many regional teams. These teams compete within their country, then the winners play the best teams from each country. Well, this year the best team in Peru was the Cusqueno team (Cienciano, from Cusco) and they went on to make it to the semifinals for all South America.
At each level the teams play 2 games, one away and one at home. The total score from both games determines the winner of the round. Cienciano beat a team from Colombia in the first game, 2-1. The game on Thursday was to determine who would go on to the finals and play Argentina (who beat Brazil).
We got tickets for the mid level seating, costing about $9.00. Cienciano has never gone this far in competition, so the Cusco crowd was rabid, what they call 'Red Fury' (the colors for Cienciano are red and white). In order to get a good seat we had to get there early, 3:30 for a game that started at 7:10pm. I went with my classmates, so we entertained each other with witty conversation for the 3+ hours that we waited. There were also traditional dances, which usually included couples in Incan costumes dancing around in circles.
Before the game started, my friend Graham (a brit), commented that he'd like to see our team score in the first minute. Well, his prediction came true. Within 40 seconds, Cienciano scored a GGGGGGGOOOOOOOAAAAAAAALLLLLL!!!!!!! The crowd went wild.
There were lots of vendors and few restrooms. From the stands you had to crawl your way out, every inch of cement seating was taken. I bought a Cienciano hat, had some meat on a stick (which I later found out was beef heart), and tried not to pass out from the fumes in the bathroom.
The goal in the first minute would turn out to be the only score of the game. Cienciano won, now they're off to the finals. This week they play Argentina in Argentina. Next week they play them again in Arequipa for the final. They have to play in Arequipa because the stadium in Cusco is too small for FIFA regulations.
After the game, we walked up to the Plaza de Armas to find a big concert celebration going on in front of the Cathedral. We were so exhausted by the wait and the game itself, we snuck up Gringo Alley and decamped into a pizza parlor. I had a test the next day, so I went home and fell asleep, dreaming of a Cienciano victory in the finals.
I've been getting burned out on my Spanish classes. It's tough to take 4 weeks in a row. You learn something and then you really need to work it into your daily speech. When you have another class, you just keep stockpiling the things you've learned and hope that you'll figure out how to use it. I think in the future I'm going to take one or two weeks of classes and then have a week or two off so that I can try to incorporate what I've learned into everyday speech.
That being said, I've moved my final lesson that I've already paid for to the first week of January. This gives me a 3-week break for Xmas and New Year, but also opens up the possibility of traveling to Arequipa to see the final Cienciano game. Some of my friends from class have already left Cusco and we're thinking about all converging for the game. Should be a blast.
The last time I was in Arequipa was when I was 5 years old. The only thing I remember about it is the volcano that hovers over it called 'El Misty'. A volcano is a pretty cool thing when you're 5. It's supposed to be a beautiful colonial town . . . clean, fresh and temperate. The population is about 1 million and they have movie theaters, so I can catch up with some of the recent releases. Cusco only has 1 movie screen, the rest is just pirated DVD.
Well, gotta go. I look forward to hearing from you and seeing my old friend Misty again. I'll let you know what happens with Cienciano - GO RED FURY!!
Tim
At each level the teams play 2 games, one away and one at home. The total score from both games determines the winner of the round. Cienciano beat a team from Colombia in the first game, 2-1. The game on Thursday was to determine who would go on to the finals and play Argentina (who beat Brazil).
We got tickets for the mid level seating, costing about $9.00. Cienciano has never gone this far in competition, so the Cusco crowd was rabid, what they call 'Red Fury' (the colors for Cienciano are red and white). In order to get a good seat we had to get there early, 3:30 for a game that started at 7:10pm. I went with my classmates, so we entertained each other with witty conversation for the 3+ hours that we waited. There were also traditional dances, which usually included couples in Incan costumes dancing around in circles.
Before the game started, my friend Graham (a brit), commented that he'd like to see our team score in the first minute. Well, his prediction came true. Within 40 seconds, Cienciano scored a GGGGGGGOOOOOOOAAAAAAAALLLLLL!!!!!!! The crowd went wild.
There were lots of vendors and few restrooms. From the stands you had to crawl your way out, every inch of cement seating was taken. I bought a Cienciano hat, had some meat on a stick (which I later found out was beef heart), and tried not to pass out from the fumes in the bathroom.
The goal in the first minute would turn out to be the only score of the game. Cienciano won, now they're off to the finals. This week they play Argentina in Argentina. Next week they play them again in Arequipa for the final. They have to play in Arequipa because the stadium in Cusco is too small for FIFA regulations.
After the game, we walked up to the Plaza de Armas to find a big concert celebration going on in front of the Cathedral. We were so exhausted by the wait and the game itself, we snuck up Gringo Alley and decamped into a pizza parlor. I had a test the next day, so I went home and fell asleep, dreaming of a Cienciano victory in the finals.
I've been getting burned out on my Spanish classes. It's tough to take 4 weeks in a row. You learn something and then you really need to work it into your daily speech. When you have another class, you just keep stockpiling the things you've learned and hope that you'll figure out how to use it. I think in the future I'm going to take one or two weeks of classes and then have a week or two off so that I can try to incorporate what I've learned into everyday speech.
That being said, I've moved my final lesson that I've already paid for to the first week of January. This gives me a 3-week break for Xmas and New Year, but also opens up the possibility of traveling to Arequipa to see the final Cienciano game. Some of my friends from class have already left Cusco and we're thinking about all converging for the game. Should be a blast.
The last time I was in Arequipa was when I was 5 years old. The only thing I remember about it is the volcano that hovers over it called 'El Misty'. A volcano is a pretty cool thing when you're 5. It's supposed to be a beautiful colonial town . . . clean, fresh and temperate. The population is about 1 million and they have movie theaters, so I can catch up with some of the recent releases. Cusco only has 1 movie screen, the rest is just pirated DVD.
Well, gotta go. I look forward to hearing from you and seeing my old friend Misty again. I'll let you know what happens with Cienciano - GO RED FURY!!
Tim
Monday, December 01, 2003
Still working on getting some technology down here, so I won't have any pics for a while. Here are a couple written snapshots of life down here:
TAXIS. Taxis are everywhere down here and they're cheap. 2 Nuevos Soles gets you pretty much everywhere (that's about $0.70). They move around the city like sharks, swimming the streets looking for fares. They come into your tranquil little neighborhood and chirp at you when the pass. By chirp I mean honk, but not a full fledged honk just a little tap to remind you that you want a taxi. Your walking to the grocery store which is 2 blocks away . . . CHIRP! Your walking to Spanish school (which is a 35 min. walk away) . . . CHIRP! CHIRP! CHIRP! Everywhere . . . CHIRP! I think I now know what it feels like to be a woman walking in New York.
CONTROBANDO. There are markets here that you can go to which are called 'Controbando'. These are are markets that have miles of little kiosks that sell you anything that you could in a store, except that it is a bit cheaper. Now not everything here is real controband. There are tons of kiosks that sell brand new TVs at just under what you would pay in a regular electronics store. I find it hard to believe that everything fell off a truck somewhere. The area the you find real contraband is with music and video. I could buy most contraband DVDs for S/ 5.00 ('S/' stands for Nuevo Soles and 5 of them would be about $1.33). They even have 'Elf' on DVD down here. No wonder there are no movie theaters in Cusco.
DOWNPOUR. Now when I say downpour, I really mean DOWNPOUR. Last week we had the first major storm of the rainy season (note for all of you planning to visit: the rainy season is Dec-March). Remember, even though Cusco is in the Andes, it still is in the tropical zone. So while the temperature isn't tropical, the downpour is.
Last week I was walking home from school (I've decided to get my exercize by walking 35 min. each way from school), when it started to sprinkle. As I needed to get some school supplies anyway, I ducked into a office supply shop, thinking there would be a hard rain and then it would stop. Well the rain got harder and harder, sheets of water streaming down. The main avenue, Avenida de la Cultura literally became a river. It was the hardest rain I had ever seen (harder than even Singapore!).
I watched the rain and suddenly realized that all the workers in the store had disappeared. I found them rushing to mop up water, because their drains had been overcome by the downpour. The other customers and I that had been waiting out the storm dashed to the back and asked if they needed help. I was handed a broom (people here don't really seem to own mops), and thus ensued the mad 'push-the-water-around-with-brooms-and-rags-and-lift-anything-off-the-floor-that-is-valuable' frenzy. 45 minutes later, the rain had stopped and I decided to venture out for the rest of my trip home.
The normally dry streets had turned into vast rivers as the city's water system tried to move the water off the streets and into drainage canals. Most average sewage drains were completely filled. As the continuously chirping taxis commenced their never ending search for fares, you had to jump out of the way as they passed and sprayed a liquid mud 3-4 feet into the air. I generally maintained the dry state of my clothes until I was about a 4 blocks from the house and found a sloping waterfall of a street that had no dry ground to leapfrog to. I found the dryest place possible and did the futile jump into water. My shoes got wet, but generally I escaped the venom of the DOWNPOUR!
That's enough for today. Hopefully, you are enjoying my blog-fiesta. If there are any specific questions you'd like me to answer, please forward them. For those of you who have written me directly and not received a response, I will answer you in time. Forgive the delay, but as soon as I receive the technology I need from the states, it will get better.
Hope everyone is well,
Tim
TAXIS. Taxis are everywhere down here and they're cheap. 2 Nuevos Soles gets you pretty much everywhere (that's about $0.70). They move around the city like sharks, swimming the streets looking for fares. They come into your tranquil little neighborhood and chirp at you when the pass. By chirp I mean honk, but not a full fledged honk just a little tap to remind you that you want a taxi. Your walking to the grocery store which is 2 blocks away . . . CHIRP! Your walking to Spanish school (which is a 35 min. walk away) . . . CHIRP! CHIRP! CHIRP! Everywhere . . . CHIRP! I think I now know what it feels like to be a woman walking in New York.
CONTROBANDO. There are markets here that you can go to which are called 'Controbando'. These are are markets that have miles of little kiosks that sell you anything that you could in a store, except that it is a bit cheaper. Now not everything here is real controband. There are tons of kiosks that sell brand new TVs at just under what you would pay in a regular electronics store. I find it hard to believe that everything fell off a truck somewhere. The area the you find real contraband is with music and video. I could buy most contraband DVDs for S/ 5.00 ('S/' stands for Nuevo Soles and 5 of them would be about $1.33). They even have 'Elf' on DVD down here. No wonder there are no movie theaters in Cusco.
DOWNPOUR. Now when I say downpour, I really mean DOWNPOUR. Last week we had the first major storm of the rainy season (note for all of you planning to visit: the rainy season is Dec-March). Remember, even though Cusco is in the Andes, it still is in the tropical zone. So while the temperature isn't tropical, the downpour is.
Last week I was walking home from school (I've decided to get my exercize by walking 35 min. each way from school), when it started to sprinkle. As I needed to get some school supplies anyway, I ducked into a office supply shop, thinking there would be a hard rain and then it would stop. Well the rain got harder and harder, sheets of water streaming down. The main avenue, Avenida de la Cultura literally became a river. It was the hardest rain I had ever seen (harder than even Singapore!).
I watched the rain and suddenly realized that all the workers in the store had disappeared. I found them rushing to mop up water, because their drains had been overcome by the downpour. The other customers and I that had been waiting out the storm dashed to the back and asked if they needed help. I was handed a broom (people here don't really seem to own mops), and thus ensued the mad 'push-the-water-around-with-brooms-and-rags-and-lift-anything-off-the-floor-that-is-valuable' frenzy. 45 minutes later, the rain had stopped and I decided to venture out for the rest of my trip home.
The normally dry streets had turned into vast rivers as the city's water system tried to move the water off the streets and into drainage canals. Most average sewage drains were completely filled. As the continuously chirping taxis commenced their never ending search for fares, you had to jump out of the way as they passed and sprayed a liquid mud 3-4 feet into the air. I generally maintained the dry state of my clothes until I was about a 4 blocks from the house and found a sloping waterfall of a street that had no dry ground to leapfrog to. I found the dryest place possible and did the futile jump into water. My shoes got wet, but generally I escaped the venom of the DOWNPOUR!
That's enough for today. Hopefully, you are enjoying my blog-fiesta. If there are any specific questions you'd like me to answer, please forward them. For those of you who have written me directly and not received a response, I will answer you in time. Forgive the delay, but as soon as I receive the technology I need from the states, it will get better.
Hope everyone is well,
Tim
Friday, November 28, 2003
So what's happened in the last week and a half? Just getting settled into taking spanish classes, mostly. I just completed my second week of classes. While I'm definitely learning, it's frustrating to take on a new language when you just want to talk to everyone like you regualarly do in your native language. The point at which I start thinking in Spanish seems long away. Although, I do have the random thought in spanish. But I'm just going to work at it and hopefully it will take hold.
The big drama of the last couple of weeks comes from my aunt Maria Elisa. She doesn't like me to call her my aunt because we're actually the same age (she married my uncle Ricardo who's only 6 years older than me). Anyway, she had these two cats Jefferson and Jacinta, who were about a year old. About a month and a half ago she took them both into be fixed. Jefferson came back a bit woozy from the drug they used to knock him out. A week later he was dead.
When she took Jacinta home she thought everything was fine. But then they realized that when the doctor cut her tubes, he never checked to see if she was already pregnant, which, of course she was. And veterinarian was actually the vice-president of the veterinary school! So this poor cat carried these kittens to term, but when it was time for them to be born, they had nowhere to be born to, since Jacinta's tubes where already cut. Well, the cats were due last week and they took her into a much better veterinarian who operated on her and delivered four kittens. Unfortunately, Jacinta's poor little heart gave out on the operating table and she passed away.
This has left my aunt raising these orphan kittens (Jefferson was the father) on her own. They were so small that they one would easily fit within the palm of your hand. Poor Maria Elisa stayed up for the first five days feeding the little gatitas every hour and a half. Her room was turned into a kitten intensive care unit. We would all help out picking up these little critters and feeding them with a little baby bottle. They are so cute in a newborn kitten sort of way. Well the prognosis is good, although I just found out this morning that the kitten that didn't like to eat very much had passed away because of troubles with her digestive track. I'll send some pictures as soon as I get my technology set up.
Well, the weekend has come and I'm going out dancing with some of my classmates. There are so many clubs and bars in this town it's crazy. Like I said before, peruanos are hard drinkers, so I'm going to try my best to have a nice calm night out. But it is hard.
Hope everyone is doing well,
Tim
The big drama of the last couple of weeks comes from my aunt Maria Elisa. She doesn't like me to call her my aunt because we're actually the same age (she married my uncle Ricardo who's only 6 years older than me). Anyway, she had these two cats Jefferson and Jacinta, who were about a year old. About a month and a half ago she took them both into be fixed. Jefferson came back a bit woozy from the drug they used to knock him out. A week later he was dead.
When she took Jacinta home she thought everything was fine. But then they realized that when the doctor cut her tubes, he never checked to see if she was already pregnant, which, of course she was. And veterinarian was actually the vice-president of the veterinary school! So this poor cat carried these kittens to term, but when it was time for them to be born, they had nowhere to be born to, since Jacinta's tubes where already cut. Well, the cats were due last week and they took her into a much better veterinarian who operated on her and delivered four kittens. Unfortunately, Jacinta's poor little heart gave out on the operating table and she passed away.
This has left my aunt raising these orphan kittens (Jefferson was the father) on her own. They were so small that they one would easily fit within the palm of your hand. Poor Maria Elisa stayed up for the first five days feeding the little gatitas every hour and a half. Her room was turned into a kitten intensive care unit. We would all help out picking up these little critters and feeding them with a little baby bottle. They are so cute in a newborn kitten sort of way. Well the prognosis is good, although I just found out this morning that the kitten that didn't like to eat very much had passed away because of troubles with her digestive track. I'll send some pictures as soon as I get my technology set up.
Well, the weekend has come and I'm going out dancing with some of my classmates. There are so many clubs and bars in this town it's crazy. Like I said before, peruanos are hard drinkers, so I'm going to try my best to have a nice calm night out. But it is hard.
Hope everyone is doing well,
Tim
Tuesday, November 18, 2003
Well, I've been here a week and getting used to Cusco life. What has happened in the last week? Not much. Basically, trying to get everything into a comfortable swing, but everything takes forever here. Still haven't got my hot shower working, the guy who came to check on a few handyman projects last week (including my shower), never turned up on Sunday when he said he would. Typical for Cusco, patience is something that you really have to learn here.
Soccer is a bit of a religion here, as you might imagine. Last Wednesday the local Cusco team was playing a match against a Columbian team. The city set up a big projection screen in one of the main plazas here. It was packed. I spent the game in a bar just above the plaza. The TV in the bar wasn't working for half the game but came on just in time for Cusco to score a GGGGGOOOOOAAAALLLL!!!!! We ended up winning the game and everyone went crazy. I drank and danced a little, but went home early because my uncle had to work at 4:30am.
I've decided to take on soccer as a viewing hobby. When in Cusco, do as the cusquenos do. Tomorrow is a big game with Peru battling Ecuador. Everyone seems to plan their lives around soccer. It is fun, it's a good thing I don't like to drink that much, or else I'd be off my rocker alot.
Yesterday was the start of my Spanish classes. I settled on a school on the Avenida del Sol called Academia Latinoamericana del Espanol. I'm getting into the habit of shcool and study. It's still frustrating, but with hard work, I'll be able to better express myself in the coming weeks.
Saturday night found me going out with my tio loco (crazy uncle) Ricardo. He's only 6 years older than me and has a very festive temperment, which makes him my most common companion. We went to his favorite bar and hung out with his friends: a river rafter, a bar owner, a lawyer and others. They were actually quite sad as one of their friends had killed himself on Wednesday over a woman. We drank for a while and then headed over to El Ritmo Latino to dance our blues away. I accidently spent 80 soles. Luckily that's only $23 with the currency exchange. The night ended at 5am. Cusco is a rocking little town.
I need to acquire a few pieces of technology here as I forgot my Memory Stick adapter (and thus cannot get photos off my camera) and I need to purchase a floppy disk/USB adapter, so I can write email at home and transport it to the Internet cafe, and then just copy and paste. It will save me time and money. As soon as I get that worked out, you'll hear from me on a more frequent basis.
I hope everyone is doing well in their respective endeavors.
Tim LaTorre, signing off.
Soccer is a bit of a religion here, as you might imagine. Last Wednesday the local Cusco team was playing a match against a Columbian team. The city set up a big projection screen in one of the main plazas here. It was packed. I spent the game in a bar just above the plaza. The TV in the bar wasn't working for half the game but came on just in time for Cusco to score a GGGGGOOOOOAAAALLLL!!!!! We ended up winning the game and everyone went crazy. I drank and danced a little, but went home early because my uncle had to work at 4:30am.
I've decided to take on soccer as a viewing hobby. When in Cusco, do as the cusquenos do. Tomorrow is a big game with Peru battling Ecuador. Everyone seems to plan their lives around soccer. It is fun, it's a good thing I don't like to drink that much, or else I'd be off my rocker alot.
Yesterday was the start of my Spanish classes. I settled on a school on the Avenida del Sol called Academia Latinoamericana del Espanol. I'm getting into the habit of shcool and study. It's still frustrating, but with hard work, I'll be able to better express myself in the coming weeks.
Saturday night found me going out with my tio loco (crazy uncle) Ricardo. He's only 6 years older than me and has a very festive temperment, which makes him my most common companion. We went to his favorite bar and hung out with his friends: a river rafter, a bar owner, a lawyer and others. They were actually quite sad as one of their friends had killed himself on Wednesday over a woman. We drank for a while and then headed over to El Ritmo Latino to dance our blues away. I accidently spent 80 soles. Luckily that's only $23 with the currency exchange. The night ended at 5am. Cusco is a rocking little town.
I need to acquire a few pieces of technology here as I forgot my Memory Stick adapter (and thus cannot get photos off my camera) and I need to purchase a floppy disk/USB adapter, so I can write email at home and transport it to the Internet cafe, and then just copy and paste. It will save me time and money. As soon as I get that worked out, you'll hear from me on a more frequent basis.
I hope everyone is doing well in their respective endeavors.
Tim LaTorre, signing off.
Tuesday, November 11, 2003
Well, I have finally commenced my life-long dream trip
and found myself living in Cuzco, Peru.
After a great gathering of friends on Saturday night
and a sad farewell with Sarah on Sunday night, I
touched down in Lima at 6:00am on Monday after an 8
hour flight. After breezing through customs and
waiting for 4 more hours, I caught my flight to Cuzco
at 11am.
Waiting for me were my uncle and grandfather, both
named Adolfo. As some of you know, I´m staying with
my family at the 5-bedroom house my parents bought in
the spring. Of course, this means that I´m living
with eight other family members: 2 grandparents, an
uncle, an aunt and 4 cousins. Being the guest, they
have given me the room that would be my parents, if
they were living there. It´s great because I have my
own bathroom, but I do feel a bit guilty that i have
the best digs in the house. But I´m not complaining
as that would be rude.
If any of you plan to visit, there are some
differences in everyday living from the States. My
least favorite is that you can´t put toilet paper in
the toilet as the plumbing systems here aren´t great.
There´s always a garbage next to the toilet where you
place used paper. A nice warm shower is also
difficult. Most houses here don´t have a central
water heater or any heating at all! You buy a
contraption that is both a shower head and a water
heater. Which means you have electric chord coming
into your shower. While it is above anything that
gets wet, it is a bit worrisome. Also, generally you
need to bundle up and have lots of blankets when you
sleep to brave the cold. These are small things that
I´ll easily get used to, but it is different.
Today I visited many Spanish language schools and
narrowed it down to 2: one that has a more homey and
social feel and one that seems academically more
rigorous. I have to decide which one to attend this
week and I´ll start my studies on Monday.
My social calendar is starting to fill up. This
weekend I´m going to go a town called Abancay with my
uncle Ricardo (who´s only 3 years older than me).
This town is where my parents met and fell in love oh
so many years ago.
My uncles are always wanting to hang out (especially
Ricardo), but my cousins are a bit wary of me because
of the language barrier. Hopefully, with hard work,
that will melt away soon.
Anyway, I thought I´d drop you all a line every so
often and let you know what´s up.
Tim
and found myself living in Cuzco, Peru.
After a great gathering of friends on Saturday night
and a sad farewell with Sarah on Sunday night, I
touched down in Lima at 6:00am on Monday after an 8
hour flight. After breezing through customs and
waiting for 4 more hours, I caught my flight to Cuzco
at 11am.
Waiting for me were my uncle and grandfather, both
named Adolfo. As some of you know, I´m staying with
my family at the 5-bedroom house my parents bought in
the spring. Of course, this means that I´m living
with eight other family members: 2 grandparents, an
uncle, an aunt and 4 cousins. Being the guest, they
have given me the room that would be my parents, if
they were living there. It´s great because I have my
own bathroom, but I do feel a bit guilty that i have
the best digs in the house. But I´m not complaining
as that would be rude.
If any of you plan to visit, there are some
differences in everyday living from the States. My
least favorite is that you can´t put toilet paper in
the toilet as the plumbing systems here aren´t great.
There´s always a garbage next to the toilet where you
place used paper. A nice warm shower is also
difficult. Most houses here don´t have a central
water heater or any heating at all! You buy a
contraption that is both a shower head and a water
heater. Which means you have electric chord coming
into your shower. While it is above anything that
gets wet, it is a bit worrisome. Also, generally you
need to bundle up and have lots of blankets when you
sleep to brave the cold. These are small things that
I´ll easily get used to, but it is different.
Today I visited many Spanish language schools and
narrowed it down to 2: one that has a more homey and
social feel and one that seems academically more
rigorous. I have to decide which one to attend this
week and I´ll start my studies on Monday.
My social calendar is starting to fill up. This
weekend I´m going to go a town called Abancay with my
uncle Ricardo (who´s only 3 years older than me).
This town is where my parents met and fell in love oh
so many years ago.
My uncles are always wanting to hang out (especially
Ricardo), but my cousins are a bit wary of me because
of the language barrier. Hopefully, with hard work,
that will melt away soon.
Anyway, I thought I´d drop you all a line every so
often and let you know what´s up.
Tim