On the other hand, I'm excited to see my family and friends again, and even excited to start classes back at OU. I have learned so much during this semester, from all my classes, but they have all been pretty easy. Not that that’s a bad thing, but I miss having homework. Maybe this feeling comes from the fact that all my housemates have homework so sometimes I find myself bored. Anyway, all my classes are pretty much wrapped up, but I my finals are spread out over two weeks. So instead of having 2 extra weeks to travel Peru, I have to stay close by, even though none of my finals require very much studying. Don't get me wrong, there’s plenty to do in Lima. I think it’s just the bitterness that I don't have time to go to Puno or Arequipa that’s affecting this attitude. BUT, between now and July 20, I have plenty of things to see and do..starting with the Amazonian rainforest this weekend!
So as usual, an impending trip has motivated me to update my blog. Like every travel journal I've ever kept, the tail end of the trip is never recorded. I always get too caught up in what’s going on to take the time to record what’s happening.
Andrew came to visit last month for 10 days. Ten days chalk full of Peruvian adventures, both inside and outside of Lima. Not only did I want to show him all the highlights of my new city, but I also wanted to show him more of the country in general. We made two big trips, one to Cusco, to see Machu Picchu, and another along the Southern coast, to see Huacachina (the only oasis in Latin America) and the Islas Ballestas, so he could get a good feel of both the sierra and the costa.
Cusco-Machu Picchu
YES!!
I finally did it. I went to see Machu Picchu. It was breathtaking, amazing, everything I thought it would be, but somehow much more. Cusco itself was well worth the visit. The city has so much culture and historical importance. After taking Andean Ethnography, and learning so much about Cusco--the center of the Incan empire and what the Incas thought, the center of the world, I couldn't wait to explore it. Arriving in the city at 7 o'clock in the morning, our day was spent cramming as much cusco in as we could get. We got an amazing breakfast, including a cup of coca tea to help us acclimate to the high altitude and then we set off on foot. Not much remains of the Incan buildings, however, the Spanish plundered stones from Incan buildings as the bases of their new structures, leaving Cusco will a not so subtle Incan style. All the streets were cobblestone and very narrow.
A typical Cusco street
While in Cusco, we decided to buy our bus tickets and entrance tickets for Machu Picchu. Walking to the ticket offices was a great way to see the sites. We stopped along the way at various churches and markets. The main cathedral in the plaza de armas was breathtaking. The churches in Cusco were built with as much grandeur as the Spanish could produce. It was believed that the more awe inspiring and gorgeous the churches were, the easier the Andean peoples would convert to Catholicism. My favorite part about the main cathedral was their rendering of the last supper, which includes Jesus eating a cuy (guinea pig) and drinking chicha (fermented corn drink).
Plaza de Armas
Another great site was Qoricancha--the Incan Sun Temple. The most important building in Inca times, the Qoricancha was where the Inca would praise their god, the sun. The Spanish conquerors, of course, completely destroyed the temple. Pizarro, then gave the structure to his brother, who upon his death donated it to the Dominican order, where they built a convent. Considerable amounts of the original structure remain and the contrast between the Incan and Spanish architecture is stunning. Its crazy to see this building, a mix of two different cultures. The strong juxtaposition really speaks for the history of the city.
View from the inside
We also visited the Inca museum, and about 5 other churches. Probably one of my favorite parts of the day was when we went to find Hatunrumiyoc, the famous 12-sided stone that is built into one of the old Incan walls. As Andrew and I wondered the street, tired from our full day of exploring, looking for this random stone in a wall of stones, we run across some random man standing next to the wall. He looks at us, realizes we're tourists and says, just like that, so bored and apathetic "this is the famous stone". It was pretty funny. Andrew and I were taken off guard by his announcement. He didn't seem to work for anybody, just felt like pointing the stone out to passers by. So blunt. Needless to say, we both felt sort of silly posing next to the stone for photos.
We walked around the city from 7-4, and then had to catch transportation to Aguas Calientes, the small town at the base of Machu Picchu. Since the floods in February devastated the area and destroyed the railroad that connects Cusco to Aguas Calientes, it was a little harder to get where we wanted to be. We found a collectivo, basically an 11 person van that drove people from Cusco to Piscacucho and started on our 3 hours journey to where the train tracks started. I was so afraid we would miss the train, due to shoddy road conditions, but we finally made it. Piscacucho is the point at which the tracks have been rebuilt. By the time out train departed at 7:45 we were about ready to crash (having been up since 5 am to catch our flight). The train took about at one hour and once we arrived Aguas calientes, our hostel was waiting for us with showers and beds and crackers we bought from a bodega.
Being the hard-core travelers that we are, we got up at 4:30 to get in line for the busses. Only the first 400 people to get to Machu Picchu are able to climb Huayna Picchu, where an aerial view of the citadel will amaze and astound. The line was about 300 people long when we got there at 5:00. We waited, and shivered, and waited and yawned, but it paid off. We were signed up for the 7 o clock trek up Huayna Picchu. However, once we stood before the ruins of Machu Picchu, and gazed at its grandeur, we couldn't pass up the chance just to sit in the morning calm and wait for the sun to rise over the mountains. We decided not to hike Huayna Picchu, but it was still worth the early rise to see the sunrise over Machu Picchu
Most breathtaking sunrise I've ever witnessed
Andrew and I couldn't get enough of the ruins. We took a short hike to the see the Incan drawbridge, a truly innovative defense mechanism and walked all around the citadel. Its actually really huge, from the pictures I've seen, I never imagined it to be that extensive.
The drawbridge--All the Incans had to do was withdraw the logs stretching across the expanse and nobody could access Machu Picchu
Also, the buildings were well preserved and the function and architectural genius of the Incans never ceased to amaze. The rocks with holes bored in them to hold up roofs and the 2 story buildings, the water fountains and agricultural terraces--everything had its own form and function.
Buildings
We stayed at Machu Picchu for over 5 hours. My favorite part being when we sat on the edge of the mountain and attempted to contemplate what we had just explored. There are few occasions in life when the surreal-ness of a situation can overwhelm you. This was one of those occasions.
The rest of the day was spent resting. I explored the small small town, sent postcards, and visited the market. Andrew drank beer and watched the Champions League final. Aguas Calientes is really a one-horse town. The entire city seems to exist of touristy shops and restaurants, with cliché restaurants and high high prices. For dinner we ventured around the opposite side of the river. This is where we discovered the Peruvians who live in Aguas calientes, those who make their living off of tourism live. We at a truly "local" restaurant, where I'm pretty sure it seemed strange to the owner that we had ventured out this way. I was glad to find something not touristy and so was Andrew, although not Andrew's stomach. We believe the soup was the culprit. Poor Andrew suffered horrible stomach problems for the next few days.
Aguas Calientes
Getting back to Cusco is a whole other story. After we got off the train in Piscacucho, a bus was arranged for all passengers to Ollanytaytambo. I was looking forward to exploring the sacred valley, which has just as many amazing and well-preserved Incan ruins. However, Andrew wasn't feeling up to it. We took a breather after we got off the train and decided not to take the bus to Ollanytaytambo and just find another collectivo direct to Cusco. Well, we seemed to have waited too long. By the time we got to the car corral, all the transportation had left. A taxi driver tried to sucker us into riding with him back to Cusco, for 70 soles. Considering we only paid 11 each to get there we decided to wait. However, we managed to talk him down to 15 soles each, and along the way he picked up two more passengers to make it a full car.
Poor baby :(
Andrew felt like total poop, and I felt horrible seeing him suffer. His pain was prolonged however, by about an 1 1/2 hours, when were we delayed by a huge procession in Urubamba. Celebrating their patron saint, the city streets were inundated with bands, dancers, banners, and actors. After trying to find some sort of route around the city, the taxi driver finally quit. Andrew and I were able to get out of taxi and venture around the city. The procession was amazing. Such a random and amazing happenstance. I never would have been able to see this if not for our delay in leaving the train station. We didn't get to see any more ruins, but this was much more interesting and meaningful. See the photos below.
Once we finally made it to Cusco, Andrew crashed. With a high fever and upset stomach, he called it a night around 3 o'clock. I went and got him medicine and food. Now this is where I get the bad rep. I took care of him! I did. But then I went out and explored Cusco for about 3-4 more hours. It was our last night, and while we had seen pretty much everything the first day, was I just expected to sit in the dark next to my sleeping boyfriend all night? I came back around 7 and made him take his medicine and eat a few crackers.
We made it back to Lima with no problems and back to my house. The next few days we explored Lima some more. Got all sorts of Peruvian cuisine (ceviche, arroz con mariscos, papa rellena, lomo saltado), went to an amazing museum (Museo Larco Herrero), Miraflores and Barranco at night, and the Plaza de Armas again and everything else I could think of. By Wednesday night we were "officially done" with Lima. We took off on our next trip Thursday afternoon and didn't think Andrew would have time to see the city again before his flight back to Oklahoma.
Pisco/Ica/Huacachina
Thursday afternoon (after class, father) we headed out to Pisco--namesake of Peruvians national liquor. The city is quite small and still severely damaged from a 2007 earthquake that rocked the whole southern region. We arrived after dark and toured the small city center. An eagle-eyed tour guide spotted us from across the square and came over to harass us. His prices were higher than those of our hostel, so we decided against using his services. He then went on to tell us that he works for our hostel and he can arrange it all for us. We told him we'd return. After calling our hostel and confirming that their price was still cheaper, I decided we had to do the honorable thing and go back and tell him no thank you. What was I thinking!?!? It was just weird and awkward and he kept trying to tell us that he and the hostel were the same people and blah blah blah. So...we just sort of walked away from him. How awkward did we feel when he came to pick us up in the morning for our tour!
The Islas Ballestas were amazing. I wasn't all that excited to see some birds and sea lions, but that was before I realized how completely amazing it is to see them in their natural habitat, and not in a horrible zoo. We saw all sorts of wildlife, a number of different species of birds, penguins, sea lions, starfish, etc. And all in huge numbers. The Islas Ballestas were one of the main guano harvesting areas in the late 1800 when the guano boom was the only thing keeping the Peruvian economy afloat, and barely at that. Much of Peru's aristocracy comes from guano money...poop money, ha!
Huacachina
Huacachina, our mini paradise, is only a 10 minute taxi drive from Ica. The city is so small, you can walk around the whole perimeter within 10 minutes. We started off by renting a boat and rowing around the oasis. I got to be made fun of for my rowing abilities, or lack there of, and we snuck up on a crane!
After the boat ride, we ran into a man running dune buggys. What a crazy ride. Andrew and I sat front row center, right next to Marco, the driver. The dunes were crazy, so much sand everywhere you looked. The dunes go super fast and seem to defy gravity. I definately had my fair share of screaming my head off!
No comments:
Post a Comment