This is the first opportunity I've had to actually sit at a computer since I've been in Peru. I'm at the moment in the office of our tour guides and new friends Percy and Brady in Cusco, Peru. They've been more than helpful since we've been in Cusco, and we are thankful for them!!
Before the trip began, I bought a small external hard drive to take with me and dump images to as I went along. The only problem is, yes, I have a Mac, and in the internet cafes and most offices of Peru, PC's reign supreme. What does that mean? My drive can't be read by them, and I can't dump my images. So instead, I've been dumping my images to Percy's computer.
Of course, I have to have a way to get them back home so now I'm sitting in their tour office in Cusco burning DVD's...I'm constantly reminded that when traveling, be prepared for everything to go wrong that can. For this reason, I'm thankful that they've been more than gracious to work with me in every way possible to figure out a way to save the images I've been shooting. Eventually I'll have some to share with you all thanks to these guys. uh, gotta go...I'll write when I get back to the States I guess.
The Clothing Journey
We spent Sunday going to a church in Miraflores with some friends, then talking clothing business with our new friend Anny Tuipe. After a few hours of talking business, we aired out our minds with a stroll along the beautiful cliff line overlooking the ocean at the Larcomar. Monday morning we met with some other friends interested in helping with the business, Samuel and Marta. They took us to the clothing district in Lima, a writhing mass of handcarts, tricycle carts, cargo, signs, color. It was a great learning experience, especially in regard to what is available in Lima for textiles, etc.
Check out the album HERE.
Stuck In Lima - Guess we'll visit La Punta...
As with everything else on our trip, getting to Cusco proved to be harder than anticipated. To all considering traveling overland to cusco from Lima, plan on three or four days enjoying the stops along the way, or a 22 hour bus ride straight through. We had an entire route planned out going down the coast to Paracas, Nazca, inland to Huaycucho, Cusco, through Arequipa, and ending in Lima. By the time we had figured out how much time and money it would take to get to all these places, we had narrowed the list to Lima-Cusco-Lima. So much for the sweeping travel plans.
Rather than spending the 22 hours on the bus we bit the bullet and bought tickets for Wednesday morning. Since we were stuck in Lima until then, we decided to pass the time by taking a side trip via taxi and combi (bus) to la Punta Callao, a port about 45 minutes outside of Lima.
Check out the album HERE.
Rainstick Beach and the Point
While there we checked out the beach. It was cold, windy and gray. The only other person there was an old man sitting in a plastic chair hunched against the wind. He was guarding the outhouse, making sure all who entered in paid what I now call the pee tax. Fortunately I didn't have to use his service and left him sitting in peace.
The beach in the area actually consisted of grapefruit size rounded stones that knocked against one another like a giant rain stick as each wave receded from the shore. We wandered around listening to the strange sound and taking pictures of dilapidated row boats weathering away on the beach.
Listen to the Beach HERE.
After ample picture time we checked out the municipal library on the tiny square. They happened to be having senior citizens lunch at the time, so we snuck up the Victorian stairs and plopped down on an ancient black leather couch in the stairwell to rest. We had a jolly time there contemplating the ceiling, and when we rose to leave, noticed two body prints that hadn't previously been there...uh, we're still not sure where they came from, but if you're reading this and you're from the library, our sincere apologies.
Just around the corner next to the sea, we perused the row of empty restaurants waiting for hungry people. There was definitely a lot of traditional Peruvian food like cow heart kabobs, chicken balls and things like that. While contemplating our culinary choices, a couple of local musicians strolled by. I asked them to play a couple of traditional Peruvian tunes, which I happjly recorded with my iPhone. 5 soles and some good music later, we decided to wait on dinner and backtrack to a very colorful little town a couple of blocks from La Punta called Chucuito. We snapped some shots on the street of all the different paint schemes, talked to a very nice older lady working there as an information person who told us chucuito was painted like that for tourists, and spied on some welders showering sparks in the adjacent ship yard as the evening grew.
Finally we wandered around a colonial era ammo depot with a ton of canons and slipped into a tiny restaurant just as the doors were closing. We got the usual-grilled chicken with rice, and beef with rice. We ate while Dad did the books and the kids teased each other. Kids are the same where ever you go. "He's picking on me!" complains the girl to Dad with that little girl look hard for dads to resist. "Not unh, she's picking on me!" retorts the little boy. And around the tables they go chasing and laughing. I sneak a few shots with my giant camera sitting on the table.
It's getting late so we pay for our meal and slip out onto the street. It's night, I'm nervous, and as we walk to the corner to catch a bus back to Lima, a taxi pulls up next to us. The driver leans over and starts telling us to be careful, watch out for thieves, and not to be walking around. He tells us so many times and with such intensity, he starts freaking me out! We tell him we're fine we only have to walk a block. He gesticulates and rattles off even more intensely, telling us he'll take us the block for free, just to get in the taxi. There is literally no one else on the street, and somethings smelling veeeery fishy. I'm about to punch the guy in the face he's getting so annoying. Then he tells us if we change our minds, he'll be parked at the end of the road on the plaza by the sea. Finally he leaves us alone.
We get to the little plaza and ask the police women standing there where to pick up the bus, and who should interject from the curb but our friendly taxi man. He tells us we shouldn't take the bus it's too dangerous, but he'll take us safely to Lima. He actually comes over to us again while we're talking to the women to solicit us. Man, this guy is desperate for a job, or to help himself to our stuff.
I finally tell him in a strong tone for the last time we don't want his services, and even the police woman tells him the same thing, after which he apologizes to me for bothering us. Geez, the bus sounds like heaven at this point. We finally catch the bus and make to the hostel in one piece. Tomorrow we head to cusco.
Info gathering going well
The days in Lima were spent well in terms of finding out the things I needed to know in the beginning stages of the micro-business. We've made solid contacts and new friends with people who have the right skill sets to get such a venture off the ground. Namely business licensing requirements, import/export knowledge in this area, and a good knowledge of small coops in Peru and how they work. Now it's time to visit the famed Machu Pichu.
Flight to cusco
View from the plane
Morning comes early. Like 3:30 early. We basically sleep dressed so we can just roll out of bed into the taxi. This is what we do, and a couple of hours later we're on the plane to cusco. It's a one hour flight, as compared to a 22 hour bus trip. We hardly have time to get settled before we are descending again. We skirt some fantastically tall peaks tearing a hole through the clouds and then for a second all is grey. When we break through the bottom side it's as though we've entered another world. A vast patchwork of red, brown, and yellow terraced mountains cut by deep valleys spread out beneath us. Their peaks disappear into the clouds we've just come through. Soon a pattern of red tile roofs appears in a valley. We bank sharply left as the roofs rush toward us and then we are down. We stand under a blue sky with white clouds and cool temps. Welcome to cusco.
Check out the album HERE.
Sacred valley tour woes
We've connected with a friend of a friend from back in the U.S. His name is Brady and he has a tour company called machu pichu sky. He's a fellow believer which makes our meeting that much more comfortable. In a matter of a day he's arranged the travel for our plans in cusco.
We are whisked to our hostel and have breakfast in the pretty courtyard while we discuss the schedule. First on the list is the city tour. We sleep until lunch and then board a bus with a bunch of other, um, tourists (there! I said it), and start to take in the ruins of the famous Inca empire.
Like every good tourist, we obediently follow our guide around while trying to decipher his broken English, absorb the impact of entire civilization, and take at least one photo with no one in it in a record time of five minutes before we are herded back onto the bus to see the next place we've been waiting to see our entire lives. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT ever let me get on a tour bus again.
As a consolation prize, however, we get to visit Sexy Woman, aka Saxayhuaman, the largest Inca ruin just outside cusco, and we even get to take some time here to take it all in. The immensity and precision of it really is amazing. Even if for only one hour I'm glad for the chance to see it.
Check out the album HERE.
More to come later, as outlined below!!
Prep for machu pichu
After our city tour
The big day and glitches
No hot water in Aguascalientes
Concert
Ruela gets kicked off the mountain
Cold onset
Machu pichu highlights.
Saturday country drive and farm day
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