The “Vueltas” meaning strikes in Spanish have risen again. This time the people are protesting the high gas prices occurring all over Peru. Apparently Peru has the most oil in all of South America, but because the government wants to make money they export it all to other countries in South America leaving Peru with little to get by and an inflation of the price daily.
This much bigger, country-wide strike began on Thursday morning at 3 am with the same sort of acts I saw last time but it seemed to be more organized and political. The streets all around and in Cusco were blocked off with tires, rocks, logs, etc. and there were people yelling and walking in groups with their picket signs and drums starting in the middle of the night.
I was out downtown on Wednesday night with some friends and because of the strike beginning, we were not able to get a taxi home as they had already blocked off many streets out of the city. We had to find a hostel to spend the night in but were awaken the next morning by chanting from the Plaza around 8:30 am. Almost every business and every school in the country was closed for the day and the police were all over to keep some form of control on the situation. There were signs, newspaper clippings and charts posted all around the Plaza explaining the problem that many people were stopped looking at.
We realized our only choice of making it home would be to yet again walk through the strike so we started the 45 minute journey to our home-stay through the rubbish and protesters in the streets. I was offered a ride home numerous times on people’s motorcycles but obviously declined since that did not seem safe at all especially in the middle of social unrest. Eventually as we got a little further out of the city a brave taxi driver approached and asked if we wanted a ride home even though it would cost S8, almost triple the normal price. The sun was hot and we were tired from the night before and gladly took his offer.
As we were almost back to our neighborhood he ran out of none other than GAS! Of course, we are in the middle of the biggest gas strike I have ever seen and this guy has to pull over and leave us to run to the gas station to fill up a jug of gas to bring back to the car. He told us to make sure no one stole his LG radio and re ran off down the road. He was able to buy some with no problems, but it was a quite ironic thing to run out of at quite an ironic time.
I was supposed to go rafting today with Chantal, Brendon and Brittany, but we arrived at the tour office and were told that the strikes were still occurring outside of the city and that we would have to reschedule for tomorrow. She said that in a smaller city on the way to where we were headed, a small bomb went off last night. It didn’t injure anyone, but its proof that these strikes can get violent and we need to be careful during traveling.
Since we were already up and out at 8:30 am for our canceled tour, we decided to go to breakfast where we watched USA play Slovenia in the World Cup. The English owned restaurant with tourist food was filled with fellow westerners and everyone in there was screaming at the TV rooting on the US. I had what they call pancakes but were more like crapes. It had bacon and bananas inside and was very filling.
Afterward I went shopping at “The Red Barn,” a huge shopping center on Avenida Sol with every touristy knick-knack you could want for great prices. I found the rest of my gifts and bought myself an Inca rainbow ring, a key chain, and some warm alpaca socks all to remind me of my amazing time spent in Peru. I hope to be done with shopping, but it’s really hard for me to not buy things when I am out and see something that I think one of my family members or friends would like. You can bargain with them to get great prices and I really want to make sure I have everyone fully covered with something they will love and use back home.
As you can see I didn’t get to go to Pisco this weekend either because of the strikes. We would have ended up being stuck on the bus again like Arequipa and I was NOT going to walk another 4 hours. Instead, I will spend my time here this weekend getting some other things done I wanted to do. The rafting will now be tomorrow during the day and tomorrow night is the monthly International Party at Maximo Nivel. They hold one in the middle of every month to welcome or say goodbye to volunteers with free drinks, food and salsa dancing. Sunday morning I would like to try to go to church with my roommate Tanya and then the Cocoa museum which I keep putting off because I never get there before they close since it is in San Blas, about a 10 minute walk from the Plaza.
I am really excited about Sunday because Patti told me we are getting 3 new housemates! I will finally have a new girl roommate (and my cough is just about gone now, thank God!) and there will be two new boys upstairs. Connor is leaving tomorrow and Julia will be getting an apartment for the next year and a half while she will be working here in Cusco. Although I only have 3 weeks left, I am really happy to have some new people that will hopefully be around my age to hang out with around the house. I have enjoyed the Chicago couple, Jennifer and Glen, because they remind me a lot of my sister Allison and her husband Adam and are fun to talk to, but there will be nothing better than getting some new peeps to do stuff with in Cusco and making more friends for my last few weeks here.
Since my weekend plans got messed up, I think I will use the money I would have spent to go to Pisco and take the trip into Bolivia and go to La Paz. A friend of mine here named Andrew wants to go to Puno and Lake Titicaca next weekend and Laura wants to go into Bolivia so it would be great to combine the two and make it a long weekend to see another country of South America while I’m here.
Laura and I went out to dinner this week at a great restaurant called Two Nations. They have enormous burgers and we split one called the Aussie Burger that was delicious! I met up with Mario afterward and one of his friends gave me a free hair wrap. It is really well done in blue, green and gray but will have to come out for the wedding of course.
Also this week, a group of American photographers came to Colibri and donated disposable cameras to all the kids. We all went out to the Plaza and they took pictures of anything they wanted and had an absolute blast doing it. They usually try to steal our cameras and take millions of pictures of random things, but it was great that they finally had their own where they could snap pics of anything and anyone and then would later have the pictures to keep. The group wrote each child’s name on the camera and got the film developed for them to take home to show their parents or for those that live on the streets to hold on to of fond memories with the influential volunteers in their lives.
Cookie got a bath the other day so he smelled great but once again he let me down and pooped in my room today! I can't wait to get back to my pets that I actually like and aren't annoying and cry all the time!
It’s time for dinner now. We don’t get a lot of meat in our meals here so I am ready to get back to some of my dad’s summer outdoor grilling. We have a lot of carbs like bread, rice, potatoes, etc. and I need to get some more variety back in my life! So daddy, fire up the grill because I will be home soon and wanting some burgers, steak and chicken to fill up the protein I am missing out on. Adios amigos.
-Hillary-
Friday, June 18, 2010
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
More on Colibri
With all my exciting travels I haven’t had any time to talk about all the great work I have been doing at Colibri.
I headed to work yesterday around 4:00 pm and there was yet another event going on in the Plaza. It was a dance competition for school kids and they were all dressed in different costumes and dancing to the traditional music in the street. I think throughout the months of June and July there is always going to be something going on since these are their most festive months with two holidays. The Inca flag is hung all throughout the city on every light post right now as well.
Yesterday was probably the most fun I have had yet at Colibri. We did homework for the first hour and a half. I am having trouble getting the twins, Jose Luis and Elsa, to do their homework. They don’t pay attention and always run off in the middle to “sharpen their pencil” but instead I see them playing. Since I have been at Colibri the longest of all the volunteers now I have sort of taken on the duty to make sure they get their work done because I know how they are while the others don’t and might let them get away with things. They are only practicing cursive right now and it should not take them more than a half hour to finish all their homework in their “cuadernos” (workbooks), yet I find myself sitting there with them the entire two and a half hours trying to keep them focused.
My favorite to help with homework is an 11 year old boy named Salvador because he is very bright and a great drawer. His classmate and he had a contest yesterday to see who could finish their homework first and I helped the girl a little more so she could win because we all know girls rule and boys drool and I wanted us chicas to pull ahead, wink wink.
My poor Nicole had a tooth ache yesterday so she sat on my lap the whole time with her head down on the table. The director bought her a pain pill but I felt so bad for her because she looked like she felt miserable.
At the end of the day we all got in a big circle and played “Simon Says” and “I like when my friend has…” It is a game like musical chairs but the kids have to move when they have that thing and the one who ends up without a chair is then next to call out the following sentence. Little Juan was so excited to play he could barely sit still in his chair and his smile throughout all of it was such an amazing sight because I loved seeing him so happy.
We got four new volunteers yesterday as well who are all really nice and can speak Spanish too: Heidi from Virginia, Megan from Virginia (although they don’t know each other and go to different colleges), Erika from Canada and Emily from England.
After all the kids headed out, the director had a meeting with all of the volunteers to thank us for our hard work and dedication to the program and the kids. He asked that we try to bring in some more supplies for them like pencils and paper for school work and some toys for the younger kids and possibly set up a schedule of buying bread once a week because the luncha the kids get is not enough since for many as I said before it is their only meal of the day. She supplies the kids have now are limited and they usually write with the same dull pencils with no erasers and play with the same small building blocks every day.
Emily and I discovered that we live near each other so we decided to share a taxi ride home to the Marcavalle neighborhood. On the walk down to the Plaza I ran into some of my kids who were already back out on the street with their mothers selling products. It breaks my heart that these kids of such young ages have to go to school all day, then some to Colibri for a little free time and fun but then right after work until all hours of the night just trying to make a few soles. Juan’s older sister loves to take pictures with my camera so I let her take a few shots of the dance competition that was still going on and she didn’t want me to leave her after. I think they both have formed an attachment to me and I am really going to miss them when I leave.
Because of the games and the talk with us afterward we got done an hour late and I got home just in time for dinner around 8:00 pm. Unfortunately I think Cookie has found a new favorite room of the house because whenever I get home now he is sleeping next to my closet or playing with my boot shoe strings I have left out since they are muddy from the jungle. Totti gave him left over dinner last night which was spinach and rice and how wonderful for me, he ended up having gas and refused to leave my room before stinking it up and meowing up a storm as usual. That is one animal I could do without in this house, but he makes it humorous around here and Patricia and I always make fun of him.
I am speaking so much Spanish that I am now dreaming in it, talking to myself in it, and thinking in it. It has become part of my life here and it will be weird to come home and have to go back to speaking English with the people around me because for the past month all I have been speaking is Spanish with everyone except the other volunteers in my house.
The medicine the doctor gave me seems to be working and I am coughing a lot less now. I think I am going to try to go for a run this morning and then go out to Molino to look at their movies and possibly get a couple new, small toys for the kids. After lunch I am going to go to the Cocoa Museum for S5 and then heading to work.
Laura was sick after her trip to Arequipa this weekend so hopefully she will be back today and we can talk about possibly going to Pisco this weekend because there is a lot to do there including two animal reserves called Paracas and Islas Bellestas that you can take boats out to for very cheap and also sand boarding. It is on the beach as well so it would be warmer and I might actually be able to catch up on my tan with everyone else back home!
Adios and hasta luego! Only one month left until I am home. Miss you all... especially you mom and dad!
-Hillary-
I headed to work yesterday around 4:00 pm and there was yet another event going on in the Plaza. It was a dance competition for school kids and they were all dressed in different costumes and dancing to the traditional music in the street. I think throughout the months of June and July there is always going to be something going on since these are their most festive months with two holidays. The Inca flag is hung all throughout the city on every light post right now as well.
Yesterday was probably the most fun I have had yet at Colibri. We did homework for the first hour and a half. I am having trouble getting the twins, Jose Luis and Elsa, to do their homework. They don’t pay attention and always run off in the middle to “sharpen their pencil” but instead I see them playing. Since I have been at Colibri the longest of all the volunteers now I have sort of taken on the duty to make sure they get their work done because I know how they are while the others don’t and might let them get away with things. They are only practicing cursive right now and it should not take them more than a half hour to finish all their homework in their “cuadernos” (workbooks), yet I find myself sitting there with them the entire two and a half hours trying to keep them focused.
My favorite to help with homework is an 11 year old boy named Salvador because he is very bright and a great drawer. His classmate and he had a contest yesterday to see who could finish their homework first and I helped the girl a little more so she could win because we all know girls rule and boys drool and I wanted us chicas to pull ahead, wink wink.
My poor Nicole had a tooth ache yesterday so she sat on my lap the whole time with her head down on the table. The director bought her a pain pill but I felt so bad for her because she looked like she felt miserable.
At the end of the day we all got in a big circle and played “Simon Says” and “I like when my friend has…” It is a game like musical chairs but the kids have to move when they have that thing and the one who ends up without a chair is then next to call out the following sentence. Little Juan was so excited to play he could barely sit still in his chair and his smile throughout all of it was such an amazing sight because I loved seeing him so happy.
We got four new volunteers yesterday as well who are all really nice and can speak Spanish too: Heidi from Virginia, Megan from Virginia (although they don’t know each other and go to different colleges), Erika from Canada and Emily from England.
After all the kids headed out, the director had a meeting with all of the volunteers to thank us for our hard work and dedication to the program and the kids. He asked that we try to bring in some more supplies for them like pencils and paper for school work and some toys for the younger kids and possibly set up a schedule of buying bread once a week because the luncha the kids get is not enough since for many as I said before it is their only meal of the day. She supplies the kids have now are limited and they usually write with the same dull pencils with no erasers and play with the same small building blocks every day.
Emily and I discovered that we live near each other so we decided to share a taxi ride home to the Marcavalle neighborhood. On the walk down to the Plaza I ran into some of my kids who were already back out on the street with their mothers selling products. It breaks my heart that these kids of such young ages have to go to school all day, then some to Colibri for a little free time and fun but then right after work until all hours of the night just trying to make a few soles. Juan’s older sister loves to take pictures with my camera so I let her take a few shots of the dance competition that was still going on and she didn’t want me to leave her after. I think they both have formed an attachment to me and I am really going to miss them when I leave.
Because of the games and the talk with us afterward we got done an hour late and I got home just in time for dinner around 8:00 pm. Unfortunately I think Cookie has found a new favorite room of the house because whenever I get home now he is sleeping next to my closet or playing with my boot shoe strings I have left out since they are muddy from the jungle. Totti gave him left over dinner last night which was spinach and rice and how wonderful for me, he ended up having gas and refused to leave my room before stinking it up and meowing up a storm as usual. That is one animal I could do without in this house, but he makes it humorous around here and Patricia and I always make fun of him.
I am speaking so much Spanish that I am now dreaming in it, talking to myself in it, and thinking in it. It has become part of my life here and it will be weird to come home and have to go back to speaking English with the people around me because for the past month all I have been speaking is Spanish with everyone except the other volunteers in my house.
The medicine the doctor gave me seems to be working and I am coughing a lot less now. I think I am going to try to go for a run this morning and then go out to Molino to look at their movies and possibly get a couple new, small toys for the kids. After lunch I am going to go to the Cocoa Museum for S5 and then heading to work.
Laura was sick after her trip to Arequipa this weekend so hopefully she will be back today and we can talk about possibly going to Pisco this weekend because there is a lot to do there including two animal reserves called Paracas and Islas Bellestas that you can take boats out to for very cheap and also sand boarding. It is on the beach as well so it would be warmer and I might actually be able to catch up on my tan with everyone else back home!
Adios and hasta luego! Only one month left until I am home. Miss you all... especially you mom and dad!
-Hillary-
Monday, June 14, 2010
I Survived!
This was my favorite trip so far mostly because of the animals I got to see but also because of the beauty and serenity of the rainforest. It was filled with early mornings, epic sights and mosquito bites!
Friday morning I woke up around 5:45 am with just enough time to get dressed and be ready for my taxi that Patricia called to have pick me up at 6:00 am. We rode the quick 5-10 minute drive to the airport with Miley Cyrus music on full blast which I was not happy about since I don’t even like her at normal volume in the middle of the day. I met up with Brendon and Chantal at the check in counter around a quarter after for our flight to Puerto Maldonaldo that would be leaving at 7:40 am.
I did not check a bag since I only brought a backpack with me for the weekend. They are a lot more relaxed on what you can take on your carry-on baggage EXCEPT they don’t allow aerosols which I forgot about and they had to confiscate my bug spray for clothing and my dry shampoo. I was not very happy about this because I thought I would need both for the weekend, but ended up getting by without just fine even though I want them back now. They allow you to take any other liquids in whatever quantity you want so I had no problem with my other belongings and I was even able to bring two water bottles through so I wouldn’t have to pay for overpriced ones in the airport.
Our flight was only an hour long over enormous snow capped mountains first and then as we got closer I could see all of the Amazon River and its tributaries surrounded by rainforest. Puerto Maldonaldo is in the Tambopata part of the Amazon on the south-east side of Peru. It is a four hour boat ride to Brazil down the Madre de Dios River.
When we arrived and walked off the plane there was an immediate rush of warm, humid, tropical air. All around were lush green plants and trees and palm trees were everywhere too. The airport was very tiny with only 2 terminals. We walked out front and were greeted by the staff of where we were staying with a sign reading “Eco Amazonia Lodge.” They directed us to our bus that would take us on a tour of the city before heading by boat to the lodge. The bus was windowless and looked for like a safari van with wooden bench seats and the whole sides open to look out at the scenery and feel the sun on our faces as we drove into the city.
Alongside us were motorcycles and 3 wheeled buggies like you would picture in India that our guide said are both their form of taxis. They use those because in the hot climate it is cooler to drive around in those and cheaper to not be wasting the money on AC in a regular car.
We went to their Plaza de Armas which had a tall blue and crème colored clock in the middle rather than a fountain like in the others I have seen. Our guide said that there were a lot of emigrants in Puerto Maldonaldo that come from Puno and Cusco to live but also that 5% of the population is Japanese which was surprising.
Next we went to their local market that had everything! Our guide said that most of the products are imported because of PM being such a small city. They get their fruits and vegetables from Puno, Cusco and Arequipa and their clothes from Brazil and Bolivia. Because of this, things there were more expensive to buy in the market. They do have some local products they sell of course like bananas, mangos, papaya, and other rainforest fruits. We went to their meat market area and they had full chickens hanging from their necks with their little feet dangling. It was quite disturbing. We walked outside to see baby chicks and ducks crammed in a small cage where people could pick out the one they want to take home to raise to be big and fat and then eat. That was also disturbing and sad to me because they were so cute and innocent. There were a lot of fish as well on the tables that were caught locally from the river like catfish and trout.
We had to be back to the bus at noon so we left the market to walk back and this random man told Chantal and I that we were more beautiful than flowers and started singing to us for the next 3 blocks. It was a little weird but I guess sweet in a way? He welcomed us to “his” city and went on his way without even asking for a tip for his amateurish song.
On the way to the bus we saw some other odd sights in the streets of Puerto Maldonaldo: a dog eating off a WHOLE cow skull, a boy pushing a cart of caged pigeons and selling their eggs and a little boy with no pants on walking down the street alone. It was definitely an experience in a new city!
We took the bus down to the river to take a boat to our lodge. On the way we saw shanty homes that reminded me a lot of places I’ve visited in Central America. We boarded a typical small river boat with the rest of our group for an hour and a half trip down the Madre de Dios to our lodge. In our group were two couples from England, two guys from Israel, two Asian ladies and a Spanish woman. We had to wear life jackets on the boat because they didn’t want us to fall in and get eaten by any piranhas.
The boat flew quickly down the river and left small fisherman boats in the dust. The river was very dirty and was a murky brown color. On either side of us the land was rainforest and since it is dry season the water was very low creating a shore with beaches of sand. Here and there we would see some random homes and again I would wonder how those people survived and how they must have to live off the land’s resources. At least there they had the option of fishing and numerous plants and animals at hand.
We arrived at the lodge around 2:30 and went straight to the dining area for lunch. For an appetizer we had fried yucca which was actually very good. Our meal came out in a huge banana leaf and inside was rice, chicken and other vegetables. I was very impressed with all the food the whole weekend and they had interesting juices as well.
The lodge was extremely nice! Everything was on stilts to avoid rodents like the huge, yellow Bamboo rat from getting into anything. There was a game room with a bar and lounge area and outside right up above the shore was a row of about 10 covered hammocks that you could relax in and watch the river from. In the reception area they had a sign of some of the animals that live in the area you could possibly see on your hikes. They included sloths, capybaras, armadillos, porcupines, jaguars, about a dozen different monkeys, plenty of birds and snakes and spiders galore. These were only things you COULD see however because our guide told us that the rainforest is of course very unpredictable and you never know going in what you are going to see that day. They had a pool in a mosquito netted room although it was freezing! We went in it anyway after our long hikes to cool off but one jump in and you had to get out because of how frigid the water was. At the lodge they had some birds that would come right up to your bungalow steps like Macaws that reminded me of my sister Allison and the bird she used to have named Zazu and two other pretty black ones. I also saw squirrels in the trees and there were beautiful flowers all over. We were surrounded by the forest and its trees so we felt totally immersed in the environment.
We were taken to our bungalow named Fraile which is some sort of monkey. All of the bungalows were named after an animal in the rainforest. It had a little foyer/seating area with two hammocks and then inside were our 3 beds and a bathroom. The whole bungalow was mosquito netted instead of windowed so we were in a sense still outdoors and could hear all the sounds of the jungle all day. We only got electricity from 5:30 pm to 10 pm and the shower was freezing cold just like the pool.
After lunch our guide took us to Monkey Island. It is an island, 1 km by 2 km, that the lodge owns right across the river where they put monkeys they have rescued from the black market being sold as pets. These monkeys can’t go back into the wild because they will be easily targeted by others or not know how to survive since many were taken as babies out of the forest so the lodge places them in the sanctuary where they can be protected and looked after yet still live in a wild environment. The new babies born on the island however are taken away at around 1 ½ or 2 years and put to live in the real forest in order to maintain a healthy population on the island and give the babies a chance to live normal lives with other packs of their own wild species. Our guide said that only around 40 monkeys live on the island. They take tourists here because they monkeys are used to humans and enjoy the interaction they get when we bring them bananas and water.
We arrived around 4 pm and the first monkey we saw was the smallest of the island. He was sitting on a branch and unlike wild monkeys when he heard that we were coming he waited for us rather than scurried. He was mostly black with some brown on his face and a white line with black spots down his back. I was the first to get to feed him a banana and he grabbed it quickly from me with his little hands and munched on it as we all snapped pictures of his adorable face.
Our guide whistled and called out “mono, mono, mono” (meaning monkey in Spanish) to get their attention and let them know he was bringing food as we walked deeper in. We got to a spot where a large wooden table was set up and all the monkeys suddenly appeared in the trees above. They started making their way down as our guide opened up his bag to bring out the bananas for us to feed them. They were all coming right up to us and some even jumping on people’s shoulders and backs to get the tasty treat in our hands. Some were White Capuchins and others Squirrel Monkeys. Our guide pointed out the boss of the pack and said to make sure not to taunt him at all and simply hand over our bananas if he comes for them because he could get feisty. We saw babies all the way to larger adults. One got his banana fix and went for a rest on the branch of a tree. He laid down and dangled all four limbs down on either side and they just hung loosely. It was such a funny site but our guide said that that is how some of them sleep.
We started heading back when we were greeted by my favorite monkey, a female spider monkey who was all black. She had the longest arms, legs and tail I had ever seen on a monkey and only four long fingers that when I held her hand felt like leather. She came down because she spotted our water bottles and was thirsty. Our guide said that since it was dry season they didn’t have much water and were afraid to go out to the river because many times caimans (an animal like a crocodile but lives in fresh water and is much smaller) would be waiting to pounce and eat them. She climbed down and jumped on one of the English girl’s heads and reached over for my water bottle. She was able to unscrew it on her own and started chugging all my water! She stole it and went up in the tree to finish it and then dropped it back down to the ground. She decided to come back down for some bananas and attention and sat on my friend Brendon’s shoulders for quite some time while people snapped photos.
We got back to lodge around 5:30 and went for a quick swim before dinner at 7. After dinner we went for a night boat ride to look for the white caiman that lives in the main river with a spot light. There are three types of caiman: white, black and dwarf. The white are used to the sound of motors and are usually found in the Amazon River. The black and dwarf however prefer secluded lakes and lagoons in the forest that don’t have people or boats to disturb them. We saw their eyes glow red in the dark along the shore and near floating logs. They are not very big and look more like large lizards to me, but it was cool to see a species that is unique to the Amazon in its natural habitat.
I enjoyed the boat ride part of it more and feeling the warm air for once in the past month! There were bats flying around us and I just relaxed and listened to the sounds of the jungle. I cannot even describe the beauty I saw when I looked up at the sky out there. All you see is a sky completely filled with stars with no clouds and no interruptions of buildings or lights from the city. I had never seen such a clear night sky where I could point out every constellation.
We got back and decided to lie in the hammocks until the electricity would be turned off and take in the sights and sounds of the Amazonian night. Around 9:45 we headed for our bungalow to get to bed early for the following day full of excursions through the forest. I fell asleep to the sounds of birds singing, howler monkeys howling and insects chirping which was even better than falling asleep to the sound of the ocean on other vacations.
Due to my ongoing cough that is still persisted I was awaken in the middle of the night and in order to not wake up Brendon and Chantal too, I grabbed my water bottle and went out of the room until I was through coughing. It happened to be raining so I watched the tropical storm in awe until I was able to return to bed.
Saturday morning we got a knock on our door at 6:00 am for our wakeup call. We had breakfast at 6:30 and then at 7 headed out by boat to where we would begin our hike. We had to wear long pants and I wore a hat too so I knew nothing would be jumping down from a tree and into my hair. And my hat was camouflage so I was ready to blend in and see all the animals I could! I sprayed my entire body down with deet spray and SPF 45 sun lotion. As we walked out to our boat you couldn’t see anything because of the fog. We were dropped off about 10 minutes down the river and started into the forest for our 5 hour trek. Our guide carried a machete to clear any vines or plants in the way of the trail, but our lodge along with 24 others in the area own that area of land and have carved out a distinct route through the forest with signs and a path. The government allows them to use it for tourism as long as they maintain it well by not cutting anything down, not hunting any animals and not littering. I had to learn the metric system very fast over the weekend because everything our guide told us was in km, meters and Celsius.
Our guide explained various trees throughout our walk. Most of the large trees we saw were 200 + years old and we even saw one that was over 400 years old and was starting to decompose and had holes in it The first he pointed out, considered the Father of the Forest, was called Chihuahuaco. This is the tree that is responsible for getting people lost in the Amazon even if they have a compass because it has magnetic components in it that throw the direction in the compass off. Because of its magnetic components it can, and is frequently, struck by lightning in storms but is not affected. It is called the Father of the Forest then because it protects all the other trees and plants by taking the brunt of the storm on itself. At the bottom it has areas that make enclosures that hunters and Amazon people would use for shelter at night and our guide said there have been reports of this tree creating erotic dreams. There was another tree beside it that I forget the name of but it is hollow in the middle so if you are ever lost in the Amazon you can hit the tree with a stick and it can sound 3-4 km to alert someone of where you are. He demonstrated with his machete and even that made a loud sound that echoed through the forest.
The Mother of the Forest is the Elephant tree: named this because its bark resembles that of elephant skin. They have these in other forests in Central America and Asia as well. It was even larger than the Chihuahuaco and I looked like an ant in a picture with it.
There was a unique tree called the Garlic Tree that when he took a piece of the bark off for us to smell it smelled of course like pure garlic. This tree is not used for the kitchen however and it is the only tree that the termites won’t eat because they hate the taste of the bark.
We saw an infectious vine called the Fichus that was eating a whole tree and taking over the outside to form a new one. It was really interesting and a crazy site to see.
Next we saw a tree called the Justice tree that was the home of hundreds of fire ants. Our guide said that in the olden days when someone in a village did something bad they would tie him or her naked to the tree as punishment, thus creating the name of the Justice Tree. He said 50 fire ants could kill a small child so imagine being tied to a whole tree?! I am sure the people didn’t always survive the ordeal.
We saw a bunch of different palm trees including one that had horns at the top and another called the “Walking Palm” because it can move up to 3 M in its lifetime because its roots resemble legs and will adjust to a growing environment to make room for itself.
Our guide said that biologists only know 1% of the medicinal uses of all the plants and trees in the rainforest so far because there are just so many different types. The rainforest holds the most diverse groups of everything on the planet and is filled with things that still have yet to be discovered and could cure some of the world’s worst diseases.
Above our heads along the walk we ran into a pack of about 30 squirrel monkeys. They were jumping from tree to tree and we all just stood there and watched for about 20 minutes until their main predator, the Hawk, cried out and they all scurried away to hide below the canopy where he could not catch them.
We continued on and our guide pointed out an adult tarantula with poisonous orange tipped legs nested in a large palm leaf. There was another hole in the ground nearby that he stuck a stick into the get another to come out. A baby tarantula crawled out to have a look and he explained that this type’s mother will kill her mate after she is through with him and feed him to the babies. Pretty sick huh?! There were huge Warrior ants along the trail as well that were about 5 times the size of any ant I had ever seen.
We saw a green tree frog and two tiny little brown frogs that our guide picked up so we could get a closer view. I saw a sign at this point that we were in Jaguar zone, however we never saw any probably because we were not in silence on our walk and any noise would have spooked them away.
We made it to Apu Victor, which is the lost lagoon in the middle of our trail. The lodge had a watch tower built and a boat there so we could go out in the lagoon after. We climbed up the tall watch tower where we could see all of the lagoon and its surrounding trees that were filled with different birds. The guide let me use his binoculars to get a look into the trees. One of the birds made a sound like a blow horn and is actually called the Horn Bird. We saw a caiman poking his eyes out of the water and some turtles that came up to have a look as well.
We headed down to take the little kayak out into the lagoon. There were tall weeds in the middle where hundreds of colorful dragonflies were buzzing around. The sun was really intense on the lagoon where there were no trees to shade us and I could feel my skin tanning: FINALLY: YAY! We took a circle around the lagoon and I enjoyed listening to the birds sing although the bugs distracted me by buzzing in my ears.
We tied the kayak back up to the shore and started on our way back to the lodge for lunch which was only about a half hour away. I was glad because it was almost noon and I was starting to get hot, itchy, tired and hungry. We made it back and he congratulated us for surviving our first hike in the jungle!
We went right to our bungalow and threw on our suits so we could go right to the pool. It was refreshing to jump in the freezing water after walking from 7 am- noon through the humid rainforest. We had some time before lunch at 1:30 so we decided to take advantage of the hot Amazonian sun and we found a nice grassy area where we laid out for a couple hours.
After lunch we went for another short hike to a small lake where the black caimans live. Our guide brought some fish to feed them so they would come out of the water and we could get a better look for the first time. We sat in silence not to scare them off on some benches above the lake. A big mama caiman was the first to exit the water and try out the fish. Some of her babies followed and for once we got the see the animals out of the water and view their true size. It was cool to watch them eat the fish our guide put out for them and in time, more and more started to come to where we were to get a piece of their own. At one point there were about 7 caiman in one corner of the small lake.
We headed back and after a long day I was exhausted! I planned on only taking a nap until dinner but ending up sleeping right through it. My cough was still bothering me and I felt slightly dehydrated from sweating so much earlier in the day. Brendon and Chantal came back to the room later and we all turned in early since the next day we had to be up at 4:30 am.
Sunday morning we got our knock on the door at what felt like the middle of the night still. We stayed in bed a little longer and then packed up and headed to breakfast in the dark. Our boat back to Puerto Maldonaldo left at 5:30 in order to get to the airport in time for our 9 am flight. I slept on the boat ride back and sleepily walked the thin plank across the river to the shore back in PM. We got on our bus and had to go pick up our boarding passes at the office and then headed to the airport. My cough at this point was out of control and it was making me vomit from coughing so hard and gagging.
The flight back was short luckily and I took a taxi back home where I arrived around 11 am. I walked into my room and was scared to death by cookie because he never goes in my room who was sitting next to my closet. He started his usual whining and I pushed him out so I could get into bed and struggle to sleep through my cough. After a few hours of no luck I finally gave in and asked Patty to call the doctor for me. He came to the house and right into my room to do my exam at about 2:30 pm. He listened to my lungs and said that they sounded awful and I was wheezing when I breathed and coughed. He prescribed me an antibiotic, a cough suppressant steroid and some cough syrup with codeine so I can actually try to get some sleep and said to keep up with my inhalers. The doctor visit was $20 and my medicine was $40 so now I have less money to do the things here that I wanted to do because of my stupid sickness that won’t go away!
I survived the jungle with only about 10 mosquito bites I think I counted. Brendon and Chantal didn’t get any! I think it is a proven fact that mosquitoes just like me or I have tasty blood to them or something because whenever I go somewhere I always end up with way more bites than everyone else. They said there hasn’t been a case of malaria in the part of the jungle I went to for over 40 years, but since I was bit several times despite wearing repellant 24/7, I decided to still take my pills just to be safe.
There were 3 new people when I got back from the jungle, 2 of which were sick as well so the doctor ended up coming out to our house on 3 visits yesterday. There is a married couple from Chicago who are 28 and a lady from New Zealand who is 39. They are here through another program, nothing having to do with Maximo Nivel, and they will be working on a llama farm for 2 weeks. I was a little disappointed that the new people we got were so much older than me because I miss having friends around here to hang out with, but they all seem really nice and maybe after they leave I will get some younger folks for my last 2 weeks.
I will take my medicine this week and hope and pray to get rid of this awful cough. Some of the volunteers including Brendon and Chantal and I are going to plan a trip for rafting later in the week and I need to figure out which trip I will do this weekend and if Pisco will be possible with Laura.
Today I return to work to see my kiddies which I am so excited for! I missed them over the weekend. Adios for now amigos. Hasta luego.
P.S. I can’t believe the wedding is in only 6 weeks!
-Hillary-
Friday morning I woke up around 5:45 am with just enough time to get dressed and be ready for my taxi that Patricia called to have pick me up at 6:00 am. We rode the quick 5-10 minute drive to the airport with Miley Cyrus music on full blast which I was not happy about since I don’t even like her at normal volume in the middle of the day. I met up with Brendon and Chantal at the check in counter around a quarter after for our flight to Puerto Maldonaldo that would be leaving at 7:40 am.
I did not check a bag since I only brought a backpack with me for the weekend. They are a lot more relaxed on what you can take on your carry-on baggage EXCEPT they don’t allow aerosols which I forgot about and they had to confiscate my bug spray for clothing and my dry shampoo. I was not very happy about this because I thought I would need both for the weekend, but ended up getting by without just fine even though I want them back now. They allow you to take any other liquids in whatever quantity you want so I had no problem with my other belongings and I was even able to bring two water bottles through so I wouldn’t have to pay for overpriced ones in the airport.
Our flight was only an hour long over enormous snow capped mountains first and then as we got closer I could see all of the Amazon River and its tributaries surrounded by rainforest. Puerto Maldonaldo is in the Tambopata part of the Amazon on the south-east side of Peru. It is a four hour boat ride to Brazil down the Madre de Dios River.
When we arrived and walked off the plane there was an immediate rush of warm, humid, tropical air. All around were lush green plants and trees and palm trees were everywhere too. The airport was very tiny with only 2 terminals. We walked out front and were greeted by the staff of where we were staying with a sign reading “Eco Amazonia Lodge.” They directed us to our bus that would take us on a tour of the city before heading by boat to the lodge. The bus was windowless and looked for like a safari van with wooden bench seats and the whole sides open to look out at the scenery and feel the sun on our faces as we drove into the city.
Alongside us were motorcycles and 3 wheeled buggies like you would picture in India that our guide said are both their form of taxis. They use those because in the hot climate it is cooler to drive around in those and cheaper to not be wasting the money on AC in a regular car.
We went to their Plaza de Armas which had a tall blue and crème colored clock in the middle rather than a fountain like in the others I have seen. Our guide said that there were a lot of emigrants in Puerto Maldonaldo that come from Puno and Cusco to live but also that 5% of the population is Japanese which was surprising.
Next we went to their local market that had everything! Our guide said that most of the products are imported because of PM being such a small city. They get their fruits and vegetables from Puno, Cusco and Arequipa and their clothes from Brazil and Bolivia. Because of this, things there were more expensive to buy in the market. They do have some local products they sell of course like bananas, mangos, papaya, and other rainforest fruits. We went to their meat market area and they had full chickens hanging from their necks with their little feet dangling. It was quite disturbing. We walked outside to see baby chicks and ducks crammed in a small cage where people could pick out the one they want to take home to raise to be big and fat and then eat. That was also disturbing and sad to me because they were so cute and innocent. There were a lot of fish as well on the tables that were caught locally from the river like catfish and trout.
We had to be back to the bus at noon so we left the market to walk back and this random man told Chantal and I that we were more beautiful than flowers and started singing to us for the next 3 blocks. It was a little weird but I guess sweet in a way? He welcomed us to “his” city and went on his way without even asking for a tip for his amateurish song.
On the way to the bus we saw some other odd sights in the streets of Puerto Maldonaldo: a dog eating off a WHOLE cow skull, a boy pushing a cart of caged pigeons and selling their eggs and a little boy with no pants on walking down the street alone. It was definitely an experience in a new city!
We took the bus down to the river to take a boat to our lodge. On the way we saw shanty homes that reminded me a lot of places I’ve visited in Central America. We boarded a typical small river boat with the rest of our group for an hour and a half trip down the Madre de Dios to our lodge. In our group were two couples from England, two guys from Israel, two Asian ladies and a Spanish woman. We had to wear life jackets on the boat because they didn’t want us to fall in and get eaten by any piranhas.
The boat flew quickly down the river and left small fisherman boats in the dust. The river was very dirty and was a murky brown color. On either side of us the land was rainforest and since it is dry season the water was very low creating a shore with beaches of sand. Here and there we would see some random homes and again I would wonder how those people survived and how they must have to live off the land’s resources. At least there they had the option of fishing and numerous plants and animals at hand.
We arrived at the lodge around 2:30 and went straight to the dining area for lunch. For an appetizer we had fried yucca which was actually very good. Our meal came out in a huge banana leaf and inside was rice, chicken and other vegetables. I was very impressed with all the food the whole weekend and they had interesting juices as well.
The lodge was extremely nice! Everything was on stilts to avoid rodents like the huge, yellow Bamboo rat from getting into anything. There was a game room with a bar and lounge area and outside right up above the shore was a row of about 10 covered hammocks that you could relax in and watch the river from. In the reception area they had a sign of some of the animals that live in the area you could possibly see on your hikes. They included sloths, capybaras, armadillos, porcupines, jaguars, about a dozen different monkeys, plenty of birds and snakes and spiders galore. These were only things you COULD see however because our guide told us that the rainforest is of course very unpredictable and you never know going in what you are going to see that day. They had a pool in a mosquito netted room although it was freezing! We went in it anyway after our long hikes to cool off but one jump in and you had to get out because of how frigid the water was. At the lodge they had some birds that would come right up to your bungalow steps like Macaws that reminded me of my sister Allison and the bird she used to have named Zazu and two other pretty black ones. I also saw squirrels in the trees and there were beautiful flowers all over. We were surrounded by the forest and its trees so we felt totally immersed in the environment.
We were taken to our bungalow named Fraile which is some sort of monkey. All of the bungalows were named after an animal in the rainforest. It had a little foyer/seating area with two hammocks and then inside were our 3 beds and a bathroom. The whole bungalow was mosquito netted instead of windowed so we were in a sense still outdoors and could hear all the sounds of the jungle all day. We only got electricity from 5:30 pm to 10 pm and the shower was freezing cold just like the pool.
After lunch our guide took us to Monkey Island. It is an island, 1 km by 2 km, that the lodge owns right across the river where they put monkeys they have rescued from the black market being sold as pets. These monkeys can’t go back into the wild because they will be easily targeted by others or not know how to survive since many were taken as babies out of the forest so the lodge places them in the sanctuary where they can be protected and looked after yet still live in a wild environment. The new babies born on the island however are taken away at around 1 ½ or 2 years and put to live in the real forest in order to maintain a healthy population on the island and give the babies a chance to live normal lives with other packs of their own wild species. Our guide said that only around 40 monkeys live on the island. They take tourists here because they monkeys are used to humans and enjoy the interaction they get when we bring them bananas and water.
We arrived around 4 pm and the first monkey we saw was the smallest of the island. He was sitting on a branch and unlike wild monkeys when he heard that we were coming he waited for us rather than scurried. He was mostly black with some brown on his face and a white line with black spots down his back. I was the first to get to feed him a banana and he grabbed it quickly from me with his little hands and munched on it as we all snapped pictures of his adorable face.
Our guide whistled and called out “mono, mono, mono” (meaning monkey in Spanish) to get their attention and let them know he was bringing food as we walked deeper in. We got to a spot where a large wooden table was set up and all the monkeys suddenly appeared in the trees above. They started making their way down as our guide opened up his bag to bring out the bananas for us to feed them. They were all coming right up to us and some even jumping on people’s shoulders and backs to get the tasty treat in our hands. Some were White Capuchins and others Squirrel Monkeys. Our guide pointed out the boss of the pack and said to make sure not to taunt him at all and simply hand over our bananas if he comes for them because he could get feisty. We saw babies all the way to larger adults. One got his banana fix and went for a rest on the branch of a tree. He laid down and dangled all four limbs down on either side and they just hung loosely. It was such a funny site but our guide said that that is how some of them sleep.
We started heading back when we were greeted by my favorite monkey, a female spider monkey who was all black. She had the longest arms, legs and tail I had ever seen on a monkey and only four long fingers that when I held her hand felt like leather. She came down because she spotted our water bottles and was thirsty. Our guide said that since it was dry season they didn’t have much water and were afraid to go out to the river because many times caimans (an animal like a crocodile but lives in fresh water and is much smaller) would be waiting to pounce and eat them. She climbed down and jumped on one of the English girl’s heads and reached over for my water bottle. She was able to unscrew it on her own and started chugging all my water! She stole it and went up in the tree to finish it and then dropped it back down to the ground. She decided to come back down for some bananas and attention and sat on my friend Brendon’s shoulders for quite some time while people snapped photos.
We got back to lodge around 5:30 and went for a quick swim before dinner at 7. After dinner we went for a night boat ride to look for the white caiman that lives in the main river with a spot light. There are three types of caiman: white, black and dwarf. The white are used to the sound of motors and are usually found in the Amazon River. The black and dwarf however prefer secluded lakes and lagoons in the forest that don’t have people or boats to disturb them. We saw their eyes glow red in the dark along the shore and near floating logs. They are not very big and look more like large lizards to me, but it was cool to see a species that is unique to the Amazon in its natural habitat.
I enjoyed the boat ride part of it more and feeling the warm air for once in the past month! There were bats flying around us and I just relaxed and listened to the sounds of the jungle. I cannot even describe the beauty I saw when I looked up at the sky out there. All you see is a sky completely filled with stars with no clouds and no interruptions of buildings or lights from the city. I had never seen such a clear night sky where I could point out every constellation.
We got back and decided to lie in the hammocks until the electricity would be turned off and take in the sights and sounds of the Amazonian night. Around 9:45 we headed for our bungalow to get to bed early for the following day full of excursions through the forest. I fell asleep to the sounds of birds singing, howler monkeys howling and insects chirping which was even better than falling asleep to the sound of the ocean on other vacations.
Due to my ongoing cough that is still persisted I was awaken in the middle of the night and in order to not wake up Brendon and Chantal too, I grabbed my water bottle and went out of the room until I was through coughing. It happened to be raining so I watched the tropical storm in awe until I was able to return to bed.
Saturday morning we got a knock on our door at 6:00 am for our wakeup call. We had breakfast at 6:30 and then at 7 headed out by boat to where we would begin our hike. We had to wear long pants and I wore a hat too so I knew nothing would be jumping down from a tree and into my hair. And my hat was camouflage so I was ready to blend in and see all the animals I could! I sprayed my entire body down with deet spray and SPF 45 sun lotion. As we walked out to our boat you couldn’t see anything because of the fog. We were dropped off about 10 minutes down the river and started into the forest for our 5 hour trek. Our guide carried a machete to clear any vines or plants in the way of the trail, but our lodge along with 24 others in the area own that area of land and have carved out a distinct route through the forest with signs and a path. The government allows them to use it for tourism as long as they maintain it well by not cutting anything down, not hunting any animals and not littering. I had to learn the metric system very fast over the weekend because everything our guide told us was in km, meters and Celsius.
Our guide explained various trees throughout our walk. Most of the large trees we saw were 200 + years old and we even saw one that was over 400 years old and was starting to decompose and had holes in it The first he pointed out, considered the Father of the Forest, was called Chihuahuaco. This is the tree that is responsible for getting people lost in the Amazon even if they have a compass because it has magnetic components in it that throw the direction in the compass off. Because of its magnetic components it can, and is frequently, struck by lightning in storms but is not affected. It is called the Father of the Forest then because it protects all the other trees and plants by taking the brunt of the storm on itself. At the bottom it has areas that make enclosures that hunters and Amazon people would use for shelter at night and our guide said there have been reports of this tree creating erotic dreams. There was another tree beside it that I forget the name of but it is hollow in the middle so if you are ever lost in the Amazon you can hit the tree with a stick and it can sound 3-4 km to alert someone of where you are. He demonstrated with his machete and even that made a loud sound that echoed through the forest.
The Mother of the Forest is the Elephant tree: named this because its bark resembles that of elephant skin. They have these in other forests in Central America and Asia as well. It was even larger than the Chihuahuaco and I looked like an ant in a picture with it.
There was a unique tree called the Garlic Tree that when he took a piece of the bark off for us to smell it smelled of course like pure garlic. This tree is not used for the kitchen however and it is the only tree that the termites won’t eat because they hate the taste of the bark.
We saw an infectious vine called the Fichus that was eating a whole tree and taking over the outside to form a new one. It was really interesting and a crazy site to see.
Next we saw a tree called the Justice tree that was the home of hundreds of fire ants. Our guide said that in the olden days when someone in a village did something bad they would tie him or her naked to the tree as punishment, thus creating the name of the Justice Tree. He said 50 fire ants could kill a small child so imagine being tied to a whole tree?! I am sure the people didn’t always survive the ordeal.
We saw a bunch of different palm trees including one that had horns at the top and another called the “Walking Palm” because it can move up to 3 M in its lifetime because its roots resemble legs and will adjust to a growing environment to make room for itself.
Our guide said that biologists only know 1% of the medicinal uses of all the plants and trees in the rainforest so far because there are just so many different types. The rainforest holds the most diverse groups of everything on the planet and is filled with things that still have yet to be discovered and could cure some of the world’s worst diseases.
Above our heads along the walk we ran into a pack of about 30 squirrel monkeys. They were jumping from tree to tree and we all just stood there and watched for about 20 minutes until their main predator, the Hawk, cried out and they all scurried away to hide below the canopy where he could not catch them.
We continued on and our guide pointed out an adult tarantula with poisonous orange tipped legs nested in a large palm leaf. There was another hole in the ground nearby that he stuck a stick into the get another to come out. A baby tarantula crawled out to have a look and he explained that this type’s mother will kill her mate after she is through with him and feed him to the babies. Pretty sick huh?! There were huge Warrior ants along the trail as well that were about 5 times the size of any ant I had ever seen.
We saw a green tree frog and two tiny little brown frogs that our guide picked up so we could get a closer view. I saw a sign at this point that we were in Jaguar zone, however we never saw any probably because we were not in silence on our walk and any noise would have spooked them away.
We made it to Apu Victor, which is the lost lagoon in the middle of our trail. The lodge had a watch tower built and a boat there so we could go out in the lagoon after. We climbed up the tall watch tower where we could see all of the lagoon and its surrounding trees that were filled with different birds. The guide let me use his binoculars to get a look into the trees. One of the birds made a sound like a blow horn and is actually called the Horn Bird. We saw a caiman poking his eyes out of the water and some turtles that came up to have a look as well.
We headed down to take the little kayak out into the lagoon. There were tall weeds in the middle where hundreds of colorful dragonflies were buzzing around. The sun was really intense on the lagoon where there were no trees to shade us and I could feel my skin tanning: FINALLY: YAY! We took a circle around the lagoon and I enjoyed listening to the birds sing although the bugs distracted me by buzzing in my ears.
We tied the kayak back up to the shore and started on our way back to the lodge for lunch which was only about a half hour away. I was glad because it was almost noon and I was starting to get hot, itchy, tired and hungry. We made it back and he congratulated us for surviving our first hike in the jungle!
We went right to our bungalow and threw on our suits so we could go right to the pool. It was refreshing to jump in the freezing water after walking from 7 am- noon through the humid rainforest. We had some time before lunch at 1:30 so we decided to take advantage of the hot Amazonian sun and we found a nice grassy area where we laid out for a couple hours.
After lunch we went for another short hike to a small lake where the black caimans live. Our guide brought some fish to feed them so they would come out of the water and we could get a better look for the first time. We sat in silence not to scare them off on some benches above the lake. A big mama caiman was the first to exit the water and try out the fish. Some of her babies followed and for once we got the see the animals out of the water and view their true size. It was cool to watch them eat the fish our guide put out for them and in time, more and more started to come to where we were to get a piece of their own. At one point there were about 7 caiman in one corner of the small lake.
We headed back and after a long day I was exhausted! I planned on only taking a nap until dinner but ending up sleeping right through it. My cough was still bothering me and I felt slightly dehydrated from sweating so much earlier in the day. Brendon and Chantal came back to the room later and we all turned in early since the next day we had to be up at 4:30 am.
Sunday morning we got our knock on the door at what felt like the middle of the night still. We stayed in bed a little longer and then packed up and headed to breakfast in the dark. Our boat back to Puerto Maldonaldo left at 5:30 in order to get to the airport in time for our 9 am flight. I slept on the boat ride back and sleepily walked the thin plank across the river to the shore back in PM. We got on our bus and had to go pick up our boarding passes at the office and then headed to the airport. My cough at this point was out of control and it was making me vomit from coughing so hard and gagging.
The flight back was short luckily and I took a taxi back home where I arrived around 11 am. I walked into my room and was scared to death by cookie because he never goes in my room who was sitting next to my closet. He started his usual whining and I pushed him out so I could get into bed and struggle to sleep through my cough. After a few hours of no luck I finally gave in and asked Patty to call the doctor for me. He came to the house and right into my room to do my exam at about 2:30 pm. He listened to my lungs and said that they sounded awful and I was wheezing when I breathed and coughed. He prescribed me an antibiotic, a cough suppressant steroid and some cough syrup with codeine so I can actually try to get some sleep and said to keep up with my inhalers. The doctor visit was $20 and my medicine was $40 so now I have less money to do the things here that I wanted to do because of my stupid sickness that won’t go away!
I survived the jungle with only about 10 mosquito bites I think I counted. Brendon and Chantal didn’t get any! I think it is a proven fact that mosquitoes just like me or I have tasty blood to them or something because whenever I go somewhere I always end up with way more bites than everyone else. They said there hasn’t been a case of malaria in the part of the jungle I went to for over 40 years, but since I was bit several times despite wearing repellant 24/7, I decided to still take my pills just to be safe.
There were 3 new people when I got back from the jungle, 2 of which were sick as well so the doctor ended up coming out to our house on 3 visits yesterday. There is a married couple from Chicago who are 28 and a lady from New Zealand who is 39. They are here through another program, nothing having to do with Maximo Nivel, and they will be working on a llama farm for 2 weeks. I was a little disappointed that the new people we got were so much older than me because I miss having friends around here to hang out with, but they all seem really nice and maybe after they leave I will get some younger folks for my last 2 weeks.
I will take my medicine this week and hope and pray to get rid of this awful cough. Some of the volunteers including Brendon and Chantal and I are going to plan a trip for rafting later in the week and I need to figure out which trip I will do this weekend and if Pisco will be possible with Laura.
Today I return to work to see my kiddies which I am so excited for! I missed them over the weekend. Adios for now amigos. Hasta luego.
P.S. I can’t believe the wedding is in only 6 weeks!
-Hillary-
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Pray I don't get eaten by a jaguar!
Yesterday I went to tandem with Edward and then stopped for a snack on the way to work in Gringo Alley. There is a place called the Bagel Café that makes special bagels like the one I had which was called pizza. It had cheese, tomato sauce and oregano on it and was very tasty!
When I got to placement I was greeted by the children with hugs and kisses who had missed me while I was gone for the weekend. There were 3 new people who had come while I was gone: Jason from Rhode Island, Monica from Croatia and Joselyn from Honduras.
I asked what the word Colibri meant because I saw it in Arequipa as well and the director explained the meaning of the word and how it related to the children. Colibri means hummingbird in Spanish. Like hummingbirds, these children go from place to place spreading their love with no real home ground. They work in the streets as the hummingbird works in the garden and like the hummingbird they wear many colors. It was a cool comparison I thought and it made me appreciate the name and what it stands for.
I will be at Colibri for 2 more weeks and then for my last 2 weeks I am going to switch to a shelter for abused girls also near the plaza where I will teach English.
I leave for the jungle tomorrow morning and I am so excited! I am going with two friends from Canada, Brendon and Chantal. We have to fly to a place called Puerto Maldonaldo and then take a boat to our lodge in a part of the Amazon called Tambopata. I started my malaria pills last night and will have to take them for the next 8 days since I will be around so many nasty mosquitoes. I need to pack tonight when I get home and make sure most importantly I bring my high deet spray, sun block and hats.
I can’t believe that I have already been here for almost a month! I have big plans for my last month and many more things I have to fit in before I leave.
This weekend: Jungle
June 18 weekend: Pisco
June 25 weekend: Stay in Cusco for Inti Raymi festival
July 2 weekend: Puno and Lake Titicaca
July 10: HOME
And in between there during the week days before work I plan on going rafting, horseback riding, seeing the Cocoa museum and attending a church service. I still have a few more gifts to buy as well and I need to check out the dollar movies everyone keeps talking about at Molino.
Wish me luck in the jungle and pray I don’t get eaten by some wild animal in the jungle! I will take a ton of pictures because being the animal fanatic I am I will be psyched at everything I see I am sure. Chao amigos!
-Hillary-
When I got to placement I was greeted by the children with hugs and kisses who had missed me while I was gone for the weekend. There were 3 new people who had come while I was gone: Jason from Rhode Island, Monica from Croatia and Joselyn from Honduras.
I asked what the word Colibri meant because I saw it in Arequipa as well and the director explained the meaning of the word and how it related to the children. Colibri means hummingbird in Spanish. Like hummingbirds, these children go from place to place spreading their love with no real home ground. They work in the streets as the hummingbird works in the garden and like the hummingbird they wear many colors. It was a cool comparison I thought and it made me appreciate the name and what it stands for.
I will be at Colibri for 2 more weeks and then for my last 2 weeks I am going to switch to a shelter for abused girls also near the plaza where I will teach English.
I leave for the jungle tomorrow morning and I am so excited! I am going with two friends from Canada, Brendon and Chantal. We have to fly to a place called Puerto Maldonaldo and then take a boat to our lodge in a part of the Amazon called Tambopata. I started my malaria pills last night and will have to take them for the next 8 days since I will be around so many nasty mosquitoes. I need to pack tonight when I get home and make sure most importantly I bring my high deet spray, sun block and hats.
I can’t believe that I have already been here for almost a month! I have big plans for my last month and many more things I have to fit in before I leave.
This weekend: Jungle
June 18 weekend: Pisco
June 25 weekend: Stay in Cusco for Inti Raymi festival
July 2 weekend: Puno and Lake Titicaca
July 10: HOME
And in between there during the week days before work I plan on going rafting, horseback riding, seeing the Cocoa museum and attending a church service. I still have a few more gifts to buy as well and I need to check out the dollar movies everyone keeps talking about at Molino.
Wish me luck in the jungle and pray I don’t get eaten by some wild animal in the jungle! I will take a ton of pictures because being the animal fanatic I am I will be psyched at everything I see I am sure. Chao amigos!
-Hillary-
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Arequipa and the 4 hour walk home
What a weekend! It was filled with new experiences, exciting views and walking home for hours through villages.
First let me start by assuring you all that I am safe. As you have probably heard by now Joran Van der Sloot, the man who was “accused” (yet we all KNEW he did it!) of murdering Natalee Holloway in Aruba 5 years ago, killed another young girl in Lima last week. He was apprehended on his way to Chile and brought back to Lima where he is in jail and awaits an indictment. It was very scary to hear that he was in the same country as I am and that he had fled after committing the crime. I am very happy of course that he has been caught and will finally pay for what he has done and justice will be served at least for one life he has taken.
Michael and I left for Arequipa on Friday night. We were supposed to be picked up at 7:20 pm in order to get to the bus station for our 8:00 bus but they were late as usual and we had to basically run out of the taxi and to the line for the bus. I have found that most Peruvian people are usually always late anywhere from 10 minutes to sometimes even a half hour, but when it is something important like making a bus you can’t afford to be causal with the time. When we were boarding the bus they fingerprinted us and they were video recording each passenger’s face for security purposes. It was really weird but I guess it is for our safety in case anything was to happen during the overnight trip.
I had not been able to keep any food down since Thursday afternoon so the bus ride was not very fun for me. I sat on the aisle so I could get to the bathroom easily throughout the bumpy 9 hour ride. The seats reclined pretty far and I tried to sleep but even with my Ipod music on full blast it was broken due to the man in the aisle seat next to me keeping me awake with his hyena like snoring.
I was sleeping at one point and rolled over in my uncomfortable seat trying to adjust when I saw ski masked men walking up and down the aisle touching our luggage. I freaked out and thought that they were terrorists and our bus was being raided like I read happens sometimes to overnight buses in a travel guide book. I learned that it was only a check point along the way for security to make sure no one on the bus was bringing anything illegal and that they were wearing ski masks because it was so cold outside. I was relieved but seriously can you imagine being woken up at 3:00 am to ski masked men in a foreign country?! It got my heart pumping for a few minutes. Since I had to keep my Ipod on all night to drown out the snoring, it ended up dying around the time we pulled into the Arequipa bus station at 5:00 am.
We got a taxi and asked him to take us to our hostel so we could sleep for a few hours before exploring the city. Come to find out the road that our hostel was on was under construction and he had to drop us off at the very end of the street and we had to walk down to find it among the cement trucks on the gravel road. There was no sign of the name out front of where we were staying so we ended up walking up and down the street for the next half hour trying to figure out which one was ours. Finally we figured out the address by asking and had to bang on the large wood door for another 10 minutes to wake up the man at the front desk to let us in. We got to our room and crashed for 5 hours in our own very comfortable beds with down comforters.
When we woke up we went out for lunch in the main plaza, which like Cusco is called Plaza de Armas. I think every city or village in Peru calls their plaza this as well. While we were eating lunch we saw Ariana and Lindsay who were also in Arequipa for the weekend and we ended up spending most of the weekend with them throughout our tours because they did the same ones.
Arequipa, the second largest city in Peru, was very different from Cusco. It had a much stronger European influence in its architecture and the people there were dressed in ‘normal’ clothing. Meaning, I did not see anyone in the traditional Inca dress walking around with their alpacas or lambs like in Cusco. I have never been to Europe, but I imagine Arequipa would fit right in in Spain or Italy with its buildings, streets, bridges, people, food, etc. Arequipa’s buildings were all made of white stone and there were palm trees there which made me miss South Carolina, and it was a lot hotter than Cusco so I could actually wear shorts for once! There is a large volcano called Misti that last erupted in 1540 in Arequipa that you can see from all over the city. I like Cusco a lot better and would not have wanted to spend any more time than I did in Arequipa.
After lunch, we went to Santa Catalina, which is an old convent that takes up a whole city block in Arequipa. It was like a whole city inside a city and it took us more than an hour to walk through. We got to see where the nuns slept, prayed, studied, confessed, ate, cooked, did laundry, were treated for illness, were buried, etc. It was really interesting to see all of the old rooms and how they lived so secluded from the outside world. There was beautiful artwork towards the end and numerous statues of Christ throughout. My favorite part was the architecture of the convent and the colors used. It reminded me of something you would see in Greece with bright blue and rustic orange and the courtyards were wonderful with fountains and pillars. It was only opened up to the public in 1970 as a museum and I don’t believe anyone lives there today.
Next we went to my favorite part of Arequipa which was Juanita the frozen girl. She was a child sacrifice during Incan times to the mountain Gods so that the volcano would not erupt and ruin the villages below. She was discovered only in 1995 after the eruption of the Sabancaya Volcano by Dr. Johan Reinhard on the Ampato Volcano outside of the city. Archeologists believe that she was chosen by her village to be sacrificed and therefore at the age of 12-14 she was taken up to the top of the mountain wearing only sandals and the ritual clothing to be killed by a blow to the head and left to the Gods. They found cocoa leaves and the ritual drink, Chicha, in her stomach which would have acted as a sedative to her already great fatigue and hypothermia from the climb up the mountain at 6, 380 meters above sea level. They found three others on Ampato, another girl and 2 boys who were also sacrificed to the Gods. The children would be buried with offerings to the Gods like pottery, figurines, and tools. They were always dressed with a blanket over the shoulders connected with a large pin and wearing a large a headdress. They were placed in a shallow grave sitting in an upright position. When archeologists found Juanita she was still in the perfect position despite having tumbled down the mountain. Her face was exposed to the environment for about 2 weeks because the blanket that the Incas place over the children’s faces was lost in the fall. It was amazing to see Juanita in person in the museum and also very eerie to think that she was a real person from so long ago. You could see her arms, fingers and legs in the position she was killed in. Her face was still all together with teeth, lips, eye sockets and you could see on her forehead where they struck her to end her life. Her hair was still there was well. I was amazed at what history can tell us and how cool it was that they found this little girl who could tell us so much.
We had dinner, which I was still not able to keep down and at this point starting to worry that I had some sort of stomach flu, and went to bed early because we had a long day of traveling ahead.
Sunday morning we were picked up at our hostel by the tour guide at 8:00 am. After having breakfast I felt sick so everyone on our tour van knew from the start that I was not feeling well and babied me the next two days. There was a German mother and daughter, two women from Barcelona, a couple from Lima, two Americans who were teaching for a year in Chile, a couple from Massachusetts, a girl from Taiwan, and a guy from California. I bought some water and Gatorade and tried to stay hydrated since I had been vomiting for that past 2 days straight. We started our drive out of Arequipa by entering the Salinas Reserve to see the vicuñas, which are part of the alpaca and llama family. They are much smaller and their ears go straight back rather than up. They are put in reserve lands because they are endangered species. The drive felt very much like a safari because once we got out of Arequipa the land was extremely dry and desert like. We stopped along the road to take pictures of the vicuñas as they were grazing on the dry grasslands among the high mountains. As we drove in the reserve I thought it was funny to see “vicuña crossing” signs similar to signs like we have for child or deer crossing. There was a picture of a vicuña on a yellow triangle to warn drivers of the many in the area.
As we drove, I saw a lot poorer side of Peru with random homes made of stones and some without even a roof along the deserted highway. I asked our tour guide how in the world these people can survive out here in such isolation and she said that many have to live off of herding their alpacas, llamas and some sheep because the land is too dry for any agriculture and that on the weekends a public bus will come by that can take them into Arequipa or the other city of Chivay which we were on our way to so they can get food, water and other supplies. I could not imagine living so far away from civilization with no resources. What if there were an emergency? These poor people just have no other means and have to do what they have to do to survive.
We stopped at other sites along the way for pictures. There was an enclosure of alpacas and llamas that a man and his two young sons brought for pictures and we also stopped to see some wild ducks and herring. Next we stopped at rest area for cocoa tea for those affected by the increasing altitude and a bathroom break. There was an adorable little German Sheppard puppy that wanted to play and out back two baby alpacas munching on some corn stalks. We were literally in the middle of the desert because all around us were cactuses, mountains, and very dry open land.
We arrived in Chivay around 2:00 pm which sits in Colca Canyon, the deepest canyon in the world. It was a small little mountain village with a plaza and dirt roads surrounding. We had lunch and then were taken to our hostel called Colca Inn. Around 4:30 our tour guide picked us up again and we went to the hot springs. These hot springs were MUCH better than the ones in Aguas Calientes. They looked like pools and were very clean. They still smelled like sulfur because of the natural water from the springs, but I didn’t feel dirty being in them like our last experience in springs. We saw Ariana and Lindsay there and spent about an hour relaxing in the hot pools.
I really missed my mom and dad after we got back to the hostel because I had been sick now for 3 days and so I went out to call them before meeting back up with the girls at 7:00 for dinner. After crying on the phone for about 5 minutes and only spending 8 soles I felt mentally and physically better for the rest of my trip. Ariana gave me some Canadian medicine called “Gravol” for motion sickness and nausea and the next morning I felt a million times better.
Monday morning we had to wake up at 5:30 am in order to get breakfast and be picked up at 6:00 to travel to see the condors, Peru’s national bird. After picking up the whole group at each hostel we headed to Cruz del Condor, where the large birds glide through the canyon. We stopped in the village of Janqué on the way and saw some girls dancing around the plaza at 7:30 am to some flute music. It took about an hour to get up to the viewing area where we met up with the girls again who had come up in their van a few minutes earlier. The condors had just begun to gracefully glide through the canyon and it was a beautiful site. They didn’t even need to flap their wings because the breeze carried them through the canyon. Some flew right over our heads and others simply glided across the canyon with such ease and tranquility. We stayed there for about an hour watching the birds and then got in our van to head back down the mountain road stopping at some spots along the way.
We headed back down and stopped at some viewpoints to take pictures. The views were remarkable. There were tiny villages set deep in the canyons and ancient terraces still used for irrigation and cows that grazed on them. At the viewpoints there would be random women selling things and you would wonder how in the world they got there and how long it took them. They would have to carry all of their things every morning to these viewpoints just hoping that tourist vans stop and buy something. It was incredibly sad when they had children on their backs that spend the entire day out in the hot sun with their mothers waiting to make maybe 10 or 20 soles from a couple tourists. On the way we would see men walking up and down the mountain roads with their herds of cows, donkeys, sheep, etc. We traveled through tunnels cut out of the mountains along cliffs.
We stopped in a tiny village called Maca to take pictures and get water. There was a woman with her alpaca and a hawk who I took a picture with. They had a beautiful little church and a few tiny shops but that was the extent of it.
We went back to Chivay for lunch and from there headed to Arequipa. I think Hispanics really like American oldies because so far every tourist van or bus I have been on they have played them. Our driver was blasting old jams the whole trip back to Arequipa on the road that was similar to the Pacific Highway in California but without the ocean of course. The drivers were crazy and passed each other on the two lane highway even though they couldn’t see who was coming on the other side. It made me very nervous! The song Heaven is a Place on Earth came on and I thought of my best friend Val because we used to be obsessed with that song in 5th grade. Following was the song Karma Chameleon which reminded me of my sister because I used to steal her 80’s hits CD in middle school with that song on it. It was a nice little call from home and made me think of how much I miss my friends and family back in the states.
We stopped at the highest point along our route which was 4,910 meters above sea level to take even more pictures. From here we could see Misti, Ampato and two other volcanoes. The air was very crisp and clean up here and it felt great to breathe it in. Some of the others in our van had headaches and trouble breathing at such a high altitude, but surprisingly I was fine and actually enjoyed the cold air.
We got back to Arequipa and had time to kill before our bus at 8:30 pm so we met up with Ariana and Lindsay again at their hostel and then went to dinner at a cute little rooftop restaurant where you could see all of Arequipa. We got to our bus on time this time and we headed back to Cusco after saying goodbye to two girls I have become great friends with. Our bus was like a sauna it was so hot. When I asked the bus attendant to turn down the heat because I could barely breathe it was so hot she told me it was cold! Four other ‘gringos’ around us agreed that it was awful and they complained too so she finally kicked up the AC. My seat was broken this time and it would only stay reclined if I kept my body weight on it because it would not lock into position so my sleep was yet again broken due to sweating profusely and having a jacked up seat.
So you would think my blog entry would end here because we got back home and that was it right? WRONG! The best is yet to come…
I am awakened at 7:00 am to a bus that is stationary. We have been sitting still for the past hour or more and no one really knows why. We learn that there is an agricultural strike and the village people have blocked off the road for the next 24 hours and are not letting anyone through. We have the option of sitting and waiting on the bus or walking 20 kilometers (about 13 or so miles) back to Cusco. Michael and I decide after a half hour of waiting and realizing they are not going to let up that we better start walking. We get off the bus and see buses, cars, and trucks backed up ahead and behind for miles. The sun was glaring on us on the right side and we had no sunscreen but we had no other option if we wanted to get back to Cusco that day.
We see that we are in Tipon which is supposed to be a 45 minute taxi ride from Cusco. We end up walking along this road for the next 4 hours with our luggage (backpacks and a purse for me) through the strike. There were logs, rocks, broken glass, burnt out cars, tree trunks, and people sitting in the road for the next 13 miles on our trek back to Cusco refusing to move. Businesses and schools were closed in all the small villages in between since every person was fighting for the cause in the street. Apparently they wanted the government to give them more water for their agricultural needs. We were walking through the countryside of Peru and it was definitely a side I had not been in yet. I took pictures of the people stationed in the streets and of the random livestock I was able to see up close like cows, pigs, sheep, etc.
At one point the protesters started walking with their picket signs to take their demands to Cusco and to gain support and followers throughout the other villages and neighborhoods along the way. The point they happened to start walking was right when we were passing them and Michael and I were actually in the crowd of protesters. It was scary and I felt very uncomfortable because as the crowd approached areas, businesses shut their doors which made me believe that this protest could get violent and I wanted to get far away from it and fast.
We finally made it to the end of the road block where a line of police men were standing to stop any further action and we were able to get a cab to our house from there. However, at that point we were only about 10 minutes from home anyway. It was noon and we were exhausted and sun burned. We told our house mom who embraced us both with a big hug and felt very bad for what we had to endure. After I Skyped my mom to tell her about my awful experience I slept for the rest of the day.
I have to start my malaria pills because I leave for the jungle on Friday! I will have another exciting weekend and a blog and pictures to follow for you all. I hope you enjoyed my crazy story. It was definitely a culture shock and something I didn’t expect to happen on my trip here but something I will never forget.
That is all for now. Adios and hasta luego!
-Hillary-
First let me start by assuring you all that I am safe. As you have probably heard by now Joran Van der Sloot, the man who was “accused” (yet we all KNEW he did it!) of murdering Natalee Holloway in Aruba 5 years ago, killed another young girl in Lima last week. He was apprehended on his way to Chile and brought back to Lima where he is in jail and awaits an indictment. It was very scary to hear that he was in the same country as I am and that he had fled after committing the crime. I am very happy of course that he has been caught and will finally pay for what he has done and justice will be served at least for one life he has taken.
Michael and I left for Arequipa on Friday night. We were supposed to be picked up at 7:20 pm in order to get to the bus station for our 8:00 bus but they were late as usual and we had to basically run out of the taxi and to the line for the bus. I have found that most Peruvian people are usually always late anywhere from 10 minutes to sometimes even a half hour, but when it is something important like making a bus you can’t afford to be causal with the time. When we were boarding the bus they fingerprinted us and they were video recording each passenger’s face for security purposes. It was really weird but I guess it is for our safety in case anything was to happen during the overnight trip.
I had not been able to keep any food down since Thursday afternoon so the bus ride was not very fun for me. I sat on the aisle so I could get to the bathroom easily throughout the bumpy 9 hour ride. The seats reclined pretty far and I tried to sleep but even with my Ipod music on full blast it was broken due to the man in the aisle seat next to me keeping me awake with his hyena like snoring.
I was sleeping at one point and rolled over in my uncomfortable seat trying to adjust when I saw ski masked men walking up and down the aisle touching our luggage. I freaked out and thought that they were terrorists and our bus was being raided like I read happens sometimes to overnight buses in a travel guide book. I learned that it was only a check point along the way for security to make sure no one on the bus was bringing anything illegal and that they were wearing ski masks because it was so cold outside. I was relieved but seriously can you imagine being woken up at 3:00 am to ski masked men in a foreign country?! It got my heart pumping for a few minutes. Since I had to keep my Ipod on all night to drown out the snoring, it ended up dying around the time we pulled into the Arequipa bus station at 5:00 am.
We got a taxi and asked him to take us to our hostel so we could sleep for a few hours before exploring the city. Come to find out the road that our hostel was on was under construction and he had to drop us off at the very end of the street and we had to walk down to find it among the cement trucks on the gravel road. There was no sign of the name out front of where we were staying so we ended up walking up and down the street for the next half hour trying to figure out which one was ours. Finally we figured out the address by asking and had to bang on the large wood door for another 10 minutes to wake up the man at the front desk to let us in. We got to our room and crashed for 5 hours in our own very comfortable beds with down comforters.
When we woke up we went out for lunch in the main plaza, which like Cusco is called Plaza de Armas. I think every city or village in Peru calls their plaza this as well. While we were eating lunch we saw Ariana and Lindsay who were also in Arequipa for the weekend and we ended up spending most of the weekend with them throughout our tours because they did the same ones.
Arequipa, the second largest city in Peru, was very different from Cusco. It had a much stronger European influence in its architecture and the people there were dressed in ‘normal’ clothing. Meaning, I did not see anyone in the traditional Inca dress walking around with their alpacas or lambs like in Cusco. I have never been to Europe, but I imagine Arequipa would fit right in in Spain or Italy with its buildings, streets, bridges, people, food, etc. Arequipa’s buildings were all made of white stone and there were palm trees there which made me miss South Carolina, and it was a lot hotter than Cusco so I could actually wear shorts for once! There is a large volcano called Misti that last erupted in 1540 in Arequipa that you can see from all over the city. I like Cusco a lot better and would not have wanted to spend any more time than I did in Arequipa.
After lunch, we went to Santa Catalina, which is an old convent that takes up a whole city block in Arequipa. It was like a whole city inside a city and it took us more than an hour to walk through. We got to see where the nuns slept, prayed, studied, confessed, ate, cooked, did laundry, were treated for illness, were buried, etc. It was really interesting to see all of the old rooms and how they lived so secluded from the outside world. There was beautiful artwork towards the end and numerous statues of Christ throughout. My favorite part was the architecture of the convent and the colors used. It reminded me of something you would see in Greece with bright blue and rustic orange and the courtyards were wonderful with fountains and pillars. It was only opened up to the public in 1970 as a museum and I don’t believe anyone lives there today.
Next we went to my favorite part of Arequipa which was Juanita the frozen girl. She was a child sacrifice during Incan times to the mountain Gods so that the volcano would not erupt and ruin the villages below. She was discovered only in 1995 after the eruption of the Sabancaya Volcano by Dr. Johan Reinhard on the Ampato Volcano outside of the city. Archeologists believe that she was chosen by her village to be sacrificed and therefore at the age of 12-14 she was taken up to the top of the mountain wearing only sandals and the ritual clothing to be killed by a blow to the head and left to the Gods. They found cocoa leaves and the ritual drink, Chicha, in her stomach which would have acted as a sedative to her already great fatigue and hypothermia from the climb up the mountain at 6, 380 meters above sea level. They found three others on Ampato, another girl and 2 boys who were also sacrificed to the Gods. The children would be buried with offerings to the Gods like pottery, figurines, and tools. They were always dressed with a blanket over the shoulders connected with a large pin and wearing a large a headdress. They were placed in a shallow grave sitting in an upright position. When archeologists found Juanita she was still in the perfect position despite having tumbled down the mountain. Her face was exposed to the environment for about 2 weeks because the blanket that the Incas place over the children’s faces was lost in the fall. It was amazing to see Juanita in person in the museum and also very eerie to think that she was a real person from so long ago. You could see her arms, fingers and legs in the position she was killed in. Her face was still all together with teeth, lips, eye sockets and you could see on her forehead where they struck her to end her life. Her hair was still there was well. I was amazed at what history can tell us and how cool it was that they found this little girl who could tell us so much.
We had dinner, which I was still not able to keep down and at this point starting to worry that I had some sort of stomach flu, and went to bed early because we had a long day of traveling ahead.
Sunday morning we were picked up at our hostel by the tour guide at 8:00 am. After having breakfast I felt sick so everyone on our tour van knew from the start that I was not feeling well and babied me the next two days. There was a German mother and daughter, two women from Barcelona, a couple from Lima, two Americans who were teaching for a year in Chile, a couple from Massachusetts, a girl from Taiwan, and a guy from California. I bought some water and Gatorade and tried to stay hydrated since I had been vomiting for that past 2 days straight. We started our drive out of Arequipa by entering the Salinas Reserve to see the vicuñas, which are part of the alpaca and llama family. They are much smaller and their ears go straight back rather than up. They are put in reserve lands because they are endangered species. The drive felt very much like a safari because once we got out of Arequipa the land was extremely dry and desert like. We stopped along the road to take pictures of the vicuñas as they were grazing on the dry grasslands among the high mountains. As we drove in the reserve I thought it was funny to see “vicuña crossing” signs similar to signs like we have for child or deer crossing. There was a picture of a vicuña on a yellow triangle to warn drivers of the many in the area.
As we drove, I saw a lot poorer side of Peru with random homes made of stones and some without even a roof along the deserted highway. I asked our tour guide how in the world these people can survive out here in such isolation and she said that many have to live off of herding their alpacas, llamas and some sheep because the land is too dry for any agriculture and that on the weekends a public bus will come by that can take them into Arequipa or the other city of Chivay which we were on our way to so they can get food, water and other supplies. I could not imagine living so far away from civilization with no resources. What if there were an emergency? These poor people just have no other means and have to do what they have to do to survive.
We stopped at other sites along the way for pictures. There was an enclosure of alpacas and llamas that a man and his two young sons brought for pictures and we also stopped to see some wild ducks and herring. Next we stopped at rest area for cocoa tea for those affected by the increasing altitude and a bathroom break. There was an adorable little German Sheppard puppy that wanted to play and out back two baby alpacas munching on some corn stalks. We were literally in the middle of the desert because all around us were cactuses, mountains, and very dry open land.
We arrived in Chivay around 2:00 pm which sits in Colca Canyon, the deepest canyon in the world. It was a small little mountain village with a plaza and dirt roads surrounding. We had lunch and then were taken to our hostel called Colca Inn. Around 4:30 our tour guide picked us up again and we went to the hot springs. These hot springs were MUCH better than the ones in Aguas Calientes. They looked like pools and were very clean. They still smelled like sulfur because of the natural water from the springs, but I didn’t feel dirty being in them like our last experience in springs. We saw Ariana and Lindsay there and spent about an hour relaxing in the hot pools.
I really missed my mom and dad after we got back to the hostel because I had been sick now for 3 days and so I went out to call them before meeting back up with the girls at 7:00 for dinner. After crying on the phone for about 5 minutes and only spending 8 soles I felt mentally and physically better for the rest of my trip. Ariana gave me some Canadian medicine called “Gravol” for motion sickness and nausea and the next morning I felt a million times better.
Monday morning we had to wake up at 5:30 am in order to get breakfast and be picked up at 6:00 to travel to see the condors, Peru’s national bird. After picking up the whole group at each hostel we headed to Cruz del Condor, where the large birds glide through the canyon. We stopped in the village of Janqué on the way and saw some girls dancing around the plaza at 7:30 am to some flute music. It took about an hour to get up to the viewing area where we met up with the girls again who had come up in their van a few minutes earlier. The condors had just begun to gracefully glide through the canyon and it was a beautiful site. They didn’t even need to flap their wings because the breeze carried them through the canyon. Some flew right over our heads and others simply glided across the canyon with such ease and tranquility. We stayed there for about an hour watching the birds and then got in our van to head back down the mountain road stopping at some spots along the way.
We headed back down and stopped at some viewpoints to take pictures. The views were remarkable. There were tiny villages set deep in the canyons and ancient terraces still used for irrigation and cows that grazed on them. At the viewpoints there would be random women selling things and you would wonder how in the world they got there and how long it took them. They would have to carry all of their things every morning to these viewpoints just hoping that tourist vans stop and buy something. It was incredibly sad when they had children on their backs that spend the entire day out in the hot sun with their mothers waiting to make maybe 10 or 20 soles from a couple tourists. On the way we would see men walking up and down the mountain roads with their herds of cows, donkeys, sheep, etc. We traveled through tunnels cut out of the mountains along cliffs.
We stopped in a tiny village called Maca to take pictures and get water. There was a woman with her alpaca and a hawk who I took a picture with. They had a beautiful little church and a few tiny shops but that was the extent of it.
We went back to Chivay for lunch and from there headed to Arequipa. I think Hispanics really like American oldies because so far every tourist van or bus I have been on they have played them. Our driver was blasting old jams the whole trip back to Arequipa on the road that was similar to the Pacific Highway in California but without the ocean of course. The drivers were crazy and passed each other on the two lane highway even though they couldn’t see who was coming on the other side. It made me very nervous! The song Heaven is a Place on Earth came on and I thought of my best friend Val because we used to be obsessed with that song in 5th grade. Following was the song Karma Chameleon which reminded me of my sister because I used to steal her 80’s hits CD in middle school with that song on it. It was a nice little call from home and made me think of how much I miss my friends and family back in the states.
We stopped at the highest point along our route which was 4,910 meters above sea level to take even more pictures. From here we could see Misti, Ampato and two other volcanoes. The air was very crisp and clean up here and it felt great to breathe it in. Some of the others in our van had headaches and trouble breathing at such a high altitude, but surprisingly I was fine and actually enjoyed the cold air.
We got back to Arequipa and had time to kill before our bus at 8:30 pm so we met up with Ariana and Lindsay again at their hostel and then went to dinner at a cute little rooftop restaurant where you could see all of Arequipa. We got to our bus on time this time and we headed back to Cusco after saying goodbye to two girls I have become great friends with. Our bus was like a sauna it was so hot. When I asked the bus attendant to turn down the heat because I could barely breathe it was so hot she told me it was cold! Four other ‘gringos’ around us agreed that it was awful and they complained too so she finally kicked up the AC. My seat was broken this time and it would only stay reclined if I kept my body weight on it because it would not lock into position so my sleep was yet again broken due to sweating profusely and having a jacked up seat.
So you would think my blog entry would end here because we got back home and that was it right? WRONG! The best is yet to come…
I am awakened at 7:00 am to a bus that is stationary. We have been sitting still for the past hour or more and no one really knows why. We learn that there is an agricultural strike and the village people have blocked off the road for the next 24 hours and are not letting anyone through. We have the option of sitting and waiting on the bus or walking 20 kilometers (about 13 or so miles) back to Cusco. Michael and I decide after a half hour of waiting and realizing they are not going to let up that we better start walking. We get off the bus and see buses, cars, and trucks backed up ahead and behind for miles. The sun was glaring on us on the right side and we had no sunscreen but we had no other option if we wanted to get back to Cusco that day.
We see that we are in Tipon which is supposed to be a 45 minute taxi ride from Cusco. We end up walking along this road for the next 4 hours with our luggage (backpacks and a purse for me) through the strike. There were logs, rocks, broken glass, burnt out cars, tree trunks, and people sitting in the road for the next 13 miles on our trek back to Cusco refusing to move. Businesses and schools were closed in all the small villages in between since every person was fighting for the cause in the street. Apparently they wanted the government to give them more water for their agricultural needs. We were walking through the countryside of Peru and it was definitely a side I had not been in yet. I took pictures of the people stationed in the streets and of the random livestock I was able to see up close like cows, pigs, sheep, etc.
At one point the protesters started walking with their picket signs to take their demands to Cusco and to gain support and followers throughout the other villages and neighborhoods along the way. The point they happened to start walking was right when we were passing them and Michael and I were actually in the crowd of protesters. It was scary and I felt very uncomfortable because as the crowd approached areas, businesses shut their doors which made me believe that this protest could get violent and I wanted to get far away from it and fast.
We finally made it to the end of the road block where a line of police men were standing to stop any further action and we were able to get a cab to our house from there. However, at that point we were only about 10 minutes from home anyway. It was noon and we were exhausted and sun burned. We told our house mom who embraced us both with a big hug and felt very bad for what we had to endure. After I Skyped my mom to tell her about my awful experience I slept for the rest of the day.
I have to start my malaria pills because I leave for the jungle on Friday! I will have another exciting weekend and a blog and pictures to follow for you all. I hope you enjoyed my crazy story. It was definitely a culture shock and something I didn’t expect to happen on my trip here but something I will never forget.
That is all for now. Adios and hasta luego!
-Hillary-
Friday, June 4, 2010
Corpus Christi
I had another fun filled week here in Cusco that was very exciting because of many new experiences.
Tuesday, I started my tandem Spanish sessions. My partner’s name is Edward and he is 23. He has only been learning English for a year and he is practically fluent! It amazes me how much quicker Hispanics can learn English than we can learn Spanish. I guess it is out of necessity for them and they also have a lot more opportunities to practice especially in a tourist city like Cusco. Edward however lives 45 minutes from Cusco and takes a bus in everyday for lessons because there are no other language centers near him. His family owns a bakery so he has to wake up every day at 4 am to make the bread. He lives in a house with his parents and 5 younger siblings and they have to wash their clothes in the sink because they have no washing machines. What a different life huh? We will meet Monday through Friday at 3:00 pm for the rest of my time here in Cusco if it works out so that I can practice my Spanish with him and he can practice his English with me. It helps to have an hour everyday to speak strictly Spanish and Edward can correct my mistakes and teach me new words when I don’t know them.
Wednesday began the setting up and some small celebrations for Corpus Christi in the Plazas of Cusco. Corpus Christi means body of Christ and it is a huge festival celebrated in early June to worship the 15 Saints. There were huge constructions being set up in front of each church symbolizing them and music and dancing already starting Wednesday afternoon. After tandem Laura and I had a hard time making it to work because people were already starting to gather in the Plaza de Armas to see the festivities. The women dress up in elegant costumes and the men wear these weird and slightly creepy masks while they dance to flutes and drums in the streets. We finally made it through the crowd and I snapped some great pictures along the way and had another day at Colibri with our kids.
Afterwards, I had an hour to kill before meeting up with Michael, Claire and one of Claire’s friends from Florida for dinner downtown so Mario met me and we had a drink at an adorable little bar where you can sit out on a tiny balcony that overlooks San Blas. I get a lot of practice with Spanish when I am with Mario too because he knows absolutely ZERO English. I have taught him a few words and phrases but we speak only Spanish and it definitely challenges me to have to keep up conversations in a second language that I still am not fluent in. I met up with my roommates at a very nice restaurant in the Plaza called Inca Grill. It was the first time I wore a dress in Cusco because it is usually so cold at night I don’t bother. After dinner we met up with other volunteers for drinks and then went dancing at our usual favorite clubs for the whole night since Thursday was a holiday and no one had work or class.
Thursday morning we woke up early to have breakfast in Jack’s café and after spend the day at Corpus Christi. It was: INSANE! Every street in downtown was closed and the entire city was full of people. We made sure to hold on to our bags because you could barely walk without bumping into someone and anyone could have snatched a bag and been lost in the crowd in an instant. We found it really awkward and uncomfortable that random ladies came up and pinned flags to our chest without asking and then demanded money for them to support the holiday. At first I was reluctant because they were so pushy but they explained the proceeds go to poor children and so then I of course had to tip to buy the colorful Inca flag that resembles a rainbow.
We were trying to find a spot to watch the parade that was beginning a
nd ended up actually becoming part of the parade! We were in the street with the dancers, musicians, people carrying the Saints, soldiers, etc. and could not find a space to get out. We speed walked along with the parade until we were finally ahead of it and could make a break through to the outside. I’m sure all the people sitting around the Plaza watching the parade were not happy to see 4 tourists in their way when they were trying to see the beautiful dancing and their beloved Saints. It was embarrassing, yet quite hysterical.
We made our way to the Plaza de San Francisco on what was actually an extremely hot day for Cusco, probably 80 degrees and very sunny. We all had to take a break to grab water because of the heat and the hundreds of people making for some slight anxiety on my part. They must have killed over 1,000 guinea pigs for the holiday because everywhere you looked in San Francisco plaza there were piles of Cuy on different tables and tons of locals sitting down to eat the sacred meal. The poor race was completely wiped out for Corpus Christi in my opinion along with other random meats that were laid out on the tables and being cut up with no sense of sanitary measure whatsoever. The stray dogs were having a field day with all the food scraps from the day and the smell of all the food attracted flies as well. One of our roommates, Connor, decided to try Chicha and I had a sip just so I could say I did. It was the “girl” Chicha so it had more flavoring added to it and had a fruit punch and black licorice taste.
We decided to call it an early day and head back because the crowds were just too much to handle. We took a nap and relaxed the rest of the holiday off. We got a new roommate who is just staying for a week or so until she finds an apartment because she is working at Maximo Nivel for the next year and a half overseeing the language teachers. She is from St. Louis and is only 22.
Michael and I leave tonight, in about 2 hours actually, for Arequipa for the weekend. We are going to meet up with Ariana and Lindsey on Saturday to do some exploring of the city together. The girls have stopped there on their travels after spending last week in Puno and then they will continue on their way up to Lima after. Our bus ride to Arequipa is 12 hours over night and we will get back to Cusco early Tuesday morning after seeing some sites along the way in our tour package. I am going to Skype my parents before I leave and have an early dinner. I will write after the weekend and will be posting pictures on Facebook too. Adios!
-Hillary-
Tuesday, I started my tandem Spanish sessions. My partner’s name is Edward and he is 23. He has only been learning English for a year and he is practically fluent! It amazes me how much quicker Hispanics can learn English than we can learn Spanish. I guess it is out of necessity for them and they also have a lot more opportunities to practice especially in a tourist city like Cusco. Edward however lives 45 minutes from Cusco and takes a bus in everyday for lessons because there are no other language centers near him. His family owns a bakery so he has to wake up every day at 4 am to make the bread. He lives in a house with his parents and 5 younger siblings and they have to wash their clothes in the sink because they have no washing machines. What a different life huh? We will meet Monday through Friday at 3:00 pm for the rest of my time here in Cusco if it works out so that I can practice my Spanish with him and he can practice his English with me. It helps to have an hour everyday to speak strictly Spanish and Edward can correct my mistakes and teach me new words when I don’t know them.
Wednesday began the setting up and some small celebrations for Corpus Christi in the Plazas of Cusco. Corpus Christi means body of Christ and it is a huge festival celebrated in early June to worship the 15 Saints. There were huge constructions being set up in front of each church symbolizing them and music and dancing already starting Wednesday afternoon. After tandem Laura and I had a hard time making it to work because people were already starting to gather in the Plaza de Armas to see the festivities. The women dress up in elegant costumes and the men wear these weird and slightly creepy masks while they dance to flutes and drums in the streets. We finally made it through the crowd and I snapped some great pictures along the way and had another day at Colibri with our kids.
Afterwards, I had an hour to kill before meeting up with Michael, Claire and one of Claire’s friends from Florida for dinner downtown so Mario met me and we had a drink at an adorable little bar where you can sit out on a tiny balcony that overlooks San Blas. I get a lot of practice with Spanish when I am with Mario too because he knows absolutely ZERO English. I have taught him a few words and phrases but we speak only Spanish and it definitely challenges me to have to keep up conversations in a second language that I still am not fluent in. I met up with my roommates at a very nice restaurant in the Plaza called Inca Grill. It was the first time I wore a dress in Cusco because it is usually so cold at night I don’t bother. After dinner we met up with other volunteers for drinks and then went dancing at our usual favorite clubs for the whole night since Thursday was a holiday and no one had work or class.
Thursday morning we woke up early to have breakfast in Jack’s café and after spend the day at Corpus Christi. It was: INSANE! Every street in downtown was closed and the entire city was full of people. We made sure to hold on to our bags because you could barely walk without bumping into someone and anyone could have snatched a bag and been lost in the crowd in an instant. We found it really awkward and uncomfortable that random ladies came up and pinned flags to our chest without asking and then demanded money for them to support the holiday. At first I was reluctant because they were so pushy but they explained the proceeds go to poor children and so then I of course had to tip to buy the colorful Inca flag that resembles a rainbow.
We were trying to find a spot to watch the parade that was beginning a
nd ended up actually becoming part of the parade! We were in the street with the dancers, musicians, people carrying the Saints, soldiers, etc. and could not find a space to get out. We speed walked along with the parade until we were finally ahead of it and could make a break through to the outside. I’m sure all the people sitting around the Plaza watching the parade were not happy to see 4 tourists in their way when they were trying to see the beautiful dancing and their beloved Saints. It was embarrassing, yet quite hysterical.
We made our way to the Plaza de San Francisco on what was actually an extremely hot day for Cusco, probably 80 degrees and very sunny. We all had to take a break to grab water because of the heat and the hundreds of people making for some slight anxiety on my part. They must have killed over 1,000 guinea pigs for the holiday because everywhere you looked in San Francisco plaza there were piles of Cuy on different tables and tons of locals sitting down to eat the sacred meal. The poor race was completely wiped out for Corpus Christi in my opinion along with other random meats that were laid out on the tables and being cut up with no sense of sanitary measure whatsoever. The stray dogs were having a field day with all the food scraps from the day and the smell of all the food attracted flies as well. One of our roommates, Connor, decided to try Chicha and I had a sip just so I could say I did. It was the “girl” Chicha so it had more flavoring added to it and had a fruit punch and black licorice taste.
We decided to call it an early day and head back because the crowds were just too much to handle. We took a nap and relaxed the rest of the holiday off. We got a new roommate who is just staying for a week or so until she finds an apartment because she is working at Maximo Nivel for the next year and a half overseeing the language teachers. She is from St. Louis and is only 22.
Michael and I leave tonight, in about 2 hours actually, for Arequipa for the weekend. We are going to meet up with Ariana and Lindsey on Saturday to do some exploring of the city together. The girls have stopped there on their travels after spending last week in Puno and then they will continue on their way up to Lima after. Our bus ride to Arequipa is 12 hours over night and we will get back to Cusco early Tuesday morning after seeing some sites along the way in our tour package. I am going to Skype my parents before I leave and have an early dinner. I will write after the weekend and will be posting pictures on Facebook too. Adios!
-Hillary-
Monday, May 31, 2010
Museos
Last night was miserable trying to sleep because of my cough. I was up at all hours of the night sipping on hot tea to try to stop coughing and sometimes coughing so hard that I had to run to the bathroom to throw up. I bought some medicine today but I don’t know if it will work or if I will just have to let this run its course. I get a roommate this weekend though and I will have to start sharing a room with someone again when I get back from Arequipa, so I need to get rid of it by then so I don’t keep her up all night too!
Today I went to the rest of the places on my tourist card that I could since some of the other ruins were too far away and would require another day trip. First, I saw the Pachacuteq monument in the center of town. He was an Incan warrior who now is honored by a large statue on top of a brick cylinder that you can go walk up inside and see a great view of Cusco. On the way up there were pictures of other Incan warriors and some artifacts from Incan times.
After, I went to three different museums. I couldn’t take pictures in the first two museums, but the first was so lame and the second was so bizarre that I don’t think I would have even wanted the pictures for my memory or to show any of you either. I guess I am not really the museum type person because I was extremely confused and didn’t see the “art” in much of what I was looking at. I probably only spent around 20 minutes in each museum because that was about all I could stand of how weird some of the things were and their lack of any sort of creativeness in my eyes.
The first place I visited was the Museo de Sitio del Qoricancha which was extremely boring. I could tell the few things they did have were replicas and the rest of the small museum was just pictures with descriptions. There was one interesting part however that described how some of the ancient children were born with deformed heads and in order to fix them they would wrap straps around tightly to bring them back to shape. Also, back in those times in order to relieve extreme headaches due to fluid in the brain, doctors would drill holes in people’s skulls to release the tension only under general anesthesia. It said that only 65% would survive the procedure.
The next museum I went to was the Museo de Arte Popular which was filled with the creepiest figurines you could imagine. There were probably 30 cases in a small room each filled with different representations of Cusqueno life. The slightly normal ones were models of the city, many Jesus’ and Saints, Condors, and Peruvian people doing their various daily jobs. Others that were very disturbing and I might have actually wanted to take pictures of just to show and then delete were a doctor pulling a baby out of a woman’s stomach, a baby suckling off its mother, a bloody battle with body parts spread around the Plaza, and many others that I have already displaced from my mind.
The last museum I went to was the Museo Municipal de Arte Contemporaneo which was full of paintings. Those downstairs were awful to say the least. In my opinion it looked like a child took a paint brush and scribbled 5 colors of paint on a canvas and called it art. In the middle of the museum was a beautiful outdoor fountain that I asked a couple to take a picture of me in front of. I was much more pleased with the art in the center and the upstairs of the museum. They were actually paintings of things not just splashes of colors. I enjoyed the paintings of Peruvian people in their indigenous dress and there was one of the old highland beer called “Chicha” that I have yet to try and I am not sure if I will due to how it is made. The people chew on corn and then spit out the juice into a large bucket which they let sit out to ferment and then that is made into the drink. My favorite of course was one painting called “Perros y Gatos” (dogs and cats) of some dogs knocking the cat’s milk off a table.
When I finished with the museums it was time to go to Colibri to see my kiddies! On the way I saw a site that left me completely stunned and at a loss for words in that moment. In the middle of Avenida Sol, the main street of Cusco, there was a little boy, probably around age 4 or 5, squatting with his pants pulled all the way down taking a poop in the sewer. I stood there in shock with my mouth wide open with three other tourists. That was definitely something you only see in a third world country!
I went to placement and helped my favorite little girls with their homework. They are practicing their cursive handwriting right now and have to draw pictures along with the words they write which helps me learn the words when I don’t know them. Some of the volunteers said they might be interested in going to Pisco with me and tomorrow Laura and I are going to check into some more bus company prices before we have our first day of tandem Spanish at 3:00.
After Colibri I walked home to Laura’s house near San Pedro which is much different than where I live. It was cool to see where some of the other volunteers live and what it would be like to be staying in a dorm style rather than a home stay. Their place had 4 floors and each room was shared by 3 people. They had a total of 15 people there from all over the world: Germany, Australia, Canada, USA, and Ireland. I think it would be fun to live there and to be able to walk everywhere rather than have to always take a taxi like us since we live far from downtown.
We are watching Vicky, Christina, Barcelona now which I have never seen before so I am off! I hope I can sleep tonight and that the medicine works! We want to see the Cocoa museum sometime this week and are still trying to figure out when we will go rafting. Thursday is Corpus Christi, a big Christian holiday here brought over by the Spaniards. There is supposed to be a big celebration in the cathedrals in the morning and parties all day afterward around the Plaza. It should be really cool to see such a great cultural event! SO for now, adios amigos!
-Hillary-
Today I went to the rest of the places on my tourist card that I could since some of the other ruins were too far away and would require another day trip. First, I saw the Pachacuteq monument in the center of town. He was an Incan warrior who now is honored by a large statue on top of a brick cylinder that you can go walk up inside and see a great view of Cusco. On the way up there were pictures of other Incan warriors and some artifacts from Incan times.
After, I went to three different museums. I couldn’t take pictures in the first two museums, but the first was so lame and the second was so bizarre that I don’t think I would have even wanted the pictures for my memory or to show any of you either. I guess I am not really the museum type person because I was extremely confused and didn’t see the “art” in much of what I was looking at. I probably only spent around 20 minutes in each museum because that was about all I could stand of how weird some of the things were and their lack of any sort of creativeness in my eyes.
The first place I visited was the Museo de Sitio del Qoricancha which was extremely boring. I could tell the few things they did have were replicas and the rest of the small museum was just pictures with descriptions. There was one interesting part however that described how some of the ancient children were born with deformed heads and in order to fix them they would wrap straps around tightly to bring them back to shape. Also, back in those times in order to relieve extreme headaches due to fluid in the brain, doctors would drill holes in people’s skulls to release the tension only under general anesthesia. It said that only 65% would survive the procedure.
The next museum I went to was the Museo de Arte Popular which was filled with the creepiest figurines you could imagine. There were probably 30 cases in a small room each filled with different representations of Cusqueno life. The slightly normal ones were models of the city, many Jesus’ and Saints, Condors, and Peruvian people doing their various daily jobs. Others that were very disturbing and I might have actually wanted to take pictures of just to show and then delete were a doctor pulling a baby out of a woman’s stomach, a baby suckling off its mother, a bloody battle with body parts spread around the Plaza, and many others that I have already displaced from my mind.
The last museum I went to was the Museo Municipal de Arte Contemporaneo which was full of paintings. Those downstairs were awful to say the least. In my opinion it looked like a child took a paint brush and scribbled 5 colors of paint on a canvas and called it art. In the middle of the museum was a beautiful outdoor fountain that I asked a couple to take a picture of me in front of. I was much more pleased with the art in the center and the upstairs of the museum. They were actually paintings of things not just splashes of colors. I enjoyed the paintings of Peruvian people in their indigenous dress and there was one of the old highland beer called “Chicha” that I have yet to try and I am not sure if I will due to how it is made. The people chew on corn and then spit out the juice into a large bucket which they let sit out to ferment and then that is made into the drink. My favorite of course was one painting called “Perros y Gatos” (dogs and cats) of some dogs knocking the cat’s milk off a table.
When I finished with the museums it was time to go to Colibri to see my kiddies! On the way I saw a site that left me completely stunned and at a loss for words in that moment. In the middle of Avenida Sol, the main street of Cusco, there was a little boy, probably around age 4 or 5, squatting with his pants pulled all the way down taking a poop in the sewer. I stood there in shock with my mouth wide open with three other tourists. That was definitely something you only see in a third world country!
I went to placement and helped my favorite little girls with their homework. They are practicing their cursive handwriting right now and have to draw pictures along with the words they write which helps me learn the words when I don’t know them. Some of the volunteers said they might be interested in going to Pisco with me and tomorrow Laura and I are going to check into some more bus company prices before we have our first day of tandem Spanish at 3:00.
After Colibri I walked home to Laura’s house near San Pedro which is much different than where I live. It was cool to see where some of the other volunteers live and what it would be like to be staying in a dorm style rather than a home stay. Their place had 4 floors and each room was shared by 3 people. They had a total of 15 people there from all over the world: Germany, Australia, Canada, USA, and Ireland. I think it would be fun to live there and to be able to walk everywhere rather than have to always take a taxi like us since we live far from downtown.
We are watching Vicky, Christina, Barcelona now which I have never seen before so I am off! I hope I can sleep tonight and that the medicine works! We want to see the Cocoa museum sometime this week and are still trying to figure out when we will go rafting. Thursday is Corpus Christi, a big Christian holiday here brought over by the Spaniards. There is supposed to be a big celebration in the cathedrals in the morning and parties all day afterward around the Plaza. It should be really cool to see such a great cultural event! SO for now, adios amigos!
-Hillary-
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