rickfellis@yahoo.com
Peru : A South American California before all the people showed up…. Peru is a unique blend of a stable, predictable, and growing economy coupled with a rich culture, ideal climate and storied history. Only 6 hours from Miami , Peru offers a large cosmopolitan capital, fabulous beaches, snow-capped mountains, all easily within reach at affordable prices. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia , on the east by Brazil , on the southeast by Bolivia , on the south by Chile , and on the west by the Pacific. Peru ’s economy ranks 55th in the world while per capita GDP lags in 86th position – nearly half the population lives below the poverty line. Unemployment hovers around 7% in Lima (much higher in the outlying regions), and economic growth has been steady since the turn of the new century. Real GDP growth has averaged 5% per year over the last 7 years while inflation remains among the lowest in the western hemisphere at 2%. The best stock market performance in the world in 2006 came from Peru, an increase in value of 182% . Not too shabby. Peru ’s main economic activities include agriculture, fishing, mining, and manufacturing of textiles and other products. The country’s infrastructure is excellent: the lights are always on, there is plenty of fresh water, and transportation is predictable although access to remote areas is time-consuming because of the mountainous terrain. For example, the flight from Lima to Cusco is 45 minutes while the bus ride is 20 hours. Inexpensive and reliable internet and phone access are within steps in any town or city. Almost everyone has a cell phone. Asia and Polynesia and Peru ’s own native Indian flavors, varied and sophisticated, with a huge array of offerings for any taste and preference. The locals are extremely proud of their cuisine: even the most humble restaurant offers a wide range of freshly prepared local delights. Lima may be more expensive) and one can go a fair distance in a taxi ride for 3 dollars. Peru starts now, mainly because the ancient Incan ruins of Machu Picchu were elected as one of the 7 Modern Wonders of the world in July, 2007. This one development has dramatically increased international awareness and interest and put Peru center stage globally. Also, the US just signed it's first South American Free Trade Agreement with Peru, which will mean duty-free goods zipping in both directions fairly soon. Friday November 2, 2007
My trip from SFO to MIA 11/1 was uneventful, but the MIA to LIM leg the next evening was a bit of a hassle. The plane that should have left at 445 finally left about 645, so that got me into Lima after 11 PM , much too late to be wandering a new city . It was about 1145 when I cleared customs and got my luggage. The landlord was there to pick me up with his wife, which I had arranged just in case, thank God.
The arrival hall had about 10,000 people in it, the Landlord and I discussed this (he is an Englishman named Marc) and he thinks it’s sort of like a parade, people just show up and watch who comes from the planes. It has been a while since everyone gawked at me like that. Haha.
I finally arrived at my apartment about midnight , went shopping for a few groceries at the huge Vivanda store down the street. You know how cranky I can get without my coffee in the morning. Anyway, this Vivanda is like Cosentino’s or Zanatto’s, quite impressive. So were the prices, really only marginally cheaper than ours.
By then I was dying for a drink, it had been quite a day and evening. Of course I asked a Guardian Angel and of course he rode me right up to the front door of this little upstairs bar full of younger people and loud 80s American rock music. The band was really good and also played some local Peruvian stuff. I met about half the people in the place LOL. They offered me their all you can drink on Friday night for $7.00 and I declined, told them I was really exhausted, just stayed for two. My clumsy Spanish worked with some of them, but most of the younger people speak English quite well, so no problem.
I should say my apartment is located in Miraflores, which is sort of cutesie and trendy like the Willow Glenn or Los Gatos or Yorkville of Lima. I am about 5 blocks from the ocean. Very nice area - no nonsense tolerated – there are cops every couple of street corners, sprinkled with some guardian angels on bikes.
Therefore there are different lives to be led here – expats and rich Peruvians hanging out in places like Vivanda and eating and shopping in Larcomar on the ocean, while at the same time you have college kids getting snockered for 7 bucks and 40% of the population living below the poverty line. Lots of people living around here seem to be close to retirement and full of money, decent cars, and fancy restaurants.
Saturday November 3, 2007
Went back to Vivanda for the stuff I had forgotten, including a bottle of wine that I was not allowed to buy yesterday because it was too late.
My apartment is a 1.5 bedroom, nice size, on the 14th floor far away from the street noise and ideal for earthquakes (!). The .5 bedroom is a mystery to both the landlord and me.. He suggested that it’s a child’s or maid’s room, but that’s kind of weird even though some of the people are on the short side.
Naturally the hot water comes out of the C tap and the cold water comes out of the H tap, which is standard procedure for developing countries.
Similarly, the elevator always stops either 3 inches too high or too low, but never exactly where it should.
I met my friend Jenny Saturday afternoon and we visited all around this area, the beach, Larcomar shopping center on the cliffs, the central plaza, and all the obvious things right in this area.
The day was topped off by a nice dinner at a little place that served us up a delicious meal for $12 bucks, OK, no booze, but still it was really delicious with good service, a great value without doubt.
Off went Jenny since she lives about 30-40 minutes north of downtown with her family. She is just a buddy, nothing serious.
There are more good-looking girls than you could shake a stick at in this town.
Sunday November 4, 2007
Woke up early and made a lot of notes. Also, each day I upload my photos to my PC and then to the internet for double safety.
I went and met Jenny at the Jesus Maria market so that I could buy some cheapish running shoes and poke around. I took a taxi for about $3; taxis are plentiful and very cheap. We found a great pair of shoes for $23 that would have been $40 at home.
Ceviche at the Jesus Maria Market
We went all over the market and it had everything under the sun, fresh meat and veggies plus clothes and tons of other stuff. The highlight was ceviche choclo leche de tigre (tiger’s milk – see photo), which is the juice in a cup with onions and fried squid and fish on top. Yummy little snack on the go.
I took a picture of two women arm in arm, the elderly lady had a really cool hat and sunglasses on, and when I told her so she freaked out laughing.
The people are extremely charming and sophisticated, again, reminds me of the Latin countries in Europe quite a lot. There is a large park in front of the church and everyone was sitting around having a yack, all dressed up as it was Sunday, again, very European.
Then we went back to the ocean and visited Larcomar, a very trendy shopping center built into the cliffs at the end of my street. It has everything including restaurants with balconies, all kinds of shopping, fast food, etc. Then walked for miles, from Larcomar to Barranco to Chorrillo, all charming seaside towns, each with something different to offer.
I took a photo of Jenny with an ice cream vendor and his yellow rig, I told him if he could give me his email address I would send the photo to him and he laughed but I could tell he didn’t understand.
Then we went back to a relatively fancy place in Larcomar hanging over the cliffs and had dinner for a hefty $25. Not to worry, it felt like a special occasion, I was extremely grateful for all Jenny’s time and patience with my bad Spanish.
Monday November 5, 2007
TSN ) in the apartment as well as HBO and about 100 channels, which is nice, since I am mostly a homebody in the evenings. As I write this I am watching Monday night football with one eye, but Pittsburgh already has 21 points and Baltimore doesn’t have much offense, so not much of a game….
Many movies are subtitled in Spanish which is perfect for learning.
Today was uneventful in the daytime, I took a $3 taxi ride to the main drag and took photos of the skyscrapers, but it was noisy and it wears you out quickly some days.
Food
One of the reasons I am here is the rich cuisine, another thing that reminds me of Europe . The Peruvians take a great pride in what they eat and serve - no doubt about it. They dabble in some interesting spices too, and I had a chicken dish that was curry-like and absolutely off the hook delicious. Seafood is a staple here because of the ocean. Jenny told me she was a bit disappointed when visiting Cusco because it is up in the mountains and without seafood haha.
I am still learning and spent $5 on a nice lunch. Later I found some interesting little holes in the wall that I had not seen, and went to one for dinner. Ceviche was the starter followed by chaufa New Orleans . The whole thing was yummy and cost $2. I’ll stick with those places, they usually have the best food anyway and everything is fresh because they turn over so much each day.
I even found a place to run by the ocean which is important because the vehicle pollution is pretty bad compared to California and those tough emission standards. I hired a taxi for $1 and he traced a route out for me that came to exactly 1.6 km so I can run it four times and continue to eat like there is no tomorrow.
I seize every opportunity to puzzle the locals with my Spanish. I went running by some teenage girls and they giggled at me. I stopped and told them that the food was so delicious that I have to run a lot during my trip and they all cracked up laughing. At least everyone understands what I want to say although I only get some of what they say back to me.
I bought a phone for $25; there are also lots of phone vultures in the airport that were renting them for about the same price. The phone store looked like the New York Stock Exchange, the place was packed, people running around, phones everywhere. Everybody has one everywhere you go, yakking away.
Monday November 5, 2007
Minka
I took a trip to Callao , which is an industrial town north of and attached to Lima . An eye-opener, as it was a pretty rough looking neighborhood, I would definitely not want to go there at night. The purpose of the trip was to go to Minka, which is the largest shopping center in Peru . I was sort of in search of souvenirs, but mostly just wanted to check it out. It was well worth the trip, the place was enormous, huge building upon building full of everything imaginable. Each building was about the size of a large Home Depot or Sprawlmart and they all had a specialty (check out the photos). One was full of beef, another chicken, others had vegetables only, then fruit, and one had every kind of potato/squash item imaginable. I wonder how they agreed how many people were allowed to sell the same mangoes and potatoes in the same space. Must have been quite a series of negotiations because the items all looked exactly the same to me! The array was impressive. All around the buildings were satellite stores with the usual clothes and electronics and food.
Tuesday November 6 through Thursday November 8
The past three days have been spent peeling the onion down a few layers. I have spent some time meeting women that I had already known on the internet, out to lunches and walks and so forth. I have endlessly snooped around the streets getting a feel for the vibe of the whole place. I think there are about 8 million people here, it is a huge city, but I have spent most of it in the affluent downtown area. It has been wonderful and I am practicing my Spanish all day.
Each day I spend the morning in my apartment, planning and mapping out places and then go exploring in the afternoon. The exploration takes place in two or three shifts of a couple of hours each, the noise and bustle and pollution of downtown take their toll very quickly. The traffic is hectic, probably about the same as the Bay Area but a stream of thick black smoke comes out of many vehicles. Interesting to note that there are remarkably few motorcycles, not sure why.
At the end of each afternoon I have spent an hour or so running and wandering around the fancy Larcomar shopping center right on the cliffs. There are no cars, the air is lovely and this is a nice way to combat the effects of the amazing food.
I have found a great place to eat, I go there at lunch or dinner every day, the meal always consists of an entrée and a main course in this little hole in the wall and costs about $2! Even the most humble meal includes an entrée, how civilized! The owner is an eagle-eyed middle-aged woman, nothing escapes her attention. She has a very long list of fresh items on her whiteboard each day and is willing to listen to my Spanish, so it’s a lock every day.
When I went to the Minka Shopping colossus, I stopped outside in broad daylight to take those photos of the rough-looking houses across the street. A security guard came up to me and said I should jump in a taxi and not wander around too much, I was dressed too nicely and flashed my camera around. He said it’s not safe for you here, on your bike buddy.
For me the most important thing on vacation is to not have to get up and run around in the morning or check in somewhere at midnight . How are you supposed to have the most fun if you’re tired? So I put a ton of work into arranging nearly all travel to take place during civilized hours and it has paid off. Well, sort of, I’m still tired haha. Going off into the unknown is challenging enough, so anything you can do to minimize the stress pays great dividends, especially when it is a month-long trip.
My trip to Machu Picchu was arranged with all that in mind. I combed websites and read articles and they all said you have to be up and out the door early in Cusco in order to be on one of the trains that takes you to the Sacred Valley at between 0600 and 0730. There is also a fancy private train run by the Orient Express people called the Hiram Bingham, it leaves at 0900 but costs $550 return!
Cusco
Got up in my apartment in Lima , put my things together and was out the door headed for the airport at 1030. I had negotiated a $10 dollar taxi with the doorman instead of the $30 that the landlord wanted and had a great time talking to the driver all the way to the airport. The flight to Cusco is short and sweet; it’s only a few hundred miles southeast of Lima, temptingly close to Bolivia and Lake Titicaca (it’s on my list Brad!).
I arrived in Cusco at about 3 PM and lucked into a very good, middle-aged, experienced, non English-speaking (I think) and very professional driver/guide. He wanted $40 for the trip explained below but I got him down to $25 with my slick Spanish in no time flat.
Now Cusco is just a DREAM. It sits in the bottom of a bunch of mountains arranged in a nice bowl, so the weather is perfect and sunny most of the time, a welcome break after all that marine layer and fog in Lima. The architecture is one post card after another.
The city is compact; the population is about 300,000, so you can get around the center easily on foot. There are countless Spanish-style monuments, cathedrals, an awesome city square, and cobblestone streets. I dumped my stuff in my room and went to pick up my train ticket for Machu Picchu . The arrangements were very tedious, you must request your trip in email and wait for confirmation, then line up at the train station and pay in cash minimum 24 hours in advance. The trains are all booked well in advance, so it was the first thing I started to work on when organizing this trip. The reservations guy was a young studious type and when I announced my purpose in Spanish he gave me a strange look and said in English "You're supposed to say "Ya tengo reservacion" (I already have a reservation)". I said thanks, I am just learning, as if he didn't already know. We got yacking even though the place was wall to wall with people, his name is Alfredo, he is pretty good in English and told me he is learning French too. I said funny you'd mention that, I have some French movie DVDs and when I come back through Cusco I'll give them to you. He was thrilled and off I went.
Checked in at the Savoy , was treated like a king, went to my room, looked in the mirror to confirm that I am not someone famous, grabbed my camera, and went berserk. I headed up Avenida del Sol, the main drag that leads to the city square Plaza de Armes, stopping at the market to buy a good hat on the way, a type of fedora that is popular here. Even in spring the sun is very strong due to proximity to the equator and it hits about 70 or so during the day and dips into the 40s overnight. You know it’s strong when they are selling 100 SPF sun screen in the stores!
Cusco is at 12,000 feet above sea level, so it’s like being at the top of the Matterhorn all the time; I was out of breath after walking about a half a mile from the train station. The vehicle pollution is very strong just like Lima , it conspired with the shortage of air and had me huffing and puffing the whole evening yesterday, but it was bearable. People had made a fuss about it in articles that I read, buying medication and stuff, but it wasn't so bad.
The people are more native Indian than of Hispanic heritage. I would say it’s about 2/3 Hispanic in Lima and 1/3 native Indian, here it appears to be the opposite.
There is a disproportionate amount of beautiful women here, absolutely incredible, to the point where I actually asked a couple what was up with that, but their responses were identical giggling fits.
I bumped into a parade going up the main street; the theme seemed to be health with floats about safe sex and drug abuse. I took lots of photos and had many laughs with the locals, even the cops were chortling away when the condom van guy gave me a couple of condoms and I said “you never know, I may get lucky”. So this place is 100% Catholic, but people are obviously not too fanatical. You'd never see a parade like that in Italy or Mexico , that's for sure.
The place is spotless, just like Lima , I still can’t believe it. They clean the streets and pick up the garbage late in the evening, so the day starts off perfectly clean.
There are a lot of tourists here, the usual boisterous Americans walking around looking for Starbucks, met a large French TV crew here doing their version of The Great Race, where people go all around the world on a treasure hunt.
You can see tons of native Peruvians in their garb; it is impressive to see it in real life for the first time. It’s easy to sense that they are irritated by all this tourism, but I guess it’s the best way for them to make a living, selling their crafts and such.
The funniest thing was all the cute little “cell phone girls”. They all seemed to be high school students, cute as buttons, and they are all around the street saying “Llamadas, llamadas” (phone calls, phone calls) with their cell phones in hand. I guess people that can’t afford a cell phone and need to make a quick call rent their phones, although can’t imagine why anybody around here would have to make such an urgent call.
Had a chicken dinner, there is no seafood around here, bought a bottle of delicious Peruvian wine for $5, drank a couple of glasses, uploaded my pics and updated yesterday’s blog, and that was my evening.
I tried to watch Sports Center on ESPN/ TSN , but it was a South American version, the only baseball news was from the Mexican and Venezuelan winter leagues, which are just cooking up.
Saturday November 10, 2007
Cusco
Police Presence
Before leaving Cusco , I must comment on the large number of police, Guardian Angels, and security people all over the place both in Lima and here. Occasionally in Lima I can sense some less desirable types, but that is rare and they do not provoke any contact.
I have the eye of an eagle yet can’t name a single incident where I saw or felt anything out of the ordinary or was concerned for my belongings or safety. Actually, it was more the opposite, with people warning me and stopping me from doing anything risky, like walking out of the hotel with my laptop (they thought I was going down the street with it, but I wasn’t). Again, the people have been very accommodating and honest, going out of their way to make me comfortable. Also, things are well-anticipated: while wandering through the maze of a market in Aguas Calientes, a cop appeared at exactly the moment that I started to wonder which little alley would take me to the train station. Impressive. It’s as if there was this giant Public Awareness Project in Peru on how to take care of tourists and 90% of the people passed the tests with flying colors!
I’m sure it helps too that I take every opportunity to practice my Spanfranitalinglish and I am very extroverted and like to meet people and end up making many friends.
Tourists and Travelers
The tourist crowd here is quite different from Lima ; this bunch is split between Backpacking Generation Xers and hardy mountain-climber types with a sprinkling of bearded Volvo-driving yuppie types. Lots of Americans, but that’s OK, they are somewhat humbled by this part of the world and the language.
From Cusco to Ollantaytambo and Aguas Calientes
Couldn’t fall asleep until after midnight , awoke short of breath in the nighttime, finally gave up and got up about 630, yummy breakfast in the hotel including papaya juice. What a way to start the day!
My taxi driver cum guide Hermenegildo drove me to Ollantaytambo via Chinchero and other little towns of interest along the way. He is a Quechua native Peruvian and has lived here his whole life. Of course I had been frothing at the mouth thinking about having a captive audience for my Spanfranitalenglish the whole afternoon. Even better, Spanish is not his native language either, so he spoke perfectly yet deliberately and clearly. He explained stuff along the way and we had a great time talking. We arrived in Ollantaytambo in about 3.5 hours, having stopped for a long lunch in some little town in the middle of nowhere and at several tourist attractions along the way. When we arrived at the restaurant I thought oh oh, this will not be a great culinary experience. Boy was I ever wrong! I had a trout with about 10 lbs of potatoes and Hermenegildo had a concoction of beef, cheese and 10 lbs of potatoes. Hermenegildo explained that over 80 varieties of potatoes are grown in the region, so no fooling around. I even took a photo of his meal; it rose at least 6 inches off the plate!
The way the route works is that the road and train take complete different routes from Cusco and only meet up again in Ollantaytambo. I mention it because you can take the train the whole way or for the same price you can drive and even get a guide and some sights thrown in for nothing and arrive in the same time or less.
I arrived in Ollantaytambo in plenty of time to catch the train to Aguas Calientes (translates to Warm Waters – it’s a spa town) which leaves about 230 and gets me into Aguas at about 4. Aguas Calientes is also known as Machu Picchu Village , because it’s right at the foot of Machu Picchu .
The rail system between Cusco and Machu Picchu has been privatized to the Orient Express gangsters and it shows. The whole trip costs $80 return plus it would have cost another $50 to get from Cusco to Ollantaytambo. Then you have to pay $10 for the 20 minute bus ride up the mountain, another 10 to come back down, plus $40 to get in to Machu Picchu . If you want to eat up in Machu Picchu the buffet costs $28, a bottle of water is $2, and you may be able to find a sandwich for $3. That’s $200 just to get there and back. I returned for a second day at Machu Picchu so that was $240 all told.
Therefore, I purposely spent $70 per night on a hotel room, knowing that I would get about $35-40 worth of room at normal Peruvian standards.
Nobody outside Lima has Change for Anything
When I hit Cusco I felt the same welcome and kindness found in Lima , but just like everywhere, country people take things a bit slower and don’t freak out over everything being perfect.
Anyway, I swear that every person that waited on me during these past four days has ended up scurrying out the door down the street to get change.
I was left at the BBQ chicken place in Cusco for a half hour Cusco always pay with exact change? Does everyone quickly scurry to the bank with the money or where DOES it go?
In Aguas I stopped for a beer and paid with a 10 Soles note ($3) and darned if the girl didn’t take off with it down the street to get change, only to re-appear huffing and puffing 15 minutes later.
If this continues I’m going to go to places, order, ask for the bill, pay, enjoy, then collect the change at about the same time I finish.
Aguas Calientes
Aguas Calientes is a chummy little town, you can tell that most of the people know each other, but it’s big enough to have a good variety of restaurants and lots of shopping.
A restaurant owner I got talking to a couple of times told me there is room for a maximum of 5,000 tourists during the summer months, and there is about half that this time of year.
Prices in Aguas are high because every item must be brought in on by train and you feel it a little bit every time you buy anything. I spent two nights in the Presidente, which is located right on the river and it cost $70 per night, which is about double what you would expect to pay by Peruvian standards.
Toilet Gymnastics - Don't Stay in Room 311
Check out the first photo in the Aguas album and you'll notice that there is zero leg room on the left side of my toilet. I cannot delve into this any further, but needless to say sit down jobs were a challenge. I talked over lunch to a nearby restaurant owner who told me he had worked at the Presidente for 4 years. I had explained that the only issue with the room was that there was a constant stench of sewage (this is not related to the gymnastics in any way) and he said right away that there was a construction issue and each of the 3 rooms in that position had that problem. Consider yourselves warned yuk yuk.
The flip side of the high cost is that there are no vehicles, noise, pollution, or traffic, so it's a very lovely place to sit around and enjoy. It sits at the bottom of the Sacred Valley , it can't be more than a half mile across with mountains towering all around.
I met about half the town during my two days and really enjoyed it. Most tourists head in and out really quick because of the prices but I would recommend staying that extra night. It also gives you a cushion in case the weather is bad, which can happen between November and March.
Sunday November 11,2007
Recap of altitudes in feet:
The wild range of altitudes is very confusing, so here is a recap:
Lima – 0 hahahaha
Aguas Calientes – 6,000 feet above sea level
Machu Picchu – 7,700
Wayna Picchu – 8,900
Ollantaytambo – 8,900
Cusco – 11,600
Therefore, it is 1,700 feet from the village up to Machu Picchu and another 1,200 up to Wayna Picchu.
Machu Picchu
So much for not getting up early in the morning and running around. I was so excited that I awoke at 248 A.M. raring to go. Managed to back to sleep and awoke again at 5 a.m. Here are a couple of videos of that early morning scene from my hotel room:
The idea in Machu Picchu is to hustle up the mountain and catch the sunrise and explore before the hoards arrive later in the morning. Most people catch one of those early trains from Cusco and do not up to the top until 10 or so. So, I had an enormous breakfast, jumped in the shower, soaked myself in that 100 SPF sun block, donned my Fedora, and was out the door at 0630. The bus trip up the mountain takes 20 minutes of winding back and forth. Buses bump into each other all the time on the single-lane road, signs are exchanged, and one or the other backs up to a wide spot so they can pass each other.
Upon arrival at the top you pass through an entrance, then make your way along the side of the mountain on foot. The first thing I saw was a terraced hillside of about 15-20 levels (like the Swiss with their mountainous terrain, the Incas built terraces to grow produce and let their animals graze) and what I later found out was a guard house.
I made my way along the path, met a cute little Korean university exchange student from New York named Eunji, and we chatted and agreed to team up for a while. The whole thing was going to be a very moving experience, so it was easy to make a friend. Usually it’s an accident or disaster that brings strangers together quickly, so it was kind of odd that we teamed up right away, I guess we both knew we would be in for a big day.
I cannot describe the total awe upon coming across the main city. The silence was just incredible, you could hear a pin drop. There was a mist over the valley and mountainside lending a surreal atmosphere.
We went all around the ruins, which are much larger than they appear in photos. I won’t bore you with all the history since there are many places to read up, but a few facts help frame this fascinating place:
Machu Picchu was built by the Incas in the mid 1400s, Even though it’s less than 100 km from Cusco the Spanish conquistadores never found and destroyed it unlike most other Incan cities in Peru , In less than 100 years the Incans constructed, populated, and abandoned the site. Some experts suggest that the water supplied dried up or the Incans lost interest and moved on. It is incredible to think that such a huge city could be built alone in that amount of time, let alone populated and abandoned. Just look at some of the photos and you can imagine hauling hundreds of thousands of stones around to make the buildings and temples. There are huge stoned terraces everywhere including at the very top of Wayna Picchu, which is 1,200 feet above Machu Picchu up a precariously steep winding path. It must have taken thousands of slaves dozens of years to construct it all. At its peak it housed between 800 and 1,200 people. In 1911 Hiram Bingham, Yale historian, rediscovered the lost City and brought it to the world’s attention. The higher portions of the city were dedicated to temples and leaders, with fancier accommodation and better stones and mortar, as well as meeting places.
Spring water was captured and filtered down through the various living levels, the most important people at the top getting the best quality water as it trickled down. We could see the buildings where produce and grains were stored and rain water captured during the 3-4 rainy months of the year.
We walked all around the ruins for about 3 hours, then the sun broke through and it heated up very quickly. On sunny days in spring (remember the seasons are reversed) the temperature hits the low 90s, so I was soaked in short order with all the walking up and down the hills.
We stopped and shared a meal in the shade. I had brought a sandwich, bananas, and a sesame cake for dessert; we had a good yak while we ate. By that time a couple of thousand people had appeared. The early morning train from Cusco gets in about 930 and the place fills up quickly.
It was the United Nations for sure; I heard languages that I understand and recognize and some that I did not. There were young Peruvian students in large groups and lots of guided tours. I was surprised at how old most of the foreign tourists were, most were in their 50s and 60s and some were older than some of you reading this diary, so don’t let that stop you.
Check out the photos although there really is no way to capture the feeling. All I can say is in all my travels I’ve never seen anything even close. It is a site to be seen at all costs, and is worth the travel time and effort in spades, not to mention the relatively lofty cost.
My last memory of the day was when we went to the highest point in the city and perched on a ledge just taking it all in. Hardly a word was exchanged, we were in awe.
Wayna Picchu
Ricky nearly freaks out at the top
Machu Picchu means “old peak”, therefore I guess Wayna Picchu means “not for the faint of heart peak” (actually it means “young peak”).
If I never see another set of steep stone stairs it’ll be just fine.
I knew I was in for it when I lined up at 7 a.m. at the entrance gate. Only 400 people per day are allowed up and even then there were traffic jams at several dangerous points on the way up and down. There are signs saying you better be in good shape if you want to make it up and that you must be back down by 4 PM . That leaves them plenty of time to haul butt up the mountain to get those too scared to come down alone – there must be a few of them each day.
There were several employees cum rescue guys manning the entrance booth and sizing us up as we waited. Each climber had to sign in with name and birth date. They checked me out real good when I wrote my age as 50 - hardly anyone else was over 30. If that was in our demented society there would be affidavits, lawyers, and God knows what else involved with everyone suing everyone if anything happened. Such a pleasure to be in a civilized country for a change!! You want to climb, we warn you, you climb, and it’s your baby, that’s it, that’s all. They do everything they can to help. (I bumped into one of their guys on the way down and had a fascinating conversation with him, man he was cool. He said he loved his job even though it was dangerous sometimes, it is a pleasure for him to see the tourists enjoy it all.)
Anyway, they let me go through and up we went one after another, walking the path which slowly turned steeper and steeper, then the handrails started, then it slowly turned into steps, then into steep steps.
After about an hour of walking and climbing at a very steep rate I got to a spot where I could see the Inca Guardhouse at the very top. I could see a set of break-neck stairs above me and there was nothing below except 3,000 feet of air between where I was and being a squashed bug on the streets of Aguas Calientes. I have slowly become scared of heights over the years; I believe it comes from the low-rise life style in San Jose coupled with a lack of travel and adventure in my cozy little life.
Of course there were a couple of Swiss girls there. Wherever I go I always wait for the Swiss – they show up sooner or later. When they do I announce in Swiss German in a very loud voice “no matter where I go there are always Swiss people, isn’t it wonderful?” The younger people always react the same way: If they had had guns, I tell you. They were not at all thrilled to hear me and did not notice that I am not Swiss. Of course, the truth is that the Swiss travel so much to get away from Swiss people.
Please also note the pics of that Japanese babe who is obviously a reincarnated Kamikaze pilot. She just could not get close enough to the edge.
So I hauled myself up the first set of stairs which were no more than a hand or foot width thick, no exaggeration. Just so you don’t think I’m totally insane, my brain was in fact working and I continued for two reasons:
I was very close to the top and anyway it would be even harder to chicken out and start backing down the stairs. I needed to get to the top and regroup. I knew that the trail back down the mountain was different and hopefully less steep, since going down is always harder than climbing up. After each set of stairs another set appeared, I guess there were about 6 or 7 staircases going up about that many floors. Then I came upon a tunnel, wriggled through it, then climbed up a bunch of big rocks to get to the very top.
I was a mess, on the verge of panic, no kidding. I cooled down and talked to the other climbers and settled down, enjoyed the view for a few minutes.
Then I hauled butt back down that bloody mountain as fast as I could go.
Going down was much more precarious than going up. I had to sit on the stairs and drag myself down one at a time almost, which took and eternity. I was wrong, the staircases going down were just as bad as those going up with no handholds or anything to grasp onto. Again the stairs were about as wide as your hand or foot, absolutely no margin for error, with a straight drop to the bottom.
I finally got down and as soon as I did I thought WOW that was awesome, I’ll do it again some day, but I’m not sure about that.
I hung around Machu Picchu a bit and took some very large shots of the whole thing and a video with my remaining battery power.
I went back to the hotel (I had paid $15 for a noon checkout knowing I would want another shower), cleaned up, fell in love with the Receptionist for the 15th time, had lunch, and was on my way at 1.
Back to that Receptionist, man she ROCKED. Very young, but knew everything and was a really great host. Pretty darned cute too.
Creativity on the Train
On the trip from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes we were served a little airline style meal (well, from when they used to feed us), but the trip back was a cultural treat. The conductors, if you can believe this, actually modeled alpaca sweaters to hot music and a mascot in traditional dress gave everyone a few laughs. Don’t think they sold any sweaters though…..
I met a cool young guy that worked in the fancy hotel in Aguas that costs $700 per night and offered to give him a ride back to see his honey in Cusco . We met up with the driver Hermenegildo in Ollantaytambo and winged it back here. I was exhausted but had to go see the Llamadas! Llamadas! girl outside my favorite BBQ chicken place ($4 including a salad, fries, and a beer, welcome back to Cusco !).
Wednesday November 14, 2007
Back in Lima but not for long
One thing that kills me and another that almost did…..
I’m still spooked by that Wayna Picchu experience. I’m not sure if I completely captured the absolute terror of the situation. I forgot to clearly describe that the actual summit consists of about a dozen huge boulders that would maybe fill up my living room twice. So when I did a 360 at the top that is when the whole thing hit me: all I could see was air in all directions, the one that concerned me the most was the 3,000 feet straight down. I’m still spooked by the whole thing - it was the first thing I thought of when I awoke this morning two days later.
So that almost killed me but man those phone girls in Cusco really 11 a.m. , it’s like Disneyland fer cryin out loud. When I went by the same store last Friday they were lined up almost out the door, hence my comment about the NY Stock Exchange.
http://picasaweb.google.com/rickfellis/Cusco/photo#5132722772485071490Cusco absolutely must make urgent calls on the street. It really makes a statement about how technology fashions our lifestyles and the tail ends up wagging the dog. Who are all those people calling and why? “Honey, sorry, I forgot to pick up that DVD on the way home and now it’s too late.” “They didn’t have good ground beef so I got the cheap stuff, OK?” “I just met Uncle Alfredo on the street, he’s going to join us for dinner, don’t make seafood, he hates it.”
I couldn’t stand it any longer so I interviewed two young ladies right on the spot at a busy intersection in the center of Cusco . First I stood around for a while until a customer showed up so I could observe the transaction from start to finish. Sure enough, these two guys showed up and made a call. Obviously well-heeled, the one in the white shirt was wearing a tie; they were professionals of some description. (Check out the phone girl, she is a teenager but she is already a very lovely girl.) Then it occurred to me that one very viable use of the rented phone call would be to make a secret untraceable call, to a person, perhaps a woman that one should not normally be phoning. (These phone girls must be very diplomatic, sort of like hairdressers and butlers, they hear a lot but repeat nothing.) Anyway, I mention the discreet call because the guy in blue actually had a phone in his hand!
http://picasaweb.google.com/rickfellis/Cusco11132007/photo#5132722987233436306
I may be on to something here - the similar logic applies to situations where you don't want someone to be able to contact you. That's always been the problem with cell phones: people don't know exactly where you are but you are contactable at all times. Let's say that guy in blue is going out with the Boys after work and doesn't want his wife to interrupt proceedings. Easy. He walks up to a phone girl, calls his wife, says his phone battery is dead but he wanted to let her know he'll be a bit late getting home. Not bad. Maybe this idea will soon catch on in our part of the world.
Anyway, the guys made their call and took off after paying 1.20 Soles (35 cents). How much can these phone girls be making? They have to pay for the call and for the phone - er phones
Then came the interview. I started with the girl in pink, she seemed the most business-like and mature - surely she would be able to explain. She said “People make these calls because it is the simplest and fastest way to get in touch.” I persisted, saying this is a smallish city - can’t they just wait till they get home to tell whatever it is they are phoning about? How urgent are these calls? I was awarded with a blank stare - obviously the benefit of such a service went over my head. She looked away and started chatting and playing with the baby. I thanked them profusely and walked away, but did a quick 180 after a few steps and saw the young one laughing her head off at the silly old gringo and his questions.
http://picasaweb.google.com/rickfellis/Cusco11132007/photo#5132723365190558370
So that will be my lasting memory of Cusco : Llamadas!! Llamadas!! (Phone calls!! Phone calls!!)
I’m out of here tomorrow night, going to Trujillo , already thinking that a week will not be enough and I have done almost all I wanted in Lima .
Friday November 16, 2007
La Libertad Chan Chan , the largest pre-Columbian city in South America and the largest city built entirely of adobe anywhere. At its peak Chan Chan was home to 60,000 inhabitants who stubbornly resisted the expansion of the Incan Empire.. Trujillo Trujillo is Peru ’s third largest city with a population of just under 800,000 in it’s metropolitan area. Trujillo has a great geographical importance and a good location. It is the point where the Andes are linked to the Pacific Ocean as a result of the direction the coasts follow. The Andes first are seen from Trujillo , showing a row of low-elevation hills, but from there on the Andean Plateau increases altitude sharply to the East. Trujillo has a dry climate with an average temperature of 70°. The summers can reach temperatures over 90° and the winters are never colder than 55°. Most of the year, the temperature stays in the low to mid seventies. There are practically no mosquitoes or other tropical varmints that usually accompany such a climate. Trujillo , founded in 1534, is known as “La Ciudad de la Eterna Primavera", "The City of Eternal Spring", because of its very sunny and pleasant weather year-round. The International Spring Festival in early October attracts visitors from all over Peru and from all over the world. Trujillo is the most important economic center of northern Peru and an inland commercial and transport center for the surrounding farming areas. In 1800, the city of Trujillo greatly expanded due to extensive irrigated agriculture, fueled primarily by the sugarcane industry. Among the internationally known products of Trujillo , asparagus is exported to neighboring countries, Europe and the United States . The areas around Trujillo are among the largest exporters of white asparagus in the world. Peru is currently the world’s leading asparagus exporter, followed by China and Mexico . Trujillo due to the city's proximity to important sites where the Moche and Chimu civilizations evolved. These civilzations are well known artisans, many artifacts having been found during archaeological digs in the city. Trujillo aspires to be designated a World Heritage Site, because of the proximity of both those cultures and its historical colonial city centre whose old houses attract many visitors.Huanchaco Overview
The world-famous beach of Huanchaco , a surfing destination, is located just north of Trujillo . Chicama, location of the widest wave in the world (this wave is over 3 miles wide and curls to the left), is a Mecca for surfers and lies a few miles to the north of Huanchaco. This small city of 20,000 is the most well-known and original Peruvian seaside destination, reminiscent of St. Tropez in the 1960s or Southern California before it became congested. Huanchaco is famous for its ceviche (the Peruvian national dish based on marinated raw fish) and caballitos de totora (unique fishing boats made from strong reeds) and is a popular weekend and vacation getaway. The caballitos de totora were used as primitive surfing devices long before the sport became generally popular. The seaside scene in Peru shifts over the years as it does in other countries, but Huanchaco remains arguably the top resort. The city retains its small town feel but still offers everything to local and foreign tourists seek without sacrificing its charm and giving way to large hotel and restaurant chains.Status of Tourism Trujillo was widened and a number of small public and private projects were completed and are underway to further improve the city’s appearance. A huge shopping mall featuring a Ripley department store will open in Trujillo adjacent to Chan Chan in the coming months providing hundreds of jobs and increased demand for services in the Huanchacito area. Peru . Chan Chan, the adobe Pyramids el Brujo that lie to the north, and other tourist attractions generate interest, but there is no concerted effort or promotion of these sites on a high level either nationally or internationally.
Promoting Tourism www.peru.info and www.turismohuanchaco.com , which is maintained by the Camara de Turismo de Huanchaco. The Camara de Turismo de Huanchaco is chaired by the owner of the Big Ben restaurant, Sr. Leoncio Rojas.Huanchaco Beach , Lucho del Mar, and El Anzuelo) as well as pages in English and German last updated in September 2005. The Contact Us page has the following information: Av Prol Victor Laro 836, Urbanización el Boqueron, Huanchaco, tel 044/461178.www.peruhotel.info has a comprehensive index of hotels in the town (see Appendix A below). There is an organization called Promtur Huanchaco related to the Camara de Turismo de Huanchaco, but there is no internet presence.http://www.camaratru.org.pe/ 11 PM last night by the time I arrived from Lima and got to my hotel in Huanchaco. I had decided that Trujillo was just big enough to avoid and that Huanchaco would provide a laid-back ambience and a bit of relaxation after a lot of running around. Huanchaco started out with a bang alright – literally – as when I arrived they were still building something at the entrance! Great, a quiet seaside break with a little hammering and banging thrown in for good measure. Silly Valley to a market in the middle of nowhere, we’re all hooked up instantly if we want to be. On the contrary, nothing, and I mean nothing, is happening crime-wise in Huanchaco. So I hunted around for a hotel more in the middle of things and found a dandy at half the price with a balcony hanging right over the ocean. I already have it in the back of my mind to stay here longer and shrink my stay in Lima , but my apartment there is already paid, plus my air ticket is non-refundable, so I need to make up the difference somewhere. Just as I was setting sail for Trujillo about 50 Ecuadorian teenagers swarmed the place, as I sit outside with the pounding surf in the evening to write this, I imagine they will soon be back to break up the peace. Trujillo was on a combi, which is a van that is used as a shuttle. Combis have no scheduled stops, you just holler at the driver when you want to get out and hail him when you want to get in. I had gone to the internet center in the middle of town and met everyone there, asking questions about what was where and how far to Trujillo , how could I best get there and back, etc. USB port of a computer. I told them I could put 1,400 photos on it and I was an instant celebrity. Trujillo to meet my cute friend Meidy not having the faintest idea where I was. I latched on to a builder with whom I exchanged cards and he asked if he could give my info to a nephew living in the States somewhere. We had to take a taxi to the main square which he insisted on paying for. These people are a trip, I tell you. I have never seen anything like this hospitality; you could have the entire country at your beck and call if you wanted. I had already known this from my initial contacts with Peruvian babes on the internet; you could tell the people are sincere, simple, and gentle.
I made it to the Main Square and boy, did we have a laugh. Such a charming girl, it was a real pleasure to exchange news and stories, clearly it is a big deal to have a visit from a gringo, even for a pretty hot 32 year-old woman. I tried not to stare at those eyes but it was pretty tough. (Don’t ask me how all this works, I’m just enjoying it.) Meidy’s father drives a taxi, which she had hijacked for this occasion, so she chauffeured us around the center of the city in it. Then we went to a mall (somewhat under construction of course) and to a huge grocery store named Vea that had everything, sort of like Costco. It was really impressive but so were the prices. How can these people afford this stuff? The place was PACKED, go figger.
Off we went, Meidy deposited me back at the best place to get home and I waited for a combi to come by. I thought, what the hell, and jumped on a bus instead.Sube!! Sube!! Baja!! Baja!!
Saturday November 17, 2007 Trujillo again today, it was uneventful compared to yesterday except for that handy garden hose fitted over the handbrake handle J . I met Meidy and her little girl and we went to some amusement park about 30 km. inland. It was fun to see the kids swimming and having a laugh, and we walked and talked. Meidy is an interesting girl for sure, spent 3 years in Japan with her brother working in a factory. Lunch at that type of kid’s Amusement Park is usually fried and iffy, but ours was your typical Peruvian gourmet event. Incredible. Just coming to this country for the food alone would be worth the trip. The bill came to 12 dollars for the three of us all included. Minnesota named John who works in the fishery industry in Alaska all summer, then travels in the winter. He told me the biggest wave in the world - over 3 miles long - is a few miles north in Chicama. He looked like Sting did about 20 years ago, with a bit of Bobby Orr thrown in, when I said it he laughed and said he’d heard it many times before when I told him. Cusco , people don’t have phones but need to call on the spot. She was very shy so I did not press the point.Sunday November 18, 2007 The Final Stages of this Trip all come together in a Flash Trujillo and I get two places and two scenes for the price of one. Lausanne , Switzerland in her youth. For example, he explained that all the Chinese food in Peru comes from old immigrants who predated the Mao era, during which family and food took on lesser importance. Therefore, the Chinese cuisine to be found in Peru is frozen back in time, in an era when it was much richer than what we know. The seafood here is too plentiful and cheap to pass up, but as soon as I get back to Lima I’ll dive into a Chinese place and check it out. He explained that the Spanish and Moor influences mixed with the Creole are what conspire to make the food so unique and varied. Lima and have already mailed home a bunch of stuff. When I go back home I will check in both my suitcases and add the bag as my carry-on to make enough room for all my booty. The bag will make a nice gift. Trujillo and finding the LAN office to change my ticket or buy another. California from the 80s when he was a surfer dude and got chummy with Californian tourists visiting Huanchaco. He sure can put on a spread for $5 and he makes a wicked salad too. Trujillo I guess. All I can hear is the ocean as I write this and it is warm enough to be outside in a tee shirt, but will be cool overnight. Monday November 19, 2007 Lima or Trujillo I guess - who could be spotted in the two or three classy restaurants in town, but they have left too. There are some really smart-looking condos and apartments that go from anywhere from $50-100k according to the little I have heard. So there is a touch of Monterey to the place as well. The age difference in some of the couples is encouraging – guys that are easily in their 50s are accompanied by nubile young things in their 20s. That’s a sure sign that a lot of people are short of money in this country. Internet Center to show him some stuff. I have a feeling he will freak out when he sees what is going on in Cyberspace. Can’t wait. I just wish my Spanish was better so we could get into more detail about stuff.The Old Peruvian Dropped Call Trick What they don’t do well here Lima , but these people are typical high carbs beans-and-rice developing country type people.
Tuesday November 20, 2007 Machu Picchu – it took several days to work that out of my system. I was sore all over and had flu for a day or two but I didn’t really realize it at the time.Mexican Standoff at the Beach 7 a.m. ! This jig went on for what seemed to be a very long time, then maybe he got bored or started to tire and began making little moves backward to the dry dunes. He mixed them in with the others thinking I wouldn’t notice that he was distancing himself – very clever. Suddenly he made a lighting quick move and went down a tunnel that I hadn’t noticed head first. His tail was still protruding but I think he didn’t know it, as if he was sure he was safe but he was still exposed. Trujillo and changed my ticket at the LAN office. The guy working there was a surly Chinese (I must research the Chinese history in Peru) guy who needed 20 minutes to type in the 3 or 4 things needed for a flight. It was like dealing with the government – well, I guess it is since that is the national airline. Lima next Monday morning instead of this Thursday. This is a better place to hang out for obvious reasons: more relaxing, less hustle and bustle, no pollution, yet it is not boring. I like to go into Trujillo for lunch and to wander around in the afternoon, always many interesting things to see.Babes Galore Trujillo and Huanchaco girls are very busty, must be something in the Northern diet? I also have seen more chubby girls here a la Mexico .Elvira and Walter Lausanne Switzerland for several years, my all-time favorite city anywhere. Small world and all that. Amazing. India in Kerala of all places, isn’t that something Manoj? Japan . Madrid , where they will be spending the month of January. Elvira told me they bought the room next to their studio and will spend January their renovating.Opportunities Arise Madrid for the month of January, having bought a room adjacent to their studio. They intend to connect the two and set the whole thing up during that time. Sunnyvale , that I would even be willing to do an exchange if the timing was right (thinking ahead to next fall, when, if my plans work out, I’ll be ready for another trip down here). Right away I could see they had been thinking the same thing because she asked me to take care of the place while they go to Madrid . I said unfortunately I have to be back to work as soon as possible in the New Year as I am sitting on a pretty fat mortgage payment. Wednesday November 21, 2007 San Jose , I will also write my friend Susan Layher, who sold me my house, and, of course, have contacted the Mormon Real Estate Mafia featuring Brad and Dave Crandall. You never know, I need to be more educated on the country anyway, and looking forward I can’t spend 8 hours a day looking for a job when I get home. Calgary and he is from Orange CA , born here in Peru of Dutch parents, but has lived in the USA nearly all his life. We are here to get away from people like us, but we have had some interesting chats about the country and it’s future. Thursday, November 22, 2007 Detroit but couldn’t get it on the TV.
“Husbands, who at meaner economic levels generate dependency and fear by rages and beatings, are here tamed by the impossible cost, in an old age rich in jointly owned savings and equities and real estate, of divorce. Husbands are superfluous, dutiful adjuncts to the busy interaction of women. Owen has no trouble accepting such a role, since his own father had struck him as similarly pathetic and unnecessary.” Friday, November 23, 2007 Peru and this area and will post it on my blob. My Orange County neighbor Percy was a tremendous help, he has a lot of knowledge about the country and edited my material - we had a great wrap-up meeting just before they left for Lima and a family wedding. California – even the water situation is the same: there is no rain here but there is plenty in the mountains which fluff up the water table in spring. Elvira said they have never had a shortage of water in 30 years!Oh What a Tangled Web We Weave, or Shooting Fish in a Barrel Lima , but none of them really got my motor running. Trujillo . That girl really gets my motor running. We had a hot and heavy thing going on the internet for months, then she suddenly disappeared, I got angry and stopped chatting with her, then we rekindled the romance when I decided to come here, now she has stopped answering me and we haven’t met. Just as well I suppose, there is way too much passion there, I must not get too serious with anyone just yet. Piura , which is about 5 hours north of here by bus, on the seaside, sounds nice, but I just didn’t have the energy and wanted to put my anchor down here. Then suddenly yesterday she sends me an email saying that she has accepted a job in Lima and will be starting next Monday. So, she will arrive Sunday and spend the day here and we will get together in Lima . I hope it’s a nice end to the trip!
Sunday, November 25, 2007 Huanchaco Elvis Enters the Building Just Before I Exit
Note from Elvis received 12/4/2007: What a great guy! He answered my note saying I missed them all very much with these words: " hello rick how are yuo? i look the lether thank for yuor lether it was very good we want to yuo ok thank very mach yuo no forget of we bye"
Anybody know what he means? If so, drop me a line please. OK, just kidding.
The other members of the Hotel Team are: David, also extremely kind and friendly and has a great sense of humor, and the two ladies who do the kitchen and room cleaning. David knows everything but reveals nothing, he is the Butler type. The ladies come upstairs in a team to bring my breakfast each day and keep stealing the plastic water bottle that I use as an ashtray even though I have made several requests to leave it and even resorted to leaving notes. They won’t have it – they are here to clean the room and the room will be cleaned. They even hunt around for clothes and put them away if they can find them. Silly Valley are always switched on and connected via Crackberry or some other similarly annoying device. We are connected as such because we are afraid that someone else will be sitting in our seat if we switch off for more than a few days, and it’s probably true. We are in a loop, forced to continually justify our existence in order to fund the high cost of living so that we can live in a place which is trying to kill us with stress, until we are either unable to survive and leave the area, or succumb to it all. Peru , Trujillo , and Huanchaco for my education and to prepare for a possible return in the near future. Lima . Don’t get me wrong, I like it very much, it has a good vibe, but it’s too cool, cloudy, polluted, and busy for me. If and when I do come back here to spend more time, it won’t be in Lima even though that must be the easiest place to make money. I would enjoy Cusco , but there is no ocean and it gets a bit nippy – I had a heater in my room and had to fire it up for a few minutes the very first night. Ew. The only other heating or cooling device I have seen in the last month is a fan here in my room in Huanchaco – Elvira told me it always cools down at night, but I guess the fan is for when the room retains too much heat in the summer months. Trujillo has been 20 minutes away. Trujillo would also be necessary to make money if I got serious about Peru . I’m not sure what to think about that, my instincts tell me not to fall for the first country in South America so quickly, sort of like settling down with the first girl you meet, not a good idea. Besides, I can always come back if I like it more than other countries.
Wednesday November 28, 2007 Trujillo to Lima was canceled so I called my funny taxi guy James and he took me to a comfy hotel in Trujillo where I slept most of the day. That was the end of it - I awoke yesterday feeling not too bad, and got back to Lima and the apartment by early afternoon, no hitches anywhere.
I already knew that my health was a bit shaky, so I ran around in the afternoon getting last minute gifts and trinkets just to get it out of the way. Lima , I recall almost gagging all the time from the exhaust fumes. I was definitely sensitive, not myself.
This morning I took several Imodium which plugged things up nicely, then went to a pharmacy and whined to them and they gave me some meds. I feel better as I write now at lunch time, but, needless to say I will soon be back in bed resting. I have blown off my lawyer buddy Rodrigo and several women - don’t have any energy. All I have to do is pick up my laundry and figure out what I can eat that will stay in place.
Tomorrow will be a thriller, I must be up at 4 and out at 430 to catch my flight to Miami , which leaves Lima at 7 and arrives about noon . I can already taste the shower and bed in my hotel room there LOL. I have a full 24 hours in Miami , how exciting yuk yuk, but it was the best itinerary available.
At least I am starting the day tomorrow with a plane that has slept here and therefore will be on time, the leg to SFO starts at 250 Friday, could be dicey.
I have already started working on my job search, will take the weekend to organize and get rested, then go at it Monday.
The things I’ll remember most……..
Peru is much more advanced and structured than I expected it to be. I thought it would be difficult to get anywhere or get anything done, but things worked out perfectly except for that suspiciously canceled flight Monday in Trujillo . The real difference in this trip as in any trip is the people you meet. Right from my arrival I was amazed at the kind and gentle demeanor of all the people, Peruvians lack that tourist ripoff killer instinct that you find practically everywhere.
Think about that for a minute: I spent a whole month in a country, traveled all over, and did not have one single unpleasant experience, was never treated rudely, threatened, or abused in any way, nobody cheated me or made fun of my Spanfranitalingles. No arguing with taxi drivers, no a$$hole waiters, nobody walked away from me in the street when I asked them a question (quite a few of them stopped and took me where I was going – even in Lima, the big city).
All the people I met along the way and got talking to at all were poster people for how to treat foreigners who cannot even speak their language properly. Cab drivers, waiters, hotel people, the lady in the post office, the train people, all the vendors, everyone, down to a person. It was like they had gone to a training class or the government had run ads all over the television. I just can’t get over it. Here's another example: Street and beach vendors stroll around wordlessly displaying their wares. They don't holler or repeat the same thing endlessly or hover over you until you shoo them away, they wait for you to call them if you want them. How civilized!
I admit being less than impressed by those at the extreme ends of the social ladder: I did not see too many beggars, but they were sometimes a pain in the neck. The beggars I did see were very deferential and disappeared as soon as I refused for the most part. However, a few did hound and hound and that is a slightly unpleasant memory. Also, I remember the old lady in Chinchero hollering at me to give her a tip when she saw I wanted to take her photo, then she refused my 1 cent coins. Beggars can be choosers after all.
The snobs in the Miraflores area of Lima were out in force, strutting around with their little maids in tow in their neat white uniforms, showing everyone that they have made the grade. I guess I noticed because they weren’t at all friendly and looked somewhat sad, maybe offended that we are on their turf. Now that they have made it they have forgotten where all the money came from. We haven’t. The visible foreign investment and well-documented foreign aid have been a huge boost to many South American countries and Peru is right near the top of the list.
This was my first visit to a developing country where I could actually speak the language and that has an impact, although it’s impossible to quantify the difference it made. Understanding and being understood help in every situation, but a lot of interactions come down to feelings, vibes, chemistry between people, and reactions in certain situations. I was never treated with any suspicion or skepticism in any situation - it's like they know we are good people, we are to be trusted by definition until our behavior dictates otherwise.
The landscape of Peru is just like California: ocean, desert, dry brown mountains, lush valleys, it is breathtakingly gorgeous wherever you go. I haven’t seen everywhere, but I well imagine there are no ugly places in Peru.
Weather is everything. The people are industrious and energetic because they are not taxed by muggy 90 degree days as in most developing countries. Lima is a bit gray, cool, and cloudy for my tastes and Cusco a bit cool as mentioned, but Trujillo is always lovely. Even in the dead of winter it only goes down to the late 40s overnight. There are no mosquitoes or spiders or any of the other usual tropical irritations due to the arid climate. I never saw a drop of rain the whole time I was there!! HAHAHAHA! How about that? It threatened on Wayna Picchu day, just as well, it was very hot without the sun, can't imagine how it would have been with it. You can’t go wrong with the weather, although Cusco gets down around freezing over night in winter (our summer).
The sights were out of sight: If you went to Peru, changed planes in the Lima airport, went to Cusco, then straight to Machu Picchu, and back out the same way, the trip would be worth your while. It was a breathtaking experience that anyone of any age would enjoy. You’re in another world – literally. I sat on the cliffs at Larcomar in Lima yesterday having a bite and taking it all in, and, wow, it is extremely beautiful. The big natural bay and brown cliffs with the city sitting on top. Impressive. Then take Cusco, sitting in that bowl at the bottom of the mountains. Trujillo could be San Jose and Huanchaco Santa Cruz very easily, very nice places. And that’s only what I saw, I just scratched the surface.
Music: No idea, but there is a souvenir shop in Huanchaco that sells all kinds of Peruvian music. I walked by it once a day for a week or so, and five of those times I bought the CDs that they were playing! Some of it was jazz, some folk music, some modern, some of it was of the moaning and groaning broken heart variety. I'm listening to it now, the first CD reminds me of African jazz combined with Creole dance music. Go figger.
The Peruvians don’t fool around when it comes to food: most restaurants have a stunning array of fresh fish, crab, shrimp, squid then they have the “regular” stuff: beef, lamb, duck, pork, chicken, and turkey (and I don’t mean once a year either).
Most of the above are prepared all these different ways: sudado (steamed w/ onion and tomatoes), chicharron (fried), milanese (breaded and fried), plancha (grilled), cooked in a milk soup (this is called chupe). They serve all this with a dozen different kinds of potatoes, squash, yucca, plantain, sweet potatoes, they have stuffed potatoes called “causas”, it goes on and on. Then you’ll get white rice, yellow rice, the Peruvian version of blackened rice, fried rice, and so on.
There is a strong European influence in the cuisine which can be seen in all the sauces, gravies, and salsas and whatnot they find to accompany things. No dish is boring or bland, doesn't exist. The national dish is ceviche, as I mentioned before, which is raw marinated fish served in the lime marinade together with corn and potatoes with onion on top. It is out of this world, I ate it nearly every day for a month. Men, it's good for your johnson too :-)
The food is so good that if you ate your way around the country and got back on the plane and left without seeing a single thing, it would be a GREAT trip. The service is even better, it’s like Europe. It makes me miss good, sincere service, where you know the people are truly passionate about what they do. These people are proud of it and it shows.
History: I am not a history boy at all, the only key dates I retain is that the Incas based out of Cusco and the Chimu in the north were around until the Spanish raping and pillaging started in the mid 1500's. The original Peruvian civilization is one of the oldest in the world and the Incan empire was the largest in South America until the Spanish arrived. Impressive.
Nightlife: I have avoided this topic like the plague because the only time I hit any kind of bar or club was the very first night in Lima . No idea, but I'm sure it must be fun, the women love foreigners. Everybody told me to hit a disco late in the evening and the babes would be out in force, but all I hit was my bed.
Now for the future : I like Lima, but it stinks too much, it’s often cloudy and cool, and is too noisy. Miraflores is the classy part but the racket is deafening as they are building up every square inch to squeeze out every last dollar, it will take a few more years, but they will do it. Already they are asking US$100k for a nice apartment in a nice area. I don’t think so. The construction is so cheap and flimsy, you can hear every elevator, every loud discussion or music.
I liked Cusco a lot and the babes alone will be worth the return trip. I will spend more time, peel down the onion, interview those Llamadas!! Llamadas!! girls again. Lake Titicaca is mostly in Peru and partly in Bolivia, I blew it Brad by not realizing I could get there (not sure how difficult it is from Cusco or Arequipa) easily from Peru - I thought I would have to go through Bolivia.
For sure I’m going to focus on the northern part of the country again: Huanchaco and the beach and the nice small town vibe plus big town Trujillo make a knockout combination. I could live there in a heartbeat. I would like to add Mancora and Chiclayo, plus the beaches of Paita and Talara to the list and check out Ecuador.
I’m going to force myself to visit other countries, but I know that Peru will be at or near the top of the pack in South America .
Llamadas!! Llamadas!!
