El Desarrollo Urbano

Today Taylor and I took and excursion to Lima Centro. My first goal was to see the changing of the guard at the government palace, and we arrived just in time. The changing of the guard is a 20 minute band concert, followed by a few minutes of ceremonial guard-changing. Although the whole thing was kind of long and hot at high noon, it was still cool. Below is a shot of the guards playing:

After the changing of the guard, we visited an exhibit on books at the train station-turned-cultural center, enjoyed ceviche and refreshments at a classic old bar, and then went to explore this new park by the river that I learned about via a Lima food blog I stumbled upon this morning. The city of Lima recently restored a section of the old city wall facing the river and turned a garbage dump into a beautiful city park. Here's a picture:

The whole thing was really nice and well done, and it was interesting to see the Lima version of urban redevelopment/revitalization through public investment in open space and cultural places--complete with prominent plaques saying which politically ambitious mayor was responsible for the improvements.

Next we decided to take a bus up to the top of Cerro San Cristobal, which overlooks the city center and features a large cross on top. It can't compare to the Cerro San Cristobal in Santiago and since it was hazy/starting to get foggy we couldn't quite see the entire expanse of the city, but the ride up alone was worth the trip. We started in the Centro and got a mini-tour of the old city sites, and then we crossed the river and our guide told us all about the colonial history of the Rimac district--where the aristocrats sent their mistresses to live, apparently. It was cool to see another old part of town that I probably wouldn't have visited otherwise. At the base of the hill are some pueblos jovenes--shanty towns, although by now they are pretty developed, if still poor--which our guide kindly informed us were populated by people from the highlands fleeing both terrorism and the terrible economy that resulted from the policies of the president in the late 1980s--who just happens to be running again right now. Hm, I wonder if our guide was supporting the other guy...

The views from the top weren't really photo-worthy, but here's one of the backside of the hill with some pueblos jovenes below:

Our last stop in the Centro today was a delicious meal at a cafe that's owned by the same celebrity chef who's flagship restaurant we went to after my coworker's wedding. Yum yum. I'm quickly becoming a yet another huge fan of the Lima restaurant scene, but that's for another post...

La Pascua

Today is Easter, and so my 4 day weekend is almost over. Taylor and I considered checking out the Anglican church where Pablo got married, but we decided to keep doing chores around the house instead. It might have been a nice complement to my misa in Cusco to attend an Anglican service (in English) for Easter, but oh well. So our only outing this weekend was for a delicious classic Limeno lunch and ice cream run yesterday with our Anglo-Peruvian friends.

For the past 4 days I have organized and corresponded. I am finally caught up, and my "Easter resolution" is to stay away from the computer after work hours next week. I need to start reading the 10lbs of books I lugged down here.

Las Vacaciones

Well, I went on vacation in the highlands for 2 weeks. The first week was with Taylor and Heidi to the city of Arequipa, Lake Titicaca and its islands, and then a quick jaunt to the Bolivian side. The second week I traveled by myself to Cusco, which I explored for 2 days and then hiked the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. The whole trip was great--the sights were amazing, and all the traveling logistics went more or less smoothly. Here is a link to the photos. Since I have a 4 day weekend for Easter (yay!), I'm planning to post some stories from the trip below. Enjoy!

Las Elecciones Peruanas

I arrived back from vacation on election day. You would never have known it, but that I talked politics with the duena of my hostel at breakfast and my taxi driver had propaganda on his windows. The polling stations closed at 4:00 pm, and then we started watching the returns.

A week later, and the election is still not decided. The race for 2nd place--the second spot for the run off--is still within 1 percentage point with 10% of the votes yet to be officially counted. On the one hand, this race affects me more, both in terms of exchange rate and because my office is so affected by Peruvian politics, than the one in Chile. The stakes are also much higher because the differences between the candidates are greater. But for some reason, I'm just not into it. None of the possible outcomes are as inspiring as Bachelet in Chile (even though one of the candidates in the running is also a woman), and maybe my coworkers have sucked up all my political energy. Or maybe it's just because I haven't watched enough political commercials.

Machu Picchu

So finally, on the last day of my trip, I visited the reason everyone else goes to Peru: Machu Picchu. We arrived at about 6:45 am, along with many other groups who had stayed in town the night before and wanted to see it early, but with nothing like the crowds there were later (or in the summer, so I've heard). Our guide gave us an excellent tour of the site--more than 3 hours including time for lots of pictures, with lots of detailed information.

Here's a classic shot of the main part of the city:

Here's a view of the Sun Temple, with the mountain and the river behind:

The place is huge, and after the tour I debated going down because I was already hungry, but I'm glad I didn't. Instead I wandered around above the main site, including hiking halfway up the path that we were supposed to come down in the morning, until the point at which it was closed. The view was great, and it quelched any remaining sadness I had about not being able to hike through the Sun Gate. Here's me on that path overlooking Machu Picchu:

After walking down a few more paths and taking more classic shots:

I just hung out for a while and soaked it all in. It was a perfect ending to the trip and to the week, to be wandering around and enjoying Machu Picchu alone. But then it started raining so I decided to leave rather than get soaked myself. Down in Aguas Calientes for the rest of the afternoon, the best part was reading the community bulletin board for local news.

After the train ride back a hot shower, the 5 of us met for one last dinner in Cusco. The place was an American-style cafe that didn't even bother to put the menu in Spanish--normally a place I would avoid. But, with 2 months left to go on this South American adventure, the cream cheese, avocado, and smoked trout sandwich plus a chocolate milkshake really hit the spot. And of course, it was great to split a bottle of wine with my hiking buddies.

El Camino Inca

On Wednesday I started hiking the Inca Trail. Although I had been surprisingly content in Cusco on my own, by Wednesday I was glad that the last 4 days of my vacation would be with a group. Especially after my mini-stalker experience the night before.

My group consisted of 7 hikers--2 friends from Canada, a aunt-and-niece from California, a German couple, and me. The German couple mostly kept to themselves, so the other five of us all hiked together. We were all women, plus our head guide was a woman, and we kicked ass.

The Inca Trail "blow by blow" really isn't all that exciting--you hike, you stop, you see ruins, you see views. Our weather was so-so--it rained most of the 2nd and 3rd days so we didn't get many spectacular vistas along the way. But it was still a great trip. In particular:
1) It was a great group of people to hike with
2) I had a 2-person tent to myself, so it was luxury camping
3) Even better, they set up our tents and cooked for us. It's a lot better to hike in the rain when there's a dry tent and hot tea waiting for you at the end of the trail.
4) It was good exercise and I felt good doing it--I packed everything I needed into my "day" pack and carried it with me the whole time, and I was the only one of our group of 5 who didn't hire porters at least for the second (high pass) day. And it wasn't that hard.
5) I got an *excellent* deal on my trip, paying a lot less for the same services than my companions.

Here's a shot of the landscape on the first day, plus my well-packed backpack (ponchos strapped to the outside):

Here me on the second day, in the forest before it started raining:

Here's me at the high pass. That was the view for most of the 2nd and 3rd day.

Here's the path through the jungle on the third day:

Here are "las chicas" overlooking the ruins at what is normally the last night's campsite:

So the big "bummer" of the trip was that we couldn't do the traditional 4th day sunrise walk into Machu Picchu, because there was a landslide blocking the last part of the trail. They told me this when I paid my balance on Monday so I was prepared, but others in my group were surprised. The only way to see Machu Picchu in the early morning, before the tourist trains arrive from Cusco, was to hike all the way down to the town at the base of the mountain (Aguas Calientes) on the third day and then hike or take the bus back up on the 4th morning. That added another 2 hours and 7 kilometers to our third day, mostly downhill which I like much less than uphill. But, it wasn't so bad. And for the last hour we walked along the train tracks, a la "Stand By Me." Of course there was plenty of room between the river and the rock face to avoid the 3 trains that came by...

But after the trek, it was nice to splurge on a hotel bed and the hot springs, so we were well rested for Machu Picchu the next day.

La Misa

Tuesday night I had an interesting experience. After walking around Cusco all day I had decided that I would hang out in the Plaza de Armas for a while before it got dark. I wanted to observe and write, and the duena of my hostel had told me that there was something special happening at the cathedral at 6:00, so I figured I'd be around during that time and see what it was all about.

So around 4:00 I found an empty bench and settled in. After people watching for a while and a brief conversation with a kid (which I wished had been longer because he was neither selling nor asking for anything), I started writing in my notebook. Ironically I was writing about finding the "real" Cusco and not being harassed, as I was sitting in the tourist center. After a while this guy asks if the rest of the bench is free and sits down. A little while later I start to wonder if he's including me a little too much in his plaza-gazing, but I ignore it. Around 5:30 I'm done writing and just want to people-watch some more, but I wonder if the guy will try to talk to me as soon as I put my pen down. In fact he does ("es una escritora?"), so I keep writing/doodling until the cathedral bells starting ringing and the main doors open. So I decide to check it out. I say "chao" to the guy out of politeness, and then walk around the square and head toward the cathedral. As I'm about to cross the street, I hear "amiga, amiga", and the guy has come up beside me. Great, now he definitely following me.

So I go into the cathedral and walk around inside. He is talking to me about how nice the cathedral is, and I reply with a few words because I'm not sure what else to do. I decide I have to sit down because otherwise he's going to follow me right out, and perhaps he's not interested in attending mass. I sit next to some gringos so that I can talk to them if he sits next to me, but he doesn't. I think he's gone, but now that I'm sitting in church I'm not sure what I should do. I'm interested in seeing what the mass is like anyway (it was the mass for el Senor de los Temblores, the Lord of the Earthquakes, the patron saint of Cusco, and I guess it's the first day of Holy Week in Cusco), and I figure he's waiting outside so I don't want to leave too quickly. If this guy hadn't followed me in I would have been standing in the back to observe, but now I'm sitting, kind of front-and-center. So I felt uncomfortable just standing up and leaving (especially without doing the appropriate sign of the cross in front of the alter), so I quickly realized I would be attending the entire mass.

Eventually the gringos to my right leave and a woman sits down on my left. Eventually she ask me if I am Catholic, and I say no but I say that I'm interested in different religions. We keep talking, and I tell her about how I'm familiar with some of the mass from my volunteer work in Chile. Which is true! The best part of the mass was knowing how to say a Hail Mary in Spanish. Mass goes on. Lots of repeating stuff, and then the priest (I guess--it was confusing because there were 3 different guys up at the front) starts talking about how godly people shouldn't cohabitate and godly men shouldn't leave their wives. Being there was interesting, and part of me wants to attend mass in the States so I can better understand what's going on but also see how it compares. There's definitely something magical about being in one of those dark, ornate cathedrals.

Finally we get to the part where you wish everyone peace and shake hands. I feel a tap on my shoulder, and the creepy guy is behind me wishing me "la paz"! Ack! So I keep talking to the woman next to me, and after communion we walk out together. Meanwhile, she has told me about her 6 kids, how her husband left her 2 years ago, and how her parents died from terrorism. She also tells me that it is hard to make a living because she does not have a professional job--she is a painter. I figure she'll probably ask me to buy something at some point. As we are walking out she does ask me if I want to see her work, and seeing that she is a nice woman and is protecting me from creepy man of course I say yes. I also tell her this guy is following me and she says she has noticed. We walk around the corner to look at her stuff, and I pick one I like. I accept her first offer of s/30 without bargaining--I figure either she really is a single mom with 6 kids and of course I want to support her, or she just went through an awful lot of effort--mass and an elaborate story--to sell me painting so she deserves it anyway. She also offers to walk me to the cafe I was planning on going to, for which I am grateful. We find the cafe, she gives me her address so I can send extra clothes to her kids, I thank her for helping me avoid the creepy guy, and we part. I was worried about how I was going to get the last 5 blocks to my hostel after dinner, but then when I walk inside the cafe, who do I see but Steve and Annette, my bus-to-Cusco buddies! What luck, seriously. So I told them the whole story, we talked about our days visiting Cusco, and they walked me home. I didn't see the guy when we left the cafe, but I wasn't taking any chances.

So, everything worked out in the end but it was quite an evening. It was surreal sitting through a 1+ hour mass in Spanish, but I'm glad I did. It pisses me off that I couldn't sit quietly in the central square for 2 hours without a creepy guy harassing me, but I guess that's life. The conversation with the woman was really interesting, and I really hope she wasn't ripping me off. It's kind of sad that I'm suspicious. If I have any clothes that I don't want to bring back to the States I think I will send them to her.

Cusco

My 2 days in Cusco were my first experience traveling alone since college, and I was both excited and nervous for it. It started out on a not-so-auspicious note that turned out well--after killing time at the bus station between when Taylor and Heidi left for the flight back to Lima and when my bus was supposed to leave, I discovered that my bus had been cancelled. Fortunately, they put me on a new bus that only left 30 minutes after the original, and I started chatting with the other couple (Annette and Steve) who was also in my situation. The bus ride itself was actually quite pleasant, although I made things harder for myself by second-guessing when we would arrive. I had made a hostel reservation in Cusco a few days earlier, because I didn't want to deal with finding a hostel at 10:00 pm alone. After some prior stress about where I would stay in Cusco, I ended up calling a hostel that was somehow affiliated with the place we stayed in Arequipa, because it was cheap and nice enough. Also, they said they would pick me up at the bus station--great, no need to deal with the taxis! So when we left Puno 30 minutes later than I expected and we made some extra stops along the way, I figured we would arrive nearly an hour after I had told them to pick me up and I felt bad. So I psyched myself up to make another phone call in Spanish, and I asked them to come at 11. Then, somehow, we arrived in Cusco at 10:15. I probably would have waited for the pick up, but Steve and Annette decided they wanted to come with me so I called the hostel *again* and told them (or at least, communicated) that there were 3 of us and we were taking a taxi. That all worked out fine, except that I think my pick-up still went to the bus station and I felt bad about all the trouble I put them through, just because I had a reservation and a cell phone. So I didn't even consider looking for a different hostel, even though that place wasn't all that nice (Annette and Steve left after 1 night). But, it had (mostly) hot water and the duenos were *super* nice, so I was happy.

Monday I had initially planned to explore the city, but I started the day by walking up to a ruins site above the city and I ended up buying a ticket to visit 4 ruins that were sort of in a circuit. So I spent nearly the whole day walking around the countryside outside of Cusco. And I'm really glad I did, despite the overpriced cost of admission, because the weather was beautiful and it was really relaxing. Here's a view of the center of Cusco from where I started my walk:

And here's one of the many pictures I took of the first and most famous site I visited, Sacsayhuaman. This is a pretty good shot of the famous Inca stonework, perfectly cut and fit together with no mortar.

Other highlights of the afternoon included meeting a random Peruvian guy at one of other ruins who wanted to swap taking pictures, so I actually have some pictures of myself from this day; take a taxi between 2 of the sites for 1 sol (~30 cents) and chatting with the driver; and walking all the way back down into the city and then exploring the backroads because the public bus never came. By the time I was down I was starving, and although the fixed menu at the first restaurant I saw wasn't that great, it had the nicest bathroom I've seen in all of Peru, inclusive of my office. These are the benefits of a tourist area.

After lunch, which was really almost 5:00, I walked down to the Plaza de Armas for the first time, and the light was amazing because storm clouds were rolling in. Here's my picture of the Cusco cathedral.

I went to pay the balance of my Inca Trail trip, and when I came back out the rain had started and there was an amazing rainbow over the plaza. I tried to take one last shot of the fountain in the plaza before it got dark, and I caught this:

I met up with Steve and Annette for dinner, which was great because I was not looking forward to eating dinner alone. They brought another couple they had met, and it was a fun time.

Tuesday I did visited 2 tourist sites--the Inca Museum and the Cathedral--but mostly I just walked around the city. My choice of activities was driven by the fact that I decided not to buy the main tourist ticket that is required at most of the main attractions. It is expensive (although the 4 ruins ticket, the cathedral, and the museum were expensive on their own too), and I didn't want to feel like I had to see everything in 2 days or less. So instead I did what I think most tourists either have no interest or no time to do, which is step off the Plaza de Armas and discover that real people actually live in Cusco. It actually surprised me how *easy* it was to find real life in Cusco--from the quiet streets on the hill near my hotel to the busy commercial streets where people bought cheap atlethicware rather than handmade alpaca sweaters. The best part of the day was lunch, where I found a cute restaurant serving a delicious fixed lunch menu for s/3 (less than $1). And I know I picked well because soon after I arrived the place filled up and I was definitely the only gringa there.

I wonder if it is always this easy to escape, despite the fact that Cusco is the tourist capital of Peru, or if during the high season of July and August the tourist population swells to just too large to avoid. That's definitely one thing that made this trip great--during both weeks, with only a few exceptions, our visits did not seem overly touristy despite the fact that we hit the main attractions (e.g. the islands on Titicaca, and even Machu Picchu). I'll definitely take the threat of rain in exchange for more peace and authenticity while traveling. Of course, I'm also already envisioning a trip back in the indefinite future, to visit all the sites I missed and hire guides to explain all the stuff I just took in visually (like the ruins and the cathedral), and I would love clear blue skies for that too. I fear how much all that will cost since prices for the tourist tickets have doubled in just the last 2 years, but someday...