Subscribe to this blog19 March 2009
Grand Finale at Machu Picchu
"It was in July, 1911, that we first entered that marvelous canyon of the Urubamba, where the river escapes from the cold regions near Cuzco by tearing its way through gigantic mountains of granite. From Torontoy to Colpani the road runs through a land of matchless charm. It has the majestic grandeur of the Canadian Rockies, as well as the startling beauty of the Nuuanu Pali near Honolulu, and the enchanting vistas of the Koolau Ditch Trail on Maul. In the variety of its charms and the power of its spell, I know of no place in the world which can compare with it." (from "Inca Land, Explorations in the Highlands of Peru", by Hiram Bingham - source: Project Gutenberg)Selecting the Inca ruins at Machu Picchu as "Grand Finale" for my round-the-world trip worked perfectly. Reading books about the discovery of this site did put me in the right mood, as I was preparing the trip from the nearby city of Cusco. There are several ways for the pilgrimage to Machu Picchu. The most famous one is the "Inca Trail" (or as the locals call it: "Gringo Trail"). But it seems that I have come here a couple of years too late: Peru has professionalized its tourism infrastructure and it is therefore not possible at all to hike this trail independently. Fares for organized hikes - including porters, cooks and already prepared tents on arrival - range from 300 to 700 US dollars for the four day hike (depending on the agency and the bargaining skills). More annoyingly, I would have needed to book this trek at least four to six weeks in advance.
Hiking under such prerequisites was not appealing to me at all. I might opt to go for a trek with porters and chefs when I'm retired - not being able to carry my own backpack, then. Even the slight variations of this trail - using mountain bikes or alternative routes - weren't appealing at all to me. This solved a potential dilemma in choosing how to go to Machu Picchu, since there is also the option of taking a very scenic and famous railway to the "basecamp" town of Aguas Calientes.Being a railway buff, I was more than happy to hop on the "Backpacker Train" (which is the official name of the service), leaving early in the morning from Cusco to Aguas Calientes. This route has five switchbacks (which are called "El Zig-Zag"). They enable the train to gain altitude shortly after leaving the train station in Cusco. Arriving on the hills surrounding the town, the train actually drives down the "Sacred Valley".
However, there are not a lot of backpackers on the "Backpacker Train" and I found myself surrounded by tour groups and elderly people who complained that they could not travel sitting backwards. Each switchback they were playing musical chairs while moaning about how cumbersome this travel was.
Nevertheless, this great train ride was a fantastic experience and I did not regret having abandoned the thought of trekking to Machu Picchu. Unfortunately, parts of the train services are off-limits to tourists and only available for Peruvians. Moreover, all tourist trains are ending in the town of Aguas Calientes, where the Peruvian government has a purpose-built, functional, ten year old modern train station building.Actually, describing the location of the small town of Aguas Calientes could be misleading to some readers, since it is nested in a deep valley next to Machu Picchu, surrounded by high peaks of forest mountains - featuring a small mountain river that slices the settlement in two parts.
However, what sounds like a nice place to stay before or after visiting Machu Picchu is as ugly as one can imagine. It's a chaotic mess of square concrete houses, that are mainly left in an unfinished building state since years. In fact, my hostel had a very nice building front and reception. When I went to the first floor, I realized that an entire wall of the building was missing - and I was able to have a panoramic view of the river banks. Being on the second floor, each time when I went out of my room to the "hall way", I would find myself actually walking in broad daylight, since not only one side of the house - but also large parts of the roof - were missing. This is truly a typical view in "downtown" Aguas Calientes.
Nevertheless, I opted to stay two nights there, since the word was out in the backpacker community to catch the very first shuttle bus to Machu Picchu to avoid the crowds. This bus leaves at 5:30 in the morning, which implies an overnight stay in this ugly little town. What caught my suspicion, shortly after arrival, was the notice board in the hostel, which informs guests that breakfast is being served between 4:45 and 8:00 in the morning. Although I was pleased to learn that I could have breakfast before catching the very first bus, I did figure out that I probably wasn't the only one having this stupid idea to leave ahead of the pack.When I got up next day, at the earliest possible moment, the breakfast room was already full of people. I quickly slurped a coffee and skipped the bread. So I left at five to the bus station. While I was walking there, I passed two other hostels and saw - through their non-existing walls - the same scenes of very busy tourist crowds having breakfast, too. Arriving at the station, there were about thirty people queuing, with some locals selling coffee and snacks. I counted the people in front of and figured out that I would make it onto the bus. But there were a lot of bus company staff in uniforms hanging around as well. Soon, I realized that this is a regular scene every day here. Looking behind me, I saw the queue growing by the minute. As buses pulled into the parking space, I did estimate about two hundred people waiting in line. Some of them clearly being angry or put off, because they also thought that they would beat the crowd by doing the extra effort in getting up very early.
Nevertheless, having professionalized the tourism business, the Peruvians do a good job in managing to absorb such big tourist crowds. Because the "5:30 bus" is actually a series of buses, driving up to Machu Picchu in a convoy. Eight vehicles were needed to bring all tourists to the Inca site. You do the math (at 48 passengers per bus). Arriving at the ticket office on top of the mountain did require another short queuing. But at six o'clock, gates were opened and we were all let in. The historical site of Machu Picchu is big enough to hide well such a volume of people. To my surprise it didn't feel crowded at all at that time - although I knew that I obviously wasn't alone.Visitor regulations, posted in various languages on information panels, on the admission ticket and leaflets, do forbid a number of things. On top of the usual one's (no littering, no climbing of ruins, no smoking, etc.) - I did find the following rules a bit weird:
- no food allowed
- don't use disposable containers or bottles
- no backpack more than 20 liters
- no walking sticks
There is actually no shop or kiosk beyond the entrance gate. Although I was carrying my water flask, I was a bit irritated by the fact, that an official entity would encourage dehydration - since most of the tourists these days are using disposable (aka "PET") water bottles. However, it seems that no one really cares about these rules and I did spot many tourists drinking from their plastic bottles, eating - and some walking using sticks.
After a scenic day at Machu Picchu, I left Aguas Calientes for other Inca sites in the "Sacred Valley" near the towns of Ollantaytambo, Maras and Chinchero. Satisfied, but a bit saturated from all the historic sites, I returned to Cusco.
From there, I will catch a bus to Lima and fly back home to Switzerland. Yes, the round-the-world trip is over. Although I would have preferred to stay a while longer on the road, I got used to the idea of returning home. And I don't expect a big culture shock upon arriving back in Switzerland.
However, I might need a vacation to recover from my round-the-world trip. Trekking through Ethiopia and Kenya is on the list of things to do in a few weeks time. But before that, I'll be brushing up my Russian skills in Moscow. Sounds confusing? You then better stay tuned to this blog...
Labels: Peru
posted by Reto at
17:31
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17 March 2009
Buenas noches, sexy woman in Cusco
Cusco is the tourist capital of Peru. This city boasts with tour groups, hawkers, nice restaurants, cafes, hotels - and: splendid sights in and around town.Although prices are obviously more expensive than in the rest of Peru, it is still possible to maintain a budget. I splurged a bit on the hostel, but I wanted to ensure that there was hot water for the showers at any time of the day (which is not so common in this country). Cross-financing the extra I paid for accommodation, I decided to moved around in "urbanitos" (city buses) and "colectivos" (minibuses), instead of taxis.
There are a couple of Inca-era ruins within a perimeter of 10 kilometers of the city of Cusco. Going to the farthest site by colectivo did cost 2.40 Soles (about 75 US cents). Called "Tampumachay", the ruins there were rather smallish, but I was looking forward to have a little hike back into town anyway. This walk along a pretty scenic road did feature other historic places, such as "Puca Pucara", "Qenko" and "Sacsayhuamán".
The latter one has actually a name which is quite easy to pronounce: Lazy tourists could probably ask a cab driver to bring them to "sexy woman" - and they would certainly end up being driven to "Sacsayhuamán" (at least during daytime, I guess).Back in the downtown area of Cusco, the "Wiphala", a rainbow flag of the Andes people, is omnipresent in the streets. Being the official flag of the city of Cusco, the seven stripes rainbow flag bears shocking resemblance to the state flag of the "Gay and Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands" - and/or the "Peace Flag". However, there are subtle rainbow colour differences in the various flags - Wikipedia helped to sort out my confusion.
Another fun thing to do in Cusco is counting the number of people trying to sell to tourists anything from pictures, souvenirs, tours, coca leaves and massages. Actually, the number of massage offerings I do get, makes the city feel a bit like Bangkok (Thailand). But then again, it is probably me having dirty thoughts here.
Anyhow, it is mind-boggling how many times per day I have to say "No". Together with another backpacker, we counted the numbers of times we had to say "No", just walking from the hostel to the "Plaza de Armas". After five minutes each of us had been approached by over twenty sellers.
To be fair though, one simple "No" is sufficient for them - and they let go. Not much of a bother, then. But having to say "No" all day long has the potential to put people in a depressing mood. But that doesn't stop me from resisting to say "Yes".Major sights in Cusco - besides Inca ruins - are churches and museums. I counted one cathedral, nine churches and ten major museums in this town of roughly 350'000 inhabitants. Which is way too much culture for me. And I confess that I did skip most churches and all of the museums. The Inca stuff (and the vibe of the city) was good enough for me. However, I might be traveling for too long and be a bit over-saturated by now from archaeological places. Because all that Inca fuss really leaves me so far very unimpressed.
Until the ninth of their emperors, the Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui, (who came to power in 1445), there is little historical record and archaeological evidence and it is "assumed" there were other eight rulers between 1250 to 1438. Largely, this means, that we are talking about some medieval tribe that peaked during about one hundred years.
Sure, the Incas were definitely very good at doing what they knew (construction, skull surgery and some other random stuff), which is - I'm afraid - not a lot in comparison with other cultures that existed at the same time in other regions of this planet.
On top of that, the Spaniards - who obviously had not much cultural affinity - destroyed most artwork by melting down gold and silver artwork. They did use stones of temples to build churches instead. Being a selfish tourist in the 21st century, looking for exciting archaeological sites, I definitely see not much being left in "Inca land". Which makes me wonder how this country would look like, if the conquerors never had arrived on this continent.In Peru, the "conversational clock" is ticking differently than in other South American countries. Everything starts so much earlier here: "Buenas tardes" (Good afternoon / Good evening) is used as soon as noon is over. And we are talking about one minute past noon here. At strike seven in the evening (when the sun is down in Cusco), everyone switches to the disturbing "Buenas noches" (Good night) - used as a greeting when entering a shop or a restaurant at that time of day. Disturbing, because I do associate "Good Night" as a farewell, before going to bed. At second thought, I might start switching greetings and farewells once I get back home - just for fun and to see how other people react to it.
Unfortunately, now that I start to feel a little more comfortable in speaking Castellano, I'm about to leave the South American continent. Although I still make a lot of errors, miss heaps of vocabulary - and talk Tarzan-style ("Me Tarzan - You Jane") - conversations with locals have become more and more "complex" and longer. Which really now puts the fun into South America. But Cusco is big and worthy enough for a future, second visit.
Labels: Peru
posted by Reto at
21:25
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12 March 2009
Puno for the embarrassed
"Puno is a hole." This is the answer I've got by a weird traveler when I asked him the smalltalk question "Have you been in Puno?". Honestly, I did hope to get some information about this town situated at Lake Titicaca - or at least get into a casual conversation. Because I got bored during the two hour border stop waiting for our bus - going from Bolivia to Peru - to be cleared by the officials. But my conversation partner definitely had traveled too long alone. During his monologue, he never answered my questions, but would brag about how stupid all tourists are - obviously including me - and how much more authentic his way of travel was.When I changed subject by smalltalking about the duration of the formalities at this border, he felt the urge to explain to me that I haven't traveled much and - oh yeah - "you Europeans aren't used to border crossings, anyway". This poor, arrogant guy reminded me that one can travel for too long and go nuts. Sometimes, certain behaviour that is perfectly acceptable on a solitary island, will not be considered as being "social" when interacting with other people.
However, since an idiot had defined the town of Puno as being a "dump", this was a probable indicator that the place actually might be quite nice. Which turned out to be spot on. The setting of the town along Lake Titicaca is absolutely beautiful.Although there are two, three touristic pedestrian streets in downtown Puno, the area doesn't (yet) feel over-commercialized. I still found plenty of residential areas around the back alleys, as well as markets for locals where curious colorful items are sold at a bargain, although of no use for the average traveler. Strolling through this town takes the better time of an afternoon. Having a population of just over 100'000, the distances between sightseeing points are small enough to do everything by foot.
Since none of the current travel guides do feature the three year old lookout point "Condor Hill" (at 4017 meters altitude) (and since I was looking for a nice spot to take pictures during the sunset), I walked up there from a 3850 meters altitude in downtown Puno. What a struggle! Although I did adapt to the altitude in the meantime - not being sick, hung over or whatsoever - any minor effort does make me feel like a 60 year old man. However, the effort was rewarded, by experiencing a great panoramic view over Puno, the harbour and the Lake Titicaca. Moreover, one of the police officers hanging around at the top of "Condor Hill" was eager to point out all places downtown he knew. He was very proud of his hometown kept me busy in a conversation until after dusk.
Many people come to this town to break the long journey between La Paz (Bolivia) and Cusco (Peru). Being one of the biggest towns at the shores of Lake Titicaca also means that there is enough traveler infrastructure, such as hostels and supermarkets.Moreover, there are enough sites around town to keep a traveler busy for a couple of days. For example, the "Islas Flotantes" (Floating Islands) near the Puno harbour are an interesting - albeit a bit exploitative - tourist sight. These artificial islands are made by the "Uros" (a local tribe) out of bundled totora reeds which then act as huge rafts on which the people live everyday's life. The size of each of the islands provide home to only two or three families, although larger islands would house as many as ten families. This sedge is also the basic building material for the huts and boats used by the tribes. Actually, I bumped into the totora plant back while being on Easter Island. Which is another "Rapa Nui" mystery: It is unknown how this plant has made it there from Lake Titicaca.
These days, the families who live on these islands are all well dressed up in traditional clothes and do usually sell souvenirs to tourist groups. Which is quite a bother, because I spotted - behind a "floating island resort" - several corrugated huts and a building named "school". Which makes me think that this actually is the authentic way the "Uros" live nowadays. What a pity that I didn't own a boat to explore the islands on my own.
Another major attraction around Puno are the Sillustani towers, about 30km West of town. Centuries ago, ancient people from the Andean highlands and from the shores of Lake Titicaca, did build funeral towers to bury their important people. These towers at Sillustani are said to be the most perfect cylindrical buildings in South America. No, I won't enter into a rant about archaeological sites in South America, since I did this in an earlier post.However, the trip as such to the Sillustani towers was nice enough. The setting at the "Umayo" lagoon is definitely a picturesque scene. Unfortunately, the only (financially reasonable) way to go to that site is by tourist tour bus. Which meant that on the way there, we stopped to take some pictures of a farm boy with two Lamas - featuring the town of Puno in the backdrop. On the way back, we stopped at a family house, where we could buy hand-made souvenirs and taste local food. If ever during my travel I wanted to hide in absolute shame - this was the place. The tourist crowd behaved like being at the Zoo.
Unfortunately, the worst tour group experience for me was yet to come. Being a railway buff, Puno has a great sightseeing trump card up its sleeve: The scenic railway journey between the towns of Puno and Cusco. This ten hour trip is called the "Andean Explorer" and comes at a quite steep price tag (US$ 220 as from April, 1st 2009). Obviously, I did not realize when planning to use this mode of transport, that I was just setting up myself for yet another kitschy, glossy and unrealistic disneylandish experience.
As it turns out, the rail operator, "Peru Rail" makes this trip a very plush and first class experience, therefore attracting mostly elderly couples in white sneakers and baseball hats. You probably guess the fact of having folklore groups on board of the train - playing instruments and singing for money. However, you won't guess the absolute low-light of the trip: It started when the aisle of the carriages were converted into a catwalk. There, beautiful young Peruvian girls were walking up and down in traditional clothes to the humming sound of Parisian "Pret-a-porter" dance music. The old ladies loved it. Obviously, the models returned after the "show" to sell me their clothes. For my wife or my girl friend, as they tried to convince me. Yeah, sure! Amazing what corporate decision makers can conceive just to be able to squeeze out the very last drop of money from each tourist.
From that standpoint, the rail trip was quite interesting. However, based on that experience, I would not recommend anyone interested in railways to undertake this journey. There are similar to better trips in terms of scenery, technology and railroad architecture - for a fraction of the Peruvian ticket price. Moreover, in other places, tourists get to sit on the original train, interacting with locals. Something which is actually not allowed here: Trains for locals bound for Machu Picchu are strictly off-limits for foreigners.
But that's another story for my next blog entry...
Labels: Peru
posted by Reto at
19:01
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28 February 2009
February in Review: More Pictures
By clicking on the respective album pictures below, you should be taken to a small selection of exclusive pictures which I have taken during the month of February while traveling through Paraguay, Central & Northern Argentina, Western Peru and Northern Chile.
Older monthly reviews:
January 2009: Southern Chile (Patagonia), Southern Argentina (Patagonia and Buenos Aires) and Uruguay
December 2008: Easter Island and Central Chile
November 2008: New Zealand
October 2008: Australia, Principality of Hutt
September 2008: Laos
August 2008: Cambodia, Bangkok
July 2008: China's East, Uzbekistan reloaded
June 2008: China's West, Central China
May 2008: Siberia, Gobi desert, Beijing/Pingyao/Xi'an
April 2008: Moscow, Uzbekistan
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| Paraguay | Central and North Argentina |
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| West Peru | North Chile |
Older monthly reviews:
January 2009: Southern Chile (Patagonia), Southern Argentina (Patagonia and Buenos Aires) and Uruguay
December 2008: Easter Island and Central Chile
November 2008: New Zealand
October 2008: Australia, Principality of Hutt
September 2008: Laos
August 2008: Cambodia, Bangkok
July 2008: China's East, Uzbekistan reloaded
June 2008: China's West, Central China
May 2008: Siberia, Gobi desert, Beijing/Pingyao/Xi'an
April 2008: Moscow, Uzbekistan
Labels: Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Peru
posted by Reto at
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24 February 2009
Being in bad shape among the nuns in Arequipa
The plan for Arequipa was to visit the "Canyon Country", which features the deepest canyons in the world. Located roughly 100km away from the city of Arequipa, the Cañon de Cotalinas is 3354m deep. Nearby Cañon de Colca is insignificantly "higher" at 3191m depth. Since my impending flight dates leave me with little time, I tried to book the canyon trip ahead - which failed. Arriving in the hostel in Arequipa, I was told that there was no booking and that the next tour available would leave in two days only. Moreover, it was raining miserably and cold temperatures prevailed. Most notably, I was sick - for the first time during my journey. Somehow, I managed to catch a heavy flu with fever.
During my journey I got used to accept things as they happened. I call this "destiny". Being sick while the weather was bad and a trip reservation had failed to materialize, was definitely a perfect match. Staying in bed for the day, after having visited the town for three hours, therefore didn't create any remorse. It was only then that I realized how lucky I have been so far during my trip as I never was sick before. Apart from some minor diarrhea, twice or so, I have been spared of major inconveniences. But I realized, that a lot of tourists in Peru are constantly sneezing and coughing. And when I spotted a Spanish tourist in the Internet cafe, wiping with her hands the snort from her nose, continuing to type again afterwards on the computer keyboard, it became obvious to me how I contracted the flu.
Named the "white city", Arequipa has indeed a lot buildings that come in volcanic stonework. The central plaza is very scenic and I am certain in good weather conditions, this town is a gem. Having a population of roughly 1 Million inhabitants, Arequipa is the second biggest city in Peru. The historic center became a UNESCO world heritage site in the year 2000. One major sight, the Monasterio Santa Catalina, was a pleasant visit. This convent - the biggest in the world - is actually a small town (of 20'000 square meters) within the town of Arequipa. Founded in 1580, it first did house rich Spanish nuns who lived there in a very descent style. This citadel complex was off-limits for outside people until 1970. This is why this convent is still well preserved and gives a perfect insight about how life must have been there in the past centuries. It is a beautiful, meditative place with narrow streets, stairs and green plazas.
Traveling to and from Arequipa often means traveling on the Pan-American Highway. Although my journey already partly went along this road in Chile and Argentina, it was only here, that the road looked stereotypical "Pan-American" to me: Having long stretches of straight track through deserted land on one side and the Pacific ocean on the other side. The Pan-American Highway is considered the world's longest "motorable road". Although several routes claim to be the "Panamericana", the consensus is that the 48'000km long route network between Prudhoe Bay (USA) and Ushuaia (Argentina) is the de-facto "Superhighway". Contrary to common belief, it is not possible to drive entirely by road from the North American continent to the South American tip. A small swampland and forest separating Panama and Colombia leaves a 100km gap in the Pan-American highway system. Crossing that swamp - called the Darien Gap - still renders a road trip from North to South America an adventure. Obviously, such a journey triggers quite some excitement for me and I am starting to think about a future travel along this road. So I might come back to Arequipa one day, in better shape.
Labels: Peru
posted by Reto at
22:43
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21 February 2009
Drawing a line in Nazca
Nazca and its alien spaceport - called the Nazca lines - was a fun experience. Not that I honestly would believe in the alien theory. But there are so many explanations as to why these lines exist, that I just randomly picked one that I liked most. Being a series of geoglyphs, the creation of the lines is believed to have happened between 200 BC and 700 AD. The lines represent a lot of different individual figures, such as hummingbirds, monkeys, fish, spiders and more. Some of other lines are simple geometric figures.They are best visible from the air, although a small visitors tower outside of Nazca allows to view parts of the figures at a cheaper cost than an airplane ride. Being of shallow design, the lines were created by removing pebble stones from the ground - which then reveals the white colored earth underneath. Since the Nazca desert, where these lines are located, is one of the driest places on Earth, the temperature remains at a constant level all year round. There is no wind that would jeopardize the artistic work.
Although the whole area is about 500 square kilometers big, most of the figures are smaller than I expected. Actually, the biggest figure is "only" around 250 meters large. But that implies, that tourist airplanes have to fly at a low altitude to permit better visibility. Never having flown on a small airplane in my entire life, shelling out 60 US dollars for a 35 minute flight over the Nazca lines was a no-brainer. Anywhere else in the world, this would cost me more, with less spectacular views.What no-one tells prior to booking these sightseeing plane trips: They really, really have to fly quite low and they will turn in "S"-shaped curves around all of the figures along the route - to permit passengers sitting on both sides to get a good picture. This results in a feeling close to a roller-coaster ride. To me, this just added to the fun, but the Canadian guy sitting next to me was apparently not enjoying this. When I looked at him after a couple of minutes, I was startled to see his entire face and t-shirt soaking wet. He was sweating like I haven't seen anyone before. Coming back to the hostel, I met an Italian couple who also made the flight. Same there: The wife did not enjoy the ride at all. And he was also looking a bit shaky. Seems that I have a strong stomach or a naive trust in aerodynamics.
The exact reason to draw these figures in the desert remains a mystery. Which - obviously - makes me like this place even more. The most prominent theory comes from Maria Reiche, a German mathematician and archeologist who discovered the lines during her work as assistant. She dedicated her life trying to solve the mystery and published theories in the book The Mystery of the Desert. The profits of this book went into the preservation of the area, hiring guards. If the lines of Nazca are still visible for tourists today, it is in large parts due to the neverending efforts of Maria Reiche, who succeeded to convince the Peruvian government in protecting the desert from public access. In 1995, the area became a UNESCO world heritage site. No wonder, she is respected like a hero among the locals, who are - ten years after her death - are still preserving her work in a museum.Religious motivation is the base theory of Maria Reiche. The Nazca people would draw images for the goods to see them in the sky. They were supposed to point to distant places and celestial bodies. Other archeologists concluded, that there wasn't evidence to support this theory. Another theory, of archeologist Johan Reinhard, interpretes the lines as being used as sacred paths leading to places where deities were worshiped. Another researcher found the patterns of the Nazca lines on ancient textiles wrapping the mummies of the Paracas culture. Some scientists speculate, that the lines altogether are an indication of Nazca-era hot air balloon capabilities, since the figures obviously can only be truly appreciated from the air.
The best answer comes from Switzerland: Our famous "mad scientist", Erich von Daeniken, saw the larger drawings as signals for alien space ships. And the longer, wider lines were meant to be landing strips for these vessels. Apparently, Maria Reiche did make a comment to this theory, by outlining that the imagined runways were indeed clear of stones with a soft underlying ground. She is being quoted with the words "I'm afraid that the spacemen would have gotten stuck". But then again, we all love the outer-space theory, don't we?As if the Swiss "scientists" didn't already stir enough possums in Nazca, I did draw some meaningless Nazca lines next to the parking lot of the airport. Hopefully, some archeologist will discover them in a couple of hundred years from now - and go absolutely mad by trying to figure out who made them and what their purpose would be. But then again, maybe that is the best explanation about how the original Nazca lines were created?
Standing in the shadow of the famous lines, the Nazca aqueducts are an equally interesting visit. Created about 1600 years ago by the same Nazca people, these aqueducts used ground water to irrigate the fields. 30 of these ancient structures are still working to form this clever water channeling, irrigation and storage system. Being for the most part underground - to prevent evaporation - "S"-shape curves in the channels slow down the flow to prevent erosion. The whole system needs only once per year maintenance by the local farmers. It is absolutely amazing to see such a massively ancient technology still in use.
Did I already mention that I liked this place a lot?
Labels: Peru
posted by Reto at
16:38
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18 February 2009
Sniffing other people's wet towels in Lima
After a four hour flight from Santiago de Chile, I arrived in the capital of Peru, Lima. This was a considerable change of culture. There is so much more of the good and the bad. More colors, churches and food variety. More traffic, pollution and crime.As for the latter, local people avoid the city center after nightfall. At least, this is what some of the Peruvians I met, stressed to me. They genuinely seem to be concerned about the tourists safety and are very eager to share tips which areas to avoid at which times. As a visitor spending only little time in places, I never know whether I should trust such information or not. Most of the time, I have the feeling that the scares are media-generated and some people seem to actually boast about their place being the "crime capital". South-Americans seem to love the television documentary series, where camera crews follow police officers during patrols and other police activities. I can see these omnipresent shows anywhere in shops and restaurants. Sometimes, they are part of the regular news program. No wonder, that people from Lima fight over the title of the most dangerous place with people from Santiago de Chile, Mendoza and Buenos Aires. The heavy police force in downtown Lima would make me think, that the Peruvian capital wins this dubious award. But that can be a misleading indication and personally, I felt very safe when I visited the area.
On a more general note, Peru has over 2000 varieties of potatos. There's the all important scientific center for the potato (Centro Internacional de la Papa), based in Lima. Obviously, I was a bit excited to try new kinds of potatos. But so far I couldn't spot any "papas fritas" (French Fries) with a truly different taste. Probably I shouldn't have chosen McDonald's for this research.Besides veggies, there are other star attractions in Lima. Notably there is the biggest collection of pre-columbian erotic ceramic, which is housed at the Museo Larco Herrera. There, a unique collection of over 40'000 ceramic pieces - most of them belonging to the Moche culture - show very expressive motifs about may aspects of life.
A lesser known Peruvian record was established by the bus company "Expreso Internacional Ormeño": They do serve the longest international overland journey, which starts in Venezuela and links Chile and Argentina by going through Ecuador and Peru. This bus route is 9'000 kilometers long. Well, I am quite adventurous - but somehow I did resist to try out this mammoth trip.
My hostel in Lima was located in the barrio of Miraflores, a safe and beautiful part of the capital city. Located near the beach, this area gets the most attention by tourists and locals. One thing that I kept noticing were the big green "S" stickers next to some concrete walls in many buildings. They denote the safe area, in case an earthquake occurs. Looking at the history of Lima, these safety precautions do seem to make sense. Founded in 1535 as La Ciudad de los Reyes (City of Kings), earthquakes flattened most buildings in 1687, 1746 and 1940.Nevertheless, there are still remnants of the early building periods which are both colorful and photogenic. As most other cities on the South American continent, Lima also has to have a Plaza de Armas, with the usual suspects of infrastructure at its four sides: A Government palace, a cathedral, a municipality building and some local businesses. Well, maybe I am worn out to this kind of city planning, because there is rarely something unique or surprising. After having seen the n-th Plaza de Armas, I am definitely getting cynical about Spanish city layouts. Just arrive in any city in South America, pop out of the bus and ask for the directions to the Plaza de Armas. There's a 99% chance that one is there, with the above mentionned buildings at its side. This reminds me a bit of China, where the city layout are standardized as well.
To be fair, however, it is in the details where lies the difference - and this is where Lima shines. The Iglesia de San Francisco is a wonderful piece of colonial architecture. Its underground catacombs has over 25'000 real human skeletons that were buried between the 16th and 19th centuries. The bones are arranged in artistic patterns. Since the church also contains a library with oversized books and spiral staircases, this place probably appeals also a lot to Harry Potter fans.
Besides sightseeing, I used Lima as a base to get things done: Trip research, Internet and laundry. Especially I wanted to have my bath towel washed.There is nothing that I hate so much these days as my bath towel. It stinks after only using it once. It even stinks when it's dry. I know, it has to suffer a lot, because most of the times, I have to pack it moist, because a lot of transportation happens just after the morning shower. Clever readers will point out that I should shower in the evenings instead - giving my poor little towle much needed time to dry. Nah! I wouldn't dare sleeping in some of the beds with a clean body. A good morning shower gets rid of most bed bugs and other little beasts. But that leaves me with a wet towel. And although I try to hang it as soon as possible somewhere during transport or upon arrival in a new hostel, my little towel still has that mildew, musty smell. I hate that smell, I hate my towel.
Moreover, nobody can really explain, why any of my t-shirts seem to cope better with humidity than my towel. My t-shirts can get wet from rain or sweat and they don't complain back to me by stinking mildew. Let's face it: Bath towels are supposed to absorb water without stink. So why doesn't mine absorb? I went so mad one day, that I wandered around the dormitory sniffing at other backpacker's towels hanging over their beds. Which was a revelation: Their towels also stink. Especially the super absorbing hi-tech microfiber towels. I couldn't establish a clear ranking, but I think my stinky little towel isn't that smelly after all. But the other people in the dorm now think that I am weirdo who is hooked on towel sniffing. I could live with that stigma - if only my towel didn't stink.
Labels: Peru
posted by Reto at
03:41
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