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Published: July 21st 2006
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Classic Machu Pichu
Never one for to stand out for originality, this was the best I could get. ****I have a home page at nelsabrams.blogspot.com. I would like to create a "friends" page so send me fotos!!****
Hey everybody, here's the latest and greatest on my trip. We (Lauren and I) spent our time here doing the classic lap from Lima, down the Pacific coast, over to Lake Titikaka and up to Cusco and Machu Pichu. The country is amazingly diverse in it's different regions. Along the coast is the driest desert in word. It has had less than an inch of percipitation over the past couple hundred years. If this conjures up beautiful imagery for you, you are mistaken. My overiding thought during the seemingly endless bus ride from Lima to Ica was "this is the ugliest place I have ever seen in my life". It was apparent the coast of Peru was on God's to-do list on the seventh day. Hundreds of miles of absolutely no life. But not beautifully austere like the Sahara. Dirt. After this utterly depressing ride you arrive in a town called Ica. This city has adopted the very chic "dirty and hostile" look that central Lima has perfected. Known for it's wine, the wine here was terrible. Does ANYBODY like sweet wine?Thankfully,
It was interesting to experience the Asian feel to the place. The restraunts were primarily Chinese. There was a palpable chaos. Even the "taxis" were typical Nepalese taxis. This international flavor is better understood when you realize how many Chinese and Korean immigrants live in Peru.(Statistics indicate around 1/10th of the population from China alone) They originally came as slaves and later immigration was fueled by a perceived market for Chinese labor and products. Their ex-president was actually Japanese. Wierd, huh?
From here we went to Arequipa. We had read about a nice hotel so we asked the driver to take us there. He, of course, took us to the "pirate" version of the hotel; which means a shitty hotel that has robbed the name to scam tourists. As a bonus, he stole the scarf I had given Lauren. If the intro to this blog seems down, imagine how we felt. I am convinced Lauren was inches away from leaving me. That said, Arequipa was really beautiful. It seems to be the cultural and intellectual counterpart to Lima. Lima being very commercial and Arequipa the voice for the southern farming community. While we were there there was a protest
in the streets against the TLC. The TLC is a trade agreement being negotiated between the United States and Peru, Ecuador and Colombia. It is a complex proposition but my general understanding is that, yes, it will help the overall economy of the prospective Andino countries. Unfortunately, the farmers here will not be able to compete with the subsidized mega-agriculture of the United States and will be forced to move to the cities to become employees in the new, "better", economy. These people are very proud and are not open to surrending their independent farming culture for the employee lifestyle. But don't worry, we will eventually crush their souls. Lima, the Urban center of Peru is in favor of TLC. This political dynamic has huge consequences for the country. In the last elections 18 of the 24 provinces actually voted Socialist. Unfortunately for these Venezuela-wannabees Lima has approximately half the country's population and voting power. The Arequipeñan protest took the form of effigy-burning (George W.) and angry chants. I spoke with one man selling radical newspapers for awhile. After a nice political discussion, I mentioned I was not in agreement with the revolutinary ideology of "Che", due to it's violence.
Protesters
You're never REALLY travelling until you see burning effigies of your president in the street. He politely left and it was only later I realized his paper was advocating on the front page "justified violence" against the yankee oppressors. Ha. Anyway, as a last anecdote for Arequipa, Lauren had some gifts stolen. She was convinced she knew who had stolen them and asked me to go get them back. An average sized person in the States, I had grown accostumed to my increased relative size here. Of course, the robber happened to be the only 6'2" 220lb. man in all of Peru. So, like any gallant boyfriend I confronted the man and succesfully recovered the bag (confident in the knowledge of the two police officers I had arranged to wait outside)
From there we headed to Puno, along Like Titikaka. I HAVE BEEN TO LAKE TITIKAKA. The interesting bit about Puno is that on the lake there are man-made islands that are inhabited by indigenous people. These islands began to be created hundreds of years ago in an attempt to avoid the warring tribes on the surrounding land. Made of reeds, they are continually re-built, along with very beautiful boats. Cool, huh.
As we crossed the border to Bolivia both Lauren and I
felt a sigh of relief. The people were much more friendly, more colorful, more honest. To contrast the examples of the previous thefts in Peru, I stupidly left my camera on the seat in a public bus and the women next to me amazingly mentioned it to me on my way out. Another bonus about Bolivia is that's it really fucking cheap. Ooh, and there is this grain called Quinua that is a must for all you health nuts out there. The best food from Peru was the Rocotto Relleno; a super spicy hot pepper stuffed with meat and cheese. Another Peruvian innovation is ceviche. This is their version of sushi. It is raw fished that is chemically "cooked" with vinegar. It's okay.
To finish our trip we headed to, you guessed it, Cuzco and Machu Pichu. It was much cooler than I had imagined. There were the really over-hyped places but they could be easily avoided. The old capital of the Incan empire, there is still evidences of Incan architecture but it is much clearly demonstrated in the nearby town Ollantaytambo. It is truly remarkable. The Incans did not use mortar or any adhesive for their construction. Instead
Contrasting architecture
The lower section was built by the Incas 900 years ago. The upper section reconstructed in the 1900\'s. Progress, baby. they painstakingly shaped granite with chisels and innovative methods (like inserting dry wood in natural fissures and later splitting the rock by soaking the wood to make it expand) These rocks fit together perfectly and to contemplate the man-power and patience necessary is mind blowing. Perhaps more impressive than the architecture is their beer. The "Cusqueña negra" beer is dee-licious.
Machu Pichu was all it was hyped up to be. A somewhat dis-illusioning fact is how much of it has been reconstructed.(about 60%) I had the misconception that part of the mystery of the place was that it was original. However, still stunning. Here the difference in quality between Incan architecture and more modern attempts is apparent. And, like all "discoveries" it seems, the Western claim has been denounced. Why is it that Edmund Hillary is famous and his Nepalese partner not? The porters do all the damn work. Well, in this situation American archealogist Hirram Bingham's "discovery" was actually him being led there by a local farmer. What's his name? Who knows. Lastly, a quick tip: if you go to Machu Pichu buy your tickets at the town of Aguas Calientes. We hiked up there at 4:30 in
the morning only to have them tell us we had to buy our tickets back at town. Doh.
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anne
non-member comment
miaaacchyuu piicchhuuyyuuu
hey nels, wow you is all over day place, it makes my heart glad to know you are having a good time wandering the earth. wander for me my friend, as i am rooting again, no more distractions, it's time to get down to business, the business of non'doing..... say hello to lost continents for me please, i am sending love.