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Published: September 14th 2011
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Andes Foot Hills
The Andes Foot Hills Up to the Highlands
For those following my blog you know I took Sunday off. I was preparing for my trip to Junin, the highlands, the top of the world. Originally we were going to Ancast where Maca harvest was just completed. Martin (MG Natural) has just bought more land in Junin where they are preparing to plant. Our trip is to see the land under cultivation and to file for certification of organic status.
Here is what I knew about Maca before this trip. The maca root is cultivated in the Peruvian Andes above 4000 meters (13,000 feet above sea level) where growing conditions are very adverse and with a temperature range of -5 to 2o degrees Celsius. Maca should be Organic. Maca root comes from a small plant, with a maximum height of 15 cm and a very complete nutritional profile. Its medical benefits are primarily due to its high content of secondary metabolites. Maca is a functional food, nutraceutical, sexual enhancer, energy promoter, anti-depressant, anti stress and anxiety and gives relief of menopausal symptoms. Several clinical studies have been carried out on the maca root and it has been publicized in reptable scientific journals such as
Hotel
Hotel "Asian Andrology" (maca improved sperm production and sperm motility by mechanisms not related to LH, FSH, PRL, T, and E2), and the International Journal of Biomedical Science (substantial reduction of menopasal discomfort in women).
With all that said I now have a new found understanding of Maca, The food of the Kings". I feel I should start this entry with "Ladies and Gentlemen, You won't believe this". This is Wednesday morning and I am having a cup of coffee in my favorite hangout Cafe Z. My head is awash from the last two days in the highlands. I have no words to describe this trip, I'm not sure any exist. I have taken over two hundred pictures, they are impressive but cannot convey the beauty, grander and emotions of the Andes. I am going to machu Picchu the 24th and I have been worried about altitude sickness. machu Picchu is only 8000 feet above sea level, I have been to 1600 feet above sea level, the oxygen was so thin I felt drunk, stoned, almost out of body. Everywhere I looked I felt no familiarity maybe a different planet, Mars, Venus.......Unbelievable, fantastic, grandiose, beautiful.....No words to describe.
We
Canyon
Canyon left Miraflores, Lima Monday about ten in the morning. Our first hour was driving out of Lima, Lima is huge, into the foothills of the highlands, the Andes. The first mountains are brown, no vegatation, ugly. Lima is actually desert. We passed a huge civic center where Brittany Spears will perform next month. As we drive the brown mountains start turning green with vegetation and begin to show beauty. The road is two lanes , one up, one down, cars, trucks and buses all use the same road. If you pass its at your own risk. Martin is a fantastic driver and passes with perfect timing and accuracy. If he makes the smallest mis-calculation we will be head on and topple for miles, never to be heard of again. I feel I should try to explain the rate of incline, the U curves, the trust I must put in Martin and all the while the most spectacular beauty rising all around me. After three hours of driving up, up, up we finally reach the top, or as close as we can get in a car. The altitude is 13,000 feet above sea level at this part of the mountain. Martin
mountains
mountains made reservations at a hotel in Tarma, a small village on the other side of the mountain, down about 8000 (fasl). Hopefully to acclimate to the altitude. I felt great, a little dizzy, but great. We ate dinner and I retired to my room. I could not get internet, the big screen would not move from the menu, so I settled back with a book. Altitude finally caught me! I could not breath, no matter how deep or fast I breathed I felt I was suffocating, dying. They had no oxygen in the hotel, I took an aspirin and finally got through the night. The next morning I actually felt great, we had breakfast and started our days journey to find Tina, Martins manager for the land and farmers here in Junin.
our journey to find Tina was just that a journey. After more than an hour of up and down the mountains and asking the local we were told to turn down a small dirt road. This dirt road goes up and around curves and opens to a beautiful valley set a thousand years ago. Farmers plowing with oxen, mud houses built in the side of the mountains.
snow capped
Close to the top The residents going about daily life as they have for thousands of years. My words and pictures cannot convey the feelings and beauty of this simple village and the life they must live. We found Tina on the side of the road appearing to have just arrived. How did she know? We back track down to the paved road and off to the maca fields.
Now this is where my attitude , appreciation and spiritual connection for maca forever changes. We drive back up the mountain and over, turn on another small dirt road. A short distance and we find a few official looking buildings leading into a natural reserve. We stop, martin and Tina disappear to apply for organic certification and other legal papers which will be processed while we travel to the maca fields an back.
Honestly, I was not prepared for the trip unfolding. We drive for several miles to a canyon of solid rock walls with a mountain stream through the middle. This is the entrance to the road that leads to the fields. The dirt road starts its zig zag accent up the mountain. The view is breathtaking, we finally get to where
Plowing
Small village, oxen plowing I think is the end of the road. We take a sharp left on a newly grated road with more zig zaggs up the mountain, made to get to the new fields.
This will be the first time this land has been used to grow maca. It takes nine months to grow. After the land is prepared it will be planted in November and harvested in July. After this planting the land cannot be used for five years. The weather is sever here, below freezing at night and hot in the day. The altitude is over 13,000 (fasl). I can't help but think why would someone go to such trouble to grow a small radish plant. Of course I know, it's a love for this magical plant and a desire to share it with the world. My respect for the people who grow, harvest, ship, prepare and of course the magical plant itself is now off the chart.
We finally arrive at the top of this mountain, acres and acres of land, dirt turned, being turned again, then planted by hand and harvested by hand. The temperature is around 36 degrees and very little oxygen. I feel exuberant
Me and Martin
Me and Martin and feel I could run. Actually i can only take a few steps, rest, catch my breath and take a few more steps. If you try anything past that you will pass out.
From now on when I take my daily maca, I will stop and give thanks with a moment of meditation.
We make our way back down to the canyon and to the paved road. We dropped Tina off in Tarma to catch a bus home. We started our long dissent down the Andes. The clouds were hanging on the mountain tops and then it happened. It started snowing, a fine light snow, then strong flurries. The mountains were covering with snow, absolutely beautiful. The temperature was 6 Celsius, I knew that was 32 degrees, freezing. At this altitude the road is steep. Heavy traffic both up and down, lots of cars, trucks and buses. I know the road is icy, I'm frightened for the first time of Martins driving. The traffic stops, we sit then slowly we move. My fears were right, a car tried to pass and didn't make it. It didn't go over the mountain but was crushed like a wadded piece of
Hotel
Hotel paper. It hit a tractor trailer, I've never seen a car smashed that bad. Thankfully Martin slowed his passing but he didn't stop. It was a long ride down th Andes. I was glad to get on level ground.
To see all photos of Andes trip copy Link and Paste in Address bar. Please note two Links.
http://www5.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=4399648028/a=6679353028_6679353028/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/
http://www5.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=4399967028/a=6679353028_6679353028/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/
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