26 November, 2007: Matthew
Just a couple of kilometers away from shore, most concentrated near Puno, Peru are islands hand built from tortora reeds which grow abundantly along the shores of Lake Titicaca. There is a people group called the Uros, who centuries ago started building these island to live on in an effort to escape violent captivation by the Incas. Still in existence today are about 40 communities who continue to do life on these islands. The roots of the reeds tend to grow very densely together, almost seeming as a block of spongy roots together. These blocks are harvested and then secured together in order to create the size of the island necessary. Then, the upper parts of the reeds are cut and laid criss-crossed layer upon layer up to six feet thick in oder to create the "island".
Even beyond a way to stay on top of the water, and in years past to avoid inevitable conflict, these reeds are a way of life. As you might imagine, living on a lake, fishing is a huge part of life and the reeds are used to build the boats. To cook, the reeds are used as fuel. To shelter themseves the reeds are used to build homes. And in addition to all of the building capacity of these reeds, the base of the reed where it is still white, they also are edible. It was really amazing to visit one of these little island communities and hear how all of their accomplishments with totora are done. It felt like you were walking on a matress.
After visiting the island of the Uros we continued our boat ride to the island of Amantani where we stayed the night with a host family. There is a rotating schedule for the islanders to take guests into their homes, and it is really a lovely place. There are two high points on this island called Pachamama and Pachatata. Meaning respectively "mother earth" and "father earth". We hiked up to a lookout point on Pachatata and were priviledged to watch a thunderstorm rolling in over Lake Titicaca. It was really beautiful, and so amazing to be able to see so far out over the lake. On the hike down we were also being urged along by huge bolts of lightning (only a little ways off)!
For me one of the highlights of our trip to the island was actually on our return journey, and I was speaking with the Captain of the boat, Urbano for about three hours. We were just cruising along as we departed from Taquile, and asked me if I had any questions about our time on the islands. So, I just started to ask him about animals and agriculture and fishing, all of the stuff that is part of island life on Amantani. He shared with me what was there, and then also started to explain to me a story that his grandfather had told to him about how the people of Amantani started. His story differs some from other sources, but it felt really good to hear first hand from him what had been passed down through the families for years. Also he was explaining to me about how when they are out fishing how he reads the clouds to know where the winds are going to come from. "Looking all around the lake you have to watch which clouds are thin and long, or tall, or how far above the horizon they lie. Then you can know which ones will come first, and where to cast your nets".
After sharing all of this beautiful culture with me, he started asking me how to say a few words in English. There are a few phrases that he wanted to know so that he could communicate better with visitors who don't speak Spanish. It was great to be able to share with him about something that I knew as well. At the very end I was getting a hold of a few Quechua words as well! The only one that is sticking very well at this point though, is thank you: yuspagrasunki.
November 22nd, 2007: Nina
Happy Thanksgiving to all our American friends and family! Matthew and I have been laying-low today. We spent a couple of hours in a cozy cafe reading and writing by the fire and drinking capacchinos. Other than that, we took a stroll down to the dock at Lake Titacaca and got information about boat schedules to the islands. Tomorrow we plan to take a trip to a remote island called Amanantí, and stop by the Floating Islands of the Uros on the way. We will spend the night with a local family on Amanantí and return the next day after visiting another island on the way back. I will wait to write any more about that, I´m sure it will be interesting.
We took the train from Cusco here to Puno. The scenery was amazing! It was almost a 10 hour trip but pretty enjoyable. We passed through high mountain passes with snowy peaks and saw alpacas grazing in the fields. They are so cute... I can´t believe I can eat them!
It is so cold here, it really does feel like Thanksgiving weather! We plan to treat ourselves to a nice dinner tonight. There won't be any turkey but we´ll find something. And of course, we´ll top it off with a piece of pie!
November 19th, 2007: Nina
After our last little adventure into the Colca Canyon, you would think we might have had enough of Do-It-Yourself Trekking. However, upon arrival in Cusco, we had begun to hear rumors of a DYI way to get to Machu Picchu. Let me explain that 99% of the people hike "The Inca Trail" or take the train. These are the only two publisized options. But we had a few reasons for not being thrilled about either of them. For one, trekking the Inca Trail is incredibly overpriced, although I won´t deny it can be a great experience and a very beautiful trip. I think most people who do it are pretty happy with it. However, for Matthew and I, it just wasn´t where we wanted to put our money. Likewise with the train, it is outrageously overpriced and something inside us just rebelled against being a part of the consumeristic approach to Machu Picchu. We wanted our own experience, and it turned out being a very rich one. The day we arrived in Cuzco, we talked to a few locals and got advice on the only other possible way to reach Machu Picchu. This is what we did...
We took a 7 hour bus to a little jungly town called Santa Maria. We stayed in a little guest-house for $5, for both of us. The next morning we ate a huge breakfast, the likes of which we had not seen since Central America. Fried bananas and all. We then waited around for about 2 hours for the overcrowded mini-bus to Santa Teresa. It was so overcrowded that they almost turned us away. (This has never happened before... there`s always room for one more!) However, seeing our pleading looks, they allowed us to ride on top of the bus! Along with our new friend Frank, the boy who collects money and throws cargo on top, we blazed along the dirt roads through the jungle hills until we reached our stop at Santa Teresa, about 2 hours later. We grabbed an almuerzo (set lunch) and some more advice.
Then we headed down the hill to the rushing river. The locals have set up a great river crossing system. You simply climb into a wooden box connected to a cable and glide across the river to the next platform. A little pulling is involved at the end, but it´s as simple as that! We then hiked 2 hours to the hydroelectric plant. From there, we could have taken a train, but once again, it was 12 times as expensive for tourists then for the locals!! It was just another 2 hours walking along the tracks, to the hidden town of Aguas Calientes, at the base of Machu Pichu. This village is set in one of the most beautiful, lushly green, deep valleys, but is absolutely over-run with tourism. Being the gateway to Machu Picchu, everyone from your regular backpacker, to your two-week vaccioner, to the richest of the rich, pass through here. We were lucky enough to have only spent about 12 hours there though- we found a basic place to sleep and headed up on the first bus to the ruins, at 5:30 am. Half hour later, we were walking around The Fourth Wonder of the World. I had seen countless photos but seeing it in real life was truly captivating. The stone-work was mind-boggling, the precision of each cut, giant stones fitting together like a jig-saw puzzle. How did they do it?? And without the wheel, Matthew later pointed out! Truly amazing. We explored the site, soaked it all in and said goodbye before the influx of train-goers made their way in. We hiked down from the ruins and repeated our journey from the previous day, in reverse.
I have to admit, I hadn´t really been looking forward to our visit it MP. I felt like it was just something we had to do because we would be crazy to miss. I knew I could easily get infuriated with seeing something so beautiful turned so consumeristic. But although that exists, we managed to avoid most of it, having experieinced only mild infuriation, of which I won`t go into detail. After our little journey, I was very pleased with having experienced the sacred Machu Picchu, and most of all, for the route we took to get there.
Just as a note, we have a little video clip from our hike back from Machu Picchu.
November 19th, 2007: Nina
Cuzco is possibly the most beautiful city in South America. It`s granduer is a combination of Colonial architecture built on top of genuine puzzle-like stonework of Incan foundations. It has a tragic but rich history. Unfortunately, it`s tragedy is not over. To me, this city is one of the sadest I have experienced. It`s beauty is swallowed by tourism, it´s personality consumed by masked-faced vendors and comercialism. But the sadest is the people. The desperation to make a Sol that they forget who they are, they forget who I am. They expect me to fit into the role of a consumeristic tourist, and if I don`t, they don`t bother. One woman broke this mold. She spoke with us after we said no thanks. She asked questions and we chatted, like normal people. Of course, at the end she tried again to sell us her carved gourds and hand knitted belts, but then wished us a happy journey and smiled into our eyes before she left. I like to think it was genuine.
The kids walk around selling "original" postcards, and if you say no, they say, "then give me your hat, it`s mine" or "give me your shoes", in their mechanically rehearsed English. A little girl and boy (four and two yrs old?) walk around the plaza in their traditional dress, "take me picher, take me picher". Minutes later I see them wresting around in the grass like little kids should be doing. For a moment they fell out of their bread-winning roles and were just kids.
But can you blame them? Are they not just acting out of response to demand? Trying to feed their family by means of a way that works for them. Tourists fly into the city to begin their two weeks in Peru, see the ancient ruins, experience the culture. Can you blame them? Why not see the great Machu Picchu? Why not support the local economy and want to have something to prove that You Were There. Or maybe simply, to remember. No one seems to be at fault but somehow the result is a sad, impersonal, ugly mess.
And what is my response? I don`t like feeling like I`m just another consumer, not a person. I don`t like being treated like this. But do I stop the problem by not supporting them? Does it help their family put food on the table? For me all of these questions are just theoretical, since I don`t want to buy any of their products anyways. But after spending an afternoon in the plaza, turning away person after person, one begins to think of the philisophical prinicipals. What is The Right Thing To Do. Or, what is the best outcome for everyone. But for me, it just becomes overwhelming and discouraging. Sometimes I am overwhelmed with life´s beauty, and other times I am overwhelmed with it`s pain. I am still learning to live in this world.
November 12, 2007: Nina and Matthew
We are so happy to say that at 3:20 today, our niece
M i l a C l a i r J o n e s was born!!! We were able to see pictures of her right away and of course, she is beautiful!! We are so excited to meet her and see her grow into a little girl. To see all the similarities between her and Eden, and watch their relationship together. Nina´s whole family (minus a few little ones) were there in Portland for the birth. We are all so proud and happy.
Welcome to the world, Mila Claire, we love you already.
November 12th, 2007: Nina
We just spent an amazing three days in the Colca Canyon. A little off-the-beaten track, literally speaking. It really was quite an adventure, one of which I am glad to tell of afterwards but would not want to repeat!! What I mean is, I would love to return to the canyon and spend more time trekking, but I would not want to make the same mistakes! Let me explain...
DAY ONE: The first day was amazing. We left Cabanaconde after a good lunch and headed in the direction that our little map indicated. By map I mean a couple of not-to-scale squiggles on a little piece of paper. The detail of which would make the Pacific Crest Trail look like Interestate 5. Anyways, it did indicate the general direction and that we would have to cross two bridges. We descended 4,000 feet to the canyon floor, which took us about 4 1/2 hours. We only saw two other people along the way. A man with a donkey and an old woman (75 maybe?) with a bundle on her back, making the 5 + hour trek to town. Near the bottom we saw a geyser shooting out steam from beneath the milky green water of the Colca River. We could see the water around at this part of the river was literally boiling. It was pretty amazing. We crossed the river and within a half hour we had crossed another gorge where the crystal clear waters of one river joined the Colca and created a beautiful mixture. We could see our destination "Llahuar", although we didn´t know if we were expecting to find a little village or just a place to stay. The trail led us directly on to a balcony of a mud and straw "lodge" overlooking the river. We were welcomed by Yola, an indigenous woman with a smiling face, and the owner of the Llahuar Lodge. The place consisted of little stone huts with grass roofs, flowery green paths, hot spring pools, little huts of rabbits and guinea pigs, and a few more stone walls and huts. We had just enough time to soak our tired bodies in the hot springs before dinner of soup, fresh caught trout and delicious vegetables, with coca tea to finish it off. There being no electricity for miles around, the stars blazed in the night sky above the cliffs of the canyon. It was spectacular.
DAY TWO: We started our day with a dip in the springs again before breakfast of banana pancakes and fresh juice. We were so refreshed from our stay and although we would have liked to stay there longer (days!), we knew we had to make it to our next destination in order to make it back to Cabanaconde by Monday. So far sounds perfect, right? Well, this is the day I would never do-over, we´re getting there. We asked for directions to Sangalle, our destination. Yola added a few more squiggles to our "map" and sent us off with kisses and a smile. Sangalle was located directly under Cabanaconde, near the bottom of the canyon, but to get there you have to travel up, over, accross, and behind many hills that make up the other side of the canyon. There is no trail at all that goes along the canyon floor. About an hour or less into the hike, we came to a confusing "intersection" of sorts. Without going into detail about how we came to our decision, we will just simply say that we went THE WRONG WAY. But we did not know it at first, of course, because we had tried the other way and it had seemed like the wrong way. Nevertheless, soon enough we realized we were probably not on the right trail because the "trail" we were on was little more than a donkey trail. We stopped seeing the footprints of hiking boots and saw only the tracks of the tire-soled sandals of the canyon dwellers. But, because no one likes to backtrack, especially me, we continued to keep going, convincing ourselves that maybe it was the right trail, and if it wasn´t, it had to go somewhere, and the only somewhere it could possibly be going was where we were wanting to go. The thing is, when you begin to get lost, you obviously don´t realize it at the time. Sure, you can look back and pinpoint it to a certain place and say, that is where we made our mistake. But at the present time, you are just hoping you´re on the right track. The donkey trail we were on got smaller and smaller, and less distinct. Instead of going over and behind the hills, it traversed along the side of the canyon, curving and dipping into ravines where the trail would get very narrow from the dry, pebbly sediment wearing away. By the time we had crossed several of these sketchy ravines, we fully realized we were not where we should be, but the thought of heading back over the narrow crossings was not something we wanted to do. We hoped the unknown would be better than what we had already been through. At times the trail was overgrown with Madusa like rubbery woody plants hanging into the path. They sometimes left a sticky white residue on your hands or arms when you brushed passed them. Hm, were these the poisonous plants that Pedro had warned us not to touch? At first I tried to avoid them, but sometimes the trail was so narrow, they were essential to hold on to for balance. After a couple of hours of all of this, we stopped for a snack of oreos and crackers on the point of a ridge. This is where we made our second mistake. After getting our backpacks on again, we failed to look around us for the best place to continue and started down the first trail looking thing. I am pretty sure we lost our donkey trail at that spot, because it soon turned into a rabbit trail. We were on a steep hillside (aka the canyon wall) and our trail just seemed to keep disapearing. We traversed the hillside as best we could and then began to get pretty discouraged when we saw the next upcoming ravine. How would we get accross without a trail? And then, what would we do once we got accross? We could see the next hillside, covered in the Madusa plants and cactus, but no trail. What is worse, at the ridge of this hill we could see an enourmous rocky face. We would have to get above it somehow. Wait, what is this, we could make out a trail crossing over the ridge pretty far above the rocky cliff. We knew we would have to shoot for that trail and maybe we would be back on track, the donkey track that is. But first, the ravine. The hillside terraine was crumbly and extremely difficult to traverse without a trail, but we made it close enough to the ravine to scout out an area to cross. We were pretty discouraged at this point but we tried to keep our hopes up and continue.
Suddenly the ground crumbled beneath my step and I slipped, reaching for something on the hillside to hold on to. My arm landed on a cactus and a pulled it away with three lobes stuck into my skin. Matthew was just a few steps behind and while trying to come to my aid, he slipped as well and ended up with two cactus lobes in his hand! At this point I laughed and then started to cry, but pulled myself together and got to a place where I could stand. Matthew ripped the lobes out of my arm and we scrambled accross the ravine. Once accross, we couldn`t see the trail above, but knew we would have to pretty much go straight up to get to it. We began climbing, at this point we were practically using the Madusa plants like ropes and avoiding the cacti like the plague. After 45 minutes or so, Matthew was standing on a solid trail. Our dear donkey trail!! It looked so wonderful!! We followed it at a steady pace as it continued traversing the hillsides. Soon we could see "The Oasis" at Sangalle. But it was still miles away. We could even see, even further, a zigzagging trail descending towards the Oasis. After another hour or so we ended up merging with the Real Trail. Yea! We continued along, home-free. I began to notice a burning sensation on my arms, which I thought was strange because although the sun was intense, I had been diligent about keeping sunscreen on. We followed the steep zigzag trail down to a bridge and saw that this place was indeed an oasis. Amidst dry cliffs were two springs of water jutting forth and creating an area of lush greenery amidst the dry desert canyon. Although this Oasis didn´t quite compare with our stay at Lluhuar, we were thrilled to be somewhere safe and on solid ground. This place also had little grass huts and pools from the spings, but they were just warm, not hot. By the time we got there it was almost dinner and we were very hungry, having skipped lunch. There were more trekkers, being just 3 hours from Cabanaconde, hikers would come down for just the night.
A local guy looked at us, covered in dirt with black streaks down our arms. What happened he asked. We told him the streaks were the white residue from the plants, now blackened from the dirt. Those are going to hurt he told us, in the morning you will have welts, make sure you wash really well with soap tonight. That was what the burning sensation was from. We washed as best as we could, but all evening and through the night our arms were stinging. Sure enough, I woke up in the morning with blisters all over my arms from the poison. Matthew didn´t react as bad, but he has a few too. I don`t think either of us minded too much though, without those plants I don`t know if we could have successfully traveresed the canyon. Needless to say though, we are a bit of a miss right now, with scratches, bruises from the cacti spines, slivers, and blisters.
DAY THREE: We left the Oasis early in the morning after having only two stale pieces of bread and tea. We began the steep climb up to the town and started out fine but soon grew intensly weary with hunger. The climb was steep and both of our legs felt like jelly. We were however, happy to be on an actual trail! Three and a half very difficult hours later we reached the top, completely famished. I can hardly remember being so hungry. The last few days we had burned so many calories and had hardly replaced them. We were both so exhausted and stopped at the very first place we could find food. What a relief!
After all, it was one of our best adventures yet, even if we would do a few things differently next time!
November 10th, 2007: Nina
This has been a fantastic week, and just continues to get better. We stayed in Arequipa for a few days, the last of which we got to see "Juanita", the ice-princess as they call her. The story, in short, of Juanita is this: 550 years ago an Incan girl, 12 or so years old and most likely of high class, was sacrificed as an offering to the great mountain god on the summit of Ampato, over 19,000 feet high. She was burried there in a tomb. In 1995 an earthquake shook the mountains, disrupting the grave and two weeks later, some climbers and an anthropologist found the frozen perserved body of this young girl, that had tumbled into the crater from the disruption of the earthquake. I know this may sound morbid, but it was fascinating to see her, and it is a significant revelation into the culture of the Incas. There are so many other incredible facets of this story, like the fact that burried with her, was a pouch containing locks of her baby hair and a piece of her umbilican cord, (signifying rebirth) and now scientists are able to do DNA testing and find out even more about her ancestry.
On a more life-like note, the last couple of days we have spent in the beautiful Colca Valley. We met up with Pedro, a friend of Kyle´s from his trip here in the spring. We had dinner with him and his adorable daughter and the next day met Dr. Willie, a dentist who does clinics and education in the small villages in southern Peru. Kyle had also worked with Dr. Willie, and everything he had told us about him and Pedro was confrimed. Both are amazing men with so much knowledge and passion for the people of Perù. We travelled with them both, along with a dentist from the states, to a small village of Lari, in the Colca Valley. They set up a little clinic and we spent the day watching them pull teeth, taking down patient info, and playing with the many kids that had come for their rare check-up. It was so sad to see the condition of everyone´s teeth, something we have not failed to notice the last 8 months, and to see how readily the doctors had to pull out rotting teeth, even in children. What´s more, no one complained, out of the 55 patients we saw, willingly and gladly subjecting themselves to the dentist´s chair, no one complained!
Well, I would love to write more, but in a few minutes we are going to descend into the world´s deepest canyon, the Colca Canyon, and we have about a 6 hour hike ahead. We plan to spend 2 nights at the canyon floor, hiking from small village to another, and ascend on Monday, back here to Cabanaconde, another small village at the lip of the canyon. Monday we expect to welcome our new niece or nephew into the world and I don´t want to be far from internet access, as slow as it may be here! You can excpet more to come then!
November 4th, 2007: Nina
Wow, November already. I miss the crisp air and the fallen leaves. This time last year I was bundling up Jack Henry and trudging through golden leaves with the stroller through the streets of Hawthorne. Atleast I didn´t take it for granted. I have always loved fall and I savor every breath of the crisp, cold air. It makes me happy to think of what I have to come home to. At the same time, I am realizing, as are many of you, that we are well over the "half-way" point now. Which means our time here doesn´t seem infinite as it once did. And what does that mean? It means that I am to take the opportunities to look people in the eye more often, remember names, smile more, taste more foods, shake more hands and gaze at the stars from this side of the world. But in reality, this time is no different than any other time. It is no different for me here than it is for you there. Life is just so short. Take the time to live it.
We left Huaraz and the mountains yesterday and are on our way South to the colonial city of Arequipa. We did not end up going trekking because I got sick. We were pretty bumbed out but were able to make the best of it by staying as close to Huascaran as possible, in the comfort of a lodge, and hiking during the day after I was feeling better. The place we stayed was in an incredible location, literally at the base of Huascaran, the highest mountain in Peru. You felt like you could reach out and touch the summit, when in reality it was another 9,000 feet higher!
Tonight we are on our way to Arequipa. We will spend a few days there in the land of volcanoes and canyons. The Colca Canyon, with a depth of twice that of the Grand Canyon, was one of Kyle´s favorite places when he visited here last Spring. We are hoping to meet up with one of the guys he befriended while here, and visit some of the same places.