random photos

We've had lots of positive responses to this blog, so I'm just posting some additional, random photos from Cusco. The area there is so interesting and beautiful it's easy to add more.
I don't have the technique down for these postings, and have limited control, if any, regarding the layout and order of photos. They tend to load backwards, for example.
So the order is pretty random.
Anyway. I added the first photo only because it is a colorful example of the way some of the locals dress up and pose for photos, expecting a tip for the trouble. This fellow had quite the Inca outfit, complete with a sort of ceremonial staff that seems to have a hatchet and be topped with a decorative corn cob. We saw these more than once, but I don't know what all the elements represent. There is a fellow in Cusco, who dresses in a similar costume and is the self-declared guardian of one of a big 12-sided stone, which makes up part of the foundation of a large wall in the city. He charges people money to touch it and offers an explanation. The tourist police put up with him, because they figure he's helping to keep the tourists in line.

The rest of these photos just display some of the other colors of Cusco, ranging from a beautiful park with stones from the former Temple of the Sun complex to more pictures of people and the omnipresent llamas. Actually, it would be more accurate to describe this animal as an alpaca. Llamas, it turns out, are bred to be pack animals and tend to have shorter fur. Alpacas are bread for their wool and are very hairy. Vicunas are smaller than the others, and represent the wild variety of these cameloids.

I added the photo of the woman in the white hat simply because you see many women, old and young, wearing tall hats such as this one, generally white or black.

more images from Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu speaks for itself, perched on the top of a steep mountain, in the clouds. There are different theories about why the Incas went to such incredible effort to carve terraces out of sheer drops and cliffs and create a city in the sky. Who knows, but it truly is magnificent.

Note: At one point we hiked to a place called the Inca Bridge. You can't tell from the photo, but we were walking along a narrow Inca trail that in parts was carved right into the cliff, with a sheer drop on one side of thousands of feet. You can see Addison and I holding on to a rope as we walk to the bridge, which is located to the right in the photo. It was recently reconstructed, and looks like it could have been used as a draw bridge.

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day 09 found us in Cusco, pretty much acclimated to the high altitude, and ready for more adventures.

We started out the day by hiking up the mountainside above Cusco to the ruins of a former Inca fortress, called Sacsayhuaman. This is a very impressive and imposing construction made of massive stones, some of which weigh hundreds of tons (!), all of which are perfectly cut to fit together in a way that has withstood war, earthquakes, and hoards of tourists and other types of invaders.

The fortress has a double series of walls constructed in a zigzag shape. Some say they represent the teeth of a puma figure - all of Cusco was supposedly built in a shape representing a puma. There is also a wide grassy esplanade, and other constructions, a sort of throne area, huge towers, and an area where the rocks form natural slides. These were apparently used for some sort of initiation rites. We tried them out - easier in jeans than shorts.

The views from Sacsayhuaman are spectacular. You can see the Cusco Valley on one side and surrounding hills on the other side. It's very green, at least this time of year, which is the rainy season. The countryside is quite beautiful.

After spending several hours admiring the ruins, we hiked to another site, called Qenko (making jokes about Kinkos along the way). This is a much smaller ruin and most of it is cut directly into the existing rock, rather than built from rocks carried there from quarries. It has small caves and niches in which the Incas displayed holy items. They also performed rituals in this place, such as llama sacrifices, to predict weather patterns and such things.

We hiked back down to Cusco for lunch, and then rented Chinese knock-off vespas, which we rode back up the mountain to visit two more Inca sites, Puca Pucara and Tambo Machay. Riding along the countryside was fun and spectacular in and of itself. The ruins were interesting, too. Puca Pucara is thought to have been a sort of hunting castle. It looks a lot like a European castle, perched on top of a hill, with spectacular views of the hills and Andes in the background. Tambo Machay is different. This spot contained sacred baths, reserved for Inca rulers and royal women. It has natural springs which flow into fountains created out of more amazing Inca stonework. It is a quiter place and romantic - if you can ignore the other tourists and throngs of local people selling their wares.

For dinner, we headed for yet another of Cusco's really good restaurants. We had already tried the latest place, Chicha, run by the famous chef, Gaston, as well as a place called Cicolina, which also features delicious Peruvian/fusion food. Some of the specialties involve trout (fresh, raw, smoked), llama, quinoa, and cuy (guinea pig). For Valentine's dinner, we went to a place called, Greens, located on the second floor of a building near the central Plaza del Armas. The food was fine, but more memorable still was the way the building and earth started shaking half way through our meal. It was a light earthquake. Just enough to rattle the stemwear, jiggle our seats, and make us all look around to see what would happen next. Somehow it was fitting, and even flattering, to have the earth shake for us on Valentine's Day. And it fit right in with the mystery and beauty of Cusco.

lunch in an odd cafe

Most of the time, we had great luck with meals in Cusco. We followed the advice of guidebooks and random people, and ended up having many delicious meals. Cusco is known for it's mountain food (rather than the fish-based specialties that you get in Lima, on the coast). This includes dishes made with quinoa, alpaca, beef, and cuy (guinea pig). They say that until your body acclimates to the high altitude it's best to eat light foods and to avoid meat. I tried this tactic and it worked for me. Britt and Addison were more adventurous and tried various local meat specialties, though no one had cuy.

One day, we were looking for a place to have lunch after a long morning of hiking. We looked for two different places recommended in one of our guidebooks, only to discover later that both had moved. Tired and hungry, we settled on a little cafe that was brightly decorated and offered a simple choice of sandwiches and freshly made fruit juices. As is often the case in this part of the world, the service was very slow, and we waited quite a while for our meal. Bored and hungry, Britt picked up some of the magazines that were laying around - only to discover that they were from the 1970s and consisted of nazi propaganda from the 1940s translated into Spanish. It was very odd and gave us the creeps. We were the only clients having lunch, though the rest of the staff was busy eating their own meal, ignoring us, and closing doors constantly. There was also a lone young woman, who was drinking tea and reading (we bumped into her again at Macchu Picchu.) Eventually another group of people came in - two couples, American. We were on our way out, by then but couldn't help but notice the looks on their faces as they innocently picked up the reading material and figured out what it was.

Temple of the Sun, Cusco

The Incas built a magnificant set of temples in the center of Cusco. The Temple of the Sun was said to have walls covered in shets of gold studded with fine jewels. The mummified bodies of former leaders were kept in special rooms on thrones of gold, and taken out for festivalsand to give advice that was interpreted by special priests. The patios and gardens were filled with life-size statues of animals and plants, made of gold, silver, and jewels.

The Spaniards took all the treasures and melted them down. They built a church dedicated to Santo Domingo on top of the temple buildings and grounds. You can still see the Inca stonework in the foundations and walls. And the church sits atop a magnificent garden that still features a natural spring and series of fountains used by the Incas. It's a beautiful spot.

Cuzco

Cusco (or Cuzco to the Peruvians) is the ancient capital of the Incas. Located east of Lima, well into the Andes, it stands at an altitude of nearly 11,000 feet (3,330 meters) above sea level. In the 15th century, before the arrival of the Spanish Conquistadors, Cusco was a thriving city of 15,000, with gold-covered temples and gardens filled with gold and silver plants and animals. The Incas considered Cusco to be the center of the world. The treasures were all plundered by the Spaniards, who also built their churches and fine mansions atop the remarkable stonework of the Incas.

We arrived in Cusco via the plane from Lima. This meant that in the spanse of little more than an hour we had gone from living at sea level to trying to function in the very thin air of a city in the sky. We followed the advice of friends and guidebooks, taking it easy the first day, downing altitude sickness prevention pills, and drinking cups of coca tea. Thus, the first day we simply wandered around the plazas and back streets of Cusco. Even this entails lots of steps up and down, as the city is built in a valley and filled with hills. So, though we are all in pretty decent physical condition, walking around was draining and found us gasping for breath.

Still we were able to enjoy the back streets of San Blas, the more Bohemian neighborhood of Cusco. And because it's what we seem to do, we stumbled across a festival - this one in honor of "Amistad" or friendship. This festival involved competing bands of brass instruments and the ubiquitous pan pipes.




We also took in the colors of Cusco. These include compesinos, people from the countryside, generally very poor, who dress up in their traditional clothes and either try to sell you their wares or offer to pose for photos on the understanding that you will offer some sort of tip.

Admiring the colors and styles of Cusco also means taking in the amazing stonework left over from the Incas which serves as the foundation for much of the city's buildings. The Inca stones are huge, weighing many tons, and cut into odd, often multi-sided, shapes that are fit against each other like a perfect round of Tetris. They were joined together without mortar, and they have withstood the test of time as well as disasters (natural and manmade). One local fellow explained to us that the lowest layers was made of slightly smaller stones to absorb the shock of earthquakes. Don't know if it's true, but it was a good story.

The side strees of the San Blas neighborhood are filled with wooden balconies, interesting carved stones, and bright blue doors/shutters. They reminded me of the streets of Sidi Bou Said in Tunis, or some of the Greek islands.


























Here, Addison has a chicha, a favorite Peruvian drink made from blue corn. This one was particularly good. We were having dinner at Chicha, a new restaurant run by Gaston Acurio, the acclaimed Peruvian chef.





In the side streets of San Blas, we came accross Evelyn, an Irish woman who has lived in Cusco for 5 years. She has a shop called Philo (Carmen Alto, 260, Cusco) in which she sells funky and very original women's clothing. I was trying on some pieces, which she then tailored to fit me perfectly. Now, I just need an excuse to wear them.









Here is Britt in front of one of the many blue doors in the back streets of Cusco.










The old streets of Cusco are lined with amazing stonework - and beggars.












People from the countryside - especially women and children - dress up in traditional clothes and bring their alpacas into town to pose for photos, hoping to make some money that way.

Other side of the Rimac

We spend most of our time in Miraflores and San Isidro, which are some of the really nice neighborhoods of Lima.

But Lima is a huge city. There are nearly 9 million residents and it is very spread out. Some of the sections are quite poor, and driving out of the city you see shantytowns perched precariously on the sides of the hills, which are themselves not much more than giant sand dunes. The very poor build dwellings for themselves one wall at a time, often starting with woven mats as walls and roofs, adding cinder blocks and corrugated metal as they can afford them. Eventually, the city may bring in electricity and build a road. I don't know what they do for water and sewage. Often in poor neighborhoods they have to purchase water from delivery trucks.

There is underground water, here. And Lima is where it is because of the Rimac River. You can see it in this photo. Though the center is shallow, there were parts where the water was clearly deep and swift.

Note the red and white stripes painted on the hillside. Those are the colors of the Peruvian flag, presumably chosen because they represent the colors of a local type of flamingo.

This neighborhood is across the Rimac River from the side with the presidential palace. The pedestrian street has just been installed. In fact the edges had not been completed.

It's a relief to have a pedestrian street in a city where there are way too many cars and half of the drivers are complete maniacs (the other 50% are just trying to survive). They don't respect lanes, or lights, or rules. Many accelerate when they see a pedestrian, and do everything they can to get in front of anyone else. Many intersections have no lights, yield signs, or stop signs - so getting across is just a big game of chicken.

National Pisco Sour Festival

It seems that each time we go into old Colonial center of Lima (okay, it's been twice) we run into some sort of festivity. Last time it was the anniversary of the founding of the city some 400-plus years ago. This time it was for the national pisco sour celebration. Or make that the Grand National Pisco Sour Festival.

Now we all remember that pisco sour is something of a national drink in Peru, and it is a source of great pride. It's also pretty yummy, but potent. I can't really drink a whole one - they make my head spin. Pisco is a brandy, made from Peruvian grapes and perfected in the town of - you guessed it - Pisco.

Of course, Chileans will try to tell you that they invented pisco, pisco sours, and make the best ones. This drives the Peruvians crazy. As it is, Chile took a chunk of their country back in the 1890s, and Chileans own the two main department store chains in Peru, as well as one of the major grocery stores. Claiming that they make better pisco sours is... well, it really ticks off the locals. Chile has even gone so far as to create or rename a town in their country, Pisco. But they don't fool us. We've been to the REAL Pisco. And we know it's in Peru.

So for the Grand Festival, there were tents and booths set up in an area along the Rimac River, just behind the Plaza del Armas. The plaza is in the heart of the old Colonial center, where the presidential palace and cathedral are located. The booths featured different brands of pisco, and not much else. However, the stage was where the action was taking place. Here bartenders were facing off to see who could mix up the best pisco sour. They were competing in groups of two at a time. We saw contestants # 17 and 18. Each had a very different style and order in which he did things. We thought the one in this picture had a definite advantage over his opponent. Here he is adding the final few drops of bitters that float on top of the drink.

Summer Evening

It's summer in Lima. The evenings are warm, and people are out and about. Friday evening, we strolled around Parque Kennedy, which is a large park in Miraflores, one of the pretty and more touristy neighborhoods of Lima. The park was buzzing with activity. There are lots of artists who set up and try to sell their paintings along the alleyways of the park. Most of them are pretty dreadful, but it doesn't matter.

People of every age and type are there to enjoy the outdoors.

And off to the side you see a big group gathered around in a circle. You also hear the sounds of samba and marenge. In the middle of the crowd is a sunken area filled with people dancing. Most of them are well over the age of 65, but their joy and youthfulness is apparent and contagious.

Just off Parque Kennedy is Calle de Pizza. This is one of the few places in Lima where we've seen groups of loud Americans. It is a pedestrian street, lined with restaurants (mostly pizza places, but not exclusively). It's very touristy. Each restaurant has it's own specialty - Karaoke, Tango, Disco, whatever. And they are all blaring their music, one next to the other. It's kind of fun, actually. However, we followed the advice of friends Sarah and Mark, and did not try any of the restaurants.

Instead, we headed to another part of Miraflores and ended up wandering into a Uruguan parilla restaurant. Here they offer all sorts of meats, ranging from beef and chicken to sweet breads, hearts, and cuy (guinea pig), which are grilled on the parilla (sort of bbq grill). The place was run by a guy who had been a former soccer player in Uruguay and was decorated with signed jerseys. His father was a Tango singer, so there were also lots of photos of famous tango people. They had 2 TVs going. One had a S. American basketball game going. The other was offering competitive marathon billiards. That's probably not what it's called, but it featured two opponents, who would each try to clear the table as fast as they could, and this went on for many rounds. It was oddly mesmerizing.

lunch with toucans

The great adventure that is Lima continues. 

This weekend, we got a taste of what it will be like to have a social life here.

First, we had the return of the Princeton 8. These are some of the members of the Princeton water polo team, one of whom is an old Pre-K classmate friend of Jeremy's. They spent a week in Cusco, with short stays with us in Lima on either end. After a week of hiking, high altitudes, adventures, and one hospitalization (altitude sickness, nasty bug, combination of both?), they weren't too much worse for the wear - mainly tired and sunburned.  They were terrific house guests, unfazed by our lack of furniture and supplies, lots of fun to be around. Too bad our pool was still empty, though they were happy to pose in it for a photo. 

Hopefully, this is just the first of many happy visits from friends and family. 

We also went out to dinner with Britt's boss and her husband. She is American, he is British, and they have been in Lima 2 1/2 years. They had lots of helpful tips regarding fun weekend trips and on buying furniture in Lima. He is an artist and does volunteer work in a school in a poor neighborhood. He has interesting stories of coaching a girls' soccer team composed of teen moms.

On Satuday, we checked out the local cinema multiplex. It is quite modern, with shops, cafes, very comfortable theater seats. We had a quick meal at one of the cafes. Very hip and modern looking. We saw the Mysterious Life of Benjamin Button, in the original English version with Spanish subtitles - an ideal combination.

On Sunday, we were invited for lunch by our landlords, Bela and Dany. This was quite something. They live in a lovely house on a hillside in La Molina, a suburb of Lima. The garden is really lovely, including fountains, ponds, a swimming pool, and a sort of 1/2 tennis court for a sport not unlike outdoor squash. Bela, the husband, has an amazing collection of animals. There are several ponds and fountains with different types of fish, carp and koi, but also tilapia and other things. Then, he has several aviaries with beautiful, exotic birds - toucans, brightly colored pheasants, quail, and big parrots. There are several tortoises, too. He let us feed some of the birds. 

Lunch was one of those meals that goes all afternoon, with interesting food, wine and other drinks, and good stories. 

Bela is Hungarian, and has quite a story about getting out of Hungary as a 14-year old, alone, literally running away from Soviet soldiers with lights and dogs. Eventually, he made his way across the Austrian border with a family he met that was also escaping the country with 4 children under the age of 5. He describes helping them to carry the kids and bags, running till they couldn't run anymore, finding a place to forge a river, and heading toward the lights of a city, hoping it was in Austria and not Hungary. They spent time in a Red Cross refugee center in Austria. He also has a tale of being arrested for vagrancy in southern France as a 17 year old. Eventually, he went to Switzerland, where he obtained a citizenship, an engineering degree, and ultimately made his way to Peru, where he has become a very successful businessman. Dany, his wife, has Italian roots. She is warm and charming and a lot of fun. We were also joined by their two daughters, ages 17 and 27, who are also very lively and hospitable. 

Hopefully, our stuff will arrive soon, and we'll be able to return the invitation.