Two Virgins on a Hill; My first day in Santiago

Standing next to a 50 ft tall, white statue of the Virgen Mary, listening to the sounds of Spanish choir music playing softly through the speakers of La Carumbe Sanctuary at the top of a huge hill in Parque Metropolitano, overlooking all of Santiago de Chile and the white capped cordilleras poking out behind the clouds, I had the distinct feeling that this was the start of a beautiful friendship.

No, I didn't find Jesus. (Happy day of atonement, by the way....ug, I'm such a bad Jew). I did however, find Santiago de Chile chock full of potential and good feelings thus far. I'm excited to get to know the city better and feel some sense of belonging here, of being more than just a tourist. I think it's a distinct possibility.

I'm staying in this sweet neighborhood called Bellavista, and an equally sweet hostel of the same name. Bellavista is the more bohemian part of town with lots of funky bars and art galleries, and gay comedy theaters, and over priced restaurants. Bellavista Hostal is equally funky with brightly colored walls and all sorts of paintings and pop memorabilia on the walls. It warmed my heart to see a poster for Amoeba Music on Haight Street prominently displayed above the front desk. I even ran into Binkie and Jo from my Machu Picchu trek, the young person/traveler community is surprisingly small.

After getting into Santiago in the middle of the night, stumbling into Bellavista, being slightly dismayed that they lost my reservation, I got a few hours of sleep atop a comically high bunk bed. But lack of sleep is no match for Turista Suprema!

This morning, I went to La Cascona, one of Pablo Neruda's three homes in Chile. It was soooo cool. Rachel Jenkins, you would have crapped your pants it was so great. Neruda designed the house for his secret mistress (and eventually, third wife) Matilde Rosario. Being obsessed with the ocean and sailing ships, ne designed the house using a ship motif. It had low ceilings and tilted floors to replicate the feeling of being inside a hull, and balconies overlooking Santiago like decks overlooking the sea, plus it once had a canal running along the outside. But the best part was all the kooky decor on the inside. Neruda was an avid collector of art and junk, so the house is jammed packed with bizarre knick knacks (my favorite being a pair of over sized shoes, and old television functioning as an utensil cabinet) and ethic art, plus paintings by some really famous Latin American artist that were friends with Neruda (one being Diego Rivera). While you're there you can really feel the vibrancy and creativity of Chile's great poet. It's pretty amazing.

Alright, people are waiting to use the computers. Tomorrow, I meet with my host family (I hope, I haven't spoken to them yet). I hope you all are well.

Santiago, woot.
Danny

Leaving Lima, Santiago Soon, y tambien el Circulo!

I check out of my hostal in Lima in twenty five minutes. Then off to get some 5 sole lunch ($1.6 USD). I'll spend my last afternoon in Miraflores, get a coffee, maybe buy some Peruvian shoes. Then it's off to the airport, then off to Santiago de Chile!

Although I've been a little restless in the last couple of days, I've been completely pleased with my time in Peru. There's so many other parts I haven't explored: the Amazon, the southern desert, the altiplano, and Lake Titicaca...

Oh yeah! Last night, I went to the circus. It was great. I made friends with an art student. Way to go Lima. Culture abounds.

I've got to go. Hope you all are well.
Danny

The Limitations of Lima and Lessons Learned

This is my last full day in Lima (I'm leaving for Santiago tomorrow night), and I'm realizing that I've come close to exhausting the tourist destinations of this city. (By the way, I went to three museums yesterday, in one binge fest by alter ego Turista Suprema). Unlike many people I've met, I have a soft spot for this foggy city. I sense that there's a vibrant cultural life underneath all the clouds and colonial decay; but as a traveler concerned with coming and going, museums and hostals, you somehow miss it.

In two lame attempts at experiencing some culture, I went to the movies on Monday and then again on Tuesday. First, I saw "Una Sombra al Frente," an actual Peruvian movie! About Peru's attempts to modernize with a new road and telegraph system at the beginning of the 20th century. It was kind of bad, a sort of movie telenovela about this one engineer's life. In a much weaker stab at culture, I went and saw "Licencia para Casarse" (aka "License to Wed" with Mandy Moore and Robin Williams). It wasn't even dubbed in Spanish. A travesty all around.

I might try a little bit harder tonight...maybe see some live music played by real Peruvians. But in the mean time, it's time for a little retrospection about what I've learned on my virgen run into the wide, wide world. For all you seasoned travelers, this will be old news. For me, it's been priceless learning these things through countless blunders and conversations with other travelers, or mere speculation. So here's my two centimos:
-In Latin America, spend less time in capital cities. They are bastions of old world decadence and Spanish archictecture...However, don't completely cast them aside, because tourists seem to do that too often, missing opportunities to go beyond the postcard imagery of exotic landscapes and "traditional" handicrafts. I think too often we forget places have a contemporary culture, rich with complexity and intrigue.
- Don't trust the travel books, especially Fodor's (Unless of course, you're a rich, crusty oil magnate from Texas). Talk to people, they know better.
- Travel by public bus whenever you can.
- Three weeks is never enough.
- Buy local newspapers, read theater and music reviews.
- Don't ever get into a car with a stranger in an unmarked car!
-However, it's okay to let your guard down. Not everyone you meet is out to steal your camera. (Some time, I'll tell you about my friend Carlos who I met yesterday. All he wanted was some one who he could practice speaking English with).
- If you have a choice of a week in Bolivia or a week in Costa Rica, take Bolivia. (I of course, haven't been to Bolivia, but I just know).
-Try to speak Spanish, even if it makes you sound dumb. On goods days, they might think you're from Argentina... America music is always a good subject to break the ice.
-Watch what you drink at high altitudes. Avoid drinks with fun sounding names like Machu Picchu.
- Don't schedule you're life away. Make sure there's enough space between plane flights for a little adventure and unknown.
-Most importantly, this is something I really love. I'm far from done with traveling the world, or for that matter Latin America. Literally: I have three months in Chile with room for visits to Argentina and Bolivia. But more generally, I'm going to make space in my life for more globe/South Ameria trotting. These past three weeks, and these coming three months are merely a small sampling ....Ahhhhh, to be twenty and naive and without a job. Hell, I can always go teach English somewhere.

As always, all the best, hope you all are well,
Turista Suprema

The Old Peak and the Lost City (Part 2)

I'm back in Lima waiting for breakfast in Inca Lodge, so this looks like a perfect time to utilize the free internet and dish about the Lost City of the Incas.

But first, a note about cultural exploitation and the luxuries of supposed adventure travel:

My entry from yesterday makes it sound like my trek was really hardcore and rugged. Though we did do a lot of walking at high elevation, this is far from the truth. I was one of three people carrying our own stuff, and even then there were porters carrying our tents and moving along the trail twice as fast (on half as much sleep) to set up camp and make us dinner (often involving several courses). It's unclear how much these people were paid, but given the cost of labor in Peru, probably not that much. All the guests pooled their money to give a generous tip, but even still a whiff of inequity tainted the mountain air.

Also joining us on the trail, were several local children well accustomed to tourists trekking through their backyards. Thus, they knew full well that looking cute could win you some candy and maybe a tip from a gullible gringo. Also, walking through these tiny, rural villages and ogling at the traditional life style the Peru's rural poor, one couldn't help but feel a weird sense of voyeurism and exploitation.

Phew. Had to get that out. An important part of the experience, that while uncomfortable also somewhat valuable ... So, how about some Machu Picchu:

The bus from Aguas Calientes rode up the winding mountain pass in the pre-dawn light en route to Machu Picchu. We were on one of many early morning buses crammed with tourists heading to one of the new Seven Wonders of the World. Upon getting off the bus, you could just see the edges of the city's famous stone terraces. Of course it's obscured by the ticket kiosk and the line entry pavilion. Welcome to the Lost City of the Incas: A Pre-Colombian Disneyland.

After presenting your ticket and passport you walk into the city through the terraced agricultural sector with the urban pyramids rising beyond. My group climbed up to one of the high terraces for a photo op. From there we watched the sun rise slowly over the Andes and illuminate the city. Watching rays of light shoot through crevices of mountains and shine onto Machu Picchu, made my cynical feelings of "being just another tourist" melt away. Suddenly, I could understand why the Incas worshipped the sun.

Our guide Jefeth then gave us a tour of the city, pointing out all the examples of earthquake resistant architecture, the heaviest stones (around 7 tons), every Incan holy place in the city. My favorite thing was the "hitching post of the sun," which is basically a huge stone sundial sitting atop Machu Picchu's central pyramid. The Incas used it to keep track of the seasons. When the shadow of the stone at sunrise matches a certain spot on the ground, it meant it was time for harvest or sacrificing a llama or what have you.

Throughout Jefeth's tour, I felt a tremendous sense of urgency. When we stopped at any given spot for photos or explanations, I just wanted to keep moving, keep seeing more things before the day ebbed away or another wave of tourist buses descended on the city. The city is so expansive and impressive, you constantly feel like you are missing secret Incan alley ways and treasures.

After the tour, several of us decided to hike up to the top of Huayna Picchu (Qechua for the young peak), the tall mountain that stands next to Machu Picchu(Qechua for the old peak). Back in the day, Huayna served as a look out tower for Machu Picchu and a place to send smoke/fire signals to Cusco. It is one steep peak. Though it's a short hike up to the top, climbing the stone steps Incan masons carved into the rocks grinds the knees, and you end up walking along some narrow paths next to very high cliffs. But the view is spectacular. You get a panoramic view of the surrounding Andes as well as a virtual bird eye view of Machu Picchu, and
a new found appreciation of the Incan belief in divine mountains.

After the calf crushing walk down the narrow stone steps. Two of my Canadian friends and I wanted to hike up to the Inca bridge on the other side of the city. But at that point in the day, the streets were packed with people, our legs were shot, and there wasn't enough time. It seems like there never is. When the Incas mysteriously left Machu Picchu only 70 years after they began construction in 1440, the city was far from complete. One wonders what they could have achieved if their hitching post could have actually stopped the arch of the sun.

The Old Peak and the Lost City

4 days. 3 nights. 12 gringos (3 Canadians, 4 Americans, 4 British, 1 Aussie). 1 guide named Jefeth who pointed to every plant and claimed that the Incas used it for medicinal purposes. A ton of grazing llamas, sheep, and alpaca. 5 glaciers or so. 41 km walked. 4,500 meters (around 12,000 feet) above sea level. 1 Pre-Incan burial site with exposed bones and skull. A handful of uncomfortable moments of cultural exploitation. Hot springs. 2 trains rides. 2 bus trips. About 300 photos. One night of partying (only 5 drinks?!) and the worst hangover of my life. And one hell of a lost city.

I'm in Cusco once again, writing from a crumby computer of a internet place, having survived Machu Picchu and the ensuing day after. I'm not quite sure how best to sum up my trek, other than to say that it was incredible and I probably won't do it justice given that I only have 40 minutes or so left on this computer.

I was in a guided trek that went along something called the Lares Trail. It's an alternate route for all the people who are too late to book a spot on the sacred Inca Trail. So instead of walking along the steep and narrow stone steps of the ancient Incas, we traveled by way of dirt roads and mountain passes used by generations of Andean shepards. Though it might not have been the classic route to Machu Picchu, it was pretty spectacular. The Andes are undoubtedly some of the best, most formidable mountains I have ever seen. Covered in high altitude yellow grass and llamas eating that grass, with the occasional massive glacier topping their steep peaks. We walked through rural villages populated by Qechua (traditional Andean language) speaking people, living in more or less the same way that they have been living for centuries; dressed in bright textiles, raising llamas and sheep for meat and wool, dwelling in small stone houses built by hand, and selling handicrafts to tourists en route to Machu Picchu.... Well, that part is a little different from tradition, but more on that later.

My worst fear was not embodied, in that my group consisted of more than middle aged out of shape Americans. (Although there was one: Bob, a Jew from Oregon, with a pension for chain smoking, disgusting legions on his feet, and a loud mouth, also my tent mate). Most of the group consisted of fairly athletic people in their twenties. I think the Canadians were my favorite. Chris, a mechanical engineer from Montreal, laughed at my jokes and was generally in a good mood. Also, I thoroughly enjoyed this girl named Binkie (her real name), an architecture student from Belfast. She was a bit kooky.


The first three days took us through several small villages nestled in the Andes and to remote stretches of barren mountain landscape (we were above tree line most of the time). The first day it rained all afternoon and into the night, as we came into our campsite after dark. It was freezing and miserable... I blaim this bad luck on the fact that in the morning we saw a bunch of pre-Incan tombs with exposed bones, and a skull sitting out on a ledge. Instead of showing reverence we whipped out the cameras... But when the sun rose and we stepped out of our frozen tents, we discovered we were in a valley of pristine snow capped peaks. The second day took us to our highest elevation. After a steep climb out of the valley, we crossed Ipsaychocha pass at 12, 000 feet above sea level. Gave an offering to the Inca Gods (Coca leaves blowing in the wind) and descended again, walked past Ipsaychocha lake and then to our second campsite. Third day spent hiking to the town of Ollantaytambo, where we took the train to Aguas Calientes, took a dip in the hotsprings, and went to bed thinking of the next day at Machu Picchu...

To be continued.