Ica & Paracas

viernes, 16 de julio

4:oo am - 11:00 pm

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Paracas

islands of the birds

Alien Drawings; Humboldt Penguins

All of the Harvard Limeñan students went to Paracas, as organized through the program. We met at Bembos at 4:00 am, so we could make it to la Reserva National de Paracas in the morning. And, just upon our 8am arrival in Paracas, we loaded onto the boat, which took us around the island reserves. Our first stop was the Alien drawing (above). The creation of this sand carving is unknown, as C-14 cannot be used to age since there isn't any organic material, so the origins are up for interpretation. After our Alien stop, we headed over to the bird islands. There are over 160+ species of birds on the islands, including the pengüinos de Humboldt (Humboldt's Penguins). Other species present on the islands include lobos del mar (sea lions), which - unlike seals - have ears.

Interesting fact: Perú is the leading guano (bird droppings) exporter in the world. Guano is so valuable because it is an extremely nutrient-rich fertilizer.

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Ica

desert, desert, and more desert

sand-boarding on dunes; an oasis

Located a couple hours southwest of Paracas, quite literally, a oasis city Huacachina. After unloading the bus, we packed into sand buggies to begin our aventura desertio (desert adventure). The sand dunes were incredible - I really felt as if I were in the Sahara Desert. The only thing missing were camels (I later found that there were camels actually there). The ride in the sand buggy was mad fun, especially the rides down the sides of the dunes. We were then let off to begin sand-boarding. There isn't anything like going head-first down the side of a 100ft sand dune, with only your legs to stop you. By the end of the time in el desierto, we were all quite satisfied to heading to a vinero (winery). Ica has the ideal climate for making vino y pisco, so we obviously had to check out the vinero before heading back to Lima.

Though this trip only lasted a day, it was by far one of the best trips in el Perú.

Rating - 5 llamas

Facebook Photos

La Ciudad Blanca

viernes, 9 julio - domingo, 11 julio

destino - Arequipa

cañón del Colca

Located in the town of Chivay, in departamento de Arequipa, el cañón del Colca is more than twice as deep as the Grand Canyon, Arizona. The canyon is formed by the Río Colca, which starts in the Andes Mountains and ends in the Pacific Ocean. At one of the miradoras, the Andean Condor can be seen. Obviously a popular tourist spot in the park, many people were crowed around as six condors flew overhead and down in the canyon.

La Ciudad Blanca

Arequipa's nickname is la ciudad blanca (the white city), due to the white stone that many of the building are uniquely constructed from. There are three volcanoes in the city of Arequipa: Misti (active), Pichu-Picchu, and Chachani. Arequipa's weather (sunny, warm, and dry) is much different than that of Lima, and was a much appreciated change. In the desert, surrounding the volcanoes and mountains, roam vicuñas, which are the rarest species of the alpaca.

The Plaza de Armas is the center of the city, as it is in basically every peruvian city. Located a couple blocks away is the Monasterio D Santa Catalina. The convent was a great place to see the different types of Arequipeñan architecture, as well as Spanish/Peruvian fusion artwork. We made it back from the convent to catch the overtime of el Mundial, and watched España kick the willing goal!

Total Transit Time - 10 horas

Rating - 4 llamas

Arequipa Facebook Photos

Películas Peruanas

In addition to our Spanish course at la Universidad del Pacífico, we have weekly reinforcement classes, which have been incredibly helpful in the understanding of Peruvian culture and history. In two of such classes, we have viewed Peruvian Films (a complete list of Peruvian Films here):

La teta asustada (The Milk of Sorrow)

clasificación - 5/5 llamas

In 2010, this movie was nominated for an Oscar in the Best Foreign Language Picture. I highly recommend this movie, as it gives much needed attention Manchay, which is located in to the one of Lima's districtos, Pachacámac. In ESPP 10 this past semester, I wrote my term paper on the complication of water in Manchay (many of the residents aren't connected to any water or sewerage, and must rely on aguateros, water trucks, for their water supply...), so the location was particularly interesting for me. This movie follows Magaly, the protagonist who suffers many terrors, which are results from the political violence in Perú. This movie is beautifully shot, and craftily intertwines a current lifestyle of many Peruvians and the after-effects of the Shining Path.

Paloma de papel (Paper Dove)

clasificación - 4/5 llamas

Paloma del papel vividly portraits Juan's childhood in Huaraz (sound familiar?). Juan is kidnapped by a group of Marxist soldiers. This movie is great for an understanding of the Shining Path and the affects of the terrorism on the lives of some Peruvians.

Otra Fin de Semana en Tránsito (Another Weekend in Transit)

viernes, 25 de junio a lunes, 28 de junio

destino - Machu Picchu

Día Uno: Cusco la ciudad

We arrived in Cusco, Perú around midday on viernes and explored Cusco in the afternoon. Located in the plaza de armas was the remarkable Cathedral! (Read about it here). We also visited Sacsayhuaman - pronounced similar to sexy woman jaja- Q'enqo and Tamboymachay.

Día Dos: Derailed Train & Machu Picchu

Due to the mudslides earlier in the year, the Cusco train station was inoperable, so we had to travel an hour and a half to the next train station by bus. Everything was going according to plan, until we started to hear some odd noises and saw the attendants panicking... something had to be wrong, and something surely was. So you hear stories about how trains sometimes go off of their tracks... well, have you ever been in that train? I have.

The cabin car in front of ours decided to not follow the rules of the track and derailed. It wasn't too serious, but it was serious enough to strand us for three hours - precious Machu Picchu time! By the time we got off of our train, we were beyond furious. Machu Picchu was only open for an hour more, 5pm, and our return train was at 9pm! The bus ride up the side of the mountain was our elixir... ¡la naturaleza era magnifíco!

Now it was time for our abridged tour, which turned out to be completely satisfying. Machu Picchu wasn't too crowded nor hot - it ended up being the perfect time of time to visit. I simply cannot explain how incredible Machu Picchu is..... The Incan culture and natural beauty are beyond words, and forever will be (my explanation of why the Incans never developed a written language). Machu Picchu Photos: Facebook & Picasa

DEATH BY TRANSIT

Departed hotel at 7am. Arrived at Machu Picchu at 4:30pm.

Departed Machu Picchu at 6:30pm. Arrived back at the hotel 6am.

Día Tres: Sacred Valley

Our travel to Ollantaytabmo was bittersweet due to the fact that we had passed through this city twice on día dos....

Nevertheless, Pisac and Ollantaytambo eran chéveres... even though we only had 2 hours of sleep. Photos: Facebook & Picasa

Día Cuatro: Peruvi-don't Airlines

One check in attendant doesn't seem to be sufficient for an airline that runs hourly flights from Cusco to Lima, right? Sure wasn't. Technical problems? I say poor management.

So, our flight was supposed to depart at 11:10am, however, upon our arrival in the terminal, we couldn't find any Peruvian Airlines representatives... We asked security and the other airlines, but they didn't know anything about our flight, which by this time was already supposed to have departed. After almost causing a scene by accidentally opening the emergency exit by security, the security said they would find a representative to assist us. The solution: uncertainty. The representative didn't have any information other than that the plane might arrive at 1:30. Actual departure time - 2pm.

Would I do the trip under the same circumstances again?

Definitely.

No wonder it's one of the New 7 Wonders of the World.

Total transit time - 26 + hours

Rating - 4.5 llamas (.5 llama deducted for train and flight debacles)

Una Fin de Semana en Tránsito (A Weekend in Transit)

viernes, 18 de junio a domingo, 20 de junio

destino - Huaraz, Perú

My trip to Huaraz was my first weekend trip in Perú with mis compañeros, as well as my first stay in a hostel. (Many thanks to Rebecca Cohen, who planned the trip!) The hostel definitely wasn't as bad as the those depicted in movies... such as Hostel... It was actually quite functional. As for how we got to Huaraz, we took an overnight bus ride Friday night that left Lima at 10pm and arrived in Huaraz at 6am. Immediately upon arrival, we headed off into las mountains grandes y cubiertas de nieve - THE ANDES! The mountains and the landscape were unbelievably awing.

In Laguna Querococha, I was able to get my stereotypically Peruvian photo with a llama!

Located a couple more hours through the mountains was Chavin de Huantar, where we were able to see the cabezas clavas and the ruins.

La proxima día, we headed to El Parque Nacional Huascaran. Like an oasis in the desert, the las lagunas llanganuco in a valley between the mountains. The crystal turquoise water, white rocks, and grazing cattle definitely make this park the jewel of Huaraz.

As for the ride back to Lima... it wasn't nearly as bad as the initial ride, due to the facts that most of the road was pretty smooth (unlike the pot holed roads of the mountains) and the driver didn't swerve off of the road every other minute.... At least we were able to get back to Lima without delay to make class at 9:30am on lunes.

Total transit time: Aproximadamente 24+ horas

Rating: 4 llamas

Huaraz Photos: Facebook and Picasa

La ciudad de los niños

In addition to the spanish course I am enrolled in at la Universidad del Pacífico, I volunteer with Fundades at la ciudad de los niños. La ciudad de los niños is located in San Juan de Miraflores, dos districtos south of where I live and serves as a city within a city for the boys. Within the city there is a farm with chickens and pigs, as well as various crops. There are also different tallers (workshops) where the boys can learn trades, such as carpentry, mechanics, and tailoring. There are about 10 pabellones (pavilions), which serve as the houses for the boys - distinguished by age. Located right next to la ciudad is a school, kinder a escuela secundaria, which the 300+ boys from la ciudad and girls from the local area attend.
Currently, I am working with Mason, a fellow DR SCS student, and the Psychology department to assist boys who are having trouble inside the classroom. In the coming weeks, I will be leading a taller ambiental (environmental workshop) with each of the pabellones. The workshops will be focused on natural resource management, biodiversity, and pollution... all in SPANISH. (Remember: I have been speaking gringo castellano to survive. Though, with help from pisco, I have been doing fine.)

Yesterday, I Americanized some of the boys and taught them how to play "Pato, pato, ¡ganso!" You know a game is good when all of them (ranging from 6-11 years) want to be the ganso (goose) jaja.

la comida peruana

The food available in Perú isn't that much different from that available in the EEUU. There are Starbucks on every corner in Lima, as well as Pizza Hut, Kentucky Fried Chicken, McDonalds, and Burger King. However, there is Peruvian fast food restaurant that is considerable better than the rest - BEMBOS! It's a mezcla of staple fast food items and traditional Peruvian food. Featured items include: Bembos Criolla, Bembos A lo pobre y Taco Original.

When I have a craving for Chinese food, I can now turn to CHIFA! Chifa is a combination of Chinese and Peruvian dishes. There are tons of chifa restaurantes on every street. Let me just emphasize the obvious... CHIFA IS EVERYWHERE. It's also pretty good, but it's not like P.F. Chang's or Orient Palace back in SoFlo.

Now... what about the actual Peruvian foods? Don't worry, there are plenty! Most notably there is Anticucho. On our way to Colegio Mayor Secundario Presidente del Perú the other day, we stopped at Azul Pollo for lunch. We were really excited when the waiters served us steak kebobs... little to our knowledge, it was actually anticucho. The steak tasted a bit odd and tender, but nonetheless, it tasted like steak. Yes, it was steak.. but more specifically, it was vaca heart. And, it wasn't too bad, but it was a little hard to digest after discovering the organ of origin.

Possibly the coolest fruit - besides the starfruit - is the granadilla. It looks like a tangerine, but tastes unlike anything else. Don't like the looks of the inside fool you... it's very sweet and crunchy! Also, cherimoya is very intersting and is a must try fruta del Perú.