Peru Play by Play and Thoughts Regarding

(From 1-18-2008, Originally likemikeposts.com)

So, I hope Christmas and New Years was warm and eventful for everyone. I left Quito to return home for a very short ten days on the 22nd and was overwhelmed with food, family, friends, hugs, and love. It was nice to see what hasn't changed a bit and kind of exciting to learn about all the things that have! ... Joshy is the same height as me... Tori loving her bakery job... Old friends with new loves... I don't regret a bit having so much fun. But after Jesse's New Year's house party, and all the hugs and kisses, ready or not, I had to split.

My flight itinerary lasted a stimulating 25 hours from ABQ to Cuzco, Peru, so having left on the 2nd, I arrived on the morning of the 3rd to meet up with the group of four friends. We got to a late start that day, so ended up taking a bus to our first destination instead of getting right on bicycles. The 1st day of the trek to Machu Picchu was supposed to embark from the small town of Ollantaytambo to arrive in Santa Maria completely on bike. I wasn't too disappointed with the slight change after having traveled so much with so little actual rest. And we did end up going on a small bike ride for a little while.

The second day marked the beginning of the actual trek at 6:45 am. The hike was pretty hard. It was the longest hike I've ever done. We all had heavy packs and the trail was rarely flat. The views were incredible all the time and I could never have captured them with any kind of justice with a camera. I tried though. And we enjoyed wild mangoes and face paint. At the end of the long day, we had a choice between a long bridge over a river and an "orrolla. " I don't know if I'm spelling it right, but I originally thought our guide said arrollo, like a ditch, but what he was referring to was this giant cable equipped with ropes that you (the passenger) pull yourself to get to the other side. It was big, thrilling, and also very tiring. BUT FUN! On the other side of the river was this little natural hot springs where we spent a few hours to unwind. They were the cleanest, warmest, and most beautiful hot springs I've ever seen, just nestled in the Andes. So many times on this trip I was dumbfounded and just in shear disbelief at the natural beauty of my surroundings. More than once it felt like some sort of other world, a paradise, or parallel universe in another time. I don't know how else to describe it.

On the 5th of January, at 6:30ish our second day's journey began with a short bus ride with loud reggaeton, to which we all danced. I recommend this to any person who is in need to a happy beginning to a hard day (group dancing to reggaeton, that is). We decided to take a harder trail than the originally planned route because our guide promised more spectacular views than the other, easier route. The temperature was much more all over the place than any other day, and we were exhausted faster, but I think that had more to do with said, chosen route. It seemed like the trail almost took us indoors and outdoors over and over. It would be hot, wet, and uphill one minute and cold, wet, and downhill the next. I laughed at Henry, the guide I keep referring to as if he were nameless, when he pointed to the mountain we were to climb up and over to see the ruins, and the waterfall to get to the train station. I laughed at how impossible it seemed. Our route was the more beautiful of the paths because of the wild flowers, including orchids, and the partially reconstructed ancient ruins of Llactapata. The 3 hours down from the mountain we had walked over was the most painful part of the journey, due to such steep declines and rocky, uneven terrain. And also, there were no mangos. At the train station, a young kid asked me if he could use my camera, and we all had a good laugh at his childish fascination and the things he found interesting to photograph.

After our one night stay in Aguas Calientes, the small, touristy town on the bottom of Machu Picchu, we walked up the some ~3000 stairs to see it. It was worth every step, every second in a crowded airport or dingy bus, every dollar, and much, much more than the feeble words I have to offer. The fog and Waynapicchu were what seemed to make the trip more personal and special for me. The fog was incredibly thick, and incredibly fast. We climbed up Waynapicchu, which is the mountain that resembles the nose of The Inca that is the mountain formation. The place was amazing. So much wonder made and makes me feel like such a child, humbled by the ancient elite Inca Mecca that held all the ancient knowledge and meaning as far as this empire could take it. It makes me wonder what kind of ruins would be of our wasteful cities and SUV filled highways, of our reasoning and present day empires and wars. It puts into perspective what meaning is involved in modern civilization and its towering preoccupation with consumption and progress. Because, Cuzco, in all of it's cultural significance and mountains of meaning, now has traffic, market, political, and social problems like any other city, but, with it's puma shape still at the center of the Inca universe. If you feel too disconnected from the everyday hub-bub of life, (which I think is what is most appealing about travel) and need badly to be connected again, here in Cuzco, and practically any other city it's easy to find high speed internet connections or whatever else you need to get your fix. The Spanish walls still look foolish and hasty next to the elaborate and amazing Inca walls, that maintain the mystery of how the people moved and assembled the massive stones. Machu Picchu, the foundations of Cuzco, and the entire Inca empire for that matter, were made with stone, which lasts longer than anything else in this beautifully unstable continent, and they still carry their humbling presence and meaning.

It is meaningful to have seen it in such a personal way that words and pictures don't really do it justice. The significance of the site and all we think it means is like an exciting contest. The tourists, the guides, the locals, the academics, and the officials are constantly debating about so many contradictory perspectives and ideas. It was fun to throw in the few droplets of things I thought I knew.

The night of the 6th was spent resting in Aguas Calientes and the next two days were spent on buses and trains going back to Cuzco for a night and then on to Puno, the city on the worlds highest (navigable) lake Titicaca, which means Grey, or stone puma, not anything else. The bus, to our surprise, included six stops at certain sites like the relatively famous Raqchi and a really nice lunch. Our bus guide talked a lot in both English and Spanish about everything we were seeing and their various interpretations, but made us laugh (during and after the trip) at his cartoonish mannerisms and voice. It was interesting to meet other travelers and explore the night life in these two cities. And on the 9th, we explored a huge church, a museum, and Sillustani burial sites that were all oriented in the ancient cosmic understanding.

The next day, the 10th was my favorite, as we were actually on the lake. We started taking a passenger boat to the islands of Uros, where an entire culture of people make their (very large and extensive) island community entirely out of blocks of land and the reeds that naturally grow from them. They were complete with houses, kitchens, storehouses, ovens, pets, solar power, schools, churches, transport, food, and even a post office. It was like a dream, utopic and surreal, and yet, there it was, and there I was, eating the reeds they used for everything (they maintain a certain dental value that allow for the people of Uros not to necessitate toothbrushes and toothpaste- I can attest that their dental hygiene with these reeds produced a common friendly and healthy smile.)

After the island of Uros, we went to Taquile, a small community famous for their mud brick houses, weavings, and social practices.This concluded the purposes of the short ten day trip that marked the beginning of an interesting semester, a wonderful year, and even though there is an infinite amount of cultural significance that exists at Titicaca and its surrounding area, we had to part too soon. Maybe next time I will get to see the temple of Kalasasaya, or Tiwanaku, with it's Temple of the Sun. I have come to realize the true value of the people I love and our places in each other's lives, and I hope that writing more can be a supplement to my being so out of touch. I will try to make the next entries more frequent and candid- as this semester, I feel will be more colorful than last. Feeling so very often like a child, doing things uncertainly and for the first time in a place that is completely foreign to my sense of norms, and learning to walk and then run with it all brings me to such happy places. I can only feel blessed, in millions of both tiny and gigantic ways, which are often hard to distinguish. I had a wonderful Christmas and New Years that was filled with love and surprises, and I have had a wonderful beginning to 2008. I will be using links to my facebook photo albums and (maybe) a site dedicated to only photos, that might be slightly more photo friendly. More to come. Love and Peace. (really man- Take a piece and pass it on!)

The 1st two albums are called They Will See Us WavingandFrom such Great Heights

~Miguel