Last but not least some impressions from what actually brought us to Peru: "Florian's" construction site! In Cajamarquilla, about 50km east of Lima, his company was building a new zinc roaster, gas cleaning and sulphuric acid plant. Florian was the quality manager on site. Together with the customer, Votorantim, and the subcontractor, Graña y Montero, he finished the job in just 1,5 years. An experience he will never forget!
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On one of Florian's free weekends during the start-up of the Cajamarquilla plant, he decided to drive up to Markahuasi with a few of his colleagues. Markahuasi is a renowned UFO landing site... or at least that's what locals believe. He thought that the trip from Lima to Markahuasi would take him about an hour or two. After 6 hours chugging along death defying cliffs they finally arrived at San Pedro, the township underneath the "extraterrestrial site". Florian's small city car barely made it into town. At Plaza de Armas (a muddy square with a white Jesus statue, as always) they asked the town folk for advice and were pointed to the tourist center, which could organise a donkey or horse ride up the hill. Due to San Pedro's ingenious communication system - a megaphone, that bellowed "Turistas!!" all through the village – they learned, that a group of other tourists had beaten them to the top and therefore no more horses were available that day. But being engineers they solved the problem by persuading one of the locals to give them a ride up the mountain in his pre WWII sovjet-style jeep. The "car" was basically built out of a frame, an engine, four wheels, and an "I love Jesus" sticker to keep the gods at ease. But whatever it looked like, it got them there!! Once at the site, the thing that made it mystical was the mist. Sadly this mist also obscured their view towards the alien-carved rocks. After an hour or two seeing a lot of mist in all kinds of forms (maybe aliens as well...), they headed down to start their way home again. Even so it was quite the adventure. Happy 2010 everyone! It's already our second New Years Eve here in South America and this time we went to a public fiesta right on the Pacific coast in Lima. They had a live-band that played songs of the popular "Grupo 5". Funny thing was, the band shouted "Grupo 4" after each song... I'm sure this solves all copyright issues ;) At that time it was clear that Florian's work in Peru would come to an end soon and this would be my last visit there. So, in the few days left, we decided to once again scout the surroundings of Lima.
One weekend, a rough bus ride took us some 200km north into the Andes, to the excavation site of Caral. This ancient settlement is still being excavated - you can actually watch researchers reveal new parts of the complex. Archeologists could prove that Caral is the oldest city on the American continent known to mankind! Pretty impressive... The day after we went to the pittoresque fishing village of Pucusana. On the way down the Panamericana we passed a lot of Pro-Fujimori graffitis. Despite his cruel regime he apparently still enjoys broad support among the Peruvian people. His equally popular daughter Keiko is even running for presidency in 2011! We will follow the news on this... Pucusana is a simple place, but very scenic. The lively colours of the boats really reflect the Peruvian lifestyle and seafood there was delicious. To cover the 400km distance Cusco-Puno we boarded an overnight bus that arrived at lake Titicaca at 4am in the night. It was freezing cold. The Puno bus terminal was an uncomfortable chilly place in the middle of nowhere and our tour guide didn't show up there until 6:30am! But eventually she did. She took us to a local market to get some welcome gifts for our guest family on Amantani island the following night. The shops were just opening up. Equipped with fresh bread and cheese we were finally heading out onto the lake. We didn't had to drive long to encounter the first attraction: the floating islands of the Uro tribe. In our opinion one of the best examples on how mass tourism not only changes the environment but also culture: Nowadays the Uros rely soley on tourism and adapt their customs to please visitors. For instance, their floating islands are not traditionally drifting on lake Titicaca anymore, but instead they would stay within viewing distance from the main land. Although reet huts and people were nice, it didn't feel authentic. We couln't help feeling a bit off-track. Further on the lake you will find real (non-floating) islands. We visited Amantani. Upon arrival our tour group was split into small units of 2-4 persons and each group was assigned to a local family. That way we were able to get a glimpse of their everyday life. The Amantani people are very hearty and welcoming. They do have a rough life though. We saw power cables running all over the island. But ironically they have no access to electricity, let alone running water! The government had promised them power and light, but campaign pledges were soon forgotten and today remote Amantani is still waiting for things to improve... With or without power, the island is beautiful. After nightfall the sky turns so dark that you can almost touch the milkyway with your hands. Simply spectecular! After having dinner with our lovely host family the islanders gave a fiesta in the "city hall". Music was live, everyone danced frolicly and the whole place was lit by a single light bulb, attached to a car battery! Update 2013: Still no water or electricity on Amantani. Back on the main land we explored the freshly restaurated "Yavari", a British ship from colonial times. After colonial Peru ran out of coal, the ship's motor was provisionally fueled with lama dung, before they were even running out of that and the ship started to rust in the Puno harbour. Thanks to a group of navigation enthousiasts the Yavari is glooming in new splendor again. Check out the sign "Why is a ship called she"! As we headed back to Cusco we took a bus to view the attractions along the way. First we stopped at the "chulpas", ancient stone graves of the Inca empire. Further down the road there was a traditional Peruvian farmhouse. The owner tried to sell us guinea pigs! No, not as a pet, but as food! A deepfried "cuy" (guinea pig) with his front teeth sticking out of the plate, is a real sight! From that day on we prefered chicken. What's Peru without Machu Picchu? Of course we had to visit the famous Inca city! The backpacker train took us from desert-like Cusco to the evergreen cloudforest of Machu Picchu, in only 3 hours! At around noon we arrived in Aguas Calientes, the village just below the site. Going to Machu Picchu was scheduled for the next day, so we still had time and decided to hike up the Putucusi mountain, where a beautiful view of Machu Picchu was promised to us. We battled up the steep mountain, through swarms of sandflies, took countless slippery half-rotten wooden ladders, but the promise proved true. It was just incredible up there, without words... And even better, on top of Putucusi there were almost no tourists. So at this isolated place with such an incredible view the time was ripe to unveil a small box with a ring inside. Yes, that's right. Florian proposed to me at this magical place!! To describe the feelings, well... Guess the fotos tell the story themselves :-) The next day we joined again with the hordes of tourists to go up to Machu Picchu itself. We arrived just in time to watch the sunrise over the Inca ruins. The complex is just amazing. It has such a calm serene atmoshere to it, even with a lot of visitors. Go there if you ever happen to be in Peru! The Písac ruins look like a miniature version of Machu Picchu and make a nice day trip from Cusco. Florian bought a leather hat at the markets the day before. It proved very handy during midday heat, that's why I eventually pinched it off him and wore it myself! Cusco lies at about 3400m altitude. So, as we climbed the steep alleyways of the Andean capital the first day, we could feel the lack of oxygen with every step. Luckily there were plenty of fresh coca leafs available at our Rumi Punku hotel – chewing coca really works miracles against altitude sickness! But yeah, with all the drug trafficing stories in mind, it is easy to misjudge this highly healthy and useful jungle plant. Cusco’s new coca museum characterises the dilemma very much to the point, I think. One of the "highlights" in Cusco is the famous 12-edged stone. It is considered a symbol for the genuine craftsmanship of the Incas, because the stone is huge, but still it had been fitted perfectly into the wall construction. By the way, Inca buildings are earthquake-proof in comparison to many of the (much younger) colonial churches, that were destroyed during the frequent tremours in the region. However, the city center had always been rebuilt the traditional style, that is to say only low brick buildings and no skyscrapers. One reason why we loved that place. The siesta seems to last all day sometimes, but after sunset the city comes to life! Every night we watched another beautiful festivity on the main square and enjoyed a Cusqueña, our favourite Peruvian beer. We stayed in Cusco for 6 days, but we could have extended it to 100 days easily! There is just too much to do and see. Horseriding and rafting rank among the many activities you can do around Cusco. Just outside the city lies the arqueological site of Sacsayhuaman (to tourists better known as "sexy woman"). There we rented horses to explore the more distant Inca sanctuaries. The animals knew the way by heart, especially the fastest way back :-) A day later we joined a rafting trip on the Urubamba river. Water levels are quite low in September, but we still had to master tricky parts. And we did! However, during one of those maneuvers Florian gulped some water. The Urubamba river looks clean at first glance, but now we know that one sip is enough to make you feel queasy. During national holidays, Florian and our friend John decided it was a good opportunity to explore the Peruvian countryside. They went to Huancayo, some 6 hours from Lima. To get there you have to cross through the Andes. On their way Florian reached the highest point he ever set foot on, 4818m! Quite something for a Dutch guy. Later on they passed through La Oroya, the most polluted town in Peru, thanks to Dow Chemical. Descending into Huancayo, views over the valley are stunning. Overnight they stayed with a local family that John knew. After saying goodbye to the family's lama the next day, they went on to nearby Lago de Paca. At the shores they enjoyed some freshly caught trout. With only fishbones left, it must have been yummy... If it's an UFO landing site or a giant astronomical calender, 80 years after the discovery of the Nasca lines, people still don't know. However the most widely accepted explanation suggests that the lines functioned as ritual pathways to the Nasca civilisation as they prayed for rain in the desert. The site is just 3 hours away from Huacachina oasis. So with all these conspiracy theories in mind, we decided to check out the mystery for ourselves. A taxi brought us to the small airfield, where we borded a Cessna for our scenic flight over the plateau. The pilot would first bend very sharply to the right and spiral down over a figure, before doing exactly the same for the passengers on the left window. Imagine this procedure for 20 Nasca figures... it is a neverending rollercoaster! But very worth it. Don't eat or drink anything before. During Easter 2009 I flew over to visit Florian once more. It's been a long three months for both of us. Glad to be together again we spent our holidays in the tiny but beautiful Huacachina oasis, 400km south of Lima. It had already turned into pitch-dark night when we arrived. So looking out our hotel window the next morning we were overwhelmed to see huge sanddunes all around us! The first day Florian gave me a nice paddle tour around the lagoon and we just enjoyed the tranquil oasis lifestyle. Then, on day two, we had a shot at Haucachina's prime activity: Sandboarding! We dashed down four different dunes, each one even higher... quite a cool and thrilling experience! Last but not least: Florian's infamous desert freestyle jump! The Paracas Islands, about 1 hour from Huacachina, are home to enourmous populations of birds and sea lions. A result of the cold nutrient-rich Humboldt Current. The islands played a vital role in the Guano War in the 19th century. But since the invention of industrial fertiliser, Peru's economy no longer depends on bird droppings and the Paracas Islands were turned into a tourist attraction. Beware of unwanted surprises from above... |