Gracias Perú Por Todo

Hello friends, and welcome to my final post regarding my Peru trip! There will be more to come at the end of January as I head to Argentina, but until then I’m on a blogging hiatus!

To start, here are a couple of the photos from our trip to the fish market with Percy, the principal of Ramiro Priale.

This is where we work, chopping up the fishies (what place in Canada would let you walk in, pick up a couple of knives, and take a picture with the giant tuna?)

"Para recordar Peru," the woman told us as she handed us these egg sacs from inside the fish, or "In order to remember Peru."

As I mentioned before, the ceviche we ate made me reeeeeally sick so I was in bed for the entire day on Friday and quite out of it. I was hoping to make it to Manolo Castillo to volunteer at their Christmas campaign but still wasn’t feeling great. However, I made it up there for later in the morning to deliver some gifts and donations to the family PSI Peru came to know very well in April/May. Finding their home was interesting and took a bit of luck- I left la C.T. and headed to the City of God market where I caught a combi up toward Pamplona Alta. I told the driver I was looking for Las Gardenias, and when we got up just past the community centre in Torres Mina the driver told me that to get up to Las Gardenias I’d have to get out and climb up. I said OK and hopped out, and luckily just after starting to head in what I thought was the correct general direction a woman stopped me and asked if I was looking for the Christmas campaign. I said yes and she brought me to it, where I started asking some of the people outside if they knew of Nathaly, Mardaly, Jenny and Juan’s family. A couple people asked a couple more and a few minutes later, Nathaly’s mom emerged from the midst of the Christmas campaign and offered to walk me up to their house. We went up there and I was instantly engulfed in giant hugs from all of the kids. They wanted to know where the rest of the group was and most especially where Miss Christina Roussakis was. They call me Jenny’s madrina, or godmother, and Christina the madrina of Nathaly and Mardaly. They invited me into their home and gave me some food and water, and were very, very excited that I had come back. Those of you who have visited their home will be able to understand what an overwhelmingly emotional experience returning was, especially on my own. I opened up the bags of gifts and my heart broke as the kids gasped, incredibly excited at the sight of toothbrushes and bars of hotel soap. I had brought these, some clothes, some stuffed animals and small toys/stickers/crayons for the kids, and a sleeping bag for Jenny, and being able to give them out and know how much it was helping this family was one of the most heartwarming experiences I have had. It’s tough to capture in a blog post, so perhaps I won’t try to and I hope to have the chance to talk to many of you in person about it instead.

While I was there, this family showed me the new roof that they had put on their home with the money the PSI group had left for them, and they showed me the cooking stove we had purchased them and the work they were doing on the walls of their home. One of the mothers (there are several moms/sisters/families living together in this house) took me out back and showed me where they hope to one day expand their home to have a bedroom. I also had a tour of the grandma’s part of the house, and an uncle gave me a small book about an organization working to help persons displaced due to political violence in Peru. This is the reason that this family lives in Manolo Castillo in such poverty- they left their home due to the political violence of The Shining Path during the 80s and 90s in Peru, particularly in small rural villages. After this the kids wanted to record videos on my camera, and then they took me down the road to see the stairs we had built. Unfortunately by this point they had used up all of my camera battery so I couldn’t get a photo but the stairs definitely look well-loved! It was then getting late in the day so I took the kids to a tienda for a treat, and then caught the combi back down to la C.T.

Running into old friends in the shanty town :)

The family and their gifts.

Jenny's new sleeping bag- we're all pretending to be asleep with it but a couple of kids missed the memo.

Later on Saturday was Lizeth’s baby shower. One of Chelo’s brothers told me that they never used to have baby showers in Peru, but it’s an American tradition that has been adopted there. It was strangely like baby showers in Canada, but there was a very odd clown who ran the festivities and would have been terrifying to anyone with even a mild clown phobia. I was still pretty tired from being sick, so I passed out early and I spent most of Sunday working on writing a guide for future volunteers to use to get the most of out their experience. In the afternoon, I skyped with my family as they decorated the Christmas tree, and to my pleasant surprise Victor, Lizeth, and Chelo joined me! They were incredibly interested and it was so fun to sit with them drinking chicha morada while my family at home drank eggnog and put lights on the tree. One of the best parts was the short video my family had made while cutting the tree down from our property, in which my sister played the roles of both herself and of me. I have to say, she nailed my hatred of invasive species and my questionable yet comfortable fashion sense to a T! It was such a lovely afternoon and so touching to share it with both my Canadian and Peruvian families.

Victor, Lizeth, and myself at the baby shower.

Skyping with my Canadian and Peruvian families while they decorate the tree at home!

For the rest of the week I continued to volunteer at Cerrito Azul in the morning and Ramiro Priale in the afternoon. In the evenings I worked on the guides, a bulletin board for Cerrito, and on Chelo’s compost, which was fully finished by Tuesday evening. On Tuesday when I arrived at Ramiro Priale I was met by Gladys, the principal of the elementary part of the school, who invited me along on a field trip to Central Lima to an art gallery. It turned out the that art show was comprised entirely of art created by students at Ramiro Priale and two other public schools in poorer parts of San Juan de Miraflores. It was sponsored and organized by a charitable organization called Aynimundo, and was meant to showcase the work of youth who live in poverty to demonstrate their capabilities and inner world. There was art, dance, and music, as well as drinks and snacks brought out by waiters- all in all, it felt like a “real” art gallery opening and the kids were SO excited to see their work on display! It was a true honor to be there and witness what a difference creative outlets can make in expressing the stories of those who often don’t have a voice.

Jessica working with Paolo on learning to write his name.

The mission statement behind "Mi Mundo Interior."

Some of the children's art work.

A piece of art that I particularly liked.

A music and dance demonstration at the art show.

A bulletin board about compost that I put up in Cerrito Azul. I also left packages of information to be handed out to parents and teachers with instructions for creating a compost in their own home, as well as general information about compost. I spoke with Mariela and she said that a lot parents expressed interest in it! Additionally, several members of Chelo's family plan on building their own composts after seeing hers!

During this week I was also invited to dinner by the parents of a student at Cerrito Azul, Paolo. Paolo’s teacher and parents had dubbed me his madrina and I had said that I would do what I could to provide some support to them through donations. The evening at their home was lovely and I was able to learn much more about them. I learned, for example, that the reason Paolo has problems and is in a school for kids with disabilities is because when he was first-born he got very sick, and the hospital did not take proper care of him. They took so long to bring in a pediatric doctor that Paolo’s high fever caused brain damage. Paolo did not learn to walk until he was 3, is unable to speak, is quite hyper and never stops moving, and has trouble with skills such as writing his name or understanding at a 5 year old level (that’s how old he is). After his disability became apparent, Paolo’s mother took him to physio every day in a combi- about two hours in a combi with a hyperactive little boy. When Paolo grew bigger and was able to run around on his own, she was unable to continue bringing him to physio and enrolled him at Cerrito. Other schools wouldn’t take him because he was unable to go to the bathroom on his own, but he learned to do so after a week at Cerrito. His parents, Mirian and Lizardo, had always intended to move back to the jungle area where Mirian was born, but decided to stay in Lima so that there would be doctors and schools for Paolo. It was obvious from visiting with them that everything they did was for Paolo, and that his health, happiness and well-being was their greatest concern and the reason they worked so hard every day. They were so sweet and lovely and it was such a pleasure to get to know them and see how much they love their son. Thank you to all of my friends and family who donated money toward Paolo’s tuition at Cerrito Azul, and/or gave me some of the donations that I gave to them as gifts! I will be continuing to offer support to this family in the future, so if any of you are interested in giving a donation that will go directly to his mom and dad- this could be money, toys, clothes, gifts for his parents, etc.- please let me know.

Spending the evening with Paolo, Mirian, and Lizardo.

I finished volunteering on Thursday and for my last day at Cerrito Azul I brought in some cookies and small gifts for each of the students in my class. I then attended the last afternoon and Christmas celebration at Ramiro Priale with my class there. We played some games, hung out and chatted, and kicked a soccer ball around (the boys were quite impressed with my skillz). Some moms of the kids in the class made salchipapas, and we ate those and paneton (which Peruvians become OBSESSED with at Christmas!) and had some hot chocolate. The class had also given me letters (one from each child) earlier in the week asking me to be the godmother of their graduation and to return for their graduation to secondary school in 2013. After a few hours of hanging out it was time to go, so with lots of hugs and kisses I headed on my way.

Chelo and I after she helped me to wrap and make bows for these small gifts for my class at Cerrito Azul.

A photo of the girls in my class at Ramiro Priale.

I had my final Spanish class Thursday night (thank you Melissa!) and the next day I took care of a few last-minute things in preparation for my flight home on Sunday, including saying goodbye to vendors at the market that I had come to know. I then returned to the beach where Drew was hurt, just to see it again. I’m not sure what I expected but the beach itself was completely unremarkable and filled with children and families playing in the waves. It was a bit surreal to be sitting there, but good to see it and recognize that there was nothing particularly special about the beach itself, except for what happened there. In fact, if not for not having someone to watch my stuff, I would have gone for a swim myself.

I took a long walk, got some frozen maracuya juice, and called my taxi driver Juan. While waiting, I checked out a hip-hop demonstration/class in Parque Kennedy, and headed back to the house for a special dinner that Chelo had prepared for me. Victor, Lizeth, Chelo and I ate my favorite dish, papas rellinas, together and it was lovely. Paolo’s mom also came by with some Christmas gifts for me, including an awesome t-shirt and hat from Lizardo’s work in the navy, and a beautiful photo album of Paolo.

Hip-hop dancers in Parque Kennedy last Friday.

My beautiful Peruvian family enjoying my favorite dish, Papas Rellinas, together on my second last night!!

My last day, Saturday, could not have been spent in a more perfect manner. I headed out with Victor for the day to check in on various Christmas campaigns happening all over Lima (Victor is in charge of organizing donations for these). It was an adventure in Peruvian transportation and took us all the way from Pamplona Alta to Lurin and back. Along the way, we got some photos developed, had an awesome lunch, and picked up some pisco for me to take home. It was a great day with a great friend and we had lots of opportunities to talk. At the end of the day we grabbed a drink together, and then returned home. I had a lovely nap, visited Mariela and Jorge to say goodbye, and spent my night packing my incredibly overloaded bags. As I packed, Chelo routinely knocked on my door to bring “uno mas regalito” or “one more little gift,” including a birthday gift from Chelo to my mom. Most of the gifts made it into my bag but I did have to turn down the offers of soy sauce, chicken bouillon, a maracuya, Peruvian sausage, two loaves of Paneton, and a bottle of champagne for my dad (I would have loved it but it was my 4th bottle of alcohol and made my bags overweight). Basically anything Chelo owned, food in particular, she tried to send with me to Canada for my family and friends to try. It was really touching and so funny.

On my last day with Victor, he thought it would be really funny to get a photo of me with the police. The police also thought that this was so funny that they had Victor take a photo on their camera too.

Children at a Christmas campaign in Lurin.

A little boy with his gift.

Lots of volunteers working hard to hand out the Christmas gifts to children living in poverty in Lurin.

My last lunch in Peru- Arroz Chaufa on the left, WITH Lomos Saltado with chicken on the right, ALL IN ONE DISH. Amazing.

Having a beer with my Peruvian brother at the end of a long day.

The next morning I flew out, with lots of tears and a giant bag of sandwiches, fruit, and chicha morada from Chelo. My taxi driver and friend, Juan, gave me a gift and dropped me off safely at the airport. I almost missed my connection in Panama but a COPA employee met me at the front of the plane and ran me past the other passengers to get there in time. It was very exciting. On a side note, during take offs I tried listening to The Final Countdown by Europe and it made the plane ride feel much more epic overall! On my flight from Panama to Toronto I sat next to a cool girl named Dawn who is a street performer in Vancouver and who had just finished traveling through 9 countries in South America helping to film a documentary about street performers around the world. It sounds really cool and if you’d like to check it out their website is www.thebuskingproject.com.

I made it back to Pearson right on time, but unfortunately minus my suitcases, which didn’t make my connection. They were finally delivered this afternoon, and luckily still contained the purple corn and aji that Chelo insisted I bring home to take the seeds from and try growing in my garden.

And that, my friends, sums up my adventures in Peru these past two months! It’s great to be home, but it definitely feels strange and I’m experiencing some culture shock. I’m hoping to convince Chelo to come visit my home in Canada soon, partly because she would love it, and partly because I am convinced she and my mother are kindred spirits.

I look forward to seeing many/most of you while I’m in the country and talking about my experiences in person, as well as hearing what you’ve been up to while I’ve been gone! My flight to Buenos Aires is on January 29th, and I’ll be spending my time between home, Guelph, and Toronto until then. If you’re interested in learning more about my sustainability internship, you can check it out here! http://mamaroja.blogspot.com/

Thank you all once again for reading! I’ll continue this in Argentina, and until then a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Feliz Navidad, Happy Hanukkah, Happy New Year, etc. to all of you!

Lots of love,

Cassie

Lost-Shoe Picchu and Other Tales

Hello everyone!

Just a quick note: I wrote this update on Friday, so a few interesting things have happened since then, including visiting Manolo Castillo by myself. However, I’m going to leave it the way it is and add more later! Also, these photos are massively out of order and took a very long time to upload, so I'll post all of the text first and the photos at the end!

Welcome to my second last update of Peru! Christine just left for Canada this morning and I ate some ceviche yesterday that is unfortunately not sitting particularly well so I’m out for the count today...and thus I am in my bed, wrapped in an alpaca blanket, and I have decided to write an update!

Post Isla Taquile we caught an overnight bus to Cusco, arriving tired and grumpy at 5am at the Chakana House Hostel. Overnight buses definitely make economical and temporal sense, but I’m not sure that I could do too many of them in a row! One of the positives of this trip is that I purchased one of the best jackets I’ve ever owned before leaving Puno- it’s polar fleece on the inside, and alpaca and sheep’s wool on the outside. So warm, and so comfortable, and I got to wear it on the bus all the way to Cusco! Our first day in the afternoon we had a city tour already booked, which took us around to Saqsayhuamán, the Qorikancha, Q’enco and other ruins. It was a little fast but it was cool to get to see so many sites in one day!

The next day we had a full-day tour of the Sacred Valley, including Pisac Market. Pisac Market was SO cool and so huge! A lot of the markets sell very similar items at similar prices, but we saw lots of new and interesting stuff at Pisac Market and we could have spent at least another hour exploring it. If you head to Cusco, I’d definitely recommend the Sacred Valley and Pisac Market be on your itinerary! On this tour we met two really cool ladies, Natalie from Boston and Eleanor from Holland. Natalie has worked for EF Tours (the tour company that many high schools use) for 11 years, including living in Switzerland and Moscow for her job and learning 5 languages, and Eleanor is a medical student in Holland and decided to take a year off in between the theory and practical parts of her education. Awesome people! We had lunch in the town of Urubamba, saw some more places along the way, and finished the tour in the ruins of Ollantaytambo. Our tour group continued back to Cusco after this, but Christine, myself, and a few other folks stayed in Ollantaytambo to catch the train to Aguas Calientes that night. We arrived there in the evening, met with a guide to go over the details of the next day, and then attempted to sleep despite the excitement of heading to Machu Picchu the next morning!

Our Machu Picchu day, or as you’ll soon learn more about, our Lost-Shoe Picchu day, began at 4:45am. We caught the first bus from Aguas Calientes up to Machu Picchu, and hiked up to the guard house so we could watch the sun rise over Inti Punku and the ruins themselves. Absolutely beautiful. We hung out for a couple of hours soaking it all in, then met our tour group for a two-hour tour and explanation of the ruins. After this we headed off exploring. First, we headed down a crazy cliff-side path in search of the ruins of an Inca Bridge. The path was fairly narrow, with rock wall on one side and about a 700m drop on the other down into the valley. It was terrifying, and really cool. For those of you who have seen me play Mario Kart, you understand that I get vertigo just playing the Rainbow Road race (the possibility of shooting off the road into space, no matter how virtual and not-real it is, renders me almost useless). Luckily this experience wasn’t quite so dramatic, but it was definitely a challenge to peek over the edge of the cliff, take a big breath, and keep walking!

After this we started our hike up to Inti Punku, where Erin, Christina, Michelle, AJ, Drew, and myself walked back in May. Being at altitude for a little while first and doing some other hikes along the way definitely helped- we booked it up the trail in just 30 minutes, including stopping for a couple of photos! The last time I hiked this it took nearly an hour and I was out of breath and gasping an embarrassing amount the entire way. I arrived a little bit ahead of Christine and headed to the best lookout point to take off my shoes and take in the view. Unfortunately, I took my shoes off with so much gusto that one of them bounced once, twice, and right over the edge just as Christine arrived to see it all happen. Oh dear. Once it disappeared over the edge I just held my breath and hoped, but was pretty sure I would be heading back down the mountain barefoot. Thankfully, by some miracle of nature and gravity, my shoe managed to get itself caught in some plants growing on the terraces below! At which point the question of whether I would ever see my shoe again morphed into whether I would ever be able to retrieve it. Luckily (again) at this point a group of guys arrived, including the gentlemanly and brave Jose Luis, who saw my predicament and without a moment’s hesitation jumped down the terraces to try to find my shoe. Keep in mind that the top part of the mountain was terraced, but below that is the 1000m-ish drop into the valley. Somehow this didn’t seem to phase Jose Luis, who pulled my shoe out of the weeds and returned it to me, saving me from a) walking barefoot back down to the ruins, b) wearing only my smelly birkenstocks for the rest of the trip, and c) being forced to buy both new running shoes AND new orthotics, all because I was a little too excited when taking them off my feet. All’s well that ends well, I suppose, and for the rest of the day all I would have to do is take a glance down at my feet to start giggling wildly over what a ridiculous situation I had found myself in. Just another example of why the Incan method of terracing was so darn useful! Seriously, friends, you can’t make stuff like this up. I’m still in shock over the image of my shoe bouncing, bouncing, and disappearing over the edge of a sharp drop high up above the ruins of Machu Picchu, and then looking up to see Christine’s face with her expression of, “Oh, dear God, what just happened?” written alllll over it.

We hung out at the top for a while getting some photos, including some for Mr. Drew Cumpson himself, and then headed back down to the ruins. We had heard that you could walk down from the ruins to Aguas Calientes, so after some juice and water we did just that. Along the way we were accompanied by a dog whom a Peruvian woman dubbed “our guide,” and he actually was- he guided us almost the whole way down the mountain, leading us to the next part of the path when it would break off, and waiting patiently as we tried to keep up. Pretty awesome. We walked the whole way to Aguas Calientes, then went to enjoy the hot springs nearby (hence why this town is called, in English, “Hot Waters”). After soaking there for a while we grabbed some food, and headed back to Ollantaytambo by train, and then to Cusco by bus.

The next day we finally got to sleep in after a solid week of overnight buses and early morning tours. The room that we were staying in oddly resembled the nuns’ rooms at Santa Catalina, and was so well-protected from noise and light that we’re pretty sure we could have slept there all day if we didn’t have to pee!

As part of our purchased tour we had received tourist tickets to Cusco, which are good for 10 days and allow you to enter a number of museums and ruins sites. We decided to use this to visit a bunch of museums for the day, so we ended up going to the Korikancha museum, the museum of modern art, the regional history museum, and some others. We also found one museum near the Korikancha that has been set up to help preserve and supporting spinning, weaving, and knitting traditions in Peru. Mom and Kate, it would have been heaven for you! I took photos of every single display so that you could have a virtual tour.

One of the museums, “Centro Qosqo de Arte Nativo” or the “Centre for Cusco Native Art,” didn’t open until the evening, and we weren’t sure why. When we arrived however, we realized that the museum itself wasn’t very big, but the main purpose of it is to showcase live presentations of native music, art, and dance! So we ended getting to watch a free show of dancers performing various traditional dances, including explanations by a Peruvian woman closely resembling Sofía Vergara from Modern Family about their purpose. Then at the bookstore nearby I found a copy of “Open Veins of Latin America,” by Eduardo Galeano, and when we went looking for dinner we managed to find a full meal, complete with appetizers, soup, main course, and two drinks, for only 12 soles, or about $4.50! Walking back to our hostel, we found a massage place offering a promotion of 60 soles for a 90 minute massage, so I obviously took advantage of that, and it was a great night overall.

We headed back to Lima on the 7th and spent some time doing some last minute pre-departure stuff for Christine, including hitting up the Inca Market again, getting some frozen maracuya juice, and seeing some friends. We also met up with the principal of Ramiro Priale for lunch yesterday. He took us to an incredible fish market nearby which was quite the experience. Note: Pictures of this will likely be in the next blog post, as I have to download them first and I forgot to do that until just now. Apparently it’s at its busiest at 4am, and there is every kind of fish imaginable there! It was really cool and everyone was very eager to get photos with us. One lady handed us the egg sacks from inside the fish to get a picture with, “so that we would remember Peru.” I had hoped to remember it regardless, but I think that sealed the deal!

We took Chelo, Victor, and Lizeth out for dinner last night, and then Christine left for the airport this morning at 10:30. It was a very teary good bye, with Chelo repeating, in English, “I love you so much!” and in Spanish, “Solo una mas semanita y estoy solita!” which means “Only one more little week and I’m alone!” so it was pretty emotional all around. Unfortunately the delicious seafood lunch from yesterday has killed my stomach, so I’ve been pretty out of it all day, but I’m hoping to feel well enough tomorrow to attend the Christmas campaign in Manolo Castillo where we built the stairs. Hopefully I will be able to bring some gifts along for Jenny, Natalie, Mardalie, and Juan. And tomorrow evening is Lizeth’s baby shower!!!

The next 8 days are going to be busy for me! I plan on writing a guide to composting at home for San Juan de Miraflores, building a compost bin for Chelo, compiling packages of information for other schools to use to start a composting program, and writing a guide in English for future volunteers who come to stay with Chelo or work with SEM. In addition, I’d like to make it to Cerrito Azul and Ramiro Priale most days to help there, attend a couple Campañas de Navidad, and have some private Spanish lessons before I fly out on Sunday. I’ll write another post once I’m home to let you know how it went!

I’m looking forward to seeing you all soon! I will arrive home at 11:30pmish on the night of the 18th, and will be heading back to Guelph that night. If anyone will be around Guelph please let me know, because I’d love to see you! Otherwise, my sister and I will head home by the 21st at the latest for my mom’s birthday and be there until after Christmas :)

Thank you all so much, once again, for reading my blog! It’s been wonderful to share these stories with you from across the equator, and I feel so touched and blessed every time someone tells me they’ve enjoyed what I’ve written. I have one more Peru-related post left, but I will certainly keep up this blogging thang when I head to Argentina at the end of January! By the way, a big shout out to my new travel agent, Tiffany Johnson, for finding me a wicked sweet deal to Buenos Aires and Austin, Texas for the new year!

Enjoy the photos and you’ll hear from me again soon!

Love,

Cassie

P.S. A quick note of love and support toward Raoul Masseur, for reasons that many of you are aware of. If you haven't yet written your letter of support, please do it now! There's still time! Raoul, you are one of the best people I have ever known, and we're all behind you <3 

Watching the sun rise over the ruins

Somehow these photos always end up looking like I'm standing in front of a giant Machu Picchu backdrop. I swear I'm actually there!

This is when we were doing the tour of the ruins and were at a bunch of rocks shaped like a condor. At this point the guide told us that we were about the enter the "entrails of the condor" and this is how I felt about that.

Part of the path to the Inca Bridge with the lovely drop of hundreds of meters beside it.

The valley surrounding the walk to the Inca Bridge.

I once lost a shoe,

On Machu Picchu.

The End.

My hero, Jose Luis, and my gravity-defying shoe. Thank you for coming back to me.

Saqsayhuamán!  Complete with a little Christine.

Saqsayhuamán without the little Christine! I really wish we had more time here- it was super beautiful and green and seemed like a wicked place for a picnic!

At the ruins of Q'enco, I believe.

Tambomachay! Apparently the fountains down below are supposed to bestow eternal life on anyone who touches them. Obviously I stayed far away. That shit sounds dangerous and very impractical.

The cutest, funniest alpacas ever near the Pisac Market!

Some lovely examples of the Incan method of terracing for agriculture at the ruins of Pisac. Michelle Teepell, this is for you!

All of these holes are places in the mountain where the Incans buried their dead. They've found thousands surrounding different ruins!

Mmm. Cuy. Roasted. Complete with heads and teeth!

One of the many examples of the phenomenal shops in Pisac Market. This one had just about every single type of bag I think has ever been made!

At Ollantaytambo. In the rocks, to the left of the rectangular ruins, you can make out a face of a God or a man or an Incan (I unfortunately stopped listening to the guide at this point) who is trapped in the rocks. I stopped listening because I spent the rest of my time there wishing the rock-man would burst forth in a blaze of modern day graphics-technology magic, like Transformers or something. It didn't happen, unfortunately, but then again I also wasn't stomped flat by a rock man, so every cloud has a silver lining I suppose.

Traditional Dances at the Q'osqo Centre for Native Art!

Our cell-like room at Chakana House. Surprisingly comfortable.

Me walking along the path toward the Inca Bridge, gripping the rope staked into the rocks because beside me is a drop of hundreds of metres to certain death and likely doom as well. This explains the next photo.

How I feel about how high up I am and how close I am to the edge of how high up I am.

Photos of the shoe rescue itself! This photo illustrates Jose Luis' fearlessness toward the drop into the valley, as well as my lack of shoe. Kudos to Christine for snapping all of these shoe-rescue photos as they happened!

My shoe fell into the weeds.

Jose Luis came.

Then he rescued it for me.

-- My "Lost-Shoe Picchu Haiku" by Cassie Wever

A special photo for a special guy. Thinking of you all the time Drew Cumpson <3 So happy to hear that you're moving into the rehab stage soon!

Enjoying the hot springs afterward!

Condors, Canyons, and an Island Getaway

Hello friends!

We’re just about halfway through the “traveling around” part of the trip, and as I currently find myself on an island in the middle of Lake Titicaca with no electricity but a full laptop battery, I’ve decided to write an update!

On Saturday we caught our flight to Arequipa and arrived late in the day. First thing first- the view around Arequipa is awesome! It’s surrounded by mountains and volcanoes- some extinct, one (El Misti) active- and it’s just beautiful. Arequipa itself is also quite beautiful- much of the architecture is built from white sillar volcanic stone, hence its nickname, “La Ciudad Blanca,” or “The White City.”

We basically spent the first night walking around a bit, resting up, and starting to adjust to the altitude (about 2300m above sea level). The next day, we lucked out (as seems to happen very often here) and after talking to a few tour agencies, found a man named Jack who offered us a super cheap deal to go trekking in the Colca Canyon, plus a deal on a hostel for the night, tickets for a bus to Puno, and place to store our bags. We signed up, switched hostels, and had the rest of the day free to check out Arequipa! We spent a fair bit of time looking at shops, and then headed to Santa Catalina- St. Catherine’s Convent. Still operational, the convent is really interesting for a number of reasons. It’s dubbed “a city within a city” and it really is. The different sections of the convent are color coded both on the map and in real life (the walls are painted really stunning colors), and there are streets, kitchens, bedrooms, orchards, a fountain, and several courtyards, as well as a section where nuns currently live and work today. Additionally, parts of the convent have been destroyed by earthquakes and rebuilt, while other parts have been added through time, so you can see the changes in architectural style as you walk through. It was really quiet and beautiful there, and there was a lot of well-translated information on a nun’s life, her habits (hahaha get it?), and the history of Santa Catalina. I did feel a bit cloister-phobic in some of the bedrooms (seriously, folks, I’m here all night), and the experience was a bit un-convent-ional (I can’t stop!), but it was really cool. We then had dinner at a lovely restaurant overlooking the Plaza de Armas, and headed back to sleep because our Colca Canyon trek/tour started at an extremely early 3am.

One of the beautifully colored courtyards at Santa Catalina

El Misti- the active volcano near Arequipa!

We were picked up at 3am and it turned out that overall we didn’t have a great idea of what a difficult task we were undertaking! Silly gringas. Treks are for mules. For one thing, it started at 3am with a super long drive to a condor viewing point and the town that we had breakfast in before we started trekking. We were given blankets and pillows, but it was tough to sleep in the van (there were about 14 of us or so) and much of the drive was on curvy roads next to crazy drops into valleys or the canyon itself, so I was a little too nervous to sleep. Unfortunately we didn’t see any condors, but soon after the viewpoint we were dropped off to start our hike! Our guide’s name was Orlando, and our group consisted of Christine and myself and two men, Emile (from Holland) and Laurent (from France). We quickly realized two things, 1) They were clearly a gay couple (although they said they were friends and roommates- oldest story of them all!), and 2) They were the coolest people ever. Both 42, they live together in the capital city of Slovenia, Ljubljana. Laurent works for the French embassy there, and Emile is an architect and a correspondent for an architecture magazine. Laurent speaks 6 languages and Emile speaks 5 (and Laurent likes to roll his eyes at Emile for not knowing Spanish because he says, “Eetz actzually vwery easy to learn”... I guess after 5 languages the 6th is a breeze!). They’ve traveled much of the world together (literally most of it, I think) and were just incredibly nice and friendly and interesting and so enjoyable to be around- and thank goodness, because we hiked together for about 9 hours in total! We’re hoping to meet up with them in Cusco as well- honestly, we just adore them.

The first day we hiked 18km, first down into the canyon (absolutely stunning), up a bit, then we ate lunch, and then we hiked up for an hour and a bit, flat for a while, and then down to our hostel for the night- an hour earlier than normal arrival time because we’re so darn fast. It was mind-blowing- we were in the bottom of Colca Canyon (which is absolutely gorgeous and gigantic), with the canyon walls as a backdrop, furniture made of palm trees, a swimming pool with one side made of a giant canyon rock, and hammocks and flowers and trees all over the place. At this point, we were a bit delirious from so much hiking at altitude, so everything seemed even greater as well. The bottom of the canyon is 2000m above sea level, while the top is about 3300m above sea level, so for our entire hike it was pretty difficult to take in enough oxygen and feel 100%. Unfortunately, on that first day a small cough that I had developed became much worse, and by that night I was having a lot of trouble with it and, as I found out later, was also quite feverish. I probably should have realized this right away, for the sole reason that I was unbearably cold and shivering, a sensation that I have experienced perhaps 5 times in my life. 

A photo of my bum as taken by our guide, Orlando, as I climb over a steep part of the trail.

Cañon de Colca! Hard to see the depth...it's about 1.3 km deep!

The swimming pool at our hostel in the canyon- so awesome.

An interesting fact about the people inhabiting the Colca Canyon- Orlando told us that the typical life expectancy of villagers is over 100 years old! His own grandparents live in the canyon and are 92 and 98 and still working every day farming, and he says that his grandfather is ridiculously strong. He told us that the villagers’ secrets to a long life are drinking pure water instead of sugary drinks and pop, walking every day, and eating organic food that hasn’t had hormones added. Crazy ideas, huh?

The hike the next morning was only 5km, but it was entirely uphill, consisting of 1.3km straight up. We began hiking at 5:15am (without breakfast- a big downside) and Christine and I arrived at the top around 8:20am, right on par and really proud of ourselves. Empty mules left the hostel at 6am, walking past the hikers on the trail in case anyone wanted to give up and ride to the top. In spite of the lack of adjustment to the altitude and my cough/fever, we ended up passing a number of hikers who had left 45 minutes before us! Overall, we felt pretty badass and I’m happy with how much it pushed me physically and mentally. For you tree planters out there- it felt comparable to that first week of planting when you’re not in good shape yet and you find out that you have 6km walk-ins every day through the snow and you get a cold at the same time and by the end of the week you’re not sure you can move anymore, but you put in those last thousand trees to close out the block anyway. And then after it’s done and you can walk again you feel really happy with yourself for pushing through and you like how much money you made and you forget how hard it was and you sign up to plant again the next season. You know what I’m talking about, planters of the world. So all in all, I’m incredibly happy that we did it, but if I were to do it again I would take a little more time to adjust to the altitude first, and maybe work out in extreme conditions for a month or a year or 5 years ahead of time. I would also bring a jet pack because 1.3km straight up is a LONG WAY and it is HARD. And I imagine that, in time, I’ll forget how difficult it was and wish I could do it again.

This picture turned out this way because my camera was in my pocket and I got it all sweaty. Ironically, at 5:45am, 30 minutes into the trek, slightly delirious and severely lacking in oxygen, this is actually how the mules walking by looked to me!

At the top with left to right, myself, Emile, Christine, Orlando, and Laurent- we made it!

A small portion of our path down the Colca Canyon, from the first day's hike.

After another 30 minutes or so of flat walking we made it to a town for breakfast, and spent the rest of the day in the van stopping at different look out points and at hot springs, which felt absolutely amazing. After the hot springs though I started to feel a lot worse and spent every moment in between look outs passed out in my seat and trying not to barf. When we got back to Arequipa we went to grab some juice and I bought a thermometer and realized my hot and cold flashes were actually a fever of 100.5ish. Fortunately I was able to get antibiotics right away, which was especially good because that night we boarded a bus heading to Puno! We arrived in Puno at 4:30am, which was tough because a baby cried behind us most of the way there, it was cold, and the altitude in Puno is about 4000m above sea level! Luckily we found a cheap hostel fairly quickly, at which point I went to bed until 4pm that day.

Christine walked around a bit and then we both napped for quite a while, adjusting to how high up we were (and still are). We then headed out in search of info for the next day’s adventures. We chatted with some tour places about the Uros Islands and Taquile, and before deciding on one we decided to go check out the port first and see if we could find any info there. Walking down to the lake, a man named Felix asked if we wanted to go to Taquile Island the next day and we said heck yes Felix! So he took us to talk to a captain who is part of a regular boat service to the island. For half the price of the tour company the captain would take us to the Uros Islands first, then bring us to Taquile Island (about 3 hours away) and find a friend of his with a place where we could stay for the night. Our tickets were good for 15 days, so we could stay as long as we wanted, and return on a boat leaving the island at 2:20pm every day. It was basically everything we were looking for! We signed up and said we’d see them at the port the next morning at 7:30am.

As I’m writing this it’s Thursday night and I’m on Taquile Island! I won’t be able to post this until Friday night or Saturday morning, but I think this is a great point in the trip for an update. We headed out this morning on the local boat- which had lots of room and was super comfy, except for the very loud and smelly engine, and got to stop at one of the Uros Islands for about 25 minutes. Here, the president of that island gave us a great explanation about how the islands are built and showed us a house as well. A little side note: It is really awesome being able to understand enough Spanish to book tours with Spanish-only companies, and be able to understand our Spanish-only guides! But back to the islands...they are built on floating reeds that grow in the lake. The root mats of the reeds are thick and float well, and these are tied together with stakes and rope. On top of these are placed layers and layers of dried reeds- there is about 2m of root mats and 1m of dry reed material on top of that. These floating islands are anchored with a stake in the root mat, tied to a rock, and staked 6-9m under the water to a solid land mass, in order to keep the islands from floating to Bolivia (the president said they didn’t have passports so they needed to stay in Peru, haha). The reeds are replaced or added to every month, and an island lasts about a year before a new one needs to be built. On top of these constructed islands, houses are built out of reeds. Root mats are used to build cooking areas, because they’re humid and will prevent the island from catching fire (which is for the best, I feel). Additionally, fish farms can be built into the island- the one we were on had two trout farms on it! About 4-8 families live on one island, and they each elect a president as a leader. Everything is made out of reeds, including the beds and the boats, and some of the homes have solar panels to power a light or a television. We didn’t get to stay there for very long, but visiting the Uros Islands was a really unique experience. I can’t think of any other place like it, and I can only imagine how tough it is for the people living their to maintain their traditional way of life.

The president of this island in Uros explaining (complete with dolls and small reed houses) how the islands are built and maintained.

After Uros, we carried on our way to Taquile. Upon arrival we had to walk up a incredible number of steps, which was quite challenging. Once we got to the top, our captain found a friend who had a room for us, which is where I am currently writing this from. Tomás, his wife Ines, and his children Lizbet, Jessica, and Brian are so lovely and we can’t help feeling overwhelmed yet again by the incredible hospitality we have experienced in every part of this country.

It is difficult to do justice to Taquile in writing- it’s breathtaking here. It’s about 1km wide and 7km long, and about 5000 people live here. There are no cars and no dogs, and Tomás says there are no police and no theft as well. The majority of the island is made up of agricultural terraces, and it would appear that every house has a small plot of land for growing food. The only electrical power is solar, so tonight we ate and read by candlelight. There are a few restaurants, tiendas, and people selling their artesenia, with the artesenia and restaurants seeming to cater mainly to the tourists that come for a few hours around lunch time. We feel especially lucky with our circumstances because we weren’t stuck in a tour group and were spending the night, so we were free to wander around the island as we pleased and talk to people. It’s so refreshing to see things like the little girl in the main Plaza today, playing jacks by herself and having a BLAST doing it, or hearing from Tomás about how a bunch of people were lower down on the island helping his brother to build a house. I feel like Taquile Island is reminiscent of early pioneer, farming, and homesteading communities, with no one person or group causing a huge impact, and people working together for a stronger community. There are schools on this island from primary to secondary, a health centre, and a municipal building. It’s truly amazing and we are so lucky to be here. Tomás even served Christine and I a delicious dinner! After the horrible sickness day of Tuesday, I had a lot of trouble keeping food down so tonight I had something besides soda crackers and gatorade for the first time in 48 hours, which feels great.

Taquile Island! ie...Utopia?

The view from the main plaza on Taquile- you can see the Cordillera Blanca and Bolivia!

And one last quick update from today, Friday: We had an awesome rest of our stay on Taquile, starting with honey pancakes that Tomás and his wife made, and then spending the day taking some photos of the traditional weaving practiced on the island, and wandering to check out the ruins and the highest point on Taquile. It’s interesting that both men and women spin, weave, and knit on this island- most people are walking around while spinning with a drop-spindle, and men walk around knitting scarves while others work on their looms. It’s really cool, and UNESCO declared Taquile a world heritage site in an effort to help preserve this unique tradition. The weaving is so incredibly intricate and takes so much work to finish! Mom and Katie, you would have loved it! Hopefully some of the photos can do it justice. From what I overheard from one of the tour groups going on today, it's a challenge for Taquile to keep its current way of life and to uphold its traditions today, traditions such as the style of weaving, the colors/clothing worn by the people, the Quechua language, and the traditional symbols used in their weaving. I also talked to Tomás a bit and found that you can't move onto the island yourself- you have to be born there. It was a really beautiful and interesting place to visit, and I hope that amidst the changes taking place elsewhere, it continues to function as well as it has for so long.

Ines demonstrating some traditional weaving.

Some of the incredibly intricate weaving from Taquile!

I’d better get this uploaded if I can before we leave for our overnight bus to Cusco- I’ll try to include some pictures if the wireless will allow!

Lots of love,

Cassie