s/v Nine of Cups Peru and Bolivia

Sep-Oct 2004

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For five weeks in September/October 2004, we traveled from Ecuador, mostly by bus, to Peru and Bolivia.  Both countries are rich and varied in their indigenous history and cultures which extend far beyond and before  the Incas

PERU

We took several tours.  Chan Chan (Sun Sun) was the capital city of the Chimu Empire and was built around 1300 AD.  The Chimu Empire existed from about 1000-1470 AD and was conquered by the Incas in about 1471, which puts them in the same timeframe as the Aztecs of Mexico.  Chan Chan is considered to be the largest mud city in the world (dubious honor, I think!!).

Huacas del Sol y del la Luna (Temples of the Sun and Moon), built by the Moche, was another pre-Columbian culture which pre-dated the Chimu.  They thrived from about 100 BC to 700 AD (same as the Mayans in Mexico) and are known for their exquisite ceramics and pottery.  The temple of the Sun is a non-protected site (hard to believe), but the Temple of the Moon has been "adopted" by the Backus Corporation which has financially sponsored the archeological dig here for several years.  There are six levels- one level built upon another by each successive king.  The painting on the walls was extraordinary...original rich colors of red and yellow with black and some blues and greens, mostly depicting their gods and animals they revered such as the condor, jaguar, octopus, fox and owl.

The small port town of Huanchaco is known for its distinctive fishing boats made of the local totora reeds.  These boats, used by local fishermen for centuries, are straddled like a horse rather than sitting inside.  Hence, the boats are called "cabellitos" (little horses).

From Trujillo we took a bus to Lima, Peru's capital city.  Surrounded by the cathedral, the Government Palace and the Archbishop's Palace, the Plaza Mayor is beautiful and spacious with lots of flowers and a bronze fountain in the center dating to 1650.

In Lima, we met Gonzalo Ravago and his wife, Magdala.  An avid sailor, we had "met" Gonzalo via email when he noticed our "Passage Notes" in Cruising World magazine and sent us a note.  We had told him we were coming and he had offered to be our host in Lima.  It was friendship at first sight.  They drove us around the city, showed us Huaca Puc'llana, a temple of the Lima culture, introduced us to Pisco Sours, the national alcoholic drink, and took us to their home for dinner.  We drove with them to the Nacional Reserva Paracas.  We're hoping they will visit us on Nine of Cups in January 2005.

Lima's San Francisco Monastery and its famous catacombs were built in the mid 1600's.  You could feel the age of the place as you climbed the well-worn steps.  Descending to the catacombs beneath the cathedral was very eerie as we ducked under low ceilings and followed the guide through the maze of corridors and rooms to view the bones of the 70,000 (!!) people buried here. The smell was musty and dank, and my claustrophobia kicked in immediately.  I was disappointed at how disrespectful the remains of those buried there were treated.  The bones had been separated by type...skulls, femurs, ulnas, etc...and displayed in clear, plastic-covered boxes.  There was a whole circular display of skulls, for instance, all available for photo-taking to those who paid the price of admission

From Pisco, on to Nasca  and the famous Nasca Lines.  The Nasca Lines which date back to 900BC, were discovered in the 1960s  and are huge geometric and animal figure designs drawn in the desert and visible only from the air.  There are several dozen, but we saw about 15 of them from our little 4-seater plane.   No one knows exactly why they were drawn or by whom, but best guesses indicate the Nasca people built them as part of a ceremonial tradition.  Other theories range from agricultural calendars to UFOs.  One of the lines resembles an astronaut!

Arequipa was our favorite city in Peru.  Here we visited Juanita, the Ice Princess, a mummified Incan girl who had been ritually sacrificed 500 years ago and discovered in 1995 in the Ampato volcano. We took a sidetrip to Canon del Colca, the Grand Canyon of Peru and home of Andean condors. We wandered for hours in the incredible Monasterio de Santa Catalina built in 1580 and generally enjoyed the beauty and culture of this wonderful Spanish colonial town.  Here we also experienced the worst symptoms of "soroche", altitude sickness, as we climbed higher and higher into the Andes. To the left, the monumental cathedral at Arequipa.

On the bus ride from Arequipa to Puno, we spotted herds of alpaca, llama and vicuna, grazing peacefully on the pampas.

Peru is home to more indigenous people than any other country in South America.  Their clothing, especially their hats, is most distinctive and distinguishes one group from another.  A young mother with her baby on her back, posed for a picture after Marcie bought some of her crafts.

In Puno, on the shores of Lake Titicaca, highest navigable lake in the world, we took a boat tour to the island of Taquile.  Here the curious thing is that the men are always knitting and the women are always spinning yarn (photo above).  Old men, young men and boys all have knitting needles in hand and make beautiful sweaters, scarves, hats and other items including their wife's clothes.  They knit as they walk or as they sit and talk.  The woman spin with a drop shuttle , a device that looks like a top. They  hold it with their feet or throw it like a top to the ground and spin the alpaca and sheep's wool into yarn.

The floating islands of the Uros people(left) were very unique.  These islands are made from layer upon layer of totora reed and are totally free floating.  As we stepped off the boat, it was a weird, undulating sensation beneath our feet, like walking on a waterbed.

The Uros make reed boats called balsas similar to those we saw in Huanchaco on the coast, but these are large enough to ride in and hold up to 15-20 people.  They have beautiful woven puma or llama heads on the bow and stern.  We were disappointed to learn, however, that the Uros only began incorporating the figureheads after a visit from Thor Heyerdahl in the late 1950's when they saw his reed raft decorated in that fashion.

On to LaPaz, Bolivia, the highest capital city in the world.  The city was fascinating, but the highlight was visiting the Mercado de las Brujas (the Witches' Market): two cobble stoned streets lined with potions, powders, charms, totems and talismans which included llama fetuses, ocelot skins, armadillo bones and dessicated frogs, guaranteed to bring luck, love, money, or ward off evil spirits.  We'd never seen anything quite like it before.  Stall after stall after stall...all seemingly doing a brisk business.

The highlight of our entire trip was Machu Picchu, an Incan sacred city high in the Peruvian Andes.  This view from a watch tower above the city was breathtaking.  David had done his homework.  If we crossed the ruins to the far side, we would find the trailhead up Huayna Picchu, the peak in the background of this picture and the perfect spot to view Machu Picchu as the fog burned off in the early morning.  From a distance, Huayna Picchu looked ominous and very, very steep (which it was).  We were the sixth and seventh people to sign out with the "guard" and up we went.  What a trek! Up, up, up...steps, steps and more steps! The trail was well worn with thick, lush jungle encroaching from the sides.  We were in a cloud of mist and lost sight of the valley as we climbed higher and higher.  The trail was narrow, single file only, and some of the steepest parts had cable or ropes to hang on to.  One area required us to go into a cave, squeeze through a narrow, low passage, trying not to get too muddy in the process, then finally in a crouched position, wiggle our way up narrow steps out of the tunnel.  Not for the weak or the chubby!  We stopped frequently to rest and catch our breath.  With a last push, we made it to the very top by just 0800...not too bad for old farts. There were maybe a dozen people total when the fog finally burned off by about 0845.  Everyone was quiet or speaking so very softly, and there was a collective "ahhh" when Machu Picchu first came into view far below.  It was mystical, awesome, inspiring, breathtaking beyond description.  The fog would drift back, then, wisp by wisp, dissipate, finally rendering a crystal clear Machu Picchu.  It is a place of contemplation and meditation.  I write these notes as we sit atop Huayna Picchu and what I see is so magnificent, so beautiful, it literally brings tears to my eyes. We remained there for nearly two hours, taking it all in, desperate to remember every detail and etch it into our minds.  I took photo after photo, knowing I couldn't possibly capture all the beauty and emotion I was experiencing, but trying nonetheless.

Marcie and David high on Huayna Picchu just before the mist cleared to reveal the lost city of Machu Picchu below.  This was the dramatic culmination of a trip of a lifetime!