Machu Picchu and the vicinity...

This weekend I traveled to Cuzco with the other exchange students from my program. It was a quick trip, but I suppose we saw the essentials.

Thursday morning we flew out of Lima with Peruvian Airlines. After arriving in Cusco, we went to our hotel where we relaxed for a little while, allowing our bodies to adjust to the change in altitude. We went from sea level to about 3400 meters above sea level (or 10,800 ft). Most of us did not have any problems adjusting.
Later that afternoon, Madeleine, Maya, and I visited the cathedral which has 2 churches also attached. The interiors of all three were excessively ornate. Although they are beautiful, I think it is a shame that the Spanish had no regard for history and built the churches over an Incan temple.
In the evening we went to a lecture by a man who owns a museum of more than 400 different instruments native to Peru. He then performed for us playing many different instruments and not even pausing when he switched. Very talented!
For supper, several of us went to a restaurant where we were serenaded by a group playing traditional Andean music, which was a lot of fun.

On Friday, we saw a variety of sites in the Cusco-area with Incan ruins. (Roughly translated Cuzco means the belly button of the world...because as the capital city it was the center of the Incan world.) Sacsaywayman, an old battle field and place where young men accomplished difficult intellectual and physical challenges to become accepted members of their society. The rocks are enormous and intricately cut and pieced together. Interestingly enough some of them form shapes such as that of a llama and a snake. We visited several other sites and artisan markets. One of my favorite things was going for a hike/walk to some ruins where we were able to see an Incan temple of the sun. On this walk, we walke along a terrace, went through a tunnel and went up and down steps. It sprinkled a bit but was overall pleasant and the view was extremely rewarding. For some inexplicable reason, on all the hikes or walks I've been on in Peru even those very near precipices, I have not been scared of falling...maybe I've been miraculously cured of my fear of heights :) Later in the evening we went to Chinchero, the highest point in the region, where we visited an old church in which had both traditional aspects of the Catholic church and also aspects that were created as a compromise by the indigenous peoples who converted to Christianity. This area was pretty...but cold!

Machu Pichu and Intipunko were the highlights of the day! We traveled from Cuzco 82 km to a train station by van, because this part of the railway is still unsafe to use because of the damage caused by the rains in January. From their we took an extremely fancy and luxurious train ride to Agua Calientes. This train even had skylights! The route led us along a river where we had a beautiful view of the blue sky, mountains, and jungle-like vegetation. After arriving in Agua Calientes, we took a bus to Machu Picchu. It was amazing. There is a certain energy that radiates from these ruins...an energy that one feels because of its natural beauty and tranquility and also the mystery and awe about its creation. After taking a guided tour and learning many interesting things about the site's discovery and theories about the Incan lifestyle there, we had time to explore on our own. Several of us (probably about 9) hiked to Intipunku (the Sun Gate). This was a simple hike (the very last leg of the Incan trail leading to Machu Picchu) and allowed us to see the ruins from a different angle; from another mountain.

We returned to Lima yesterday... and arrived back to find the sun shining. This was a pleasant surprise. I wish we'd had more time to get to know more sites in the area and spend more time at the ruins, but I'm very thankful have gotten to go there and see the beauty and mysteries that this land has to offer.


Overlooking the Sacred Valley of the Incas


Chinchero


Machu Picchu

Dances

Over the past 2 weeks I've gotten to watch several different kinds of dances. One evening, the exchange students from our program went to a restaurant where we saw various dances traditional to different regions of Peru. A few of these included Marinera, Tondero, and dancers who chase each other with a candle and try to catch a piece of cloth on the other on fire. The latter was extremely humorous to watch. My favorite of the evening was the danza de los tijeras (scissor dance). It could best be summed up as Andean break dancers with scissors and colorful costumes who continue to preserve the routines that supposedly contain magical powers because of a pact made with the devil.

This last weekend Annie and I went to watch the Russian Ballet. It was gorgeous. The dancers' wardrobes were elaborate and very neat. One of my favorites was a red outfit that reminded me of the princess Jasmine's clothing...but soo much cooler :)


Scissor Dancers

Palacala

Last weekend, Annie and I left our homes at about 6 am to go on a hike to a waterfall in the provincial Lima. It took us a while to get there. We weren't sure where to find the Combis and Cústers heading to the Museum of Art where we could find more headed for Chosica, so we decided to walk a ways to a place where we knew they went by. Once we were finally on our way towards Chosica, our Cúster broke down and we had to get on another one. The cobrador (money collecter) wanted to charge us more, but we were not ignorant enough to pay again.

After taking 4 cústers and a moto-taxi to get to Surco, we began our hike. We spent 7 hours absorbing the glorious sun, gorgeous Peruvian countryside and foothills of the Andes, as well as breathing fresh air! Along the way we met two other hikers who waited at the top for us and went all the way back down with us. One of them had formerly been a student at La Católica, where we are going. The way back down was definitely rough on the knees considering our ascent of approximately 700m. It was an excellent day and wonderful to get out of the city!

May 1-2

This weekend I've spent in and near Lima. Yesterday, a group of exchange students from my program and I went swimming with sea lions. It was a neat experience. We went to the Islas Palominas. After a relaxing ride out to the islands, I wriggled my way into an already wet wet-suit. After having my life-jacket secured I jumped into the extremely cold ocean water! I had expected it to be cool, but was a bit shocked by the frigid temperature. There were tons o sea lions of varying sizes and colors, but all seemed to share the same stench and loud barking voice. One of the sea lions touched me, which I wasn't a huge fan of, because they seemed a bit scary with their enourmous mouths and I wasn't so sure about swimming with creatures bigger than me.

This morning I ran a half-marathon through San Isidro and San Borja (sections of Lima). It was a lot of fun. There were bands playing at a few places and tons of people. There were 8,000 participants in this mornings races, which were hosted by Adidas. There was a 42k, 21k, and 10k. If I'm correct this is the 2nd largest marathon event in Latin America. It took me 5 minutes to pass under the timers to start after being herded down the street with thousands of other people. I think I was closer to the front than the back, so I wonder how long it took those people to cross the starting line. The first 5k were really tough to move during, because we were packed like sardines and everyone kept tripping over one another or slowing way down to avoid collisions. I was really impressed with the organization of the event and am really thankful for four friends who came out to cheer me on at 3 different locations.

This next week, we have mid-terms so definitely have some studying to do, especially for my anthropology and film classes. All in all, it's been a great weekend.