Moai in the quarry

I had seen pictures of the iconic moai of Rapa Nui before and was very intrigued. Of course, I have read snippets about them here and there so I had an idea of what learned scholars figured them to be, but nearly everything that is known about the existence of the moai and the original residents of Rapa Nui is based mostly in hypothesis and theory. I think that it is wonderful that the true meaning behind the statues on Easter Island may never be known and will be kept a secret from humankind for the rest of eternity.

Rapa Nui is a relatively small island about 2500 miles off the west coast of Chile. The island is all by itself and is often touted as the most isolated place on earth. To give that some perspective, in these modern times, that’s a five-hour flight with nothing between take-off and landing but open ocean. During that five hour flight I remember being slightly annoyed by a crying baby on the airplane and I remember being a bit uncomfortable due to the lack of legroom. Annoyed and uncomfortable only until I start to think about the ancient people who first came to Rapa Nui. I have no frame of reference to help me even get a vague understanding for what these people must have gone through to get there. How many days (weeks, months even?) must one spend on a canoe to go…2500 miles on a previously uncharted course? If I was uncomfortable and annoyed on a five hour flight, these people must have been absolutely mad after endless days at sea in a canoe. Being exposed for that long on the ocean, they surely encountered bad weather. Inevitably they lost people, supplies, and food. What about water? Where does one get drinking water on a crossing like that? And after the ordeal of getting there…they find…NOTHING! Easter Island is fairly small and rugged. Sure, there is evidence that it was much more forested when the original Rapa Nui arrived but beyond trees and lava there isn’t much to the island.

So, after much suffering they land on an isolated island, have no external stimulation…what better way to pass the time than carve some statues out of lava. Oh..and then, after the monumental task of carving them, they move them to their platforms (called Ahu)…which are MILES away from the quarry. Madness. Pure Madness, I’m sure, is what drove these people to do this work and eventually de-forest themselves nearly out of existence.

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A hot spring at El Tatio

This tour departed at 4 A.M. in order to get to the geyser field at sunrise – when the air is cold and the light is soft, lending dramatic effect to the steam rising – which will lose much of its appeal as the ambient air temperature climbs. The day’s highlight was swimming (or “hotpotting” as it was called when I did it in Yellowstone) in a hot spring – and at El Tatio it is a sanctioned event! (unlike Yellowstone). This geyser field is at very high altitude and as such, the air temperature is pretty cold – so getting out of the hot spring wasn’t all that enjoyable.

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The early flamingo gets the….shrimp?

The tour departed at 6 A.M. in order to get to the Salar de Atacama (Atacama salt flat in English) early enough to view the flamingos in the salt lakes.

The Salar is a very interesting landscape. The high mineral concentration is caused by a lack of drainage and over the years minerals (amongst them vast amounts of salt and lithium) have been deposited in the basin by glaciation and runoff. This area is an extremely inhospitable environment, yet certain species have adapted to live here. Quite remarkable!

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The trip to San Pedro was an overnight jaunt of about 11 hours. I arrived groggy and was more than happy to accept the first offer of accommodation, especially since it was very near the bus stop and much less expensive than I was led to believe prices would be in this desert outpost. A simple room cost me the equivalent of $8 (USD) and the place had free wifi….perfect!

My first order of business was to investigate tour options to Bolivia’s huge salt flat – the Salar de Uyuni. I had heard rave reviews from fellow travelers about it’s wonders and about Bolivia in general. The problem was, that the holidays were coming up and so I had, for the first time since this trip started, pre-booked transportation, so I was running short on time. The tours available were all three-day, two-night or longer and there was just no way for me to take one and still have time to get to Santiago for the next leg of my journey.

But Wait! Chile has alien landscapes too!

Valle de la Luna; near San Pedro de Atacama, Chile

I opted, instead, to take some day-tours around San Pedro de Atacama. The first of which was an afternoon/evening trip in and around the Valle de la Luna. Our guide on this particular tour was a former miner and had learned a great deal from the geologists at his company. He was a wealth of information about the processes of volcanic eruptions and ash deposits, glaciation, erosion and plate movements – all the forces that have carved out this landscape. The tour was absolutely fantastic, interesting and educational and ended with watching the sunset over the desert. It was a pretty spectacular sight!

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After traveling extensively and seeing some of the best of what the world has to offer, I have a tendency to get pretty jaded. Seriously, after visiting the Kostnice Ossuary in the Czech Republic…well, no church or temple is ever going to live up to that. Having grown up very near the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, I truly believe I have visited one of the best culture/history museums in the world. Scenic beauty….Anyone who has gazed upon the Tetons in northwestern Wyoming has seen one of the most gorgeous places on the planet. It’s hard to top these experiences – I don’t spend too much time visiting museums or churches anymore unless there’s something completely cutting-edge about them. The one thing that is left, that I do get a great deal of satisfaction from are those chance encounters with other travelers. On this particular journey I had one of those experiences that makes life on the road very fulfilling. Even meeting other travelers sometimes becomes exhausting…it’s the same drill, where ya from? how long you been here? how many times you been robbed? ad nauseum… But it’s a dance we all do while we’re traveling and if you can get through it you might just have a great experience.

So…from Areuipa to Tacna (both Peru) is about a 5-hour bus ride. After that, one must arrange other transport to get across the border between Tacna and Arica, Chile. The quickest way is to take a combi (shared cab). There are several sedans around the bus station in Tacna performing this service…they all go with 5 passengers, so, once you find an available one, you may be stuck waiting for a while until the requisite number of passengers are committed to going. On the way, the driver hands out the customs and immigration forms for Chile…of course, Chile being a country with wonderful fruit and allegedly good wine among other agricultural products is fairly concerned with what types of pests might come in on plant or animal products so they take a preventative stance in regards to individuals entering the country. Jordan, one of the passengers sharing in my combi ride expressed some concern over the shells and turtle bones she had collected on a beach in Ecuador. I let her know that my experiences with Chilean customs had shown that they weren’t joking about preventing individuals from importing plant/animal products into the country. She decided to go ahead and try to bring them in anyhow…what’s the worst that could happen right?

The worst that could happen would probably be a pretty hefty fine…fortunately, it didn’t come to that, but she did get held up in customs for quite some time when the inspectors found the shells and bones during routine baggage x-ray. I don’t guess she was held up for too long actually…maybe 20 minutes, certainly no longer than 30 minutes, but our combi driver was getting very antsy about the situation. None of the passengers had any urgent need to get to Arica, but the driver wanted to go. He made it pretty clear that he intended on leaving Jordan behind…of course, this wasn’t my problem..I hadn’t tried to bring animal bits into the country…why should I care what happens to her? Well, I cared because I applied compassion to the situation and knew that if it were me, I would be pissed off if, after I had been given the shake down by customs, I suddenly had no transportation from the middle of the desert and half of my belongings had gone away in the car. So…I resolved that I wouldn’t go with the combi driver…so he would be missing out on two fares if he decided to ditch her. It worked…upon my refusal to get in the car he decided to go ahead and wait.

So, that’s it, we became instant friends and didn’t have to go through the exhaustive “where ya from” dance. When we got to Arica, Jordan let me ride with her in her cab to her motel and I ditched my bags there for a few hours while we walked around town and drank beer until it was time for me to catch my bus southward. While she was certainly one of the more vibrant and seemingly genuine people I’ve met on the road, this situation certainly isn’t unique and every time I meet someone in this manner the experience is absolutely wonderful and memorable. These brief friendships are one of the most rewarding things to me about traveling. Thanks, Jordan for a great afternoon and good luck to you, wherever you are now.

The Colca Canyon (and Colca Valley) are in close proximity to Arequipa and many tours of the area are available from and returning to Arequipa. One of the most popular, and most convenient tour packages available is a two-day, one-night tour from Arequipa with an included hotel stay in Chivay (a small village near the entrance to the Colca Valley). These tours are CHEAP! Mine cost me just over $20 U.S. and included two days of transportation, an English-speaking (marginal) guide, hotel and desayuno (which must be Spanish for “here, have a piece of bread and jam in the morning”). The Colca Canyon claims to be the deepest canyon in the world, reaching depths of 4160 meters (13,648 feet) – that’s over twice the depth of the Grand Canyon in the U.S. The high point on the tour was a mountain pass at 4910 meters (~16,000 feet) but before we got that high, the omnibus stopped at a roadside stand selling coca tea…6 ounces of prevention and you forget all about the symptoms of altitude sickness!

For me, the draw was less about the size of the canyon, but more about the Andean Condors that live in the area. At this time of year, they aren’t as common as other times of the year, but, nonetheless, I was fortunate to see a few, amongst them this close-up view:

Andean Condor

A Welcome Relief

The rustic charm of the village of Chivay was a welcome relief and contrasted sharply with Cusco. Though there are plenty of tourists in the area, the tourism isn’t nearly as in-your-face and the village seems to be mostly authentic except for the special white man tourist restaurants that the tour groups are herded into. There are folklore shows and pan flute-playing bands, but none of them play “LaBamba” and they seem to stick to local, authentic music only. Dances are performed for the benefit of the visitors, but they are performed in the traditional way, slightly cheesy as this may seem, I reckon it’s as good a way to preserve culture and tradition as any and was actually quite educational.

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So, why am I writing about little horses made of reeds? Well, it’s because I think these are a shining example of how culture can survive and, at the same time, be a source of pride and an attraction for visitors. My tour guide to Chan Chan informed me that a young Peruano status-seeker once proposed that the local fishermen of Huanchaco should consider giving up their simple, handmade boats in favor of much faster and efficient motor boats. The fishermen balked at the idea, protested that motor boats would cause too much noise and allegedly, according to my tour guide, had a law passed prohibiting the use of motor boats forever (or at least until the law gets changed).

Caballitos de Totora

Archeological evidence suggests that the Moche people (the tribe that pre-dated the Chimu) were the first to use this type of boat in Peru some 3,000 years ago. They are still used today by the fishermen and so far as I know, this is the only place in South America where these types of boats are used.

Renewable Resource

The reeds that these boats are made of take 10 months to grow and 2 months to dry. The boats themselves only last ~3 months. The fishermen make quite an effort to keep their fleet in “ship shape”.

A Culture Sold Out on a Wholesale Level

In my Machu Picchu post, I alluded to my horrible experience aboard the vistadome train back to Cusco. Here’s how it went:
First, if you are familiar with the Disney “Small World” ride then you might get a feeling for what this train ride might be all about. It really is 3 1/2 hours of “It’s a small world” with less leg room. First, the train crew attempts to re-enact a traditional dance of residents of the Altiplano (stay-tuned for more on that). Of course, the dance is restricted to the already narrow footpath down the center of the train car. The costumes they wear are absolutely garish and awful and can’t possibly be representative of the ancient people. Of course, the dance is done to some lounge-act version of horrible 80’s American pop music. After the horrible re-enactment, the train crew puts on an alpaca fashion show – complete with even more completely tasteless music. Everyone else on the train gave obligatory applause for each clothing item presented…I couldn’t bring myself to show any appreciation…I felt that that would be a sign that this is what people actually come to Peru to experience. It’s not. This experience was very representative of my time in the Cusco area. Little flute bands running around, playing covers of…you guessed it, awful American pop tunes…oh, and some tourist at some time must have asked them to play “LaBamba” as they ALL play that one too (by the way, LaBamba is a Mexican folk song from the state of Veracruz, it’s not Peruvian and Peru ain’t Mexico!)

Now, I’ve been to many a place that might be considered “over-touristed”, for example the Taj Mahal or The Galapagos but never have I seen such pandering from the local residents. Sure, they are all happy to make a buck but they haven’t sold out the way the Cusquenos appear to have sold out on an absolute wholesale level.

So, in my opinion, much of the rest of Peru could learn valuable lessons from the fishermen of Huanchaco; namely that it is o.k. to retain tradition and culture. People will still visit Peru as it has many wonderful treasures to see and lots of great things to do. Travelers and tourists will still spend money, why not keep the experience more authentic?

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How (not) to independently tour Machu Picchu.

So, you want to visit Machu Picchu yourself? There are several available options from all-inclusive tours to DIY hiking trips. The option I chose is somewhere in the middle. I handled all the arrangements myself, but my transportation was all diesel powered.

There’s a good reason that Machu Picchu stayed hidden for so many years. It’s located in a remote, nearly inaccessible area. If you are an avid hiker or have some spiritual need that you wish to fulfill, you might consider researching trekking along the Inca Trail to get to Machu Picchu. Otherwise, arranging transportation for yourself can be a pretty fun adventure.

The Train

Peru Rail operates service between Cusco (Poroy) and Machu Picchu (Aguas Calientes). There are 3 classes of service: Backpacker; well suited to the no-frills traveler, Vistadome; you get a car with windows in the ceiling and food/drink service are included and last is the Hiram Bingham service, which I think is for royalty and heads of state.

Train service is also provided between Ollantaytamba and Aguas Calientes with greater frequency and reduced cost.

What I did was find a shared taxi service from Cusco to Ollantaytamba. I overnighted in Ollantaytamba and caught a 5:30 AM train to Aguas Calientes. What I should have done was got myself all the way to Aguas Calientes and spent the night there. Once in Aguas Calientes it is necessary to buy your entrance pass for Machu Picchu (I’m fairly certain they aren’t available at the monument itself) and you need to purchase a bus ticket to go from Aguas Calientes to Machu Picchu. You can, of course, walk if you feel so inclined. Bus service begins at 5:00AM.

Guide books and articles I have read all write off both Ollantaytamba and Aguas Calientes as a horrible, but a necessary evil to getting to Machu Picchu. Despite the fact that they are complete tourist traps they still retain a “mountain town” character that I find charming.

There are several advantages to getting to Machu Picchu early in the morning. First is if you can manage to get to the top of Wayna (Huayna) Picchu before sunrise, you can get beautiful light for your photos. 2nd is that it gets a bit crowded later in the morning. I was there in the low season so the crowds were bearable, but I’m led to believe that from May – September there are often shoulder-shoulder people.

At the entrance, I was offered guide service, but my best negotiating couldn’t get the price below 100 soles (~$30USD) so I opted out…which was probably a wise choice as that left me free to climb Wayna Picchu and I can always read more about Machu Picchu on wikipedia.

For my return trip to Cusco I opted for Vistadome service on Peru Rail. This was quite possibly the worst thing I have endured in all of my travels, but that’s for another post.

If Arequipa was unimpressive, Cusco, in my opinion is down right revolting. There is some stunning architecture left over from the Spanish colonial days and the city is situated in a fairly gorgeous setting, but the ugly and soullessness far outweighs the beautiful. In the special white man tourist areas of town (Plaza de Armas and San Blas) the touts and hawkers are over-aggressive to the point that I began completely avoiding the area and it would appear that all of the eateries and hotels in these areas are owned by foreigners so the Cusquenos aren’t directly benefitting from the tourist trade.

Side Note – Cusco’s Flag:

Shortly after my arrival in Cusco and immediately after finding a place to store my luggage I set out to arrange transportation to Machu Picchu. I witnessed the beginning of some sort of protest march, but the first thing that I saw were people carrying the flag of Cusco and my immediate thoughts were “wow, a gay pride march here in Cusco. That’s pretty remarkable and surprisingly progressive.”

My mistake, sorry.

Oh….and despite what the last couple of posts may sound like, I really am enjoying my time. I’m just not much of a ‘city person’.

Arequipa, the White City
Arequipa is a popular tourist destination, second only to Cusco. It’s called the white city because many of its buildings are constructed of sillar, a white volcanic rock that is mined nearby. It’s a wonderful example of a Spanish colonial city and if it had been the first one I had been to, I would have probably been impressed. Jaded? Probably.

While I was impressed with the cleanliness of Arequipa and with the quality of my lodging, Arequipa didn’t really offer me too much more, granted, I didn’t give it much of a chance. There are some interesting things nearby such as the Colca Canyon; which is one of the deepest canyons in the world and home to the Andean Condor. There is also some world-class river rafting nearby. Perhaps I will have to give it more time on my return trip.

The most significant self-discovery of my trip so far came when I was hit up to donate to some organization that is trying to keep kids off drugs. A noble pursuit, sure, and also if a donation keeps someone from growing up to be a bus-robber or something, then it’s probably well worth whatever the donation is. I have a real problem with all of this though.

My first encounter with my feelings on the subject hit me on my ski trip to Kashmir. While I was in Delhi awaiting further transportation to the Kasmir Valley I took a bit of a tour of the old town. A rickshaw driver (pedaler?) took me to a Jain temple (Jainism is a Dharmic religion with many parallels in Hinduism). The walls of the temple were lined with gold, many of the accouterments of the building were made of gold. There was surely enough gold in this temple to feed several generations of underprivileged Jain children.

Not to get too deep into my own spiritual beliefs, suffice it to say that there was a time in my life where I believed that there was some nobility to eastern religions. That changed a bit when I learned that the Buddhists, Hindus…what have you, aren’t really much different than the Catholics, Protestants or whatever. When a Buddhist family has a sick child they can ask a holy man to pray for their sick child. Of course, these prayers will have a greater effect if accompanied with a little money. Wealthy families can, of course, pay more to the holy man, so wealthy children have a greater rate of survival (couldn’t have anything to do with greater access to medical care and proper nutrition could it?).

So, back to Arequipa. In Peru, and in fact in every Latin culture I can think of, the Catholic church is a powerful force and a very important part of daily life. The church obviously has access to vast amounts of money judging by all the wonderful churches that have been built. So, how is it that such a powerful force with such far reaching political and social influence allow children to end up as drug addicts in the first place? At the very least, the church could do something, ANYTHING to discourage procreation by people who lack the resources to properly care for their children.

It was with that thought that I had to tell the solicitor, “NO!!”.

And just now, I noticed my friend, Kimber’s status on facebook:

“True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar….it comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring.” ~ MLK “Beyond Vietnam” speech