Last Day in Peru

TUESDAY:

It's our last day in Peru, and it feels rather strange to consider the fact that in the next 24 hours I will be back in the United States surrounded by English-speaking folks. I have become accustom to the language barrier blocking small talk with waiters, grocery store clerks, and people on the street--will I remember how to properly converse without the existence of such a barrier?

Falsified Bread (Tuesday June 30, 2015)

In other news, our last museum tour was an assemblage of one of the best aspects of Peru: food. Museo de la Gastronomia is basically an entire building dedicated to the variety of cuisine Peru has to offer. Unfortunately, the realistic dish displays were made of inedible material.

Afterwards, we visited the Basilica Cathedral of Lima located in the Plaza Mayor of downtown Lima. I found the most interesting (and perhaps the most morbid, to some) section of the Cathedral the crypt, situated through a narrow staircase underneath the nave of the church. There were rows of unmarked skulls presented behind a glass window, as well as a deep trench filled with caskets a bit too minuscule for an adult body to fit in ... Eerie.

Baby Caskets at the Basilica Cathedral, Lima (Tuesday June 30, 2015)

Skulls at the Basilica Cathedral, Lima (Tuesday June 30, 2015)

Here is my final collection of Peru street photos. Tomorrow I will no longer have to listen to the conversations between cars, will no longer belong to the pack of too many humans fitting on too tiny sidewalks, and will no longer get to see the menu before I enter a restaurant. You will be missed, Peru.

Plaza in Lima (Tuesday June 30, 2015)

Shopping Streets of Lima (Tuesday June 30, 2015)

Ovalo Gutierrez, Mira Flores (Tuesday June 30, 2015) 

Streets of Mira Flores (Tuesday June 30, 2015)

Our Last Hostel, Mira Flores House (June 30, 2015)

 

Where Did the Month Go?

Figure 1: Day #1- Miraflores

It seems like yesterday I was excitedly writing "Peru Meeting!" on my calendar and anxiously waiting to hear what all we would be doing for the month of June. I would pretend to be really upset that I wouldn't be able to spend all summer with my friends in Florida or at home with my family working in a restaurant. As much as I miss them all, I knew and have now proved that this was the most exciting thing that could have happened this summer.

Figure 2: Miraflores

In a journal I wrote down things I wanted to remember like places we went and small occurrences. It started in January when I began preparing for this trip. Peru was the only thing that kept me sane throughout the tests and essays I had my second semester. I wrote a passage at the airport when we were sitting at the gate. Most of it was pure joy and disbelief that we were all actually following through with the plans.

One of the first pages has important streets written on it. This includes Arequipa, Arenales, Salaverry, and Cuba. Now, those are the first few in Lima that we needed to know in order to get back to the hotel, now there are so many I can't keep them straight. I have a receipt of "My First Peruvian Purchase," which was simply the drinkable yogurt Dr. Brown had talked about so much (I went on to buy a lot more of it). I also have my first public bus ticket taped in there. Its from our first day trip to Miraflores, which we will be back in tomorrow.

Figure 3: Graffiti

Mr. Taco, of course, made the journal. The ticket reads that my first meal at the stand was a Completo. Likewise, Nova Cafe is present on the next page. Numerous other restaurants were recorded, but my goodness, there is no way to remember them all.

Most of my writing the first week or so tracks my Spanish growth and getting accustomed to the city. I was aggravated that I couldn't understand people and think quickly enough to respond.

On one of the bus rides, an adorable elderly man offered me his seat when he was exiting the bus. He actually touched my arm to get my attention. This small little gesture  totally made my day and made me fall in love with Peru that much faster.

During our walks we saw a few protesters. All of them were peaceful and they seemed to be quite organized, with one person talking through a microphone or even an outdoor television set up. At one, while we were trying to decode the banners, a guy approached us and told us all about his beliefs and what he stood for. The problem was that it was all in Spanish, so I missed a huge portion of what he said.

At the zoo, we saw hundreds of school children who thought we were an extra exhibit. They loved trying to communicate in English and ended up taking pictures with us. I admit I felt a little bit famous.

Figure 4: Tiger at the zoo

These were just a few summaries from my notebook from earlier this month. All of these things feel as if they happened a year ago. Although I have an extra week or two in Peru after class ends, I am not looking forward to home at all. I am going to miss so much about this place, including the language, the people, the sights, and the sounds (which mostly consist of car alarms).

Weaving and Getting Ready to Head Home

Today was our last day in Cusco and we spent it doing what would have made me very upset when I was younger. We sat in a weaving class for 6 hours. But today was actually very enjoyable. I thought that we were going to sit through a long lecture and then weave for a little bit but we sat down for 3 hours before lunch and 3 hours after lunch weaving not stop (under supervision of course). We learned the traditional Inca way of weaving which is a long and tedious process. It took a while to figure out how to make even straight lines but eventually I was able to figure it out. I stuck to weaving straight lines because I wanted to finish so that I could take back what I made as gifts. I also lacked the skills to make very intricate patterns. Our instructors were very patient but very particular too. Mine wouldn't let me continue if the slightest thing was wrong. She made me correct it and start from where I messed up. That really showed the pride that the Andean weavers had in their work. For them, weaving was a way of life. It is as essential as breathing and it left a big impact on me. 

As we get ready to head back to Lima, I am reflective my of time in Cusco, Ollaytantambo, and Machu Picchu. These locations have brought many highs and many lows but I'm so thankful for every moment on this trip (well almost. The stomach sickness was pretty rough). 

This is what I made today 

Spinning Yarn Spinning Stomach

SUNDAY:

It's our last day in Cusco, and we're celebrating that solemn reality with a weaving class at El Centro de Textiles Tradicionales de Cusco.

...Well, some of us are.

Yogurt Helps the Sickly, Right? (Sunday June 28, 2015)

Michael and Savannah have already fallen ill this trip, so I suppose it's only fair that some pesky contagion attack my own immune system before heading back to the United States (equality can be a real bummer sometimes). I was able to get through the first half of the weaving class, but had to head back to the hotel after our lunch break. This ailment does, however, allow me some time to write this blog and further study the research for my final essay.

Weaving Techniques (Sunday June 28, 2015)

For the time I was present during the class, I found weaving to be difficult. One may be able to point this out by simply examining the intricate designs (including the not-so-hidden mathematical patterns) woven in traditional Peruvian textiles, but having to sit down and twiddle your own fingers into the correct yarn apertures while concentrating on not dropping the wooden wedge that separates strings of color while also trying to ignore the fact that you really need to use the bathroom makes one realize how labor intensive and attention-consuming the Peruvian weaving tradition is.

On a different note, Savannah and I went shopping for souvenirs and the like yesterday evening and I discovered bargaining to be quite enjoyable. I don't know of the median prices for most of the store items here, so I never really know if I'm getting ripped off or not, but being able to knock off two or three soles convinces me of a semi-self-controlled barter. There was this one particular wind chime I purchased depicting a bird, feline, and serpent which the pre-Colombian cultures used as motifs in their textiles and pottery to represent the heavens, the earth, and the underworld, respectively. I believe everyone should apply knowledge of ancient cultures to their prospective wind chime choices.

Peruvian Shopping Spree (Sunday June 28, 2015)

Symbolic Wind Chime, My Personal Favorite (Sunday June 28, 2015)

  

Museo de Arte Precolombino

Today I visited two museums that I missed last week due to being sick.

The first was the Museo Inka. This one was quite large but full of information. My favorite part was being able to look at a miniature version of what Machu Picchu looked like when it was in use. I also really enjoyed how they laid out all the textile patterns and their descriptions. In one part of the museum, they compared the foods individual societies harvested based on the region that they lived. It's a shame I couldn't take pictures because Their was a ton of interesting visuals.


The second museum was the Museo de Arte Precolombino. This one might be be my favorite of all that we have been to. It might be because of the perfect organization or the captivating descriptions. I loved it. Two of the sections interested me most and believe it is due to the fact that they were so unique from the typical things we have been seeing and learning about. The first was the Chimu wooden sculptures.

I think I may have staring have at stone for too long because the wood pieces were gorgeous to me. They clearly show the age of the art and have a deep layer of culture that clearly expresses the artists life. In [Figure 1], you can see that time has begun to split this sculpture. This is the result of an extended amount of time in dry conditions.

Figure 1

Most of these pieces were created for religious purposes [Figure 2 &3]. They were carved with a great deal of precision. The artists were focused on using these for ceremonial and sacrificial purposes, keeping the details simple and focused on the point.

Figure 2

Figure 3

[Figure 4] shows examples of miniature work. These pieces were carefully carved in order to depict the desired structure of each figure. Others serve as self-portraits [Figure 5]. Although to today's standards might not be considered 'beautiful,' we can safely assume that they were seen as semi-perfect figurines somewhere within the time period of 1300 to 1532 A.D.

Figure 4

Figure 5

The second group of art that caught my attention was the Nasca. These people did not focus on shapes. Instead, their use of paint and color makes them stand out among others. The forms of the pottery are not too exciting, but instead, the artist used repetition in color patterns to display his artistic ability in [Figure 6 & 7].

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

[Figure 8] shows two bowls pained into trophy heads. Here you can see in the faces' expression that war is a serious and sometimes cruel occurrence.









The next two pieces, [Figure 9 & 10], demonstrate how intricate the Nasca art can be. Each of these have very fine lines that were done with a steady hand. the repetition gives each bowl a sense of balance. The people experimented with pattern and consistency in a large portion of their artwork [Figure 11, 12, &13]

Figure 9

Figure 10

Figure 11

Figure 12

Figure 13

In [Figure 14], you can see how much they focused on paint rather than the shape of the ceramic. The fish exists solely in color and has almost nothing to do with the roundness of the bowl other than a 180 degree rotation and slight movement. This idea is repeated in [Figure 15]. The peppers are either transitional or a combination of transitional and reflective. The shape of each bowl has very little to do with the paint.

Figure 14

Figure 15

In [Figure 16, 17, & 18], you can clearly see the detail that goes into some of the Nasca ceramics. The control and precision is evident in the tight details of the artwork.

Figure 16

Figure 17

Figure 18

Saksaywaman

On Wednesday, we went to the Inca fortress called Saksaywaman. It sits on a mountain above Cusco. The Inti Raymi festival was still going on and Saksaywaman is a large component of the festival so our access to some places was limited but we still saw some really cool things at the site.

The stones at Saksaywaman are enormous. They were used to construct the foundation and walls for the fortress. One of the stones is 28 feet tall and weighs over 30 tons. Its amazing to see stones like that because the Incas had to move those stones and place them on top of one another. I was not very familiar with the site before I went so when I got back to my hotel, I read more about Saksaywaman in this article. http://www.ancient-origins.net/ancient-places-americas/unravelling-mystery-behind-megalithic-stone-walls-saksaywaman-001470

                                                                        

                                                               Cusco from Saksaywaman

As far as my illness, I believe that I am almost completely better so that's a plus! Now lets see how well I can weave (we have a weaving class tomorrow).

A View of a Lifetime

Our second day at Machu Picchu began very differently than our first. The first day was clear and you could see almost everything as we climbed up the mountain in the us. The guy I was sitting next to was just excited as I was, and we had a half Spanish, half gesture conversation the whole twenty five minute ride. Everyone was in great spirits.

The second day was not so. I know that I personally was more tired from waking up at four o'clock the second day in a row and wanted only to get to the top, sit, and enjoy the beautiful sunrise. But even before we got to the bus stop we could see how foggy it was. The crowd was smaller due to the fact that it was not exactly the winter solstice anymore, and our excitement, although still present, did not compare to the day before.

Figure 1

At the top, after we rounded the corner and were expecting a spectacular view like the day before, I was a little bit confused. You could see most of the ruins below, but Huyna Picchu and the other surrounding mountains were completely absent. All you could see was white.

Figure 2

As the sun rose, the fog lifted, and parts of the mountains reemerged. At this point, things were more extraordinary than the day. I think that in the presence of clouds, you could more easily see the size and distance of the peaks.

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Following another morning of class and analyzing the Incan architecture, we were assigned the task of hiking up Huyna Picchu [Figure 8] to get some data and a way point on the GPS. I was not exactly all that excited about the climb, to tell you the truth. But I knew the sight would be breathtaking, plus I didn't really have a choice.

The trail does this awful thing where at the beginning, you go down hill. Down stairs, then down an decline, then down some more stairs, and then you look up and see the angle of the rock that you now have to walk up. Stairs upon stairs are stacked so high you lose sight of them. I did my best not to think about how many there were. We had to stop a few times because we got stuck behind groups.

I was very impressed by the amount of elderly people we saw on this hike. They moved slowly, but still conquered thing that I, as a nineteen year old, had difficultly with. 

Figure 9

Figure 10

Figure 11

The top of Huyna Picchu was packed. There were so many people that you really couldn't move all that much. Some were frustrated with the fact that people were just chilling, but there was not way you could just take a glance around and make your way down again. It was a sight you had to take you time to absorb. 

Figure 12

Figure 13

Figure 14

The way back down was much easier obviously, but there were some steep points where Micheal and I were sliding down on our butts, as Alice took off ahead of us. It is certainly a sight I would hike to see again.