Wow how time has flown by!
We arrived home from Peru safe and sound, if a bit tired and then were thrown into the whirlwind of wedding preparations.
Our wedding was truly magical, we couldn't have asked for anything better! The day was hot and sunny! yes in June in Newfoundland! I was worried guests might get drizzled on but they got sunburns instead!
At the ceremony there was an upside down rainbow and we had butterflies circling us!
Dinner for family at India Gate was exquisite and the reception was so much fun! We were brought into the hall by belly dancers and that started a variety show for the night. Biggest thanks to those who performed it made it so special!
After the wedding there was lots of socializing and we haven't really stopped since. On Tuesday we're heading to Ottawa region for two weeks before school starts in September.
I'm going to upload a few pictures from the trip and our wedding. Hope you like them!
Cheers
Evelyn
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Monday, May 25, 2009
will up date more at home
hola!
with only 2 hours to our airport taxi i´ll make this quick and write more when I get home. I¨ll supplement with pictures then too!
we´ve spent a relaxing few days in miraflores hanging out at the pacific side parks.
here are a few one liner memories to leave you with for now -
...drinking light beer in the park by the pacific...
...watching hanggilders from the cliffside mall in miraflores...
... trying to keep track of all the different dog breeds I¨ve seen in Peru - and then giving up- lots of dogs!...
... speaking of dogs- a great dane as street dog in nazca -yikes!
... our house stay mother on a Lake Tititcaca island telling us she had 3 sons but thought ninas (daughters) would be better b/c they can knit....
... her great food!...
...the oasis in the colca canyon! paradise!
... little girls playing tag on taquille Island in Lake T and using Peter to hide behind! we bought bracelets from them...
...fresh Lake T trout...
.... fruit stands on the streets...
...our colca canyon guide picking seemingly ¨random¨ herbs for teas....
... altitude sickness yet again...
... posing with fancy dressed up llamas at our highest point 4900 meters!....
and soooo much more
off to enjoy our last hour or so here before 24 in airports...
ciao!
Evelyn
with only 2 hours to our airport taxi i´ll make this quick and write more when I get home. I¨ll supplement with pictures then too!
we´ve spent a relaxing few days in miraflores hanging out at the pacific side parks.
here are a few one liner memories to leave you with for now -
...drinking light beer in the park by the pacific...
...watching hanggilders from the cliffside mall in miraflores...
... trying to keep track of all the different dog breeds I¨ve seen in Peru - and then giving up- lots of dogs!...
... speaking of dogs- a great dane as street dog in nazca -yikes!
... our house stay mother on a Lake Tititcaca island telling us she had 3 sons but thought ninas (daughters) would be better b/c they can knit....
... her great food!...
...the oasis in the colca canyon! paradise!
... little girls playing tag on taquille Island in Lake T and using Peter to hide behind! we bought bracelets from them...
...fresh Lake T trout...
.... fruit stands on the streets...
...our colca canyon guide picking seemingly ¨random¨ herbs for teas....
... altitude sickness yet again...
... posing with fancy dressed up llamas at our highest point 4900 meters!....
and soooo much more
off to enjoy our last hour or so here before 24 in airports...
ciao!
Evelyn
Last Post Before Leaving...
So, this will be my (Peter´s) last blog post before we get home to our cozy house, cats, and convenient high-speed connection...
So last I posted was in Nasca, I think... I´ll start from there... we DID go to the Necropolis, and it was cool... a desert wasteland that was used to bury mummies and the like from the ´pre-incan´people called (by us), the Nazca... Since the tombs had been severely looted, there was a time, not too long ago, when scores and scores of bones and mummies were just scattered about... At this point, most have been collected and assembled in the various excavated tombs which we were able to walk amongs and inspect, but there was still alot of skeletal debris floating around... for example, femurs and skulls were to be seen out on the desert sands not 30 feet from our clearly delineated walkway, and more spooky still, the wind had a funny way of making sure that bits of... stuff... found its way directly into our path... if this sounds ghoulish, I guess it was, sortof, but there was nothing nasty about this place... it was peacefull, and the mummies we saw were in their ´homes´, as it were... Also, they had dreadlocks... BIG dreadlocks, like six feet or more, even if the people were only 4 or five feet tall... it was how the wise-men and Ssaman´s were distinguished...
So we got up very early the next morning to get the first flight out over the lines, but there was a fog... as a result, it looked like we werent going to get a chance to see them. At the last minute, however, the OK was given, and we were whisked out to the Nazca Airport and into a Cesna... Off we went... Of all this little plane´s occupants, it fell to me to nearly vomit from the pilot´s sheer banking maneuvers... I held it in, though...
But the lines... they were amazing... pictures of funny little men, spirals, birds, lizards, whales, monkeys, diembodied hands and more, writ LARGE upon the desert amidst the psychedelic fingerprints of a dried up flood-plane... there were several very clear, full patterns, and many, many more partial ones... And amidst all of this, huge, HUGE triangles, perfectly delineated, of land that had been seemingly flattened, or raised... SO the people who think these were alien landing craft at least have something reasonably like a runway (many actually) to support their claims...
It was wild, and Ev will fill you in on her side of the experience, I´m sure, in addition to providing some of our photos of this, and the, uh... necropolis...
This is getting to be a large post... We took a bus once more to Lima, and this time we stayed by the coast, in the Miraflora area... Honestly, it was a bit of a more low-key few days... our main points of interest were: going to see the new Star Trek movie at the cliffside mall, Trying (me) to no avail to go paragliding, having (and falling in love with) the local raw-fish delicacy cebiche, and taking a trip to the zoo, which like all zoos was a combination of cool (the animals), and appalling (the prison like conditions). I think if given the final say in the matter, I would opt to eliminate zoos... don´t much like the way humans imagine their relation to other beings to be, really, but hey, who needs this blog to go political? Subject dropped...
So we fly in a few hours, and I must mention as a last note that we spent a good bit of time in ´the park of love´, which is a nice little cliffside park, done up in the style of the amazing spanish architect, Antoni Gaudi, thathas a neat statue of a couple kissing... I wholeheartedly approve of monuments to Love... there are too few in the North American cities I´ve been to... It was romantic...
So that´s all from me for now...
Ciao,
-Peter
So last I posted was in Nasca, I think... I´ll start from there... we DID go to the Necropolis, and it was cool... a desert wasteland that was used to bury mummies and the like from the ´pre-incan´people called (by us), the Nazca... Since the tombs had been severely looted, there was a time, not too long ago, when scores and scores of bones and mummies were just scattered about... At this point, most have been collected and assembled in the various excavated tombs which we were able to walk amongs and inspect, but there was still alot of skeletal debris floating around... for example, femurs and skulls were to be seen out on the desert sands not 30 feet from our clearly delineated walkway, and more spooky still, the wind had a funny way of making sure that bits of... stuff... found its way directly into our path... if this sounds ghoulish, I guess it was, sortof, but there was nothing nasty about this place... it was peacefull, and the mummies we saw were in their ´homes´, as it were... Also, they had dreadlocks... BIG dreadlocks, like six feet or more, even if the people were only 4 or five feet tall... it was how the wise-men and Ssaman´s were distinguished...
So we got up very early the next morning to get the first flight out over the lines, but there was a fog... as a result, it looked like we werent going to get a chance to see them. At the last minute, however, the OK was given, and we were whisked out to the Nazca Airport and into a Cesna... Off we went... Of all this little plane´s occupants, it fell to me to nearly vomit from the pilot´s sheer banking maneuvers... I held it in, though...
But the lines... they were amazing... pictures of funny little men, spirals, birds, lizards, whales, monkeys, diembodied hands and more, writ LARGE upon the desert amidst the psychedelic fingerprints of a dried up flood-plane... there were several very clear, full patterns, and many, many more partial ones... And amidst all of this, huge, HUGE triangles, perfectly delineated, of land that had been seemingly flattened, or raised... SO the people who think these were alien landing craft at least have something reasonably like a runway (many actually) to support their claims...
It was wild, and Ev will fill you in on her side of the experience, I´m sure, in addition to providing some of our photos of this, and the, uh... necropolis...
This is getting to be a large post... We took a bus once more to Lima, and this time we stayed by the coast, in the Miraflora area... Honestly, it was a bit of a more low-key few days... our main points of interest were: going to see the new Star Trek movie at the cliffside mall, Trying (me) to no avail to go paragliding, having (and falling in love with) the local raw-fish delicacy cebiche, and taking a trip to the zoo, which like all zoos was a combination of cool (the animals), and appalling (the prison like conditions). I think if given the final say in the matter, I would opt to eliminate zoos... don´t much like the way humans imagine their relation to other beings to be, really, but hey, who needs this blog to go political? Subject dropped...
So we fly in a few hours, and I must mention as a last note that we spent a good bit of time in ´the park of love´, which is a nice little cliffside park, done up in the style of the amazing spanish architect, Antoni Gaudi, thathas a neat statue of a couple kissing... I wholeheartedly approve of monuments to Love... there are too few in the North American cities I´ve been to... It was romantic...
So that´s all from me for now...
Ciao,
-Peter
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Nazca Update
Well... We just arrived in Nazca after three days in the Colca Canyon. The trip was fantastic, only being slightly marred by a sociopathic American backpacker who seemed to take great pleasure in kicking puppies... As you will see from the photo´s the canyon was really like a great big valley with huge mountains on every side. On the first day, we descended for 4 hours, on the second we walked for 4 hours and on the morning of the 3rd we ascended for about 3 hours. Evelyn hired a Mule to ferry her up. It was most amusing. Our guide was a nice girl from the local town of Cabanaconda and she showed us numerous interesting things like medicinal plant, pre-inca storehouses and the like... She gave us some lightly fermented Chicha, which is a wheat beer that they make... tasty. There was also a museum of local artifacts including enormous blocks of natural salt, slingshots, looms, and utility pouches made of Bull testicles... In fact the tip bag was just such a ´sack´... we put a few Soles into the bull balls in gratitude and headed on our trek...
It´s closing in on the last leg of our Journey. In Nasca we will check out an ancient necropolis, and then fly over the Nazca lines tommorow morning... Then at last to Lima, to relax in the Posh neighbourhood of Miraflora before flying back to our North Atlantic Island...
I think Ev will be adding photos, and hopefully we´ll get that video working...
-Pete
It´s closing in on the last leg of our Journey. In Nasca we will check out an ancient necropolis, and then fly over the Nazca lines tommorow morning... Then at last to Lima, to relax in the Posh neighbourhood of Miraflora before flying back to our North Atlantic Island...
I think Ev will be adding photos, and hopefully we´ll get that video working...
-Pete
Sunday, May 17, 2009
happy llama
*no video yet... well try later*
We saw this young llama among a flock of sheep happily bouncing about. This was in the mountains around cuzco. I thought you would like to see this.
Apparently llama is pronouced Jama in Spanish. It means something along the lines of fire breathing dragon as, like camels, Llamas spit, but unlike camels their spit burns!
---
Evelyn has stepped out while the video uploads, so I thought Id add a few words... Arequippa is gorgeous... the wide streets, proliferation of big beautiful, colonial buildings, great food (superb Felafel), and oodles of bookstores, make it the place for me! If I had to live in Peru, this would be where. Tommorow we head to the Colca canyon for a 3 day trek, after which we will take the red-eye bus to Nasca. In Nasca, we plan to spend a day and check out the Nasca lines... enormous geomantic designs writ large upon the land for hundreds of hundreds of miles. There are monkeys, condors and other creatures depicted, so large they can only be seen from the air... Its pretty exciting... Finally Ill be able to contact the mother ship and get off this rock... wait, did I say that out loud!? :)
Video is taking forever to upload... might have to cancel it for now and post later... :(
Lunch calls...
Arequipa
the El Misty volcano behind the cathedral in the main plaza
I dropped my glasses in the stumbling around in the dark during a noisy hostel night. Thanks for the pocket duct tape Maureen!
we found what we think are quail eggs at the grocery store. cute and tasty!
feeding pigeons in the main plaza
our hostel was two blocks from the optical district, they just reshaped my lens into new $16 frames! took 30 mins - i can see again!Our trip to Lake Titicaca
us in traditional Amantani clothes at the dance
our lunch - you guessed it! papa potato
the bed on reeds in the mud hut with painted walls
us on a big reed boat
on the floating island
Hola
We´re now in Arequipa, Peru´s second largest city and at a reasonable altitude of 2300m instead of 4000! I am happy to breath a higher oxygen content and my brain is starting to work again. By the end of two weeks at altitude I was getting altitude alzheimers and forgetting things and getting spacey. I´ve learned on this trip that I am a sea level girl happily!
Arequipa is known as the white city as the buildings are made from a volacanic material which is white. Its lovely here and feels very european in the centre. Although there are 3/4 of a million people here the centre is quite managable. Yesterday we sat on the plaza with coffee and people watched and ooed and awed over the volcano looming over the cathedral.
We also feed the pigeons in the square which seems to be a local pasttime.
We only did one touristy thing yesterday which was quite worthwhile - we went to see the Ice Princess Juanita. Juanita is an Incan mummy scarificed to a volcano 500 years ago and discovered 10 years ago. At the university here they run a very good small museum with a film and student tour. It was amazingly intersting. I´d like to write more but there is only one computer in the hostel and there is a line up.
All for now!
ciao
Evelyn
We´re now in Arequipa, Peru´s second largest city and at a reasonable altitude of 2300m instead of 4000! I am happy to breath a higher oxygen content and my brain is starting to work again. By the end of two weeks at altitude I was getting altitude alzheimers and forgetting things and getting spacey. I´ve learned on this trip that I am a sea level girl happily!
Arequipa is known as the white city as the buildings are made from a volacanic material which is white. Its lovely here and feels very european in the centre. Although there are 3/4 of a million people here the centre is quite managable. Yesterday we sat on the plaza with coffee and people watched and ooed and awed over the volcano looming over the cathedral.
We also feed the pigeons in the square which seems to be a local pasttime.
We only did one touristy thing yesterday which was quite worthwhile - we went to see the Ice Princess Juanita. Juanita is an Incan mummy scarificed to a volcano 500 years ago and discovered 10 years ago. At the university here they run a very good small museum with a film and student tour. It was amazingly intersting. I´d like to write more but there is only one computer in the hostel and there is a line up.
All for now!
ciao
Evelyn
Friday, May 15, 2009
Titicaca. Say it. Say it again. Snickering like a 7 year old boy, eh? We managed to avoid all these jokes during our jaunt out on the lake. It´s incredible really... we took a tour out to the islands that lasted two days and one night. The first place we visited, although only for an hour or so was one of the floating Islands of Uros. So get this, this community lives on about 70 floating Islands in the reeds in one particular area of the lake... they build the islands out of reeds, build their houses out of reeds, eat the reeds, and make crafts with them... They also build these great big canoes with reeds. I am not sure these are the same reeds used to build the boat that Thor Heyerthal used to cross the atlantic in the 50´s, but it was pretty rad, anyhow. There were chickens, ducks, cats, and even an ibis on the island we visited. The thing that haunts me the most about this is the thought of the inner-life of such a community... I mean, we all know how tumultuous a small town or city is... all the secrets below the surface... the love triangles, the murders, the miracles, and the mysteries... I cannot help but be awed by a community that lives entirely on floating islands which would vanish if they did, and to think of all the things we will never know about their secret lives... wild!
And then we went to the Island of Amantani, where we stayed overnight in the home of a lovely couple named Flora and Salvatore... we did the requisite mountain climb up to the Island´s shrine (actually one of the TWO shrines) to the Pacha Tata, or Father Earth... Later in the evening we were cajoled into the requisite tourist ritual of dressing up in traditional garb (which looked ridiculous on us) and dancing to folk music... not bad fun, in the end... Gotta wonder who was the entertainment and who the entertainer, though! The stars were incredible... vivid and bright, and scattered across the sky... also some familiar constellations in unfamiliar positions (Orion on it´s side, for example). I managed to wow some of the local kids with sleight of hand, too!
On the next day (yesterday), we visited Tequile Island, and toured about it before having a fine lunch of fresh trout... Then back via boat to Puno, where we arranged various things, did various errands and prepared for the next leg of our journey: to Arequipa and the worlds deepest canyons. Our bus leaves at 3:00 and I guess if we can we are going to go visit the 19th century steamboat that they have here in Puno...
I should mention another cool thing we saw on the way to Puno from Cuzco was the museum in Pukara. There was a civilization here that may have been the Mother Civilization of the Incas... they had lots of intricate carvings and statues... in particular was ´the Great Head Cutter´; an eerie fellow with a collection of severed heads from his various sacrificial victims.... it was pretty spooky, but neat nonetheless...
-Peter out!
And then we went to the Island of Amantani, where we stayed overnight in the home of a lovely couple named Flora and Salvatore... we did the requisite mountain climb up to the Island´s shrine (actually one of the TWO shrines) to the Pacha Tata, or Father Earth... Later in the evening we were cajoled into the requisite tourist ritual of dressing up in traditional garb (which looked ridiculous on us) and dancing to folk music... not bad fun, in the end... Gotta wonder who was the entertainment and who the entertainer, though! The stars were incredible... vivid and bright, and scattered across the sky... also some familiar constellations in unfamiliar positions (Orion on it´s side, for example). I managed to wow some of the local kids with sleight of hand, too!
On the next day (yesterday), we visited Tequile Island, and toured about it before having a fine lunch of fresh trout... Then back via boat to Puno, where we arranged various things, did various errands and prepared for the next leg of our journey: to Arequipa and the worlds deepest canyons. Our bus leaves at 3:00 and I guess if we can we are going to go visit the 19th century steamboat that they have here in Puno...
I should mention another cool thing we saw on the way to Puno from Cuzco was the museum in Pukara. There was a civilization here that may have been the Mother Civilization of the Incas... they had lots of intricate carvings and statues... in particular was ´the Great Head Cutter´; an eerie fellow with a collection of severed heads from his various sacrificial victims.... it was pretty spooky, but neat nonetheless...
-Peter out!
Sunday, May 10, 2009
ciao cuzco, hola puno
Hola!
we´re off to Puno by Lake Tititcaca tomorrow. We are taking a tourist bus called the Inka Express which stops at ruins and includes taxi and lunch. It should be fun with an english tour guide.
Puno is again higher than Cuzo but I think we´re learning to deal with altitude.
Today we hiked from a ruin 10 km outside the city and saw two others on the way ¨home¨. We also met a German girl who was told about another cave complex off the main path so the three of us went together for safety - of course it was fine. Today was sunday and many of the cuzco families went up into the hillsides with tents and socceer balls to relax so it was a good day to hike. We also walked through a eycalptus forest and wandered the countryside. It was a wonderful walk.
We took a local bus to the destination and walked back, so the bus took us up to the highest point and we walked down to the city. The bus was very funny and very crowded. We got around a random guy on the street who wanted to charge us double the price. He was waiting on the corner with no car in sight! we found the bus station and we got seats but once they were all full they simply started letting more and more people in from the street. Peter was kind enough to give up his seat for an elderly Quechua woman. But then more people poured into the bus and it was packed to the gills! another more elderly Quechua woman stood between my legs and the seat in front of us and half out the window. I couldn´t move to give her my seat so eventually she just sat in my lap and chatted away to me! of course we couldn´t understand each other but... hey! both ladies had confetti in their hair and a strand of blue in their braids. She luckily got my seat after we got off at the top of the mountain to walk down. The bus ride was completed with a guy selling little chocolate bars. He gave one to everyone and anyone who didn´t eat them right away gave them back and he left the bus! then came the 80s music with the memorable Ghostbusters theme - haha!
There has been a concert going on in the middle of town since this afternoon and it is now 8pm. I think it started in the late morning before we left, it is certainly epic!
We also went down and said good bye to our juggling friend in the square this evening.
I am off to pack bags for an early morning start.
Ciao for now!
please look past the pictures and read peter´s post about MP.
Evelyn
we´re off to Puno by Lake Tititcaca tomorrow. We are taking a tourist bus called the Inka Express which stops at ruins and includes taxi and lunch. It should be fun with an english tour guide.
Puno is again higher than Cuzo but I think we´re learning to deal with altitude.
Today we hiked from a ruin 10 km outside the city and saw two others on the way ¨home¨. We also met a German girl who was told about another cave complex off the main path so the three of us went together for safety - of course it was fine. Today was sunday and many of the cuzco families went up into the hillsides with tents and socceer balls to relax so it was a good day to hike. We also walked through a eycalptus forest and wandered the countryside. It was a wonderful walk.
We took a local bus to the destination and walked back, so the bus took us up to the highest point and we walked down to the city. The bus was very funny and very crowded. We got around a random guy on the street who wanted to charge us double the price. He was waiting on the corner with no car in sight! we found the bus station and we got seats but once they were all full they simply started letting more and more people in from the street. Peter was kind enough to give up his seat for an elderly Quechua woman. But then more people poured into the bus and it was packed to the gills! another more elderly Quechua woman stood between my legs and the seat in front of us and half out the window. I couldn´t move to give her my seat so eventually she just sat in my lap and chatted away to me! of course we couldn´t understand each other but... hey! both ladies had confetti in their hair and a strand of blue in their braids. She luckily got my seat after we got off at the top of the mountain to walk down. The bus ride was completed with a guy selling little chocolate bars. He gave one to everyone and anyone who didn´t eat them right away gave them back and he left the bus! then came the 80s music with the memorable Ghostbusters theme - haha!
There has been a concert going on in the middle of town since this afternoon and it is now 8pm. I think it started in the late morning before we left, it is certainly epic!
We also went down and said good bye to our juggling friend in the square this evening.
I am off to pack bags for an early morning start.
Ciao for now!
please look past the pictures and read peter´s post about MP.
Evelyn
cuzco pictures
festival of the cross in Cuzco
the dog which stole peter´s juggling ball in the plaza- Evelyn and this boy chased it around to get the ball. very happy dog!
peter juggling in the plaza san blas
el gato at our hostel
the view from our hosteltrying to put up some photos
early morning llama traffic jam at MP
orchid on Waynhu Picchu
the classic shot!
me with little llama
us at MP!Machu Picchu Indeed!
Well, Pete here again. I must put in my two cents worth about the trip to Machu Picchu... It was good to get on a train again, and the couple from Toronto were very cool. Pharmacists. Anyhow, I tried out a fairly new peice of card material which involves having a person shuffle a deck, and then taking about 5-7 minutes to memorize the order, position, and value of every card in it. NO TRICK... it´s an old vaudeville technique that Simonides would be proud of! They liked it, and we became friends... The next day we got up at about 4:30 in order to be in line for the first bus to the ruins. We made the second. There is quite a lineup for this experience as only the first 400 visitors or so get the chance to climb up the mountain, Waynu Picchu. Anyhow, I got the tickets for this, and Ev and I perused the foggy, exquisite ruins for several hours, stopping for a snack on an old rock overlooking a precipitous and spectacular canyon, before I embarked by myself on the arduous trek up and around this mountain. The Llamas in the ruins were of particular interest to Ev, and itr was clear that some prize specimens had been selected for the honor of grazing aesthetically about in the Lost City. Then I got to climb the mountain. It was very tough. Quicker than a jaunt around Gross Morne, but steeper, and with many many many more uphill stairs... I mean, one MUST admire the dedication that it takes to build a complete 3 hour circuit of stone steps around a steep, jutting rock like this, and to cap it with lookouts and terraces... wonderful. Our Ozzie friend, Steven, remarked that the Bandwidth of these Incans must have been very narrow, and focused to a degree that our own modern-postmodern world in all of it´s lateralizations simply cannot even comprehend... most remarkable, and stirring... I continued my tradition of juggling in odd places, so now I have juggled (amongst other places) at Waynu Picchu, at the home of Philo T Farnsworth (inventor of the Farnsworth Fusor; which became the Television), Signal Hill, Cape Spear, Grosse Morne (of Course), and the Neolithic mounds of the Bruin-a-Boyne Valley in Ireland. Oh, and also for the Statue of the Virgin Mary in the plaza of Notre-Dame cathedral, who features in a fabulous peice of folklore known as Le Jongleur De Notre Dame, wherein a juggler´s efforts bring her to life. Anyhow, back to Machu Picchu. I also left a peice of corral on top of the mountain (sure to confuse future geologists) that we picked up from the beaches of the Northern Peninsula by LÁnse Aux Meadows, thus rather oddly connecting the world of Leif Erickson´s Vinland, with the Incan civilization... Anyhow...The cost of this particular jaunt to Machu Picchu was quite a bit, about $70 each... the Peruvian commision in charge of it knows very well the draw that this place has, and so we decided to invest the gift that Puppa D gave us into this, as well as into the train and accomodations that got us, and sustained us there. So big thank you for this gift of spectacular meaning and memory, and we will be sure to share photos once we either get home, or crack the techno-code for uploading directly from here.
Oh, and I just read David Abram´s The Spell of the Sensuous, and must say that it is one of the most truly brilliant and valuable books I have ever encountered... It sits alongside Dame Yate´s Art of Memory, as true keys to how we think and who we be... So, enough rambling from me... love to you all!
-Peter
Oh, and I just read David Abram´s The Spell of the Sensuous, and must say that it is one of the most truly brilliant and valuable books I have ever encountered... It sits alongside Dame Yate´s Art of Memory, as true keys to how we think and who we be... So, enough rambling from me... love to you all!
-Peter
Friday, May 8, 2009
wow! MP!
Hola
we´re back in cuzco from Macchu Picchu and it was amazing! the town near by was a total tourist town but the site was incredible!
Peter even climbed Waynu Picchu and loved it, tho it was very exhausting.
while he climbed I hung out with the resident llamas and wandered around a bit more. I didn´t do the climb as apparently there are alot of sheer cliffs and i´m a bit afraid of heights.
On Tuesday we went to a little town in the Sacred Valley called Ollantaytambo and went to the very impressive ruins there. The INka really had urban planning down. On one hillside they had the religous area which are the ruins we visit today. then in the valley between the hills they had the village living space and agricultural areas then on the other hillside they stored food. We took a collectivo taxi to the village and tho I swear I had been clear that it was 15 soles por dos (for two) it suddenly became 15 each when we arrived. oh well! i´m just learning to bargain here. We went to the market in Ollantaytambo and listened to a blind harpist. That night we meet an international couple (oz-finland) who were traveling for 5 months in South America (SA). They were a blast and we played the frog game that was in our hostel. There is a golden frog on a stand with holes around it and a drawer underneath. You attempt to toss golden coins into the frogs mouth and or other holes. We almost won but not quite!
The next morning we climbed the hill with the food storage areas and hung out up there for a while. The village was really neat with water diverted from the river to run through the streets and Inka type houses and people leading their cows and sheep around. We discovered a local cheese which is full of whey and kind of like feta but not crumbly.
That afternoon we took the train to Agua Calientes (hot water- there are hot springs but they aren´t upkept). This is the town for Machu Picchu (MP) and the only way in is to either trek for a fe wdays or take the train. On the train we met a Canadian couple from London Ontario and went for pisco sours with them. Later we went out for the menu touristica (set menu) and had grilled alpaca - quite good. We were joined by an older couple from Costa Rica. Sylvia used to be a pianist but she now runs a craft colelctive in costa rica with her own designs which was really neat.
Okay I have to change rooms. More about MP coming up! stay tuned!
we´re back in cuzco from Macchu Picchu and it was amazing! the town near by was a total tourist town but the site was incredible!
Peter even climbed Waynu Picchu and loved it, tho it was very exhausting.
while he climbed I hung out with the resident llamas and wandered around a bit more. I didn´t do the climb as apparently there are alot of sheer cliffs and i´m a bit afraid of heights.
On Tuesday we went to a little town in the Sacred Valley called Ollantaytambo and went to the very impressive ruins there. The INka really had urban planning down. On one hillside they had the religous area which are the ruins we visit today. then in the valley between the hills they had the village living space and agricultural areas then on the other hillside they stored food. We took a collectivo taxi to the village and tho I swear I had been clear that it was 15 soles por dos (for two) it suddenly became 15 each when we arrived. oh well! i´m just learning to bargain here. We went to the market in Ollantaytambo and listened to a blind harpist. That night we meet an international couple (oz-finland) who were traveling for 5 months in South America (SA). They were a blast and we played the frog game that was in our hostel. There is a golden frog on a stand with holes around it and a drawer underneath. You attempt to toss golden coins into the frogs mouth and or other holes. We almost won but not quite!
The next morning we climbed the hill with the food storage areas and hung out up there for a while. The village was really neat with water diverted from the river to run through the streets and Inka type houses and people leading their cows and sheep around. We discovered a local cheese which is full of whey and kind of like feta but not crumbly.
That afternoon we took the train to Agua Calientes (hot water- there are hot springs but they aren´t upkept). This is the town for Machu Picchu (MP) and the only way in is to either trek for a fe wdays or take the train. On the train we met a Canadian couple from London Ontario and went for pisco sours with them. Later we went out for the menu touristica (set menu) and had grilled alpaca - quite good. We were joined by an older couple from Costa Rica. Sylvia used to be a pianist but she now runs a craft colelctive in costa rica with her own designs which was really neat.
Okay I have to change rooms. More about MP coming up! stay tuned!
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Gone to Machu Pichu
We´re off for a few days to the Sacred Valley and then to Machu Pichu. We return to Cuzco on Thursday night with many stories to tell!
One quick cute one is that there are jugglers in the plaza square here in san blas and peter has been juggling with them. But then a very happy little dog (bision freise) was running around and grabbed one fo the balls when it fell. Me and the dogs boy had to chase it all over the square to get it back. From then on the balls were a happy target of the dog!
IN other dogs news they are not all happy. we were all kept up last night to multiple dog fights outside our windows.
Yesterday we went to a ruins at the top of Cuzco (3600m) and the route we took was through the alleyways and we ended up going up 450+ stairs! eek! the ruins were great tho! a local man gave us wild sage to smell to help with alitutude but i don´t think it was that so much as the many many steep stairs!
Ciao
Evelyn
One quick cute one is that there are jugglers in the plaza square here in san blas and peter has been juggling with them. But then a very happy little dog (bision freise) was running around and grabbed one fo the balls when it fell. Me and the dogs boy had to chase it all over the square to get it back. From then on the balls were a happy target of the dog!
IN other dogs news they are not all happy. we were all kept up last night to multiple dog fights outside our windows.
Yesterday we went to a ruins at the top of Cuzco (3600m) and the route we took was through the alleyways and we ended up going up 450+ stairs! eek! the ruins were great tho! a local man gave us wild sage to smell to help with alitutude but i don´t think it was that so much as the many many steep stairs!
Ciao
Evelyn
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Happy Birthday Peter
Happy Birthday Peter! its his 33rd and we´re in Cusco.
We slept 12 hrs last night and are feeling much better!
Last night at about midnight the festival was ongoing but we were too tired to get up. It was right outside our door and sounded amazing!
Its the festival of the cross where all the families bring their crosses to get blessed. Apparently if two family crosses meet they ahve to stop and drink and make the crosses bow to each other and kiss them. I´m sorry we didn´t see it but it sound good with a brass band and lots of firecrackers. we were so tired that the firecrackers didn´t even keep me awake!
We´re not sure what we´´re doing today but we´re finally starting to meet other travellers. There is another girl in the hostel having her bday and they´ve got balloons and hats for her (not the hostel but her friend).
Ciao
Evelyn
We slept 12 hrs last night and are feeling much better!
Last night at about midnight the festival was ongoing but we were too tired to get up. It was right outside our door and sounded amazing!
Its the festival of the cross where all the families bring their crosses to get blessed. Apparently if two family crosses meet they ahve to stop and drink and make the crosses bow to each other and kiss them. I´m sorry we didn´t see it but it sound good with a brass band and lots of firecrackers. we were so tired that the firecrackers didn´t even keep me awake!
We´re not sure what we´´re doing today but we´re finally starting to meet other travellers. There is another girl in the hostel having her bday and they´ve got balloons and hats for her (not the hostel but her friend).
Ciao
Evelyn
Saturday, May 2, 2009
breathless in cuzco
I know Peter posted earlier but i thought i´d add this bit from an email to my parents and a few friends just now...
not sure if peter wrote you earlier but we´re safe in cuzco and getting used to the altitude. the streets are cobblestoned where we are but not that steep considering st. john´s. but if you took st. john´s and shot it up into the sky 3kms i guess the hills would be similar.
the bus ride -tho luxury with big seats was brutal and we just found out that that route takes you over three 4000m passes! sounds about right! mom those ginger candies saved me from actually getting sick in the middle of the night. it was the whole thing with dizzzziness, bad headache, puffy face and nausea 0oops! Ed you were right about buses but we couldn´t fly and we did get to see alot from the bus. anyhow a few hours of sleep when we got in set us straight after that altitude and a bad nights sleep. I figure that that has got to be good for us getting used to cuzco which is lower.
we came here to see the festival of the crosses but cuoldn´t find it so we sat down for a beer and processions of families with crosses started just passing right by us! ç
anyhow I¨m still a bit out of it but its getting better
Hola!
Evelyn
PS to add to this Cuzco is lovely and its so relaxed!
not sure if peter wrote you earlier but we´re safe in cuzco and getting used to the altitude. the streets are cobblestoned where we are but not that steep considering st. john´s. but if you took st. john´s and shot it up into the sky 3kms i guess the hills would be similar.
the bus ride -tho luxury with big seats was brutal and we just found out that that route takes you over three 4000m passes! sounds about right! mom those ginger candies saved me from actually getting sick in the middle of the night. it was the whole thing with dizzzziness, bad headache, puffy face and nausea 0oops! Ed you were right about buses but we couldn´t fly and we did get to see alot from the bus. anyhow a few hours of sleep when we got in set us straight after that altitude and a bad nights sleep. I figure that that has got to be good for us getting used to cuzco which is lower.
we came here to see the festival of the crosses but cuoldn´t find it so we sat down for a beer and processions of families with crosses started just passing right by us! ç
anyhow I¨m still a bit out of it but its getting better
Hola!
Evelyn
PS to add to this Cuzco is lovely and its so relaxed!
Pete here! So we are now in Cuzco. After arriving in Lima, we spent a day there and got accostomed to the general vibe... We were blessed by a fransican monk while having lunch... and we saw these catacombs filled with geometrically arranged bones... very artistic... Saw a parade and a baby llama (pronounced Jama). I had heard of a wacky catholic festival in Cuzco from may 2nd to 4th, and since I am turning 33 on the 3rd, it felt like an amusing place to be... now, when they tell you that the altitude is difficult to get used to, they´re not lying...´We have been dizzy and short of breath since we caame up here... most notably during the three 14000 ft mountain passes that the bus took us through... the scenery is breathtaking and the town is very nice... Ev is thanking Louise for the ginger candies which saved her stomach in those high passes. Cuzco has cool markets and stuff too.. might get some funky clothing... Much love to everyone reading this blog:
-Peter
-Peter
Thursday, April 30, 2009
We´re in Peru!
Hola!
We´ve arrived after three uneventful flights from sT. john´s to halifax to toronto to lima. I can´t believe we complained about nothaving enough time in Toronto airport! we were almost direct off one plane onto another. it was ca. 13+ hrs on planes yesterday so it was tiring. In Lima the health officials came on and handed out pamplets about the flu and were´ all dressed up in masks and disposible scrubs. They asked everyone if anyone had a fever or cough no one did. of course they looked so scary idon´t suppose anyone wouldñ´ve said if they did. (please excuse the spelling mistakes the keyboards are spaced differently slightly and the apostophes and other symbols are elsewhere..)
Our taxi ride into the city wasnt as harrowing as i expected ' i was thinking india but he did hit either a curb or a dog i´m not sure. we made it and its a nice hostel. perhaps dirty for canada but fine for tropics. they´re nice people and there´s a lovely little cafe and we´ve gotten really nice bus tickets for the 20hrs+ bus to Cuzco tomorrow.
today we went out and walked aroudn to get our bearings. Bev Briggs will be happy to know we saw the Hotel Grand Bolivar where she stayed. We didn´t go in tho there was too much else to see. then we went to see the francisian monstary with the catacombs which was amazing! even neater was that prior we had lunch at a gorgeous cafe. while we were there a franciscian monk came in and blessed the resturarant with holy water and everything!!! the appropriate beginning to our trip in a major catholic country! we see great health for us and the country in general ahead.
To find out this morning that the swine flu alert has been raised is a concern but at the moment there is only one case here in Peru and I think it was well contained. So it looks good for here and with the screening it should help. We´ll keep ontop of the situation.I just wish i´d gotten even more handsanitizer! :-p
We did more walking around and saw another museum and generally took it easy. Lima is very dusty and smoggy so i´ll be glad to leave tomorrow. I´ve been sneezing and I know its the dust. NO deep pranayama for Lima, I¨m going to save that for the mountains!
Anyhow, I am rambling as I´m still pretty tired but we´re having a good time so far and are getting our bearings. We had pisco sour at our hostel café and that was AMAZING! my new favourite drink! very very yummy
If you want to get aholdof peter you´re best off sending me a msg as he wants to stay off computers for the most part. its evelyn_osborne@yahoo.com
Ciao!
We´ve arrived after three uneventful flights from sT. john´s to halifax to toronto to lima. I can´t believe we complained about nothaving enough time in Toronto airport! we were almost direct off one plane onto another. it was ca. 13+ hrs on planes yesterday so it was tiring. In Lima the health officials came on and handed out pamplets about the flu and were´ all dressed up in masks and disposible scrubs. They asked everyone if anyone had a fever or cough no one did. of course they looked so scary idon´t suppose anyone wouldñ´ve said if they did. (please excuse the spelling mistakes the keyboards are spaced differently slightly and the apostophes and other symbols are elsewhere..)
Our taxi ride into the city wasnt as harrowing as i expected ' i was thinking india but he did hit either a curb or a dog i´m not sure. we made it and its a nice hostel. perhaps dirty for canada but fine for tropics. they´re nice people and there´s a lovely little cafe and we´ve gotten really nice bus tickets for the 20hrs+ bus to Cuzco tomorrow.
today we went out and walked aroudn to get our bearings. Bev Briggs will be happy to know we saw the Hotel Grand Bolivar where she stayed. We didn´t go in tho there was too much else to see. then we went to see the francisian monstary with the catacombs which was amazing! even neater was that prior we had lunch at a gorgeous cafe. while we were there a franciscian monk came in and blessed the resturarant with holy water and everything!!! the appropriate beginning to our trip in a major catholic country! we see great health for us and the country in general ahead.
To find out this morning that the swine flu alert has been raised is a concern but at the moment there is only one case here in Peru and I think it was well contained. So it looks good for here and with the screening it should help. We´ll keep ontop of the situation.I just wish i´d gotten even more handsanitizer! :-p
We did more walking around and saw another museum and generally took it easy. Lima is very dusty and smoggy so i´ll be glad to leave tomorrow. I´ve been sneezing and I know its the dust. NO deep pranayama for Lima, I¨m going to save that for the mountains!
Anyhow, I am rambling as I´m still pretty tired but we´re having a good time so far and are getting our bearings. We had pisco sour at our hostel café and that was AMAZING! my new favourite drink! very very yummy
If you want to get aholdof peter you´re best off sending me a msg as he wants to stay off computers for the most part. its evelyn_osborne@yahoo.com
Ciao!
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
A big Thank you!
I want to send out a big thank you to everyone who came to the bridal tea/honeymoon shower over easter in ottawa. I'm packing now and can't tell you how much easier that is already making this trip! it was great to see everyone and will see most of you again in June!
back to packing!
back to packing!
Monday, April 27, 2009
Getting ready to Go!
Hi All
Its less than 48 hours before we leave for Peru on our pre-wedding honeymoon! whee! i'm getting really excited. We're running around trying to get lose ends tied up - taxes, packing, cleaning etc.
Our plans are to fly into Lima on Wednesday spend the day and night on thursday and then take a bus to Cuzco on Friday. Its a very long ride somewhere between 18 and 25 hours. So we'll arrive into Cuzco in the mountains on Saturday for a crazy local Catholic festival which is merged with the local pagan customs. Its the Vigil of the Cross when they take down the crosses from the surrounding "hills" (ie. mtns) and dress them up in finery! Its Peter's 33rd Bday on Sunday so that's where he wanted to be! should be fun. We'll stick around there for a while and see Machu Picchu and do some hiking.
Off to finish taxes - ugh!
cheers
Evelyn
PS: if you want to get ahold of us we'll be on email at evelyn_osborne@yahoo.com or mrabra@peterduchemin.ca
Its less than 48 hours before we leave for Peru on our pre-wedding honeymoon! whee! i'm getting really excited. We're running around trying to get lose ends tied up - taxes, packing, cleaning etc.
Our plans are to fly into Lima on Wednesday spend the day and night on thursday and then take a bus to Cuzco on Friday. Its a very long ride somewhere between 18 and 25 hours. So we'll arrive into Cuzco in the mountains on Saturday for a crazy local Catholic festival which is merged with the local pagan customs. Its the Vigil of the Cross when they take down the crosses from the surrounding "hills" (ie. mtns) and dress them up in finery! Its Peter's 33rd Bday on Sunday so that's where he wanted to be! should be fun. We'll stick around there for a while and see Machu Picchu and do some hiking.
Off to finish taxes - ugh!
cheers
Evelyn
PS: if you want to get ahold of us we'll be on email at evelyn_osborne@yahoo.com or mrabra@peterduchemin.ca
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