To see all the Peru pictures click here.

To see all the Peru pictures click here.

I can’t say anything different, just add that it is indeed a great place to explore. We spend a day with our most amazing guide exploring the Sacred Valley, this includes a trip to Pisac, Ollantaytambo, Chinchero and back to Cusco.

Another day we spend in Cusco exploring the early 17th century Cathedral, the Qorichancha at Santo Domingo and Museo de Sitio Qoricancha. In the cathedral we are lucky enough to hear a small Quechua gathering singing with two flutes accompanying them. We aren’t sure what they are celebrating but the music is wonderful in a haunting sort of way.

We have now been in Peru for a couple weeks. The total strangeness has worn off and any fear of not being able to cope in a different environment is gone, but there is now an understanding of how much I don’t know and that is huge. I think that is okay but it is certainly humbling too. I now think I will absorb whatever I can, but not expect too much more learning to happen. It is enough to just enjoy what I can see and hear … and taste too (the food is quite enjoyable!)

To see all the Peru pictures click here.

Our project this time can be a coin purse or a chullo (ear flap hat). Those of us that did the coin purse last class choose the chullo to do this time. Thinking we had the technique mostly figured out we cheerfully started only to find out that if you have different teachers, you likely have different techniques. So be it, we are here to learn after all! This time we don’t have the work inside out and we don’t use thumbs either. And I kept casting on too tightly so by the fifth try I resorted to casting on over two needles – that worked! Most of us tried very hard to work our two colours as shown, but sometimes old dogs don’t learn new tricks but simply revert to what they do know. I think understanding there are many ways to accomplish the same thing was a lesson we all learned well. I didn’t finish my chullo in the three days we had, but I did finish it by the time we left Lima … except for the tassle on top. That detail will just have to come later!

The other tour participants worked at tapestry weaving with Maximo Laura or machine embroidery with Simona Cutipa. I cannot understand why I don’t see any pictures of these people at work. What was I thinking? I can clearly see the old Singer sewing machines and the intricate hand guided stitching taking place. Perhaps I can show you the name tag Sasha had made for each of us by Simona. They are not to be confused with a computer generated sample either, this was very much hand guided. Such talent!
To see all the Peru pictures click here.

Our bus trip to the first village in the Canyon takes about four hours. En route we stop at a lookout where we can see a very productive agricultural valley, our very first vicunas, then alpacas and llamas and an interpretation centre as well as a rest stop where there is a market early in the day. What has me amazed very soon is the vegetation. There either isn’t any, or it is desert type stuff like cactuses or grasses. There is also a small shrub that seems to be a conifer, though it has yellow blossoms on it. There are also eucalyptus scattered around, apparently imported from Australia many years ago because the only trees that are native take too long to grow to be of much use. I think they may have discovered there are problems with the imported species and now what to do is the question. In any case I’m totally floored by the fact there are cactus covering the Andes … who’d have thought?

The road down into the Canyon has a good number of switch backs, I’m sure I should be concerned, but am not. We go past a volcanoe that Manuel points out as having blown its top about a million years ago and sent rock all the way to the Pacific Ocean. Cool! We see Mismi, the mountain that is the source of the Amazon River. More cool! “The ultimate source of the Amazon has only recently been firmly established as a stream on a 5,597 metre (18,363 ft) peak called Nevado Mismi here in the Peruvian Andes, roughly 160 km west of Lake Titicaca and 700 km S.E. of Lima. The mountain was first suggested as the source in 1971 but this was not confirmed until 2001. The waters from Nevado Mismi flow into the Río Apurímac which is a tributary of the Ucayali which later joins the Marañón to form the Amazon proper”–Wickipedia. And so we arrive at Chivay, the first of the villages that are considered to be in Colca Canyon. Actually I should have been saying Colca Valley … the canyon is only really the part of the river valley that has steep sided cliffs and this doesn’t actually qualify yet. But while I’m on about this, I should point out that the Colca Canyon is actually almost twice as deep as Colorado’s Grand Canyon. Very cool!

There are pre-Inca agriculture terraces everywhere one looks. I’m not sure if the terraces developed because they needed to put the rocks someplace so they could farm the land, or if it was a combination of that and the fact you develop microclimates by building walls around the fields. Whatever the case, the fields and walls are everywhere and it is spring time so plowing and planting is well underway. I’m not sure we see even one tractor though, teams of oxen seem to be the beast of choice and that makes all sorts of sense when one looks at the terrain. The people here are most often dressed in traditional attire which is very colourful and extremely decorated. I think the rest can be told through the photos I took.

Our hotel is very posh the first night … even a hot springs to have a soak in. Most of us have a very sound sleep that night. We even have hot water bottles delivered at bedtime, what a treat!

Our second day is a bit different than planned. Our bus had a problem that got fixed last evening while we were enjoying the hot springs but then as we are on our way to Yanqui another mechanical glitch happened. So back to Chivay we go for further repairs. Of course we make good use of the two hours there to scour the market for more interesting finds. Once back on the road again, we travel to Cabanaconde at the far end of the valley. We are soon settled in there, have lunch and then off on horse and mule back we go to get a slower and close up look at the neighbourhood and countryside. It was probably the only activity planned for us that had less than stellar results. We did all survive though so naught more need be said. Cabanaconde is notable for me as it was the jumping off point for the high altitude archaeologist who discovered Juanita the Ice Maiden on Ampato, a mountain behind Cabanaconde.

The next morning we are up very early so we can arrive at Cruz del Condor in time to see the impressive Andean condor. This bird is the largest flying bird in the world. Manuel thinks we should stop sooner than the main tourist site and that proves to be an excellent plan. There are five condors drifting in the thermals and we can ooh and aah without a thousand other people there.

After our interesting stops in Yanqui and Maca and a lunch stop in the now familiar Chivay, the rest of the day is mostly spent just trying to assimilate the landscape as we return to Arequipa. The dust that sifts into the bus and settles on everything proves how dry this part of the country is. A very interesting three days for sure!

To see all the Peru pictures click here.

During the evening we are taught how to spin using a drop spindle. Tonya from Ayacucho makes spindle spinning look like a bit of a dance. She is ever so rythmic in her movements that it is a pleasure to just sit and watch. It is, of course, another thing to duplicate what she is doing and of course we don’t no matter how hard we try!

Knitting and spinning are not the only things happening in the gardens and rooms of Casa de Melgar. Tapestry weaving with Alejandro, gourd engraving with Florencio and Leon is teaching braiding. I’ve come home with many finely carved gourds and pieces of gourds used in jewelery. The carving is typically of scenes of Peruvian life. Not only are they intricate and detailed, but interesting in the stories they tell of life here.

To see all the Peru pictures click here.

Back to our guesthouse, La Casa de Melgar is an 18th century building that has no less that four courtyards and a terrace or two. Everything is charming … the staff, the rooms, the gardens, and even the guests. There are three volcanoes near by, namely Misti, Chachani and Pichu Pichu. A small earthquake happens the first day too, though I am unaware of it. Our tour of the Convento de Santa Catalina is given by a very humourous young lady. If I got a little carried away with picture taking, forgive me, there was a great shot every twenty steps. Other highlights are the visit to see “Juanita the Ice Maiden” and the tour of Michell and Company. Juanita was found on Ampato (a volcanoe behind Cabanaconde) and is a frozen mummy that has survived in very good condition for more than 5 hundred years. Besides a very interesting book written by Johan Reinhard, there are many Internet sites that have good information about Juanita if you are interested in learning more. The tour of Michell was great … I really enjoy seeing how things are made. Half of all the alpaca fibre that is processed in Peru is done by Michell. We had several opportunities at stash enhancement in the following days that came via Michell’s ‘factory outlet’.

I haven’t said a thing about food yet. I can say for sure that I’m not losing any weight and there aren’t as many salads and vegetables as I’m used to. There are many fruits that are totally new to me, some are very wonderful for different reasons. I especially like the slippery sweet Granadilla.

Perhaps there isn’t as much spicing of the food as I would have thought. Someone suggested that many restaurants tone down the spicing, thinking that is what tourists would prefer. Too bad! The coffee is reasonably good, and it is always interesting to see how it will be served. Sometimes it is instant (not awful instant like at home), sometimes there is a very strong espresso that arrives with boiling water so you can mix to your own prefered strength, sometimes it is ready to go. The milk is different too, something like our UHT at home.

To see all the Peru pictures click here.

The highlights in Lima, for me, are the visits to Maximo Laura’s studio where I realize I must go home with one of his tapestries, the Amano Museum where I finally realize that Peru has an exceedingly rich history that can be told in its textiles and ceramics, and also our trip to the Lurin Valley where we enjoy a Pachamanca (a traditional meal that is cooked in an ‘oven’ in the ground) and a few Pisco Sours. Our most amazing guide, John Alfredo Davis, in addition to guiding us through the Amano Museum and being one of the hosts at the Lurin Valley farm, also guided us through Museo Nacional de Antropologia, Arqueologia e Historia. This is the original museum of archaeology and anthropology.

On display are ceramics of the Chimu, Nasca, Mochica and Ichma (Pachacamac) cultures, various Inca curiosities and works of art and interesting textiles. There is also an amazing model of Machu Picchu here. An interesting website with an article titled “The Spirit of Ancient Peru” is to be found by clicking here.

To see all the Peru pictures click here.

Normally I don’t do ‘tours’, this is an exception and I’m really happy to be going to Peru with Puchka Peru. Visit the site to see why! Puchka Peru

“PUCHKA takes you where others don’t go, in a way that others don’t do in a land that is an open museum of cultural adventure. PUCHKA is not only a cultural tour but also a textile school. Our mission is threefold: to guide you straight into the heart of a nation’s breath-taking artistic heritage; to take you deep into the lives and creative spirits of the artists themselves; and to support and promote the extraordinary textile and folk art communities of this remarkable and enchanting nation.” excerpt from Puchka Peru website.

So tomorrow starts the adventure … the tickets were booked in January, but all good things come to those who are patient. We leave Whitehorse at 6:50 am and arrive in Lima at 6:55 am the day after. It will be a long day. Then follows an extra day in Lima and the 22 days of the tour. We arrive back in Whitehorse on November 6th. I don’t think I will be doing any blog updates in the interim. I’m hoping to do a good job of writing in my journal and will sort it all out when I get back to high-speed, unlimited time. It also seems a waste of holiday time to spend much of it at a computer.

Chao, chao!