Monthly Archives: October 2017

2017

Post Cards from Macchu Picchu, Peru and Easter Island, Chile

2 Comments

As many of you know, I have been learning how to extract a latent energy in my brain to draw. Here are a few of the sketches I made during my trip to Macchu Picchu and Easter Island.

Terraces, Pisac, Peru
Cusco, Plaza des Armas
Airport Lounge, Lima
Room wirh a View, Cusco, Peru
Woman at Airport, Panams
Moai, Easter Island
Brazialian Friend, Lima
Tree Cutting, easter Island
Bar clients, La Panchita, Lima Miraflores

I’m including a video I edited for a film editing class project on Peru that will give those of you interested in the life and challenges there:

Join me and fellow architect and daughter next week when we will be visiting Chicago for a long weekend. See you then!!

2017

Day 9-10: Easter Island Moai

2 Comments
Akahanga Information
Akahanga Caves
Moai in Bedrock
Akahanga Quarry
Akahanga Cave
Akanhanga Quarry
Akahanga
Akahanga
Akahanga

A full day of sightseeing led me to the various Moai on the Eastern side of the island. The Akahanga Quarry where the stone for the Moai were carved and extracted was a graveyard of sorts for the stones themselves. They were in various stages of completion: some were still in situ, some were being transported, and some were never to reach their intended sacred sites. The characteristic topknots for hair were gathered in one spot, as the red stone was normally placed separately from the body on top of the basalt.

I loved pondering how each sculptor decided on the eyes, nose, and mouth for each piece. Most of the bodies included full torsos, but no legs. Their hands were placed below their bellies, with long fingernails indicating royalty. The long ears of the royalty were evident, as there were no short-eared Moai (see previous post).

Behind the quarry are caves where people hid during wars and invasions. Next, we reached the highlight of the 15 Moai at Ahu Tongariki.  The guide explained in detail how the moai were carved out of bedrock, transported to a site where the dead were buried, and then erected with great teamwork and collaboration.

The Easter Islanders had a long term vision of creating these images to protect successive generations. It took incredible energy, creativity, and determination to plan, design and execute such monumental exercises. The photos above do not convey the extensive area where they were situated. See video below (apologies for the wind–you may need to turn your volume down to reduce the noise)

Error
This video doesn’t exist

A Japanese construction company helped to sponsor the UNESCO world heritage site, after it exhibited one of the Moai in Japan. Many of the Moai that were toppled were turnd upright and restored so they can be appreciated in their orignal splendor.

I returned to the Te Moana Restaurant in town for an another adventurous dining experience. This time I ordered whole fish, and was delighted with this pair on a bed of mashed tuber:

My sunset view at dinner gave me time to reflect on all the amazing human achievements from the past. Even better, I caught the last rays behind the Moai at the harbor just a block away from my hotel.  It symbolized another successful completion of travels with myself and others to two of the most magnificent places in the world. I hope you enjoyed traveling with me!

IMG_9513

2017

Day 7-8: from the Mountain to the Sea…Macchu Picchu to Isla de Pascua

Leave a comment

You may have heard of French Polynesia, but Spanish Polynesia?!? Combining Polynesia with Chilean culture is wild! Coming from the mountains of Macchu Picchu to the Moai at Easter Island is even more extreme and precious. These two UNESCO world sites are different but so spectacular in their own ways. The only two flights per day to Easter Island come from either Tahiti or Santiago, Chile.

Jared Diamond’s book, Collapse, inspired me to visit Easter Island. The Polynesians came here by following birds on catamaran-type boats. Initially, they found the land unoccupied and fish plentiful. Easy fishing along the shoreline didn’t last as the population burgeoned. As they needed longer boats to go further offshore to catch fish, they cut down more of the trees on the island to make the boats.  An entire tree was needed to make longboats.

Within a short time the wood was depleted, and they no longer had the resources to sustain fishing. It is a sad but true chain of events. It is also a reminder of our vulnerability as humans. Combined with tribal wars resulting from too little to go around, the Polynesian society on Easter Island thrived and then disintegrated in less than 500 years (between 800-1200AD).

The Moai are the main feature on the Isla de Pascua. The huge basalt and tufa sculptures look amazingly modern and timeless. After they were carved directly out of bedrock, they were transported to a sacred site and placed on platforms (ahu). They faced away from the ocean to protect their descendants from the ocean. Only ruling families were allowed to have moai (nearly 400 of them in existence today). They were not officially blessed until the obsidian and coral eyes were place on the heads.

Most of the “long-eared” early arrivals ran the show. They ruled the latecomers, who were short-eared. The Longears had status in society because they got to Easter Island first (sound familiar?). They made slaves of the Shortears. The Shortears weren’t allowed to build moai to protect their families but probably did all the work for the Longears to haul and erect the finished stone.

The Anthropology Museum on the island provided an excellent explanations on the history and construction of the Moai. There are wooden sculptures made of makoi wood that remind me of the Mayan figures that are highly individualized and animated.

Throughout the island, there are many artistic interpretations of moai by local contemporary artists. Some were more successful than others, but the spirit and pride in the culture lives on.

A sample of the island’s incredible flora are shown below.

East

And I have to post a full size photo of my dinner with myself and an outstanding plate of tuna ceviche, roasted tuber, and fried banana, assisted by a glass of famous Pisco Sour at Te Moana Restaurant:

2017

Day 5-6(b) Sacred Valley, Cusco, Peru

1 Comment

Peru’s lack of distinguishable modern architecture is more than made up by its warm and friendly people, their genuine desire to help others, and a long history that does a country proud. Everything seems harder to accomplish here, yet the people are undaunted by physical hardships and challenges.

Cusco lies on a plateau in the highlands, so everything is downhill from there. After adapting to the 11k high altitude in Cusco, each 1K descent towards the 9K Sacred Valley and 8k level at Macchu Picchu feels noticeably easier. I can breathe normally. Not being a mountaineer, I have never focused so much on elevation before. I paid more attention to these stats than to rainfall or temperature in the area!!

We made stops along the way to visit an alpaca/llama (pronounced yama) farm, a weaving group, and a market in Pisac. (See photos above). Our foodies will note the wide array of fruits and vegetables as well as colors–a good sign of healthy eating.

Black Alpaca–0% cholesterol
Alpaca
Llama
Woman weaver
Woman weaver
Agave Plants for Aloe Vera
Crying Eye Potatoes
Fingerlings
guinea pig for dinner? Cuy, Cuy!
Rainbow Colors

Speaking of colors, Peruvians love bright colors. As demonstrated by the rainbow flag, it represents the people of the highlands. The familiar stripes and ribbons of color seem to aptly reflect the nature and personality of the Peruvian people.

The coca plant is used extensively as a tea to ward off high altitude sickness and one can survive on it alone for five days by chewing the leaf. You drink coca tea here to overcome altitude sickness.

There are over 2500 types of potato grown in Peru of the 3500 varieties known throughout the world. One type has alot of eyes, and as the story goes, if a young girl falls in love with someone, she will tell whether she will marry him by how well she peels one of these potatoes. If she peels it flawlessly, she’ll win her guy, but if she doesn’t….well the eyes will cry the tears for her!

Ollantaytambo Fortress Drainage
Terraces at Fortress

Many of the ruins throughout the Sacred Valley, particularly the fortress at Ollantaytambo, are dress rehearsals for the big Kahuna, Macchu Picchu.The massive sandstones were hewn along the edges to perfection and carved to fit the next/last one as if the stone were extruded from some supersize tube of frosting, only to dry perfectly, without gaps or mortar in place. Hard to believe how these stones were cut, and the ability seem beyond human skills.

A word about the Macchu Picchu buildings from yesterday’s post. There were various ceremonial buildings for offerings to the sun god and others, but an area also served as the King’s residence. Grain was stored in one area, and the extensive terraces were used to grow food.

For more about Macchu Picchu, Hiram Bingham, the man who discovered it, and its origins, go here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machu_Picchu

The other important uses for terracing the mountains was to serve as a system to prevent soil erosion and to collect water from the top to the bottom of the mountain. It’s tempting to compare these to the terraces used in China to grow food, but I’m not sure which came first. In any event, the Peruvian terraces are spectacular just in sheer height and they demonstrate the ingenuity of the Incas and their predecessors.

As I leave Peru after such a short sojourn here, I realize that I may be naive and easily impressed. Nevertheless, the hardships of living in mountainous zones like this make the people sturdy. They live close to and respect nature.

Just a few random snippits about Peru:

Although Spanish is the national language, the second language spoken by people in Cusco is known as Quechua, an ancient and indigenous highland language.

The jungle covers 60 per cent of the country, and the balance is 30% highland and 10% is coastal.

The Inca based in Peru conquered and occupied parts of Argentina, Bolivia, and Ecuador, incl. Santiago, Chile.

Trees do not grow above the alpine level in the highlands, except for the imported eucalyptus from Australia, an invasive but fast growing species. The Macchu Picchu climate is at a lower elevation and has a microclimate more similar to the tropical forest (with orchids, bromeliads and coca plants.

Both Cusco and Macchu Picchu are UNESCO World Heritage Sites and highly recommended.

And for the bus and rail fans out there…here was the interior of the Vistadome Perurail car and a couple of the many spectacular views:

Vistadome Perurail Car
View Along the Way
View from Rocky Bus Ride return to Ollaytaytambo
2017

Day 5-6(a): Macchu Picchu, Peru

2 Comments

   

Error
This video doesn’t exist
Error
This video doesn’t exist

Overall View of Macchu Picchu
View from Above
View of Ceremonial Area
Terraces
Granary Stoarage Area
View from Granary Storage
Terraces
Condor
Terraces

The enclosed photos speak for themselves….

2017

Day 3-4: Cusco, Peru

3 Comments

Cusco is over 11,000 feet (3,399m) so it literally takes your breath away. It takes a couple of days to get used to the high altitude, so I hope you will excuse my temporary silence. It still took a bit of huffing and puffing to walk just a few steps at a shallow incline. I finally got acclimated enough for a full day of visiting Saqsayhuaman and Tambomachay, two Incan ruins outside Cusco. The first showed the extensive construction of terraced walls of sandstone, and the latter showed how the Inca developed and conserved water through irrigation and waterways. The Inca were very concerned about the predominant dryness of the area, and they developed ingenious ways to combat the forces of nature.

High Entries to accommodate Priest’s Headgear
Funeral Mounds and Offerings
Original Limestone Quarry and Cut Stone
Open Fields used for Worshipping Nature
Small Village Below
Incan Terraces
View of Cusco below

The rest of the afternoon was spent visiting Qorikancha, or the Convent of Santa Domingo in town. The Incan priests that preceded the Spanish Catholics constructed thick limestone-surrounded storehouses to stockpile dried potato, quinoa, and other foodstuffs to combat the warm periods caused by El Nino at this site. The priests and nobles shared the food with the peasants when they were unable to produce food.

Nasca-Style Ground Designs
Cedar Woodward
Portion of Old Inca Trail
Courtyard of St. Dominic’s
View of Cusco and Beyond
Time to Reflect

Before the rain hit in the afternoon, I took a walk around Cusco in the morning. It turned out to be a good idea. It didn’t rain on my parade! Apparently parades with a cast of thousands are held every Sunday to commemorate a school or celebration. Great for tourists like me, who stumbled into colorful event by accident.


Error
This video doesn’t exist

Braided Ladies in town were preparing to sell or selling their wares in the Plaza de Armas:

Glimpses of my delightful hotel in the early morning sun reminded me of similar intimate hotel stays in Cappodoccia, Turkey, and in Essaouira, Morocco:

Treated to a room with a view, I made time to sketch!

Last, but not least, the end to a satisfying day was topped by a delicious and adventurous meal of alpaca brochettes at Pachapapa Restaurant. It was lean, well-prepared, and tasted far less gamey than venison. Unfortunately, Jusannah (my new Brazilian friend in Lima) and I ordered the specialty dish of guinea pig the other night but it was cancelled. This restaurant had the dish on the menu, but it would have taken an hour, to prepare and not worth the wait.

Alpaca Brochettes!
Dinner at the Bar
Typical Path near my hotel
Night view

The next couple of days will be heavy traveling to Macchu Picchu, so I probably won’t be posting until after I return to Cusco. Keep sending those comments!

2017

Day 1-2: Lima, Peru

4 Comments

Arriving in Lima reminds me of the rush I get when entering a new country, and the excitement over the opportunity to learn about another culture. Not having been to S. America except for a brief cruise stop in Caracas for a day, I finally organized a trip to this part of the world on my own.

No sooner had I arrived at the hotel when a feeling of calm and confidence struck me. The people were friendly, moved at the pace of a lilt and rhythm I enjoyed, and I became calm. Despite not much visual stimulation in the city itself, I decided to save the thrills for the ascent to Macchu Picchu later on the trip.

My full day free in the city focused not surprisingly on two historic and archaeological museums. The Larco Museum was founded in 1926 by a 25-year old archaologist who was given an Incan artifact from his father. Fascinated by this mysterious object, he pursued a career discovering a wealth of not only the Inca civilization, but the several significant epochs before that. We only seem to know the history about the conquests of the Inca by the Spanish conquistadors, but in fact the reputation and foundation for the Inca were built by many earlier societies.

Peru is divided into roughly three geographic areas: the coast, the highlands, and the jungle. The jungle occupies over half of the country, and the Amazon’s source lies in the Andes Mountains. Most of us only think of the Amazon and the rain forest in Brazil, when in fact it is also in Peru.

The various stages of formative and established cultures relative to other parts of the world are shown on the attached chart.

img_9945-e1507374114896.jpg

Many of the objects or designs in the museum were based on the notion of the underworld, represented by the snake; the earth, or middle world, represented by the puma (jaguar); and the upper world, represented by the owl. These worlds collide, interact, and support each other, as shown in the geometric, three-step patterns.

Urns from high priests were used for drinking fluids from humans and animals. Buriel sites show human sacrifices and the dead placed in a fetal position upright, then covered with cloth and woven textiles as thick as carpets. Enjoy some of the many pieces that I particularly liked from the extensive collection from primarily the Larco Museum, and its lovely garden.

A selection of Decorative Pottery
Knots used for Accounting
Gold, Copper and Silver Shaman Urns
Huge Ceramic Vessels
Double Vessels
Ceremonial Poncho made with feathers
Warrior Shield at bottom worn on back of waist doubles as blade
Woven textiles used for burying dead
Warehoused Urns in Museum

The hotel recommended the La Mar Restaurant that was open only from 11-5pm, so it fit my schedule perfectly. After an exhilharating visit to the two museums, I was ready to chow down some of the best food in the world! As soon as I was seated at the bar, I was greeted by a friendly young woman sitting next to me. She was visiting from Brazil on her own. We struck up a conversation that led to an agreement to meet for dinner two hours later at one of the sister restaurants, La Panchita.