HELLO PORTLAND from sf via nyc: June 2009

We Made It
Originally uploaded by Polish Carpetlayer.

It may seem like it’s taken a long time for us to put up a blog entry about our trip to Peru…and that’s because it has. The trip was awesome, but it was also exhausting and when we returned home we needed to wade through some 600 or so photos, rest up, get back into the swing of work and school, and just generally get ourselves back into the swing of our normal life.

Like many of you have heard, we crammed a lot into our 9 days in Peru, and some of those things we didn’t mean to put into our trip, like getting sick in Cusco at 11,000ft. But most the things we experienced were amazing and perspective changing. I walked away from Peru with a newfound understanding of what it means to be poor in this world. I am so thankful for all the opportunities I’ve been granted in my life. When you see a beautiful 9 year old child living in a barely standing shanty of a house, working the corn fields with her hands, or trying to sell trinkets to the rich tourists, it puts things into perspective. I am fortunate. I now know what poverty looks like, and, although I’ve been poor in my life, I’ve never gone without options, no matter how hard I’ve had to work to achieve those options. I’m not a rah rah American, but I do think that I’m incredibly lucky to have been born in this country.

The Peruvian landscape was amazing (the food, not so much, unless you like Guinea Pig for dinner). It was full of massive Andean peeks that jutted out from verdant green high mountain planes, and blue skies that were dotted with the most amazing cotton clouds I’d ever seen. The architecture was a mixture of Incan and Spanish. The Spanish tried to wipe out the Incas, but you can’t kill a culture all together. Invariably it will seep into your belief system, and that’s just what it did throughout all of Peru. I can’t tell you how many times Michelle and I saw a painting of the last supper where the meal was cuyee (guinea pig).

We saw Spanish churches whose foundations were Incan ruins. We were told that there’s still a close relationship with Spain, but we also got the feeling from many Peruvians that they hold a bit of contempt for the Spanish Conquistadors. It makes sense when you learn that the Spanish wouldn’t just conquer the natives, they’d then find the most important part of the there culture and build a Spanish church on top of it.

We spent time in Lima and Cusco. Cusco is the second largest city. It sits at 11,000 feet and it’s the birthplace of the Incan empire. The town square, where we stayed, has streets and architecture that are original. The place is full of tourist acclimatizing before they go on their way to Machu Picchu. Taxis and cars zip by and kick up a strong smell of exhaust. Nothing is done slowly here, at least when you’re in a car or crossing the street. We spent a day here before we headed out to Machu Picchu, and then returned for 2 more days.

Machu Picchu is mind numbingly beautiful. Go there. Words can’t describe it. Pictures won’t suffice. When we got our first view of it, I just wanted sit down and take it all in and soak it up, before I even walked any further. It’s magical place in middle of the Andes in the middle of nowhere in the middle of Peru. It takes a while to get there and it’s worth it. The Spanish never found it so they never ruined it. Thank goodness. It is truly special.

Lima was scary in places, nice in others, and very interesting. I kept telling Michelle I felt like I was caught in a place where it was alternately 1951 and 2009. Old and new. Poor and rich. Dirty and clean. You’ll find it all in Lima just walking down the street. When I told a friend that we were going to Peru and that we were going to spend some time in Lima and Cusco, his quote was, “Cusco’s awesome. Fuck Lima.” Another friend replied when I asked him about Lima, “Horrible.” Honestly, I was bit worried about spending time in Lima, but, to my surprise, I found the time that we spent in Lima to be very interesting. I’m glad we had the experience and I recommend that anyone who visits Peru, spend a little time in Lima.

Machu Picchu and the high Andian Plains were, by far, the highlights of this trip, but the whole trip was great. I feel like we didn’t just read a chapter of a book, we got the whole story, and there are many volumes that we have yet to read. I’ll just finish this blog entry by saying this: I’m always humbled by the idea and the realization when I travel, simple as it is, that not only does this Peruvian way of life exist, but it always exist, with or without me. It is today as it was yesterday as it will be tomorrow. These people that I see living in this far away land—they are not tourists. This is there life. Seeing the lives they lead and the realities they navigate makes me more fully appreciate the world in all its complexities. Thank you Peru. I’ll take a little piece of you wherever I go.

-caspian

Here are a few pics. Click here to see all the pictures.

Little Taxi