Machu Picchu was amazing. Like, words can't even describe how beautiful it was.
There was far more to it then I expected, you can see where everything in the city was. Terres' litter the mountain on one part, while what used to be homes and industrial sites cover the other two.
I was feeling better, and totally ready to hike up Whinu Picchu, then we found out that they were totally booked up for the day. They only allow 400 people up per day, and generally have a line up once the first buses get there.
We were up at 4:40 this morning, having slept through both alarms at 4:20, packed, ate, and were out to meet our quite for 5:10. Once we got to Machu Picchu, we were shown a tour of the ruins by the guides our group had for the Inca Trail, before we had time to walk around more, then bus back to the city. After lunch today we have like, four hours to do nothing until our trail takes us back to near Ollanaytambo, then we are whisked back to Urubamba to get ready for the farewell 'party' this evening.
We're leaving tomorrow evening, I'm not really sure if anything is planned for in the morning. I need to pick up a few last second things before we go, as well as pack so I kinda hope we have the morning off.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Day 12
Sooo, I didn't get to do the hike. I'm crushed, but there is no way I could have made it. My stomach as been churning all day, and walking distances even through the down is enough to put me to bed.
I spent the day with the other six sickies, well, three of them really. First we went for lunch, it took forever but the food was okay. I wasn't able to eat much, but I had more than yesterday. After we went to the market, which was nothing compared to Pisac, but I got a ring, finally, which makes me happy. After that we went to the Hot Springs, which were kind of a disappointment. They were very much self heating pools with sand on the bottoms. And nowhere to sit. Rather relaxing though.
At dinner I was able to eat more, and I think I am feeling better. Tomorrow We go to Machu Pichu, and there is a possibility of me doing the Whinu Pichu. We need to be up tomorrow at 4:30, which is going to suck, but for Machu Pichu? I think it just might be worth it.
Oh- I forgot my camera at the casa in Urubamba. I'm just kicking myself.
I spent the day with the other six sickies, well, three of them really. First we went for lunch, it took forever but the food was okay. I wasn't able to eat much, but I had more than yesterday. After we went to the market, which was nothing compared to Pisac, but I got a ring, finally, which makes me happy. After that we went to the Hot Springs, which were kind of a disappointment. They were very much self heating pools with sand on the bottoms. And nowhere to sit. Rather relaxing though.
At dinner I was able to eat more, and I think I am feeling better. Tomorrow We go to Machu Pichu, and there is a possibility of me doing the Whinu Pichu. We need to be up tomorrow at 4:30, which is going to suck, but for Machu Pichu? I think it just might be worth it.
Oh- I forgot my camera at the casa in Urubamba. I'm just kicking myself.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Day 11
So after I blogged yesterday I joined a few others in an epic journey to find an ATM that recognizes canadian banks. It was successful.
Towards the end of our journey and during dinner I felt myself becoming increasingly sick. So I left early and put myself to bed. I had the worst sleep I think possible, with crazy dreams of obscene amounts of chocolate and being sick. Spent an hour in the bathroom unsure if I was to loose the little dinner I had managed to get down, and didn't go to the work site today.
I think I am doing a bit better, but all I can think about is how crushed I would be if I am unable to join my class hiking the Inka Trail tomorrow. I think I would actually die.
Towards the end of our journey and during dinner I felt myself becoming increasingly sick. So I left early and put myself to bed. I had the worst sleep I think possible, with crazy dreams of obscene amounts of chocolate and being sick. Spent an hour in the bathroom unsure if I was to loose the little dinner I had managed to get down, and didn't go to the work site today.
I think I am doing a bit better, but all I can think about is how crushed I would be if I am unable to join my class hiking the Inka Trail tomorrow. I think I would actually die.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Day 9 + 10
We got up at six to a ice cold hotel room. At six forty five, we were meeting with a group of people to visit one of the churches in Cusco. After we dragged ourselves down for 'breakfast,' we discovered we got two buns. And this fantastic juice. But after forcing down a bun, we left and headed over to the church.
I have never seen such an extraordinary building before. The sign just inside the door had a comment to tourists not to come in during the service, and I felt kind of guilty doing so, but it was deffs all the teachers. I just followed them.
There was two pieces in the church that really stood out to me, and those were the black Christ, and the Last Supper. The Black Christ has a story behind it:
Supposedly, it was built in Spain, and on a ship to Peru. The Ship began to fill with water, and the sailors tied the Christ to a cross, or the sails on the ship so it would be the last to go underwater. When they did this, it is said that all the water left the ship.
Now, the Last Supper was something we had been told about before we had seen it. It is the traditional depiction of the last supper, however, on the table, they are serving Cuy. Cuy, if you recall from a few posts ago, is guinea pig.
We checked out of the hotel and were on our way to the next ruins just after eight. The Pisac Ruins. This was more than a hike than anything, but it was quite extraordinary to look at. We didn't have a chance to look at the 'honey comb' tombs near the top, but we had some time to explore as far as we did go.
After the Ruins, we went to the Pisac Market. It was not nearly as busy as I expected, and I was pleased to find out we had an extra half hour in the market. I can safely say that I left the market without a single sole in my wallet. I managed to finish my gift list (which almost completely family, or I would have nothing for myself) and got some beautiful pieces for myself. In any case, I am thrilled that I left money at the Casa for after the market.
On the way home from Pisac, we stopped at the school that our global class two years ago built. It is a good feeling to see that the school is actually being used, and it is an example of how our school will be a few days down the road.
Today, instead of a hike as planned, we had a half day of work, and then the agro-tourism. We found out that we will be doing a few more stoves, in Huatata, the village we're building the school in. Last year or the year before, one of the classes did a day in Huatata where they built stoves, and now, there are more people in the village who wish to have one as well. Today they didn't have all the bricks prepared, but tomorrow we'll be working on that. As stoked as I was to build stoves today, I ended up with a job...well, almost as wonderful. I got to stomp mud. It was dirty, and very tiring. Try, Stair master for two hours with weights around your ankles. that is stomping mud. The mud is burro, the cement pasting the school together.
Agro-tourism is really neat. We went around to three families just outside Urubamba and saw their businesses. There was ceramics, honey and chocolate. I held a handful of honey bees. It was a very, very strange sensation. Kinda like it was tingling, with little flutters of air. The ceramics were beautiful but I had to hold myself back as I have already spent near 200 soles on them. and the chocolate was nice. I bought some as a present to someone, and it is just sooo difficult not to eat it myself.
I have never seen such an extraordinary building before. The sign just inside the door had a comment to tourists not to come in during the service, and I felt kind of guilty doing so, but it was deffs all the teachers. I just followed them.
There was two pieces in the church that really stood out to me, and those were the black Christ, and the Last Supper. The Black Christ has a story behind it:
Supposedly, it was built in Spain, and on a ship to Peru. The Ship began to fill with water, and the sailors tied the Christ to a cross, or the sails on the ship so it would be the last to go underwater. When they did this, it is said that all the water left the ship.
Now, the Last Supper was something we had been told about before we had seen it. It is the traditional depiction of the last supper, however, on the table, they are serving Cuy. Cuy, if you recall from a few posts ago, is guinea pig.
We checked out of the hotel and were on our way to the next ruins just after eight. The Pisac Ruins. This was more than a hike than anything, but it was quite extraordinary to look at. We didn't have a chance to look at the 'honey comb' tombs near the top, but we had some time to explore as far as we did go.
After the Ruins, we went to the Pisac Market. It was not nearly as busy as I expected, and I was pleased to find out we had an extra half hour in the market. I can safely say that I left the market without a single sole in my wallet. I managed to finish my gift list (which almost completely family, or I would have nothing for myself) and got some beautiful pieces for myself. In any case, I am thrilled that I left money at the Casa for after the market.
On the way home from Pisac, we stopped at the school that our global class two years ago built. It is a good feeling to see that the school is actually being used, and it is an example of how our school will be a few days down the road.
Today, instead of a hike as planned, we had a half day of work, and then the agro-tourism. We found out that we will be doing a few more stoves, in Huatata, the village we're building the school in. Last year or the year before, one of the classes did a day in Huatata where they built stoves, and now, there are more people in the village who wish to have one as well. Today they didn't have all the bricks prepared, but tomorrow we'll be working on that. As stoked as I was to build stoves today, I ended up with a job...well, almost as wonderful. I got to stomp mud. It was dirty, and very tiring. Try, Stair master for two hours with weights around your ankles. that is stomping mud. The mud is burro, the cement pasting the school together.
Agro-tourism is really neat. We went around to three families just outside Urubamba and saw their businesses. There was ceramics, honey and chocolate. I held a handful of honey bees. It was a very, very strange sensation. Kinda like it was tingling, with little flutters of air. The ceramics were beautiful but I had to hold myself back as I have already spent near 200 soles on them. and the chocolate was nice. I bought some as a present to someone, and it is just sooo difficult not to eat it myself.
Day 7 + 8 again
Sooo, heres a longer version of the last post, since I have time and am back in the not so sketchy internet cafe.
Friday (day 6)
The ceremony was spectacular as I said, but I didn't have a chance to talk about Alishia. Alishia is a girl in the village, around our age I've been told, who cannot move her legs. Because of the way their village is, they don't have the means to treat her or provide her with a way to transport herself. So, she drags herself around. Now, in our society, there would be treatments or extra care being given to her, but she is ostracized. Her determination floored me. She pulled herself up to the main clearing to watch the ceremony, even though she could not participate. Myself and several others went and talked to her, and despite the situation she is in, she is just so happy. The fact that we went and talked to her pleased her so much she just wouldn't stop smiling. We've decided as a group that we are going to be fund raising for a wheelchair for her, and sending it to Nico (one of the bus drivers, hes been with us the past four years) and he'll bring it up to her.
Saturday (day 7)
So we were up bright and early (an hour later than usual) to start off on our weekend of tourism. First we went to the ruins of Ollanaytambo (oy-yan-tay-tambo), which was easily my favorite of the three. Ollanytambo was built as a strong hold to fight off the Spanish invaders. After several successes it fell to the Spanish. The site looks like stairs for a giant. Each 'tread' of the ruin has a slightly different ecological zones so different plants grew on each level. The entire ruin is supposed to represent a llama, and near the top point is what appears to be a stone bench. On the first day of winter (our summer), the sun shines through a sort of dent in the mountain across for it, and lands directly on the the bench. This is the eye of the Llama, and what the entire ruin was built around.
After that we visited Sacsayhuaman, a ruin just outside Cusco. It, like Ollanytambo, is supposidly representing an animal. Sacsayhuaman, when put with Cusco, is supposed to represent a Puma. Cusco is the body, and the ruins, which are built jagged, are the teeth. One side of Sacsayhuaman is covered in these giant smooth rocks that look like they could be stone slides. The other is the 'teeth' part of the ruin. It is three layers of jagged rocks, each jag ended with a huge bolder.
That night was spent in Cusco, and after I left the sketchy cafe, we explored the city a little bit.
Curfew was 11, and myself and a group of friends left the hotel at around 9:45-10 o'clock. We wondered around for a little bit, and at quarter to eleven we started to head back to the hotel. Now, Cusco is supposed to have an amazing night life, and just walking the streets we were proved right. As we walked through the main square, we were approached by a young girl, around 8 years old. She was trying to sell us gum. And she was very persistent. James, the guy who was walking around with us, tried to run away and she chased him. Like, fully ran after him. And the second he was a few meters away from us, A group of boys came swarming us, waving pamphlets and telling us how they could provide us with 'Free sexy times, with sexy boys.' I have not laughed that hard in a looong time.
Friday (day 6)
The ceremony was spectacular as I said, but I didn't have a chance to talk about Alishia. Alishia is a girl in the village, around our age I've been told, who cannot move her legs. Because of the way their village is, they don't have the means to treat her or provide her with a way to transport herself. So, she drags herself around. Now, in our society, there would be treatments or extra care being given to her, but she is ostracized. Her determination floored me. She pulled herself up to the main clearing to watch the ceremony, even though she could not participate. Myself and several others went and talked to her, and despite the situation she is in, she is just so happy. The fact that we went and talked to her pleased her so much she just wouldn't stop smiling. We've decided as a group that we are going to be fund raising for a wheelchair for her, and sending it to Nico (one of the bus drivers, hes been with us the past four years) and he'll bring it up to her.
Saturday (day 7)
So we were up bright and early (an hour later than usual) to start off on our weekend of tourism. First we went to the ruins of Ollanaytambo (oy-yan-tay-tambo), which was easily my favorite of the three. Ollanytambo was built as a strong hold to fight off the Spanish invaders. After several successes it fell to the Spanish. The site looks like stairs for a giant. Each 'tread' of the ruin has a slightly different ecological zones so different plants grew on each level. The entire ruin is supposed to represent a llama, and near the top point is what appears to be a stone bench. On the first day of winter (our summer), the sun shines through a sort of dent in the mountain across for it, and lands directly on the the bench. This is the eye of the Llama, and what the entire ruin was built around.
After that we visited Sacsayhuaman, a ruin just outside Cusco. It, like Ollanytambo, is supposidly representing an animal. Sacsayhuaman, when put with Cusco, is supposed to represent a Puma. Cusco is the body, and the ruins, which are built jagged, are the teeth. One side of Sacsayhuaman is covered in these giant smooth rocks that look like they could be stone slides. The other is the 'teeth' part of the ruin. It is three layers of jagged rocks, each jag ended with a huge bolder.
That night was spent in Cusco, and after I left the sketchy cafe, we explored the city a little bit.
Curfew was 11, and myself and a group of friends left the hotel at around 9:45-10 o'clock. We wondered around for a little bit, and at quarter to eleven we started to head back to the hotel. Now, Cusco is supposed to have an amazing night life, and just walking the streets we were proved right. As we walked through the main square, we were approached by a young girl, around 8 years old. She was trying to sell us gum. And she was very persistent. James, the guy who was walking around with us, tried to run away and she chased him. Like, fully ran after him. And the second he was a few meters away from us, A group of boys came swarming us, waving pamphlets and telling us how they could provide us with 'Free sexy times, with sexy boys.' I have not laughed that hard in a looong time.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Day 7+ 8
The past two days have been spectacular. I don't have much time but I'll fit in what I can now and add details later.
Yesterday we did a half day at the work site, then made the trek over to the village we made the stoves for, for the celebration. When we first got their nothing had really started, so a soccer game was started with Stelly's vs. Properu vs. Peruvians. We lost. I wiped out. It was bad. Shortly after the game ended we found out there was going to be a funeral procession passing through. They take the coffin from the house, to the church, then to the cemetery.
After that we were served Cuy (guinea pig) with a mass plate of potato, corn and salad. Morgan got my Cuy and I got her corn. It worked well.
After that we had a tree ceremony. There was a huge tree stuck into a hole in the ground, and some of the elderly in the village came around and smeared a pink chalk like thing on our faces. It involved a huge chunk of the community, the Properu people, and Stelly's dancing around said tree. Ater a few minutes an axe was brought into the circle and people started going in pairs to the tree and taking a few chops. Now, we had heard of this before. Who ever cuts down the tree, pays for the ceremony for the next year. We had decided that we would not be cutting down the tree, then next thing you know, Ian sends the tree down to the ground. Sooo, we're paying for next years ceremony, though it should only involved paying for the tree and the gifts in it.
It was truly amazing- the faces of everyone, the people of the community and us, had such looks of happiness on their faces. As we left, everyone was grabbing us, kissing our cheeks (there is no such thing as personal space here) and thanking us.
Today was purely for tourisms sake. We saw the ruins of Ollanaytambo (oy-an-ta-tambo) and Sacsayhuaman (sax-ay-woman) and are currently staying in the coolest hotel in Cusco. Its very lord of the rings, hobbit style. The showers are rather sketchy though, Asia got attacked. Tomorrow we're visiting the Pisac Ruins, and Pisac market, before we return to Urubamba. We've found the strike is not going to be happening, though monday has already been changed offically. We have a hike planned for the morning, and we're visiting an agro-tourism site.
PS: I'm in the sketchiest internet cafe everrrr.
Yesterday we did a half day at the work site, then made the trek over to the village we made the stoves for, for the celebration. When we first got their nothing had really started, so a soccer game was started with Stelly's vs. Properu vs. Peruvians. We lost. I wiped out. It was bad. Shortly after the game ended we found out there was going to be a funeral procession passing through. They take the coffin from the house, to the church, then to the cemetery.
After that we were served Cuy (guinea pig) with a mass plate of potato, corn and salad. Morgan got my Cuy and I got her corn. It worked well.
After that we had a tree ceremony. There was a huge tree stuck into a hole in the ground, and some of the elderly in the village came around and smeared a pink chalk like thing on our faces. It involved a huge chunk of the community, the Properu people, and Stelly's dancing around said tree. Ater a few minutes an axe was brought into the circle and people started going in pairs to the tree and taking a few chops. Now, we had heard of this before. Who ever cuts down the tree, pays for the ceremony for the next year. We had decided that we would not be cutting down the tree, then next thing you know, Ian sends the tree down to the ground. Sooo, we're paying for next years ceremony, though it should only involved paying for the tree and the gifts in it.
It was truly amazing- the faces of everyone, the people of the community and us, had such looks of happiness on their faces. As we left, everyone was grabbing us, kissing our cheeks (there is no such thing as personal space here) and thanking us.
Today was purely for tourisms sake. We saw the ruins of Ollanaytambo (oy-an-ta-tambo) and Sacsayhuaman (sax-ay-woman) and are currently staying in the coolest hotel in Cusco. Its very lord of the rings, hobbit style. The showers are rather sketchy though, Asia got attacked. Tomorrow we're visiting the Pisac Ruins, and Pisac market, before we return to Urubamba. We've found the strike is not going to be happening, though monday has already been changed offically. We have a hike planned for the morning, and we're visiting an agro-tourism site.
PS: I'm in the sketchiest internet cafe everrrr.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Day 6
So today at the work site was awesome, really really tiring though. We helped finish the last rows of adobe and got the site ready for the roof, piled stones for the floor, shucked bamboo and evened out the ground in front of the school. Every couple hours the children came out and helped shuck bamboo with us. It is quite a bit easier to understand children then it is to adults; you can communicate with them through hand motions and games.
Below: Asia Gets Pick Happy
Above:Tina enjoys some Grub
We found out today that there is a possibility of a farm strike on Monday and Tuesday next week. Now, if this happens, then all roads will be blocked off, and nobody will be able to go anywhere. We've been told one of the reasons behind the strike is protesting a free trade agreement with the US and Canada. If people try to drive the roads protesters will throw rocks.
If this does happen, it takes out two of our work days, so we've had to reschedule several things. So tomorrow, instead of Monday, will be a half day and construction will make their way over to Santa-Anna for a sort of closing ceremony. Monday will be a hike, and of course, we'll have to hike out of the city. Tuesday has potential to be an optional hike (which I'm not sure would be a good idea as we're hiking the Inca trail) or do other things around Urubamba.
Below: Asia Gets Pick Happy
Above:Tina enjoys some Grub
We found out today that there is a possibility of a farm strike on Monday and Tuesday next week. Now, if this happens, then all roads will be blocked off, and nobody will be able to go anywhere. We've been told one of the reasons behind the strike is protesting a free trade agreement with the US and Canada. If people try to drive the roads protesters will throw rocks.
If this does happen, it takes out two of our work days, so we've had to reschedule several things. So tomorrow, instead of Monday, will be a half day and construction will make their way over to Santa-Anna for a sort of closing ceremony. Monday will be a hike, and of course, we'll have to hike out of the city. Tuesday has potential to be an optional hike (which I'm not sure would be a good idea as we're hiking the Inca trail) or do other things around Urubamba.
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