Like so much of this blog this title is a little old because Holden and I are sitting in the lobby of the Intercontinental Hotel, New Orleans enjoying free wireless internet. Even so, it did apply three days ago as we said goodbye to the people of Pumarmarca, recieving an emotional sendoff by people those we have come to love over the last two months.
After a somewhat torrid journey lasting 32 hours we had lunch today of gumbo and oyster po boy in a bar on the famous Bourbon Street. We can't quite believe we are here and I think our culture shock is more than if we did not speak English. Our taxi driver from the airport spoke with such a strong Haitian accent that it was easier for Tiff to speak French than attempt communication any other way. Right now we are exhausted, it is 50F and raining, but we are so excited nothing could dampen our spirits.
28 January 2007
24 January 2007
Life Is Beautiful
We have returned from the Inca Trail and are enjoying our last few days in Cusco before we make our way to the US.
The four day walk to Machu Picchu must rank as one of the most fantastic experiances of my life. It was also great to share it with Tony, Jen and Austin.
However, please let me put the achievement of our children into context. The four day version of the Inca Trail is 45km of hard walking. In a recent SMH article a ¨celebrity chef" described the second day of the Inca trail as the most difficult achievement of his life. On the second day the trail rises over 1200m to ¨dead woman´s pass" at an altitude of 4200m in a single morning. As Phoebe ascended this section she was singing "Jesus Christ Superstar" while passing adults who were literally in tears of pain. When Phoebe, Holden and Austin reached the pass in good spirits without being carried one inch, fellow walkers waiting at the top in exhaustion burst into spontaneous applause when they saw the kids strolling by. By the end of the walk the kids had become minor celebrities on the trail and we were being approached by strangers wanting to photograph the amazing kids who had walked the trail. All the children walked the whole trail without being carried and without complaint and I am so proud of them.
The trail itself is incredibly beautiful, with the 500 year old cobbled track winding its way through the Andes connecting increasingly impressive Incan ruins. Machu Picchu is almost beyond description in its stunning location, extraordinary engineering and unique religious significance. We also became very used to having an army of porters to spoil us, making camp before we arrived, providing extraordinary meals and waking us with cocoa tea in our tents at the beginning of each day. The only way to camp.
We are all very sad to be leaving Cusco, but are also very busy finishing off our projects in Pumamarca and packing up. Tomorrow we have the closing ceremony for the Pumamarca Olympics and will hand out prizes and gifts to the kids.
Will try to get in another blog before we leave for Lima on Friday.
The four day walk to Machu Picchu must rank as one of the most fantastic experiances of my life. It was also great to share it with Tony, Jen and Austin.
However, please let me put the achievement of our children into context. The four day version of the Inca Trail is 45km of hard walking. In a recent SMH article a ¨celebrity chef" described the second day of the Inca trail as the most difficult achievement of his life. On the second day the trail rises over 1200m to ¨dead woman´s pass" at an altitude of 4200m in a single morning. As Phoebe ascended this section she was singing "Jesus Christ Superstar" while passing adults who were literally in tears of pain. When Phoebe, Holden and Austin reached the pass in good spirits without being carried one inch, fellow walkers waiting at the top in exhaustion burst into spontaneous applause when they saw the kids strolling by. By the end of the walk the kids had become minor celebrities on the trail and we were being approached by strangers wanting to photograph the amazing kids who had walked the trail. All the children walked the whole trail without being carried and without complaint and I am so proud of them.
The trail itself is incredibly beautiful, with the 500 year old cobbled track winding its way through the Andes connecting increasingly impressive Incan ruins. Machu Picchu is almost beyond description in its stunning location, extraordinary engineering and unique religious significance. We also became very used to having an army of porters to spoil us, making camp before we arrived, providing extraordinary meals and waking us with cocoa tea in our tents at the beginning of each day. The only way to camp.
We are all very sad to be leaving Cusco, but are also very busy finishing off our projects in Pumamarca and packing up. Tomorrow we have the closing ceremony for the Pumamarca Olympics and will hand out prizes and gifts to the kids.
Will try to get in another blog before we leave for Lima on Friday.
16 January 2007
Working Nine to Five
We´re not really working too hard but we are trying to pack everything in as we leave on Jan 26 for the US and on Wednesday we´re off to Machu Picchu for four days.
Jen, Tony and Austin have arrived and we´ve been having a fabulous time.
This weekend we all went to Pisac and stayed in the Royal Inca Hotel for a night to go shopping at the famous markets and show them the Sacred Valley. The Cusco ¨futbol¨ team Cienciano, which we saw play four weeks ago, just happened to be at the same hotel on a training weekend. Of course sitting alone at the bar Jen and Tiff met the manager.
We´ve all been working quite hard at Pumamarca and after a bit of a marketing campaign the summer school is now going really well. Today Jen, Tony and Austin joined us and we had over 50 kids for our Pumamarca Olympics. At the moment Australia and Italy are neck and neck on 26 points with Indonesia and Canada fighting it out on 18 and 15. Next week we will have finals and presentation of prizes - provided by Jen.
Tiff is also working hard with the adults in the community and ¨talleres¨, which is a workshop to create saleable handicrafts. She´s achieving fantastic things with it but I´d better let her tell you about that.
Sorry this is so short, but we´re really short of time.
Jen, Tony and Austin have arrived and we´ve been having a fabulous time.
This weekend we all went to Pisac and stayed in the Royal Inca Hotel for a night to go shopping at the famous markets and show them the Sacred Valley. The Cusco ¨futbol¨ team Cienciano, which we saw play four weeks ago, just happened to be at the same hotel on a training weekend. Of course sitting alone at the bar Jen and Tiff met the manager.
We´ve all been working quite hard at Pumamarca and after a bit of a marketing campaign the summer school is now going really well. Today Jen, Tony and Austin joined us and we had over 50 kids for our Pumamarca Olympics. At the moment Australia and Italy are neck and neck on 26 points with Indonesia and Canada fighting it out on 18 and 15. Next week we will have finals and presentation of prizes - provided by Jen.
Tiff is also working hard with the adults in the community and ¨talleres¨, which is a workshop to create saleable handicrafts. She´s achieving fantastic things with it but I´d better let her tell you about that.
Sorry this is so short, but we´re really short of time.
11 January 2007
Swimming to Cambodia
We have been impossibly slack and impossibly busy and we're now a long way behind on our blog. Sorry...
However, back last year we went on a journey to Lake Titicaca, the world's highest navigable freshwater lake that also marks the border between Peru and Bolivia.
As is often the case when you are in some Andean backwater between Cusco and Puno, I ran into a former colleague from the City of Sydney travelling through South America on hols. To our delight, Victor and his girlfriend Keturah were on the same lake tour and we really enjoyed their company over the next few days.
To an Australian, Lake Titicaca may as well be the ocean with water stretching to the horizon in many places and only the snow capped mountain ranges of Bolivia reminding you that you are 3800m above sea level. Walking up a hill achieves the same effect.
After a somewhat touristy visit to a floating reed village we spent the night on the island of Amantani. We stayed with a family in this fantastic community and stunning location. An evening of dancing and beer at altitude really sorts you out.
The next day we left early and visited Taquile island ... where single and married men wear special Catelan hats. It was such awesome weather that after lunch I went swimming with some "loco" Canadians. Yes, it was cold.
Back in Puno a dispute with our hotel ended up costing us dearly. When we refused one of the reception staff a bribe to use the shower before our overnight bus ride back to Cusco we ended up homeless for several hours. This didn't seem too much of a problem as some friendly aussies let Tiff use their shower and we had a fabulous dinner with Victor and Keturah. Our problems started when we decided to get ourselves to the bus station rather than get a transfer from the hotel. Before we knew it our luxury first class bus had transformed into a local bus, complete with sacks full of potatoes, chickens and a smell that can't really be described. It was a difficult night, but we survived and we are stronger, especially our auto immune systems.
However, back last year we went on a journey to Lake Titicaca, the world's highest navigable freshwater lake that also marks the border between Peru and Bolivia.
As is often the case when you are in some Andean backwater between Cusco and Puno, I ran into a former colleague from the City of Sydney travelling through South America on hols. To our delight, Victor and his girlfriend Keturah were on the same lake tour and we really enjoyed their company over the next few days.
To an Australian, Lake Titicaca may as well be the ocean with water stretching to the horizon in many places and only the snow capped mountain ranges of Bolivia reminding you that you are 3800m above sea level. Walking up a hill achieves the same effect.
After a somewhat touristy visit to a floating reed village we spent the night on the island of Amantani. We stayed with a family in this fantastic community and stunning location. An evening of dancing and beer at altitude really sorts you out.
The next day we left early and visited Taquile island ... where single and married men wear special Catelan hats. It was such awesome weather that after lunch I went swimming with some "loco" Canadians. Yes, it was cold.
Back in Puno a dispute with our hotel ended up costing us dearly. When we refused one of the reception staff a bribe to use the shower before our overnight bus ride back to Cusco we ended up homeless for several hours. This didn't seem too much of a problem as some friendly aussies let Tiff use their shower and we had a fabulous dinner with Victor and Keturah. Our problems started when we decided to get ourselves to the bus station rather than get a transfer from the hotel. Before we knew it our luxury first class bus had transformed into a local bus, complete with sacks full of potatoes, chickens and a smell that can't really be described. It was a difficult night, but we survived and we are stronger, especially our auto immune systems.
01 January 2007
The Polar Express
Christmas came and went and we didn’t convert to Catholicism (although Phoebe remains a little up in the air on that front).
There was a huge market on the Plaza De Armas in Cusco on Christmas Eve and we exhausted ourselves buying fireworks and didn’t make it back for Christmas mass. Even so, we did have a tour of the cathedral on boxing day and it is amazing. The ability of the Catholics to adapt local religions to their own – at least until they reach a critical mass after which they simply massacre non believers – is truly astounding. The cathedral contains many wonderful artworks dating from the 16th century, but one of the most impressive is a 17th century adaptation of the Last Supper. Not only is the direct gaze of Judas truly frightening, but the disciples are hoeing into local fair, including a very distinctive guinea pig in the middle of the table. There is also an amazing 16th century choir stall, which took over a decade to carve. In addition to 40 something male and 30 something female saints it also contains quite unCatholic miniature images of a topless female at each choir stall. It is none other than “Pachamama” the pre Inca pregnant image of mother earth that has been worshipped in the Andes for thousands of years.
Christmas day itself was fairly traditional. We were joined by everyone from Peru’s Challenge for ham, turkey, champagne and fireworks. I’d definitely like to add the latter to an Aussie Christmas. There is something very jolly about blowing things up.
We did miss everyone at home though and I hope you all had a great Christmas and New Year.
We have since been to Lake Titicaca, swam in the highest navigable freshwater lake in the world and experienced the true horror of an overnight local bus from Puno. But that will have to wait for another blog.
There was a huge market on the Plaza De Armas in Cusco on Christmas Eve and we exhausted ourselves buying fireworks and didn’t make it back for Christmas mass. Even so, we did have a tour of the cathedral on boxing day and it is amazing. The ability of the Catholics to adapt local religions to their own – at least until they reach a critical mass after which they simply massacre non believers – is truly astounding. The cathedral contains many wonderful artworks dating from the 16th century, but one of the most impressive is a 17th century adaptation of the Last Supper. Not only is the direct gaze of Judas truly frightening, but the disciples are hoeing into local fair, including a very distinctive guinea pig in the middle of the table. There is also an amazing 16th century choir stall, which took over a decade to carve. In addition to 40 something male and 30 something female saints it also contains quite unCatholic miniature images of a topless female at each choir stall. It is none other than “Pachamama” the pre Inca pregnant image of mother earth that has been worshipped in the Andes for thousands of years.
Christmas day itself was fairly traditional. We were joined by everyone from Peru’s Challenge for ham, turkey, champagne and fireworks. I’d definitely like to add the latter to an Aussie Christmas. There is something very jolly about blowing things up.
We did miss everyone at home though and I hope you all had a great Christmas and New Year.
We have since been to Lake Titicaca, swam in the highest navigable freshwater lake in the world and experienced the true horror of an overnight local bus from Puno. But that will have to wait for another blog.
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