Easy day of meeting friends...

Visited a history museum in the morning, and then met David and Roberta Levin, friends from the U.S., for lunch.  Had ceviche, a local specialty of raw fish marinated in lime juice.  Spent most of the afternoon doing 'chores', ie, writing and mailing postcards, finding a fax machine, doing banking, etc.

Praise The Lord and pass the pig...

We wandered into the main square this morning, hoping to visit a museum or two.  We didn't realise today is a huge public holiday, Corpus Christie and the Festival of the Guinea Pig.  Thousands of people gathered in the square as the day went on.  A mass was held on the steps of the cathedral with 51 priests, 2 cardinals, and 1 bishop.
We met another Australian couple and ended up spending a very enjoyable day with them.  We joined in the festivities and ordered the traditional guinea pig for lunch at one of the stalls.  Peter abstained as his stomach still wasn't up to par.  The meal was surprisingly good!
We then witnessed the main parade with religious floats so large on platforms, they were each carried by up to 40 men.  We have never experienced anything like this before.  Great fun.  We hope to visit museums tomorrow!

Returned to Cusco

We took an 8 hour, 'luxury' bus trip back to Cusco today.  We had upper deck front seats with a good view, but we were in full sun, like a glass house.  Shades did not work, seats did not incline, and air conditioning was woeful.  Started at 8:30 am and hit some sort of road protest...hundreds of people had put large rocks on one lane on the one road out of town.  Huge traffic jam.  Once clear of that, we had a flat tire.  Now, being two hours or so late, the driver drove like a maniac and Peter and I, having an upper front seat, saw all the near misses.  Because we were late, the driver did not stop at the lunch place, but drove straight through.  Then we were stopped by police, who came on board and dragged a Peruvian lady off the bus amidst loud protests with braids, hat and skirt flying in all directions.  (She, so the gossip went, was smuggling goods in from Bolivia.) All in all, a very hot, unpleasant trip!  We arrived safely.  I was hungry, Peter felt sick.  We are now back in our comfortable hacienda.  Peter is asleep.  I am catching up on emails and blog.

People living on Floating Islands

We did a day trip on a boat, out to Uros, the floating island people.  Incredibly interesting, but their way of life and culture is doomed.  They subsistance live and supplement their lifestyle with tourism. But I can't see the younger generation continuing this tradition.  They make the base of their community on a bed of reeds that float.  Hundreds of years ago, they did this for protection of not being found by the Spanish invaders.  No reason to live like this now, except these are the poorest of the poor with no land and only fishing skills to exist.  There are 5 to 10 families living on each island, 56 islands, 2000 people make up this culture.  Each family on an island has a bed hut made of reeds, but everything else is communal on that island.  The communal kitchen is the only fire, and this is built on a clay pot base.  One island holds a school, another a hospital, and another...a 7th Day Adventist Church.  Their boats are reeds and this is how they travel between islands.  The islands are not tied to each other, but anchored to reed beds for safety in times of storm.

Can't get more basic than this...

Slept in this morning. We are at 13,000 feet or more and we both feel sluggish and can't eat.  We did a tour this afternoon of a pre inca site and also visited a 'farm' if you could call it that.  Rock huts in a walled complex...a bedroom, a store room, a guinea pig house, a corral for the alpacas, a hut to store alpaca poo (used for fuel), and a sort of indoor/outdoor kitchen hut.  Their diet is corn, potatoes, and a sort of carrot, oats, and quinoa, alpaca and guinea pig on occasion.  No electricity or Running water.  Really basic living. And it is freezing cold.  No fire or warmth in the huts..  The whole family sleep in one bed for warmth.
The bed is a base of rocks, then two layers of reeds, then a layer of alpaca skins, then blankets.

Lake Titicaca

Did a 10 hour bus trip today, from Cusco to Puno, a city on the side of Lake Titicaca, 11,000 ft., going over a 14,222 ft pass.  We saw big herds of alpacas and llamas above 12,000 ft. All of the inhabitants of this area live on subsistence farming, using bullocks to plow their fields. There is not a car, tractor, or vehicle of any kind in sight. Some dwellings have electricity, most do not.  No running water to be seen. Trip was interesting as we stopped in many places learning about the history of the people. We visited Museums, villages, archeological sites, and churches. 

It seems to me that the jihad Muslims of today are following the same path as the Spanish took with 'Catholicism' 500 years ago in this country. Anyone who did not give up their faith and accept Jesus as the only saviour were savages, infidels, and deserved to be punished. Terrorism through religion reigned supreme. 

Filling in details...

When we were on the Gapagagos Islands, we had no Internet. I took notes, and now I am filling in those dates, I.e. May 12th-19th.  So if you want to know about our trip there, go back to those dates.

Today, in Cusco, Peru, we visited some amazing Inca sites.  Their knowledge of construction, astronomy, agriculture, teaching methods were all remarkable.  They had no alphabet so no written language. They used strings with knots to count, a precursor to the abacus.  Their culture, buildings, and lifestyle were totally destroyed by the Spanish conquerors in the name of Catholicism, but really it was to claim gold and silver for the Spanish crown.

Machu Picchu is not for the faint hearted or the elderly.

Words can't possibly describe this place.  I have seen countless pictures and read about it, but nothing prepares you for the setting and the scale of this ancient city sitting on the top of a mountain.
I am so glad Peter and I have seen it now, because climbing all over the area at this height is quite difficult.  We took it slowly, but after four hours, we were exhausted.
This isn't the high season, yet the amount of people viewing the sight was staggering.  They only allow 2,500 people per day, but a bus arrives at the gate, disgorging people, every 5 minutes.
Peru is a third world country, but they have this tourist thing down to a fine art.
And you need a strong constitution to be on a huge bus, careening up or down the mountain on a one lane track.  Corners became quite interesting, not to mention traffic coming the other way!

Agua Caliente, base of Macchu Pichu

We took the train through the Andes to this amazing tourist trap.  All streets are lined with accommodation places, restaurants, or small trinket shops.  But it seems to be carved out of the base of the mountains, as they rise steeply on either side of the small village.  Tourism is the only way they can eke out a living.

Guinea Pigs

The staple diet of Peruvians is Guinea pigs.  In Cusco, they eat about 100,000 guinea pigs a week.  And during the Guinea Pig Festival weekend, they will consume over 200,000 per day.  I haven't tried one yet, but hope to do so when I can eat again.
 I just found out that one of the symptoms of altitude sickness is total loss of appetite and headache.  Describes me to a T.

Altitude Sickness

Flew from Quito, Ecuador, to Lima and then on to Cusco, Peru. Cusco is 3,200 mtrs or over 11,000 feet.  It is hard to breathe, my head is throbbing despite having taken Altitude Pills, I can't eat, nor can I think straight.  We met some friends for dinner which was a mistake.  I was very sick.

Stopping destruction on the islands.

Visited the Darwin Research Centre today, where there is a breeding program for the giant tortoise. They were wiped off many of the islands by 17th and 18th century sailors who gathered up hundreds of thousands of them over the years for food. They found them easy to catch and they would put them on their backs in the hold without food or water. The tortoise would go into hibernation and exist in this state for up to 12 months, thus giving sailors fresh meat over the months to come.  Of course the sailors did not realise what damage they were creating with the natural evolution of the islands.  The centre is trying to restore the balance.
Sailors and settlers also left goats, pigs, dogs, cats, donkeys and rats on the islands, none of which were there before man arrived.  There is a huge and continual eradication going on, as these introduced animals wreak havoc on the native flora and fauna.

I am really getting into information overload.

The pace is killing us. Walks and snorkels every morning and afternoon, then a lecture and next day's briefing before dinner. I opted out of a snorkel or two and just sat on the beach. Peter did it all. Now we are starting to double up on seeing the wildlife, except for the really giant tortoise. We saw many of them in the highlands today. 

Learning new things every day.

Isabela Island. Peter is better today. We went out on the zodiac this morning. We were looking for sea turtles, which we saw, and this island has 'tree lions' as opposed to sea lions. We were floating through mangroves and learned that the sea lions have learned to climb the aerial roots and sun themselves on branches because there is no shoreline on this island.... hence tree lions (which we didn't see). Evolution and adaption to environment.  Peter and I stayed on board most of the day and relaxed, and then went on an evening zodiac cruise (panga as they call them) to see a few penguins. Others went on a deep sea snorkel, but came back early and very cold!

Another day in paradise.

I slept well last night for the first time, but Peter did not feel well and has been feeling badly all day.  He came out on the morning walk and the afternoon walk but was decidedly green. But what a morning. Fernandina Island. We saw 'iguana city'... hundreds of marine iguanas, spitting out salt through their noses. We also saw a sea lion that had just given a still birth to a pup and she was trying to get it to move. The afterbirth was attached and it was obvious the pup was born premature. Her grief was palpable. We also saw snakes, all different kinds of lava flows, and learned about the drift of this island, moving Eastward about 12 cm per year on it's tectonic plate.

Next, we (Peter did not do this.) did a deep water snorkel in clear water with visual overload. It was like being in an aquarium. We saw sea turtles and marine iguanas feeding on the sea floor, sea lions cavorting around us, a rock scorpion fish, thousands of small 'aquarium' fish, and cormorants diving next to us and feeding on the fish.

Isabel's Island was the afternoon walk searching for the giant land tortoise, for which we found about 5 medium size tortoises.  

More amazing sites of Galápagos

Didn't sleep well. Morning walk saw baby sea turtles hatching, and immediately eaten by Frigates. We were on Santa Cruz Island today. Saw flamingos, marine iguanas, pelicans, herons, etc.  this afternoon, we saw huge land iguanas fighting for their territory. Weather is great. Hot, but not overly so, sunshine and blue sky. Had an evening lecture about origin of Galapagos which was the same as Hawaii.

No fear.

What is extraordinary about the birds on the Galápagos is their total lack of fear or concern where humans are concerned.  You can stick a camera in their face from two feet away and they don't flinch.  Of course we are asked never to touch them and give them right of way at all times.  I stopped on the path for a small bird to pass and it hopped on my foot instead.  Because they have been in isolation for such a long time, we are just another animal to them.  Today we saw the red footed booby.  It has a beautiful pale blue beak, white feathers, and really red feet, an odd site.  We also saw the Frigate in courting mode.... The male inflates this huge red sack under his chin, and when a female flies overhead, it goes into wing flapping and singing.  It is quite a spectacle.

Galápagos Islands

We arrived in the Galápagos today, and boarded the boat, Flamingo 1.  There are 20 passengers and 10 crew including 2 English speaking Guides.  The captain is only 29 years old.  He looks very young to us!  We settled onto the boat, unpacked, and then were immediately taken back to shore in two zodiacs. Got our first interesting wildlife lecture and hiked up to a lagoon to watch Frigate birds diving into the fresh water.  Frigates hunt in salt water but have lost the gland to oil their feathers against salt. So they have to find fresh water to wash the salt out.  Evolution and adaption to the environment.

Tight pants...

Boy, do females wear tight pants in South America.  The pants seem to come in all sort of designs and colours, even looking like jeans, but they are all made out of stretch material and all either S,M, or L.  But when some of these super size mamas wear them, the result is..ummmm..interesting.  Peter has tried to surreptitiously to take some photos without success!

The Equator

We walked around the city, visiting churches and museums yesterday.  Today, we visited the centre of the world...  The Equator. For which Ecuador was named!  Fascinating collection of museums built on either side of the equator.  It was a Frenchman in the 1700's who did measurements outside of Quito, and established the middle of the world. (It took him 3 years.)  He was only 150 mtrs out by today's measurements!

Really expensive wonderful meal

We went to a restaurant on the top floor of a nice hotel yesterday.  View was magnificent, service excellent, table cloth,etc. We had a  very nice, 'set menu', three-course meal with fruit juice (we are trying not to drink at this altitude), and the bill was $8.00.

We also visited some fantastic museums.  Lots of religious art and an archeological museum with stuff from the Inca period we didn't know existed.  I am hoping to find out the history of this city as it is so high and remote, it makes me wonder who ever came here in the first place and why!

Quito, Ecuador

We have arrived in Quito, approximately 8000 feet in altitude.  We arrived tired after 5 days of ballooning, and our feet feel like lead weights.  But we are staying in an apartment of a friend of a friend. It is charming and in the middle of the Old Town. But what is most disconcerting is the 4 locks to get into the place.  Front door has two locks and has a grill gate with a double lock and then the entrance to the building has a deadlock.  Crime is notable in Ecuador.

Ballooning in Brazil

I am back with Peter in Brazil.  We are in the small town of Torres on the coast, south of Florianopolis, north of Porto Alegre.  We are with Roberta Kieling and Eduardo Tremarin, Brazilian friends I went to language school with in Toulouse, France.  We also have another Brazilian with a
4WD as our crew.  Weather has been good with 5 flights up till now.  Today, it is very windy, but I need a break! Morning and evening flights are tiring!  We are all having fun.  Eduardo, who has never ballooned before, is an excellent crew member...  and speaks English, so he can interpret the briefing for Peter and liaise with the driver when we are flying.