Peru 5: Final Thoughts

Going through my pictures again, I felt like taking one last abbreviated trip before I stop blogging about Peru and move on to the many other posts that are on the back burner. 

The Wilcahuain Ruin near Huaraz is a burial site. There are two sites a short distance apart.
There are many small alcoves inside to facilitate meditation and a place to leave offerings. 

One of the pottery artifacts in the small museum at the ruins.

Agriculture on a hillside. I love the patchwork feel of the fields.

Lupine grows wild and is also cultivated in Peru. The cultivated seeds are about the size of Lima beans and are toxic! So after the harvest, the beans are boiled all day long, then put into a burlap sack and placed in the river for two weeks. The river water washes the toxins away. Afterwards, a traditional salad is made with the beans.

Temple ruins at Chavin. This complex was inhabited by elite priests who practiced their spiritual crafts. Chavin is thought to be the "mother culture" of Peru, and pre-dates the Inca by quite a few centuries.

Typical stone masonry of the period and culture.

One of the most interesting things about this site are these acoustic canals. The people who designed the site moved the nearby river so it would flow underground canals. The holes in the ground amplify the rushing sound, which in turn enhanced the spiritual component of the rituals.

No ritual is complete without a mind-altering drink. The priests imbibed in some sort of concoction made with this cactus that was growing on the premises.

On the solstice, the priests would drink the cactus beverage, meditate in complete darkness, and at sunrise approach this carved stone stele which the light would only hit and light up on that one morning. Even without a drink, meditation, or the auditory enhancements provided by acoustic canals, I felt a magnetic force pulling me in toward this carving. There are things on this planet that defy logic, and I felt that here.

Carvings of different important totems. I believe this is supposed to represent a jaguar, which corresponds to an important constellation and the altar in front of the temple.

I wish I had more pictures of the market and all the ladies in their traditional dress. They don't like their picture taken and I was the only non-Native person present, so I just snuck a few pictures in the animal section. Those guinea pigs are ready "for the restaurant" and housed in a mesh bag. 

Galcier-fed lake surrounded by arboreo del papel, or paper tree.

Our pack animals coming up a mountain trail.

Re-adjusting the packs on the animals before going downhill again.

We found these butterflies half frozen on a very cold morning. They still moved a little and were just waiting for the sun to come up so they could fly again.

During this trip we had to hike over nine passes.  The next few pictures commemorate some these passes.

 

15,600 feet - the highest I have stood on this Earth thus far.

At 14,500 feet, it is always surprising to find fossils!

One of the unique traits of this trip was experiencing the immense empty valleys. Well, almost empty. Farmers leave their animals here in the dry season and their poop is all over the place.

Another magnificent valley.

When you think Peru, you often think Inca, and terraces. The Inca were not as active in this mid- to northern part of Peru, and thus these terraces were the only we got to see. They were not impressive, but nonetheless interesting to see them carved into a hillside.

Coming up to the Santa Cruz mountains. 

The Santa Cruz chain of mountains were the ones I found most beautiful.  The 45 minutes we spent resting with this viewpoint was one of my favorite memories of the trip.

As mentioned before, there were lots of animals that we encountered.  This cow followed us for about a mile.

There was a canal system that brought some of the lake water down to the villages. 

The quinoa harvest!

Saying good-bye to our donkeys at the end of the trek.

Peruvian National Flower: Cantuta

Adios Peru! I miss it and think about it daily. I can't wait for the next trip. So much for one just one "trip of a life-time!" I'm starting a new savings plan...

Peru 4: Alpamayo: Sunset, Sunrise, Repeat

One of my favorite things about hiking in the back country is having access to sights that not everyone can take a picture of from the road. Mount Alpamayo is one of those amazing places. This mountain is an almost perfect pyramid, leaving room for only four people at the summit. We hiked two days worth of mileage so that we could have a rest day at this campsite and plenty of photo opportunities in case there were too many clouds.

Approaching Alpamayo Campsite

Sunset pictures begin. Note the red "toilet tent," but don't get too excited.
There is only a pit under there. Privacy was nice though!

Sunset time lapse

Going...

Going...

Gone.

EXCEPT, suddenly the whole range turned a brilliant reddish pink color.

It was like magic.

Fire on the mountain

Crack of dawn

A little sun

East face lights up

Time for some day hiking!

The destination is always further than it looks...

Coming over the lake embankment.

Alpamayo presiding over its glacier lake.

Fun with photo settings. I do like the drama of this shot.
(Don't ask me what I did. I am awesome largely by accident!)

Relaxing and enjoying the view after hiking and eating lots of pachamanca.

Another great sunset.

Sunrise number 2: cloudy with a chance of hiking all day!

The clouds lift as we settle into the next expansive valley.

One last zoomed view.

Adios, fair mountain.

Peru 3: Pachamanca

One day we trekked two day's worth of distance with the purpose of having a rest day at the Alpamayo campsite. The trek is also called the Alpamayo Circuit, and this mountain is not visible from any major points in civilization. We wanted extra time here in case of bad weather obscuring photo opportunities, the natural spring in the camp ground, and more time to prepare and eat Pachamanca, a national Peruvian dish. 

Pachamanca is a Quechua word that means earth (pacha) and earthen pot/cooking vessel (manca). As you will see, it is cooked underground by hot stones. This dish has been made since the rule of the Incas and is specific to the cuisine of Peru. It is often eaten after the harvest as a thanksgiving celebration. Apparently it is also popular to make during or at the end of lengthy treks. After eating this amazing meal, I teased the mountain guide that I had found out why he leads long treks: who wouldn't want to eat the best meal in the world every two weeks? 

Early in the morning, our donkey driver prepared the earthen pit and stacked the stones for heating.

Note the pepper (barely visible) in the top left corner of the stove. When it was completely black and roasted, it was one of the signs that the stones were hot enough.

The fire was built under the stones and kept stoked for a few hours. Pepper is more visible in this picture (top right).

When the stones were hot enough, they were moved (with bits of cardboard!!)  so the fire could be removed. The stones were rearranged to create an evenly heating oven.

The cook is loading up the bottom with whole potatoes and yams, then laying the meats, and finishing with the trout, which needs the least amount of heat. The meats are marinated with herbs grown in the area, in this case huacatay leaves, which is a cousin of the marigold. Traditionally the meats are wrapped in banana leaves, but our cook used aluminum foil. 

More loading and arranging, but let's just pause and admire the donkey driver's sandals. They are made entirely of old rubber tires. The treads are underneath, and it often looked like someone had driven a vehicle on the trails, because he wore them while hiking and donkey driving!!!! I would be scared that a large animal would step on my feet and do some major damage. In addition, it was often freezing in the morning. Didn't seem to bother him at all! 

After the food was loaded, a last layer of rocks placed on top, grasses that were growing in the area in abundance were placed on top of the stone oven. The blue tarp on the left was used as a wind barrier.

The grass was covered by another cloth and then lots of dirt.

Cooking time is around an hour. Nothing to see here.

Time to unload the food!

SO MUCH FOOD!

View from the top of empty oven.

YUMMY LUNCH! Several different potatoes, yams called oca (the skinny ones), chicken and beef. As the pescatarian, I had the honor of getting the freshly caught trout. 

As if that plate of loot wasn't enough, there was a tray of sides that featured fresh cucumber, tomato, and broccoli. There was a corn and cheese salad, a red pepper salad (made with the "test" pepper up above) and a delicious dipping sauce. 

Bon Appetit! Let me know if you can and will make this for me. I will come visit immediately!