Just for the next few weeks, I have put a file on my World web site (which has a limit of 100 meg, which I'm nearly at). The file is a (very amateurish!) movie I've made that combines video and music that are both directly "of" a very special place: El Condor Pasa (The Condor Pass), a small recreational park about a 90 minute drive on an incredibly dusty but even more incredibly scenic dirt road along Colca Canyon, through two tunnels, from Chibay. Elevation of the park is 13,000 feet.
At the park, the elevation of the river in the canyon is about 10,000 feet. The tops of the surrounding peaks are nearly 20,000 feet. Thus the canyon is nearly two miles deep. Colca Canyon persists with such dimensions for over 50 miles - the world's deepest, and one of its longest, canyons. I have seen Colorado's "Grand" Canyon, and can say with authority that Peru's Colca Canyon makes it look like some logger dragged his axe for a little while.
The video is of the largest-winged birds in the world: Andean Condors - wingspread up to 10 feet - soaring at the Pass.
Peru is like Equador in that even in tourist gathering spots, there are relatively few signs, fences, or other devices to keep careless people from getting hurt or killed. I perched on a rock, in a place from which a fall would definitely have been fatal, to get the video. Panning to follow Condors flying overhead, while perched on said rock, in the wind, was a bit shaky... but I got 10 (fragmented) minutes of incredible video. A little over 2 minutes are included here.
The music is from a song named after the park, written in 1913 by a Peruvian composer based on Peruvian folk tunes, in this case performed by an Andean band named K'Ayataki that we heard in a pedestrian alley in Arequipa.
Wikipedia has the history of the song. You will find the melody very familiar from 1970. However, in the Peruvian cities we visited one still hears it frequently today.
With no further ado, here is the link:
El Condor Pasa, the movie.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
no screwups no cry
Our trip home went flawlessly. Ariel was happily admiring some improvements made in her apartment by 2 pm, and Lisa and I were happily admiring the progress of my garden by 5 pm. WBZ kept us out of the crash-related backup on 128 - try that in Peru!
OK, there was a tiny bit of a flaw: there was a short delay in Atlanta because Logan was fogged in. Nothing to get one's shorts in a bunch about. And I had the classic "share part of your seat with an obese American" experience for 3 hours. I chose to find it educational.
Our luggage arrived in good shape. We had a very pleasant Haitian taxi driver on our way to Brighton. After dropping off Ariel, Lisa and I tried a few decent local sources (Concord, Acton) and given our Peruvian education, we determined that decent ingredients for a foodie lifestyle are not quite what they should be (yet) in the U.S. Pastene and Goya are your best friends for beans, and that's just sad. OTOH the computer connectivity here kicks serious ass. :-)
Not to mention American keyboards. And Oh BABY did I miss my Mac!
- Gary
OK, there was a tiny bit of a flaw: there was a short delay in Atlanta because Logan was fogged in. Nothing to get one's shorts in a bunch about. And I had the classic "share part of your seat with an obese American" experience for 3 hours. I chose to find it educational.
Our luggage arrived in good shape. We had a very pleasant Haitian taxi driver on our way to Brighton. After dropping off Ariel, Lisa and I tried a few decent local sources (Concord, Acton) and given our Peruvian education, we determined that decent ingredients for a foodie lifestyle are not quite what they should be (yet) in the U.S. Pastene and Goya are your best friends for beans, and that's just sad. OTOH the computer connectivity here kicks serious ass. :-)
Not to mention American keyboards. And Oh BABY did I miss my Mac!
- Gary
Monday, August 6, 2007
Three From Peru
Ariel, Lisa, and I are awaiting a taxi to the airport. In about 3.5 hours, we expect to be aloft enroute to Atlanta. Peru has been fascinating.
Our love and thanks to all who commented, called, emailed, and helped.
- Gary
Our love and thanks to all who commented, called, emailed, and helped.
- Gary
Adios Peru; Full Circle
Lisa here. We are on our final hours of our stay in Peru and I just wanted to leave one last post.
When Kate and I arrived three weeks ago, the first thing on our agenda was to visit CPAL, a private, oral school for the Deaf in Lima. We met with the principal and some of the teachers, but as with all good planning, we did not plan well enough. We chose to come to Peru since we wanted to connect with a school for the Deaf in a S. American country and we knew that our summers translate into their winters, so school would be in session here. What we failed to find out was when they were on winter break, which as luck would have it, coincided with our time in Lima. So while we were able to meet with the director of the school, we were unable to see any classes or meet with any students. However, upon checking further, we found out that their school vacation ended last Friday and their first day back in school was today. While Kate would not be here, I made an appointment and was welcomed back to the school today to meet the students and see some classes that were in session.
As Kate and I mentioned in one of our first posts after we visited another school for the Deaf here, kids will be kids and Deaf kids will be Deaf kids no matter where they are in the world. In this same vein, schools will be schools no matter where they are in the world. The first day after vacation is usually filled with what did you do on your vacation stories, and today was no exception. The problem here was, for some odd reason, the 3 classes we (my daughter and I) spent the most time in, the discussion revolved around food, and eating cuy in particular. If you look back at the original pictures posted by Kate way back in May, you might have noticed two animals pictured, an alpaca and my pet guinnea pig. Cuy is Spanish for guinea pig, need I say more?
The visit went well though and I'm hoping that the two schools might create an international connection that will grow over the years. At this point, I want to thank all of you who have taken the time to read and comment on our posts. By keeping this blog it has helped me reflect on the trip, the people we met, and the places we visited. It was truly an experience I will never forgot. And finally, I here, and Kate back home in the states, want to thank Fund for Teachers for granting us the opportunity to revive, learn and grow in Peru.
When Kate and I arrived three weeks ago, the first thing on our agenda was to visit CPAL, a private, oral school for the Deaf in Lima. We met with the principal and some of the teachers, but as with all good planning, we did not plan well enough. We chose to come to Peru since we wanted to connect with a school for the Deaf in a S. American country and we knew that our summers translate into their winters, so school would be in session here. What we failed to find out was when they were on winter break, which as luck would have it, coincided with our time in Lima. So while we were able to meet with the director of the school, we were unable to see any classes or meet with any students. However, upon checking further, we found out that their school vacation ended last Friday and their first day back in school was today. While Kate would not be here, I made an appointment and was welcomed back to the school today to meet the students and see some classes that were in session.
As Kate and I mentioned in one of our first posts after we visited another school for the Deaf here, kids will be kids and Deaf kids will be Deaf kids no matter where they are in the world. In this same vein, schools will be schools no matter where they are in the world. The first day after vacation is usually filled with what did you do on your vacation stories, and today was no exception. The problem here was, for some odd reason, the 3 classes we (my daughter and I) spent the most time in, the discussion revolved around food, and eating cuy in particular. If you look back at the original pictures posted by Kate way back in May, you might have noticed two animals pictured, an alpaca and my pet guinnea pig. Cuy is Spanish for guinea pig, need I say more?
The visit went well though and I'm hoping that the two schools might create an international connection that will grow over the years. At this point, I want to thank all of you who have taken the time to read and comment on our posts. By keeping this blog it has helped me reflect on the trip, the people we met, and the places we visited. It was truly an experience I will never forgot. And finally, I here, and Kate back home in the states, want to thank Fund for Teachers for granting us the opportunity to revive, learn and grow in Peru.
cops will be cops
So far we've seen exactly one sign in Peru that tries to reduce the noise: there's a sign a couple blocks from this hostal that says (translated) "No honking". It has a picture of a trumpet in a crossed circle.
Directly downstream from this sign, a local cop stopped a bus full of people. In the 2-lane road, he stood blocking one lane and the bus took up the other. It was almost exactly 5 pm; traffic was at its raucous height. Completely ignoring the bedlam he was creating, he demanded to see the bus driver's papers.
So Peruvian drivers did what Peruvian drivers do when confronted with an obstacle to forward progress. They blew their horns. In what was maybe the only no-horn-blowing district in the country. In full view of a cop who was in the act of demonstrating that he was quite willing to inconvenience any and every one in his defense of the letter of the law.
We did not stay to watch how this situation was resolved, but I will say that as we walked toward the hostal, the honking abruptly stopped.
- Gary
Directly downstream from this sign, a local cop stopped a bus full of people. In the 2-lane road, he stood blocking one lane and the bus took up the other. It was almost exactly 5 pm; traffic was at its raucous height. Completely ignoring the bedlam he was creating, he demanded to see the bus driver's papers.
So Peruvian drivers did what Peruvian drivers do when confronted with an obstacle to forward progress. They blew their horns. In what was maybe the only no-horn-blowing district in the country. In full view of a cop who was in the act of demonstrating that he was quite willing to inconvenience any and every one in his defense of the letter of the law.
We did not stay to watch how this situation was resolved, but I will say that as we walked toward the hostal, the honking abruptly stopped.
- Gary
Eating in Peru
(This entry is dedicated to Amy ;-)
Peruvian restaurants and service are vastly better than I expected... and generally as good as my favorite U.S. restaurants. As I mentioned in another post, service is much better. I´ve been able to put my finger on the difference over the last few days: wait staff know the ingredients and flexibility of the dishes, rather than needing to "ask the kitchen" about these issues (or worse yet, making something up when they don´t know). Even if they don´t really speak English, they know enough English food words to handle most questions.
I don´t have time now for complete detail, but one good example of Peruvian cuisine is that you can always get a healthful and satisifactory lunch by ordering "ensalada mixto" ' - a mixed salad. The worst one I had was yesterday, and it was quite good: tomato, cucumber, and avocado slices artfully arranged over fresh lettuce, with olive oil and a light vinegrette dressing (made of white wine vinegar, lemon, and black pepper) on the side. (This for $4 US at a rooftop restaurant in Arequipa with spectacular views of the surrounding snow-capped peaks as well as the street below - at which an Andean folk quartet was busking. When they heard me applauding after a number, the leader came up and sold us a CD!).
A more typical mixed salad would not include lettuce, but would have fresh peas, carrots, string beans, and other vegetables that in the U.S. are more typically served cooked.
Garlic and the onion family are used in specific Peruvian entrees, but they are not gratuitously thrown into everything else, so I did not find it hard to avoid them. I even got to have some dishes which in the U.S. are always "poisoned" for me: tomato soup, asparagus soup, and - believe it or not - potato salad, which was absolutely wonderful. Peruvians are rightfully proud of their several hundred local varieties of potato. They also don´t put onion in their mayonaise.
Their scale of "spicy hot" corresponds to one-pepper status in the U.S., though. They have hot peppers, but they use them very sparingly, even when asked to use "mucho".
Lisa and Ariel are back from visiting a school, so it´s time to go find some lunch. Yum!
- Gary
Peruvian restaurants and service are vastly better than I expected... and generally as good as my favorite U.S. restaurants. As I mentioned in another post, service is much better. I´ve been able to put my finger on the difference over the last few days: wait staff know the ingredients and flexibility of the dishes, rather than needing to "ask the kitchen" about these issues (or worse yet, making something up when they don´t know). Even if they don´t really speak English, they know enough English food words to handle most questions.
I don´t have time now for complete detail, but one good example of Peruvian cuisine is that you can always get a healthful and satisifactory lunch by ordering "ensalada mixto" ' - a mixed salad. The worst one I had was yesterday, and it was quite good: tomato, cucumber, and avocado slices artfully arranged over fresh lettuce, with olive oil and a light vinegrette dressing (made of white wine vinegar, lemon, and black pepper) on the side. (This for $4 US at a rooftop restaurant in Arequipa with spectacular views of the surrounding snow-capped peaks as well as the street below - at which an Andean folk quartet was busking. When they heard me applauding after a number, the leader came up and sold us a CD!).
A more typical mixed salad would not include lettuce, but would have fresh peas, carrots, string beans, and other vegetables that in the U.S. are more typically served cooked.
Garlic and the onion family are used in specific Peruvian entrees, but they are not gratuitously thrown into everything else, so I did not find it hard to avoid them. I even got to have some dishes which in the U.S. are always "poisoned" for me: tomato soup, asparagus soup, and - believe it or not - potato salad, which was absolutely wonderful. Peruvians are rightfully proud of their several hundred local varieties of potato. They also don´t put onion in their mayonaise.
Their scale of "spicy hot" corresponds to one-pepper status in the U.S., though. They have hot peppers, but they use them very sparingly, even when asked to use "mucho".
Lisa and Ariel are back from visiting a school, so it´s time to go find some lunch. Yum!
- Gary
Sunday, August 5, 2007
Colca Canyon, back to Lima
Hola. Lisa here. Just a quick update on our whereabouts and what we´ve been up to since Kate left.
It´s Sunday now and we have just one day left here. After spending Thursday and Thursday night in beautiful, SUNNY & WARM Arequipa, we headed off for an overnight going to the Colca Canyon. I believe Gary and I posted various observations about what we encountered thru Friday evening.
On Saturday morning, we got up very early for a two hour drive on a road that would be unfit for covered wagons, to see the condors flying around C0lca Canyon. They are quite impressive although Gary spent much of time time grumbling about the dusty roads (I had to agree). Ariel thought it was amazing and thought we were just being curmudgeons! I took lots of still pics and Gary had fun using the digital camcorder. They were quite a sight and we will post pics once we get home and get some sleep.
While I did enjoy seeing the birds and the beauty of the canyon, the second deepest in the world, I much preferred watching other events pass us by -- cars having to stop and wait for a herd of cows, donkeys, sheep, goats or alpaca cross the road. We also stopped on our way back to Arequipa for lunch and bumped into another group of foreign Deaf tourists in the restaurant. While we didn´t really have time to chat, we did find out that they were from Spain and were out there on vacation.
I´m going to get some shut-eye so I´ll be wide-eyed and alert for my visit back to the school tomorrow morning. Gary is still wrestling with the other computer here in the room and I´m going to turn this one over to him. I´m not sure if I´ll have time to post again before we leave tomorrow night, but if not, I´ll be back from home and will continue to add pics and more comments from this incredible trip!
It´s Sunday now and we have just one day left here. After spending Thursday and Thursday night in beautiful, SUNNY & WARM Arequipa, we headed off for an overnight going to the Colca Canyon. I believe Gary and I posted various observations about what we encountered thru Friday evening.
On Saturday morning, we got up very early for a two hour drive on a road that would be unfit for covered wagons, to see the condors flying around C0lca Canyon. They are quite impressive although Gary spent much of time time grumbling about the dusty roads (I had to agree). Ariel thought it was amazing and thought we were just being curmudgeons! I took lots of still pics and Gary had fun using the digital camcorder. They were quite a sight and we will post pics once we get home and get some sleep.
While I did enjoy seeing the birds and the beauty of the canyon, the second deepest in the world, I much preferred watching other events pass us by -- cars having to stop and wait for a herd of cows, donkeys, sheep, goats or alpaca cross the road. We also stopped on our way back to Arequipa for lunch and bumped into another group of foreign Deaf tourists in the restaurant. While we didn´t really have time to chat, we did find out that they were from Spain and were out there on vacation.
I´m going to get some shut-eye so I´ll be wide-eyed and alert for my visit back to the school tomorrow morning. Gary is still wrestling with the other computer here in the room and I´m going to turn this one over to him. I´m not sure if I´ll have time to post again before we leave tomorrow night, but if not, I´ll be back from home and will continue to add pics and more comments from this incredible trip!
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