Peru Journal part 3

06/2005 Peru Journal part 3

Hey, everyone, here's the final installment. In this issue we make the trek through the Andes to Machu Picchu.

- Altitude sickness
I started the first day of the hike fine, then quickly started having problems. Falling from the front to the back of the group, I walked with Jose, the junior of our two guides. I had been feeling a cough and some stomach problems for several days, but it wasn't until lunch of this day that I finally allowed that it was probably altitude sickness.

"Not possible", I thought. "I live at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. I eat altitude for breakfast". And this isn't higher than I have been before. Actually, I found out later that it was higher than I had been, but not by THAT much. Anyway, there it was.

"Quantos años tienes?", Jose asked. Great, that's just what I need. 35, I replied. He's 24. Super. Our other guide, Edgar, the "senior" guide, it turns out, is 28. So I'm the oldest person in the entire group.

I'm not really used to bring the oldest person in any entire group, but there I was at lunch, lying on the ground because I didn't have the energy to sit at the table with eveyone else.

It's good, I suppose, to be humbled from time to time. Based on that theory, this was a VERY good morning. Based on any other measure, it wasn't so hot.

- Avalanche overnight
We camped at 15,000 feet near the top of the pass, and everyone went to bed early. At about 4am, we were shaken from our sleep by a thunderous roar, followed by about 10 minutes of rain. The tempurature was probably in the 20s overnight, so rain was not going to be fun for the morning hike. Edgar had sworn that it would not rain, and it looked like he was going to be wrong.

When we got up a little later, we found out that it wasn't rain. There had been an avalanche on Salkantay, the mountain several miles from our campsite. The avalanche threw snow all the way to our campsite and it had "rained" snow on us, leaving a thin blanket of snow. It was amazing.

- Feeling Better
Woke up on the 14th feeling much better. Nuff said.

- Cloud forest
The Cloud Forest is the are on the east side of the Andes that approaches the Amazon basin. It's still in the mountains, but much more green and lush. Really a beautiful place. And they had a good marketing person apparently. I mean, wow, what a great name.

- Hot springs - only 20 minutes.
Our camp tonight was in small village above the river. Edgar told us about a hot spring down by the river, about a 20 minute hike from our camp. He described it as being difficult, and seemed to be trying to talk us out of going, but it sounded like fun so we pressed him to take us there.

After we had been going for about 20 minutes, weren't anywhere near the river bed, so I asked Edgar how long it was supposed to take. 20 minutes, he repeated. I said, no, we've been going that long already. 20 minutes, he repeated. Now, I'll admit that I was tired from three days of hiking and probably a little cranky, so I didn't react well to being mislead. After all, the beers in my backpack were getting warm. So I told the group that I was going back. I'm not sure that they wanted me there as much as the beer that I was carrying, but they asked me to keep going. Ok, they didn't really ask as much as give me a hazing, teasing and berating like I haven't had since Junior High. And the style of it reminded me of Junior High. I thought I had outgrown that, but apparently not - I caved.

After about 45 minutes, we got there and it was well worth it. I felt a little bad for the two local girls who were already there when we bumbled into the pool, but hey, they get to use it all the time.

- See and Say
We stayed in a small village last night, with just a few homes. Woke up in a "See and Say". Rooster, horse, cow. And, by the way, roosters start crowing before the sunrise. And they keep going well after the sunrise. I don't like roosters.

- Peruvian flat
Everything is relative. For the people who live in the Andes, there aren't many truly flat places. They actually have a term - "Peruvian flat", which seems to be anything under about a 70 degree pitch. I spend a lot of time in the mountains, and I'm in decent shape, but this place is different. The mountains are bigger, and the people walk everywhere. I realized the difference as we were getting passed by a grandmother with a baby on her back.

- Pachamama
Pachamama was the top Inca god. I think she represented the Earth. And it's tradition to pour part of drink out on the ground as a sacrifice/gift to her.

- Aguas Calientes & train delay, too much beer
The last day of the hike was the shortest. We got a good jump on the day and made great time. By lunch we were at the train station near the hydro-electric plant. This plant uses the force of the river to provide electricity for the Sacred Valley between Cusco and Machu Picchu. There we got lunch and a few well-deserved beers. Well, maybe more than a few. And they were large beers. Gotta love that.

We got on the train which, naturally, was delayed. Time for more drinks. Well, you know the rest.

- Machu Picchu
Woke up early this morning to get to macchu picchu for sunrise. The surrounding peaks are so high that sunrise isn't until after 7am, even though the actual sunrise is at about 6am. So it was light out, but direct sunlight wasn't hitting Macchu Picchu yet when we got there. As the sun started coming over the peaks, the light on the city started changing minute-by-minute. A light haze in the air diffused the sunlight, creating an additional affect. I'm sure my pictures from the disposable camera (see above) won't do it justice.

Edgar did a good job of telling us about Machu Picchu history, although he clearly didn't like Hiram Bingham, the American credited with "discovering" Machu Picchu. This is understandable, since locals knew about it for a long time before Bingham in 1911. But we had to nudge him along to get him off the topic. Probably around 600 people lived there, but the Inca didn't have a written language so we know very little. And the conquering Spanish weren't making a lot of notes about Inca culture.

After going through the upper Machu Picchu, we climbed Wayna Picchu. We got up there early enough that we moved quickly to the top. Very steep, fun climb. Book says 45 minutes but it took us 23. The view there is fantastic. You can sit on a rock looking over the whole valley.

There was a hawk that hung out with us up there posing for photos. I'm not kidding. Good kisser too.

Our last hike was to the Inca Bridge. This is basically a path built into the side of a massive cliff. The engineering of this had to be incredible. I don't know how they did it.

I'm not sure what it is, but there is a feeling here. It is a truly amazing place. After coming back from the Inca Bridge, I sat in the grass looking over Machu Picchu and felt very comfortable and peaceful. Not at all ready to leave.

- Train to Cusco
Hey, we got to jump onto a moving train tonight. On the way back to Cusco from Machu Picchu, the train stops in Poroy, which is close but some people get off there and take a bus the rest of the way because the train is slow coming into Cusco - it has to go back and forth to get down to the valley floor. It took us a while to decide, and by the time we got off the train, the buses were all full. As we turned around to walk back to the train, we noticed that it was pulling away. Just made it.

We arrived in Cusco to see the start of the Inti Raymi, the Inca sun festival celebrated each year around the winter solstace. The parade came up Av del Sol to the Plaza de Armas. By the time we got out of dinner, everyone was packed into the plaza. This is one of the Inca traditions that the Spanish outlawed. It was revived in Cusco about 60 years ago.

- Last day in Cusco, Mass
Woke up with the sunrise in the window. Not too bad. Glad to get an early start today. I could really use some more time in Cusco. After breakfast Des, Mark and I walked down to the plaza, and I noticed that they were about to start mass at the cathedral, so we went in. The Saturday am mass is small, and so celebrated in the nave instead of the main altar. So small that I had to point out to the guys that it was starting. Heathens...

It was tough to follow in Spanish. I could get a lot from context based on years of attending mass, and I could pick up words along the way. Glad that worked out.

After mass, I sat in the plaza for a while watching the kids practicing their dances for the evening celebration of Inti Raymi. There is also a music stage set up. I wish I had another day here...

On the way back to the hostel I stopped in at the set museum that I keep trying to see, and it was finally open. Shock. Of course, after all that waiting, it turned out to be all 17th century religious paintings. Not really my genré. But I had an interesting conversation with the guy working in there. My Spanish is still terrible, but has improved so that I can have simple conversations, which is fun. And empowering when you need to get around. The museum building was originally an Inca house, and the basement is original (but not open). The building is Colonial, which is what they call anything created after the Spanish invaded.

Ugh, time to leave Cusco and head to Lima on the way home. I'm not going to bother with Lima, it was basically killing time for 5 hours until heading to the airport.

What a great place - I do expect to be back.

Peru Journal part 2

06/2005 Peru Journal part 2

We move around a bit in this issue, so here's a link to a map for all you geography buffs...
http://www.mapquest.com/maps/main.adp?country=PE

- Huaraz - climber's town
Cafe California for breakfast. If I lived in Huaraz I would probably come here a lot, which explains Chris knowing the owner. He is from California (has a Berkeley email address) and played Steely Dan and NPR while we were in there. Nice guy, and he helped get our hike figured out.

Its amazing up here. The Cordillera Blanca is in the west side of the Andes, which were pushed up from the Pacific, so the soil is supposed to be very good. They farm potatos, corn and ranch sheep, cattle, alpaca, even at this high altitude. We are about 10 degrees south of the equator, so it is relatively warm even at altitude. Huaraz, at almost 10,000 feet rarely gets snow. 10,000 feet in the Rockies will get you plenty of snow, and not as much farming... And the Andes start at sea level, so they are some of the most dramatic that I have ever seen. They are young mountains, so the peaks are jagged and rough.

Most of the locals, especially in the high villages, speak Quechua as their native tongue as well as Spanish. This is the traditional Andean language, the same that the Inca spoke. This is still a very active and alive language. In this area there are english speakers, but not like in the cities. Spanish is very handy.

One of the great things about Huaraz is that Gringos don't draw so much attention. You can walk around and talk to people and most of them are very friendly and just treat you like a normal person. There aren't too many places that you can go as an American and not draw attention, and not usually positive. It was nice to feel almost anonymous.

- Climbing the walls
At night we went to the Garden Cafe, which is an outdoor bar with climbing walls and a fire pit. What a great concept. Pound a few beers and start climbing! Yet another thing that you couldn't get away with in the States. Hopefully CAFTA & FTAA won't open up the market for personal injury lawyers to sell their services in the rest of the Americas...

I asked Benjamin, the owner, if people often get on the climbing wall, and he said "all the time." Then he challenged me to give it a try. Now, I went to junior high, so I know now dares go. I said "I will if you will." Never fails. No double-dog-dares required, we were standing in the gravel pit in front of the wall getting ready. The bet was who could traverse the wall horizontally without falling. The prize was a liter bottle of Cusquena beer.

This climbing wall is four panels together, and each one is about 8-10 feet across. I didn't make it all the way across, but I got onto the fourth panel before falling. Benjamin didn't get quite that far, and graciously walked me to the bar for my reward. Benjamin - when you're in the States - how about a rematch?

- Vans and livestock
Today was for a long hike in the mountains outside Huaraz, to the Laguna Churup, which tops out at about 14,900 feet. Many peaks in the Andes go above 22,000. The trailhead is more than an hour from town so we had to get a car. Strange that in a town famous for climbing and in the middle of multiple mountain ranges that the trail would be so far. Well, part of it is the distance and part of it is that its slow going over these very difficult roads. These are basically 4x4 roads that they drive on with the equivalent of a VW bus.

So we walked up to the van that we would take to the trailhead. The main reason for this van is for locals who live in the surrounding hills to get down into town and back home. As we approached the van we saw a large crowd of people - and sheep. Most people in this area either farm potatoes or ranch sheep and llamas/alpaca. We paid our fare and climbed aboard. This is a van that looks like it should hold about 10 people, and we sat in the back watching person after person get on, 10, 15, 18... we ended up with 22 or so. And the whole time we were all wondering where the sheep on the sidewalk were going to go. But fortunately the door closed with no sheep inside. Right after that, a guy climbed on the roof of the van, and another guy starts passing sheep up to him. Really. We ended up with about 10 sheep on top of the van and headed up the trail. And every few minutes a sheep leg would appear in the window, then pull back up. Then a different leg would fall into another window, then disappear back above. Every so often, the van would stop, a person would get off. Then one of the sheep would lower to them and villager and sheep disappear down a narrow trail.

The van ride is a bit rough, but it is incredible to travel through these mountain villages and see all of the people just living out their lives. Interested in us as we traveled by, but not very.

We hiked up to Laguna Churup, a glacier lake above Huaraz, which is about a 3 hour round trip. It's a fun hike, with sweeping views some steeper sections, and a little bit of water. At the top is the lake, which is a beautiful (and cold, as a few in our group tested out) runoff from the glacier above. The glacier above is obviously much smaller than it used to be. It used to come down to the lake, and as receded over the past 20 years to the very top parts of the peak above.

- Biking down the mountain
Ok, here's a good idea. Have someone drive you to the top of a mountain pass a little over 14,000 feet, then ride a mountain bike down to sea level. Actually, it is a good idea, but know that if the roads are rough (think single track bumpy but a little wider) and the bikes are old and out of tune, its a bit more work than it sounds. Then throw in the occasional car, truck or bus, and some dogs chasing your bike trying to bite your ankles, and you have more than your ordinary bike in the park.

But what a blast. Its cool at the summit when we start at 8am, but not cold. a jacket and light gloves. Sunny and cool, what a great morning. Even at this altitude there are small pueblos of people farming and ranching.

Who knew a downhill ride could be so much work? The mountain bikes are good enough to do the job, but each one has its problems. None of them have good suspension, one has no suspension and the front deraileur doesn't work. Kevin took that one for the first half, and I took it for the second. In return I gave him my bike with a bad rim that caused flats every few hundred yards or so. Our tech in the chase can hops out to take a look at the rim. He's not a great bike tech, but he does a good job of at least trying to inspire confidence. He has the old style bike hat on, you know, the one with the short bill turned up in the back, as if to say "of course I know what I'm doing.". Well, thank you, Monseur Le Monde.

As we decend, the climate changes visibly. High alpine with rugged peaks gives way to green steppe-farmed hillsides looking across at shear cliffs. It seems like every half hour we're in a new climate. We ride through pueblos on the way, and groups of children run out to greet us, hamming for the camera.

At sea level, we reach a desert that separates us from the coast. Not desert like cactus and scrub brush, this is desert like black sand and nothing at all alive. Not really a place that you want to get stranded.

- Cusco
From the end of the bike ride, we took a bus the rest of the way to Lima so that we could catch our morning flight to Cusco. I'm impressed with LAN Peru Airline. It was only 3 hours from hotel in Lima to hotel in Cusco. We got to the airport late, and they rushed us to the gate with an escort. Try that in the States.

Cusco is impressive from the moment you drive into town. The combination of Inca culture with Spanish architecture is unique and fascinating. It sits at almost 10,000 feet in altitude in a river valley surround by the Andes. I just got here and I already want to come back.

Cusco was the capital of the Inca empire, and many people say is now the tourist capital of South America. It certainly does seem to be the capital of cheap crap and aggressive street merchants. They must all go to the same class to learn.

There is Inca stonework and building foundations all over the city, and many of them have Spanish buildings built on top - a really amazing affect. We stayed at a hostel about 10 minute walk up the hill from the Plaza de Armas. From up there, the view over the town is gorgeous - red tile roofs surrounded by a circle of mountains.

I was a bit nervous about the motorcycle trip, since I hadn't been on one for at least 10 years. Also, I wanted to see things in Cusco. But this was a blast. I sat on the bike and it felt awkward. I had to think, "where is the clutch, how do I shift?" Wooo. But off we went.

We rode up the hill from Gringo Alley out of the city. Pretty quickly you get into small towns, then farm land. Really beautiful. We passed through little pueblos with tiny ancient streets, but these are not busy like Cusco, so it seems that you can speed through intersections, but I kept expecting that at any point I would get T-boned by a speeding llama cart coming down a blind alley.

After 2 hours we came to an Inca ruin, which includes a series of concentric circles going down several hundred feet. This was interesting, and also served as a reminder that I'm not in as good shape as I thought. This trip has been great for that. No shortage of humbling moments. Rode back to the city in the dark, and didn't kill myself or anyone else. Wow.

More on Cusco in the final installment...

from the "you just blew my mind" file...

from slashdot:

Quantum Information Can be Negative

nerdlygirl writes "In a development that would probably even puzzle Claude Shannon, information can be negative -- at least when the information is quantum. The discovery, by Horodecki, Oppenheim, and Winter, appears in the current edition of the leading journal Nature. If I tell you negative information, you'll know less. Apparently, researchers hope to use this to gain deeper insights into phenomena such as quantum teleportation and computation, as well as the very structure of the quantum world. More details can be found here and here A popular account of the article can be found on Oppenheim's homepage, and a free version of the article can be found in the arxiv for those of us without subscriptions to Nature."

if you're really curious: http://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0505062

I know - finding out about imaginary numbers in high school was enough. But the world is ruled more and more by quantum physics. It's why computers work and why they aren't getting any faster anymore (yes, Moore's law is about to end).

and, it could be the way for computers to get many times faster than today's silicon-based systems. http://wired-vig.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,40968,00.html