Missive #4, Sat, Feb 17 to ......

Missive #4, Sat, Feb 17th to.....

Day 21, Sat, Feb 17th

Hotel José Antonio, Cusco, 0 km

Today we took a tour of Cusco which is a town of 435,000. It is quite touristy as a result of it being the centre of the Inca Empire (actually the Quechua Empire, the 'Inca' name refers to their King only) before the Spanish Conquistador Francisco Pizarro unceremoniously sacked the place in the early 1530's. He stole all the gold and precious metals returning them to Spain. He tore down most of the impressive temples. Many of the natives died of smallpox and other infectious diseases.

Many, many tourists come here to visit but I am one tourist that was not overly impressed. You can Wikipedia the info at your leisure. The Incas ruled from the 12th to the early 16th century. There were no written records available in their culture hence there is a ton of conjecture about what did or did not happen. I found myself a bit bored with the whole thing likely due to the lack of historical preservation of their olden days. The Spanish dominance in language, religion and architecture is overwhelming and you can see the same squares, churchs etc. anywhere in Europe. As an example, at a large church spoken about below there are 422 large and very large oil paintings by the Andian artist Marcos Zapata who painted all the faces and supervised others to complete the artwork. Every one of them (well almost, the most famous one being the 'last supper' which depicts the guinea pig in the meal in the middle of the painting which is their national dish) is an exact copy of the same paintings in Spain during that time; the Spanish wanted to export their culture lock stock and barrel and completely evangelize the natives. They did a good job.

jobne of the challenges in South America is the difficulty in communicating with the locals due to the language barrier. On the Silk Road and in Africa there was a surprising amount of English spoken but not here. Therefore, I am a bit in the dark and have to rely on visual observation.

Let me say that one of the things I most enjoy about trips like this is the experience of visiting someone else's world for a short time. Watching and observing people's way of life, their dress, their physical appearance, how they respect their homes, farmlands and live stock and trying to imagine how their families work, play and grow their next generation is all part of the special puzzle for me.

At our lunch break everyone was toured out but not me! We all ordered lunch in the nice town square and Ruth and I promptly trotted off to see the very large cathedral (apparently the 3rd largest in the world in site size- 3 churches together built over 100 years 1559-1660) while we waited for our lunch to arrive 30 or so minutes later; it was well worth it especially as I had her to myself for awhile and then over lunch.

Here is what I learned:

-early 40's, eldest of 4 sisters, parents still around, married to a tour guide husband, one daughter, well educated and intelligent woman

-she is sad about her country in many ways, politically, economically, educationally; everything is ruled from Lima

-unless you are employed by a big public/private enterprise you are on your own with medical care which is the situation with most citizens

-she is quite concerned about drug and alcohol abuse although we wouldn't see this ourselves passing through

-she laments that Peru could be so much more, it is stuck in neutral maybe going backwards in her viewpoint

-her biggest beef is poor education, ignorance and government inattention to addressing this, literacy a real issue

-aside, I have seen very, very few schools or kids going/coming to school typically in uniform like was so prevalent in all of the African countries visited last year; there 'must' be some schools just not noticeable

-while education to grade 11 is paid for, many families typically cannot afford the required books, pencils, uniforms etc and it is not mandatory to attend hence lots don't go

-the garbage problem says Ruth is a direct result of this; Cusco is a dirty, shabby place and the people just don't know any better; it is a very unfortunate cultural problem that needs to start with school age kids to fix

-aside, we came back later in the evening from a bus tour outside the city and witnessed several harrowing incidences of dogs gorging themselves on dumped rubbish on the side of the street; at one place there must have been 3 dozen dogs going at it and there was plastic scattered everywhere; no wonder they all look so healthy

-in a tourist based city in the middle of a so-called area of abundance I would rather not have to tell you this but have to because it is emblematic of the whole country.

I asked Ruth if there was any bitterness remaining from the older generations about the Spanish dominance. She says it needs to be said that the Spanish were miserable self interested pricks (my word) that ravaged her culture in every which way however, what has happened is in the past and they must forge ahead. While the English and the French were far from perfect I find myself wondering if the tables were turned in North/South America what might have been the result here?

I am sure that our visit to Machu Picchu tomorrow will be much more interesting.

Day 22, Sun, Feb 18th

Hotel José Antonio, Cusco, 0 km

Today's outing though long, is what I came to South America to see. We started out for Machu Picchu by bus then train then bus at 5:30 am and did not get back until after 9 pm. Altogether we had a little less than 3 hours on site. It is something that will be with me forever, right up there with the pyramids.

Our very excellent guide Havier helped us live the era we visited. Here is what I learned:

-during the slow season (now) 2000+ people visit per day; busy season can run 5,000 and I cannot imagine that many people on site; while continentals get a much lower rate we paid $450; that means $1 mm to $2.5 mm in revenue per day so it is a hugely important and symbolic Peruvian treasure

-Machu Picchu scenicallycally located high in the Andes (8,000 feet) in a very rich volcanic  region with over 200" of rain annually literally means 'old mountains' and is a more modern name for the place

-MP became re-discovered when a forest fire exposed some of the terrain as it had become fully over grown much like Ankor Wat in Siem Reap, Cambodia- local farmers discovered and partially restored it; then in 1911 an American called Hiram Bingham who had heard of this famous 'Lost City of the Incas' came and photographed the area and it became an instantaneous world sensation

-the key, at least for me, is that the Spanish never did find the place so it has stayed relatively intact; when the wars came and everyone had to go and fight, it was abandoned and all the gold and silver was relocated to lower ground

-MP was built in the early 1400's by the Inca king Pachacuti to be a sanctuary or holy place, a religious temple

-it was a 2 week overland excursion from their HQ in Cusco and is still said to be 60% intact

-the Incas worshipped the sun and the nearby white volcanic granite in abundance which absorbed sunlight was thought to be just the right material to use

-one key in the original planning process was the availability of water; the Incas found a natural nearby spring that still generates 100 litres per minute; aqueducts and the rain forest secured their agricultural needs

-it was built to house 1,000 people who rotated in and out; the key date for the Inca King to make a pilgramage there was June 21st, their shortest day of the year

-MP was built to be a unifier of empire, politics and religion of their 4 main areas of control which had their own sub-kings; it is said that what caused the abandonment (1570's) was civil wars between the Incas although they had no written history to absolutely prove this

-they erected 3 watch towers with the western side protected by a sheer 5,000 foot drop; MP has never been attacked

-they were most concerned about infiltration from the Amazonia's who had developed poisonous arrows ie. the Incas were conquerors of the Andes but not the Amazon

- the Incas had 3 maxims, don't lie, don't steal and don't be lazy- there were no jails only death to those not conforming

-the work to complete the temple by many skilled experts and artisans was completed as a form of tax on Labour where people came in for 2 month periods to contribute, ie not slave labour

-the Incas wremaining believers of the afterlife; the dead were mummified into the fetal position because that is how they entered the world with brains and organs removed beforehand so that was how they exited

-6,000 artifacts reside at Yale in an attempt to decipher many of the remaining mysteries 

-in 2010 MP was closed for 8 months due to a huge rock slide; one cannot imagine the sheer size and steepness of the location without a visit; why more closures don't happen is a mystery to me.

Al in all it was an amazing day on for all of us to keep as a treasured memory. Thanks especially to Havier for his animated and passionate delivery of information most of which is not detailed here.

Day 23, Mon, Feb 19th

Hotel José Antonio, Cusco, 0 km

Do nothing day, walk around town, witness a lot of commercial activity, visit the market, catch up on paperwork and Missives. At 6pm we went downstairs and asked the hotel people to call a taxi and direct him to take us to the very best restaurant in town. Three hours later we finished a splendid meal, full trappings costing $125, the best meal by far I have had in South America. Meals here typically take way too long to arrive, serve way too much food and lack for quality. In a place like Cusco where there are a lot of international tourists coming to visit Machu Picchu there is a market for 3-4 good restaurants and we were pleased to find one!

 Day 24, Tue, Feb 20th

Hotel José Antonio, Cusco to Hotel Casa Andina, Puno, 395 km

Wonderful 6 hour ride, well mostly! Getting out of Cusco was a monster, 7 km of bumpy, muddy, potholey, puddley mess which tested my riding skills with Waan on the back.

We then progressed to lovely scenic meandering countryside with huge, steep hills on either side. We wandered through the valleys never elevating more than 500 metres all day (thank the Lord!) starting at 3,500 and finishing at 4,000 metres. Often we were right beside a wide, fast flowing, muddy brown river 

which was fun to watch too. I was so glad to have Waan with me to see and experience what we get to see day in and day out on these Globerider trips.

I took us 2 hours 39 minutes to go the first 100 milles without a stop averaging about 38 mph so the going was slow but enjoyable.

Some observations:

-garbage issues much, much reduced south of Cusco although some seen; getting out of Cusco, it was deplorable to see

-we actually saw some schools, Waan counted 3 but I am sure there were more we didn't recognize

-I don't think there is one cat in South America, dogs make up for it

-lots of road kill (all dogs) nada birds to eat up the spoils

-unfinished construction projects everywhere, rebar sticking up all over the place; large, expensive gated areas empty of activity, what a waste

-people seem to love building gas stations; they proliferate all over the place often 2-3 side by each, way way too many of the damn things, can't be economic

-the proverbial speed bumps rightly slow you down; quite often they show up in the middle of nowhere for no good reason

-I look at every shrine along the way and there are quite a few

-all windows are barred

We got closer to Puno and had to traverse this quite large town called Juliaca, what a chore. It was mostly hard mud, full of uneven potholes and broken concrete; quite taxing if not challenging too. It seemed to go on forever. At one particularly large circle I was in first gear barely above stall speed with all manner of vehicles around me. I yelled back at Waan thorough my helmet "I guess this is making your tits jiggle" because mine sure are!!

Having left at 6:30 am and 6 hours later we are now at this lovely lakeside hotel on Lake Titicaca and set to enjoy a relaxing afternoon to rest up. Our room view is marvelous.

Day 25, Wed, Feb 21st

Hotel Casa Andina, Puno to Akapana Hotel, Tiwanaku, 200 km

Today's sidebar involved a two hour excursion out into Lake Titicaca on a 50' covered taxi boat to visit the Uru peoples. They live on man made islands, over 100 of them. When the Uru peoples migrated here eons ago they were rejected by the locals. With nowhere to go they lived in the marshes and learned how to build sophisticated floating islands out of reeds that they could anchor offshore away from danger.

Lake Titicaca is famous for being the highest navigable lake in the world. In round numbers it is 100 miles long by 50 miles wide and averages 350' deep. It has a max depth of over 900' and borders Bolivia and Peru. About 2000 odd people live out here on 116 islands, quite remarkable. 

We were treated to an extensive explanation about their evolving way of life which has wisely been advanced by tourism. It can best be described by the pics below:

Pics

The rest of our day involved a 200 km ride to the Bolivian border. This became more interesting for two reasons. Paul, our Texan, had neglected to get a visa in his haste to join our group as a late entry. Helge expertly stick handled a dicey but stressful situation by negotiating a border visa for Paul. It was hot and we all suffered through about 4 hours of interminable paperwork to gain access to this poor country. 

The second issue was my 4" pvc tool box added to the back of my bike. I have received some compliments on its design and usefulness. Unfortunately it is not lockable! ( at least yet) Our bikes are in lockdown and covered every night; that doesn't stop an inside job though. At the border Vince luckily noticed one screw on end missing. Further inspection: $600 worth of essential valuables gone.

I am certain that the theft occurred the previous night at the Casa Andina in Puno. Waan and I arrived first and two sketchy guys welcomed us. They also had a chance to observe my bike in detail.

All is not lost. There is lots and lots of tools, patch kits (two flats so far), air pumps, inner tubes, brake pads etc to go around and I can replace when we get to Santiago in about 2 weeks for new tires and an oil change.

Day 26, Thur, Feb 22nd

Akapana Hotel, Tiwanaku to Hotel Real Plaza, La Paz, Bolivia 76 km

This mornings walking tour was a bit white knuckle to start because the rain and the cold scared us a bit so we all got suited up with full wet gear.

Pic

We toured some Archeological ruins right nearby our flea bag hotel. 

Pic

The Tiwanaku peoples prospered and flourished in this region from 300-1100 AD. They were not warlike people and became sophisticated settlers and agriculturally minded. Unfortunately some sort of drought or climate change forced them to disperse and then the Incas took over.

What was again shocking to me was how the Spanish came and tore everything apart; a lot of the stone work was relocated elsewhere for their own building purposes so there was little really for us to see. One picture below shows what it used to look like, a grand place of 35000 square metres, about 80 or so acres

Pic

We are all out of breath at this elevation! Even though we have partially acclimatized it is a struggle, even concentrating on riding our bikes, even taking an extra deep breath when lying in bed to get extra oxygen. It will get worse too as we are destined for 15,000 feet down the road for a bit.

Waan and I made out last run into La Paz in heavy traffic. She was a great partner on the bike, never complained and did 1763 km together.

Lastly, our resident writing expert Bob Higdon surmises that South American Indian cultures were way, way ahead of their North American counterparts because they learned how to settle and become agricultural as opposed to the guys further north being essentially hunter gatherers following the herds to live.

I have kept today's story line short because I would like to invite you to click on Bob's storyline at ironbutt.com/higdon. His stories are hilarious so just read #16 published today and get a great laugh. He is very self deprecating and pulls stuff out of the wood work that most of us would never be able to fathom. Enjoy!

Day 27, Fri, Feb 23rd

Hotel Real Plaza, La Paz 0 km

Day 28, Sat, Feb 24th

Hotel Real Plaza, La Paz to Hotel de Sal  Sumaj, Uyuni 523 km