Categoria / Category America

In America, Peru 2001 On  04/06/2001  One comment

Flying over Nazca Lines is a good excuse to come to Peru. These famous drawings, believed to be made by Nazca and Paracas cultures centuries ago, can only be see from the of air. The figures were only discovered in the beginning of the 20th century when airplanes flew over the area and pilots saw something on the ground. Up to today we don’t known who did the drawings, neither why they were done. There are some theories, one of the most accepted one is that they have been drawn to be as a calendar showing when to plant and the season of the year… Another theory is that the drawings were done by astronauts, or that the indigenous could make air balloons and would fly over to see the figures.

I arrived in town late in the evening; I came by bus from Lima and I had already reserved a flight to the next morning. I woke up a little anxious; therefore I can get motion sickness in bus, boat, car. I imagined in a small airplane for three people who turn 90 degrees sidewise...

In America, Peru 2001 On  04/06/2001  One comment

In America, Peru 2001 On  01/06/2001  One comment

I arrived in Trujillo at 4am. As I was the only person to get off the bus that was going to Lima, once again, I suffered the fight of taxi drivers for my backpack. This time I got a little scared because I was not in a bus terminal, I was alone in a dark street. I decided not to argue and let them fight to decide who was going to take me. Well, the louder one earned.

To visit the ruins I didn’t want to get a tour, I decided to go by myself. In the morning I visited the Huacas del Sol y de la Luna. It is not known if they really were temples of the sun and moon. The name was given by the Spaniard when they arrived in the place and they thought these were Inca constructions. They did not know these were constructions from the Moche period, from hundreds of years before Incas.

Only one of the temples is opened to visits. I could see the different rooms, the sacrifice place and where they had found ceramic, skeletons and objects in gold, silver and copper...

In America, Ecuador 2001 On  29/05/2001  No comments

Crossing the border between Ecuador and Peru is not a pleasant thing. When I got off the bus in Huaquilla (Ecuador) about 20 men came around me trying to sell transport to Peru and offering to exchange dollars. One caught my backpack while the others fought for deciding who was going to take me. The place was horrible. It looked like with some parts of Ciudad del Leste (in Paraguay). I walked about 400m to the bridge on the border. I was carrying my backpack and always begging them to leave me alone. They continued walking with me, they were all talking at the same time and trying to sell me something.

On the bridge, I ran into a policeman and asked him there was a place to stamp the passport. I also wanted to know if there was public transport to Tumbes, I didn’t want to go to Peru with any of those guys that were harassing me. He was not precise in any of the answers. Moreover, “my friends” were talking the whole time, it made even harder to understand him...

In America, Ecuador 2001, Hiking/Trekking On  27/05/2001  One comment

In America, Ecuador 2001 On  23/05/2001  No comments

I woke up early to go the famous train tour to the Devil’s Nose. The train leaves Riobamba at 7am. The tourists arrive a lot earlier to get a good place, the majority go on the roof of the cars to enjoy the landscape. It was cold and a bit rainy.

As soon as it leaves Riobamba we can see the countryside of Ecuador. Mountains squared by the plantations. Farmers working. Some people stay sitting by the railroad to see the train passing by (it works 3 times a week). Kids wave to the tourists. It must be funny for them to see a train crowded with tourists on the roof.

The train stops all the time to local people get in and off with their loads. The last stop before the Devil’s Nose is Alausi, a small town in the mountains. There some more tourists squeeze themselves to get to the roof with their photo and video cameras. The train continuous to the valley.

The way is interesting...

In America, Ecuador 2001 On  22/05/2001  No comments

By noon I left Baños (1800m) to Riobamba(2800m). At 2 o’clock I got in town and arranged a tour to see the volcano Chimborazo, the highest mountain in Ecuador. They say it is the furthest point from the center of the Earth. This time there was a Dutch couple, a guide, a driver and me. My expectations were very low since the day was cloudy and I had stayed a week in Baños trying to see the top of Tungurahua, what I couldn’t because of the clouds.

As we begin to go up, the sky seamed to clear. We started to see a little of the mountain, sudently it was there, the white top of Chimborazo. It was beautiful, as if we had gone higher than the clouds, as if we were looking from the top. The happiness was general, the Dutch couple was also frustrated for not being able to see the Tungurahua. On the way to the refuge we saw some llamas and vicuñas.

At 4:30 we got to the refuge (4800m) and started the walk to the second reguge (5000m)...

In America, Ecuador 2001 On  21/05/2001  One comment

Baños, a small town south of Quito, attracted me as I got off the bus and could see the mountains surrounded it. With a population of less than 20.000 inhabitants, the city is located in the botton of the Tungurahua volcano. It is active and has probabilities of erupting any time. In 1999 the city was evacuated for being considered dangerous. As the volcano didn’t erupted, the inhabitants came back even though the it is still active. The population complain that their things were stolen when they were away. They even distrust the police that made them leave.

In the weekends the city is croweded with people from the nearby villages. They all come to the mess, to here the band play in the square or to eat marmalades. It gave me the feeling of traveling back in time...

In America, Ecuador 2001, Hiking/Trekking On  18/05/2001  One comment

We (an Australian couple, an English girl, a guide and I) left Baños early to spend a few days in indigenous huts in the jungle. The trip to Puyo was great. We rode on the roof of the bus van, it was the best place to see the scenery. We passed through some beautiful waterfalls. Before going to the camp site we stopped in a place called Reserva Fátima, a natural reserve for animal and environment. The infrastructure was really simple, it looked like a house with a patio full of animals. They take care of turtles, alligators and snails. There are also parrots, macaws and monkeys that the police apprehends and brings there for rehabilitation to the environment.

In the afternoon we got to our campsite to leave our stuff and left for a 4 hours walk in the jungle. We stopped to see some medicine plants. As it was rain season, we walked (with rubber boots) the whole time on the mud. The end of our trail there was a waterfall where we took a shower...

In America, Ecuador 2001 On  15/05/2001  No comments

Today I passed the day in the museums. As it was an ugly cloudy day, in the morning I visited the museum Antiguo Cuartel of la Real Audiencia in the center of the city. The building was restored and has a great collection of sacred art. University students guide the visit showing the different faces of the museum. The majority of the pictures did not have author, according to the guide it is because they were done by mestizos and indians, and these did not have the right to sign their paintings.

On the afternoon I visited the Casa de la Cultura, a complex with diverse exhibition halls, museum and cinema. The Museo Nacional has an excellent display of art from pre-Columbian period to nowadays. Here it impressed me their organization to the pre-Columbian art area. This art is displayed in dark rooms, black walls, shown inside of illuminated windows. It is all catalogued by tribe and time. Together, there are maps of the Ecuador showing the region where the tribe inhabited...