Satori, music, Peru — Stephen on September 6, 2008 @ 10:09 pm — 1 comment
Many years ago, I traveled and lived in many of the capitals of Europe. During these years, there were certain commonalities that I noticed in the street performers. One in particular was the ubiquitous presence of the Peruvian (or Bolivian) wool poncho wearing, pan flute playing band. No matter where I was, they were there, hawking their CDs and playing their pan flutes. I had forgotten that they originated here in the Andes, but lucky for me (not) they are ALL over Cusco, usually playing alone in a restaurant. And the fascinating thing is that when they are not playing, the music that is invariably put on the sound system is in the same pan flute / guitar strumming style, except they are interpretations of the worst atrocities of western pop music, notably Lionel (say you, say me) and Celine (heart will go on) and the like.
Juliette and I are holed up at Starbucks at the Lima airport, awaiting our flight out to Cusco. We are stealing steeling ourselves for the possibility of a mean case of soroche (altitude sickness), as the city is at 3326 meters (10,912 ft). I find it fascinating that there is a specific word for this here, as there was none in Mexico. I guess a country that has so many high places needs it. As we say goodbye (for now) to Lima, we have been remarking on the incredible kindness of everyone we have met here. It is really striking, from the hospitality of Ricardo, Joaquin and Julio to the helpful actions of just about everyone on the street, one can’t help but feel grateful.
Just in case they are reading this, Juliette says “hi” to her mum and dad. See you all in Cusco.
Although we have only been in Peru a few days, I have to stop and say a word about how fantastic the food has been. It certainly helps that we are being shown places by people (Ricardo and Julio) that know and appreciate good food. Of all the amazing things I have been trying (Tacu Tacu, Chicha Morada, Yuca, Lomo Salteado, Rocotito, Pisco Sour, etc) I have to say the highlight was today’s ceviche at Pescados Capitales.
Satori, feet, Peru — Stephen on September 5, 2008 @ 11:04 am — 1 comment
One very funny bit from yesterday that I forgot to mention in my previous post involved a small exchange between Juliette and a local man while I was getting a refill for my cell phone. This man approached her and tried to speak Spanish, but Juliette was having a difficult time understanding him. He then helpfully pulled out a pre-written piece of paper that on one side said, “I am shoe expert” and on the other “May I see your beautiful feet please?”
Deep cultural exchanges like this really add to the richness of travel. I LOVE the fact that he had a pre-written note!
Satori, Peru — Stephen on September 5, 2008 @ 9:35 am — 1 comment
It was interesting to be in the city center, which is quite a bit more gritty than the posh neighborhood we have been staying in. That said, there was a fair amount of architectural history, even though most of the oldest part of the city was destroyed in a massive earthquake in 1749. Lima maintains some pretty impressive color uniformity in the several plazas we visited, such as the Plaza de Armas (where almost all the buildings were yellow), the Plaza San Martin (all white), and the Plaza de la [something I can't remember] (all blue). One of the weirder things was the trip to the catacombs underneath San Francisco church. Many tens of thousands of people were entombed there over many years and when it was opened in the first half of the 20th century, some enterprising and artistic monks with too much time on their hands and a bit of the OCD decided to catalog and clean up all those skeletens. They neatly arranged many hundreds of bins by bone type (with skulls stacked neatly in this bin, femurs over here, fibulae over there, etc). But the true piece de la resistance, (by an artiste/ horror film nut) was the radial pattern of bones and skulls laid out in the central circular well. We then took in the Parque de la Muralla, walked around central Lima a fair bit, and headed to the fascinating erotic art collection of the Museo Larco.
Click on the photo below to go to the album:
- I find it quite shocking that a city so close to the equator and sea level can be so cold. It was grey and overcast and misty yesterday and today, and apparently is exactly like this from May or June all the way to late November. The suicide rate must be quite high.
- It is a surprisingly easy city to get around in. Taxis are everywhere and as we learn to negotiate with them they are getting cheaper. But it is also easy to walk and there seem to be an abundance of buses.
- The people here have been very nice and very helpful, often without being asked. I couldn’t help but contrast this with Mexico, where no one ever goes out of their way to offer any help whatsoever. Here people have been always kind and volunteer much information and service.
- While we haven’t yet seen the historic center (sticking today as we have to San Isidro, Miraflores and Barranco), I have to say that most of the architecture of Lima seems fairly charmless. There are some cute buildings near to where we are staying however, and even the ugly stuff has an overall a scale that is not unpleasant. Overall, the streets are clean with nice sidewalks and planting all around, which makes strolling them quite pleasant despite the lack of beautiful building.
- I can’t believe how easy it was to get a Yellow Fever vaccination here.
