Malarkey en Perú

Buenos Aires - Salsa edition

2011-11-20T22:09:00.000Z

Many come to Buenos Aires for tango and you can see why – the town is steeped in the tradition and although not all are familiar with the steps most can identify with the culture and seem proud of the way this distinctive dance has imbued the city with its music and powerful images and style. You can see the dance hall 'milongas' everywhere and there is a strong following among the 30+ age group followers. Many people visit the city just to learn and practise tango and I met one in her 60s English lady in who comes for 6 months every year to take private lessons and dance 2 or 3 times a week in milongas.

But I didn't come to Buenos Aires for the tango, rather I was keen to sample the local salsa scene. I now count salsa as one among other forms of enjoyment, exercise and as a way of meeting people in a friendly and generally uplifting environment. At its best it can be exhilarating and fun and the challenge of learning has multiple layers rhythm, steps and expression, I love it. In Buenos Aires there is a vibrant salsa scene and some great exponents - but many just dabble for the odd night out or as a change from tango and milonga forms. Cross Body or LA style seems most popular but expect to find it fused with the more exuberant cuban style salsa.

Azucar Abasto is a large dedicated salsa venue in the Abasto area on Avenida Corrientes. In the UK salsa is largely to be found in halls and bars and it is doubtful that we could easily sustain a dedicated club/school (may be worth a try though). I have been to Buenos Aires salsa 5 times now and generally enjoyed the contrast with the South London scene; although the teaching is a bit sketchy the price is very reasonable. On entry the cover is generally 25-30 pesos or between £3 and £4 and for this you can take advantage of a set of lessons typically of 3 Rueda, Merengue, Bachata and then invariably Salsa, each lesson being about 70 - 80 minutes with a 10 minute break and some free dancing. There are generally 2 or 3 levels of classes.

At Azucar I hung with the intermediates and although it was a fairly young set it wasn't exclusively so. They are open at least 5 nights a week and publish a somewhat inaccurate diary. The teaching was less explicit than in the UK and I struggled a bit with unfamiliar combinations but it was survivable. There was some free dancing between sessions but a lot of people were standing around watching and only participated in the classes. Everyone was friendly and the girls patiently adjusted my moves and the frequent repetitions finally imparted the desired combination.

La Salsera is a similar but smaller club/school in the same area and had a more mixed age group and floors of dancing but it basically offers the same diet as Azucar.

Another night I went to La Viruta which is really a tango/milonga place with, as it were, some salsa on the side. This was poorly taught and most of my partners found difficulty in following and my lead. I guessed that they were more comfortable with tango and I'm not sure the two forms coexist comfortably in one's body. It did however enable me to watch a milonga lesson (milonga confusingly being both a place where tango is taught and danced and itself a form of tango). At beginner level it looked fun – but I couldn't envisage confusing myself more with the different steps and timing so I just watched and enjoyed. The entry here was 30 pesos which paid for salsa, milonga and tango lessons. I recall dancing with one partner who I assessed as having almost no natural salsa rhythm but then saw her in the top of 5 levels of tango class she looked totally in her body and following her partner across the dance floor in complicated and stylishly flowing steps.

On one of my long walks I came across Club de Espana a large club/function room on the 12 lane road 9 de julio. Upstairs I found a small class of around 8 people taught by Estaban a happy and versatile instructor. I did a couple of classes which included a medley of salsa, regaton and merengue and I would have gone back to the class for more the following week had I not been going to la Bomba a lively drumming show in an open air venue! Anyway here is a video of the move!

When Mark, my non salsa dancing pilot friend flew in from London he took me to a football game between Argentina and Bolivia and in return I took him to a salsa club, Belgrano. On arriving at 10.30 pm we were way to early for the action but on returning shortly before 12 we sat down to a 3 course meal of dubious quality - there was no entry charge – just pay for what you consume we were told. We were firstly entertained by a 2 piece salsa band with singing, some percussion and keyboards/drum machine. They were actually pretty good and a few people danced – some of them very well. After the meal they cleared away the tables and lessons were commenced by a cuban team of 3 muscular guys with huge energy and gusto – this was fun and Mark joined in enthusiatically. After a fun warm up the lesson was a bit rudimentary but it got everybody going and there was free dancing afterwards. Mark was tired as he had flown in that da, losing 3 hours in the time change so as we left at about 3am while others were just arriving and I believe at that time paying a modest entry fee.

My final dance experience of the week was in fact tango. My friends Johanna and Chad were offered an introduction to tango as part of their hostal package. Ana the manager of the hostal gave us a brief but insightful history of tango in Buenos Aires illustrated with several examples of the music. We were then whisked off to Milonga Maldita which was over in the clubby district of San Telmo. On arriving we were led through an inconspicuos door to a large first floor venue with maybe 100 or so people and an already ongoing beginners lesson. Some, like me were total novices whilst others were clearly experienced exponents of the form. I seemed to get paired with a succession of students from Warwick University all of whom were tense and very conscious of their body and personal space. Tango is pretty up close and personal and you lead via body contact and English reserve just doesn't do it. After the class which was given in both English and Spanish there was an interesting and creative 6 piece band and singer followed by disco. Like me none of the other beginners felt sufficiently accomplished to return to the dance floor and most who did seemed very capable and we enjoyed watching them.

VIDEO

Finally, arriving back at my apartment in the Congreso I decided to briefly check out my local salsa club only 2 blocks away. Entry was 25 pesos but that included a soft drink. It turned out to be mainly cuban salsa but people were well into it and there were some lively dancers and someone's birthday party was in full swing – I watched for a while, had one dance then hung up my Buenos Aires dancing shoes and went back to my apartment to sleep and then pack.

Tigre

2011-11-09T01:10:00.001Z

I decide to take a day out of the city and travel to the town Tigre which is on the delta to the north of the city. I lost my way to the train station Retiro which given its hugeness was probably remiss so decided to curtail my aspirations to a boat ride and lunch visit. On the way a detachment of soldiers marched round the corner which seemed a bit strange.

I opted for the train journey in two parts, the second via a coastal route. It wasn't possible to buy a through ticket but the first part to Mitre was only 15p although I was possibly short changed at the boleteria. The second journey, costing around £2.50 took the nicer two carriage coastal train to Delta station where it was possible to catch a public launch/water bus.

On on the Northern edge of the town Tigre lies the delta comprising a network of waterways edged with houses, some dilapidated but others palatial. Each has its own dock and they have evocative names like Amor, Amenecer and Media luz. I joined with locals and out of season renters and passed more than an hour weaving through liquid avenues, stopping to drop people off at their stilted houses eventually to alight at Bonanzas a restaurant and horse riding business and my lunch stop.

As the afternoon's only customer I had the royal table on the deck overhanging the river . I was served gaucho sized barbecue on a small charcoal laden individual parilla. It was loaded with portions of pork ribs, chorizo and chicken and I washed it down with an excellent half bottle of Malbec followed by ice cream and coffee. I had plenty of time to sit on the deck taking in the waterside tranquility and wildlife but resisted the lure of the hammocks.

Yes I did

The return boat was laden with children who were being dropped off at their homes and each stop took several minutes of manoeuvring the large boat alongside the dock. Eventually we landed back in Tigre and I rode a busy and airless commuter train back to the city.

Buenos Aires, first impressions

2011-11-07T00:55:00.001Z

More Photos here
Well, 3 days into my visit to BuenosAires and I have taken refuge from the hot sun and my self-imposedcity hiking to try and record some impressions. This is the firstSouth American city where I have felt less obviously visible – myclothes don't stand out – I'm not much taller than nearly everyoneelse and I don't get called Gringo. The city is a bit dirty andnoisy but at the same time vibrant and hot in both senses. ThePorteño are friendly if somewhat introspective and studiouslypolitical, well probably more so the middle classes – the seem toread a lot of newspapers and debate and hold forth a lot.

The architecture is somewhat haphazardand the traffic constant and heavy but perhaps not as polluted asother cities I have visited – newer cars and greater emissioncontrols I guess and buses are relatively modern. Police presence isminimal which is a surprise given some of the history. Restaurantsare in abundance and it feels like prices are around 20% less than UKequivalents. Most of all the feel of the city is good – It is a bigplace with much to explore, lots of cultural possibilities and someexcellent open spaces.

My first walk was somewhat unplannedand I found my way down to the water side via impressivecongressional buildings expansive piazzas, across a 14 lane highwaywhich bringing an enormous quantity of traffic right through the heartof the city. Puerto Madero is a modern development of high riseapartments, shops, restaurants and parks which takes in somereclaimed docks. It is pleasantly peaceful and leads down to anecological park which is bordered by a road that has severalparrillas where you can buy charcoal grilled hamburgers or chorizo –the cooking smells are enticing but the product of it are poor inquality. I headed back via an area of older buildings with a marketthat was partly antiques and bricabrac and partly food. The fruit andveg and other products all looked fine and there were someinteresting speciality stalls selling things like old metal toys andmatchbox packets. I also took in a large and rather brash shoppingmall/children's amusement venue and cinema in Abasto. The children’sbit was called Neverland and this didn't redeem it one bit. AroundAbasto it is somewhat run down but looking as if it could becomequite fashionable some time in the future. I came across an oddassortment of shops selling naked manikins for modelling closes inshops. I wanted to take some photos but felt that it could appear atad dodgy so didn't.

In the evening I retuned to Abasto tocheck out Club Azucar the salsa venue. Entry costs 25 pesos, about £4and for that you could bag and hour and a half each of rueda,bachata and salsa. I watched some bachata and joined in the salsaintermediate class. The moves were a bit unusual and the teachingsomewhat sketchy but there was a lot of repetition and I just aboutmastered it but was pretty tired by the end. People were veryfriendly and forgiving of my mistakes but it was mostly a young crowdand somewhat rah rah for my tastes – but I was proud of myself forgiving it a go. I'll probably go back.

Final thoughts on Arequipa

2011-03-25T17:33:00.008Z

As you may have gathered this year's trip to Arequipa Peru was a most fantastic experience. I will continue my association with Peru via its small but friendly community here in London. Specifically I am planning to act as a befriender to a socially isolated Peruana living here in South London. I am also going to seek out some cajon lessons and maybe try and develop my interest en la musica Criolla which I find I like a lot. Next year I'll maybe head off to Colombia where I know a few people and where they both dance and cycle well. Until then here are 3 links which I hope will be of interest. Take care and if I can help in any way with you own travels to Peru please let me know. Thanks for following this blog. Hasta luego, Alan

A cold ride up to some trees at the foot of a volcano

la despidida de Alan or Alan's extended leaving parties

Cycling video

Eva Ayllon, a fine singer

Leaving Arequipa

2011-03-08T17:56:00.000Z

Well, I just realised that this is my 100th post on this blog. Ah well, if you missed the other 99 you have some catching up.

Ariquipena Cerveza Queen

The final couple of days in Arequipa passed quickly enough. I mainly attended Spanish and salsa classes as normal and said my goodbyes to my teachers, respectively Carmen and Christian. I also dropped into the the bar Cafe & Vino for a final copa of his excellent Bordeaux and chilled out there among the to me at least, unintelligible french speakers.

The last dance in Arequipa

Bar Cafe y Vino, Claustro de la Compania

We planned and executed a small but successful house party with me inviting mainly cycling friends and Marta my cajón teacher. She was a big success, playing the guitar and singing well known Peruvian songs. The Party continued until around 1am and it was a really nice and diverse group.

Apartment hunting and Spanish school friends

Marta entertaining cyclists
My penultimate day was all go. I went to the centre with Chad and Johanna and we enjoyed a coffee overlooking the plaza with a great vantage point for watching the carnival procession and lively battles of water and foam spray. Carnival in Arequipa is more understated than Cajamarca but even in our small urbanizacion there was a spontaneous water fight, but here at least no throwing of paint bombs.

Me at Plaza de Armas, Arequipa

Carnival

Later we had lunch in Capriccio's joining with Laura's happy band of expats and we made considered western world comparisons of the merits of local bathroom facilities and the advisability of carrying a personal supply of toilet paper. Laura asked me what I would look forward to most on my return to the UK and after giving it some thought it came down to friends and family and the relative certainty of western style living, bus timetables, less pollution, less sugary/salty food and maybe road bikes, oh and of course not tossing the loo paper in a box! That said, I haven't really craved for any of thise things.

That afternoon I was also scheduled for my last meeting with my cycling buddies. We gathered in the garden of William and barbecued pork steaks and salchitas. True to form the group partook of quite a lot of pisco and I furnished a bottle of Black Label. Everyone was very kind and as well as making embarrassing speeches they all signed a photo, presented me with a team shirt and Dante had produced a 12 minute video of some of my various cycling trips. How kind they all were and I count myself as very lucky to have enjoyed the company of such a fing group of cyclists.

Jesus at the BBQ

The next day chad and Johanna accompanied me to the airport and gave me a nice piece of polished aquamarine and we said our goodbyes. They have been great people with whom to share time and space and I have no doubt they will continue to shape their lifestyles to the challenges of living here in peru, and add their own style and flavour of life to Arequipa's growingly diverse community.

Chad and Johanna

Well, I guess in summary, with about 2 months in Arequipa I could happily recommend it to anyone. It is very much in change but the variety of its lifestyles and places offers much to travellers of all kinds and I at least have experienced nothing but kindness and friendliness from Ariquipeños.

Colca Canyon

2011-03-03T04:40:00.000Z

Wow, yet another early start catching a taxi down to the hotel of my friend Hans where I waited half an hour for a tourist bus to collect me. I had bought a space on the bus but not the tour as I felt this was a reasonable option to walk unguided. Having said that, I was the only walker I met without a guide! The ride to Cabanaconde was punctuated with a short stop for breakfast at the larger town of Chivay and I got to know a few of the other travellers, mostly Germans and all passing through Arequipa on longer journeys.

Shortly before we arrived at Cabanaconde most of the others alighted the bus for a 2 or 3 day treck. It was pretty cloudy, not ideal conditions and I was glad of a rest and some reviving tea at my hostal, Pachamama. This is backpackers style of hostal but better than basic conditions and I was shown to a spacious but poorly light room with 3 beds to myself.

I elected for a shortish circular and local walk and found a path that fed down a by the side of a small river and a valley full of farms.

After some time I came to the river and the end of the path but was directed across the 'pampa' towards one of the paths that fed in a Westerly direction down into the Canyon or back up to Caberconde. On meeting the other path the canyon first came into full view and it was truly impressive but somewhat obscured by cloud.

As I returned to hostal it began to rain heavily so I elected for a siesta under 4 heavy blankets, and even then I was pretty cold. I had a quiet meal with pizzas cooked over a wood burning oven and due to the night chill and continuing rain I slept with most of my clothes.

The next day it was bright and clear and I set off for my walk down into the valley. It was so impressive that this took some time snapping many photos. The views of the canyon and the plant life was truly impressive.

Near the bottom I teamed up with a campacino and his son each carrying on his back a heavy load of roof sections and leading some donkeys. They showed me to the suspension bridge at the bottom of the canyon and told me that it had been constructed over 2 years with all of the parts being carried 3,500 feet into the valley. I stopped and rested in their small but pretty village of St Juan de Puchu and had a reviving and healthy lunch of soup and alpaca at their hostal.

I left them at about 1pm for the return climb which was hard, taking 2 ¾ hours to the road arriving back at Cabanaconde in time for the return of the rain. On the way down I had seen one solitary condor sweeping along the side of the cliff and on coming up I was frightened by a snake of more than 2 feet in length speeding by me at an impossible rate.

The next day I took the tourist bus back. At Chivay we stopped for some hot thermal baths and dipped in the sulphur scented water of 39 degrees before heading back over the high pass to see llamas grazing in the hills. Allthogether this was a great trip and the Canyon could certainly offer 5 or 6 days of interest to the dedicated walker.

Ride down from Chanchani

2011-03-01T22:02:00.000Z

Why is it that anything fun to do means leaving Arequipa at the dead of night. The plan for this ride was relatively simple. Catch the bus towards Puno at 3am - get off at a high point between the volcanoes Misti And Chanchani get on the bikes and ride back down to Arequipa. I went with Jesus and Dante.

Even at 3am the bus station was heaving - there were lots of people sleeping and waiting for buses and we bought our tickets from one of 50 or so bus companies. The evening before I went to the Marc Anthony concert at the university stadium. This was an interesting experience and I enjoyed event especially Eva Allyon a well known Criollan singer with hot rhythms and a big personality.

In the event I didn't get to sleep that night until we got on the bus. After only 2 hours sleep I woke to a perfect morning with no wind and excellent clear views of the volcanoes. We alighted at 4000 metres at a fork in the road for either Puno or Cuzco. There were a number of micro businesses and vendors, some toilets and petrol for sale that had to be siphoned it into large metal jugs!

At this altitude we set off at a steady pace and the first 10km was rolling countryside. I tended to fall back on the climbs an was grateful when I punctured for the forethought of Jesus in supplying walkie-talkies so we could keep in touch in the event of accidents or mechanical problems. Amazingly he also brought a track pump and a tripod for the camera and several sandwiches. Eventually we began to descend back to 2,300 metres but not before seeing many vicuña crossing our path either singly or in groups - I love these graceful animals. As Pichu Pichu came into view we were circled by the three most prominent volcanoes.

As we descended the adrenalin set in as and we flew down wide and steep paths over rocky terrain with sweeping bends. The ride, as always was punctuated by photos at every point of interest.

The last part of the ride was super fast asphalt and we finished our memorable journey with a nice lunch in Cayma overlooking the green valley and the Rio Chile.

Photos to follow but this one of Chachani for now.

Vuelta a Mejia

2011-02-15T22:26:00.001Z

Mejia is a small costal village swollen by its summer visitors. The Pacific’s waves roll in over darkish sands and rows of gazebos offer shade from the fierce sun. Most of the visitors are here for the weekend and travel on buses from Arequipa leaving as early as 4am for the 2 ½ hour ride. The village comprises worker's homes to the east of the main road and wooden summer cottages to the west. At the edge there is a significant number of upper class rented or owned summer houses and apartments. There is a small church well attended by the locals and a square where children play during the evening throwing small balloons full of water for it is the time of las carnivales.

typical wooden summer house in Mejia

Mejia beach

Close to the town are the Lagunas de Mejia, an ecological park of several lakes set in marshes. The area supports a vast array of bird life and there are chacras with sheep, cows and goats. The final part of the race passes through the paths that access the lakes offering glimpses of the marshes and the sea to the other side.

Lagunas de Mejia

The day began fitfully as we were supposed to be down in town by 5am. I arrived on time but before anyone else – probably not surprising. This was my second visit to the point of departure as originally the bus was set to leave the night before but plans were changed unbeknown to me and one other.

We left Arequipa for the race shortly before 6 having stacked about 40 bikes on the top of the bus. We had a small breakfast on board and arrived shortly before 9 to find that the organisers were impatient to begin. I had been signed up for the D category, over 60s but no one had informed me it was a shorter ride, so with much confusion and at the very last minute I changed from D to open D joining the A, B and Cs, some 50 or so competitors.

So we set off and I was quickly swallowed up by the group and equally quickly left behind with some others. I wasn't sure if this was all an adrenalin rush or they were going to sustain the pace. I had thought that my fitness at the lower altitude would be of assistance but I struggled breathlessly in around 30 degrees. I had wanted to keep pace with my new acquaintance Bruce, a wiry Australian of around 50+ who had mentioned his need to retain the ashes, but his lighter frame outpaced me on the hills and I settled into my own rhythm.

The course was roughly circular at first taking in some farm trails before giving way some sandy hills that took us in a wide loop inland and back over the dunes towards the sea. The going was very tough. Even on the flat the sandy surface resisted one's efforts and many times on relatively easy climbs I had to dismount and push. The down hill sections were uncertain as hitting deep sand at speed was a question hope over reason but I managed to stay upright. By the time we got to the marshes and lakes I was accompanied by a small group and we hung together. At times we had to depend on locals to tell us the direction as we only saw one set of marshals the whole race. He final route was straight with a training wind and I was able to make some ground on others. For a while we took to the asphalt and I found a young man with whom to share the work.

Team Inter Group

I fancied I saw Bruce's white shirt off in the distance and felt I was gaining only to fall back again impeded by a trail 20cm deep in warm brackish water. Arriving at he line Bruce told me he only had 30 seconds on me but had been held up somewhat by lack of directions. Anyway I was pleased to have competed and got a small cheer. Bruce and I both gained medal in our class, mine was a first place but since I was the only over 60 in the race it constituted a phyric victory, Nonetheless it was a great ride and was suitable ended by retiring to the beach to share beers and empanadas.

Exploring town and country

2011-02-07T23:02:00.000Z

Conflating two bike rides over the weekend on Saturday I decided to explore the South of Arquipa and to try to find the velodrome and an old building belonging to the Founder of Arequipa, variously described as between 7 and 11km South of town. The road out of town is pretty busy as it runs through an industrial park and leads to the main bus station. There is a steel mill churning out much of the bar used for concrete reinforcement. By dint of asking several people I eventually found the Velodrome, a pretty good open air venue in some need of repair but generally usable. There was little evidence of action although people said it was regularly used for competitions but not for training. Pity, I would have liked to have ridden it.

el velodromo de Arequipa

Again, trying to ask my way to my next destination I was mis-directed and ended up at the Palicio of Goyeneche. I gather this is a smaller edition of a colonial palace situated in Central Arequipa and attracting tourists interested in colonial arquitecture. At any rate this one was closed so instead I climbed some steep hills to Sachaca where there is a lovely colonial church and a mirador from where one can see across the surrounding countryside and city. I stopped for cheese ice cream which is an Arequipa speciality. Overall it was a pleasant but somewhat uneventful exploration of this part of the city's edge.

queso helado

Church at Sachaca, charming village with mirador

view from mirador

The next day 26 cyclists of Team Inter set off for Tres Arbolitos at the foot of the volcano el Misti. Unfortunately the Volcanoe was covered in cloud . Nevertheless the trail up through the ditrict of Selva Alegre offered some good views of the city below and a gorge of about 500feet with the trail at its precipitous edge. Eventually, after around a 2 hour steep climb we reached the foot of a rocky hill of about 500 feet leading to a plataue where, surprisingly, grew some Australian Eucalyptus trees.

Foto! Foto?

los arbolitos

With the altitude and a chilly wind it was a pretty strenuous ride and climb, and arriving as we did strung out along the trail it was a long and cold wait for the final members of the group to come down the rocky climb.

By the time we left the descending cloud had reduced visibility significantly but notwithstanding we flew down the trail without mishap except for one of the adrenelin seeking downhillers parting with his bike on the final and steep decent whereby the bike travelled onwards and fell into a 10 foot deep hole and left him parked beyond the mound he had jumped. Luckily he was OK and passed it off as part of the 'downhill' experience.

Adobo

cautious descending

Back in town we sought out a restaurant serving adobo, a sort of spicy pork dish of stew with a large chunk of fatty meet on the bone eaten with bread dipped in the stew. We drank Kola Esocesa a local brand of Kola supposedly originating from a Scottish family business.

Arequipa 4 (ride to la Joya)

2011-02-01T05:14:00.000Z

Ride to La Joya

Sunday's ride gathered 14 cyclists ready to ride to La Joya in the province of Arequipa, a rural town of about 25,000 people. Although we would need to climb for around 45 minutes we would then have to lose around 4,000 feet. We stopped by the road at a small but busy open air market and drunk surtidos. Here is a recipe in case you are interested. I enjoyed watching the Jugodora pulling together the ingredients. It was very tasty and refreshing.

El Especial:
100gr. de fresa
100gr. de piña
100gr. de papaya
50gr. de plátano
250ml. de leche helada
1 huevo
1cda. de algarrobina ó miel de abeja
50 gr. de azúcar

Moving on, and as usual, the road part of the ride was somewhat intimidating with occasional long-base petrol lorries passing frighteningly close to our group of orderly cyclists. Further on there was some great road descending until we gathered by the side of the road to leave it via a well made track.

A little uphill before the payoff

There followed one of the most exhilarating rides I have enjoyed. The path was made of sharp and grippy sand and we sped down winding trails with banked sides, almost seeming as if they were made specially for cyclists. Eventually we left the path and actually made progress by riding the tops of mountain ridges, sometimes crossing down a valley to pick up yet another super ridge. The landscape here was lunar with absolutely no evidence of human or animal occupation, the very occasional cactus but otherwise entirely isolated.

great trails

After a while we came to some abandoned mines and shortly after a deep gorge which it emerged that we needed to descend carrying our bikes whilst scrambling down the rocks and up the other side.

Hard going

Note the colour coordinations

I look steady but fell off 3 times!

This was very arduous and my lungs were bursting at the still relatively high altitude. Later on unfortunately Jaime our organiser suffered a complete break of his rear mech and we had to remove it, shorten the chain and set him up with a single-speed.

Eventually we joined a trail which led to bridge overlooking the first sign of green vegetation we had seen for 4 hours. Down in the gorge a fast running river fed an oasis like plantation where the deep greens contrasted against the predominant browns and greys of the arid landscape.

No gold here!

Add caption

Cave

Quite a new bridge, thankfully replacing the one with holes in it!

From here we had a few more hills to negotiate until plunging by way of a rocky trail, accompanied by a fast running man-made river into the dusty town of la Joya. Here we were met by others who had come by a shorter route and were revived with beers and a lunch of fried chicken, potatoes and corn accompanied by Inca Kola, rehydration fluid as good as any. We played with offering chicken bones to several dogs and we attracted a Peruvian dog that was quite cute.

Peruvian hairless dog

Later we lifted the bikes on top of a bus and headed back to Arequipa where, due to the onset of rain I elected to take a taxi, bike on top, back to my apartment. A fantastic day.

Arequipa 3 (roof talk)

2011-01-28T23:14:00.001Z

Roof Story of Arequipa

Local roofs overlooked by the snow covered volcano, el Chachani

I have a love/hate relationship with the roof of my apartment here in Arequipa. It is a place to achieve great things but also the seat of one or two problems. With the current rainy season one can hear (very early in the morning) and also see owners of buildings sweeping the collected water from the roof. There is some urgency in this since although one would hope that the concrete is impervious to rain it is unfortunately porous and water gathers in the ceiling and escapes in drips via the light sockets, sizzling as the circuits short out. Not good.

Yet roofs here are working spaces. Mostly they contain water tanks, large bottle like constructions that pepper the skyline. Generally houses also have some form of solar convection panels that can work well when the sun has been shining but not when it is dull. I don't have solar so we rely on shower heaters one of which has been shorting out, but that's another story!

Typical water tank and solar panel set up

Roofs are also a place for hanging out the washing, which will generally dry by lunch time, and for storing all kinds of junk. Often they can be dangerous due to the steel reinforcing rods that are often left unmindfully exposed.

My washing drying in the morning sun

Many of the local roofs are the homes of a roof residing dog population. From here they can be invoked by passers by into a state of near hysteria and the ground dogs join the chorus which takes several minutes to subside. Although they appear to be pet dogs they do not live a great life sheltering from the hot sun or the seasonal rains.

Most of all the roofs offer great viewing platforms and with clear mornings one can see the volcanoes el Misti and el Chachani, snow capped in the distance.

el Misti

Arequipa 2 (cycling)

2011-01-27T01:28:00.000Z

Cycling with Team Inter here in Arequipa

Last Sunday I joined the first of the regular Sunday rides with my newly found group of friends. The posted time of meeting was 8.30 and arriving punctually I was only the third person to make the riverside rendezvous. Making use of the the time available before what was bound to be a delayed start Jesus aka Mono (Monkey) offered to show me round his sports club, Club International nearby. I am not sure what makes it International but it is a well appointed club with 2 pools, tennis, football, athletics, Gym, spinning, physio therapy and much more. I have subsequently bought a months's membership. Disgracefully, cycling around the club I got caught up with some plastic sheeting and fell onto the concrete floor emerging with slightly bloodied knee and elbow! Good start.

We set of, 26 of us around 9.00 am in a SE direction straggling out through fairly quiet streets eventually reaching the village of Puacarpata where there is a large church and Plaza. After this we headed for the hills, mostly on rocky single track skirting the edge of newly grown but illegally developed villages of box construction concrete dwellings. As were we, they were sitting precariously above a drop of some 200 feet. Actually most of the path wasn't ridable and we had to dismount and negotiate the loose dirt ledges carrying and wheeling bikes. It turned into more of a scramble than a ride. I found this curious since this route had been selected specially in my favour but it was at least a good upper body workout.

Rocky sometimes unridable path

Eventually we reached a rocky resting point where stood the remains of an Italian house built around the time of the War of the Pacific. It had once been a well constructed dwelling but was now dilapidated and isolated.

Italian abandoned house

We then headed on by foot to an oasis where stood a 100 year old palm tree which dominated the otherwise sparse vegetation. This seemed to be a point for reflection on how it could have grown here and we rested before heading on to an old abandoned gold mine constructed above a deep gorge. On returning most was down hill.

heading back

We eventually reached the restaurant, La Zambita. This belongs to Wilhelm a member of the cycling club and only opens Sundays serving food typical to Arequipa. I had Rocotto Rellena served on a pastel of potato and cheese.

Rocotto Rellena at La Zambita

It was spicy and good but too much to eat. Eventually and in spite of the onset of the afternoon rain we headed back to the centre.

It has to be said that the countryside around Arequipa is not the most wondrous that Peru has to offer but the points of interest we saw, including Andean terraces stand out in the otherwise somewhat bleak moonscape.

Team Inter, great people

All in all a great day out and an interesting and fun ride.

paucarpata

Arequipa 1

2011-01-21T21:49:00.000Z

Pretty evening sky over Arequipa

I have been in Arequipa, Southern Peru 10 days now.

This is a great place. Generally quite clean and ordered and except for traffic fumes a pretty good environment. It offers a great deal for the passing traveller and more for its growing expat community. I seem to have had considerable luck and have been more or less fully occupied on some tasks and enjoying what is on offer for the last 10 days and have only just had time to start the usual city tourist trail having today visited the Santa Catalina Convent this afternoon.

Santa Catalina

My interim stay hostal, La Casa de los Pinguinos really couldn’t be better. Run by a Dutch woman called Alex it is safe, clean and better than many hotels. Alex has a young son and has moved to Arequipa permanently. There is a steady flow of travellers enjoying all the mod cons that you need at a modest £12.50 a night for B&B.

With the help of new found friends at Team-Inter mountain cycling club, notably, Henry, Jaime and Hans I have bought a new and quite good quality bike with the intention of selling it on at the end of my trip.

Last weekend we cycled to la Playa at Mollendo, some 120km. Setting off at 6am we first had to climb some mountains but overall to the coast we dropped 2,200 metres in altitude. So much of it was downhill. Generally the landscape was either lunar mountains or lunar landscape desert. Most of the ride was by road which was generally OK but the buses passed fast and sometimes very close. The last 25km was downhill off-road which was good except in places the trail gave way to 15cm deep volcanic ash, like riding in talcum powder.

Volcanic ash downhill

Arriving around lunchtime after a stop for breakfast and a few punctures we were greeted at the end of the trail by one of the club members who had taken the road and bought a 6 pack to welcome us. From then on the emphasis moved from cycling to drinking and the following day we hung out at the beach before loading our bikes under a bus to be taken back. Generally it was sunny around 28C with a fresh onshore breeze and a was a really unexpected and memorable excursion to the coast.

Beach at Mollendo

Me and Jaime, the club coordinator

Much of the rest of the time has been taken in locating an apartment. Short let furnished apartments in good areas are in short supply and prices seem high. After visiting 3, 1 located via an agency and the others through newspaper ads I have settled on a 2^nd floor 3 bedroom apartment. This is really too large and will cost $540/month but it was the best of the bunch and in a very safe and quiet area – I aim to move tomorrow and maybe I can sub-let a bedroom.

Other than that I have joined some salsa classes which are offered by Christian in a smallish studio in the centre. These have been OK but the teaching is somewhat random at times and some of the moves are quite tricky. I have also been learning to play the Cajon with my music teacher Marta. She is doing her best with me but I feel she is unused to teaching cajon to adults – this is vacation time and many of the schools are dedicated to making money selling courses to occupy children.

I have been chatting to Chad and Johanna a young couple from Michigan aiming to work here for a year – they too have been preoccupied with finding accommodation and have been industrious in seeking apartments but as yet with no conclusion. Johanna is a break dancer (and other things) and has been encouraged into offering a workshop to locals. She has great skills and has opened my eyes to how formalised and athletic is as a style of dancing. They are both friendly and able young people in search of a moderately different and adventurous experience.

Chad and Johanna

Arequipa is probably overall the nicest city I have visited in Peru. I would wish slightly fewer tourists but the altitude and the weather is fine and people are very friendly. It has its dodgy side with stories of assaults, express kidnappings, some drunkenness and prostitution – I saw a man last evening walking along the street with his dick in his hand but I think he was habitually drunk and possibly disorientated rather than exhibitionist. I was also offered the services of an attractive and rather plump young man, but apart from this I haven't been hassled and generally felt safe. It is very beautiful and from some views is dominated by the presence of the Volcano, El Misti.

El Misti

Lima 2011

2011-01-17T17:03:00.001Z

Generally I rely on this blog to achieve a number of ends: Partly I try and reflect in writing on some of the interesting aspects and differences culturally and geographically when living in another country, in this case principally Peru. It is also a diary of personal memories and a way of keeping in touch with those I know and love. Other audiences, the world, the blogosphere are welcome to read whatever is written but my idea of what is news or blog-worthy may not be to all tastes or even very interesting to you. I try to focus on on life as it passes normally in Peru rather than offer a catalogue of itinerant tourist experiences.

Arriving in Lima there was a little difficulty with my hotel booking but it was sorted out quickly, but I was tired after nearly 24 hours travelling. My first chore was to buy a mobile phone at a cost of around £20 and after that I spent the day chilling out and becoming accustomed to the sights and sounds of Lima. The next day I met up with Junior a young friend who has spent a year as a volunteer in London. He would now rather be back there with his Italian boyfriend but there really isn't a way to get residency as a student without a bucketful of money which he doesn't have. He has decided to try and work on a cruise ship with the aim of saving enough to buy a college admission in the UK and then see where it takes him. Firstly we went to a 'menu' cafe with a 3 course meal for about £3 and after that hopped a taxi to the centre where we visited the old station which has been beautifully converted into a cultural library narrating the story of Peruvian literature, poetry and theatre. After which we shared a beer nearby in what is described as the oldest wine bar in Lima.

Junior with Alan

Station/library roof

On 2 evenings I enjoyed shows in the atmospheric Jazzzone Club on La Paz in Miraflores. JazzZone The first of these was a really hot latin jazz/salsa band and I was able to watch but didn't participate in the excellent salsa dancing. The second evening I had wanted to see Magaly with a Jazz fusion band called. Magaly Solier is the Peruvian actress in the award winning film Teta Asustada, (Milk of Sorrow) and the combination of her Quechuan lyrics and percussion led fusions of Jayna made for a memorable event. Magaly Solier

The next day I met up with Liam and Jan, friends of Alice Onion and participants in Croydon-Spanish. They are in Peru for an extended stay and tour. Unfortunately Jan suffered a bout of irregular heart beats and they had to cancel their tour and do stuff below 2000 metres which was a real shame. Jan used to live in Lima and Spent 5 years teaching there so was meeting up with old friends. Liam even participated in a 10km run and won his age category. I think they had a good trip after the initial disappointment of losing the tour they had booked.

Liam, Jan and me in Bar Haiti in Miraflores

On my last day in Lima I decided to do a Spanish class at South American Explorers. The teacher was having a health insurance crisis and was too distracted by the need to sort out payment for special medicines so we ended up cancelling. Erik, the teacher, an anthropologist and linguistics specialist was met by a couple of New Yorker friends, Pilar and Bill. We later went to lunch at Punto Sal overlooking the sea and had a nice lunch. I had cerviche and unfortunately fell ill the following days. It turned out I had met Pilar before when she was a waitress in the Real McCoy and English restaurant in Cuzco and we actually recalled each other. Some coincidence! Where we eat is nearby to the hang gliders which are always entertaining to watch.

Bill, Pilar, me and Erik

Hang gliding near Larco Mar, Mirarflores (not me)

Havana in general

2010-12-31T00:10:00.000Z

I am beginning to form some general impressions about Cuba. These aren't particularly well informed but are based on my first hand observations and feelings about the country and its people at this point in time..

It feels like there is a strong sense of identity and not a little pride in the 'idea' of Cuba. That said there is an appetite for more than is currently on offer. One senses frustration at the absence of products and hunger for style and choice. I heard today from a Scottish doctor in training here that there is no shortage of technical expertise and regard for patient care but they lack basics for sterilisation, even soap.

Developed world progress feels a step away. Some of the state run restaurants and hotels could easily be viable as businesses but it seems unlikely that the theatre that I attended and it's medium to lavish production of La Boheme would survive any business case test - but what price culture and opera does indeed enjoy subsidy in the UK? So I think the question is how to protect the best whilst setting free the strongest, and enhancing the high quality knowledge based professions with comparable equipment and resources.

Service culture however is generally not well embedded, perhaps because the businesses are not reliant on customer so much as state patronage. Today, waiting 20 minutes for a sandwich the young man serving me was clearly embarrassed but his boss didn't really understand the rules of engagement regarding complainants and desirable outcomes of customer satisfaction or at worst dampening of irritation levels. That said the B&B casa particulares do show the values associated with sole traders and given their oversupply they are fiercely competitive except on price which is similar everywhere. I think that the interest in the tourist currency, CUCs is a strong motivation since it affords access to more exotic products.

To it's credit Cuba is heavily invested in the arts, health and history but it's infrastructure serves it poorly and it feels politically isolated. As yet I haven't watched much TV but I have seen little interest in newspapers nor appetite for news - except the weather, so I wonder at the capacity for Cubanos to conextualise themselves among similar emerging economies - generally in South and Central America there is growth but Cuba's growth is stunted by its own policies and that of its most influential neighbour.

This is a easy country in which to travel and I would definitely entertain the idea of cycling around the island, perhaps avoiding Havana. Other road users are polite and friendly and the roads are generally made well enough. Buses can be overcrowded especially in Havana but they are very cheap locally and even tourist buses are reasonable in price. Roads are very clean with none of the fluttering plastic bags seen littering the roadside in other countries developing countries.

People here are friendly and polite. Most adults are happy to say hello and the children are OK. I have not once heard the disparaging shout 'Gringo' and people readily engage in conversation almost universally enquiring where you have come from. That said, a good number try and sell you something and there is a flourishing black market fed by the products needed to service the successful tourist trade.

In a nutshell Cuba is a fine and interesting place to visit and could be an exciting place to live, not least for the music and dance that pervades the public spaces and many bars.

Cuba 5

2010-12-30T22:13:00.000Z

Leaving Havana I took a bus a little more than 100km west to the Town of Viñales in the green and fertile valley of the same name. Once we had left Havana the main highway was quiet and we made good time. I was met by La China so called because her father is Chinese and she somewhat inherited his features. She shouted for me loudly for fear of losing my trade to other Casa owners. She seems nice if a little pushy.

As we arrived it felt very cold - it has dampened my spirits somewhat but the locals were flabbergasted at the weather and every second person I met commented how cold it was. Having missed breakfast I walked 2km to a hotel with a view and had a sandwich. The valley is surrounded by hump shaped mountains - these are the remains of a high plateau left behind when the valley was formed by the collapse of the land when underground rivers weakened it.

Later I found a short walk to some local caves passing fields of tobacco and pineapple plants At the caves I chatted with some young local rock climbers before returning for a home made dinner of shell fish and rice.

The next day I found a nice circular walk which passed through the valley under the first warming sun for the last 3 days. In the afternoon I mainly hung around the town's centre enjoying a cold beer and plucking up courage to take part in an individual salsa lesson under the scrutiny of the passing public.

Cuba 4

2010-12-30T21:52:00.000Z

Given that today is Sunday, for a catholic country close to Christmas it feels pretty understated. After changing some money and checking out the chocolate museum for a reviving cup of thick hot chocolate I made my way to the museum of the Revolution. I admit that I had hopes that the defining moments of this country would be well presented but I was disappointed. Although it answers some questions the exhibition is poorly curated. They nickel and dimed me with prices of $6, $2 and $1 for the visit, my camera and looking over a couple of extra rooms. There were no guides and the attendants were half asleep.

Afterwards I took some sun along El Malecón stopping for lunch at a nice grill where I had fish, vegetables, fresh orange juice, a pina colada and coffee for an economical £10 including service. Walking it off I came upon a film in the making, 'el Zombie Juan', apparently Cuba's first Zombie movie.

In the evening I headed for the old town finding an ample bar serving light meals enlivened by a group of young musicians with some great music. I chatted a little with some of the three percussionists, the youngest of whom told me he had been learning for about 9 years. He was good.

Much of the rest of the time was spent admiring the architecture and enjoying the vibrancy of the city.

Part 3 Cuba

2010-12-30T20:31:00.000Z

Leaving Matanzas presented no real problems. I hate taking taxis so I carried a bag and rucksack to the Hershey train station. This is an electric train that started life in Barcelona but began service in Cuba for the sugar exporting chocolate company 70 odd years ago. It is actually a wreck and broke down a couple of times on the 90 km trip to Havana. That said it was an enjoyable quirky experience enhanced by chats with Seth and Michelle two fellow travellers respectively from USA and Australia.

On arrival in East Havana we took a launch across a short stretch of water and a nice man gave us the change we needed for our passage. At my Casa Maria Ellen the dentist landlady kindly settled me in and I went to dinner with my new acquaintances from the train. Fist impressions of Havana were good. The central old part is being lovingly restored and many of it's buildings exhibit a fine if somewhat eclectic mix of styles. Dinner was ok and accompanied by good Latin music. We also enjoyed a beer from a local microbrewery and cocktails at the appropriately (for me) named Hotel Inglaterra.

The next day I fulfilled my errand to deliver a Christmas package comprising an odd assortment of things to a friend's adopted Cuban family. Most precious among these was a pack of disposable nappies which are hard to obtain in Cuba's still limited economy.

Afterwards I took coffee at Hotel Internacional de Cuba, a fine and luxurious place overlooking the gulf of Mexico. Then walked the Malecón into Town where I took a tour of the Havana Rum museum which was in fact very poor return for the £5 ticket.

In the evening I went to the theatre and saw La Boheme, shamefully my first ever opera. The quality of the production was outstanding and although as a tourist I was charged double the local rate I still had change from £15. Strangely I met a couple from Purley so we chatted smugly about the warmer weather away from snowy Surrey.

Part 2 Cuba

2010-12-27T13:28:00.000Z

Today's adventures have been subject to continuing cold weather and now rain. Last night I visited an organisation in Matanzas dedicated to promoting various forms of artistic expression. Patio Colonial offered a compact open performance space wedged between buildings near the main square and close to my bed and breakfast lodgings. I arrived punctually for the alledged 9pm start but it was clearly some way off. I decided to try and buy a drink and found restuarant willing to sell me a bottle of rum.

The act was a male singer, a slightly effeminate but very good looking man who specialised in love songs. His voice was very good and although his repertoire include some badly sung Frank Sinatra numbers the Spanish songs were well performed with a light baritone and much feeling. Because of the chilly evening air I relied too much on my tots of rum and by the end found the need to make my hasty if unsteady way home.

The next day after breakfast I went to the Cadeca to change money. This was a simple process although the counter assistant studied each £20 note as though it were a fake Rembrandt. Afterwards I took a bus, locally called a wau-wau to the caves of Belamar. It was a strange journey as the bus first did a 25 minute circuit of surrounding hills before returning to where it began and then setting off once more for the caves.

The caves were impressive but the visit was spoilt for me by some English tourists trying hard to conform to a Brits abroad stereotype. Unfortunately the guide was a bit of a joker and this played to his strength so I resigned to being the somewhat grumpy member of the party. Afterwards there was the choice of a local and tourist restaurant and choosing the one with local money I dined well and incredibly cheaply with a starter of chicharones which are kind of giant pork scratchings but not as good here as they are in Peru.

I sort of wasted the rest of the day - I found a recommended bar that I intended to visit but rain and tiredness enfeebled me and I slept some 11 hours!

Cycling for one day in Cuba

2010-12-25T23:24:00.000Z

I couldn't leave Cuba without a cycling experience and it wasn't without it's moments of drama. I rented a bike through my B&B, costing about £7 for the day. I didn't expect it to be great and it wasn't. Brake function was around 20% of normal, there was a bulge in the front tyre which gradually got worse and the saddle moved around a bit. On the plus side all the gears worked OK and it was almost big enough for me.

I decided to set off from the pretty valley town of Viñales where I wast staying heading for the coast. Peurta Esperanza which seemed a to be 'hoped for' destination. On reaching it after little more than an hour I was quite pleased with the progress, mostly down hill with a breeze helping me along.

We passed through the valley between the mogotes. Mogotes are rocky hills characterised by their rounded, tower-like structure. The heights of these towers are generally less than 25 m and diameters range from 10 to 200 m. Mogotes are remnants of eroded limestone sedimentary layers and the valley from which they emerge was a once high plateau that collapsed when weakened by the flow of underground rivers.

Peurta Esperanza is a quiet fishing village and the harbour was off limits without a pass so I pushed on a further 40km to Cayo Jutías a spit of land and a superb beach at the end of a long causeway. This road was tough going, partly asphalt and partly dirt. Often the best strips of smooth road had been sequestered by farmers in order to dry the harvest of rice. I shared the road with the odd pig, goats and white Cattle Egrets startled by my passing. These bird share a symbiotic relationship with the cattle and oxen in the fields. People were very friendly if surprised to see me on this fairly deserted road.

Arriving at what looked like a frontier crossing I was invited to pay an entrance of $5 to the beach. Realising that I had now covered 70km, it was past lunch time and I wasn't certain I could manage to return before dark I was somewhat worried. The soldier, yes a soldier attending the barrier was polite and persuasive in telling me I could visit the beach and it's restaurant and the driver of the tour bus would be pleased, for a consideration, to carry me back to Viñales. Unfortunately it wasn't to be. The driver was a bit of a jobsworth and unwilling to include me among his clients.

After a rapid rehydration of water and cola I set off for the 65km return journey. Unfortunately after about 40km I began to cramp badly and was needing to stop and walk every few kilometres. At one point a dog overtook me and I was in a lot of pain.

Eventually the road levelled out and I could manage to ride but it soon became dark. Luckily I had a head torch which at least offered a signal to oncoming traffic but wasn't enough light by which to avoid the potholes. Eventually I arrived back at my Casa to the both acclaim and dismay of it's owners that I had travelled so far and arrived back after dark.

Overall it was a great journey impressing upon me the ease and possibility of cycling in Cuba. The next day I did see some tourist cyclists and I think it would be quite a fun journey to circumnavigate the island, perhaps skirting round Havana. Next time maybe.

Cuba 1

2010-12-24T21:49:00.000Z

I hadn't anticipated quite so much anxiety travelling to Cuba but or want of a spare part the plane delayed 12 hours and we waited and waited. The part had to be sourced from France via light aircraft and once fitted our pilot went to the wire trying in vain to get us airborne before his time allowance ran out. The only consolation was a stay at the rather plush Gatwick Sofitel and the possibility of a €600 compensation claim.

Arriving at Varedero we exited without problem. I changed some pounds into convertible pesos, the special money used by tourists and took a taxi to Matanzas, Varadero's poorer but more authentically Cuban neighbour to the East. Mira, the owner of Casa Alma had understandably let my room but found me another with her sister. Marta is a neurologist working at the Children's Hospital and her apartment has one room given over to paying guests. She seemed very pleased when she learned I would stay 3 nights and I gleaned that her pay as a qualified doctor wasn't equal to UK equivalents.

Following breakfast I spent 3 hours walking the town. Matanzas is a bit of a puzzle. It's colonial past is evident but in places it has been let go to a great extent. That said there is evidence of development with a strong flavour of visual arts in galleries, collectives and studios and a few nice bars. Most of the shops display only a poor selection of unbranded goods, in particular the pharmacies which are stark by comparison to most western countries.

I think one can feel safe here. I have chatted to many locals, been given free coffee and wasn't hassled once. Traffic is noisy and smelly and there are a good number of more or less preserved ancient US cars and I even saw an Austin. Interestingly there are some horse and Cart and motorbike and sidecar taxis and a fair number of not very good cycles.

The town is dominated by the sea and two rivers although today the former does not seem too inviting given a chill wind from the North. Walking the riverside young people were racing sea canoes and I saw a few men fishing with nets.

Having been promised 25C and sunny we have a chilly cloudy 18C with a northerly breeze but somewhat better than at home.

Sofia and friends in London

2010-11-10T18:44:00.000Z

I spent an enjoyable evening in Bolivar Hall close to Warren street underground station listening to Peruvian music performed by the small but talented group of Andean troubadours. Vocalist, Sofia Butchuck from Cuzco led the evening singing in Spanish and Quechua. She sang beautiful ballads referencing the sacred properties of the coca leaf, the indigenous people's god Pachamama and the natural world of mountains and the flying condor. She was accompanied by Santiago on guitar and Paloma on charango, a small 10 string guitar like instrument. She also sang songs with a political message focusing on internal struggles on mining concessions in Bagua and elsewhere.

Sofia's musical performance was followed by the that of Jose Navarro. Jose performs a ritualistic dance of scissors and is a puppeteer an mime artist. The scissor dance is an acrobatic and, as can be, seen highly costumed performance.

The theme for the evening held some irony since the recent bicentennial independence celebrations in south America pay scant attention to the 500 years of oppression of it's indigenous communities. Unfortunately the event was not well attended but this was more than compensated by its quality and ambiance.

The Peru Support Group is organising a public meeting on: ‘The Outcomes of Bagua: The Peruvian Amazon One Year on from the Violence’

2010-06-22T12:18:00.005+01:00

This Blog is not only about my travels in this beautiful country, I also try to focus my interest and support on its culture and politics. I recently attended a meeting organised by the Peru Support Group. Speakers included Amnesty International and CARE Peru.

On 5 June 2009, Peru witnessed probably the worse loss of life since the end of the country’s internal armed conflict in 2000, following protests by indigenous groups against a series of legislative decrees, collectively known as the 'Law of the Jungle' (Ley de la Selva). These were approved by President Alan García in 2008 to make Peruvian law conform to the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States.

The protest by Indigenous Peoples against the exploitation of natural resources on lands traditionally occupied by them, which had been going on for 50 days on the stretch of road known as the Curva del Diablo leading to Bagua and Bagua Grande in Amazonas department, was broken up by police and resulted in the deaths of 33 people.

Twenty-three of those killed were police officers, five were local townspeople, and five were indigenous people. The fate of one police officer remains unknown to this day.

On 26 May 2010, Alberto Pizango, the leader of one of the Peru’s main indigenous organisations, AIDESEP (Asociación Interétnica de Desarrollo de la Selva Peruana), was immediately detained by Peruvian police when he returned from exile in Nicaragua. He had been granted asylum by the Nicaraguan government after the Peruvian authorities accused him of being responsible for the violence which led to the deaths in Bagua. He was released on bail the day following his detention, pending trial for the charges of sedition and conspiracy.

On 19 May 2010, Peru’s Congress passed the Law on the Right of Indigenous People to Consultation (Ley de Consulta) - a law providing for consultation with Indigenous People on matters that affect them. The law still has to be enacted by President García. If he observes it, the law will return to Congress and be subject to a parliamentary debate.

You can see the 2 presentations on the Peru Support Group website. Essentially they sum up the lack of progress to date and the need to establish some robust and trusted processes of investigation and some for of reconciliation for the loss of lives on both sides. The issue of rights to consultation of the indigenous peoples is still not resolved and there is therefore a need to continue to hold all sides to account and to ensure better process to resolve such hotly disputed land usage problems.

Last few days in Lima, Peru

2010-03-10T13:08:00.000Z

I generally try to pay attention to endings of trips. I had reserved 5 days in Lima thinking that there would be no end of things that I would like to do, but if truth be told, given an open agenda I have faltered somewhat in my motivation. My attention has turned to coming home, so a note to myself to always finalise in fully active mode with planned events and activities. That said, I have enjoyed some diversions; dabbled in a little salsa, spent 2 evenings at a jazz club, enjoyed cerviche with Maria Ynes and her family and tested some gourmet foodie places. Most notably I swam with sea lions, 'los lobos del mar'.

This latter trip was to the somewhat textured community of Callao about 8 miles up coast. Callao is a very large suburb but the part I visited is a commercial sea port, marina, army fortress and naval barracks. More than anywhere that I have visited in Peru people were very direct in their warnings for me not to stray into the barrios beyond the clearly defined limits around Plaza Grau a small tourist and commerce centre.

In view of the pending boat trip I lunched lightly on an empanada, tasting of Cornish pastie and fruit juice. This was the most costly tour of my time here in Peru and at $35 I was told it would last 4 hours. The company, Ecocruceros and the boat seemed of a high standard and I was joined by a group of 14 happy Belgians, a Flemish flag-waving group from the North who had been in Lima for a festival and were now in relax mode. It seems that flags and waving them are quite popular in Belgium something of which I was unaware.

We had to motor out for about an hour towards a collection of hilly brownish uninhabited sand islands, one of which was home to a high security prison back in the days of the 'Shining Path' revolutionaries, La Isla el fronton and the other, La Isla San Lorenzo we were told is the largest Island in Peru. Behind it were some smallish islands, Islas Palomino where a colony of sea lions reside. As we drew closer occasional groups of heads popped out of the water checking us out as if to welcome us to their home. We arrived to a cacophony of barking and a nauseating stink. The smell was from the next little island which is made mainly of bird poop or guano, now quite fashionable as a fertilizer on organic farms. The combination of the the sea swell and smell was too much for some of the flag wavers who heaved productively but without the aid of their flagpoles.

Four of us, myself included, gamely elected to swim with the guide and to brave the surprisingly cold waters. By this time they were teaming with ducking and diving mammals cheered on by hundreds of their neighbour onlookers from the vantage point of the island behind. Whilst I wasn't too frightened neither was I overly brave. I happily kept to the rear of our group but even so was approached and under-swum several times by these apparently playful and curious creatures. We were reassuringly told that they had never attacked tourists but nevertheless we should stay in a group so we appeared bigger. With the cold water and a certain rush of adrenalin 15 minutes up close and personal with these 7 foot doggy faced beasts was ample and truly exhilarating.

After our swim we returned to land enjoying Inca Cola and banana crisps in the fading afternoon sun. I returned to Miraflores by combi but was aware that the scent of bird shit was carried with me such that at least one person changed seats.

This is the last of my blog entries this time round and I am already thinking about next year. If you have followed any of these scribblings, my deepest thanks. I enjoyed the trip and writing about it and it is great to have a small often encouragingly positive audience.

Saludos, Alan

Kuelap and Gocta, historic and beautiful Northern peru

2010-03-06T14:42:00.001Z

Chachapoyas is the capital of the region Amazonas and as such reasonably busy. The plaza is pretty and from here one can take tours to the pre-Inca fortress of Kuelap. Setting off for the tour with a group of mainly younger tourist from European countries it felt strange to be in such company. Some of them had bussed through the night from Trujillo, about 12 hours and were immediately driving off on a tour – not my style of travel. The drive was about 3 hours on a narrow unpaved road with some great views as we took a wide arc to return high on the other side of a deep gorge.

Kuelap is impressive but probably doesn't have the wow factor of Machu Pichu. That said it is very much worth visiting and our guide made it all the more interesting with great descriptions of its purpose and the Chachapoyan culture. It is a huge complex with the remains of many circular dwellings and attractive angular and diamond details in its construction. On the way back we had lunch and in all it was a very successful tour.

The next day I set of for my 2 days of relative luxury at the Lodge/hotel belonging to Lluis my friend from Tarapoto. This is a newish project within sight of waterfalls at the little known Gocta. To get there I shared a car on a fast road following a river down deep gorge to the dusty hot bus interchange of Pedro Ruiz. In the car was a young Israeli woman working to conserve a species of monkey and doing her PhD from Kent Uni. By coincidence she is married to a man from Tooting and I was sorry that I didn't have time to visit their project which sounded very interesting. You can check in out HERE

The waterfalls are the 3rd highest in the world and are reached via a 2 hour walk along a recently constructed path from the village of Cocochimba. I had a companion for this walk, Javier, one of 15 local guides. He was great, pointing out interesting plants, explaining the method of processing sugar cane and recounting local legends about the waterfalls. On route I had a slight fall and was glad he was around. The walk was great and the whole area provides beautiful views of the surrounding cliffs and mountainside.

On returning for a light lunch I had no specific plans but managed to while away the rest of the day spotting various birds, listening to music and watching the sun set, until the Cusquena hour! Great day except for falling on my butt!

The next day I set off solo to see if I could reach the upper part of the waterfalls. Initially this needed a 12km walk to San Pablo on the other side of the valley. The road to San Pablo is crossed by a handy but steep path or iff you are lucky (I wasn't) you can catch a car going up.On the pathe I came across the smallest church ever. From San Pablo there a newly constructed path takes you to the falls. Passing first through small farms of cane, banana and maize the surface turns to white sandstone with tall erect cliffs on which there are ancient petroglyphs. From here you an see the hotel a white speck across the valley. Eventually it is expected that the two paths from Cocachimba and San Pablo will link up at the foot of the falls offering a 5 to 6 hour trek from one village to the other.

Presently the path enters a longish section of virgin forest giving an indication of the area prior to the now predominant farming. At this point I was somewhat worried by the possibility of bespectacled bear which I knew lived in the area so was pleased to come upon a upon a gang of workers completing the paths. I was the only walker out that day and they seemed surprised to see me without a guide. The last section is a bit of a scramble but I guess will be improved within a few months. The view of the upper falls is if anything more dramatic than seen from below and if you enjoy a walk provides a fulfilling tartget. I returned the way I came and stopped off at another viewing point which is where the path will eventfully descend to the base of the falls.

Arriving back at dusk I had been walking about 9 hours with some significant climbing and felt tired but happy that I had completed this journey on my last day at Gocta before returning the Chachapoyas and then Lima by way of a 22 hour bus ride!

2010-03-03T21:25:00.001Z

Leaving Celedin by Movil Tours we at once climbed into the high cordillera. Having woken with that Imodium feeling I had a few concerns when the driver passed round plastic bags. Movil Tours is one of the more respected bus companies and we had 2 drivers for our 6 hour trip, both wearing company uniforms and driving an old but clearly durable Mercedes Benz. I had a front seat and a great view.

It is hard to describe the experience but suffice to say it will count as my most memorable bus rides and at only £7.50 I would have paid that just for the buzz. We climbed to 12000 feet and descended to tropical levels twice and stopped for lunch along the way. The road wasn't asphalt but had a mainly good surface as we clung to the mountainside snaking round bends only inches from certain death drops.

Arriving at Leymebamba I was situated in an excellent hospedaje, Laguna de Dos Condores. This is a small town, quiet and very pretty, reminding me of North Wales with its stone church, fast running river and steep hills and rain, but with a tropical flavour. It is said that there are more horses here than people and hence one needs to keep an eye on the path ahead.

There is a museum here displaying many of the finds of burial chambers/platforms which were discovered some years earlier at a distant laguna. Unfortunately people began to rob the graves for artefacts to sell and in so doing caused great damage to these significant finds. Eventually, with the help of donors and support of local people they recovered many of the mommies and have created a truly excellent museum. Walking to and from the museum the views were incredible and I faltered for superlatives, but maybe sublime would cover it. This is a very fertile valley and you could sense the plants growing.

After visiting the museum I went for a coffee opposite and by chance met up with Rob, a guide from England who runs a tour service. You can fin him HERE It was nice to chat to someone from the UK. Later, realising there wouldn't be bus on Saturday I took the afternoon bus to Chachapoyas and found a reasonable hotel and later a pleasant bar, 'La Reina'.

Leaving Cajamarca

2010-02-25T00:21:00.000Z

My last day and exit from Cajamarca went well. I began the day by checking out the cathedral and later treated my adopted family and friends to lunch. In the end there were 15 of us in Salas Restaurant in the Plaza. This is an old, typical, busy and large restaurant and offers all of the favourite Peruvian dishes. I had lomo saltado and we drunk some passable Peruvian wine.

For the evening, I was invited to accompany my cyclist friends to an evangelical regaton event. Seemingly an unlikely musical combination, we arrived at university sports hall at 7pm. By 9pm about 300 people had arrived but the sound team were still ironing out problems with the balance, decks and microphones. The act comprised 2 fattish, baggily dressed Mexican Americans and they punctuated their songs with short sermons. The audience, mainly young people were at once animated by the beat, the electrified voices sounding to me as if they had been at the laughing gas. I pretty much got sucked in by the atmosphere and was reminded of my one and only attendance at the Elim pentecostal church. Still, they were a good natured bunch pogoing like mad but without a drop of alcohol.

The next morning, before 6am, Vicky and Mirita kindly saw me off into a taxi and Richard, my cyclist guide met me at the bus station to wish me well. How kind! The journey to Celedin was breathtaking and a tad worrying. We climbed to about 4000m and followed a snaking dirt road with fabulous views and steep unprotected cliff edges.

Celedin is a slightly sleepy mediums sized rural town and I am lodged in the Hostal Celedin with a simple ensuite bedroom for only £7.00 a night. By the end of the afternoon I had explored the town to its edges and enjoyed its comparative tranquility.

Awaking early I went on an excursion to some thermal baths. Llanguat is a small village 23km down into the tropical zone, I Joined 2 others at 7am sharing thee cost of the fare of £12 round trip. The journey was fantastic as we passed into a vast canyon down to the river bed. The road was pretty bumpy and narrow made worse by a recent mud slide 'hauco'. These naturalevents happen in the rainy season when great chunks of mountainside gather speed and come cascading down; their force destroys or covers everything in their path. The baths comprised 2 swimming pools, the hot one iron red and a very comfortable temperature. I soaked and chatted with othersand we returned after a lunch of chicken, yukka and rice, topped off with bananas and sweet lemons.

All is well; I was sad to have left Cajamarca but pleased to be moving on and experiencing some different countryside.

More random thoughts and observations

2010-02-24T23:38:00.000Z

I am continuing with some random thoughts about life in Peru, in particular as it has revealed itself here in Cajamarca.

Plazas

Most towns have a Plaza de Armas. I don't think there is a UK equivalent and that is probably a pity. Taking this evening's observations as typical, one is treated to a variety of services handily located together. Around the edge of the Plaza in Cajamarca are a couple of fine churches, hotels, tour agencies, restaurants and bars. In the square, with its gardens and seats, I noticed parents and children enjoying ice creams, young people locked in conversation and sometimes embrace, police on duty, shoe-shine boys, people selling things like chewing gum, sweets, ice cream, cigarettes, drinks, toys etc. There was a political mime artist group. Cars and taxis circulate – it is a genuine hub to the city. But perhaps most importantly the atmosphere is great, relaxed, friendly and inviting.

Dogs

I cannot say I a overly fond of the Peruvian dogs. There is a distinctive Peruvian breed, perhaps one of the most ugly dogs you can find but you don't see it here. Dogs mostly occupy the street in residential areas. They roam free, hunting out scraps of food from rubbish. sometimes the enter restaurants hunting for scraps. On the corner near where I live there is a pack that has a regular mad half hour chasing motor taxis and cars. Often though they are sleepy and disinterested. Aside from the feces they leave they can be extremely aggressive. My strategy when walking home late at night is to carry 2 stones. If a dog is aggressive towards me I first show it the stones and pretend to throw one; often that is enough. If not I throw one stone past the dog and often it stupidly chases it and in this distraction I pass by. Failing that I aim to hit it which I have only had to do once. Otherwise, when cycling they can give chase, a great motivation for sprint practise!

Recycling and environmental issues

There doesn't seem to be much of a formal approach to recycling, but informally it is pretty good. You can see Campecino women collecting great bundles of plastic bottles and the deposit on glass bottles is as much as half the price of the drink it contains thus encouraging their return and reuse. In our house there is a cuy box to feed the guinea pigs and some people fatten a pig on waste food. When water is heated for cooking or making tea, spare clean hot water is retained in a thermos for later use – maybe we'll try that at home although it could well be controversial. Clothes are mainly hand washed in cold water and always hung out to dry. There is wastefulness, for example in the ad hoc transport system with far too many taxis and motos chasing too few customers; the mainly unregulated pubic transport system leads to too many ery old and poluting buses and cars. In terms of the bigger picture the mining industry is a huge factor. Today I saw a convoy of 10 petrol tankers heading up to the Yanacocha gold mine and some other lorries carrying what were described as dangerous waste mining materials. Clearly I am scratching at the surface of a complex topic but maybe these casual observations suggest a huge environmental problem for the extraction of a precious (but not to me) metal.

Pissing, spitting, whistleling and sitting

Men mostly do the former 3 while women the latter. On urinating many men care not where and this often imparts a horrible smell on corners and in alleys. Men also spit a fair amount but probably no more than parts of the UK. They can also whistle out of their proverbial; Most can whistle very loudly, sometimes through their teeth but they also have a trick of bunching their bottom lip and inhaling to cause a distinctive and piercing call.

carnivals

2010-02-20T03:24:00.000Z

Perhaps I am just a little pleased that the carnivals have come and gone. The build up to these festive events has been palpable during these last 2 or 3 weeks. Children especially have anticipated it with the buying and throwing of water filled balloons, 'los globitos' and by drenching each other and passers by with water on every opportunity. One would think that the joke would wear thin after a while but not so.

This weekend has been the conclusion to festivities, beginning on Saturday with pitched battles between groups of young people carrying paint filled 'globos' in buckets ready to throw at each other. Most people with any sense keep away and I went cycling to avoid this odd tradition. One could see its results every where. By lunchtime, buses, taxis and young people were covered in paint. Taking some back routes through the city we avoided the worst of it but we were attacked with water bombs which weren't too upsetting.

Earlier in the week we went to an event to elect beauty queens. This was a curious mix between beauty pageant and a contest for the most authentically dressed young woman from each of the provinces of Cajamarca and the local districts of Cajamarca City. Unfortunately it was both boring and cheesy but there were some nice costumes and I was pleased that the traditionally dressed girl from San Marcos won out over some of the more miss world like representations.

On Sunday we had 'las patrullas', a 3 or 4 hour procession of all the local areas and provinces of Cajamarca. These were generally colourful and quite fun with accompanying music and some splendid costumes. I watched it in the Plaza de Armas and situated myself near a group of friendly people who wanted me to drink their beer and pisco. Although I politely declined this did not prevent them from drinking themselves senseless during the course of the afternoon. Later, when it came on to rain heavily, rather than dampen the crowd's enthusiasm everyone seemed to enjoy it all the more. continuing to throw waater at each other!

The last main event, 'los concorsos' comprised of a lengthy procession of allegorical floats, many carrying the beauty queens and accompanied by much of the procession of the previous day. It lasted a full 4 to 5 hours. We situated ourselves on makeshift bleachers where places were rented out at around £3 a seat. Although I had some misgivings the structure seemed sturdy enough but it wasn't overly comfortable, By the end I became bored and wanted the interminable event to conclude. This was also another occasion of war by water bomb and myself and many others were hit by the projectiles which were lobbed from above and the other side of the road.

As I left I saw that another bleacher platform had collapsed; I gather causing 17 injuries, some of which necessitating hospitalisation. This was easily preventable and the joint neglect of the the informal economy and lack of adequate regulation. Otherwise the procession was fine but I thought that the police were somewhat heavy handed in clearing the way at the onset of events. Many of the costumes were great but quantity rather than quality prevailed.

In the evening I joined my family for some singing and dancing with guitars and flute. This was great fun and we sung 'coplas', verses of a set pattern always with the same tune but with varying themes, sometimes patriotic other times very rude. At some point we determined to visit some cousins and arrived unexpectedly causing a party to ensue. We all had to 'white up' by painting our faces with talcum powder. Drinks of whiskey, canosa, chicha and beer flowed freely and the next morning I slept late and awoke with somewhat of a hang over.

Well I gather it is not all over yet as we have the 'Unchas de Carnavales' to come. These comprise the erection of an Uncha tree in every barrio with presents tied to it and more partying.

Carnival in Cajamarca is certainly an experience but come prepared to party and enjoy. Carnival is not universally loved by all but seems to run through the veins of most Cajamarquinos happy to be known as the Peruvian capital of carnival.

Of doubtful interest

2010-02-16T00:07:00.000Z

Well this blog entry is not so much about events or journeys but life as I have experienced it here in Cajamarca, Peru. It is no more than thoughts and some reflections on life observed, some of which may offer an expectation of what it may be like to live and travel in Peru. I have organised it thematically as below..

Travel
Choices for travel are varied; leaving air travel and special tours aside, there seems to be a hierarchy of long distance travel. Companies like Cruz de Sur are slick and offer a comfortable service where it is possible to cover long distances by night, both saving on hotels and waking fairly refreshed. First class cabin tends to cost about 20% more but is definitively worth it for night journeys and prices generally seem excellent value.

If traveling intermediated distances I tend to go by day and take cheaper options. A 5 hour journey may cost as little as 10 soles or £2.50. Buses often play videos which can be unsuitable for younger travelers. Usually there are stops, sometimes an hour for the driver to have lunch and quite often vendors board the bus with fruit or sweets for sale. Generally going can be slow as roads may or may not have asphalt and progress can be halted by farm animals, the fording if rivers and negotiating markets in small towns.

For shorter distances there are 3 main options, combis/buses, taxis and motos (3 wheel motorbikes). Prices tend to double up for each option, from 70 centimos to 1.50 soles to 3 soles although these vary by distance. For the latter 2 you can haggle and usually expect that drivers will try and take advantage of gringos. As market conditions change, for example in the rain, at lunch times or in the evening the price can rise and sometimes drivers will refuse a fare if they don't want to go in that direction. Buses and combis can be fun. Conductors hurry you on and off the bus with calls of sube sube and baja baja and they'll pick you up and drop you anywhere. It can be a squeeze, particularly for tall gringos but at least you don't have to haggle.

Equalities
In daily life Peru doesn't really consider fairness among the sexes. There is a great deal of stereotyped work roles such as bus and taxi drivers which are all men. I haven't seen more than a couple of women cycling and men are rarely seen in caring roles, although there are quite a few pretty police women!. That said, families tend to be extended and mutually supportive, so some role segregation doesn't mean people necessarily live entirely stereotyped lives lives. There is quite a lot of humorous introspection of this in so called 'saco lagos' which offer short and funny presentations of role reversals in the home and at work with women and men playing to opposite roles to the hilarity of all. I suppose this may just be a handy device to channel potential resentment.

Anyone with a disability has a tough time in Peru. Public services are scarce and there are few if any adaptations to the environment. Pavements are probably insurmountable for wheelchair users and hence there aren't any! Sometimes one has to cross half metre gaps in the road, or rubble is left without any safety barriers.

I have not been aware of any gay, lesbian or bisexual people in Peru. Perhaps they exist but I guess a low profile is kept except possibly in the largest cities.

Peruvians are not generally very accustomed to other races hence I am often stared at curiously, particularly by children. Occasionally one is called gringo but probably only in the same way a fat child is called gordito (little fat one) without a hint of malice. Here in Cajamarca, the Campecinos (peasants) are distinguished by their clothes, particularly the women who wear tall wide brimmed hats and full knee length skirts, carrying their things or a baby in a blanket on their back. There doesn't seem to be any racial element in their treatment although I guess structurally and economically they are disadvantaged. In Cajamarca not much Quechua is spoken but often people know some words from grandparents. There are no signs in Quechua and only pocketed pride in this pre-columbian language. That said, here in Cajamarca one can take lessons.

Health and safety
Orthodontists seem to abound and I guess you could get very good and reasonable treatment. Lots of people, particularly Campecinos have a lot of gold in their mouths but I am unsure if this is curative or cosmetic.. I have had no cause to visit hospitals but in the past have found them surprisingly well organised and quite cheap. Glasses can also be bought cheaply if you steer away from designer stuff – so if you need a new or spare pair bring your prescription. Obesity seems to be on the increase and although quite a few young people do exercise, particularly football and volley but many don't. There is also a fair amount of drunkenness and it is not rare to find someone still sleeping it off in the gutter in the morning.

Workplace risk taking is endemic except in the large corporations and the municipalidad, few construction workers wear safety equipment. This extends to ordinary tasks where not much thought is given to working under a car supported only by a single bottle jack. You can buy fireworks without restriction and the youngest of children seem to be able to watch horror movies.

Since this is rambling on a bit, I'll break here and see if I have enough on which to reflect for a part 2 but you probably get the picture. Hopefully this doesn't come over as a rant but I guess one´s attention is more easily drawn to differences in ways of being, some of which may seem a bit negative but are amply compensated by other factors. I am happy if you leave some comments and please don´t be put off from travelling to Peru. It is a fantastic country.

Cajabamba party and Jesus by bike

2010-02-11T17:03:00.000Z

After a reasonably full few days I have elected for one of relative calm, apart from the possibility of a Spanish lesson this afternoon.

On Sunday we delivered our 2 young house guests Astrid and Christy to their parent who were in Cajabamba for Angel's, the children's grandfather's 75th birthday. (more of this later). This has freed up the larger guest bedroom with the ensuite bathroom, so I am relaxing quietly and enjoying a slow start to the day. Actually my bed just collapsed owing to some rather skimpy fittings and is currently under repair! That aside, I have been very happy here and have helped Vicky market her homestay by creating a website. There is a link to it here at the side of the blog and you can become a member of a small group who have been or plan to be guests.

Last evening, in Ballas Cafe (see below) I met Milli who I had befriended some months earlier in my internet search for contacts in Cajamarca. She is a 23 year old law student, who unusually for Peruvians has traveled a bit on a volunteer exchange in Canada. We chatted happily over great £3 Margaritas while I disproved the the theories about meeting older men on the internet. She was very pleasant and I think I have been invited to a large family party on Sunday. After this I went to the town square to watch the 155th anniversary celebrations. The plaza was completely full and there was a band, fireworks and a giant display screen – all very festive but after a while too crowded for my liking so I slipped away and walked the 45 minutes back to my house.

Cajabamba is a medium sized town sitting on a ledge overlooking a valley that is endowed with many farms and smallholdings. It is at about 2,600 metres so slightly warmer than Cajamarca with a pretty plaza and great market. The journey there takes in some splendid views of the surrounding mountains and the bus has to negotiate a couple of shallow river crossings.

Cajabambinos appear highly proud of their 'tierra' and the ensuing birthday party demonstrated a close knit community and a love of fiesta. We began with pisco sours and lunch was accompanied with wine and then beer and more pisco and dancing. I stayed the course for about 7 hours and then left them to it! The next day we had a gentle walk around the surrounding district and enjoyed soft drinks and a view of the surrounding countryside, returning to cajamarca at dusk.

Yesterday I opted for another cycle ride with Richard. We went to Jesus, about 20km away, without too much climbing. Its recent fiesta was marred by the death of 4 young people driving back after an evening's celebrations. Richard showed me the curve in the dirt road where the car came adrift, dropping down into a culvert and hitting what remained of a disused concrete bridge. There are now painted steel bollards and some signs but clearly too late for these young people.

We opted to follow some singe track paths in order to vary the passage above a swollen river. Unfortunately the paths petered out and eventually we descended to the river via a stream and through some dense woodland. On reaching the river, and realizing we needed to cross it or climb back up the stream we spent a frustrating half an hour looking for the least fast running stretch. Eventually, by hopping from one island of stones to the other we made the crossing without being washed away!

Ballas Cafe is the only bar that I have found offering a very chilled experience. Its owner speaks good English and plays mostly cool tracks offering some Mexican snacks, more than passable coffee and great cocktails. It is usually quiet and best of all has the most reliable wifi signal I have found. It is on the corner of Belen and Junin.

Hauyanay otra vez

2010-02-05T22:02:00.002Z

Yesterday I went back to Hauyanay, the somewhat remote village community above San Marcos, Cajamarca. The project had come on well since my last visit and the 150 or so steps down to the waterfall had been completed together with balustrades and strategically places wooden seats to rest on one's return. The next stage is to construct a bridge come viewing platform.

On leaving Cajamarca at 6am I felt fortunate that I had found what I thought was a good seat on a spacious combi. Sitting at the back with my legs stretched into the central aisle was great until I discovered a fold-down seat in front of me and I was at once hemmed in by a fat lady to the right and a heavy man in front. As my knees and backside welded into super-structure of the bus and my near neighbours I attempted to find distraction in the equivalent of Romantic FM which was at least soporific.

On reaching San Marcos I notices a long line of campecino women with their tall hats waiting outside a municipal building for their £20 monthly stipend. I believe it is aimed at bringing them some measure of independence in the prevailing macho culture. I found a cantina serving hot caldo and was offered pig foot or head. I chose foot believing it the lesser horror and left the meat but enjoyed the soup with a little potato and pasta.

Setting off for the village at around 7.30 we arrived to our work. This entailed a 1 mile walk to a small wood of eucalyptus trees in which we cut down tall 'palos' using machetes and then used stones to loosen the bark which was peeled from the tree. We then carried these back to the village. I made 4 such trips and it was hard work. Some of the men (I was allowed to work with the women and children) were focusing on felling a large tree and then cutting it into planks to form the platform off the bridge on which people will walk. This was achieved skillfully with a huge chain saw but the afternoon's work only yielded 5 planks and 25 are needed!
At the day's end there was an opportunity to chat and I learned that one of the men had created a series of 4 line songs 'couplas' about the project and its environmental/touristic aims, to be sung in the traditional way during carnival.

On leaving there was a pretty sunset to compete the day and I returned by 9pm tired and hungry.

Some week later I received word that the bridge/viewing platform had been constructed and I am grateful to Amparo for sending me the fascinating photos which can be viewed HERE

Recently there has been a newspaper article on the sam project and you can find it HERE

A few different activities in the course of a week

2010-02-03T22:19:00.001Z

Life has settled into an agreeable pattern, however one still has to allow for the fact that timetabled events slip and slide, minutes, hours or sometimes days; so it pays to have different options on the table.

On Friday I went to Cumbeyo by bicycle with Richard. Either I am fitter or it was a slightly easier ride, probably the latter. We again climbed into the surrounding hills, stopping at a fish farm to view the tanks full differently sized trout. Mostly wide track or asphalt the going was tough but manageable. The route eventually climbs to mine which we didn't visit and hence some of the drivers seemed more gun ho than normal, but not too bad. We passed through some stunning countryside with great views of a steep gorge and the winding switchback trail. perfect for mountain biking.

As we reached the area of Cumbeyo we were able to see literally hundreds of ventanillas (or windows) in the surrounding hills where bodies were once interned. They have long since been ransacked but I am told one can still find pottery pieces and bones. The town of Cumbeyo offers a dusty plaza and surrounding buildings. At a bodega we stopped and bought bananas and sweet biscuits and Mangos, 3 for 25p which Richard said were twice the price of those in the Cajamarca market. We were advised of some ancient sites nearby but the route would have taken us down and up again and was so steep that we turned back.

The fast and exciting descent was only interrupted by one short climb although we stopped for one puncture. Richard's inner tube looked well past its best with about 8 previous patches and I told him I would donate my 2 new ones before I left. As we passed through Otuzco some children pelted us with water bombs but we we didn't mind a little damping down and they were preferable to the occasional ferocious dogs which we outpaced easily. On reaching the airport there was some good flat asphalt and Richard opened up a lead but lack of oxygen meant that I couldn't respond so we coasted back to Cajamarca where they kindly taxied me back to my house.

At the weekend I met up with Another Richard and some of his family. They had offered a day's outing to Porcon which seems to be both a farming cooperative and huge managed pine forest. It is about 30km distance from Cajamarca and includes a zoo, some carpentry and textiles trades, restaurant and a downhill cycle track. Here the countryside appears very different and the forest stretches off into the distance in most directions. The enterprise is owned by an evangelist and the route is signposted with biblical references, often relating to the natural world or relationships with others. I am not too fond of zoos but at least the vicuna ran wild and some of the animals had largish enclosures. We spend t pleasant and tranquil few hours and had a decent lunch. Worth a visit but don't expect a wow factor.

Yesterday I had lunch with Father Michel Garnett. Michael or Miguel as he is known here is well into his 80s and has been a priest in Peru for around 40 years, taking Peruvian nationality in 1974. He is a remarkable man on many fronts, having written several novels and other books. At the moment in the process of turning one of his novels into a film he speaks modestly of his aachievements. Michael also teaches in the local private university and is a 4th dan black belt in karate! We passed a pleasant few hours and downed a sizable measure of Chilean red wine. He is a great conversationalist and has a repertoire of recollections about Peru's political, cultural and social history. His home is shared with a number of visiting god children and and is adorned with his own and others' paintings and memorabilia. I truly enjoyed our chats and hope we can remain in contact.

Aside from my language classes, the gym and some nice chats and lunches with my host family I have today witnessed the carnival swinging into action with the first of its processions. Not everybody is a great fan of carnival. In the evenings various groups bang drums and chant a variety of couplets, mostly about love and life in the countryside. There is a fair degree of drunkenness and the police keep a tight rein. The procession today was happy enough. I wasn't super impressed with the costumes, which I was told are last year's. It was loud and there was quite a bit of water throwing but generally good natured. As this was the first of the processions and we can expect several others culminating around the 14th February I guess there is quite a bit more to anticipate.

By tomorrow I am 4 weeks into my visit with 5 or so more to come. With few exceptions it has been a great month and I feel at one with the lifestyle and personally enriched by the variety of experiences and people I have encountered. I will probably be in Cajamarca at least another 3 weeks and then will loop back to Lima by way of Celedin and Chachpoyas potentially staying at lodge at Gotca where there is a super high waterfall and visiting Kuelap said to be the Machu Pichu of Northern Peru.

Waterfall a plenty

2010-01-31T16:14:00.002Z

In the last few days I have visited 2 sets of waterfalls within traveling distance of Cajamarca. The first at is only about 13km and just a stone's throw from the pretty village of Llancora. We went on a Sunday and there were several others enjoying the short and pleasant walk to the falls. From the attractive plaza and its gardens there is an easily found path at first passing some small bodegas, one of which sold great chicharrones and mote at 2 soles a bag. They were very tasty. The waterfall weren't stunning but attractive enough and it was amusing to watch some of the locals were enjoying trying to get under them.

The next day we visited San Marcos a small and somewhat grubby town about an hour and quarter's drive, 63 km on route 3N South East of Cajamarca. The road is good but we left early without breakfast and I felt a little sick in the back of the Combi which cost us 7 Soles, less than 2 pounds. St Marcos is a small rural and somewhat dusty town but it has a nice square and church and we had a chicken soup breakfast, a variety of breafast that I am still coming to terms with.

At around 8.30 we were collected by Amparo and Ronald is a Combi which looked as if it had seen better days. Amparo is project leader running a Swiss funded eco/agro tourism project in a tiny village of Huayanay about half an hour further up in the hills. The village is set around a grass plaza and comprises 12 families and dwellings including a shop and church. It has no electricity or constant water but has a satellite telephone.

The project for this week is to render 1 of the 2 waterfalls about 60 metres below accessible by creating stone steps winding down a steep incline. The point of this is to attract tourists and this funds to this pretty isolated location.

Luckily Amparo is a highly resourceful person and with wit and charm she helped organise chains of workers passing large uneven stones down to others below who were constructing the path. More or less the whole of the village was engaged in this with women and children passing down some large and very heavy rocks. At lunch time we stopped and had a good meal of rice, fried egg, soup and potato with lots of fruit juice to wash it down.

The waterfalls are really quite attractive and the whole site is a repository for different plant types and some wildlife. Two charming boys guided us to the second lower falls and the views of the valley from here are quite stunning.

At the day's end Amparo convened an informal town meeting where she reinforced some of the aims of the project and outlined new tasks and asked for support for the continuation of the labours. She distribited about 6 small eucalyptus plants to each family. Althouh this species is not native to Peru it grows quickly and provides firewood and prevents the cropping of indigenous trees.

As dark fell we headed back to San Marcos extremely tired but very satisfied by the day's work, made all the more fun by the kindness of our hosts, their good humour and honest endevours. I plan to visit again to help next week.

If you feel like helping in any way with this project let me know and I can put you in touch. Everyone is welcome and every penny spent seems to go to good use; the funding of only $7000 for this and some educational activities is small beer compared to the benefits being acrued.

Cajamarca 2 Cycling

2010-01-24T22:28:00.001Z

Cycling Near Cajamarca

4 weeks off the bike except for a couple of spinning sessions isn't sound preparation for 60km on and off road at an altitude of around 9,000 feet. But hey ho here we go.

When I first saw Richard and his brother cycling out of Cajamarca, looking like real cyclists on real bikes instead of the usual piles of steely 'Monarch' contraptions that pass for cycles around here I took careful note. They too noticed my interest and smiled hello. It passed that I soon met them again.

They are members of a family of about 6 brothers and a couple of sisters and among other interests they run a cycle repair yard close to the cemetery. It isn't much more than a corrugated plastic covered yard with a dirt floor, some tools and lots of cycle junk. They dont even have a bike stand. They are part of a small but enthusiastic cycling scene here in Cajamarca and have already organized a couple of events locally including a criterium around the city centre and a downhill from the ancient site of Cumbe Mayo, probably 2,400 feet on a dusty wide track.

Luckily they are friends of Vicky with whom I am lodging and she negotiated a morning's accompanied ride, guide and hire of bike for 70 Soles or about £17.50. The bike had an unknown aluminum frame, Shimano Deore groupset and Mavic rims, so not bad and good to go. We set off in the direction of the Inca Baths along the only cycle/running path in Cajamarca and then on to Llancora a pretty mountain village where there are waterfall of which I will say more next time. We then climbed for about 1 hour and 20 minutes towards Namora where we left the road for a stony track. After some tough terrain we descended on a beautiful lake, lago Coller which is not listed in the guides.

The lake appeared black and on closer scrutiny it contained herbs which a few farmers were harvesting and there were fine reeds which I was told were used to make the distinctive hats worn mainly by the campesino women. There was a lot of bird life, mainly ducks and a few people fishing. Apart from this and with the exception of one family picnicking we had the lake to ourselves and we stpped for soe time to appreciate it.

On leaving I felt quite exhausted but knew that we had about 25km left to cover, luckily more of which was downhill. On reaching Cajamarca I was well and truly cooked but it had been a fascinating ride through magnificent and verdant countryside. Richard, my companion is a strong cyclist and I fell far short of his climbing performance though mentally discounting age, altitude and time off the bike as compensating factors. He was good company too and tolld me he has a girlfriend, Zoe in Nottingham, an evangelist ballet dancer he told me.

I have decided to try and help this group of cyclists get some support and funding and I will aim to work with them to develop a proposition to garner funds from cycling interests world-wide, for from what I can see there is a great deal of talent and enthusiasm without the means to easily achieve their goals. So if you have any ideas on how we can support and nurture this talent and in a small way help this developing and generally impoverished group to help themselves through the sport of cycling, kindly leave a comment and your ideas.

Cajamarca 1

2010-01-20T22:15:00.001Z

After leaving Lima I traveled overnight on Cruz de Sur to meet my friend Anna and her sister Lesley from Piura. The bus was very comfortable and I managed to sleep 7 hours, so arrived fresh and spent a very agreeable few hours comprising of cocktails, a lunch of duck with rice (a Chiclayo specialty). In truth the duck was a bit dry but we enjoyed catching up and we took in some pleasant gardens set out in Roman classical design and paid a visit to Ripley, the Debenhams of Peru and air conditioned.

The next day I was booked on a Linea bus,(I have since learned the buses are on strike) less comfortable but with some great views of the countryside. The journey of about 150 km took 7 hours giving you some idea of the terrain as we climbed to more than 11000 feet. At times the paved road gave way to dirt and some of the edges were just bit on the close side. Anyway, as we dropped down from the high plateau I had my first view of Cajamarca, a substantial city situated in a green valley surrounded by mountains on all sides, some of which were cloaked in cloud, for it is the rainy season.

Cajamarca has many attractions but it is mostly known for the downfall of the Inca Empire as Francisco Pizarro with about 170 soldiers, 29 horses and one canon conquered a culturally advanced empire stretching from Columbia to Chile. Atahualpa, the Inca Emperor was tricked into entering the city with his retinue which was duly massacred by the better armed and ferocious Spanish contingent. He was then held ransom for gold and silver to fill a large room (the Rescate) but his only gain from this was to be spared death by burning and he was eventually hanged. From then on the empire fell into disarray and was decimated by systematic subjugation and the spread of disease – and so it ended.

Arriving in Cajamarca at first I stayed in a hotel but by luck I have found a lovely family with whom to lodge. Vicky is an official guide and her extended family live in 3 connected dwellings. Mirita cooks and keeps house and cousins, aunts, nieces and nephews come and go so the house is always lively and fun. I am treated a bit like visiting royalty but am normalising relations and I have just got them to stop calling me Senor Alan. I get a room of my own, a shower next door and 3 meals a day for about £52 a week. To be honest I probably spend more than that on food alone at home.

Since arriving I have participated in some of the usual tourist activities. Firstly visiting some museums and the Rescate which is where the gold and silver was stored. I have also been to the Inca Baths, a complex of hot springs serving a complex of individual bathroom where for just over £1 you can spend 30 minutes bathing and absorbing some of the minerals said to be present in the waters. I also walked to Otuzco via a river path. Here one can visit the ventanillas, a complex of burial chambers niched out in the rocks. Yesterday I visited Cumbe Mayo a huge outcrop or 'forest of rocks with a 3000 year old aqueduct which has been precision engineered to supply water into the valley. There are also strange petroglyphs which so far haven't been deciphered.

The town of Cajamarca is busy and well supplied with places to eat and drink. Holanda Ice cream company takes advantage of the ample supply of dairy produce and has some great and typical Peruvian flavours. So far i have not had any luck in tracking down a NGO to work with but I think I have identified a Spanish teacher and I am supposed to be meeting up with a TV reporter who says he will interview me about cycling; on which not as yet I haven't bought a bike but have joined Fitness First and will be doing a spinning session later today.

Ending this edition on a slightly sour note I was robbed in the market losing about £30 and a couple of credit cards. In part at least this was my own fault in not taking sufficient precautions but the team that robbed me were pretty accomplished and I guess one can learn from any experience. Reporting the event has been somewhat comical necessitating several visits to the police station and back and forth to the national bank. Getting me a supply of money and plastic is a chore that has sadly fallen to my resourceful wife.

Back in Lima

2010-01-17T21:12:00.005Z

Well I am back in Peru and remembering its funny ways. The journey was uneventful except for some extreme turbulence which unnerved me somewhat. I was to have been collected from th airport by my friend Stuart but emails went astray and in the end I selected the most reliable oldest taxista from the Green Taxi company. I chose him partly to annoy one of his colleagues who was shadowing my every move in the hope of a fare.

My stay in Lima was hugely enhanced by my hotel which was a real cultural treat. The house of Victor Delfin, artist of Peru is a hotel, gallery and his studio. Almost 100 years old its architecture defies classification but maybe owes something to the combined influences of Tudor, Bauhaus and Swiss country cottage. The house is situated in the so called bohemian district of Barranco, just outside Lima and it looks out on the Paciffic.

Lilian, Victor's daughter is a petite 40 something with military precision in the B and B arrangements, a quality probably inherited from her father whose studio is orderly and not stereotypically arty. A huge brightly lit cross over at Chorillo to the South dominates the night sky and and reflects off the water.

The house is huge with 3 large double bedrooms for guests – these cost considerably more than the £40 per night that I paid for the only en suite single room. Breakfasts are a friendly affair with all guests sharing the same table.

On entering the garden you are greeted by 2 large friendly dogs Zeus and Diana, but most of all treated to a continual revealing of Victor's considerable body of work and talent. This is in the form of sculptures, paintings, artifacts and even windows and door furniture which have been artistically interpreted.

Aside from the hotel i enjoyed a great meal with Stuart and his Peruvian wife Anette, did some research on Cajamarca at South American Explorers and enjoyed some walks along the beach and into Chorillas a nearby busy town about which people warned me that it was unsafe but on visiting seemed much the same as any other Peruvian commercial centre. I also explored Barranco and found a friendly bar and hit a few museums.

So, a good 3 days and then I took a super luxury night bus to Chiclayo where I was to meet Ana and her sister, friend from lst year's visit to Piura. Overall a good start to the trip.

Sevilla with The English Group

2009-12-03T12:02:00.001Z

I convene a small group of Spanish and English learners in a pub in Croydon, unimaginatively known as Croydon-Spanish. Until recently my friend Jorge was a member of the group and now is a founding member of a similar group based in Sevilla called The English Group.

Well, we have been comparing notes and I took the opportunity of a £50 Ryanair deal to spend 4 less wet and cold November days. The group was incredibly kind, entertained and showed me around the city treating me to rides to and from the airport, (although Jorge's car died on the way back necessitating a fast change to a taxi)

I really like Sevilla and being shown the authentic and best bars and sampling great tapas was an excellent antidote to recent poor weather in London. We visited the museum of Modern Art where there was a great exhibition Máquinas de Mirar with all sorts of visual tricks and machines. I also enjoyed Reales Alcazares, Archivo de Indias, various parks, gardens and avenues, a wonderful exhibition of Art inspired by video games, 'Over the Game'. I was treated to dinner at one of the group's houses and visited the horse show SICAB.

Thanks to all my hosts but especially those of you who showed me around. You all showed me great kindness.

Some of you will know that I quite enjoy cycling so it was with some interest that I was able to try out the municipal cycle scheme. It worked pretty well, and with Sevilla being quite flat and and relatively safe, it was very well used by locals and some tourists. I spent a couple of enjoyable hours mainly on cycle paths by the river.

I had a amazing and memmorable 4 days mainly thanks to my newly found friends in Sevilla. I hope they will be able to come to London for a visit quite soon.

Peru en Londres 2009

2009-11-22T11:57:00.010Z

Those of you who read this blog know that it will be reignited on my return to peru, this time from January 6 to March 13 2010. At that time I aim to be blogging once or twice a week, mainly from Cajamarca.

But recently there has been quite a lot of action here relating to Peru. I seem to have extended my contacts and am enjoying different activities. A couple of weeks ago I attended the Día de la Canción Criolla at the Inca Arch near Brixton. This was a well attended event with dancing and traditional food. I can't remember what I had to eat so maybe that was and indication of the fun we had. There were traditional dances and a disco.

Also this month saw the beginnings of a new London based Peruvian Association. I attended a meeting when they were hammering out a constitution, running into many pages, but when the food was ready all the business and laboured posturings about the constitution ceased and we had some nice traditional dishes and Pisco sours. Unfortunately I broke my tooth on some cake decorations.

Last week I joined the Peru Support Group and attended its conference in Oxford. This is a broadly left leaning group devoted to supporting Peru. We had some interesting contributions most notably from a priest and potentially a cadidate for President of Peru in forthcoming elections. Marco Arena is an interesting character who seems to be trying to lever a coalition of leftish organisations with strong messages about the Peruvian economy and the current misuse of natural resources and their cost to human suffering. He is a commanding figure from Cajamarca where I will be living and he voices sensible and moderate policies for the sustainable development of Peru.

Cluadio of the Peruap Project hosted the film La teta asustada. This is a magical film staring Magaly Solier. It won some awards at Berlin and is well regarded for its portrayal of the suffering of the indiginous people of the Andes in the times of Partido Comunista del Perú), more commonly known as the Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso)and their conflicts with the Government during a time of great uprising in Peru when it is estimated that 70,00 died, mostly peasants in rural areas. This has coincided with recent release of photos entitled Melting mountains: Helena Christensen on her pictures from Peru The supermodel turned photographer talks about her pictures documenting the environmental and human cost of climate change in her mother's native country. The exhibition of her photographs, in collaboration with Oxfam, opens to the public on 23 November at London's Proud Gallery. They can be found here

Lastly, I am looking forward to the Christmas Party of thee Anglo Peruvian association. This will be hosted in the Peruvian Embassy residence by the kind permission the Ambassador of Peruu, Ricardo Luna.

After that I will be getting ready for my trip. I am beginning to identify some contacts in Cajamarca and my fI will be meeting up with my friend Stuart in Lima.

Thanks for reading the blog. Hopefully you'll see more first hand accounts in January. In the meantime, have a great Christmas.

Feliz navidad

Autumn morning our garden

2009-11-06T07:43:00.001Z

- Posted using Mobypicture.com

Music and Dance at Inca Arch

2009-08-21T15:43:00.012+01:00

Last evening's offering in favour of the Apurimac project was a tour de force of Peruvian culture including music, dance, art, and food and poetry. The fact that you can find all this a stone's throw from central London never ceases to amaze me.

We (myself and Jorge a friend from Sevilla) arrived early and therefore received free complimentary Pisco Sours. The line up for the evening included a rich mix of Peruvian artists now domiciled in UK and Spain. We had every thing for a great evening - the line up included:

Chano Díaz Límaco

Sofía Buchuck (Singer and poet)

José Navarro (Scissors dancer, mime performer)

Juan Calle (singer, composer and poet)

David Mortara ( percussionist and "cajón" player)

Chano Diaz is an award winning musician and producer born in Ayacucho presented some songs from his latest albums. The proceeds of the concert went to Peru Apurimac Project.

We began the eveing with a presentation of recent support for impoverished communities in the high Andes and some of the work going on with remote communities to support more sustainable ways of life.

After that the entertainment began with contributions from all the above mentioned artists. Chano played the the spanish guitar and the charango. Originally, Andean music consisted only of flutes and percussion. The charango resembles a small guitar with 10 strings. The strings are tuned in pairs of five notes, with the middle pair being an octave apart. The rest are tuned in unison. The sound is quite high, almost "tinny" in tone, with a sharp attack. Chano plays the charango in this clip The other instrument played was the cajon, basically a square wooden bok on which one sits and plays like a drum on the front side.

One of the most notable parts of the evening was the Scissor dance performed by José Navarro. This is an acrobatic dance accompanied by what look like two halves of a pair of metal scissors which are beaten rhythmically. You can see it performed here

All in all this was a great evening and they went on to have a disco after we left to catch a train.

If you want to know more about the project there is an informative blog

Cycling adventures around Burgos

2009-07-11T22:59:00.008+01:00

Perhaps one might think that Northern Central Spain has less to offer than the coastal regions - this is not the case and I can recommend the area. It is great for its scenic and historical qualities, the quality of the roads and the ease of cycling along quiet lanes and, even in the city where a cycle path follows the river to leave the city in either of two directions. Burgos is in the area of Castilla Leon and is situated on a high plateau. Thus it can be chilly even in summer. There is a local joke about the man from Burgos who went to a nudist camp but always carried a coat just in case!

I was in Spain for about 3 weeks and I managed to fit in a visit to Madrid and met up with friends there over 3 days before moving on to Burgos. This was for my second experience of Vaughantown. This is an immersion English course for Spanish speakers. Their English speaking counterparts or 'Anglos' receive 6 days of 4 star accommodation, food and wine in exchange for talking exclusively in English to a lively group of Spanish speakers, mainly corporate employees. They are improving their English speaking skills through intensive conversation. I reserved the subsequent 5 days for cycling around Burgos and getting to know the Cantabrian countryside.

As luck would have it a cycling group, Cycling-Centuries, an American company passed through the hotel en route with a group of Australians undertaking the Camino de Santiago. They had some spare bikes on board the support vehicle and rented me a pretty good hybrid with aluminum frame, carbon forks and mainly Shimano parts. I also managed a cheap deal with the hotel where I was staying. I can recommend it, a Hilton, Palicio de la Merced

Burgos is a historic city of some 200,000 people. It has a very well known Gothic cathedral and is situated on the Camino de Santigo, thus attracting many Peregrinos and other tourist.

My first day of cycling created some problems. A river runs through the city centre and there is about 5 miles of cycle path by it stretching each West and East to the city limits. Along one part of the path it gave way to an unexpected curb and I came off the bike suffering 4 significant abrasions. By luck there was a first a first aid station by a children's park so, like the children, I put on a brave face, wiped my tears and I was able to receive excellent treatment almost immediately. Riding out of the city a cyclist passed and waved as he went by so I caught on the back of his wheel and he showed me a good circular route out of the City. He was pretty fast but willing to pull me along and shield me from the wind. Rodrigo was a member of the local cycling club and he told me about some races over the weekend. His cycle club is phenomenal by UK standards, situated in a bar called the Burgos Cycle Club it comprises a very large room set out with photos and trophies. That weekend the club had sponsored 2 races at semi-professional level with some local teams and prizes of around £100 for the winners. I watched the start of the first race. There were a disappointing 50 starters considering the escort of 7 motorcycles and 4 or 5 support cars. The motor cyclist shown is in fact Rodrigo!

Cycling around Burgos is demanding. In one direction there are fairly steep climbs while in the other there are long drags. The wind is a constant and strong feature and one is reminded of it by the many wind generators. Spain is further ahead of other European countries in renewable energy but for cyclists these structures usually signify a demanding climb up to a ridge and a fierce chilling wind.

Mostly rides can be punctuated by rests in small villages where there is often a running tap of clean and cool fresh water. There is usually a cafe and opportunities to buy coffee, tapas and other drinks. At one such stop I managed to ride off leaving behind my camera, driving license, money and phone. Realising my mistake after some 15 km so I turned back. After 10 km I was flagged down by the Civil Guard in a squad car! They had been out looking for me to return my possessions after an elderly man who I befriended at lunch reported my error – I was so relieved that I collectively forgave the Civil Guard their history of support for the Franco dictatorship and set off agan to complete my ride. The extra miles gave me a 90 mile day and I was pretty tired at the end.

Cycling in the area is very agreeable; cars pass by carefully and give as much room as possible. On the main roads there is usually a metre wide margin for cyclists and there are plenty of other cyclists at the weekend, always offering a friendly wave. Over the 5 days I covered about 350 miles usually at an average of about 15.5mph which wasn't too bad considering some meandering exploration of villages and the cycle path which was always busy with other cyclists on their way to andd from the town centre. I enjoyed some beautiful scenery, views of lakes, mountains and the expansive sierra. I saw many animals including a stoat, lizards, a snake and butterflies. Bird life included birds of prey circling above reminding me to drink more water in the dry heat of midday.

In all this area offered some great cycling and is well worth a visit. Afterwards I rented a car and headed off for Oviedo in the Asturias, another great part of Spain. We stayed at Hotel de la Reconquista which has 5 stars and is worth every one of them!

There will be a few more photos over at my flickr site and i have added some relevant links to my blog page.

I am happy if you leave a comment

Qhapaq Ñan, The Grand Route of the Andes

2009-06-07T18:28:00.009+01:00

I recently attended a great talk and screening of a very personal journey by Megan Son and Laurent Granier. This posting is a bit of a crib form their website which you can find here

The route is huge and comprises a stone paving up to 20 meters wide, steps climbing heights of over 4500m, walkways over water and suspension bridges. Runners, chasquis, carrying messages on knotted strings called quipus ran in relay from one end of the Inca empire to the other, some 6000 kilometeres.

This royal road joined the cities of Quito, Ecuador to the north and Santiago, Chile in the south permitting the Inca to control his Empire and to send troops as needed from the capital, Cusco. Along the route were warehouses, relay stations, llama corrals, living quarters and military posts spaced intermittently of varying sizes and grandeur.

Much of this route stood at an altitude between 3500 and 5000 meters and with sections reaching 20 meters in width, it connected populated areas, administrative centers, agricultural and mining zones as well as ceremonial centers.

The Qhapaq Ñan unified this immense empire through a well organized political system of power. Today, it has the potential to strengthen the bond between the different peoples of the Andes, who share a longstanding common culture.

Megan and Laurent have have travelled for more than five years together on historic routes utilizing traditional modes of transportation.

Their adventure was of immense proportion and at times dangerous. They have written a beutiful book which is currently in French only but hopefully they will have it translated. In the future they hope that the route will become UNESCO protected and safeguard the habitats and lives of those that live near it.

At the moment I am planning next year's visit to Cajamarca which lies along the route so hope to walk some of it myself.

I have been trying to maintain some contact with Peruvians and other South Americans and have recently begun volunteering with a project called Latin American Disabled Peoples Project.(LADPP) This is based in Kennington, South london and you can see a link to it on the right of this posting. Hopefully I will be helping them put together a summer programme for children and young people. We recently all went to the Natural history museum and the children enjoyed a day of 'monsters'!

I am off to Spain next week, for a 3 week visit to Madrid, Burgos and Olviedo. I have put together an interesting programme of meeting up with buddies in Madrid, then a week doing immersion English with Spanish speakers in Burgos (Vaughantown), then 5 days cycle touring if I can rent a bike, and finally meeting up with my wife and staying a long weekend at a posh hotel in Olviedo.

Other than that I have been searching out contacts in Cajamarca and have made 1 friend on Skype but a nice lady at the Peruvian Embassy is helping me as well - more of this anon.

Finding Peru in London

2009-04-09T10:44:00.006+01:00

My last and most recent Peruvian outing was to the Embassy where I enjoyed a talk by Professor Juan Ossio on Peru's most famous chronicler, Guaman Poma de Ayala. His chronical is remarkable in many ways: it melds writing and fine line drawings in a huge volume that seems to explain and explore the relationships between the world of the Inca and the Conquistadores. Afterwards I was treated to Pisco Sours and Peruvian canapes and chatted to some of the other guests. I met a nice man who comes from Cajamarca which is one of the places I hope to visit in the future.

So, in conclusion, you can certainly find El Peru alive and well in London so Arriba Perú

My next outing was to go clubbing in Shoreditch and see an Afro-peruvian group called Novalima. I was at the Cargo club which is very atmospheric and has bars, resuarant and a space for gigs. Drinks wern't too expensive and there was a nice mixed crowd of Engish and Latinos. The group ir very percussive and worth a listen and you can ceck them out on Myspace

Surprising as it may seem one can enjoy Peru in London by engaging in some of its cultural events and occasionally meeting Peruvians.

The other week I enjoyed seeing the film Tinta Roja' (2000) by Francisco Lombardi The story evolves around Alfonso who signs on at a seedy tabloid newspaper, where he is assigned the police round. His initial horror at his colleagues' practices, both professional and personal, diminishes as he discovers their endearing and even admirable qualities. He develops a fondness for his boss which gradually blinds him to the squalor and amorality of tabloid journalism, until events provide a rude reminder.

This film gives you an insight of the real world and journalism in Lima, Peru. The actors are all great in their own ways especially Giovanni Ciccia who plays the lead character of Alfonso. He plays a sensitive young journalist turning more like his boss, Faundez, played by Gianfranco Brero. It is a comic yet tragic film and its setting in Lima brought back many memeories of the bustling city.

Visit to Pachacarmac and signing out from Lima

2009-02-22T23:33:00.008Z

My last few days involved flying from Tarapoto and from their finding my Hotel in the bohemian district of Baranco, Lima. I had elected to stay in a reasonably plush hotel and even had the benefits of a jacuzzi. The flight to Tarapoto was slighly delayed but we had the benefit of some wonderful cloud formations.

Baranco comprises more than I had time to visit but it has some fine and grand older residences, some bars, discos and plenty of restaurants. The area has bags of character and some fantastic views of the Pacific Ocean. You can just about walk from here to Miraflores, and the higher coastal route takes in some very expensive ocean-view apartment blocks. Muchachas (female help for the rich) walk their owner's dogs and entertain their children on the grassy embankments; the cosntrast between rich and poor in Perú are nowhere more obvious than here.

My evening meal in a Baranco restuarant was very tasty. I ordered mixed seafood anticuchos. Generally these consist of small pieces of grilled skewered meat. The meat may be marinated in vinegar and spices (such as cumin, aji pepper and garlic), and while anticuchos can be made of any type of meat, the most popular are made of beef heart (anticuchos de corazon). Anyway, mine were sea bass, octopus and prawns and really good.

The next day I visited Pachamarca. This first entailed a bus to Surco, then another on to the ruins, about an hour in all. Surco is a middle class enclave with lots of large consumer outlets and fast food places. It has a small but quite entertaining park with pedalos and an original narrow gauge railway, Tren del Parque de la Amistad, Surco- Lima. It is well kept and there is an arts comlex where I noticed children practising the famous Marinera dance. If you have young children this park would offer an entertaining respite form more well known tourists attractions.

Pachacarmac is a very extensive Pre-Inca and Inca ruin. I have provided a link to an archaeological project that gives some sense of it. There is a great museum and you can walk or drive to the various parts of the ruins. The scale is impressive offering an idea of the kind of society that existed here before the conquest. I hired a guide. Top tip for language learners is $6 spent on a guide to talk to you in Spanish is a pretty cheap conversation and listening opportunity.

I am afraid that the remainder of my stay in Lima was fairly frivolous. In the evening I met up with my friend Sergi who I had met in Tarapoto. He was bound for a 'hot' month in Brazil and even managed to pick up a girl in the bar where we were. In fact I opened the conversation with her and after some while left them to it. On the way home I was offered sex and drugs but declining both mentally terminated my Peruvian experience for this year.

The journey home to UK was long if uneventful and eventually I was pleased to be standing in the chilly night air of Heathrow Airport. I was collected, by my wife and daughter, Jennie. I was somewhat tired but pleased to be home after what has been an incredible 2 months in Northern Perú.

I doubt that I'll blog for a while now but will continue to write on any interesting London/Perú activities and trips to Spain; and occasionally completely off topic. I am always appreciative of comments and welcome followers here or on Twitter for which there is a link on the blog. I will also upload more photos to Flikr in the next dew days

Many thanks

Alan

Laguna Azul

2009-02-19T15:51:00.008Z

About 1 1/2 hours from Taropoto, half by road and half by piste you reach the Laguna by crossing Rio Huallaga. The crossing is made by a ferry that carries 4 cars at most. It is an ingenious system powered by the current of the river. By pointing the bow of the ferry up river it gains momentum and is held to the track across by a cable suspended above. It is therefore a very environmentally friendly mode of transport.

The lake was in fact greenish brown but substantial, about 5 x 2 km and 35m deep. The package included a 45 minute launch trip with explanations of some of the essential but not very memorable fact, like who owned what dwellings on the shore. When we landed at a ecology centre on the shore we were able to relax in hammocks or swim before a lunch of comida tipica. I did both and then walked around watching a couple of guys fishing from a hollowed out canoe and checking out the wildlife, including a sloth who seemed friendly enough but had giant claws. There were several types of birds to watch and after a longish afternoon's relax we went to another wildlife centre and watched some playful and distinctive animals which I think they called kuni but I can't identify it on the internet.

This amounted to a pretty good day at a cost of $27 all in. I had the company of 3 others and our driver/guide and was picked up and delivered to my hotel.

Visit to PumaRinri

2009-02-15T23:03:00.011Z

PumaRinri means the ears of a puma. Today PumaRinri is a lodge set overlooking Rio Huallaga in the sub-tropical selva about 30km drive from Tarapoto. When the river is low it reveals 2 rocks that resemble the cat's ears so hence its name. There are 7 bedrooms overlooking a spectacular view of the now swollen river. The lodges are constructed from local materials of bamboo and palm thatch and inside include all modern necessities including hot water. The view is spectacular and the sound of the river and wildlife provides great accompaniment to the visual scene.

I stayed in the lodge one night along with a Peruvian couple who were celebrating the Valentine's weekend and were in consequence non-communicative. No matter, we were well looked after by a team of 5 covering cleaning, cooking, maintenance and guide duties from Miguel and engaging and very helpful companion. Food was good and mainly cooked over a wood fired hob. The rest of the time was shared between bathing in the small dipping pools by the lodges, watching the wildlife and 2 local visits to waterfalls and some rapids.

Within a short while of being there I saw several different birds and later numerous moths, butterflies, lizards, frogs, a coupe of small monkeys and very large spider.
On the first day we went to the rapids which admittedly weren't that spectacular but included a walk along the river's edge to look at the fishing lodges. During the dry season when the river reduces in volume the fish swim up river and are caught in nets by the people that occupy these river dwellings.

At night the stars were fantastic and the sounds of the selva and the river were at their most prominent. Whilst the rooms were more or less bug-tight I did spend some time hunting down anything that I thought would cause me problems. I woke to a disappointingly cloudy dawn but the day picked up and after breakfast we visited some local waterfalls, Cataratas de Pucayacquillo within a 30 minute hike along a steepish jungle path. The falls were very nice, not spectacular in size but the setting was great and I was able to both bathe and shower.

Overall this was a very worthwhile and enjoyable excursion and easily organised via my hotel

Around Tarapoto

2009-02-12T16:50:00.009Z

The weather has been somewhat changeable and we have had rain on and off the last few days. I have been ticking off my list of places to see around Tarapoto and the day before yesterday Marcelino took me to Lamas. He is 70 but quite fit and a real character, engaging in conversations with everyone and commenting on everything.
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We hopped a motor taxi to the place from where cars leave for the town of Lamas 14 miles northwest of Tarapoto. This visit was a little disappointing as it is advertised as founded in 1656 and one of the oldest towns in the Peruvian jungle. It is about 1000 metres high so somewhat fresher in climate and there are some good views from the top of the hill. There are 2 museums and the more modern one is quite interesting although don't expect the guides to speak any English. The new museum is well presented with quite a few artifacts connected to local customs and nature. Please don't go to the second, older museum. The guide smelt of alcohol, stumbled through a presentation. Most of the rooms comprised models of local people/life which were disintegrating with age and lack of care.

Walking around, and from observation, it wasn't totally clear how the town differed from others and, although the square had some models of people in local costume I only saw one old lady wearing anything like it. There were a couple of shops selling locally made jewelery and cotton goods and I bought a couple of items which were reasonably priced. Further into town we saw a castle being constructed, maybe as a hotel or house. It looked out of character with the rest of the town and nobody seemed to know why was being built; it seemingly belonged to an American.

The next morning it was raining again and I chatted with Sergi and Daniel who work for an NGO connected to the hotel. It is dedicated to Re-forestation projects and has funding from the Balearic Islands in Spain. Sergi is from Barcelona and is working on a marketing strategy whilst Daniel is on a University placement and knows about forests and trees. They invited me to visit a remote community with whom they are contracting services to plant 30 acres of new trees. The path which is a 2,400 feet climb to and altitude of almost 3,000 feet begins a Pumarinri, which is a of lodge owned by the hotel where I am staying. It is set in a stunning location by Rio Huallga.

We traveled the 30 or so Km in a van and the journey was difficult owing to the recent rain. I thought that a 4 wheel drive would be more suitable as we got stuck and had to push the van to get back onto a more even and less muddy surface. On arrival at the Lodge we were greeted by others and provided with a meal. I have decided to stay at the lodge for a couple of days so will write about it further in due course.

After lunch were Joined by Miguel a technical assistant and began our climb. It was steep and muddy and thus quite arduous, but the effort was well worth it owing to the excellent views of the river and mountains and the enjoyment of passing through the forest. In places one could see tracts of hillside where, after deforestation the quality of the soil had been exhausted by 2 seasons of crop growth and then left infertile. It was in places like this that the reforestation is planned.

On reaching the community we were warmly greeted by the villagers. It is a community of about 80 people called Nueva Lamas and their thatched dwellings were dispersed around the hillside. Unexpectedly they had arranged a meeting for our arrival and we gathered in a wooden hut where the the locals asked questions to satisfy themselves about the viability of the project and its benefits. It was quite a complicated discussion and we were offered chincha locally produced from maize with one bowl and a plastic bucket for all to share. The meeting was made more interesting by the occasional entry of tiny chicks, the pigs grunting outside and children playing; but by the conclusion all was well and Sergi and myself descended the mountain leaving the other 2 to progress the planting of seeds.

After showering we returned to the hotel in the dark – this was a brilliant and informative experience and although I ached a bit the following day a really memorable trip.

To Tarapoto, La Selva

2009-02-10T15:20:00.007Z

Getting to Tarapoto was somewhat exhausting. I took a bus to Chiclayo, some 3 hours and then a 6 hour wait for the next bus, 13 hours semi-cama. The whole thing cost about 20 pounds and included a meal on the second bus.

I was able to make good use of my time in Chiclayo. The town itself is unremarkable and quite busy. After asking around I found a car to take me to a museum of Senor de Sipan a pre Inca Lord. This was an incredible opportunity as the museum is extensive and the displays on par with those of Tuten Karman with tombs and many artifacts in gold, silver and copper. I paid 5 pounds for a guide and had an individual tour that was about 1 ½ hours.

The bus left late and after a airline style supper there was a movie, 'Taken' with Liam Neeson. This turned out to be super violent and deeply unsuitable considering the children on the bus. I had hoped to settle into a slumber but this woke me up and by the time it ended we were climbing high into the mountains. I had wondered why the bus attendant had been giving out plastic bags but understood as the bus lurched from side to side as it climbed the winding and roughly surfaced road. From time to time I could see the outline of the mountain and had a sense of the edge but couldn't see it. Needless to say sleep escaped me for some hours. Arriving at Tarapoto I negotiated a motor taxi to my hotel, Rio Shilcayo.

This is a semi-luxurious hotel and has a pool, reasonable facilities including air conditioned rooms and hot water. Now it feels like a holiday. I haven't done too much so far but found a path alongside the river and have visited a local centre with animals, plants and butterflies. On the walk there I must have seen 6 different types of butterfly and the vegetation is lush and green. I also came across Takiwasi, a centre for drug addiction treatment. This is probably a unique retreat specialising in the use of traditional medicines like Una de gato which means finger nails of cats but is actually bark and a natural anti-inflamatory; they also use more conventional therapies but you need basic Spanish and 9 months, of which the first 3 are without contact to the outside world.

Last evening I met up with Enoe and Marcelino the parents in law of Juan Miguel. They have a private primary school and we watched some of the girls practising volley ball and then went for a meal.

This morning the plan was to go walking with Marcelino but it is raining so if it stops this afternoon we will probably visit Lamas, one of the oldest towns in the Peruvian jungle It is populated by descendants of the fierce Chanca Indians, who maintain their traditional ancestral customs and there is a museum.

I have several days here and hope to visit most of the sights in the area and maybe take a couple of days in an isolated lodge higher in the hills at Pumarinri,

At home with middle class Peru

2009-02-08T22:40:00.005Z

I am increasingly taken by the rapid transformation to the middle classes that is taking place here in Peru. Whilst there is poverty that continues without abate for some, a large number are being lifted into the middle classes by the value of their enterprise.

The growth of construction of buildings is amply evidenced by the increasing number of new homes and apartments. Here in Piura, Miraflores is probably the most middle class enclave but there are many contradictions and the street scene represented by this newly acquisitive group is worthy of comment.

As I step into the street near where I live I firstly notice the watchmen, 2 of whom guard a block of apartments. At first I thought the name was a bit of Spanglish but it seems is derived from guachimanes, tough afro-peruanos of Criollan extraction who guarded the property and entertainment outlets of the post-colonial elite. They are in the street day and night, and they have a cosh and whistle, the latter of which is blown at regular intervals to let you know they are around. However you don't ever see police on the local beat; instead the Watchmen are complemented by a nightly patrol of 2 motorcyclists with a blue flashing light. All this is paid for locally by the residents.

Security is the most obvious preoccupation of the owner class. Nearly all of the houses are metal gated and windows are similarly clad. In the front of some there are large and fierce dogs and I am regularly scared witless by their sudden barking. This apart, the neighbourhood is pretty quiet. Children play in the street usually throwing globos (small balloons full of water) at each other. Outside the house there is grass and plants and these are watered regularly. Self-employed gardeners cut the grass either with shears or sometimes using a machette. By the way they call it grass not cesped

You don't need to go very far to buy the essentials, fizzy drinks, cigarettes, sweets as every street has at least 2 shops, again guarded by metal grills through which you can purchase goods. Some houses also cook food like empanadas or prepare deserts to sell.

Early evenings are the best time to be out in the street. Families congregate in their front courtyards and some times outside. The sit, chat, play music and try to keep cool outside their houses which have heated considerably in the afternoon sun. Near where I live there is a small park; this is well used by families and usually there are at least 5 young couples in affectionate embrace on the seats. I am not sure if these young people are more demonstrative than their UK counterpart or they are short of places to go but it is an obvious and attractive feature of Peruvian courtship.

I am less than impressed by the architecture of middle Peru. Many of the houses are a mix of influences, colonial, Aztec and modern and look slightly tacky and a bit brash. Also, many are built with the possibility of a 2nd floor and their metal reinforcement rods point to the sky awaiting concrete posts and in-filled walls. However, the tree lined streets soften the overall effect and the impression isn't too bad. In places r, for example beside a wall there is a lack of ownership and rubbish accumulates. That said, rubbish is officially collected 3 times a week from the elevated metal cages where it is placed outside houses. Before this happens, early in the morning, unofficial rubbish collectors with hand or donkey powered carts sort the rubbish and recycle anything valuable including glass and plastics.

Largely, life in this part of Piura is safe and tranquil and slightly more communal than similar streets in the UK, and of course, sunny and warm!

He has a social life

2009-02-03T17:40:00.006Z

I have been so lucky with my contacts here in Piura and this weekend was busy and enjoyable. On Friday evening I joined a mass in memory of the death of Anitia Goulden, founer of the children's home in which I volunteer. It was good to see them turned out in their Sunday best and I later joined them for dinner.

On Saturday morning I decided to explore the Piura market. I had previously been put off by warnings of danger but I am sure it is no more dangerous than London markets. I left my watch at home and didn't carry a rucksack and did not experience any problems. The market is extensive and it offers everything from octopus to haircuts. I didn't like the meat section and heaved a bit at the smell but otherwise enjoyed the sounds and the sights, particularly the fruit and vegetables that are so varied and fresh. As usual I was the sole tourist so received more than a few looks, usually just curios and friendly.

In the afternoon I met up with Sebastian Yoo, my fellow student and a volunteer doctor. We visited the children's home and he brought gifts of medicines which were well received. We then went back to his house for a Korean lunch and were joined by our teacher Shirley and her husband. The meal was excellent and we had friendly chats about the differences between our respective countries.

In the evening I met up with Ana and her family and we went to the Chifa Canton, and enjoyed a meal of varied treats not unlike chinese res.taurants in the UK The service was excellent, very clean and generous portions. After I had said goodbye I headed for my favourite bar where there was some reasonable entertainment. I was distracted by a group of quite well off older ladies who were out for a night on the town. Already quite drunk they made a fair imitation of a Mexican tellynovella and tried to involve me in their action – I resisted telling them that I am really quite timid and just a bit married.

The next day, Sunday, myself and Juan who I am living with, headed for the beach. By chance we met Ana and her family who had the same idea. We shared the journey to Paita where we parted. In the queue for the bus there was a bit of an argument as some people tried to push in and others shouted la cola! la cola! which means the queue; it that should be observed. Some of this bad feeling spilled over into the bus but eventually people settled down and we had a quiet ride.

At Paita Juan and myself headed for Yacila a small and pretty fishing port with some attractive rocks and a pier from which young boys were diving into the water. I had a swim and later we walked through a rock tunnel to an adjoining and quieter beach. It was all very crowded but Juan told me that the last time he wast there it was empty. I waited for a haul of fish to be unloaded and was sad to see that they only landed 3 bags of shark fins, presumably to sell for soup. The remainder of Sunday passed quietly and while writing I am supping my customary beer.

This was my last weekend in Piura and a truly memorable one. I will be sad to leave but I feel ready to move on and it will be good to stay in a hotel. I have a 17 hour bus ride ahead of me which I am not relishing. Owards to tarapoto, La Selva.

Anita Goulden Home for those with physical and learning needs

2009-01-30T17:20:00.002Z

This blog entry is different from previous ones as I aim to reach an audience that includes some ex colleagues and specialists in special educational needs. I hope that they may be able to offer some support or advice to the home. That said, it may of interest to others and I welcome all comments.

Anita Goulden's mission was to help children with disabilities who were poorly equipped to survive in their own communities. There is a link to the Trust's website at the top of the blog and many of its donors are based in the UK.

This view of the home is impressionistic based on several visits in a voluntary capacity. I got to know staff and residents fairly well as I visited 3 times a week over a period of a month. I engaged with children and young adults in order to provide some measure of enjoyable experience to their lives. My perspective is one of a welcomed visitor but I have a background in providing services for children and young people with disabilities.

The home is located in Piura in a sub-district called Miraflores in Northern coastal Peru. Miraflores is a middle class area comprised mainly of houses and apartments in tree lined roads. It is safe and patrolled day and night by private security staff paid for by the local people. There is a small and pretty park next to the home. The climate in this part of Peru is very hot. Think of the hottest summer day you can remember and you will be close to it – we are near the equator and the sun is therefore very strong and it rarely rains, even now in the rainy season.

The atmosphere in the home is warm and welcoming. Each of the residents is individually known and loved and staff are caring and respectful. The home is clean, hygienic and the food is simple, wholesome and plentiful. Care is good and personal relations are excellent. I felt very welcomed and enjoyed my visits.

The home is comprised of 2 main floors but the ground floor is where most of the activity takes place. There is a courtyard without the benefit of much shade, some dormitories, a therapy area, kitchen, bathroom, dining room and an inside sitting area; it is quite compact. The building is modern but in need of decoration. Upstairs there are a few more bedrooms, offices and a wide passage that can serve as a meeting point. There is no lift.

The home serves the needs of a very wide range of clients ncluding children and young people aged 6–34. Many have profound and multiple learning difficulties with complicating medical conditions, but others are ambulant and have mild learning needs. There is one young adult who is able bodied but is a social care placement. There are slightly more than 20 residents. Probably about half are in wheelchairs but only 2 or 3 can use them independently. There are few private areas and generally residents inhabit the same space and live collectively.

There is an experienced and cohesive group of 20+ staff who work in shifts, but mornings are most busy when children are bathed and some receive physiotherapy from an experienced staff member. There are always 2 or 3 nurses on call; many of the residents are incontinent and need other attention their duties are continuous and demanding. One child is fed by tube and some others have a mainly liquid diet. There are 2 directors who mange the staff and administration with the assistance of an administrative assistant; there is also a social worker/family liaison officer. There are cleaning, washing and cooking staff. There is a male attendant who acts as site manager and does most of the lifting and handling. There are no hoists.

All who lives in the home is valued and loved and their different personalities are allowed to emerge. There is friendly interaction between residents and the staff who are attentive and experienced in making life as tolerable as possible.

There isn't much equipment available. Some of the wheelchairs are of good quality and some of the residents wear body braces to help them sit upright or have specially fitted shoes.There are some walking frames. One or two of the residents have severe muscular and bone problems and are unable to do very much without assistance. Occasionally some of the residents exhibit distress and ritualised behaviours. The furniture is generally old with few adaptions.

During my visit it was school vacation time so many of the younger people would have normally been in school, but some were nevertheless attending catch-up classes. A special needs teacher visits 2 or three times a week during vacations and works with the children in school during term time.

There isn't really very much to do in the home but individual attention is sometimes provided by volunteers such as myself. However, the flow of volunteer helpers is sporadic. The residents like to be taken to the park and this is a regular jaunt enjoyed by all. There is one computer available but it is upstairs. There is one small TV. There is a newish table tennis table which is used occasionally. As far as I understand there is no work/occupational programme for older residents. It is the anniversary of the death of Anita Goulden so this evening there is a mass in a local church and on Monday we'll go to the cemetery to place flowers. At the weekend there is a visit to the beach which sadly I'll miss.

The needs of the residents vary greatly. Some are ambulant and withing the normal range of ability and social skills whilst others cannot move without assistance and have extreme communication and medical needs. Some of the older residents have communication difficulties and cannot converse except by gesture and a few words or sounds. There is no use of Makaton or similar visual sign language. One child is hyperactive and 3 are entering or going through a period of adolescence.

I have tried to offer my attention as widely as possible, engaging in a friendly and stimulating way matched to the needs of one or two individuals at a time. We have had several walks in the park, I have played number games with beads and number lines, brought in plasticine, played with my compass, ipod and camera, played table tennis and joined in with mealtimes. It seems little enough but my involvement seems to be valued, mostly I feel as a distraction from the daily routine. I chat with staff and seem to have been accepted as a friend of the home.

Yesterday, I visited with my friend Juan Miguel one of the projects being established by an ONG called Solcode, www.solcode.org. Maribel, its dynamic administrator, is in the process of setting up a direct sales shop of farmer produce; this is as a way of supporting poor farming communities high in the Sierras. The idea is that some of the residents from the Anita Goulden home would be able to assist with selling produce and other work in the shop. This could be as a form of work or work experience to help promte independence and offer a wider view of the world.. This is an excellent idea and opportunity and it felt good to be the vehicle by which this partnership might be achieved. Tomorrow my friend Sebastian will visit. He is a Korean doctor and may be able to help.I will be meeting up with the chair of the management committee next week and will visit the market to order supplies.

It will be sad to leave Piura and my friends at the home. I will miss the residents and staff – they have become an important part of my brief stay here in Northern Peru. Hopefully I can stay in touch and maybe even assist their progress in the future.

Please leave comments and let me know if you can help in any way.

The day after the night before

2009-01-25T21:01:00.004Z

I had planned to visit to Chulacanos, East of Piura leaving a little earlier than 10.30 am. It is the first town before crossing the Sierras towards the interior jungle so I thought that as well as offering some contrast to larger city of Piura, I might get a change of scenery.

I left late due to the previous evening's combined effects of too many drinks and a late night. Juan had enticed me out for a drink in town and and we spent a pleasant couple of hours chatting in the bar and then there were a couple of professional singers who livened up the place. On leaving Juan suggested we check out Queens, a disco in Miraflores, near where we live; so why not?

Entrance was only 15 Soles, about $5 and included a drink. It was an extensive and buzzing venue and seemed to comprise mainly couples dancing to vibrant Latin beats. There was ample use of lasers and smoke machines and and, of course, the dancers were mainly young. Earlier, Juan had explained the difference between enamorados and novios, the latter implying a wedding in prospect, the former, something else. Difficult to tell but probably there were some hot dates hereabouts.

I suppose my inhibitions had somewhat drifted and as the occasion took hold I began to dance. Usually this is the point where my family leave the room but it couldn't have been too bad because I soon attracted a couple of partners and we continued dancing for about 15 minutes until they found something better to do. Juan left me to it and I stayed a little longer, but realising my judgment may be erring a tad I walked the short distance home arriving at about 3.30 am.

So the next day brought a fragile beginning and after some fruit for breakfast I took a taxi to the bus station and paid my 3 Soles fare to Chulacanos, a ride of about an hour. It was headlined as the Tourist Bus, but I think this is speculative because as far as I could see I was the lone tourist in Chulacanos that day. I was pleased to notice the change in the scenery and we headed out of Piura. The scrubby sandy soil gave way to a richer brown and the recent rain had given it a greener effect feeling somehow more familiar. There wasn't much to see but we passed, small buildings with different livestock and the odd grove of trees. Eventually I spotted the mountains.

On reaching Chulacanos there were an enormous number of motor taxis. I avoided them and found my way to an extensive market and I grazed on the spectacle as I walked through each section. Later I came across a row of cycle repair shops and some ceramic stores where I bought a couple of small pieces. The ceramics here are of good quality and very cheap but the problems in carrying much with you or shipping it out seemed insurmountable, at least to the vendors. Generally one cant find much of high value or the means to ship it.

I had wanted to go to Vicus where there is an archaeological site but in the Plaza I met a nice man who described himself as a journalist. He told me there really wasn't much to see as most of it was underground and there wasn't the funding to develop the site. His journalism was the production a small weekly magazine, revistilla whereby he chronicled local events and accused the mayor of corruption. He mentioned that there had been a recent medical mission from USA visiting the town offering free services to families and he enjoyed the fact that my name Alan, is the same as president Alan Garcia and was set to impress his wife that he had just been chatting to 'Alan' in the street.

Finally, before leaving I walked a little way out of town to get a photo of the mountains and stopped by a street vendor who had a little petrol generator to power up her liquidizer and was selling freshly pulped pineapple juice, delicious and refreshing!

Lomo con tres pimientos

2009-01-23T18:11:00.003Z

After my Spanish lesson I stopped of at Capucino, a newly spotted cafe opposite the University. This is situated on the far North West of town in Avenida Ramon Mujica, next to Hotel Rio Verde. The two are separate and the cafe is really a restaurant, inside with fierce air conditioning and outside shaded tables text to its armed guarded car park. I entrusted my fast disintegrating bike to its care.

I ordered a beer and set about my homework, to write three paragraphs on alternative therapies. Dawdling over the beer I sensed that I unnerved the overly attentive waiters who really couldn't work out if I was just passing flotsam or I was going to stump up for a real meal. Anyway, they were too polite to bother me much and I prolonged their uncertainty by asking for some chiflas and a second beer.

I was drawn to remain a while longer by the arrival of a group comprising 2 Peruvian business women and 2 agricultural consultants from the US. Eves dropping their conversations I learned that the business was seeking to overcome various trade barriers to their entry to the US market in growing and selling avocados. Peruvian Avocados are great and seem to sell locally at about 50p a kilo. One of the consultants was on the technical side, stipulating the various processes needed against fly and fungus infestation, while the other had a more political mission, explaining the way in which such applications would proceed, albeit slowly against the undertow of regulations and bureaucracy. They reassured their clients, who were after all buying dinner, that Peruvian avocados would not threaten the home grown Californian produce but only the Mexican market where the fruit was of poorer quality.

Well I did call for the menu and the waiter seemed relieved. I try not to rave about meat dishes but I consumed the most delectable peppered steak accompanied by a gratin of potato and cheese and a glass of Chilean red. In passing I noticed a cocktail on offer called the kiss of an adolescent and wondered about its appropriateness!

I imagine that this insight into business here in Piura reveals some of the tensions with the neighbouring US. As a trading country, El Peru is an emerging force but relatively weak against the power held by its Northern partners. One forms the impression that around here the US calls most of the shots, either by stealth or power.

Exploring the hotel next door, the Rio Verde, it revealed itself as a 5 star paradise with a central concourse comprised of a beautifully presented pool and magically lit palm trees. I believe it is priced at around $100 a night but be careful that you don't get shunted to the annex next door. www.rioverde..com.pe

Travel in Peru (particularly Piura)

2009-01-17T17:12:00.002Z

I have decided that I most enjoy the observation of the familiar in unfamiliar contexts. There is much to notice here in North Peru. The night before last it rained quite hard and the next day this was the topic of everybody's conversation. People were outside their houses and businesses sweeping away the mud that had been washed through. It struck me as not dissimilar to our reaction to snow in the UK. We all know it is on the way but we act as if it is a great surprise and are rarely prepared for its consequences.

Piura is dominated by a river and 5 bridges – normally the river bed, which is some 50 metres across is nothing more than a muddy creak. However, it rains in mountains during the summer and the river fills and sometimes they close the bridges. When the effects of el nino struck in 2002 some of the bridges were washed away and this gave rise to a new form of transport, the Moto Linear. Essentially these are unlicensed motorcyclists that at the time of the flood were more able to make their way across the muddy river bed. Now they form a noticeable percentage of the transport but are sometimes poorly regarded for their safety and potential for robbery. I am looking forward to the river being full as it will wash away all the accrued rubbish.

Very few people seem to walk more than 10 minutes distance – taxi transport is a cheap option and viewed as safer than walking, especially at night, but possibly this is debatable. The most obvious form of public transport is the motor-taxi, normally a 3 wheeled Honda motor cycle with a covered canopy – it is the favourite for a short hop. Most journeys cost between 1 and 2 Soles, up to about 50p but always ask the price before you get in and be prepared to take the next one – there is always a next one! As with the taxis if you look as if you are a potential customer they will beep at you. They maneuver into impossible gaps and sometimes don't have rear view mirrors. Also it is not unusual to see them transporting all manner of goods including, as I saw yesterday, 6 metre bamboo poles!

Hereabouts the yellow taxis are most often seen; they are small and generally you will notice more taxis than private cars – the cost is a bit more than the motor taxis and can carry more people, sometimes more than you would regard as safe. There is huge competition for trade but they have integrity and won't try and grab someone else's fare.

In most cities, including Piura, there are small 15 seater vans known as combis or colectivos. They run a set route which is usually posted on the side of the bus and they are cheap with fixed and reliable prices. If like me you are around 6 feet tall you need to select your seat carefully as available leg room is for people of more restricted growth. Combis will stop to pick up and drop you wherever you want and if they see a likely customer walking across the field a 100 meters away they will call them to hurry in order to win the fare. There is no timetable for Combis or local buses but in Lima and Trujillo they were unofficially regulated by boys who received tips; they would note the time gap between different drivers on the same route and relay this information to them – the value of this was to optimise the time between the preceding transport in order to find sufficient passengers to make a profit.

Buses and motor cruisers run fixed routes, the latter often operate by night and it is worth paying an additional $5 for a first class with more comfortable and reclining seats. Arriving at a bus station early in the morning in an unfamiliar city with taxis competing for your trade can be a bit harrowing and you need your wits about you.

Other modes of local transport include bikes, sometimes 3 wheelers with carts in front, donkeys and carts and of course there are delivery trucks of all sizes and types. As a cyclist I have found that the experience isn't as dangerous as it may seem and the the attitude towards cyclists at least benign unlike the in UK . Where there are rules of the road, like traffic lights, they are studiously obeyed but few if any road users understand the concept of lane discipline. As you can see punctures cn be repaired at the side of the road.

I suppose in I am left with the conclusion that this growing economy (5% last year) is growing its transport use accordingly. The availability of cheap natural gas means that that some concessions to pollution are being made by the conversion of a few taxis. The emergence of a middle class and the now relatively common site of the Chelsea taxi means that there is a ready demand waiting to be filled and I have recently seen a Yamaha outlet selling Cuatrimotors those horrible 4 wheel drive buggys that seem to be so popular in Spain.

Que paso?

2009-01-17T16:59:00.005Z

It has been a very busy fwe days, but interesting. I am settling into a sort of routine and blending in with the relaxed pace of life, enjoying the friendliness of the Piruanos and observing the many differences.

I have had my first 'helping' sessions at Hogar Anita Goulden. This is a home for children aged between 5 and 16 with physical and learning disabilities. It includes a very varied range of children from those only with only problems associated with walking to some children who are profoundly disabled both mentally and physically. There are 21 living here and 20 staff working in shifts. At the moment it is school vacations so those that would normally attend school mostly remain at the home. Everyone is very kind and the home is a caring and loving environment. Myself and 2 young volunteers from Europe take the older children for a walk in the park with their wheelchairs. The rest of the time I try and engage with the children and add some minimal distraction to their day and by now have invested in some counters and plasticine.

On returning from the home there are some neighbors in the street harvesting fruit of a Tamarind tree. This is a tropical specimen and its fruit is acidic and is used in many sauces including Worcester Sauce. They are friendly and offer to give me a bag full but I take a few to try.

Later I attend my first university session. I arrived in good time and am surprised by the scale and opulence of the site. It is very green with extensive buildings, some deer and pavos reales (peacocks). Shirley, my teacher is very nice, age 28 and 5 months pregnant – her husband also teaches on the campus. 2 other students arrive, Sebastian and Audrey – they are a couple from Korea and have been here about a year. The names are not their real ones but assumed for ease of integration. They have 2 children who speak more Spanish than Korean. Sebastian is a GP practising as a volunteer through and organisation called Koica. They seem very nice.

The next day I ride my bike back to Catacaos and on a bit further to the Pre-hispanic Tallan capital at Narihuala. This comprises a small museum and extensive adobe ruins. I think I enjoyed getting there as much as the visit but the site is interesting and the Tallan, coastal people, had their own language which possibly gives rise to the distinctive accent in Piura. It was also a Matriarchy. On the journey I stopped to talk to some rice farmers and was somewhat surprised by this form of agriculture. I seemed to be the only cyclists on the road between Piura and Catacaos and this elicited quite a bit of encouragement and friendly hand waves.

Back in Catacaos I stopped for some Chincha but was served the hard stuff so fearful of my stomach I only had a little and paid double to cover my embarrassment at leaving so quickly. In town I found a taller to check over my bike. He re-set the cotter pin, adjusted the wheel, raised the seat and oiled the chain. We had quite a chat but despite being the father of 4 he wouldn't accept any payment. This kind of kindness make up for being robbed and gives one hope. Later, I got a bit ripped off in paying for some punctures to be repaired this was at a roadside repair hut – I was surprised by the inner tube which probably had 50 or so patches already!

Enretenimiento (Entertainment)

2009-01-17T16:52:00.003Z

Sitting in Plaza de Armas watching the world go by is really quite a connected activity. I am by no means the only lone person and there is a buzz about the place and obvious social functions in progress. At this time, in the early evening it is mostly families that occupy he space but several couples join me for a brief rest on my bench and I eves drop their conversations. Mostly I notice the different vending activities of the ambulentes who travel around and across the plaza. They sell different non-essentials including chicklets (chewing gum), sweets, cigarettes, candy-floss, balloons, bubble making toys and much more.

Later I am joined by Juan Miguel my Spanish friend who has been to the cine and we go to bar Marquis and indulge in cocktails. Juan reminds me of someone famous in my youth, a DJ and now sadly passed away – see if you can guess who? As the evening passes we chat a little and then enjoy the karaoke – this isn't as cheesy as it sounds as most of the singers are very tuneful and they all make a good fist what must be well established Peruvian love ballads. For me it is an excellent language learning activity as I can both listen and watch the words passing the screen. Later we are joined by a professional singer who does well at playing the crowd, engaging with and sometimes teasing her audience. I try to avoid her eye contact in case she picks on me but there is no hiding place!

The next day I head off for Anita's place for breakfast at 8. I am enjoying getting to know my bike but have discovered that it has a wonky crank. This means by right leg has to push much harder than my left and I worry that my carefully tuned physique will become unbalanced. It also has a squeaky pedal.

On the way I buy some flowers for Anita's mum which are well received. Breakfast comprises two types of tamales and a warm and vaguely sweet drink that I can't identify. They sell the tamales to neighbours from the window and our meal is interrupted a couple of times by requests for breakfast tamales – they seem to be very popular. I take some time to play chess to amuse Fabrizio, Anita's son, managing to lose convincingly to a 5 year old. We set off for Catacaos a small town 8km distant where they sell artesana.

Catacaos is a busy small rural town with an extensive market. Much of it is given over to food set out in 4 main sections of fruit and grain, vegetables, fish and meat. We look at the fish and none of it seems familiar, except the calamaris, prawns and crab. I am told by the vendor that the crab is an aphrodisiac but this doesn't encourage me to buy these half dead and quite small specimens. Anita tells me that the best fish goes to the restaurants, particularly the many cevicherias.

Passing through the various jewelery and ceramic stalls I chat with a girl from New Hampshire, she has a beautiful baby in a sling, very cute, wearing a small panama hat with curios eyes - she lives in Cuzco with her jewelery-making husband; when chatting with her I realise that this is the first English I have spoken for 3 days. After buying one or two items we aim to stop at a chincharia. I am advised to look out for its bandera blanca (white flag) and on arriving we oder a jug of chincha between us. Chincha is mildly alcoholic, made from fermented maize. Anita explained that there are 3 types depending on level of fermentation – we drink the lighter second level called claramente and is is cool and refreshing, drunk from communal bowls made from a kind of gourd. We also snack on chiflas (banana crisps) and cancha (fried corn).

First Impressions of Piura

2009-01-10T17:45:00.004Z

I have found that people in South America often exaggerate physical danger and discomfort. I have been told so many times how hot it is here in Piura and although true, I have experienced hotter in Southern Spain. I haven't felt overcome by Piura's dryish heat. The Plaza de Armas is typical, fairly family based with a friendly feel. There is some begging around the place but it is not as intrusive as in Cuzco. Around the town you notice in fairly high numbers and roughly in this order, Banks, street traders (mobile) kiosks, farmacias and boticas, restaurants and photo-copying shops.

Peru is far from emerging as a paperless economy and I was surprised to come upon a thriving market of copy typists, all men, hunting and pecking on aged manual typewriter, creating formal letters and documents which were commissioned by individuals with a particular requirement; nearby photocopying businesses complemented this trade in bureaucracy.

I was as impressed with the tourist office as I was unimpressed with the library. The latter, the second that I have visited, continued the trend of aged and very worn books, poorly presented and very little IT access. The librarians are very welcoming but library use is thin owing to the poor resources. I have yet to build up the confidence to ask why there is no fiction! But, at the tourist office I received great assistance and nothing was too much trouble – I emerged with some useful literature and a fully annotated and personalised map of the city.

As luck would have it today is the 27 anniversary of Caja Piura, a large national bank with services in all Peru's regions. I happened on a procession in preparation and became absorbed in the varying costumes depicting all the many and varied cultures. I particularly liked those of la selva reinforcing my my intention to visit - you can probably appreciate why!

I had two tasks today, firstly to confirm my place on a Spanish course beginning on Monday. It looks to be a viable group and I am looking forward to some regular study. The second was to get some keys cut – I had expected to find key cutting in a ferreteria (ironmonger), but no, it was among the photocopying shops – logical if you think about it!

I have just bought a second hand bike for 22 pounds and am looking forward to my enhanced mobility - it is a bit of a wreck but the largest I could find. The main problems seem to be a bent crank and untrue wheel but the top gear works well and as there are no hills here I doubt the need to change it. More of this anon!

Piura like the rest of Peru has all aspects of society but I suppose it is more marked by its growing middle and lower working classes. This is a cash and increasingly a credit society and everywhere you can hear people talking about the products they have bought or are going to buy. The world economic crisis does not seem to have impinged yet and maybe it won't. Luckily Peruvian's have not lost contact with their culture and although there is a growing tendency towards fast foods you can see here Anita's mum and a friend preparing a bucket of tamales. But equally there are luxurious hotels and people who live here and earn a western wages have tremendous spending power as can be evidenced by the splendid pool in a local hotel which is a hive of business rather than tourist activity.

Finally Piura

2009-01-10T17:32:00.004Z

Well after 10 days I am finally in the colonial city of Piura in the Northern Peru province of the same name. Before telling you about my arrival my last day in Truillo was OK and I managed not to lose anything else! In fact it went very well, with a visit to Arco Iris the last in the Chan Chan group of monuments. This wasn't as breathtaking as the previous day's visits but I managed the transport independently by taking taxis and buses. Afterwards I hopped on a combi and headed for the beach at Huanchaco. Here I strolled and observed, taking time to enjoy the breezes and watch the surfers and other visitors. I found a restaurant with a balcony and a table overlooking the sea and dined on seafood and rice. Waiting until sunset it was one of the best I can remember and a positive note on which to leave Trujillo.

Arriving by bus in Piura at 6am I was met by Anita and a friend and transported to her house. I was pleased to be welcomed at such an early hour and as her mother, father, brother and sister made a one by one entrance from their sleep I finally met Fabriozi her 7 year old son. I immediately made a hit with him as he seemed more than pleased with the Chelsea shirt I had brought him. The family were incredibly kind and after breakfast I went to the pool with the youngster and his sister and watched his swimming lesson – this went went well and I applauded the playful instructor who worked skillfully to boost the confidence of his group. They had a lot of fun and all emerged cheerful and tired after a 2 hour session.

Piura is the 5th largest city and is about 1000km North of the capital Lima. Human activity here dates back to 1000 BC. The various cultures of the Wari and Vicus people preceded the Spanish conquerors who invaded in 1532 when Francisco Pizarro founded Piura as the first colonial city of Peru. In 1821 it was declared independent from Spain.

The region of Piura is varied including coast, desert, and mountains. It is arid and hot and subject to el nino which can create a substantial and forceful rainfall. Today it is at least 30 degrees and they have a siesta similar to southern Spain.

My accommodation plans were slightly put off course as my homestay seemed to have fallen through, but not to worry, Anita found me a hostal and arranged transport, her Brother Eric accompanying me or safety. On leaving the hostal for a stroll round the Plasa de Armas I hadn't walked far before someone shouted “Alan”. It was Juan whom I had met in Trujillo. He invited me for a drink and agreed to put me up in a spare bedroom. Que suerte!

Juan is from Madrid. He is an agronomist and works for a small NGO supporting the development of nutrition and the agricultural economy. His child and wife are in Spain as his son recovering from a successful cancer operation. I am extremely lucky to have found this accommodation and it is an ideal base for further exploration of the region.

Victimised by crime not me

2009-01-07T15:51:00.004Z

It is both sad and ironic that I had my Nokia N810 was stolen during the scrum to see the priest and celebrate the procession of the 3 kings who brought gifts to baby Jesus. I had in fact watched a foul movie called Three Kings with George Clooney on the bus to Trujillo. It was about the liberation of Kuwait and was supposed to be somewhat comic but I recommend you not to see it. Possibly it was prophetic of my later troubles. I believe I have identified the exact moment of my loss – you can see the priest being chatted up by a pretty girl – another irony?

Insofar as crimes can be victimless I wasn't too bothered by the loss as I have been coveting some other stuff and will cash-in my insurance; but yes I was careless but that said the thief is to blame for his or her crime and I must move on from it.

Traveling to Trujillo I chatted with Jill from NY state, a park ranger and cyclist. She told me how to avoid confrontation with different species of bear so Paddington had better watch out! The road took us in turns through desert and fertile valleys whith much agriculture. I was forever dissuaded of the idea of cycling the Pan Americana which seemed to me both relentless and dangerous.

The next day I booked a driver and we went to some pre-hispanic sites of Huaca de la Luna and Chan Chan. These were at opposite ends of town so couldn't be reached without a driver, costing 100 Nuevo Soles – I have now used all my cheap Soles and the exchange is 4.3 = 1 pound, so about 23 pounds. I also spent 50 Soles on entrances and guides so altogether about 36 pounds but great value.

Huaca de la Luna is the larger and more restored of 2 monuments, the other being Huaca del sol. These belonged to the Moche people and there are fine buildings and an entrance that is magnificent in its scale and ornamentation – it is sad to think that the Conquistadores plundered this beautiful civilisation. There is a good website here and I will add some pics to my Flikr site for which there is a link at the side.

The other place I visited was Chan Chan, the scale of this is phenomenal and and I spent an hour and a half with my diminutive guide, Gisella. You can see more of this at the same website.

Well, this evening I head overnight for Piura where I will stay for at least a month, My friend there Ana says it is a splendid 33 degrees. I am a bit unsure about my accommodation and internet access, but hopefully all will be well. Thanks for the comments and please do leave more on the blog as it encourages me to know that it is being read.

New Year celebrations in Miraflores

2009-01-04T21:26:00.002Z

At the best of times I am not really New Year person – my parents always seemed to value the importance of being in contact at the ultimate moment of the year but maybe this is a gene I failed to inherit. Notwithstanding, I think it must be the first time I have been away from hearth and home at this time of year. In consequence I was somewhat uncomfortable with the idea of being alone. I needn't of worried as Peruvian hospitality made it a pleasurable transition to 2009, albeit 5 hours later than in UK.

Earlier in the day, after some logistical problems of connecting my PC to a power supply, I finally got it working and was able to have a skype face to face with my wife and daughter. Jennie had a Mac for Christmas and I am happy to comment that its integral camera and sound system works well and without all the gubbins of a camera and headphones. We had a nice chat and Jennie entertained us by pulling faces up close to the camera.

I spent most of the rest of the afternoon uploading my blog in Starbucks. Later I ventured out of my hostal around 10.30, heading for the centre of Miraflores, Kennedy park and where I expected celebrations to be happening. To be honest it just seemed like an ordinary evening with lots of people fast fooding and a decidedly family atmosphere. I was struck that there seemed to be absolutely no drunkenness. Venturing down to the beach area the restaurants seemed to be full with people queuing and some discotheque/bars were beginning to fill.

I had a chat with some English people and found my way back to the park where I joined a small group of Peruvians – we chatted amiably about this and that and at the turn of the hour exchanged polite and warm greetings. There were a few fireworks but not spectacular - all was good natured and genial. Somebody shared their cava with me and after a while we parted and I headed back and to the hostal and replied to happy new year emails of which their were a few.

The next morning around 6 am I was awoken by more fireworks and after breakfast had a Spanish lesson with Melanie my teacher for 8 hours over the next 4 days. I was glad that I had had a fairly restrained new year's eve and Melanie's teaching style was friendly and condident.

In the afternoon I bought El Comercio, the Lima newspaper which interestingly reprised 2009 from a local perspective. Heading for the beautiful Parque de los Olivos. set in a classy and well policed zone of Miraflores a few people wished me happy new year. So I sat on a bench to read my paper.

Noticing a small group of young people some way off, I saw that they were taking some special interest in my arrival. After a while a pretty girl of about 15 walked towards me and announced that she would like to wish me a saludos (greeting) for the new year. I happily agreed and with this she surprised me by laughing while she gave me a kiss on the cheek. I asked her if it was a bet and she agreed it was but it was an innocent game and I cannot imagine the same thing happening in London. She rejoined her friends and after a while they left. It was a nice moment. Nothing much happened the rest of the day although it was very pleasant to stroll through the streets with so little traffic.

So here I sit at the end of the first day in 2009, listening to Nelly Furtado and Mano Chau and supping the last of my very agreeable Peruvian red wine, Taberno Gran Tinto, made from Malbec and Merlot varieties. The bottle says it has a brilliant red colour and an intense and agreeable perfume, both dry and smooth. It tastes good too!

Happy new year and if you read this feel free to leave a nice comment.

Cycling in Lima, Peru

2009-01-02T20:57:00.006Z

There probably isn't too much to say about cycling in Lima. Quite a few people use bikes but the traffic in the city would be too intimidating for me and one only seems to see bikes here in Miraflores which is quieter and in the parks and back streets, usually for shopping. Often they are of poor quality, probably copies of more well known brands like Trek. A lot of stuff is counterfeited here including money, books CDs and DVDs so I wouldn't be surprised. The cycling weather right now is perfect, usually 24 degrees and sunny with a light sea breeze. At the beach there is one narrow cycling path in places shared with pedestrians and a rail track seems to serve as a cycle path but I didn't see any cyclists.

On my first morning here in Miraflores I met a happy band of cyclists gathering for a ride. As you can see from the photo they probably won't be bothering the UK Olympic team this coming season! I also chatted to another young woman waiting for friend; she told me it wasn't far to the mountains but she wouldn't risk cycling during the weekdays. Traffic here is quite aggressive – cars buses and taxis drive in close formation and only slow down at the last moment before hitting you. They say if you can drive in Lima you are prepared for anything and I can believe it. Horns are in constant use warning others – I am coming through so don't you dare pull out – and they mean it.

The other day I met Ezra from Austin, Texas – he had cycled that huge distance but seemed fairly happy. His bike didn't seem very sophisticated although I noticed a Garmin. You can read his account here. Otherwise, I saw one guy flash by on a Cervello but really cycling here is of necessity rather than a sport - almost all would seem to aspire to owning a car, many of which are old and have dirty emissions, although I noticed 2 taxis converted to natural gas which is cheap and in plentiful supply here in Peru.

So, no cycling for me this week, but I have walked quite a bit and have had one 55 minute jog. It feels as if I am eating less here but maybe this is due to lack of exercise. Otherwise, I am reading an interesting book from a Scottish cyclist/traveler, Cycling to Panama (from Mexico) this is a very good read and can be obtained from Amazon. I am not sure it would be my kind of cycling but he has certainly covered some miles and experienced several countries. I emailed him recently and he has promised to come and chat to Addiscombe Cycle Club if he visits London.

Well maybe I can rent a bike when I get to Piura – we'll see. Enjoy your ride!

Central Lima and Environs

2008-12-31T21:51:00.001Z

This was a day of full-on tourism. Stuart, my friend from Lima collected me at 9am and we took a bus for 1 Nuevo Sol (about 25p) for a 15 minute ride to the city end of Av. Arequipa. Once there we negotiated busy and dusty roads on our way to the Historical Centre.

My overall impression of central Lima is favourable. It is a real city, both commercial and historic. Although I only experienced a very restricted slice of life it felt at once slightly frightening but also charming and grand. It seemed as if the centre had been in a constant process of change with once fashionable districts now somewhat unkempt, their treasures corroding in the humidity, dust and pollution. At the same time some areas which had hitherto been very downbeat have now been improved, renovated with their historic treasures having been revealed and enhanced in the form of their colonial foundations and the greening of the surroundings.

One of the most striking features is the number of mansions in with ornate balconies in varying stages of decay or renovation. Stuart explained that these screened balconies had once hidden the faces of genteel women of Spanish descent, whose Moorish past had originated a tradition of wearing a sort of half hi jab with one seductive eye made knowable. From the balconies they looked down on the passers by maintaining discrete anonymity.

One of the largest squares contains the presidential palace. From here we were able to witness the changing of the guard, albeit at a distance. The guards, dressed in bold red and blue and accompanied by a pretty good band goose stepped and shimmied across a grand courtyard observed by a small and appreciative crowd. Riot police prevented us from getting too close to the action and the whole process, which happens every 2 hours took at least 20 minutes to complete.

We also visited the convent of San Francisco and although I am not too keen on religious building I was intrigued by the use of this one, housing as it did in many catacombs with the bones of thousands of souls fully viewable and macabre to the extreme neatly sorted and stacked in rectangular and circular vaults.

As you can see this was a day of touristic excess and later we also visited a colonial house with a medical library written in Latin and dating to 16 century. Later we had an excellent lunch including ceviche, marinated raw fish and the pisco sours a cocktail of Pisco a type of brandy, lime juice and whisked egg white.

In the late afternoon we visited a museum demonstrating the rich history of Peru dating back over several civilizations and evidenced by some excellent artifacts. We then went on to the bohemian district of Barranco and watched the sun go down over the Pacific and ending a great day with a couple of beers.

I was pretty tired from all of this and retired early with a glass of Peruvian red!

First days no disappointment.

2008-12-31T19:50:00.002Z

As I ventured out to walk down Av. Arequipa I immediately noticed the pleasant 23 degrees, bright sunshine, palm tree lined avenue and pleasant sea breeze – sorry! I headed in the direction of the centre of Miraflores which is a peaceful outer suburb between Lima and the Pacific. Many of the houses are grand ex-colonial buildings interspersed with newer office developments with residential districts surrounding the main area. Off to the right are some pyramid ruins which I will visit soon but I headed for the plaza which is laid out with grass and flowers and shady trees. Artists were setting up easels to sell paintings and people were in the process of attending mass in the large Catholic church at the end of the Plaza. I watched the participants each kissing the foot of baby Jesus and there was a carefully crafted nativity tableau. On this Sunday after Christmas it seemed a well-attended and joyous celebration and one of many scheduled throughout the morning.

Later I met Stuart my contact in Lima. He moved here following gaining a First in Computer science and married a Peruvian girl with whom he corresponded on the Internet. Stuart runs a website called enperu (see front page link) where he blogs super-interestingly about life in Peru but particularly about its relics and history. He took me on a super fast walk round the district and we went to the beach and Larco Mar which is a large and brash commercial complex given over to Western attractions including every kind of fast food outlet, so much later I caught up on my emails while sitting in Starbucks. I also had a very nice lunch of Lomo Saltado which is basically sauted beef - Interestingly the the restaurant above us, McDonalds had free wifi so I was able to have a skype chat with my family.

My second day in Lima was supposed to be given over to all kinds of practical objectives but I was agreeably sidetracked by some charming young Peruvians who I met in South American Explorers. If you don't know of it this is a very useful organisation with several offices from where you can (see front page link) plan trips, use the Internet or just chill out. They offer advice and have worked out discounts with hostals and travel agencies. On this day there was a free Spanish class which I joined. Unfortunately he teacher called in sick but his 3 students, myself and 2 young women, one each from Holland and Texas were entertained by 3 Peruvian volunteers and we chatted for nearly 2 hours.

After this we went and had an inexpensive lunch and then headed for the beach. The journey to the beach included crossing a busy 3 lane highway 3 times. Our guides didn't see this as unusual or particularly dangerous but it was somewhat harrowing and had to be negotiated on the way back too. So we now continued to chat, by now mostly in English and although the beach wasn't pristine it was sandy and fairly well-used by the mainly younger set on the long summer break vacation. Eventually we went back and I got to see my first Pacific sunset for 35 years. On the route back we we befriended by a municipal motor cycle security Policeman who told us he would escort us along the road to stop us from being robbed – I rather felt this an improbable outcome given there were 6 of us in broad daylight so maybe he was just a bit bored.

I did manage to achieve some of my more mundane objectives and bought a replacement set of glasses for abut 35 pounds and a Sim card for 3pounds. Hopefully I can now use my mobile. Back at the Hostal the staff team were having an early new year party so the place seemed more festive than usual with a bit of dancing, but by 11pm it had subsided and I slept well after a couple of beers. This morning I noticed a group of runners pass by my window at around 6.30 am so perhaps I will stir myself to follow suit but today is a full day of visiting central Lima and my friend Stuart has promised to share with me its beauty and marbled historical past.

Getting There

2008-12-31T19:27:00.004Z

In all probability the normal can seem less so when set in the context of 24 hours of wakefulness and 14 hours of flying. Leaving Croydon a t 3.30 am after scraping the ice from the windscreen my kind driver had a nose bleed and we decided I should drive to Heathrow. 2 flights and 21 hours later I arrived safely at 'Home Peru', my hostal in Lima. The journey was relatively uneventful but the Iberia Airways staff were typically laconic and at times rude. I had to put up with 2 sessions of their musica navidena which included favourites like Sing Hosanna, Green Sleeves and a Spanish version of I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas!

On reaching Madrid I paid 9 Euros for a modest breakfast which with Pound Euro parity seemed somewhat steep. In London I had chatted to a lady who was off to Colombia to spend 3 months in South America – on meeting her later she was obviously distraught and had been crying. She explained that a cash machine had eaten her only bank card and she had no other funds. Luckily she was being met by friends in Bogata but even after a 40 minute call to HSBC they couldn't offer her any useful advice. I felt sorry for her but perhaps she needed to have planned for such a contingency given the length of her stay. We talked about using ambassadorial services in Colombia but my guess is she could open a new account with a South American bank and have some money transferred.

On arrival at Lima we formed an orderly group waiting for our cases to be off-loaded – this took some 45 minutes but otherwise immigration was a painless experience. I was met by Pedro an amiable and helpful taxi driver and the ride of 35 minutes cost $14. By this time, about 8pm the traffic was light but notwithstanding he impressed me with his close formation driving and maneuvering between lanes. Driving in Peru is always a bit random and later I asked my friend Stuart for top tips for pedestrians. He proffered the need to assess the value of their car relative to your life, meaning cheap cars like taxis are unlikely to avoid hitting you while more expensive ones may think twice! My room and the hostal is basic but OK except the sound of the traffic outside is tiresome. For $12/day including breakfast and free Internet who can complain? After visiting the supermercardo I snacked on cheese, biscuits fruit and Cusquena cerveza and slept well until around 6 am, 11am in the UK.