Adventures

It may have been a misnomer to call my vacation "mini" but I did cram a lot of good stuff into a short amount of time. Usually the HNGR interns get one week to vacation and take a break from work so I took mine with my friends Erica and Sara who are also interning in Peru. We also traveled with one of my Peruvian friends, Miriam, who acted as a sort of guide for us. Peru is an absolutely beautiful country with so many diverse ecosystems and cultures. And, since I planned most of our trip, I made sure to see as much of it as I could. 

We started our trip by flying to Puerto Maldonado which is the jungle in eastern Peru. It was 95 degrees Fahrenheit when we landed and was super humid! This was quite a change of environment from the 60 degree weather we had been having in Lima. We hopped on a boat and traveled four hours down the Madre de Dios river until we reached a small stream leading to Lago Valencia, an oxbow lake adjacent to the river. From that point we were engulfed in the wild and were the only ones staying in this small "lodge" on the lake. We saw many birds, including bright green parrots, and enjoyed learning about all the medicinal plants from the locals. At night, the jungle was alive with sounds and, thanks to the mosquito net surrounding my bed, the very cool (and large) insects left me to sleep in peace.  

After a day and a half in la selva we traveled 12 hours west to Cusco, an Andean town situated among the mountains. Historically, it was the center of all Incan activity and is surrounded by ancient ruins. The city is also full of old Spanish colonial buildings from the fifteenth century. Although the fall of the Incan empire and destruction of their  culture was related to Spanish invasion, the infusion of these two cultures in Cusco creates an enchanting mountain village. The streets are lined with Quechua-speaking women and their herbs, which they gathered from their fields, are displayed on brightly colored blankets. The cathedral bells toll in the early morning calling the villagers to mass. And, only 20 minutes away by van, are the ruins of the Incan city of Pisac nestled among the mountain slopes. 

Obviously, one cannot go to Cusco without also going to the mother of all Incan ruins; Machu Picchu. It was as great as all the hype made it out to be. We got up at 5am to take the first bus up to the top of the verdant cliffs and watched the sun slowly shed light on the ancient city as it rose over the mountains. It was a beautiful morning and since we beat the crowds, it was peaceful and quiet. We then climbed up Huanupicchu (the large mountain behind me in the classic pic of Machu Picchu) and looked out over the ruins from the highest point of the trail. It was quite the hike and was intensified by the fact that our bodies had not acclimated to the altitude yet. But, the view was totally worth the effort!

We spent one more day in Cusco before heading to Puno, a small town situated on Lago Titicaca. This lake is the highest in the world at 13,000 feet and is shared with Boliva. We traveled across this vast lake to visit two different islands. The community of the Uros have constructed floating islands make from peat and dried vegetation. It was fascinating to see how they have innovatively created their homes from natural materials and have weathered storms and substantial rain. We stayed overnight with a peasant family on the second island and ate delicious food. The father Juan reminded me so much of one of the Alaskan Elders I met this summer. He told about his struggles as a cultural minority, the slow disappearance of his native language among the youth, and the adverse effects of climate change in his community. We live in a big world but we can be so very connected through the stories and experiences of daily life. 

The stars that night were brilliant and we saw the Southern Cross and a particularly bright Jupiter. We returned to Puno in the morning and I had Trucha for lunch - the famous Titicaca fish. We got back to Lima this morning after flying out from Juliaca and were tired but very content. What a trip! This is a brief overview, and of course there is much more to tell, but suffice it to say I have fallen even more in love with this beautiful country. 

Tomorrow it is back to work and my nose is to the ground as I finish out my last two months here. How fast the time has flown by! I am looking forward to it but it will be busy. Who knows what other adventures may be around the corner.... 

A Wheaton Visitor

I am long overdue for a blog update but a short one is going to have to do for now because I am leaving tomorrow for a mini-vacation (more to come on that next week!). Last weekend Dr. Toly, one of my professors at Wheaton, came for an advisory visit and I had a great time showing him around Lima. We were able to see the Lomas of Villa Maria where I work, spend a day around the city with my family, go to my church Sunday morning, and have a delicious seafood lunch with my supervisor and co-worker at A Rocha.

Dr. Toly also helped me define my Independent Study which is essentially writing a report/proposal for an interdisciplinary conservation project in the urban lomas of Lima. It will involve a mesh of researching, writing, and synthesizing as I consider existing data and devise a methodology to engage and empower local stakeholders. The implications of a successful project here are huge and the potential benefits for the surrounding communities and ecosystem health make it all the more exciting. 

 

Here are a handful of pictures from the weekend:

Esteban enjoying El Parque de los Aguas or the "Water" Park

My beautiful family. 

A very cool church in downtown Lima. 

My co-worker Jose Luis and I at the lomas of Villa Maria

Dr. Toly and I with our super excited taxi-chollo driver.
Apparently being from Chicago made us really cool.
I also might note here that he is the one that asked us for a photo. 

My supervisor Sarah-Lan and Jose Luis at the market for lunch. 

This is looking out at San Cristobal (the former loma) and
what is left of the highly contaminated Rimac river by the
time it gets to Lima. 

La Pachamanca

Usually, I dislike it when people here ask me the question: What is your favorite Peruvian dish? This is partly because I like a lot of the food here and partly because I can never remember the Spanish names for most of the dishes. But, after my taste-bud-exploding experience yesterday, I now secretly hope everyone will ask me the question so I can excitedly tell them: Pachamanca!!!


The origins of this meal is Pre-Incan and it is very popular in the Andes. It is a lot of work to make it but, as we say here in Peru, vale la pena (totally worth it!) The saddest part about this photo/video diary is that you cannot smell or taste anything. And that is truly a travesty. My best advice to you is that you make friends with a Peruvian mountain man and invite him over for dinner so he can bring this deliciousness to your table.


Let us begin at the very beginning:

Esteban is smiling because he knows the joys of
Pachamanca yet to come.
So, you might as well start smiling too! 

In the kitchen we begin by preparing the hormitas. We will
make sweet ones and cheesy ones and fold the husk in either
a roll or a triangle depending on what kind it is.

They look kind of like a tamal and, of course, since the
women taught me their technique, I can teach you too.
Tip: don't get too greedy and overstuff them because
then all the dough will get squashed on the rocks....

You were probably wondering what kind of rocks I was
talking about... well, here is our "oven." You better make sure
you are ready to sweat because these rocks are hot!!

After the rocks have been heated by the fire for 45 minutes
and are hot enough to be white in color, with we will remove
them one by one. We then have to clean out the ashes and
prepare the hole for our food. Be careful - these rocks
are so hot that some of them are breaking/shattering.

Now we begin to layer our food. First the potatoes and yuca.
You may want to get a good pair of gloves. Ronald's were
nearly 20 years old and had more holes than material. His
hands were not too happy about that. 

We add a few more stones and then the meat rubbed
in a herb and chile sauce! Yes, it will cook all the way through.  

Keep adding stones and food! This time the hormitas and the bananas.
We'll also add more husks around the sides to keep steam from escaping.

Our last layer will be the abea beans. They are the test
because if they are done, everything below them
is cooked too. But really, my abuelita (grandmother)
is the real judge. If she says they are done, they are done.
Also, you need to add more herbs around the
side to prevent the heat from escaping.

Time to cover it up and let her cook! Pass
the banana leaves please...

And, the plastic covering....

And, the dirt.... grab a shovel!

We add a cross for effect and then we wait.
Like Esteban, I am sure you are waiting with eager expectation.  

An hour and a half later(!),we are ready to unbury our prize.
Slowly now, we don't want to get dirt in our food...

Dig in but don't burn yourself - we need to separate
all the food according to type while avoiding the
still crazy hot rocks.

Don't worry. I am helping too.
Also, this is a good time to sample the goods :)

This is the heaping plate of food I was given.
And, I am really happy about it. Yum, yum, yum.