Frank

Frank at Machupicchu.

Good Cameras Wanted

Elisa, a.k.a Ms. Professional.

Elisa

Elisa, this one is for you.

What A Ride

This photo was taken while in the train. We were on our way to Machupicchu, which is a four hour ride. This experience proed to be one of the most useful of the entire trip. Many times when people travel abroad, they only go to those sites which are designated for tourism. In Peru we saw Lima and Cusco, two sites very prominent for tourism. People travel and think they they see all there is to see, learn all the culture, and see how people really live. It isn't true. The city life in places like Peru are less common than life in the country. Most people live int he countryside, not Lima. Lima has eight million people, while the whole of Peru has twenty-five million people. This means that many more people living in Peru were not living in the capital or big cities like Cusco. The train was built in the seventies. By this time many people were living in the country. As we rode through the country wee got a chance to see people and their homes. Some of the most amazing views were that of the land. The amount of open space people had was tremendous. Their land extended for acres and acres. Being from New Jersey, where there is about 3ft of room per person, I was instantly jealous and decided I needed to move to Peru. Although this will most liekly not happen, it is amazing to think how much beauty the people get to see everyday, right in their own backyard. Some places had houses, farms, rivers, and mountains all within a short distance of each other. It was so beautiful. While the people live a more humble life these days, their ancestors once had a mighty empire with great technology, some of which is still visible. In this picture we can see the ancient Inca terraces, which farmers are more than happy to use. The people here get to view these works of genius everyday. I wonder if they realise how magnificant they are and how lucky the people are to live by them.

A Work In Progress

While in Machupicchu our tour guide, Persi, showed the group this massive rock. Even today many people still think that the Inca brought stones and other materials up the mountain to use in the construction of the city. In fact, all the stones that are on Machupicchu were alreay there. The Inca used the mountain and carved their city out of the rocks already there. The city is speculated to have been built around 1350, (this is highly debated), and yet the people abandoned it roughly one hundred years later. Many questions have been brought up on why they would leave this city so quickly after its birth. The city was the only place that the conquistadors never found. Was there plague? Was there famine? Were there political factions that caused a type of civil war? The hypothesis' can go on forever. We do know, however, that the Inca were always building on and improving the city. The stone in this picture represents this. This stone was one which was being worked on right around the time that the city was abandoned. Here we can see that the people used the mountain around them to built their city. In one way, this is environmentally friendly since they did not cut down trees to make their city and their homes. When studying this stone, researchers have discovered that the Inca used tools made from other stones to carve the stone in the way they desired. This step could have been part of a new and exciting section of Machupicchu. Unfortunetly, the city was abandoned, and so was the work on this stone.

Symbolism

Here is the Virgin Mary. This is not a typical painting of her to the eyes of the European. In this painting it is hard to even tell that she is a woman. Her shape is much more triangular than it is feminine.

Chinchero

We went to Chinchero on January 6th. The family we visited was headed by a man named Paulino. Here we witnessed first hand how textiles were created. The family used fresh flowers and other natural plants to make their dyes. The colors were strong and vibrant. The women in the family wore fresh flowers in their hats. Paulino taught us about the tumi, which is a ceremonial knife used by the pre-Inca. We saw how to clean the fur of the animals by using natural materials. Paulino showed us how to make natural soap. He took an instrument that was something like a cheese grater and used it on a root. He put the shavings into a bowl of hot water. He then put the fur into the soapy water. Within seconds, the fur was completely clean. He let everyone smell the fur to demonstrate that cleaning it does not make it lose its natural smell. It still smelled like fresh Alpaca, (which smells similar to wet dog :) ). We saw how natural makeup was made. Everyone was hesitant to put the makeup on, except for Paulino! He put the makeup right onto his lips and cheeks! The family also showed us how to use a spinning tool to make the fur into strands that looked like spaghetti. When the strands were dipped into the pot of hot water and dye, they were immediately dyed for good. The color was strong and long lasting. At the end of the demonstration Paulino wanted to give us a little blessing since it was the first Sunday of the year. Paulino blessed our New Year with love and help from Father Sun and Mother Earth. We were decorated with yellow "flower petals" as a symbol of good luck and fortune. The color yellow is lucky. Today was also the last day of Christmas, Nino Amolito.

Having arrived in peru right after Christmas, we saw hundreds of Nativity scenes. This one was in front of the Museo de Sito del Qorikancha along with Convento De Santo Domingo Qorikancha. Inside was gorgeous church. Some of the students were thinking of going to mass on Sunday. At 6am the mass was in Quechua, at 7am in Spanish, and at 8am English. We all wanted to got o the 6m mass in Quechua, but no one woke up! In many of the Nativity scences the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus are wearing real hair. When people donate their hair t is a way of asking for help with something.

What A Hike

It is a little hard to see, (you may want to click to enlarge the photo), but there are about five people taking the Inca trail. Edwin told us that from Ollyantaytambo it is a four day, three night hike to Machupicchu. It is mandatory that you hire a person to carry your packs, a person to cook your food, and a person to be your guide. It is scary to think about the attack of puma's or bear's but it does sound like something I would love to do one day. These people are just starting their treck. When in machupicchu it is easy to tell who just came from the trail: they were dirty and smelly! I can't wait until the day that I am one of them!

Intihuatana

This is a sundial on Macupicchu. The Inca who one inhabited the city used this sundail to tell time. Our tour guide Persi told us that there was a special reason the sundial was blocked off. Years ago there was a television filming in the area. The camera was placed close to the tip of the sundail. Unfortunetly the camera slipped causing the sundial to get chipped. Ever since then, no visitors have been able to get near the dial. Persi said some people try to touch the rock because they believe it is spiritual.

A Different Form Of The Trinity

Being raised Catholic, I have always thought of the Trinity as a symbol of divinity. The Inca also revered the number three, but in a different light than the Catholics. When Francisco Pizarro arrived in the Inca Empire in 1531 he found a land filled with polytheism. The Andean religions worshiped many gods, such as the Sun (Inti), Moon(Quilla), Stars, Mountains, and Water. When the Conquistadors came to the Inca Empire they also told the people that they could no longer practice their religions. This sketching on a wall of the cave indicates that the local people still believe in the power of three. Three stood for many different aspects. Some of these aspects include:
-The three levels of the Univerese; heaven (Uku Pacha), earth (Kay Pacha), and the underworld (Hanan Pacha).
-The three animals; the condor, puma, and the snake. They represent the three levels of the world, respectively.
-The cosmos represented as three: the past and the interior world, the world of present and of here, and the future and the supra world.
-The three taxes the people pay: to their gods, reciprocity towards their neighbors, and the tax towards their kings.


Our tour guide for this part of the trip, Juan Carlos, told us about a ceremonial drink named ayahuasca (pronounced eye-ah-wa-ska). This drink is a hallucinogen that is believed to show the person their "true" self. The drinker must prepare for the ceremony a week in advance. Reportedly the drink has healing powers, curing the drinker of every illness from unluckiness to cancer. One nasty side effect of this drink is that the person will vomit for over a half-an-hour.

This photo was taken inside a cave near the Moon Temple, right outside of Cuzco. It is symbolic of the fact that the people still believe in the power of three. According to our guide, ceremonies are still held each night in the caves outside of Cuzco.

Fields Of Yellow

The view on the wat to Pisaq.

Who's This!?

This little kitty was at our hotel by Machupicchu. She was so small and so friendly. When I picked her up she purred loudly and fell asleep in my arms. She was also one of the only kitty's I saw in all of Peru. The place was filled with dogs, but never any cats. She was a very vocal kitty and had no shame in asking for food. At dinner she attacked Jen twice by scratching at her leg, nearly giving her a heart attack each time. I never found out the name of the little kitty, but I do know that I will miss her.

At Old Mountain

Here is my first photo taken in front of Machupicchu, also known in English as Old Mountain. The city that is seen is on the actual mounatin itself. The mountain in the background is actually a different mountain all together. I always thought that the mountain in the background was part of the city and the Machupicchu mountain. The mountain is seperate. The name is Waynapicchu, which means young mountain in English. The names of these mountains remain in the Quechua language and I am grateful for that because the places feel more mystical with ancient names. The Inka regarded the mountains as gods and it is not hard to see why. The mountains are so massive and so beautiful. Pachama was what they called Mother Earth. The spirit of the mountain is called Apus. The Inka also personified the mountains. The mountain here, Wynapicchu was said to look like a feline resting. Looking at the mountains you can understand wy they are gods in their own sense. They touch heaven.

Poor Edwin

You would think that since this was a technology trip that the skilled students would take one photo on one camera and just photo-share. However, we do not think like that. This photo was taken while poor Edwin was asked to take shots of us in Convento De Santo Domino Del Cusco Qorikancha. I never handed my camera over to him and I am now very grateful for that because I got this shot. He has cameras hanging from both arms, and even more are in his jacket pockets. Edwin was our savior on this trip. He was always patient and kind. Even when asked to take the same shot 18 times, he still had a smile on his face.

On The Steps

These were just a couple of local women selling items on the steps of Qorikancha.

The Writings On The Wall

As we traveled through the streets of Cusco, our tour guide Marylous informed us that when the Conquistadors came to Peru they destroyed the Adean temples. This building, however, was built on top of an Andean temple. The wall we can see in this photo here is actually an Inka wall, roughly 800 years old.

Just A Sign

Here is the sign to Saqsaywaman.

Happy Faces

On the way out of Saqsaywaman, we saw this woman with the llama. She is dressed in traditional clothing, her hat filled with fresh flowers. Everyone in Peru was always smiling. The people were not rich, but they were happy and very proud of their history. This woman was no different. Here she is with the llama, which even seems to be smiling himself!

Kung Fu

Apparently, Kung Fu can be done anywhere in the world. Professor Searson took this shot for us. In the pictures previous to this one we are striking a Charlie's Angels pose. I took this photo in honor of my boyfriend who practices Wing Chun.