So I´m sitting right now at the Lima Airport drinkning a coffee that cost my girlfriend 10 soles, which equals about $4 US bones...quite normal I should guess.
I will be leaving this magnificant country in about 1 hour and really can´t believe it.
I am not going to recant a million stories on this page, nor describe a million experiences right now...there are just too many and again, words would not do each of them justice.
This will be the last blog on this spot, I am retiring this page until the next journey...which hopefully is not too far off on the horizon.
This country has opened my eyes to a different culture and given me a new perspective on life south of the equator, and made me fall in love with every part of Perú!!
Te amo Perú, y jamás te olvidaré
Siempre con cariño, amor y respeto
tómas
Monday, July 28, 2008
Monday, July 14, 2008
Winding down and gearing up
My time here in Lima is winding down to a few short days, which at this point seem to drag on for eternity. I only have two days of teaching left, this Tuesday (tomorrow) and then my final day on Thursday. The kids I teach and I are going to go have a picnic of sorts at a local park and try to indentify some birds and animals to practice their English and also to play a little "futbol" (soccer for all us Americans).
Sunday will be a very special day for me-my girlfriend Beth arrives at 6:05AM here in Lima!! I have been waiting for this day since before I left!! I am so incredibly excited to be able to share such a rich and beautiful country with someone I love-I have never been able to share an experience of this magnitude with someone...I hardly believe it's real, it seems still almost like just a dream.
We will be leaving Lima shortly after she arrives for Juliaca. Once arriving there (by plane) we take an hour bus ride to Puno, which is situated along Lake Titicaca. We have made (with the help of my host mom) reservations for a hotel run by one of Marilou's (host mom) good friends. The owners are also helping us with a tour of Lake Titicaca by canoe-I feel privledged to have such giving and caring friends surrouding me. The 22nd of July puts Beth and I on a scenic bus ride to Cusco-where we have booked reservations at a local hostel (hope it's not like the movie!) and will spend almost 4 complete days in Cusco-in which we will see Macchu Picchu and have a bit of time to explore the city.
The 25th we take a short flight back to Lima and will have two days for some sight seeing and relaxation.
Then sadly, back to the US:(
On that note, I have been thinking about the trip back and how in just two short months so much in my life has changed! It makes me excited but at the same time it's almost bittersweet knowing that my collegiate career is over and the time for slacking seems like it passed away a lifetime ago...I know that this trip has had many ups and downs, and has made me and those closest to me mature as well by directly and indirectly dealing with my absence.
I cannot thank Bethany enough for her patience and support these two months-she has been nothing short of my rock while here, and my link to the northern hemishpere-I would also like to thank "skype" for enabling us to keep in contact via the internet-it has saved me countless amounts of money!!
I will write an official closing blog before departing this great country, but this will serve as a preliminary goodbye-as teaching comes to a close as does my time volunteering for "Sonrisas" I have spent most of this week reflecting. It's hard to try to encapsulate so many memories with words that seems to do them no justice...so I leave this blog to do just that...ponder my experience here and the future that lays ahead
t~
Sunday will be a very special day for me-my girlfriend Beth arrives at 6:05AM here in Lima!! I have been waiting for this day since before I left!! I am so incredibly excited to be able to share such a rich and beautiful country with someone I love-I have never been able to share an experience of this magnitude with someone...I hardly believe it's real, it seems still almost like just a dream.
We will be leaving Lima shortly after she arrives for Juliaca. Once arriving there (by plane) we take an hour bus ride to Puno, which is situated along Lake Titicaca. We have made (with the help of my host mom) reservations for a hotel run by one of Marilou's (host mom) good friends. The owners are also helping us with a tour of Lake Titicaca by canoe-I feel privledged to have such giving and caring friends surrouding me. The 22nd of July puts Beth and I on a scenic bus ride to Cusco-where we have booked reservations at a local hostel (hope it's not like the movie!) and will spend almost 4 complete days in Cusco-in which we will see Macchu Picchu and have a bit of time to explore the city.
The 25th we take a short flight back to Lima and will have two days for some sight seeing and relaxation.
Then sadly, back to the US:(
On that note, I have been thinking about the trip back and how in just two short months so much in my life has changed! It makes me excited but at the same time it's almost bittersweet knowing that my collegiate career is over and the time for slacking seems like it passed away a lifetime ago...I know that this trip has had many ups and downs, and has made me and those closest to me mature as well by directly and indirectly dealing with my absence.
I cannot thank Bethany enough for her patience and support these two months-she has been nothing short of my rock while here, and my link to the northern hemishpere-I would also like to thank "skype" for enabling us to keep in contact via the internet-it has saved me countless amounts of money!!
I will write an official closing blog before departing this great country, but this will serve as a preliminary goodbye-as teaching comes to a close as does my time volunteering for "Sonrisas" I have spent most of this week reflecting. It's hard to try to encapsulate so many memories with words that seems to do them no justice...so I leave this blog to do just that...ponder my experience here and the future that lays ahead
t~
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Iquitos
This weekend opened my eyes to the thrird ecosystem of Peru: Jungle.
Leaving Thursday night from the Lima was a gift, the weather here has been cloudy and gloomy-which is normal but a change is always appreciated. And a change I received! After a short 1 1/2 plane ride, I stepped onto the tarmac and was greeted by air so soaked with humidity I could drink it! Marvellous!! It was 80 degrees and a slight breeze was blowing, just enough to keep the mosquitos at bay.
During the bus ride to the hotel, I befriended an American named Kasey and a Peruvian named Aldo, the latter informed me and the former as to how we could rent motor scooters and tour the city. We accepted this proposal and agreed that Aldo would be our guide in exchange for conversation and an ice cold beer afterwords. The scooters only cost $4 dollars to rent for the hour, and came with a free helmet and fake Peruvian drivers liscense!! And they say the dollar is losing value...
The tour was incredible! Iquitos is a small (pop. 1 million) community, in relation to Lima (8 million) as has the lazy feel of a beach town. In reality this is true, it's situated right on the Amazon River. So we motored to the mouth of the river, enjoyed the night view, then cruised around town for another half hour. The interesting (and beautiful) thing about Iquitos is there are only motorcycles and buses, no one owns a car. Seriously, there are like four cars in the whole city, and the police owns three...
After scootering, we made good on our half of the bargain and got the most amazing hamburgers I have ever had-it had a fried egg on it, with lettuce tomato and mayo-seriously....amazing!! The beer as hoped was ice cold and was a perfect was to rign in the 4th of July.
Friday (4th) we boarded launches in the morning and set off on a tributary of the Amazon River-the Momon River. We headed to a "serpentarium" where as one may deduce from the name, snakes and all sorts of reptiles-some endangered species and others not. They also had a family of monkeys that lived there, and those were the real treat to see. They are so human it's scary-they're also little thieves!! A couple of people in our group had to chase after bogarted sunglasses and braclets.
An hour after we visited a native tribe called the "Boras" where we watched and participated in native dances and then most importantly...got to buy jewelry and knick-nacks. I'm not sure how I felt about invading someone's home, but the guides assured me we were welcome and this was their only way of earning income-still not in total agreement, but hey, that's just me...
Another 40 minutes by boat put us at the dock of "Albergue" our lodge. Lodge is a loose term. It came equipped with Direct TV and internet-oh satellites, what can't you do?
The lodge was beautiful, full of native birds and lush vegitation. The rest of the day was free to swim (yes they had a pool) and relax in one of the numerous hammocks.
Took full advantage of both.
Saturday morning we set off into the jungle for a five hour walk taking in the sounds...and the humditiy. Not to be the guy that states the obvious, but it's really hot in the jungle. Ok, done. Later in the afternoon we visited the Jibero tribe where I got to practice using a blowgun-which I'm quite good with I might add. I hit a tree like 25 ft. away, which by my standards is excellent.
Later that night Kasey, Steve, Jake and I set off in the kayaks provided by the lodge and explored a bit of the Momon river. We also swam, some willingly, others not. Steve fell into the water trying to get into his kayak-so later we all decided to join him for a swim. No parasites noted as of yet-Tomas 1-Rio Momon 0.
Sunday was a sad day. I really wasn't ready to leave the jungle-but it had to be.
Before leaving, we did go a different nature preserve of sorts, and were allowed to fish for pirhanas. This is a bit different from what I had imagined, and a bit dissapointing, because there was no challenge in it, just a bit of waiting. Still a fun experience, and yes I did eat it, even though there wasn't a whole bunch of meat on him, he tasted excellent. For those of you who know my aversion to fish...it's disapating. I also ate turtle legs, which taste like funny colored roast beef. Not too bad though.
The jungle of Peru is something impossible to experience in three days, as one may imagine. It's diversity, as well as the temperature, are stifling. I have already made a promise to myself that I will return to the jungle to experience it to a greater extent. And for any of you that are looking for an amazing week long vacation, I'd recommend Iquitos, or just Peru in general.
This place is forever be etched in my mind as one of the most beautiful and diverse places on the planet.
t~
Leaving Thursday night from the Lima was a gift, the weather here has been cloudy and gloomy-which is normal but a change is always appreciated. And a change I received! After a short 1 1/2 plane ride, I stepped onto the tarmac and was greeted by air so soaked with humidity I could drink it! Marvellous!! It was 80 degrees and a slight breeze was blowing, just enough to keep the mosquitos at bay.
During the bus ride to the hotel, I befriended an American named Kasey and a Peruvian named Aldo, the latter informed me and the former as to how we could rent motor scooters and tour the city. We accepted this proposal and agreed that Aldo would be our guide in exchange for conversation and an ice cold beer afterwords. The scooters only cost $4 dollars to rent for the hour, and came with a free helmet and fake Peruvian drivers liscense!! And they say the dollar is losing value...
The tour was incredible! Iquitos is a small (pop. 1 million) community, in relation to Lima (8 million) as has the lazy feel of a beach town. In reality this is true, it's situated right on the Amazon River. So we motored to the mouth of the river, enjoyed the night view, then cruised around town for another half hour. The interesting (and beautiful) thing about Iquitos is there are only motorcycles and buses, no one owns a car. Seriously, there are like four cars in the whole city, and the police owns three...
After scootering, we made good on our half of the bargain and got the most amazing hamburgers I have ever had-it had a fried egg on it, with lettuce tomato and mayo-seriously....amazing!! The beer as hoped was ice cold and was a perfect was to rign in the 4th of July.
Friday (4th) we boarded launches in the morning and set off on a tributary of the Amazon River-the Momon River. We headed to a "serpentarium" where as one may deduce from the name, snakes and all sorts of reptiles-some endangered species and others not. They also had a family of monkeys that lived there, and those were the real treat to see. They are so human it's scary-they're also little thieves!! A couple of people in our group had to chase after bogarted sunglasses and braclets.
An hour after we visited a native tribe called the "Boras" where we watched and participated in native dances and then most importantly...got to buy jewelry and knick-nacks. I'm not sure how I felt about invading someone's home, but the guides assured me we were welcome and this was their only way of earning income-still not in total agreement, but hey, that's just me...
Another 40 minutes by boat put us at the dock of "Albergue" our lodge. Lodge is a loose term. It came equipped with Direct TV and internet-oh satellites, what can't you do?
The lodge was beautiful, full of native birds and lush vegitation. The rest of the day was free to swim (yes they had a pool) and relax in one of the numerous hammocks.
Took full advantage of both.
Saturday morning we set off into the jungle for a five hour walk taking in the sounds...and the humditiy. Not to be the guy that states the obvious, but it's really hot in the jungle. Ok, done. Later in the afternoon we visited the Jibero tribe where I got to practice using a blowgun-which I'm quite good with I might add. I hit a tree like 25 ft. away, which by my standards is excellent.
Later that night Kasey, Steve, Jake and I set off in the kayaks provided by the lodge and explored a bit of the Momon river. We also swam, some willingly, others not. Steve fell into the water trying to get into his kayak-so later we all decided to join him for a swim. No parasites noted as of yet-Tomas 1-Rio Momon 0.
Sunday was a sad day. I really wasn't ready to leave the jungle-but it had to be.
Before leaving, we did go a different nature preserve of sorts, and were allowed to fish for pirhanas. This is a bit different from what I had imagined, and a bit dissapointing, because there was no challenge in it, just a bit of waiting. Still a fun experience, and yes I did eat it, even though there wasn't a whole bunch of meat on him, he tasted excellent. For those of you who know my aversion to fish...it's disapating. I also ate turtle legs, which taste like funny colored roast beef. Not too bad though.
The jungle of Peru is something impossible to experience in three days, as one may imagine. It's diversity, as well as the temperature, are stifling. I have already made a promise to myself that I will return to the jungle to experience it to a greater extent. And for any of you that are looking for an amazing week long vacation, I'd recommend Iquitos, or just Peru in general.
This place is forever be etched in my mind as one of the most beautiful and diverse places on the planet.
t~
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Slides from the desert
I know all the "post cards" should say Peru-but I can't help that-this was the only one Photobucket had
Monday, June 30, 2008
What do an oasis, a penguin and something 2,400 years old have in common
They're all found in Peru!
I'm out of superlatives to describe this country. On Friday I went on an excursion with the International Studies Abroad (ISA) to three places:
1) Huacachina-This is an oasis in the middle of the coastal desert in south-western Peru. An argous six hour bus ride arrived us to the magnificant speciman of a resort. Two hours after unloading the bus and getting checked in to the hotel, we embarked on our first two part excursion. The first part was to go tearing around the vast desert in HUGE incredible powerful dune-buggies. These bad boys hold 11 people plus the driver (whom I believe was insane, or just really liked his job). I have no idea how many horse-power they are, but suffice to say it's "sufficiente!" He took our group on a wild ride up and down gigantic sand dunes at I would guess 40-55 mph for about 20 minutes. We finally crested our last sand dune and then it was time for part two: sand-surfing! This is exactly what it would seem, although the boards used are about half the size of regular snowboards, so think of it being for midgets (sorry to all midgets offended by this description.)
I was the second to surf down the dune, and did quite well until the end, when I leaned back and proceded take a sand bath. Also, although the sand is soft and fine to the touch, it doesn't feel good to eat it...or get it in every oraface of your body.
So after being at the bottom of the dune, and waiting for the rest of the group to fall down it, our driver picked us up, and whisked us away to two more dunes...repeat process above only harder and more times! I loved every second of it, and hated the entire next day.
2)Paracas-Left the hotel, still full of sand, and took a two hour bus ride to the coast, where we got on a twin 200hp. mercury engine boat and sped off into the Pacific Ocean for a nature preserve. Along the way we spotted bottle-nosed dolphins, sea lions, and yes...penguins! We also saw one of the world's largest islands where they harvest guano (yes that means bird poo) for fertilizer. Mmmm...the smell of money...smells aweful!
Then it was a six hour bus ride after lunch to Nazca. This was aweful for many reasons. I was incredibly stiff from yesterday, still had sand in most of my possessions, and was a bit motion sick from the previous bus ride and boat ride. Didn't puke, but I should've.
Upon arriving in Nazca, we unloaded and ckd. in for the night. I showered again to remove more sand and my soreness, both with marginal sucess.
3) Nazca-For those of you that are not familiar with the Nazca lines, they are multiple sets of geometrically perfect lines and drawings in the middle of the Peruvian desert. One of the amazing things is that carbon testing dates them to be from around 300BC-600/700AD. Another interesting fact is that they were not discovered until the 1900s. Why? Because they are too vast to view from the ground! So why would these ancient people build these lines and animal drawings? No one is for sure, but one of the most interesting drawings may give a clue-it's of an astronaut! No joke-look up the pic on the internet-I only took a video of it and it's a half hour long, so it would never fit in a file, but yeah...aliens.
Now this may make many of you laugh, but there is some popular opinion that the sight was the location of an alien visit, and the Nazca people constructed the lines and drawings to serve as an homage to their "gods" and also to give them an arial map of how and where to land upon returning.
I will say no more of theories because regardless of why they are there, the Nazca lines are one of the most beautiful sights I have ever flown over, and one of Earth's true mistories.
To say the least I had a good weekend-and I am going to the jungle on Thursday! Oh yeah
I'm out of superlatives to describe this country. On Friday I went on an excursion with the International Studies Abroad (ISA) to three places:
1) Huacachina-This is an oasis in the middle of the coastal desert in south-western Peru. An argous six hour bus ride arrived us to the magnificant speciman of a resort. Two hours after unloading the bus and getting checked in to the hotel, we embarked on our first two part excursion. The first part was to go tearing around the vast desert in HUGE incredible powerful dune-buggies. These bad boys hold 11 people plus the driver (whom I believe was insane, or just really liked his job). I have no idea how many horse-power they are, but suffice to say it's "sufficiente!" He took our group on a wild ride up and down gigantic sand dunes at I would guess 40-55 mph for about 20 minutes. We finally crested our last sand dune and then it was time for part two: sand-surfing! This is exactly what it would seem, although the boards used are about half the size of regular snowboards, so think of it being for midgets (sorry to all midgets offended by this description.)
I was the second to surf down the dune, and did quite well until the end, when I leaned back and proceded take a sand bath. Also, although the sand is soft and fine to the touch, it doesn't feel good to eat it...or get it in every oraface of your body.
So after being at the bottom of the dune, and waiting for the rest of the group to fall down it, our driver picked us up, and whisked us away to two more dunes...repeat process above only harder and more times! I loved every second of it, and hated the entire next day.
2)Paracas-Left the hotel, still full of sand, and took a two hour bus ride to the coast, where we got on a twin 200hp. mercury engine boat and sped off into the Pacific Ocean for a nature preserve. Along the way we spotted bottle-nosed dolphins, sea lions, and yes...penguins! We also saw one of the world's largest islands where they harvest guano (yes that means bird poo) for fertilizer. Mmmm...the smell of money...smells aweful!
Then it was a six hour bus ride after lunch to Nazca. This was aweful for many reasons. I was incredibly stiff from yesterday, still had sand in most of my possessions, and was a bit motion sick from the previous bus ride and boat ride. Didn't puke, but I should've.
Upon arriving in Nazca, we unloaded and ckd. in for the night. I showered again to remove more sand and my soreness, both with marginal sucess.
3) Nazca-For those of you that are not familiar with the Nazca lines, they are multiple sets of geometrically perfect lines and drawings in the middle of the Peruvian desert. One of the amazing things is that carbon testing dates them to be from around 300BC-600/700AD. Another interesting fact is that they were not discovered until the 1900s. Why? Because they are too vast to view from the ground! So why would these ancient people build these lines and animal drawings? No one is for sure, but one of the most interesting drawings may give a clue-it's of an astronaut! No joke-look up the pic on the internet-I only took a video of it and it's a half hour long, so it would never fit in a file, but yeah...aliens.
Now this may make many of you laugh, but there is some popular opinion that the sight was the location of an alien visit, and the Nazca people constructed the lines and drawings to serve as an homage to their "gods" and also to give them an arial map of how and where to land upon returning.
I will say no more of theories because regardless of why they are there, the Nazca lines are one of the most beautiful sights I have ever flown over, and one of Earth's true mistories.
To say the least I had a good weekend-and I am going to the jungle on Thursday! Oh yeah
Friday, June 20, 2008
Pics from Huaca Pucllana
Here are four Pics from Huaca Pucllana which is one of the newest ruin sites in Lima-located right in the middle of the city.
I think the most intersting facts about this site were: They were not descovered until about 1970-they were not made a historic site until 1981, so some of the site has been destroyed by construction compaines.
Multiple tribes inhabited the site, and each time an new tribe came, they built a new temple on top of the previous one-so the "gran pyramid" actually extends deep into the ground, but they cannot excavate for fear that the pyramid would collapse. Bringing me to the next and I believe most intesting fact: The idigenous peoples built all pyramids and walls by hand, creating each adobe brick individually and letting it sun dry. In the last picture, you can see fingerprints from where hands crafted each brick. The manner in wihch they laid the bricks was also unique. Because of the fault line that runs under the coast of Lima, they did not pack each brick right next to each other, rather in a vertical fashion with space in between each adobe. This allowed for the walls and temples to absorb the shock and also flex in a sense in the event of an earthquake.
Intersting place I must say, especially a sight in the middle of a gigantic city
t~
I think the most intersting facts about this site were: They were not descovered until about 1970-they were not made a historic site until 1981, so some of the site has been destroyed by construction compaines.
Multiple tribes inhabited the site, and each time an new tribe came, they built a new temple on top of the previous one-so the "gran pyramid" actually extends deep into the ground, but they cannot excavate for fear that the pyramid would collapse. Bringing me to the next and I believe most intesting fact: The idigenous peoples built all pyramids and walls by hand, creating each adobe brick individually and letting it sun dry. In the last picture, you can see fingerprints from where hands crafted each brick. The manner in wihch they laid the bricks was also unique. Because of the fault line that runs under the coast of Lima, they did not pack each brick right next to each other, rather in a vertical fashion with space in between each adobe. This allowed for the walls and temples to absorb the shock and also flex in a sense in the event of an earthquake.
Intersting place I must say, especially a sight in the middle of a gigantic city
t~
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