Machu Picchu

In the afternoon, Steve found a Peruvian tour guide to tell us more about the history of Machu Picchu.

Fun facts:
The Incas used to make sacrifices in the temples in Machu Picchu but human sacrifices (young females) were not made in the city. During times of drought or crisis, human sacrifices would be offered to the Incan gods to remedy the problem.

Approximately 500 people lived in Machu Picchu but as many as 1,000 Incas lived in the city at one time.

Machu Picchu was discovered in 1911 but Yale archaeology professor Hiram Bingham but it is highly suspected that a German explorer arrived at the ruins during the late 1800s and plundered much of the gold and riches from the city.

The llama, snake and condor were the three most important animal figures in Incan culture, representing the three levels of the world, the underworld (the snake), earth (the llama), and the sky (the condor).

Nobody is allowed on the grass area in the center of the ruins. Only the llamas are allowed and if any of the tourists meander onto the grass, the guards will blow a whistle at you.

More fun pictures














The Lost City of the Incas















The Inca Bridge





























The International Man and the International Woman atop Machu Picchu

















Words of the day: rosado=pink, rojo=red, azul=blue, verde=green, amarillo=yellow, narajana=orange

Machu Picchu

On Tuesday (September 15th), we woke up 4:40am to get a jump start on Machu Picchu. After chomping down breakfast, we headed toward the bus stop to catch our ride up to the ruins. Buses start running at 5:30am and we arrived at Machu Picchu around 6:15 only to be greeted by a line of about 200 people waiting to get in. Finally, we passed through the ticket and security check points and began walking the trail to the ruins. Just from my first view of Machu Picchu, I was awestruck. If ever you have the chance to go see this wonder of the world, you need to go because words fail ever time I try to describe it.

Before it got too hot, my dad and I went for a brisk hike to the Inca Sun Gate. Very advanced in math and science, the Incas constructed this gate in which the sun would beam through these two columns directly into the temple of their city.















View of Machu Picchu from the Sun gate















I think I was an Inca in my past life.














More Inca terraces

Pisac and the Sacred Valley

On Sunday morning (September 13th), we left Cusco on the local transportation to head over the hill to the city of Pisac. Our luggage was slung onto the roof of the van, tied on with ropes and off we went, three gringos and the rest of the locals. Forty minutes later, we arrived in Pisac and managed to find our way to the Main Plaza where our hotel was located. After dropping our stuff off, we explored the Pisac open air market. Rows and rows of colorful bags, earrings, flutes, headbands made for very cheap shopping.

The very colorful market of Pisac

In the afternoon, we went the Pisac ruins located about 20 minutes away from Pisac by taxi. Our tour guide told us that in the hills is one of the largest burial sites in the worlds. With 10,000 grave, the Incas used to bury their dead in the fetal position simbolizing rebirth after death. When the Spanish arrived to conquer the Incan Empire in the 1500's, they ransacked all the graves to collect the gold. The guide also told us that there are several villages located above the ruins and that some children have to walk two hours each way to get to the school in Pisac.

 Pictures from the ruins at Pisac

Peruvian women selling fruit at the market.

Extensive terrace system

View of the Sacred Valley

After our tour of the Pisac ruins, we ate dinner at a restaurant called the Blue Llama. A huge bowl of pumpkin soup, a main entrée, a drink or bebida, and a postre or dessert only cost approximately 6 US dollars for each one of us and the food was delicious. The next morning before we left Pisac, we went there for breakfast and for $3 US dollars, I had all you can eat pancakes. If you ever go to Peru, you need to make a stop in Pisac just to eat at this restaurant because everything was so good.

Words of the day: sabor=flavor, pancacas=pancakes

Cusco

Hello again, thanks to Gina and Alvin for reminding me that it was time for a Chile update! The last three weeks or so have been quite a whirlwind. My parents arrived in Santiago on Wednesday, September 9th and on Thursday, September 10th, I had two papers due in addition to a 50-70 minute presentation on a 140 page book for my environmental economics class. Needless to say, I was ecstatic to get on the plane to Peru on Friday morning. From Santiago, we flew to Lima and then from Lima to Cusco. When filling in our customs papers for Peru, my dad asked me what I wrote down for my occupation. I told him "student" and asked what he wrote to which he naturally replied "astronaut", showing me his customs card. Laughs ensued between my mom, dad and I especially when my mom said that when the Peruvian police stopped and questioned him, she and I would walk away and pretend not to know Astronaut Steven White. While the pilot was attempting to land in Cusco, he could not get a visual of the runway and told us that he would circle for 15 minutes and if a visual could not be confirmed, we would return to Lima. Luckily, we landed on the second attempt.

Cusco primarily serves as a tourist destination on the road to Machu Picchu. Filled with artensian craft markets (which all the look the same after awhile), Peruvians dressed in native clothing charging tourists to take pictures with them and aggressive street peddlers demanding that you look at their drawings/necklaces/take a card for their masaje or massage business. Located at approximately 11,000 feet (according to my trusty friend Wikipedia), it took a little time to adjust to the drastic change in altitude. Coca tea made with coca leaves is the natural remedy promoted by the Peruvians to deal with the altitude so we drank the tea and for the most part avoided major altitude induced headaches. Our second day in Cusco, we toured the ruins around the city and some of the museums. 

The museum Qoricancha showcased the excellent craftsmanship of the Incas. The seams in between these rock blocks are practically nonexistent, not even a sheet of paper could slip in between them!

The Cathedral of Cusco....I am not really a fan because it was high way robbery to get into this Catholic Church and our guide told us that only 8% of the proceeds go to education in Cusco meanwhile 30% goes to the Church.

The view from the Museo de Sitio de Quricancha

Next we traveled to the Saqsayhuamán ruins which are considered to be pre-Incan ruins. 

At the ruins of Tambomachay, our guide told us that some legends say this is the Fountain of Youth. And here is Steve filling up his Nalgene with Fountain of Youth water.

Unlike Santiago, Cusco was filled with Mexican food restaurants so I was a happy camper in this city.

Words of the day: No me gustaría un masaje=I would not like a massage,  plata=money, las ruinas=the ruins, astronauta=astronaut

The Arrival of Colleen and Steve

Colleen and Steve have arrived in Santiago, Chile safe and sound. 

That is all.

Words of the day: El vuelo=flight, el avión=airplane

Death March through the Cordillera

As part of the Education Abroad Program in Chile, we can participate in three cultural activities which include a snow/ski day in the Andes, a trip to Valparaiso, a day spent learning about Mapuche culture and heritage, a viaje (trip) visiting Chile's agricultural valley and a trekking weekend in the Andes. 

At the beginning of the program, I was disappointed because I was not chosen to go on the weekend trekking adventure. Nonetheless, I was determined to get on the trip somehow. Monday morning (August 24th) I emailed the EAP coordinator asking if there were any more spots available for the trip. Ten minutes after I sent my email, she sent a message to everyone on the trekking waitlist saying that an extra spot had opened up and the first person who sent her a response would get the spot. So the spot was mine! On Saturday, August 29th, we met at 11:00pm at Campus Oriente and after an hour and a half bus ride deep into the Cordillera, we began our trekking adventure. On the first day, the hike was very pleasant, not strenuous and by 5:00pm we made it to our camping ground. Since the trekking weekend was booked through an outdoor adventure company, our six guides did all the grunt work and carried the tents and dinner for thirty five people. Dinner consisted of ravolis and a packet of kiwi flavored powder to make even more delicious the taste of the nearby stream water where we all refilled our waterbottles (I'm joking, the water tasted like dirt). Around 10:00pm, we headed to the tents to sleep. We woke up at 6:30am the next morning to begin our long long long day of trekking up to the Cerro Durazno.

This is where we started on  Saturday morning and the top of the mountain is where we ended up by Saturday afternoon. It was a magical/my butt still hurts when I think about it experience.

The second day of trekking was unbelievable. We literally climbed straight up the back of mountain. As we climbed, we began to see increasing numbers of snow patches and eventually, we were trekking through the snow. Unfortunately, most of us had no idea that trekking would involve climbing up the mountain in snow drifts up to our knees so we were ill prepared with our running shoes, sweatpants and jeans. From 12:00pm until I returned to Santiago at 9:00pm, my shoes and socks were completely soaked. As you can see from the picture below, we followed the foot steps created by the guide but frequently, the snow steps would give way and you would be stuck in the snow past your knee or for height challenged people like myself, around mid thigh. 

And we begin our climb.....up! up! and away we go!

The most memorable part of the trip was climbing up what felt like a practically vertical surface. At one point, we were reaching for branches from nearby bushes to prevent falling down the mountain because of the slippery sludge created by the dirt and melting snow.

Where's Waldo? Ten points if you can find me.

Still smiling! And representing UC Davis Women's Rugby from the top of the Andes.

After an exhausting climb, we reached the top, took a 20 minute break and proceeded to climb back down the mountain. 

Climbing/running down the mountain.

At 7:00pm, we were all very happy to climb on the bus back to Santiago. 

Byebye! Have a good weekend! I will be writing papers all weekend for my classes so email me and tell me about your life because I will be looking for distractions! ecwhite@ucdavis.edu

Words of the day: consejos=advice, voy a morir=I am going to die, mojado=wet, mis zapatos y mis calcetines son mojados=my shoes and my socks are wet, dolor=pain