Lluvia, turismo y descriminación

Dear all,
I owe you a blog about my second time Machu Picchu, so here it comes…but I have to warn you beforehand, it was a day with more insights than tourists sights, so this blog might be more about my insights than about Machu Picchu itself…
It all started the day before, Tuesday 29th of March. The tickets for the kids had been given out by a special program for poor people and, in their right, they refused to give two extra tickets for gringas who could perfectly pay for it themselves…So Levana and I had to go and organize the thing on our own…Now, I have to explain something to you about the fabulously working Peruvian railway system which is owned by the even more fabulous company PeruRail. And I can tell you dutchies who are reading this: NS together with ProRail are actually really nice compared to this (train is the only way to get to Machu Picchu if you don’t want a very adventurous trip – see previous blog)… In Peru, you know, there is still some kind of Apartheid: Peruvians have their national trains and are not allowed on the Gringo train (which is of course much more luxurious) and gringos have their tourist trains and are by no means allowed on the national train. I mean, of course I do agree that we can pay a bit more than the Peruvians for our train ride, but why do it have to be different trains? Why can’t Peruvians enjoy nice trains in their own country, having to travel in some kind of perverted second class with its own time table and engine? Anyway…this frustration apart, Levana and I actually really wanted to travel together with the kids (that was the most fun part) and so we visited two different offices of our PeruRail friends to try and get it organized. In the first office they were nice but they did not sell tickets for the national train, in the second office they did sell tickets for the national train but they were not nice!!! How unfortunate… We did everything: we had a letter of recommendation from Inti, we pleaded, we offered to pay at least tourist class price for the second class train, we explained that we really wanted to go with the kids, we sighted, we almost cried but nothing did the trick…gringas without a residence permit were NOT, I repeat, NOT aloud on the national second class train no matter what! This meant that our train also departed on another time as the train in which the kids were travelling, which meant that we also had to take another bus (1,5hours) to get to the train station. I must say we had a very enjoyable and relaxed trip but we were both quite frustrated from the day before. In Aguas Calientes, the town at the foot of Machu Picchu, we waited for about an hour until the train of the kids arrived. A happy reunion followed and the kids gave us an update about who had thrown up how many times in the bus…after quite some organization of tickets and busses we finally got up at the entrance of Machu Picchu and then it started to rain…we did not know it at that point, but during that day, the rain would not stop anymore…we waited for 20 minutes until we accepted our fate and stepped into the rain. Quite many kids had not brought the poncho that had been advised for the simple reason that they did not have one and within 15 minutes half of them were soaked. One of the older girls who studies tourism tried to give us a tour, but people were busier with getting cold and wet than with listening to her, and most of the time we spent it in different leaky shelters along our way. I was quite disappointed with Pachamama, why not grant these kids a nice and sunny day up here he?! But she refused and the rain kept pouring down…how thankful I was, only then, for the bright and sunny day I had up there with Lotte and Christoph! We decided to head to the entrance around four and then ate the lunch under some leaky sun screens. By the end of the meal some of the kids were shaking with cold and had blue lips. I took a little one on my lap in the bus, putting my fleece around him. Within 3 minutes he was asleep and I even more wet. There had been nothing really planned for the three hours until their train would leave but luckily I found a primary school which lessons were just about to end and where we could warm up in a warm classroom with…a TV!
Soon Levana and I had to leave for our train and we waited in Ollantaytambo for the kids in the next train. When we received them I walked Jimmy to the bus and he stopped me asking: ‘Profe, what happens when your heart freezes?’ without really thinking about it I replied that you probably die when your heart freezes. I only realized what I had said when he looked at me with frightened eyes, and almost crying said: ‘it really hurts!’. I took him into the bus, took off my soaked hiking boots and got him on my knees trying to get him a bit warm. The bus had not even left yet or he was fast a sleep. He assured me yesterday that his heart no longer hurts!
It was 23.00, pitch dark and most kids were sleeping when the bus was stopped by the police. They came into the bus, had a quick look around, went out again and ordered the director out. The driver – they said – had no right to transport us, because on the bus it said ‘Servício Turístico’ (they all do) and we were obviously NOT tourists…
By this time I had steam coming out of my ears… ‘WHAT? Not tourists?! They are coming straight from freaking Machu Picchu you idiot! How touristy do you want it to get?! Just because they look poor and they look Peruvian, what right do you have to tell them that they do not have the right to consider themselves tourists?! What kind of discrimination is this? They have a once in a life time experience, for which they have to beg at some special organization otherwise they would not even be able to pay the visit of a place build by their ancestors, that is easier for me to reach then for them, and you come up in the middle of the night, telling us we have to find a bus that does not say Servício Turístico on it (they do not exist) because these people do not have the right to call themselves tourists on this day?! Go…yourself!’
But I had a sleeping child on my lap, and moreover I felt that, as the only gringa in the bus, I might better leave this to other people, so I sat quietly biting my lip…in the end after some more complaints, grunts and insults from both sides they let us go and everything got calm and sleepy again. But I could not sleep. How can people be so discriminatory toward their fellow citizens? Why does a train company only show its best face to foreigners? Why do police officers do not consider the possibility of some poor kids having right to a special day out? Why are people so unfriendly to each other? The day before I had actually, for the first time in my life, felt to a certain extend discriminated against…but after this incident I realized that it was not I who was discriminated against (even though I was not aloud to go on the national train) but the Peruvians themselves, in their own country, because they cannot sit on the nice train, because most of them cannot even afford to visit their own Machu Picchu, because they cannot afford a lot of other things, and because their own policemen treat them like shit…
Sitting there, looking at Jimmy’s perfect little sleeping face that reminded me of the Buddha’s at Angkor Wat I was startled at the different faces of this world, how beautiful and how horrible, and how intertwined…

Love,
Sara


Arrival of the kids


Waiting for the rain that never stopped


Waiting...


Rainy Machu Picchu with rainy people


With Celia


So different...


You can always be cool, wathever happens!


Another group picture!


A nice and warm calss room to stop shivering...

Caminando por tierras sagradas

Dear all,
One and a half day after Lotte and Christoph left, exactly three weeks before I leave Cusco and just before I go the the Plaza de Armas to hopefully collect the cameras with which four shoe shining boys photographed their lives, I finally found a little space of time in which I can attempt to put all the beautiful moments of the last two weeks in to a readable blog.
Tonight exactly two weeks ago I was impatiently reading a book and looking out of the window to see if it was a taxi stopping in front of the door. And then, still suddenly, they were there, standing in front of my light blue iron door: Lotte and Christoph! Although I had been looking forward to their arrival for quite a while, it was still a bit unreal that they were here, in my Cusco life, as if fallen from the sky!


They are here!!!

Sunday we went to see the last day of Carnival in a very little village one hour from here called Lucre. It was nice to get out of the city, see one of those little sleepy towns, walk around there a bit and assist the Carnival festivities. As the only gringos in town we were welcomed over the microphone and directed to the seats right in front of the stage, the indicated place for ‘nuestros amigos extranjeros’ the host thought :) Although it was rainy and cold it was nice to see all those bright colored dress and all those people, young and old, who had come from their isolated communities to dance or watch the dances here in this little town.


Carnival in Lucre


Spectators

Monday I took Lotte and Christoph to Inti and it was actually quite special to be able to show them the place that has started to mean so much to me, to introduce them to kids that have taken an important place in my heart in the last weeks! We also went around Cusco, for Lotte and Christioph to get to know the city a bit and to organize the trip of the coming days.
Tuesday we took the bus to Quillabamba and got off, already in the dark, in the tiny little town of Santa Maria. There we got a taxi to the also tiny little and even more isolated town of Santa Teresa. The taxi driver had warned us that the road was bad because of landslides and true, we were not even driving for fifteen minutes or there was a van stuck in the mud that one landslide had left behind. Lotte and I first thought this was men’s business and sat with the other women who were watching the men pulling and pushing the van. But soon our ‘emancipate’ nature could not stand this and we were standing, covered in mud, behind the van, our full weight in the struggle. After a while we managed to get the van out. The taxi behind us got up at once but our own taxi needed three tries and some pushing and when it arrived on top it had a leaky tire…so we squeezed ourselves in the van and surrounded by a smell of coca leaves, sweat and dust we closed out eyes once in a while not to see the abysm that led, on our left, to the wild streaming river below. Once in a while somebody had to go out to take some stones off the road, other times we had to drive through considerable streams of water or over way too narrow bridges. I swear, I prayed! Just a few minutes drive before Santa Teresa the taxi in front of us had stopped and so we couldn’t pass. A small exploratory journey outside was enough to see why. A part of the road had just disappeared into the abysm and a bit further you could hear stones falling down. After a bit of discussion cars were called to come and pick us up from the other side and we all walked past the crumbling road and the falling stones, to climb into the back of a random car and finally arrive in Santa Teresa, with a story to tell to our children and grandchildren :) In Santa Teresa we found the nicest camping, had a good night of sleep and woke up the next morning to see the mist slowly reveal a beautiful cloud forest landscape.


Cloud forest


Our `campsite´

We took a taxi for another half an hour and then walked the train tracks to Aguas Calientes, the town at the foot of Machu Picchu. It was a beautiful walk even though it rained almost continuously.


The walk along the train tracks

In Aguas Calientes we pitched our tent and went into this the horrible, overpriced and unfriendly town to fix everything we needed for the next day: information, food and overpriced tickets. We had an early night in our tent next to the raging river Vilcanota that made a point in showing humanity the less friendly face of Pacha Mama. Pacha Mama showed us her friendly face the next day however, because we had splendid weather at Machu Picchu. Christoph walked up and Lotte and I went up by bus. We entered the sanctuary at around 7.15, just when the mist was starting to take leave. It was very special to be there…I had wanting to come here for so long, we had circled this mountain the whole previous day, coming each time closer to this place that somehow has something magic. I had been prepared for the fact that it might be less that I expected but it was not. Seeing those perfectly geometrical figures with the beautiful mountain watching their back appear, slowly from the mist, was really something spectacular. I had to pinch myself once in a while to realize ‘I am really here!’
We had a friendly guide that took us around for two hours and then left us at the foot of Wayna Picchu the mountain you all know from the postcard pictures of Machu Picchu. The climb up there was deadly steep, especially as our water and food was in the mandatory locker. But we made it up there and the view was absolutely stunning! After our descent we had lunch and then hung around the ruined for another hour or so, just to feel the atmosphere, the sun and to enjoy the gorgeous views. We walked down to Aguas Calientes which killed our knees step by step but was a nice way to let go of the place and come into the ‘normal’ world again.


Machu Picchu waking up


Lama waking up!


Tempel of the sun


Royal entrance door


Postcard view, it still feels unreal that I made this picture!


Looking down at Machu Picchu from Wayna Picchu

On Friday we took the way too expensive train to Ollantayambo, firstly because it saved us a lot of time and secondly because none of us was feeling really like being on the road between Santa Teresa and Santa Maria again…at 11.40 we arrived in the lovely town of Ollantaytambo, pitched our tent in the beautiful garden of a hostel, had some lunch and then went on a stunning walk along one of the surrounding mountains. The view, with the valley and its river, the green fields and the snowy mountain tops far away, was breathtaking. The temperature was nice and I had one of those profoundly happy moments of pure thankfulness!


Enjoying the good things in life


Nice walks


View over Ollantaytambo


Sistas


Be-a-utiful!

Saturday we took a van to Urubamba and from there a combi to Maras, a little forgotten town already on the planalto that leads eventually to Cusco. From Maras, we walked through the incredibly green fields with again the snowy mountains at the horizon to the town of Moray, known for its Inca ruins in circular form were plants were acclimatized in all kinds of different artificially created climatic spheres. Although the acoustic of the place was amazing the walk was worth the effort in itself! We took a van back to Maras and from there the locals who were preparing for a procession to honor Saint Joseph indicated us the way to the Salineras, the Inca build but still used salt winning reservoirs. This walk was amazing as well (and it was down hill!). Our legs were starting to get used to the walking and it was really relaxing. The salt reservoirs were stunning and through them we walked all the way down to the road back to Ollantaytambo.


Gender relations on the planalto :)


Moray


`Ok lady, if you don´t have sweats for us, than at least take a picture of us!´


Salinas

Sunday we made our way back to Cusco with a small detour over Pisac to come home dirty, tired but absolutely satisfied.


Pisac market

For me, after such a week of holidays, knowing that I had only 4 weeks left and really a lot to do, to get ‘back to business’ was hard the first day. However the ever enthusiastic welcoming by the kids made me happy again and soon I was in the middle of it again!
Lotte ad Christoph left Thursday night to La Paz to go and explore the Bolivian jungle and to continue their bi-continental trip! It was really very nice to have them here, to be able to show them what I am doing here, and to share with them those wonderful days.
However it ‘has been decided for me’ that one time Machu Picchu was not enough :) Next Wednesday the teachers of Inti are realizing their long standing dream of taking the kids to Machu Picchu, and I am going along! Although it is going to cost me way too much money I’ll just put that under ‘research’ costs and I’ll have to live with that! I am really looking forward :)

Love
Sara

Ruinas, piñatas y la vida en general

Dear All!
I am sorry for the long silence…It was not meant to be that long, but life has been so busy that I can hardly find time to write a blog…What I did do is upload photos every time I was on a computer, so I got a lot of pictures for you!
Let´s see…where should I start…
Two weeks ago I went to Pisac, a village about an hour from here in the beautiful Valle Sagrado. I went with my flat mate Levana, Jorinde (also from my University) and some of her friends. Pisac is a little village known for its traditional market and impressive Inca ruins and so we decided to go check that out. The way there was already beautiful: first climbing out of Cusco, curve by curve being able to see the whole city from above. Then driving through the green mountains until descending into Valle Sagrado. In Pisac we decided to go straight to the ruins and leave the town for later. Although we were a bit shocked by the price the views were worth it! There were different groups of ruins and you could walk along them on you way back to Pisac. The first hour we had a beautiful sun, but soon there were terrifying dark clouds coming and the last hour we walked in the rain. That prevented us from hanging out much around the rest of the ruins, but it was a spectacular road down to the town and I couldn´t stop looking around marveled (and taking a lot of pictures). Once in town we were so exhausted from walking down a steep hill for an hour, so hungry and so wet that we headed straight to a nice little restaurant, were we had a great lunch and then we went home to sleep 
Besides that we had a party last Monday to celebrate the end of the holidays and that day was also used to celebrate the children´s birthdays, because they don´t get their own birthdayparty. It was a full afternoon. First I went with Levana to the house where I work on Wednesdays (in another barrio) to take the children from there to the house where the party would be. It was a bit of an adventure to take 10 kids in the Peruvian bus system, but we were quite lucky to catch a big bus and it all went very well. When we arrived the party had still not started, but soon it got going, with dancing, a lot of eating and the best part: piñatas!
Piñatas are a Spanish speaking country tradition in which the birthday boy/girl is blindfolded and turned around and then with a stick has to beat a colorful cardboard box that can have all kind of different shapes and that is filled with sweets until it bursts open and then all the guests dive to the floor to get as much candy as possible! We had three piñatas, one for the small children, one for the bigger children and one for the teenagers. It was really nice although the diving turned out to be quite a violent affair with these kids!!!
In the end there was cake, goodbyes and cleaning up. We left very happy and tired…
Furthermore my life revolves about busy weeks in the organization and busy weekends hanging on the main square where I got some friends among the shoe shining boys. Together we climb out of Cusco Valley to admire the city from above, hang around ruins, visit museums (yes, with 13 and 14 year old teenagers – it was their idea), me joke about people walking around and even have some serious conversations some times…With my roommates I go out for dinner and talk for long hours in our now rather busy home. And…today I went to get my new guitar, entirely made to suit my wishes, made by one of the brothers who are supposed to be the best guitar builders in Cusco! I am very happy. To tame that happiness my old enemy sinusitis turned up unexpectedly this night and is literally giving me headache (and other nasty side effects). Ah well, if I manage to rest tomorrow and behave a bit like I am actually ill I might be able to expulse him!
A much nicer visit, and expected with much more anxiety is the one of Lotte and Christoph who are honoring me with their visit in exactly one week!!! I am really looking forward to that! I am going to take a week off and then, finally, I will see Machupicchu…a place that has been on my ´list´ for quite some years now!
So my friends, next news will probably include pictures of that place and of my dear Lotte and Christoph!

Hasta Pronto!
Sara




Surroundings of my work 1


Surroundings of my work 2


The other house where I work


Getting the kids to the party


Cutest bros in town


Bailando


Piñata time


Diving onto the sweets


Pisac - Valle Sagrado


Beautiful Andes


Pisac ruins


The group


Ruins in the shape of a Condor


More ruins


The roas down to Pisac

La vida en Cusco

Dear all,
Two weeks have gone by but somehow it seems much longer! In these two weeks I have settled in, got into some kind of routine, memorized the names of almost all the kids I am working with, got sunburned and soaked with rain, wandered the little cobblestone streets of Cusco and sat in packed (mini)busses on the way to work, felt happy and sad, talked and read a lot of Spanish, strolled over packed markets to buy food, sat on park benches reading the Cusco newspaper, had conversations with shoes shining boys, sneaked into colonial churches and walked past impressive Inca walls, discovered a vegetarian restaurant where, for around €2, you can get a complete meal and well, I have lived the life of an anthropologist!
The place where I work is really nice, the children are friendly and inviting, love painting and drawing and enjoy actually everything you organize for them to do. Of course there are also some setbacks regarding how much of their life I am allowed to witness (restrictions from the organization) and, as expected, things in real life always look different than in your research proposal and so the necessary adjustments to questions/theory have to be made. Nevertheless it is an interesting place to be!
I actually like it to walk around somewhere with the eyes of an anthropologist through which everything is possible data and thus interesting…although it makes you go to bed at 22.00 completely tired it also makes the world a very interesting place, because every little thing can tell you something.
My normal week day looks more or less like this:
7.00 – getting up, shower, breakfast, coffee
8.00 – start writing, reading articles, looking at my data, going to internet, reading the newspaper…
12.15 – lunch
13.15 – take the bus to work
14.00 – start to work (painting, drawing, English, volleyball)
17.00 – clean up
17.20 – take the bus home, shopping, etc
19.00 – dinner
20.00 – typing out field notes and writing diary
22.00 – dive into bed :)

Weekends are different…if it doesn’t rain too much I hang out in the centre all day. Part of that day is past on skype because finally I can call to Europe at a time that people are still awake :) the rest of the time I wander through the streets, hang out on the Plaza de Armas, and try to have conversations with children working on the street (which, especially on Saturday, are quite a lot!).
The weather is crazy sometimes…at one moment you can be sitting in a t-shirt in the sun, getting terribly burned, the next it can start pouring with rain and you need a fleece and a jacket in order not to be cold…however last week it was quite constant with grey clouds and rain (at one time I saw the street literally transform into a river…), so it is great that this weekend finally the sun is out again! I took the opportunity to make some photos of the city so I’ll post them here for you, so that you can have an idea of my weekend ‘working environment’:) I haven’t made pictures in my week ‘working environment’ so those will come maybe next time!
Always happy to hear how you are all doing!
Love

Sara


A lost Inca king close to the famous stone with 12 sides


Cusco tourist city


Lamas!


Plaza San Blas


Part om my research population


Every street is beautiful!


Hats, skirts and beautiful colors


Plaza de Armas


Another beautiful street


The city creaping up the surrounding mountains