It´s Pouring

Hola,

It´s been pouring rain all night and all mourning, and will probably continue all day. Luckily I have my Cusco-tested rain poncho. It´s not very elegent, but it keeps me dry.

I´ve given up the ideal of looking stylish. I´ve been wearing the same t-shirts and jeans for several months now. No make-up. Hair in a ponytail most of the time. I´ve lost a lot of weight, but not enough to fit into clothing sold down here. They seem to think women are skinnier than they are. Some of the women are very thin, but most are normal and a few are overweight. And women here wear their clothes very snugly. But even with my new thin-ness, I can´t fit into the clothing available for gorditas (fat women). Sigh.

Today walking from the subte stop to the foundation was alot easier. The street normally bustling with pedestrians crawling or racing down the sidewalk, and sellers of umbrellas or some useless gadget or toy. In front of most stores there are people handing out fliers to intice shoppers into the stores. And there are the bus stops and the people waiting for the bus. So walking down the sidewalk from the subte to work is really an obstacle course. Today there were fewer people, but those people had umbrellas. I decided to forego the umbrella and use the poncho to make the walk a little less challenging.

And this morning, the park through which I pass each day, was empty. Usually it´s packed with people awaiting the bus, vagrants, people meeting and waiting for others, christians preaching, kids playing, trash and unbelieveable smells.

There is a monument in the middle of the park. This is where the cats live. There are a hundred cats that I can see, and there are nooks where I´m sure more cats are lurking. They seem quite content to be there. There are not cat fights. And this morning, the cats were the being hanging out in the park, sheltered by the monuments, watching the people scurry by.

I think the rain just got harder. It´s like God turned firehose on Buenos Aires. It´s incredible! And I have to go outside now. Great.

By the way, I´ve added some more photos to past posts.

Need to get going.
cheers,
Stacey

Buenos Aires

Hola,

Buenos Aires is great!

I arrived a little over a week ago, and have been busy wandering the streets, exploring neighborhoods, hanging out at cafes. Crucial activities.

If you appreciate big cities, then Buenos Aires is a special treat. It´s noisey and chaotic and people walk like their pants are on fire. Cars DO stop for pedestrians here. There´s the Subte (the subway), and over 400 different colectivos (buses). The blocks are long, the avenues wide. And for a moment, on certain streets, if I don´t look at the names of stores or at the billboards too closely, I feel like I´m back in New York City. Not the NYC of today, but the New York City I recall from 20 years ago (yes, there is a difference). The streets are full of business people, tourists, students, average people, wealthy people, beggars. Trash is everywhere. The Subte smells of people, but it is very clean. It´s a big, beautiful, vibrant city.

And the neighborhoods! Each one has it´s own personality. The architecture is different in each one. Old and majestic buildings, new and metalic ones. The buildings in some neighborhoods are painted bright colors -- pink, turquoise, yellow, orange, lime green. There are lots of trees and parks and green space. The blocks can be long, and the distances great. Even one or two hours of meandering doesn´t scratch the surface.

I´m staying with a family instead of in an apartment as I had originally planned. The taxi pulled up to the beautiful old house on Sunday, and I was met by this wonderful woman, and so I decided not to move. The house from the outside is not much to speak of, but that seems to be the case for most of these houses in the countries I have visited in Latin America. But once inside, it´s a palace. There are a million bedrooms, a large backyard, a spacious kitchen, a livingroom with a chimney, a familyroom, and a couple of decks upstairs.

The owner of the house is Alicia. Alicia is ten years older than I, and has four teenaged childeren. Three girls and a boy. There is no husband. I don´t know if they are separated. No speaks of him. I should ask. And there is a Canadian student who has been living with them for almost a year. He is studying spanish and taking classes at one of the universities. And despite the number of people living in this house, you don´t hear them. It´s very quiet.

Alicia is bright and has a great sense of humor, when I can understand what she says. The accent is very different, and I have difficulty understanding much of what the Argentinians say. She used to work doing something with taxes, but for some reason no longer works (not by her choice, I think), and currently brings in income by renting rooms in her house and in another building she owns. This what I think I heard. Anyway, I enjoy talking with her even if I only understand half of what she says.

As for my work....
I´m working at foundation called Fundamind. Fundamind provides services to poor children and families, most of whom are suffering from AIDS. They do alot of AIDS prevention training in high schools and in the community. They help kids and families get the medical treatment they need, and provide any needed psychological counseling. They teach women how to sew using sewing machines so they can get work. They have kindergarten during the day, and help kids with homework during the evenings. And they support a couple of soupkitchens in the community. A few nights a week I help kids with their English homework. During the day I´m writing an English presentation and strategy to be used to solicit donations and support from foreign companies and donors. They have been in operation since 1990, and receive support from several international organizations, as well as from Argentine donors. So far I´m enjoying the work.

Last weekend I went to Mendoza. Mendoza is on the other side of the country, to the north. It is famous for wine. There are many vineyards in and around Mendoza. The area is extremely arid, and this results in excellent, full-bodied red and white wines. The Malbec grape produces excellent wine here.

I stayed at the Cavas Wine Lodge, a high-end resort located about 35 minutes outside of Mendoza. It´s in the middle of a vineyard. There are only 10 or so rooms at this resort. Each room is really a small house. I had a private dipping pool on the patio, and an outside fireplace on the upstairs patio. The inside was gorgeous. The price of the room included all transportation, all activities, a massage, and all food (consumed at the resort, and at local restaurants as well). I had to pay extra for wine. The wine ranged in price from affordable to outrageous, but everything I drank was excellent. The food was amazing. You could eat in your room or in the diningroom. All food was gourmet quality.

One night I ate at a local famous restaurant called 1884. The chef is one of the top 50 chefs in the world. And I only paid for the wine I consumed. The dinner and ambiance were exquisite. It´s been a while since I have eaten such divine food.

And such as been my life these last few days.
I need to get off the internet. I´ve been here way too many hours (yes, hours).

Time to go roam the city.
cheers,
Stacey

Machu Picchu

In a word: Amazing

Words cannot express the beauty you experience in person.

I took the train to Aguas Calientes on Tuesday, and then the bus on Wednesday morning to meet the Inca Trail group with whom I would have traveled had I done the Inca Trail. We entered the site at 8 AM. When you turn the corner, you see a city of ruins floating in fog. As the fog slowly lifts, you see that Machu Picchu is on a mountain peak, and is surrounded by other mountain peaks. The ruins suggest buildings and other structures that made up the city of Machu Picchu. And given that about 2000 tourist visit the site daily, Machu Picchu is in amazingly great condition.

And what is even more amazing is the fact that the Incas moved many huge stones from mountains far a way. The moved them UP and DOWN the mountains. They didn't use metal tools to cut, carve or polish these stones. They used other stones, wood, and water to cut and shape these intricately carved stones. And these structures were so well designed that they survived 400 years of earthquakes. And they survived the Spanish Conquistadors because the Spanish never knew that Machu Picchu existed. Thank goodness for that.

The tour guide took us the more famous points in the city, and explained the history of the area. After he was finished, we were left to explore on our own for a few hours. I wandered another hour before heading back to Aguas Calientes. I left at about 11:30 AM, the time when bus loads of tourists started arriving. When you take the train from Cusco, you arrive in Aguas Calientes at about 11 AM. And then you arrive by bus at Machu Picchu at 11:30. When the hordes arrive, the magic of the place diminishes. It was so worth spending the night at Aguas Calientes so that I could have an early start the next day.

cheers,
Stacey

Cusco

¡Hola!

Cusco is wonderful, despite all the foreigners. And it seems so odd to see so many non-Peruvian faces on the street after having spent four weeks in Ayacucho where every foreign face was a surprise.

Tourism has served the city well. The buildings and streets are well maintained. This morning I visited an area that doesn´t see much tourism and the contrast in the state of the infrastructure was great.

I arrived yesterday morning after an uneventful trip. In the afternoon I took a tour of several Incan ruins located within a 45 minute drive outside of Cusco in the mountains -- Sacsayhuaman, Quenka, Puca Pucara (I think) and a third place whose name I can´t recall at the moment. All were amazing as ruins. You can only imagine how they were in their original state when the Incas used them. The Incas were skilled craftsman and builders, especially when you consider the rudimentary tools they used. Many of these structures would probably still remain in tact had the Spaniards not destroyed them. The remaining structures that have survived for 500 years, still function.

This morning I visited one Incan ruin and one pre-Incan ruin (the Wari who preceded the Incas) that are located outside of Cuzco. Most travelers don´t have the time to visit these sites, and so the sites are tourist free and tranquil. They are part of the Andean country side. And I´ll say it again: The Andes are f***ing amazing. I can´t get enough of their beauty.

My tour guide was excellent. Arturo knew so much history about the area and the Incas. He explained everything in Spanish, and I understood it all!

Tomorrow I go to Macchu Picchu. I´m so glad I cancel my four day Inca Trail hike. While I love these mountains, my body just can´t cope. I´ve been living in the mountains at over 10k feet ASL for the last nine weeks and my breathing STILL hasn´t adapted. It´s so frustrating. Walking four days to Macchu Picchu would be hell for me. So, I will take the train tomorrow and meet the tour guide at the gate the following day. I´ll still get to see the splendor of Macchu Picchu without the agony and stress.

Cheers,
Stacey

A Detour

¡Hola!

This morning was not a good morning.

Ava, another volunteer, and I were supposed to take an early morning flight to Lima this morning. However, the planes were delayed about one and a half hours due to inclimate weather, so I missed my connecting flight to Cuzco.

But even if the plane had arrivedon time in Lima , there would have been some confusion about which airline I was to fly to Cuzco. The travel agent gave me paper receipt for a flight on one airline, but then last night "someone" left me a message telling me that my flight was with a different airline. So when I arrived in Lima, I spent several hours trying to figure out what flight I was supposed to have taken. I eventually tracked down the guy who made the arrangements for me, and he sorted everything out. Unfortunately the result was that I would have to spend the night in Lima so that I can catch a flight to Cuzco tomorrow morning. The travel agency is paying for my hotel tonight.

So I had my first glimpse of Lima. Lima is much better than I had expected it to be. And it is VERY DIFFERENT than Ayacucho. This afternoon I explored the area around the Plaza Mayor (also called the Plaza de Armas). The area is colonial, with many pastel colored buildings. There was an exhibition of "before" and "after" photos of different areas around Lima. Apparently the mayor has implemented a lot of urban improvements around the city. The parts of the city I have seen so far are quite nice.

Tomorrow I will catch an early flight to Cuzco. I can hardly wait. The pictures I´ve seen are amazing.

cheers,
Stacey

Take a Seat

¡Hola!

Yesterday I bought 45 desks for the school that´s located near the prison. This school is quite poor. There are about 200 students and not enough desks. A catholic school was selling their old desks to make room for new ones, so I decided to buy the remaining desks and donate them to the school in need. It was only 45 desks, but now 45 more students have places to sit.

cheers,
Stacey

Leaving Ayacucho

¡Hola!

I know I haven´t written for a while, but I´ve been busy BEING SICK!!!!! ¡¡¡¡¡Again!!!!! I THOUGHT I would escape the dreaded gripe (the flu in spanish) this time, but NOOOOO. And each time seems worse than the last. Unfortunately I won´t be finished recuperating in time for my planned four day Inca Trail hike to Macchu Picchu. Looks like I´ll have to take the train to Macchu Picchu. Darn.

Friday, tomorrow, is my last day in Ayacucho. My flight to Lima, and then Cuzco, is early Saturday morning. I am so ready to leave. I will spend five days in Cuzco, two days in Lima, and then it´s on to ARGENTINA!!! Buenas Aires, here I come.

I didn´t tell you about the Llama Trek.

Three weekends ago five of us -- the more mature ladies -- went on a two-day llama trek in the mountains about two hours north of here. Ayacucho is at about 10K ft ASL. The llama trek started and ended at 13K ft. The highest point we climbed was a little over 14,500 ft.

The drive was spectacular. The vegetation changed as we climed in altitude. The vegetation in Ayacucho is mostly desert: lots of cactus and other succulents, a little grass, and some sorry trees. As we climbed, there were more trees and more vegetation, then these were replaced with short grass that looked like moss. No trees. Some of this moss stuff was soft and spongey, and some was sharp and prickly. And the mountains themselves were magnificent. In the distance you could see a couple of snow capped mountains.

We were greeted at our starting point by a herd of llamas. Black ones, brown ones, white ones and multicolored ones. All wore dangling red yarn earrings (used for identification purposes). A few wore cow bells which jangled as the herd approached us. We could hear the bells before we could see the llamas. The llamas traveled in a tight group, and they refused to have their photos taken. Each time I pointed my camera in their direction, they would ALL turn and point their butts in my direction. I have lots of llama butt shots.

The llamas were attended by three young men and two horses. The llamas and the horses carried our packs and supplies. Llamas look cute, but are not agreable animals. The llamas selected to carry the supplies were none too happy about the task. The three men had to wrestle each llama to tie the packs down. Disgruntled llamas can be very vocal. The llamas accompanied us as we walked to our campsite.

The three young men seemed to be between 15 and 19 years old. They were cousins. One wore large gaudy fake flowers on his hat to signal that he was single and looking for a girlfriend. That certainly makes dating easier. They didn´t spend any time with us as they tended to walk way ahead of us. Only one of the three spoke spanish; the other two spoke quechua.

At this point I don´t remember how many miles we walked, but it took us 6 hours to hike to our campsite. Hiking at 14,500 feet is very slow. As you ascend, your heart beats faster and your legs feel like lead. We stopped alot for breathing breaks. One of the women in our group got altitude sickness at 14k feet. Her head felt like it was going to explode, and she was nauseated. At 14,300 or so, my legs felt so heavy that I couldn´t take one more step. I decided to take up the offer to ride one of the horses. Climbing steep mountains on horseback is exciting. I had to have faith that the horse knew where to step because I certainly had no control in the matter. Once we reached 14,500 feet, I got off the horse and walked the remaining hour to the campsite. The other woman had to continue on horseback she was so ill.

The hike was amazing. It was a sunny, but windy day. And at that altitude, windy meant cold. We passed lakes, and groups of grazing llamas and alpacas. This is the season where llamas and alpacas give birth, so we also saw lots of new borns grazing with their mothers. Our picnic lunch was especially wonderful so high in the mountains surrounded by llamas.

At one point we passed a hamlet of what looked like abandoned stone houses. Since the families need to move a lot to provide food for their grazing animals, they take up residence in these hamlets as needed. These houses looked like they were built 400 years ago. They live in single room houses. The families sleep, cook, and store supplies in a space that is about 8 feet by 5 feet. They burn llama poop and peat moss for fuel.

Our campsite was a one room school house. School was not in session, so we were able to use it to sleep. We slept in sleeping bags on a long mattress. And once the sun set it was so darn cold we all climbed into our sleeping bags for warmth. The toilet was an outhouse. This outhouse didn´t smell bad, probably because the locals didn´t use it. Don´t know where they went to do their business.

The next morning we watched an alpaca get sheered. Alpacas as a little smaller than llamas, and the wool is much softer. Alpacas don´t seem to enjoy being sheered. The first challenge is to capture the alpaca. The guy doing the sheering used a lasso to catch an alpaca. It took a couple of tries until he cought the one he wanted. And what a fight this alpaca put up! They make a very high pitched squeal when they are upset. You wouldn´t expect this sound from such a large animal. Once caught, the alpaca is wrestled to the ground, and it´s legs are tied together. The sheering guy kneels on the alpaca´s neck as he sheers it. One adult alpaca yields about six pounds of wool.

While the alpaca was being sheered, a baby alpaca was born in the pen. It came so quickly and silently. And within 30 minutes it was up and walking and grazing with it´s mom. Another thing happened once the baby was born. Suddenly several of the alpacas started mating. There were four couples going at it within minutes of the birth. All the excitement took away from the alpaca sheering demonstration.

After the sheering and mating demonstration, we took a horse ride around the area. That was enjoyable. There weren´t many people around because that weekend was the official start of Carnival. Most people were down in Ayacucho getting drunk, spraying people with water or shaving cream, or enjoying the parades.

When it was time to return home, our van never arrived. I suppose it broke down somewhere. So we had to walk back to the main road to catch a bus back to Ayacucho. Our guide decided that we should take a short cut down the mountain and across a ravine instead of staying on the easy-to-navigate dirt road. This was the long march of hell - in the rain. After two hours of walking we made to the road.

The bus that picked us up was quite an experience. It was a microbus that was supposed to carry about 20 passengers, but there were easily 35 people and all their parcels, two sheep tied to the roof, and a sack full of live guinea pigs (apparently one guinea pig escaped). There were lots of interesting smells and sounds. This was my first chicken bus ride.

And that was the llama trek.

That´s all for now.

Cheers,
Stacey