Back on Windarra

We flew back to Guayaquil on Tuesday, 10/22. It was good to get back to sea level. Wednesday we got the Reina de Camino bus to Bahia de Caraquez, Puerto Amistad and Windarra. It is good to be back on the boat and sleep in our own bed. We are back to wearing shorts and tshirts after jeans, turtle neck shirts and fleece jackets of Cusco, Peru.

 

I published a trip report for Machu Picchu and Cusco for folks who might be interested in taking an inland trip. We were limited on time so we chose to fly to Cusco.

 

If you are interested in details of our trip to Cuenca, please send me an email and I will write up a trip report for that.

 

Now it is time to do some boat chores to prepare for sailing down the coast.

 

Cheers,

Elaine and Rich

Sacred Valley Tour, 10/19

Friday, 10/18, we took the afternoon train back to Cusco. The taxi driver was there waiting with a sign with our names. We were ready to go to crash when we returned to Tayta Wasi Hostel.

Saturday at 8:15 am seemed early but we were in the lobby waiting for our bus tour of the Sacred Valley. We assumed that valley meant a place lower than Cusco, which was only partially true. Our first stop was the Pisac ruins. This particular Inca site is known for its rows and rows of terraces, unbroken by stairs. Stairs would require maintenance and would be affected by erosion. Instead, flags stones were built into the terrace walls as stairs. Until recently crops were grown in the terraces but as part of the UNESCO world heritage site agreement, farming has been stopped to avoid any damage to the walls. We hiked to a hut at the top of one part of the site, passed a cliff face dotted with holes. This was an Inca Cemetary and remains were found inside, some of which had been plundered by robbers looking for golden treasures. This site guarded the Urubamba valley and a pass leading into the jungle in the northeast. On the way back down to the valley the bus stopped in Pisac in case anyone wanted to buy any souvenirs. We saw three little girls in Quechua costumes, carrying baby goats and lambs, offering to pose for picture for some coins from the tourists.

After a long ride through the valley we stopped for a buffet lunch. 2 of our fellow tour mates were from Valparaiso, Chile, so we has some conversation with them.

Back on the bus and on to Ollantaytambo ruins. This site also has the characteristic terracing, similar to Pisac as well as a religious section on top where large stones were quarried from 6 km away, dragged across a river and then hauled up a ramp to the top. The stones are very smooth and very few markings are left. After the defeat of the Manca Inca at Saqsayhuaman, they retreated to this site. The Spanish were unable to scale the terraces under the rain of arrows and spears from above. To further defeat the Spanish, the Inca flooded the lands below and the Conquistadors and their horses were helplessly mired in mud. The victory was short lived and the Spanish returned in greater force and the Manca retreated to Vilcabamba.

Our next and final stop was Chinchero at 12,342 ft. There are more Inca ruins here but we were here to see more of the Quechua culture up close. 4 women, in full traditional Quechua garb welcomed us and demonstrate some of their culture. There is a plant that they use for soap and for washing their hair which they grate and mix with water and it produces suds like you would get from dish soap. They put in some raw sheep wool and it went from a dirty brown to a clean white. They also claim it prevents grey hair which might be true as I have not seen a single Quechua woman with grey hair. Other things they demonstrated was dying wool and hand spinning. Some of their weaving is very creative. Of course they also sold souvenirs but I guess that is all part of the deal.

We returned to our hostel tired from the long day and the altitudes and crawled under our mass of blankets.

Sent from SV Windarra iPad

Machu Picchu 10/17

13 09.460 S, 72 32.420 W, elevation 7970 feet

Machu Picchu means "Old Mountain", in the Quechua language of the indigenous people's of the Andes, the Incas. Wayna Picchu, the mountain you see in the post card pictures, means "Young Mountain".

This morning after breakfast we walked down the hill to the bus station and waited in line with everyone else who had arrived the night before and had not gotten up at the crack of dawn. It did not take long as the buses were continually pulling up to engorge more passengers. The ride up to the site takes about half an hour up several switchbacks. The town and river below getting smaller and smaller. The road is basically dirt with cobblestones around the curves to keep the road from becoming rutted. There were workers on the road filling in the potholes. Guardrails are few and far between and there were established pullout areas for when we met oncoming buses going down to pick up more tourists. We thought the road was pretty good especially compared to the Copper Canyon in Mexico. 

We arrived just before 8:00 am and looked for someone holding a white flag which would indicate our guide. The bus unloads just in front of the only hotel that is at the site itself. It has a small restaurant which is open for lunch for non hotel guests but we did not check it out. Each bus load of people try to pair up to guides and then go through the entrance where they stamp your ticket.

We found our guides and went through the gate and then started up the 100 meter footpath to the view point where you can take the classic postcard photograph and then climb a zigzagging staircase to enter the complex and to the Hut of the Caretaker of the Funerary Rock. Our group had both Spanish, French and English speakers so we split up. We went with the English speaking guide, Saul, along with the French folks. Saul is of Inca descent and has been a guide at Machu Picchu and the Inca trail for seven years. He took us off the main path to an area where we could sit down and rest and he could explain about the site without having to shout over other guides. 

It took about 80 years to build the complex. I call it that since the name Machu Picchu refers to the mountain, not to the city below and we do not know the name. 80 years represents the time the Incas started to build on the site until they abandoned it when they were conquered by the Spanish, at which time building had not been completed and the Incas destroyed parts of the Inca trail leading up to the site so that the Spanish would not find it. During Inca times, everyone, 16 to 65 years old, paid taxes, this could be in the form of good or services. To pay one's taxes, one would work on the construction of the complex for 3 months a year and before returning to their families. Over 20,000 people worked on the building of the complex at any one time. Workers were provided with food, a place to stay, music and plenty of coca leaves to keep them working all day long,

The complex provided housing for 500 royalty, priests, etc, on a permanent basis. Others may come to stay at the site temporarily for say religious ceremonies. We don't know the true purpose of the site. There is speculation that it might have been similar to a university where students would come to learn science, engineering, astronomy or agriculture or it might have been a religious or astronomy center as there are sacred stones as at other sites to determine the winter solstice. Other theories say it was a city of virgins or that it was built by aliens of the outer space kind. I think the university idea is good. Our guide also told us that the agriculture plots on the terraces were growing species of plants that were hybrids of plants commonly used in the region. Each terrace has a drainage system which allows the water to flow out, prevent erosion and the growing area from becoming waterlogged in the rainy season. 

Llamas, a sacred animal of the Incas, have some run of the place so occasionally you need to watch your step. 

It is hard to describe the place and not repeat what others have said. It does seem mystic or magical. A real estate agent would repeat the words, "Location, location, location". The site has access to spring water, commanding views of the valleys below, a climate such that food plants grow well and a supply of people in Cusco and the Sacred Valley in between to build and support the complex.

We hiked over much of the site. We decided to pass on the 2 hour climb up Wayna Picchu or the 1 1/2 hour climb up Machu Picchu. Just hiking in the main complex requires concentration as the rocks in the path are not even, nor are the risers in the stairs. I imagine the architect telling the king that this would be done in the final phases after years 80, 81, 82....

Aguas Calientes, 10/16

13 10.538 S, 072 35.752 W

At kilometer 86

We were up early and packed to meet our taxi ride to the train station at Poroy. We drove high up into the hill surrounding Cusco to find the pass to the next valley where Poroy is located. The train boards at 7:12 am and left the station on time at 7:42. It was full. There was a couple from Mexico across from us, some gentlemen from Korea in front plus many others. This was the Expedition train, $68 per person, one way.

The train wove through valleys where corn stalk were predominant. Homes were simple structures of mud and straw bricks with corrugated metal roofs. We saw pigs and piglets, sheep, cows, chickens, and dogs. The train passed through the towns of Pisac, Urubamba, Ollantaytambo, on the way to Aguas Calientes, the end of the line before Machu Picchu. We saw more Inca ruins along the way. Before Ollantaytambo we saw 3 dwellings precariously perched on the side of a mountain where some intrepid mountain guides had buuilt structures for climbers to stay as they climbed upward. At kilometer 86, we stopped to let off passengers who were going to do the 4 day trek on the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. We watched them don their gear, cross the narrow suspension bridge across the Rio Urubamba and start the hike upward. Better them than I. 

Check out this website http://www.naturavive.com/index.php/en/ on the dwellings on this cliff side.

At Aguas Calientes we were met by a man holding a sign reading, "Ester and Richard, Mosoq Inti". That was us and he led us through the tourist market across Punta President to Mosoq Inti Hostel where we will stay the next two nights. Outside our window we may look down at new construction. The other window opens to a cinder block wall. But it is clean and we hope the showers will be hot.

Rich and I walked up one of main streets in town as far as the hot springs entrance. Many of the restaurants were empty and people were enticing you to come in and sit down. We found one place that was serving Mexican food and had folks sitting at several tables. Our lunch of chicken enchilladas was not bad, not the same as you would find at some Mexican restaurants in the US but okay.

Afterwards we looked for the French bakery. After a few mis directions we found it and now have 2 pain Au chocolate for our breakfast and a sandwich on baguette for tomorrow.

Cheers.

Cusco, Peru, 10/14-15

13 31.512 S, 71 58.640 W

We flew out of Guayaquil early in the morning for Lima on Monday, Oct. 14. The flight was over the ocean and very smooth. As we descended into Lima we could see all sorts of fishing boats at anchor. The airport is reasonably sized. We were able to buy a Peru cup at Starbucks before our connecting flight to Cusco. We noticed the difference of 11,200 ft as we deplaned. Our hostel, Tayta Wasi is nice and clean but chilly as there is no heating, which is typical, but our showers are hot and the bed has two heavy wool blankets and a quilt. It is like lying under the lead cover they put on when you are getting x-rays at the dentist, but once you warm up it is quite toasty.

Tuesday afternoon we booked a tour of sites around Cusco. The first stop was La Catedral, a hugh cathedral built over the Inca Palace of Viracocha, to impress the conquered Incas with how mighty and powerful the Spanish were. Some of the not so suitable jabs at the Incas are present in some of the art work. A large painting depicting the Last Supper by a Quechua artist shows Jesus and the apostles dining on cuy or guinea pig. Everyone has light skin except Judas. This was required by the bishop who commissioned the Qhechua artist. Another painting of St. Thomas shows him trampling Incas with his horse. The many of the altars are covered in 18 karat gold leaf or silver.

Our next stop was Qorikancha, an Inca site near the cathedral that the Spanish built the Convent of Santo Domingo Del Cusco on top of. The original Inca site was in a square with chambers dedicated to the moon, the stars, the rainbow, etc and housed the mummies of the sacred persons of indigenous peoples they had conquered to show how powerful the Inca were. Only the two opposite sides of the original Inca structure exist and the convent cloisters used the other two sides as foundations and building materials.

After a bus ride up we were at Saqsayhuaman, often pronounced "Sexy Woman". This megalithe site in the shape of a puma, was built of large rocks, some weighing as much as 120 tons that were quarried from a site 5 kilometers away. Two rows of these rocks, fitting together so exact that you can not get a credit card in between, were originally about 7 meters high and formed a lightening bolt about 100 yards long. Rich and I slowly climbed to the top of the site with a beautiful view of Cusco. Saqsayhuaman was also the site of the famous battle between the Inca and the Spanish, where the Spanish victory marked the end of the Inca empire.

Who let the dogs out?

Early on Friday morning we heard a loud bang. What was that? The dogs of the neighborhood wanted to know too and started barking and barking, a virtual canine cacophony. Next we heard water running. This could not be good. A grinding sound of a seldom used valve ending the sound of rushing water. Until now we had wonderful hot showers every morning but now there was only a small drip. I quickly put on my contacts before there was no water at all. As we went down to breakfast we passed an inside rain shower. The pressure valve for the hot water tank had failed and the contents of the tank was dripping down the wall. Luckily the kitchen was on a separate water system so breakfast was uninterrupted. This Friday was also a holiday and in the afternoon the soccer team of Ecuador would be playing Uruguay for a slot at the World Cup in Brazil 2014. The restaurant was expecting a crowd in the afternoon. The team of the hostel rallied and the hot water tank was fixed by the afternoon. Team Ecuador also rallied and won over Uruguay, much to the delight of everyone in Cuenca.

Our teacher, Jeaneth, of Si Centro

At the flower market, long stem roses are $0.25

Friday was also our last day of Spanish classes at Si Centro. We enjoyed our classes with Jeaneth. In the afternoon, Carolina escorted us to museums, ruins, flower and artisan markets as well as trying to teach us a bit of salsa (the dance, not the dip for tortilla chips). The first few days were on regular verbs and vocabulary, then throw in some irregular verbs, infinitives, adjectives and stir vigorously. Rich and I learned a basic framework. Now we have to practice our skills.

Ingapirca

Our next stop was the ruin site of Ingapirca at 10,350 ft. Originally this was a sacred site of the Canari, where they would make observations for their lunar calendar. They build elliptical shaped structures for housing and circular ones for storing food stuffs. There is a plaza or meeting area for their equivalent of a sun dial. Beneath is a burial pit where 11 bodies were found in fetal positions with jewelry and precious personal items as the Canari believed in reincarnation so that this wealth and possesions would be needed in the next life. You may easily identify the walls build by the Canari as they were piled stones with mud in between. The Inca took over this site and made it into a military outpost with barracks but also a palace for one of the chiefs with accommodations for shamans and virgins as well as a Temple of the Sun. The construction of the Incas is distinct in that each stone fits perfectly with no need for mortar or mud to fill in the gaps as there are no gaps. You could not put a credit card in between two stones they fit together so tightly. The site include the Inca road, a paved path built by the Incas from Columbia through Ecuador, Peru, Chile and Argentina. The Inca road from Cuenca to Cuzco is 2000 kilometers with tambo or rest stations every 28 kilometers. Runners or messengers would travel for several tambo before handing the message over to the next runner who would travel the next several tambo, so on and so forth until the message reached its destination.

Exploring ancient cultures

On Friday after our Spanish class and a bit of lunch we walked to the Museo de Las Culturas Aborigenes. It a small place with over 5000 artifacts from the pre-Hispanic Ecuadorian cultures to the Incas, covering about 15,000 years. We saw ancient litho phones or stone chimes, used to announce one's presence at a home or hacienda. These stones could be hit with another stone, brushed with your fingers or knocked against each other to make a sound that was similar to a bell. Other items included carved stone and pottery, such a a set of stone penises, clay images of  love making and breast feeding women. One small statue was of Siamese twins in native garb joined on their sides. The feline god was very powerful for many of these indigenous peoples, which makes sense as it is the most dangerous animal in the area and worth some respect. The Canari were very skilled at working with llama wool to make clothing, pottery, agriculture and accumulation of gold and making jewelry. Unfortunately this made them a target by the Inca who conquered the Canari and took over their major sites.

On Saturday we joined a tour to Ingapirca, the major Incan site in Ecuador. Wilson, a native of Cuenca, was our tour guide, Fausto was our driver. We were joined by a young man, Andre from Switzerland, Stephanie from southern Germany and Rick and Pat a retired couple from Canada. We left Cuenca around 8:45 and headed to north to see Santuario Virgen del Rocio or the Church of the Misty Virgin Mary. This church is partially carved into a cliff face at an elevation of 9200 ft above sea level. It is not for someone afraid of heights and we took climbing up the stairs to the sanctuary and the overlook above slowly. 

Sent from SV Windarra iPad

Hats, hats and more hats

Tuesday, Rich and I walked across town towards the bus terminal and then across the street to the factory of Hermano Ortega and Hijos, a maker of fine 'Sombreros de Paja Toquilla'. These hats are also known as Panama Hats, even though they originated and are made mainly in Cuenca, Ecuador. Hijos is Spanish for children and now the two daughters and one son of Hermano Ortega are running the company.

The factory has a small exhibit describing how the hats are made. There is a plant that is grown in the area not too far from where Windarra is moored, that is used for weaving the hats. It is harvested, soaked in water then dried and split. The majority of weavers are women who start learning how to weave at the age of 8 years. The weaving is done either at night or in the early hours of the morning when it is cool and their hands are no sweaty. To weave Thr basic hat takes anywhere from four days to four months. The tighter and higher quality weaving takes longer. If you hold up a high quality hat up to the light, you would not see any light come through the weave.

The woven hat is sent to the factory. First it is sorted by quality and color. Hats are then washed and may be bleached or dyed, then dried. This process make take as few as two days or as much as two weeks depending on the weather. Once the hat is dried, it is steam pressed into shape and size. Each hat is pressed three times. Bands and decorations such as flowers are added.

Hats from Homero Ortega are sold all over the world. They are sold mostly in Europe, especially in Italy. Other places include South Africa, Australia, Peru, and Asia.

Take a look at the more classic style hats that we bought.