Good news and bad news!

The good news is that we are having fun and are healthy. The bad news is that our computer has gone haywire - so we can't post pictures. If "a picture is worth a thousand words" we are in trouble!

We will be visiting the business centers of a lot of hotels to post these but I will be brief. A google map of Peru will help you follow this.

We left Chachapoyas on Monday 4-5 and made the 12 hour! journey by car to Chiclayo on roads that were flooding and rock strewn, but we made it. The Andes are not one set of mountains like our Sierras but rather three sets of more or less parallel "cordieras" as they are called-so a ride through these involves going up steep mountainsides, down into river valleys and back up to high mountain passes 3 times. The Peruvian National Highway on this route is paved but is also a mass of potholes, long stretches of roads under construction, ubiquitous speed bumps and bus drivers competing for advantage. To give credit where it`s due women have nothing to do with this because apparently they are not permited to drive (at least that`s my impression I have not seen a woman driving in Peru!). I should mention that it rained all the way.

We arrived at Costa del Sol Hotel in Chiclayo and to our surprise there was someone staying there besides us ( we were the only guest in the 3 hotels we stayed in in Chachapoyas region). Chiclayo, on the Peruvian coast 500 miles north of Lima is a dusty crowded industrial city serving the vast agricultural areas of northern Peru - much of which is rice, potatoes and sugar cane. However! This is the northern center of the Sican, Chimu and Moche indian cultures that began 4-5000 years ago as indians there began cultivating and dometicating animals. The next two of our days was spent touring the ruins of the last vestiges of these cultures. Fabulous experience!

Two matters of note about these ruins. First the ruins show a population capable of building well designed temples, canals, and other structures with great skill and esthetic values. It also demonstrates that these early civilizations had created an agricultural class that could support an even larger artisan and worker class. But second we see the almost mindless destruction of these developments by the Spanish as they searched for gold and silver to steal. Not content to physically destroy the Spanish proceeded to destroy any sign of indian culture in their determination to convert the indians to Christianity including anything that they thought might refer indians to past religious practices (remember the Inquisition was going full blast at this time (1530`s). This whole tragic process has given anthropologists fits trying to interpret what is left that they are now finding and Peru is stepping up in its efforts to salvage much of its historic past.

Rather than describe what we are seeing go to Google and Wikipedia and look for "The Tomb of the Lord of Sipan" - Chan-Chan - Tucume Ruins - Moche - Chimu" the Spanish missed alot!

We are staying two nights in Trujillo a very colorful city at the Hotel Liberatador - a truly luxurious hotel. A reprt on Peruvian quisine is coming when we get to Cuzco. Tomorrow we are off to the airport for flights to Lima and then Cuzco. Machu Picchu here we come!

PR for Mummies!

They are trying to promote these treasures-now if you could only get there!

Karajia Canyon-Chachapoyan figures

If you look way to the upper lefthand corner you can see where the figures in the previous picture are located on this cliff. Pat in her rain poncho protected by these little kids.

Chachapoyan Mummies

These figures contain the bones of the ancestors of Chachapoyan indians. These are located in the middle of an absoulutely 2000 ft sheer cliff in a river gorge. The figures are shaped by applying mud and straw over wood poles. The figures are placed facing water and the village where they died. The walk into this place was three km or more. The walk back out was so steep horses were hired to take us out. Only to find the road was closed because a large potato truck broke down trapping our car. Two hours later we were freed to drive back to our hote.

Bringing in the Potatoes to Market

Easter Sunday in the Andes

These young men are wearing sheep and cow headcoverings and drinking the local brew, chasing after the little kids to scare them. The churches are empty but there are bands playing. Why worry about resurection when you can have a party on what is otherwise a cold and rainy day. Actually most of the people were working in the potato fields baging the potatoes and bringing them down on pack horses to waiting trucks to be taken to market.

Kuelap Round Houses

This reconstruction by archeologists working the site is of the round houses in the Kuelap site. There are several hundred of these scattered across the approximately 20 acres of Kuelap. These were built with 2 stories with living area on top and storage below. You can see about half the bottom story above ground but there is more below. The Peruvians know that they have a fabulous site here that has all the touristic potential of Machu Picchu but it's a 10 hour drive to get here on absolutely horrendous roads.

Kuelap in Chachapoyas

This is Kuelap the indian fortress and religious center that began its existence 1500 years ago perhaps even longer. It is reached by a 20 kilometer dirt road that hugs steep mountains to a parking area where the 2 km pathway to the site begins. Nearly 1o,000 ft elevation, the going is tough on the rocky path scratched out by hand. This site is famous in Peru but not visited because both the weather and access is so difficult. It rains almost everyday, roads washout, rocks fall onto the road. Our van's axle broke enroute so we walked an additional 2-3 km to a small village to find other transportation.

Kuelap in Chachapoyas

Pat and our guide - Alicia - are walking on the path to Kuelap at about 10,000 ft. You can see the potato and corn fields in the back all above 8500 ft. Kuelap is the fortress-religious center of the Chachapoyas indians. Established about 500 BC with continuous living and occupation and even though the Incas conquered the area just about the time the Spaniards came, those that live here now are the descendents of the Chachapoyan culture.

Cajamarca-Otuzco Burial site

This scene of holes made in rock is where the indians (pre-Inca) placed their mummified relatives. They believed that when people died their spirits were freed to continue on for ever as long as they were properly prepared. As we continued our trip this mummifying in various forms becomes a constant theme and critical part of what most of the indians of Peru believed in terms of life and death and spirituality.

The holes are about 2-3 feet high but an additional space is hollowed out below the hole to fit the body in. You can see in the lower part of the picture where that lower part is broken out.

Cajamarca, Peru

This is the view from the top of the mountain in Cajamarca-indian terms this was a sacred place where religious ceremonies were held. Cajamarca means "frost place" in Quechua the language. This is important because the temperature here dictates what can be grown here. Cajamarca is the first place in the Andes we visit and one of the most important in Peruvian history. It was here that Pizarro captured the Inca king "Atalhualpa" and began the spanish conquest of the Incas and Peru. The city you see in the foreground was the battle site.

Museo Arqueologico Larco Herrera-Lima

On our first day in Peru the highlight was visiting this museum that contained a massive colection of indian artifacts from many of the Peruvian cultures. Some of the pottery and textiles were from tombs that date to 2000BC. The display in the photo is of gold ornamentation worn by Inca lords.

Our first day in Lima was perfect by any standard - the weather was unusually good - clear and warm when usually it's foggy, damp and poor visability. Our guide -Carlos- of indian descent from the central Andes -gave us an extremely well presented overview of Peruvian historic  and contemporary life and culture. After meeting him we in short order visited the indian market
historic government buildings and churches in Lima center and then had an extensive tour of Lima neighborhoods to see how the super rich live then the very poor.

All of this was followed by a lunch at "Otani Restaurant" that featured Japanese inspired seafood dishes. After lunch came the incredible displays in the Museums. An early to bed to catch the early LAN flight to Cajamarca - the city where the Spanish (Juan Pizarro) began the conquest of the Incas.

First Daay

Schools in - in Peru

OFF TO PERU