Chilling in Chile

After a 30-hour bus, shared taxi and another bus ride, I arrived in the surf town of Iquique in Northern Chile at 1:30 am and suffled my way to my hostel 10 blocks away. One way to avoid the $100 - $150 US ¨reciprocity fee (that our countries charge for Chileans to enter our countries)¨ into Chile for Australian, Canadian and American citizens is to simply enter the country by land. Flying into Santiago, you will have to pay this fee. However, it also means you will have to cross Northern Chile with long stretches of shrubby desert, rocky coastlines and empty sand dunes if you want to see the greener south.

Iquique is a laid-back coastal town with consistent, rolling waves that surfers crave caused in this case by the underlying reefs. It has a long promenade with people doing cross fit exercises on Saturday mornings and a pedestrain walkway leading to the town centre, the Plaza Prat. There are gaint sand dunes and cliffs overlooking the town and with the constant winds and sand, baking sun and warm temperature, everything looks faded.

There are also ¨ghost¨ mining towns nearby, relics of Chile´s once nitrate (aka white gold) boom from the 1870´s to the early 1940´s until the Germans discovered the process of making nitrate artificially. One such ¨ghost¨ town is Humberstone which is 30 minutes away from Iquique. Originally constructed near a nitrate mine in 1872 but abandoned in 1963. It is a bit errie walking down the empty streets, houses, school and processing plant of this once-thriving town. Surrounded by the desolate Atacama desert, the town is slowly rusting away and returning back to the desert. Humberstone has been designated as an Unesco World Heritage Site but is endangered as many buildings are simply decaying away.


As I can´t swim (and therefore can´t surf) and the waters are too cold to enjoy (there are only surfers with wetsuits), I left Iquique this morning for the small, dusty mining town of Calama to transit to San Pedro De Atacama. Here I wait in Calama for another bus on a quiet Sunday afternoon.      

A Visit To Lima

Lima is a big and sprawling city, clogged with traffic from 5 am to 9 pm. One third of the entire Peruvian population lives in this city and during rush hour, it feels like they are all riding the transit system. "Packed" is an understatement. Although Lima gets mixed reviews from other travelers but my stay has been very pleasant.

The central area has some lovely plazas and historical buildings with intricately carved balconies. There is also the very bohemian and artsy district of Barranco with great walkways, parks, theatres, galleries and restaurants. Lima also has some great museums, a coastline for surfing (albeit a bit polluted) and an actual Chinatown, chalkful of restaurants with hanging roasted duck, crackling pork and bbq pork (yes!). Most of these restaurants also serve Chinese pastries and steam pork buns which tasted like home.

I stayed in the affluent and tourist-friendly area of Miraflores and I initially felt a little disorientated with the McDonalds, KFC, Burger King, Payless Shoes, etc around. It is so developed in this area and much different from the rest of Peru, that it could pass for any typical city in Canada or US.

On the opposite spectrum, I also spent a day in the Pino area of the La Victoria district to visit with a sponsored child, Frank (who is in his teens now) and his family, and the Sisters

and social worker from Our Lady of the Good Sheppard. I had lunch with the Sisters, went shopping in the nearby giant fruit market (one of the two major markets that supplies all the fruit in the city) and received a tour of the drop-in health and school centre. Pino is a small, packed hillside community of 20 000  residents, full of crumbling buildings and roads and warren of stairs and paths but since the police have recently opened a station there, much safer. About 560 children get sponsored from this area.

It was good to visit Frank and his family and learn a little about his life and his surroundings. From his birthday money about 5 years ago, Frank bought an electronic keyboard and he played it so much that the keys broke. He really enjoys playing music. Frank is now part of a symphony group for disadvantaged youths sponsored by a famous local opera singer. He happily practices and has music instruction six days a week. The group has even played in the presidential palace. Frank no longer wants to be a policeman and has aspirations to become an orchestra musician.

Off to go pack as I am heading south to Chile and the start of some long bus rides...

Back From The Mountains !

I returned from the nine-day HuayHuash Trek yesterday night and it felt real good to take a hot shower, wear clean clothes and sleep in a real bed again. The trek involved going up and down 10 mountian passes, over 160 km route. I particularly enjoyed walking through the long, green valleys where the jagged mountains and ridges cut the sky, where streams, rivers and high mountain waterfalls constantly flowed and in the high peaks, blue glaciers and the occasional avalanche could be seen and heard. There were times when it felt like we walking through a scene from the ¨Lord of the Ring.¨

The weather varied quite a bit, from rain, hail and snow on one day to sunny, blue skies the following day or even in a few hours. Given that this the transition period to the rainy season, this was typical weather and there were much fewer treks occuring, so almost all the camp sites were empty and we rarely met other people. There is a certain peace in this solitude and at night, with the bright stars above and the dark outlines of mountains, you realize how small you are.  
I can not stress how important it is to acclimatize when you trek in these regions. The young Dutch couple I went with are fit and active from rowing, swimming, running and biking, initially struggled hiking at this altitude. I am out of shape with no exercise and too much fried chicken and french fries but I have acclimatized to the 4000-5000 meter range for over a month. What a world of difference that makes. Drink lots of water, take the altitude pills and sleep as much as you can, taking naps whenever possible. You best acclimatize when you sleep as your body adjusts to lesser oxygen and can regulate its breathing. Getting headaches, breathing heavy and having a high heart rate is normal, and in a way gives you insight into what it must feel like to be much older as any physical activity takes a lot of effort.

Overshadowing the scenic views and vistas like a 6000 meter peak, was that I got a bout of persistent diarrhea starting from day three to day nine. I have managed to maintain my perfect record of getting diarrhea in all the South American countries I have visited and Peru was no exception. I left my antibotic medication behind. Bad mistake because getting diarrhea in the bush is not fun. Like a cranky, old, rusty ship engine, my stomach rumbled and I had to use the bathroom every hour or so as we hiked as my body tried to expunge whatever was in me. It could have been something we ate or drank. Maybe the water was not boiled long enough as the run-off from the fields to the rivers and streams are full of donkey, sheep and cow dung. As soon I got back to Huaraz, I took some Ciprofloxacin (antibotic) and the party in my belly ended.

I am going off now to take a night bus to Lima. Sleep well.      

Off To The Mountians !

It is the night before a nine-day trek on the Huayhuash (sounds like white wash) trail near Huaraz. I am going with a young, tall Dutch couple. They are both over 6'5 feet and standing between them, I feel like a valley. The hike is suppose to be spectacular, through eight mountain passes at 4000-5000 meters between many 6000-plus meter peaks and glacier lakes. As a warm up, I hiked up to Lago 69, a beautiful lake of bright blue water fed by waterfalls and glaciers of the high mountains above. A nice ending to a trail.

  

I noticed how all the travelers in these trekking towns become obsessed with altitude and numbers. How high they have gone, how high the mountains are, how high this or that city is, etc. I am one of them. You constantly hear people spouting off numbers in meters or feet. It's hilarious but I think it is because none of us want to get altitude sickness and these numbers are somehow comforting.

Off to go pack and get some snacks and water.

A Day In Ayacucho And Onward To Huaraz

On the day I was to leave Ayacucho, I had one of my most pleasant days on my trip with Alisa, Carlos and their two sons who live at their hotel, La Crillonesa.

On my way out in the morning, they invited me join them for breakfast with a German guest at the hotel's former small cafe which now served as their kitchen and living room. After finding out that I was leaving that night, Alisa wanted to make a local Quechua dish, Puca Picante for me to try. I enthusiastically accepted and offered to help cook and wash-up as this was a real opportunity to learn Peruvian home-cooking.

It was a wonderful morning as I happily minced garlic, chopped onions, washed pots and pans, took notes, cooked over the stove and joked as their 10-month old baby wandered around in his walker in the kitchen. A woman walking by and seeing us busily cooking away, even dropped in and asked us what was on the menu and when we would be serving lunch! I love it.

Alisa sadly recalled her father's "disappearance" when she was four years old, as he was taken at gunpoint by Shining  Path members while walking in Ayacucho and was driven away. He was never seen again and Alisa remarked they didn't have a grave for him as his body was never recovered. Alisa explained her father was killed because they were wealthy. Alisa and her family then moved to Lima and later to Florence, Italy before meeting her husband (over five trips) and returning back home to Ayacucho to start a family.


From Italy, Alisa developed a love for cooking and her cramped but cosy kitchen shows it. Stainless steel countertops, racks for spices and wine glasses, decent pots and pans and a well-used blender and small food processor. Alisa and her husband even provided meals for their employees at the hotel. Equally kind, Carlos, a biologist at a local university bought a Chilean wine us and their oldest son, excitedly coming back from school settled in for a long lunch of a traditional Inca meal and conversation.

Puca Picante consists of sun-dried red chilis, minced peanuts, purried red onions, shredded "red" potatoes and bay leaves infused in a thick sauce and smothering over chunks of boiled potatoes and chicharron (pork). This is served over some garlic rice which is first boiled with sauteed garlic, drained and some oil added, and then covered with a plastic bag and pot lid to simmer. Deliciously tangy, slightly spicy and very peanut flavored.

Carlos then took the German girl and I around the city, to an archeological museum and viewpoint, and then the whole family saw me off at the bus station. It felt like I was suddenly adopted by this Peruvian family. Unbelievably genuine hospitality.

I took the overnight bus to Lima and after seeing the hazy and cloudy sky (which was likely smog) and eating a soggy chicken empanada for breakfast, I decided to push on for another 9-hour bus ride to Huaraz, northeast of Lima. Huaraz is a small town surrounded by the impressive Cordillera Blanca mountain range. It is also the starting point of many treks through mountain passes, glacier lakes and 6000+ meter peaks.

What better way to celebrate coming to a new place then... to eat Chinese food or known as "Chifa" in Peru. I suspect "Chifa" is the Spanishized version of a Chinese greeting or words for ¨Eat Rice?¨ or possibly fried rice (Chow Fuan). The Peruvians certainly love Chinese fried rice and soya sauce stir fry (Lomo Saltado). Although there were no chop sticks or Chinese tea served, there were many consistent things eating at the Chinese restaurant here and at home. Good food at cheap prices, portions are huge, soft drinks are over-priced and the washrooms were terrible. They even use the same glowing ¨radioactive¨red sauce for their sweet and sour pork and deep-fried wontons!

I have not had any Chinese food for five months. It was great to eat ¨beef and broccoli in black bean sauce¨ again and admittedly, I thoroughly enjoyed the MSG overload. I´ll need the strength as I am  trying to arrange for the Santa Cruz or the longer Huayhuash trek through several mountain passages, and checking with the many tour agencies around town is exhausting. Off to shop around the agencies...

Shining Some Light on the Sendero Luminoso

From 1980 to 2000, Peru was engaged in a brutal guerrilla war with the revolutionary Maoist-Communist terrorist group, the Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso) mainly in the central Andes and major cities. According to the 2003 Truth and Reconcilliation Commision approximately 69 280 people died or ¨disappeared¨ from this conflict, many of whom  were women and children.The Shining Path has been attributed to about 50% of these deaths while the government have been blamed for 33%, with the remainder by other guerrilla groups or unknown.

The Shining Path (an off-shoot from the Peruvian Communist Party or Bandera Roja) began here in Ayacucho in the late 1960´s as their leader and former professor, Abimael Guzman, taught philosophy at the San Cristobal of Huamanga Univeristy. This university prominently faces the main plaza and was only recently re-opened a few years ago. The Shining Path saw the current democracy in Peru as ¨bourgeois¨ and wanted to replace it with a ¨New Democracy¨ through a cultural revolution (beginning in the country side) and proletariat dictatorship. The long term goal was of´course, world revolution (insert also "world domination").

Initially, the Shining Path attempted this social change through political student councils at universities in Ayacucho, Huancayo, La Cantuta and Lima in the 1970´s but with failing support, this movement turned violent. The violence began on May 17, 1980 with the burning of ballot boxes in the town of Chuschi and coincided with the Peruvian election. Support for the Shining Path grew as the government did not take this group very seriously at first and the region felt negelcted by the capital. The violence quickly escalated with battles against the police and later the army.

The Shining Path were also greatly feared in the countryside as they held public ¨criticism and self-criticism¨ trials where victims were stabbed, their throats slit, hanged or stoned, often based on accusations, suspicions of government collaborations or bourgeois activties. So focused on their doctrine, the group never gained popular support and ironically, alienated the very population (peasants) they were hoping liberate. They were more feared than supported, and their policies to close markets (to prohibit any form of capitalism and to ¨starve¨ Lima), banning of alcohol and parties and suppression of Indigenous customs and beliefs were hugely unpopular.  The group later took to assassinations of government officials, journalists, labour union leaders, foreign aid workers, priests, other communist party members or just about anyone who critcized or opposed them.

The government´s response was equally brutal with many victims arrested and tortured, raped or killed and buried in mass graves. The government declared the regions of Ayacucho, Huancavelica and Apurimac as ¨emergency zones¨ for martial law in December 1981, giving the police and army the right to detain anyone without any reason. The police and military wore ¨ski masks¨ to hide their identity and the military trained peasants, ¨Rondas¨ who often abused their powers.

Things began to change in 1991 with the new president, Alberto Fujimori's (who is now serving a 25 year jail sentence for corruption and ¨crimes against humanity¨) policies to properly train "Rondas", the use of intelligence and informants and the capture of Guzman and top Shining Path leaders on September 12, 1992 in Lima. Over the next decade, their numbers declined and the military relentlessly either captured or killed key Shining Path members, most recently in 2013. The last Shinning Path attack in Ayacucho was in April 2009. The Shining Path essentially now operate in the remote North East and is suspectedly involved in the Narco trade.  

A couple of decades ago, you could not sit in the main square eating an ice cream cone (a habit I have recently taken on), enjoying the afternoon sun, without fear that a bomb would go off or being arrested without provocation. Ayacucho today is a lively city full of university, college and school students where you can see teens practice dance moves in the plaza, people gather around street stalls to eat grilled meat and parents walking their children home from school. Though people are hesitant to talk about those years, still fresh in their memories. Off the tourist route and absent of McDonalds, Burger King or Pizza Hut, Ayacucho is a very pleasant city full of wonderful churches, pedestrain walkways and inner court yards full of great restaurants and shops. The normal ¨day to day¨ life of Peru is wonderful and the locals friendly and curious where you are from.  

I am off to learn to cook a local dish (Puca Picante - a potato, chilli, peanut and pork dish) with the hotel owner´s wife and then a night bus to Lima.