Month: November 2019

Home-stay story

Nov 21 2019

By Siri

We have spent 2 weeks in Peru visiting ancient Inca sites around Cusco. One of the memorable experiences was when we went to stay in the small town of Zurite, outside of Cusco. The small town has the second oldest church in Peru, but mainly it is built of clay houses and farms. As we drove up to our home-stay it took some time because the “streets’’ were so narrow, plus we waited as people walked their cows through the town to graze in the fields. After arrival and a warm welcome, we had a little tour of the house. The house was typical with a cute garden/courtyard in the center. The one room my family and I shared was warm and cozy considering the rainy weather we had. Then we sat down to an interesting breakfast including steamed potatoes, plain corn tamales, whole wheat bread and to drink – steaming hot fava bean tea served in a clay cup. I was surprised that there were no plates. The first thing on the agenda, go see a not well-known Inca site Quillamarka, including a moon temple and cave carvings. In the mist, 2 dogs were herding sheep and goats and a man was walking two donkeys. We took photos of this pretty site and after that, drove to the house for lunch of quinoa soup. I did not eat much because my appetite was low from [A] high altitude and [B] I did not find the flavors that interesting.  

After lunch we went to farm corn at our tour guide’s family farm. The tradition is, while people work, others play music from a small drum and flute to make the harvest a good harvest – that was one of my jobs. Our guide’s name is Bryan; his parents still live in the same house and now raise guinea pigs in the room that had been the bedroom of our guide and his 2 brothers when they were kids. Bryan told us about how he would work in the fields before school and about 2 hours after school and on weekends when he was growing up. His dad is 82 and still works 3 times faster any of us. As we were working, Bryan’s dad brought out a typical corn beer that the Incas made called chicha. He brought out a pitcher and one glass for all to share. My mom tried one sip and she said ‘’it tasted like sour beer”, not really corn kombucha. I thought the work was hard after ten minutes. It is harder to imagine this life all day. After a long day we relaxed a little and at around 6 pm we had dinner of corn veg pancake, quinoa, lupine porridge, and crispy guinea pig; well I didn’t eat the guinea pig. After dinner I was so tired that I fell right to sleep once I was settled down. That same night it was so windy that I was awake for like an hour before we woke up and had breakfast.

The second day we hiked around the hillsides. First, off to see the pre-Inca petroglyph paintings and second a hike to the hummingbird terrace. To reach the high valley walls with the petroglyphs we passed through the eucalyptus tree forest and crossed about nine little streams.  Local people cook with firewood and most of the native forest was cut down, so some time ago Spanish thought to bring a fast-growing tree that they knew from Spain, eucalyptus trees. They brought a few over and they adapted to this ecosystem. Soon more grew so that they used them to make firewood and now the native forests are growing back in some places. After we passed through the forest and the tiny streams we reached the ‘’trail’’ it was so bushy and overgrown that when we reached near the top we had to wait a while because our guide had to make stairs with a machete. The paintings were made around 1500 BC; that’s what the scientists think. We saw a sun, a moon, some lamas and a painting of lightening.

Next, we went to see the hummingbird terraces the Incas made in the shape of a sacred animal. It was neat to see a clear hummingbird in the hillside. We took some photos and went back down but it turned out that we had to walk more – like a hour more to some of the biggest terraces in the sacred valley. Finally, we reached the van to drive to the house for lunch before returning to Cusco.

It would be neat growing up and playing in these hills if I didn’t have to farm so much. It was interesting to really see how villagers live and how much effort it takes to put simple food on my plate.

Posting late because Wi-Fi has been tricky in Patagonia

Peru andando

11/23/19

By Annelise

After a week sailing about the equator the first few days walking the hilly cobblestone streets of Cusco at 10,000 feet had me feeling off kilter and akimbo. We had an apartment just above the charming San Blas neighborhood a block from the San Blas market. It was a great spot to venture into town with the only downside having to navigating friendly street dogs and their “gifts” on a 1 foot wide “sidewalks” while passing minibus mirrors required us to put our backs against the wall.  To get into the center and plaza, we quickly found quieter side walking streets to reduce the hazard of a shoulder dislocation.

All that said, walking is definitely the best way to get around Cusco. Driving through town is like unraveling a knotted skeen of yarn. Walking also lets you marvel at the Inca walls and building foundations that the colonial Spanish architecture squats on top of. Walking also feels like tumbling through a kaleidoscope of color and sound. Every few steps vendors are offering menus, massages, alpaca goods and watercolor paintings. The texture, color and fine detail of the textiles in this region are amazing, I wish I could carry a whole other duffle for soft alpaca sweaters and woven art.

The San Pedro market (apparently designed by the same man who designed the Eiffel Tower) is a dense grid of aisles each selling a different type of ware. The aisles of women juicing delicious tropical fruits, many I had never seen before – bonus each order is enough for 3 glasses. There are aisles of fresh meat; half carcasses being sectioned or piles of chickens with their feet sticking out at you. Aisles of Cheese, honey, trout caviar. Then rows of quinoa, vegetables stalls and those for medicinal herbs, flower stalls with every color of gladiola, an aisle just for chocolate (super yum), food stalls and of course souvenirs. This market and also the one in San Blas are where we bought most of our groceries for the week.

Walking I also notice the older-than-years women hunched forward carrying colorful Peruvian woven cloth bundles half their size on their back; goods to sell at the market, a street corner, who knows but it appears heavy. Younger women use the same sort of bright cloth to strap their babies and toddlers to their back. The men for the most part are less encumbered. So it seems, until you see them at work outside the city center on precarious road projects, driving under-powered trucks with heavy loads on tiny winding roads, working construction with scant scaffolding.

Walking I notice the thin air, with intermittent showers the air is cool and so so very clear. It is breathtaking – literally. There is almost no view from a hillside where you cannot see old Inca terraces or roads. It seems like the entire Inca territory from Ecuador to Santiago must have been lined with terraces of corn. The degree of skill and sophistication of the Inca architecture and stonework when compared to Europe in the 1200s is impressive. A carved 200 ton corner stone here or there, or a whole row or them carefully hewn. Whether hiking ruins or just walking through town the old Inca steps are big, and given that most locals are shorter than me, I figure they must have legs of steel. I had initially planned that we would trek to Machu Picchu via Salkantay, I look forward to returning in the next five years when all in our family has mental stamina can meet the physical requirements of a high Andes trek.

We spent 9 nights based in Cusco and 5 based in Olantaytambo in the Sacred valley. The later a quieter and very much smaller version of the former. Sixty percent of the Cuscenean economy runs on tourism. It is at times annoying to have some many offers placed in front of you. Yet if tourism supports the traditional crafts, traditions and the preservation of ancient sites then I hope the balance remains positive. It is impressive to see so clearly how a conquering nation so thoroughly dismantled the sacred sites and ways of life; harvested the stones of the cherished temples and used them to construct the churches they built in their place. The well and purpose-hewn stones were removed to build new Spanish buildings. After the fall of the Inca Empire not just the stones but the treasures and burial sites were looted. The jungle swallowed up cites as Machu Picchu, and held the ruins mostly a secret for centuries, possibly protecting them from further destruction. Scholars are still trying to interpret the significance of these incredible sites. It is said that history is written by the victors and it makes one want to take the chronicles with more than a few grains of Maras salt. Brutal Spanish colonialism and Catholicism wielded power for nearly 300 years before Peru would reclaim its independence and identity. It is very interesting to experience the melding and tension of the Inca and Spanish history on the present. From the arts, the food, the history and nature it makes Peru very much worth a trip.

Plowing through Peru

Nov 22 2019

By Haakon

Two weeks is not much to see a whole country like Peru but I have been able to see a lot of cool places and view different perspectives. For a week we stayed in Cuzco, the former capital city of the Incan empire. We went to a small farming town for a home stay and we have toured lots of ancient Incan sites.


We landed in Cusco mid-day, so we drove 6 miles in 40 minutes to our apartment (still not as bad a Seattle traffic) along the way I saw so many motorcycles with more than 3 people on them. I was wrong in thinking Peru would be warm because all the places I stayed at were 10,000 feet in elevation, so I had goose bumps. I also realized everyone here is wrapped in baby alpaca hats, sweaters, socks, and blankets. On the second day we actually found a sports bar that played the MLS Cup! The sounders beat Toronto for the second time in the MLS Cup while the Cusquenan team played for the national spot and all of Cusco celebrated with fireworks. A couple days later I celebrated my 13th birthday. The day got off to a frustrating start stuck in Khan Academy purgatory. Then the evening was way better with a reservation at Gaston Acurio’s restaurant, Chicha. I enjoyed a really good dinner of a trout ceviche, alpaca curry and this dark chocolate balloon filled with butterscotch and ice-cream.


The most interesting experience of the past weeks was staying at the farmers house, the reason why is because it put perspective on my life. When we first got to town, we were greeted by an elderly woman wearing a bright traditional dress, we were then taken to her small (but cozy) adobe brick house where she gave us some breakfast. The table for meals was next to the wood burning bread oven so they could stay warm when it got cold. For breakfast we had corn tamales, bread, and fava bean tea with baked corn to put into the tea to add flavor. We walked to our guides parents’ house, he gave us a hoe to work with, then he led us to the field, the field was around 10 acers full of corn. Our job was to turn the dirt so the corn could get more nutrients, I was told to take my shoes off and get working, so I did. I didn’t really realize how hard it was but after doing 35ft of lifting dirt while bent over I felt my back would snap; and the people in this town do this all day their whole life (barefoot with animal manure all over the ground). I don’t know how. When I was finished, I washed my feet by an animal trough before going to the next field for an hour’s work. The farmers drank this kombucha-like drink called chicha which my mom says taste like sour beer. After everyone had finished farming, we returned the hoes to the house, all the adults sat down and ate boiled fava beans and rubbery cheese (probably old milk) while Siri and I sat and watched. The oldest farmer was an 82-year- old man who has been farming everyday from 5am-5:30pm since he was 6 besides school.


Finally, the last part of our Peru visit we got to stay several nights in Ollantaytambo, the Inca site was the last stand of the Inca rebellion. We stayed at this place called The Inca king Hotel, a small place down the walking streets in the center of the old town with all sorts of plants growing on the wall and flowers popping out of every hallway. You can only get to Machu Picchu town by walking or by train from Olantaytambo. One morning, at 6 we got up and walked 12 blocks to the train station, the second we got there everyone was offering us random things like massages, water, backpacks, Peruvian hats, soda, etc. Eventually we found our way to the train where we got our ticket stamped and got on. The train ride was around an hour and a half to Machu Picchu along one of the largest tributary rivers of the Amazon. We got on to the bus to head 4 miles up steep hairpin turns to the top of the mountain where the ancient city lies. The view from the top of the mountain was amazing you could see the sunset, the cloud forest, and the ancient city. It really must have felt
like a city on top of the world.


The train ride back was crazy. First there was a traditional dance that involved masks and colorful dresses. Then there was a fashion show hosted by the train staff for alpaca wool clothing. Of course, halfway through that show, I had to go to the bathroom. Now, to get to the bathroom you had to walk past the crazy half of our train car. I got up and started to walk and all
the tippsy, or just very enthusiastic, people started cheering and clapping like I was part of the fashion show just because I was walking down the aisle. I had to show of my shirt like it was an item in the show. After going to the bathroom, I had to do the same and they were even more excited. In the end I made it to my seat alive and was able to enjoy the rest of the ride. That is my Perurail story.

The Galapagos go with you

Nov 21 2019

By Annelise

What is the draw to visit the Galapagos Islands? A smattering of islands that are ancient and impermanent. New islands being built volcanically while the oldest move slowly eastward tectonically, gradually erode and sink under their own weight and disappear. An ecology dependent on fresh winds and water currents from across the globe. It could be a euphemism for some many of today’s cultural and social topics

I could say for me the draw it is its very remoteness, the stark otherworldly volcanic landscapes of black rock contrasting with the intense blues of the water, being able to see directly how micro-environments of the different islands have shaped and influenced the adaptations of the creatures that have found home there, the opportunity to walk and swim among animals close enough to touch,

Genovesa island’s unbelievable amount of birds soaring overhead, nesting on the cliffs, ground and trees was a sight – Nazca Boobies, Red-footed Boobies, Great frigate birds, Red-billed tropic birds. Wind over the lava flats is punctuated with boobie mating calls and whistles and smells of guano. We watched our steps when walking the island trails to not only avoid stepping on iguanas and nesting birds but even sleeping sea lions. The later smell strongly of canned fish so you can smell them even if they are snoozing just around the corner.

On Floreana island, playful sealions splash around our kayaks while the Galapagos penguins nearly fly by fishing. We watched a flock of flamingo land on a small strand and let us paddle right to shore with them.  One would think this is an island paradise with that description, but the land is harsh and two of the first three settler groups succumbed to murder and intrigue more suited for the tales of pirates that had plied the shores and caves would tell.

Snorkeling reveals so many fish, some spotted eagle rays, recovering corals and many green sea turtles. You can see the planktons and krill that have been brought up from the Antarctic along the cold Humboldt current. At Kicker Rock I swam over and through a huge school of salema that was about 3 meters wide, 4 meters deep and 10 meters long completely filing a cleft in the rock. I am sure they were pleased I was a lumbering human and not a sea lion.

We walked among nearly all the Galapagos reptiles. The giant Galapagos land tortoises are awesome for their very Jurassic like nature. They are docile and shy though they hiss like Darth Vader as they recoil into their shells. As for iguanas we saw; yellow iguanas on Santa Fe, pale only to be found on Espanola island, one of the three (that is the absolute number) hybrid iguanas (a sterile cross between a yellow and marine iguana) on South Plaza island. The various subspecies of marine iguanas on each island from which you keep a bit of distance if you can since they squirt salt from their noses sporadically.  I’m not certain which adaptation I find most intriguing; the marine iguanas that will literally resorb their skeleton and become smaller in time of famine (el nino years) to reduce their food requirements, or that a giant land tortoise can live for nearly a year without water or food.

This week felt magical in that I was transported to such an otherworldly place. It was also made more special by the fabulous crew of our boat, our gracious and ever knowledgeable naturalist guide and the fact that we got to share to experience with my parents who have ventured to most of the world; but not to this particular spot.

Evil on the Equator

Nov 10

By Haakon

We just finished our one-week trip around the eastern Gallopagos on one of the Rolf Wittmer boats. One of our stops was on Floreana island where our guide told us about the curious histories of the first three family’s that settled on Floreana during the 1930’s.

The first to come to Floreana was Dr. Friedrich Ritter, a dentist from Germany and his hygienist, Dore Strauch. In 1929, they left their spouses in Germany and ventured to the Galapagos to escape the inter war great depression after WWI and find peace and tranquility on a remote island. He envisioned life of strong work, a vegetarian diet and lack of creature comforts, even clothes (I am thinking of a bad ecuadorian sunburn).  Knowing there would be no dentists for him there, he had all his teeth removed to avoid dental emergences; Dore declined to do the same. She brought with her, her best friend, a pet donkey.

 The second group of European settlers was Heinz and Margaret Wittimer. Dr Wittmer was a veterinarian, he came with his blind son and his pregnant wife to escape Nazi Germany in 1934 and in hopes of finding a healthy environment for their son. When they first arrived, they used a cave which pirates lived and built it out to include some log and rock walls. Their second son, Rolf, was born soon after to be followed three years later by a sister, Floreanita. The family used other caves to store canned fruits and vegetables, some livestock left by buccaneers roamed the island so occasionally they killed bulls for meat and leather, used two cows for milk and cream, and they had a boat that came four times a year that supplied them with flour and other things they couldn’t obtain on the island by themselves. They raised chickens and vegetable garden later. The extended Wittmer family still lives in the small town on Floreana which we did not visit. A cool fact is: Margaret’s son, the first person born on Floreana, was Rolf Wittimer who started a small boat tour company with his fishing boat, which has now turned into multiple fleets for lots of family’s like us visiting the Galapagos.

The trouble started really with the third party to settle on the island. Austrian “Baroness’’ Eloise Wehrborn von Wagner Bosquet came as an aspiring entrepreneur with her entourage of three men, Rudolf Lorenz, Robert Philipson, and Felipe Valdiviseo all with whom the “Baroness” was said to have romantic relations. The baroness had an idea of starting a hotel business which may have been her worst decision ever.

 Shortly after the Baroness arrived, the disputes started with everyone else on the island and the Baroness. Like I said the Baroness was an aspiring entrepreneur and her initial idea was to open a grand hotel on Floreana, the others did not want a huge hotel on their remote island. Out of the blue, in 1934, strange deaths and mysterious disappearances occurred that still haven’t been solved. The Baroness and Robert Philipson disappeared on a morning walk without a trace. Others say they boarded a passing yacht for Tahiti though there is no record of this, nor of them turning up in Tahiti. It was said that she never went anywhere without wearing her pearl necklace however the necklace was found in her home. Shortly after the disappearance, Rudolf Lorenz hired a Norwegian fisherman to take him to San Cristobal island where he could catch a boat to the mainland; months later both their bodies were found on Marchena (one of the far northern islands in the Galapagos), the fishing boat wrecked.

Dr. Friedrich Ritter, the vegetarian, apparently died of food poisoning as a result eating chicken soup. According to the Wittmers, he said before dying that Dore had poisoned him, though she always denied it. After Dr Ritter’s death, Dora returned to Germany with her donkey (and it is said she died later in a Blitz).

Some talk of the of the Tortoise curse – those that come to seek selfish profit from the islands invariably die or leave.

  -San Cristóbal Galapagos Interpretation Center

So you want to live on a deserted island?

Nov 10 2019

By Siri

500 million years ago near the equator, on the edge of the Nazca plate, a hot spot in the earth crust erupted over and over to create at least 13 main islands, 6 smaller ones and about 225 islets to become known as the Galapagos. These islands are 670ish miles from the mainland of Ecuador and located right where the south east and north east trade winds blow and three marine currents meet; the panama current, the Peru coastal current and the deep equatorial counter current

Slowly over hundreds of thousands of years a strange collection of inhabitants made the islands home. There were plant seeds and birds that blew in on the trade winds. Many sea turtles and fishes came on the currents as far as from Southeast Asia by following the equatorial counter current. Mangrove seeds, and rafts of jungle plants floated across from Central and South America. On some of them were iguanas that could survive without food or water of months, also big tortoises that could float on water and not eat or drink for many months. Mammals only came if they were sea mammals like fur sea lions. They all changed to fit their particular island world. The land creatures did not have natural predators mostly and did not learn to protect their nests.  It wasn’t until after millions of years of evolution, after humans evolved and began sailing the world as explorers and pirates that land mammals came to the islands. The sailors brought rats, goats, and cats. These goats ate the food that the giant tortoises needed. The rats and cats ate tortoise, turtle and iguana eggs and birds’ eggs and the baby animals too.

The people that came to settle in the Galapagos had to be tough too and try to create a life that did not hurt the environment too much if it was going to work for them. I am not talking about those people that stopped by there over the past 500 years to take tons of tortoises, kill many tons of whales for oil and still now sharks for fins.

One of those tough families was the Wittmer family. The Wittmers moved away from Germany in 1933 for a more peaceful life and healthy place for their blind son to grow up. Margaret Wittmer was pregnant when they arrived. They went to the almost uninhabited Floreana island. They first made a shelter in a cave that pirates had used until they could build something more like a half-cave half-house of rocks and logs they found. This is where their son, Rolf, was born. This family made a farm that they could live from. They got food stuff from a ship that came by 4 times a year. This family still lives on Floreana island. In fact Rolf started as a fisherman and then built boats to show tourists the islands. We took a tour for 8 days on one of his company’s boats. It was way more luxurious then a pirate cave or raft of jungle plants😊 Thank you to our amazing naturalist guide, Nancy, who taught me these things