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South
America / Letter 13
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Lake
Titicaca |
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Machu
Picchu |
Dec.
29, 1998 Peru to Bolivia
Hello to everyone and a Happy New Year. My last
week has been so eventful it will be hard to
describe everything in a letter, but I'll try.
arrived in Cusco to a beautiful city that is rich in
Inca and Spanish culture. The city is 3326 meters
above sea level. The city of Cusco has four large
Cathedrals in the main plaza and is surrounded by
buildings that have a base of Inca masonry.
Coricancha is the colonial church of Santa Domingo
and its base is of Inca stone. At one time it was
the richest temple of the Inca empire and its walls
were covered in 700 sheets of gold each weighing 4.4
pounds. Whole blocks of large asymmetrical stones
were perfectly fit together to make 6 to 8 foot
walls that have withstood many of the earthquakes to
this area.
A problem that occurs in Cusco is Acute Mountain
Sickness. I didn't have any problems with
altitude sickness, but met other travelers who
had problems with breathlessness, dry, irritative
cough, severe headache, loss of appetite, nausea,
and vomiting which can progress to more severe
symptoms. The treatment is to drink fluids, rest
often, eat light carbohydrates, and drink mate de
coca. This is a tea made of 3 or 4 coca leaves in
boiling water and sweetened with sugar. This is a
medicinal use of coca leaves and legal in Peru,
Ecuador, and Bolivia. Although I must admit that we
would become breathless with minimal exercise.
I traveled by local train to Aguas Calientes. From
Aguas Calientes I took a bus that travels 22
switchbacks up to Machu Picchu. This is the grandest
Inca ruins. This site is surrounded by high
mountains in a beautiful rain forest setting. Every
direction has spiked mountain peaks and deep canyon
valleys with waterfalls spattered intermittently.
The clouds would start at mid- mountain and you
could watch updrafts move around the peaks making it
very magical and spiritual. You could almost sense
the history of the Inca empire as you walked through
the ruins dating from the 12th century to the 15th
century. Machu Picchu had 16 ceremonial baths, royal
palaces, Hut of the Caretaker of the Funerary Rock (
this is where the nobility was mummified), Temple of
the Sun, natural rock caves, step altars, tombs,
terraces, and many windows with a trapezoid shape
that was perfectly honed. Every stone wall was fit
perfectly (an ant could not have slipped through any
of the seams). My second day at Machu Picchu, I hiked to the top of Huayna Picchu.
This hike took 1 1/2 hours of
straight up steps on the edge of a mountain. At
times a cable was needed just for safety and I couldn't look down without getting nervous.
At the top I crawled through a passageway and
looked over the edge to see a Peruvian bear and her
two cubs playing. The markings had tan circles
around the eyes and light colored nose. This is a
rare sighting this high on the mountain. I looked
for condors and didn't see any although there were
sightings the first day. I could go on and on about
these ruins, but tour books, pictures, guides, etc.
do not do it justice. FANTASTIC!
On the train I met a delightful lady (Delcy) and
had 4 hours of Spanish lessons. She invited me to
spend a very special Peruvian Christmas with her
family in Cusco. The family has a countdown to
midnight when sparklers are lit around a large
nativity scene, which includes incense in a
miniature volcano, Peruvian animals and birds, hugs
are given to all and an exchange of Feliz Navidad. I
then ate a large meal starting with a chicken
yucca soup followed by cinnamon oreo cookies,
colored marshmallows, then mouth watering roasted
turkey, and fruit salad followed by a cup of hot
chocolate. It was very emotional and I want to say
a big thank you to Delcy Olivera Gutierrez, her
parents Julio Axel Olivera Fernandez and Nancy
Gutierrez de Olivera, Roxany Olivera Gutierrez,
Anahy Olivera Gutierrez, Julio Axel Olivera
Gutierrez, and Sebastian D. Olivera. You opened up
your hearts and home to make me feel very special
and make Christmas special. MUCHAS GRACIAS! PS...Delcy...E-mail
me because I lost your E-mail address.......ben@benmikaelsen.com.
On the 25th I headed south from Cusco to Puno,
Peru. It was a high altitude drive along the
altiplano. I saw herds of llamas, hot springs, a
little snow, sod houses, Aymara culture and costumes
and were lucky enough to stop at a small village
where they were having a dance festival. The whole
community was in colorful dress and derby hats. The
dancers would tell a story with their dances, hoeing
and sowing seed, love stories, times of drought,
etc. I was the only gringo, but they offered me beer and many warm smiles........I am not sure how
to describe the beauty and big smiles.
On the 26th I traveled onto Copacabana, Bolivia.
The border crossing cost me $3.00 and many warm
welcomes. It was the easiest border crossing of the
whole trip. It was especially fun to reminisce about
my childhood, remembering Lake
Titicaca, family trips, the altiplano, etc. (I was
born in Bolivia and spent my first 12 years in
Bolivia). This was my first time returning to
Bolivia in thirty five years. I stayed at the
hostel La Cupula.......fantastic! It looked over
Lake Titicaca and had great vegetarian food. The
next day I took a boat trip out to Isla del Sol and
Isla de la Luna to see the first Inca ruins. Lake
Titicaca is at 3830 meters and different colors of
blue and greens.
Two days later I drove from Copacabana through
Lapaz, Bolivia, driving northeast to Caranavi,
Bolivia, to visit Paul and Jay Mikaelsen (my
brother and his wife). The drive was incredible. I climbed to 15,000 feet and then descended to 2,000
feet in 80 miles along the most stunning and
dangerous section of winding road of the whole trip.
Many places the road was only wide enough for one
car and I would have to back up along a cliff for
200 yards to where a truck could pass. A bridge had
been knocked out so I ended up driving through a
raging river with water up to our door handles and
coming over the front of the hood. The good old
Toyota kept running. I found a vacuem hose broken
on the Toyota later and realized I had gone through
the river without 4-wheel drive. Ignorance is
sometimes bliss!. I went from the cold high Andes
mountains to hot, muggy, 85 degree jungle
temperatures. Wow! It was an amazing change in
vegetation, flowers, smells, waterfalls, giant
turquoise/yellow butterflies, and many
birds....(help Mike and Kathy). It was so great to
see Paul and Jay.
I'm going to spend a few days here
visiting.....so will write more of my adventures
soon.
I wish you all a Happy New Year filled with peace
and kindness. Ben |
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