SharonNRayMc: Trip Report - 24 days on the road: Miami, Jupiter, Bolivia and Peru... and what some folks will do to see the Devil Dance! (Part 2)
Feb 23rd, 2005, 06:08 PM
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<b>La Paz, Bolivia</b>
Gasoline prices - 3.4 Bolivianos per liter (42 cents US). Price controls keep gas prices quite artificially low. In contrast, gasoline prices in Peru were between 10 and 11 Soles per liter. ($3.07 - $3.38 US)
The tour portion of our trip started the afternoon of Thursday, Feb 3.
Mauricio Suarez was our guide in La Paz and Oruro. He is by far the best local guide I have ever had the pleasure to use. He spoke clear English and the depth of his knowledge on such a broad range of topics was superb. Mauricio works for MAGRI-Turismo and truly enjoys being a guide. He and his wife are both trained architects; so, he balances architectural work with tourism.
Contact info for MAGRI-Turismo:
Phone in La Paz: 591-2-244-2727
FAX in La Paz: 591-2-244-3060
e-mail: [email protected]
website: www.magri-amexpress.com.bo
I will also direct you to Rutahsa Adventures who put the tour portion of our trip together and who made hotel, guide and transportation arrangements with agents in Bolivia & Peru for the independent portion of our adventure. Not that we do tours all the time; but, this was our third trip with Ric Finch, who together with his wife Janie, is the genius behind Rutahsa Adventures. His trip planning is absolutely the best and you get to some amazing off-the-beaten path places with his tours. Group size is limited to 16. If interested, check out
http://rutahsa.com/
and tell them Ray and Sharon Mc from Oklahoma referred you via the Fodor's forum. We get nothing for the referral; but I know Ric & Janie like to keep track of where their clients first hear about Rutahsa.)
- Sharon
Gasoline prices - 3.4 Bolivianos per liter (42 cents US). Price controls keep gas prices quite artificially low. In contrast, gasoline prices in Peru were between 10 and 11 Soles per liter. ($3.07 - $3.38 US)
The tour portion of our trip started the afternoon of Thursday, Feb 3.
Mauricio Suarez was our guide in La Paz and Oruro. He is by far the best local guide I have ever had the pleasure to use. He spoke clear English and the depth of his knowledge on such a broad range of topics was superb. Mauricio works for MAGRI-Turismo and truly enjoys being a guide. He and his wife are both trained architects; so, he balances architectural work with tourism.
Contact info for MAGRI-Turismo:
Phone in La Paz: 591-2-244-2727
FAX in La Paz: 591-2-244-3060
e-mail: [email protected]
website: www.magri-amexpress.com.bo
I will also direct you to Rutahsa Adventures who put the tour portion of our trip together and who made hotel, guide and transportation arrangements with agents in Bolivia & Peru for the independent portion of our adventure. Not that we do tours all the time; but, this was our third trip with Ric Finch, who together with his wife Janie, is the genius behind Rutahsa Adventures. His trip planning is absolutely the best and you get to some amazing off-the-beaten path places with his tours. Group size is limited to 16. If interested, check out
http://rutahsa.com/
and tell them Ray and Sharon Mc from Oklahoma referred you via the Fodor's forum. We get nothing for the referral; but I know Ric & Janie like to keep track of where their clients first hear about Rutahsa.)
- Sharon
Feb 23rd, 2005, 06:09 PM
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<b>La Paz, cont'd…A Favorite Textile Shop</b>
Prior to the tour Ray and I found this wonderful textile store: Artesania Visa, next to Hostal Cactus, Melchor Jemenez 818. Telephone: 246-2927. Good-hearted and knowledgeable people staff the family-run shop. They are quite friendly and will discuss symbolism of the textile designs and uses of the textiles and objects at length with you. Patricia speaks just a little English; her sister, Felicidad speaks English quite well. I received most of my textile information from Patricia in Spanish so she might also be the more knowledgeable one. Felicidad is a university student and showed up later in our visit to their store.
Don't be put off by the machine woven textiles outside. There are some very interesting textiles and hats inside.
I traded email addresses with Felicidad and our plan is for her to write to me in English and for me to write her in Spanish. I certainly need to send her photos of Ray and I with her sister, Patricia, which we posed for in their shop. I am sure Patricia will like to have this remembrance!
Ray and I spent such a delightful time in their shop.
Prior to the tour Ray and I found this wonderful textile store: Artesania Visa, next to Hostal Cactus, Melchor Jemenez 818. Telephone: 246-2927. Good-hearted and knowledgeable people staff the family-run shop. They are quite friendly and will discuss symbolism of the textile designs and uses of the textiles and objects at length with you. Patricia speaks just a little English; her sister, Felicidad speaks English quite well. I received most of my textile information from Patricia in Spanish so she might also be the more knowledgeable one. Felicidad is a university student and showed up later in our visit to their store.
Don't be put off by the machine woven textiles outside. There are some very interesting textiles and hats inside.
I traded email addresses with Felicidad and our plan is for her to write to me in English and for me to write her in Spanish. I certainly need to send her photos of Ray and I with her sister, Patricia, which we posed for in their shop. I am sure Patricia will like to have this remembrance!
Ray and I spent such a delightful time in their shop.
Feb 23rd, 2005, 06:12 PM
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<b>La Paz, cont'd…Black Market & Witches Market</b>
The market area around our hotel was about 50 blocks of markets. Mauricio told us sixty percent of the people in La Paz make their living selling, so there is a lot of competition. The average salary per capita per month is about $56 US. People set up their booths and sell everything imaginable in the Black Market and Witches Market. They avoid taxation, hence the label: black market. In the Witches Market there are all sorts of 'unusual' items: llama fetuses, various shaped candies, vino tinto, herbs, potions and confetti.
Carnaval is a time to bless things. So, since everything is to be blessed, there was a lot of shopping going on in the markets of La Paz as the days lead up to carnaval.
Blessings are done with paper ribbon and confetti so the volume of confetti being sold was outstanding! 50-gallon sized vats of various colors of confetti were all over Calle Illampu, where our hotel was located. Also readily available were carnaval costumes, water balloons, water guns, super-soakers and firecrackers. The special carnaval vendors lined both sides of Calle Illampu and contributed to confusing traffic patterns.
The market area around our hotel was about 50 blocks of markets. Mauricio told us sixty percent of the people in La Paz make their living selling, so there is a lot of competition. The average salary per capita per month is about $56 US. People set up their booths and sell everything imaginable in the Black Market and Witches Market. They avoid taxation, hence the label: black market. In the Witches Market there are all sorts of 'unusual' items: llama fetuses, various shaped candies, vino tinto, herbs, potions and confetti.
Carnaval is a time to bless things. So, since everything is to be blessed, there was a lot of shopping going on in the markets of La Paz as the days lead up to carnaval.
Blessings are done with paper ribbon and confetti so the volume of confetti being sold was outstanding! 50-gallon sized vats of various colors of confetti were all over Calle Illampu, where our hotel was located. Also readily available were carnaval costumes, water balloons, water guns, super-soakers and firecrackers. The special carnaval vendors lined both sides of Calle Illampu and contributed to confusing traffic patterns.
Feb 23rd, 2005, 06:13 PM
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<b>La Paz, cont'd… A group visit to a Kallawaya (Andean Witch Doctor) </b>
Mauricio arranged for us to meet with Fabian Llaves, a kallawaya. We were lead through the unusual merchandise of the witches market to a small room where Fabian read his coca leaves. The walls of this room were decorated with egg-crate after egg-crate that had been nailed down for so long that the nails had formed rust marks. After Fabian tossed the coca leaves on a hand-woven textile; he read them and offered his suggestions for a proper offering to pachamama. Fabian told us one person in our group was not well and we would need to be careful for this person. (He did not know that one of the members in our group had slipped on a bar of soap in a Miami hotel and was wearing a brace. This person had been delayed and had not yet joined the group.) After finding this out, Fabian followed up by saying that there was one person and maybe two that we would need to be careful for. We were also told our trip coordinator, Ric Finch, would be fine. Coca leaves that fall underneath-side-up, are evidently bad omens.
Our kallawaya suggested we buy all the things for a proper offering and make an offering to pachamamma. Mauricio told him we were going to Sajama and Fabian said we should take our offering to Sajama, a very high mountain near the Bolivia/Chile border and burn it there. Ric asked how much for the offering, and was told 200 Bolivianos. Rutahsa Adventures paid for the offering, gave it to the kallawaya and asked him to choose the proper items for us.
Mauricio told us Fabian comes from the province with the very best witch doctors: Bautista Saavedra. Phone number: 233-3382 Mobile: 772-34895. (yes, 8 digits for Bolivian cell phones and he speaks Spanish, no English.)
Mauricio arranged for us to meet with Fabian Llaves, a kallawaya. We were lead through the unusual merchandise of the witches market to a small room where Fabian read his coca leaves. The walls of this room were decorated with egg-crate after egg-crate that had been nailed down for so long that the nails had formed rust marks. After Fabian tossed the coca leaves on a hand-woven textile; he read them and offered his suggestions for a proper offering to pachamama. Fabian told us one person in our group was not well and we would need to be careful for this person. (He did not know that one of the members in our group had slipped on a bar of soap in a Miami hotel and was wearing a brace. This person had been delayed and had not yet joined the group.) After finding this out, Fabian followed up by saying that there was one person and maybe two that we would need to be careful for. We were also told our trip coordinator, Ric Finch, would be fine. Coca leaves that fall underneath-side-up, are evidently bad omens.
Our kallawaya suggested we buy all the things for a proper offering and make an offering to pachamamma. Mauricio told him we were going to Sajama and Fabian said we should take our offering to Sajama, a very high mountain near the Bolivia/Chile border and burn it there. Ric asked how much for the offering, and was told 200 Bolivianos. Rutahsa Adventures paid for the offering, gave it to the kallawaya and asked him to choose the proper items for us.
Mauricio told us Fabian comes from the province with the very best witch doctors: Bautista Saavedra. Phone number: 233-3382 Mobile: 772-34895. (yes, 8 digits for Bolivian cell phones and he speaks Spanish, no English.)
Feb 23rd, 2005, 06:14 PM
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<b>La Paz, cont'd… St. Peter's Cathedral, Plaza Murrillo, Gold Museum and More</b>
The city center of La Paz is beautiful. Fine plantings, pleasant green areas, lovely flowering blooms, fabulous architecture AND a lower altitude…. oh, so important for more oxygen!
We stopped at St. Peter's Cathedral, Plaza Murrillo, the Gold Museum, Casa Murillo, and strolled along Calle Jaen.
The city center of La Paz is beautiful. Fine plantings, pleasant green areas, lovely flowering blooms, fabulous architecture AND a lower altitude…. oh, so important for more oxygen!
We stopped at St. Peter's Cathedral, Plaza Murrillo, the Gold Museum, Casa Murillo, and strolled along Calle Jaen.
Feb 23rd, 2005, 06:16 PM
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<b>La Paz, cont'd… Huari Peña</b>
That evening our kallawaya met us at Huari Peña, Calle Sagarnaga 339 at 7:30 PM. Here he described all the items of the offering. Star-shaped candies for reverence to the constellations, llamas for balance & unity, silver streamers for riches, a silver couple inside a heart-shaped ornament to represent the group, lots of candies for sweetness, health and a safe trip. The mesa was topped off with a llama fetus that had been wrapped up a bit in rainbow of colored gauzy ribbon. We were each given a mixed drink of passion fruit juice and singani that we poured around the offering (mesa) at the four corners in a counter clockwise motion. (This motion follows the spindles of the Ancient Andean Cross, which is a mirror image of Hitler's swastika.) Fabian said several prayers. Then we all toasted, "Salud! Suerte!" and proceeded to our tables for dinner, delightful Andean music and festive dance. One of the bands played panpipes that were 4 to 5 feet long and produced a low base sound. What a treat to hear this instrument! As the evening wore on the bands became better and better. Each band took its turn selling CDs after their performance. We purchased two CDs as souvenirs for 80 Bolivianos each and they are fantastic!
The show was quite colorful and I took loads of photos and mpgs. Then, if that wasn't enough one of the young men grabbed my hand to join him in dancing on the stage. Well, why not? I agreed. Oops. I had momentarily forgot about the GASPING at this altitude! It was fun nonetheless. We danced all over the stage as a pair and then formed a large circle. Around and around we went. Someone broke the circle and started doing a snaking dance all around the tables. WHEW! OMIGOSH I became so winded! Such is the price of fun and dancing at a peña with a fine Andean dancer. I asked Ray to check his altimeter when I arrived back at our table: 11, 915 feet. I was so grateful to have ordered another bottle of water prior to being spun around like that. I told myself: concentrate - blow out through your mouth, breathe in through your nose. Pursed lipped breathing - WHEW…
The show ended at 10:30 PM and after paying our bill, we walked uphill the two blocks to our hotel. The vendors were still putting up their wares. Mauricio had told us they begin setting up at 5 AM. Although we also saw some vendors setting up at 9 AM; it probably depends on whether the particular vendor is a morning person or an evening person.
That evening our kallawaya met us at Huari Peña, Calle Sagarnaga 339 at 7:30 PM. Here he described all the items of the offering. Star-shaped candies for reverence to the constellations, llamas for balance & unity, silver streamers for riches, a silver couple inside a heart-shaped ornament to represent the group, lots of candies for sweetness, health and a safe trip. The mesa was topped off with a llama fetus that had been wrapped up a bit in rainbow of colored gauzy ribbon. We were each given a mixed drink of passion fruit juice and singani that we poured around the offering (mesa) at the four corners in a counter clockwise motion. (This motion follows the spindles of the Ancient Andean Cross, which is a mirror image of Hitler's swastika.) Fabian said several prayers. Then we all toasted, "Salud! Suerte!" and proceeded to our tables for dinner, delightful Andean music and festive dance. One of the bands played panpipes that were 4 to 5 feet long and produced a low base sound. What a treat to hear this instrument! As the evening wore on the bands became better and better. Each band took its turn selling CDs after their performance. We purchased two CDs as souvenirs for 80 Bolivianos each and they are fantastic!
The show was quite colorful and I took loads of photos and mpgs. Then, if that wasn't enough one of the young men grabbed my hand to join him in dancing on the stage. Well, why not? I agreed. Oops. I had momentarily forgot about the GASPING at this altitude! It was fun nonetheless. We danced all over the stage as a pair and then formed a large circle. Around and around we went. Someone broke the circle and started doing a snaking dance all around the tables. WHEW! OMIGOSH I became so winded! Such is the price of fun and dancing at a peña with a fine Andean dancer. I asked Ray to check his altimeter when I arrived back at our table: 11, 915 feet. I was so grateful to have ordered another bottle of water prior to being spun around like that. I told myself: concentrate - blow out through your mouth, breathe in through your nose. Pursed lipped breathing - WHEW…
The show ended at 10:30 PM and after paying our bill, we walked uphill the two blocks to our hotel. The vendors were still putting up their wares. Mauricio had told us they begin setting up at 5 AM. Although we also saw some vendors setting up at 9 AM; it probably depends on whether the particular vendor is a morning person or an evening person.
Feb 23rd, 2005, 06:17 PM
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<b>La Paz, cont'd…Alasitas Market - The Party of Miniatures</b>
Alasitas is a two-week long party for the god of fortune, ekeko. Here you can buy everything imaginable in miniature. You have an ekeko idol and attach all these things to your ekeko: I suppose it’s a bit like creating a visual Christmas list. With a chubby, mustached ekeko that carries everything you want: money, passports, luggage, babies, stoves, houses, cars, stores, pots and pans, food, diplomas, clothing. Anything you can buy in the real world, you can find in miniature at the Alasitas Market. You can also find some very fine snacks.
Alasitas is a two-week long party for the god of fortune, ekeko. Here you can buy everything imaginable in miniature. You have an ekeko idol and attach all these things to your ekeko: I suppose it’s a bit like creating a visual Christmas list. With a chubby, mustached ekeko that carries everything you want: money, passports, luggage, babies, stoves, houses, cars, stores, pots and pans, food, diplomas, clothing. Anything you can buy in the real world, you can find in miniature at the Alasitas Market. You can also find some very fine snacks.
Feb 24th, 2005, 07:41 AM
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Sharon I'm sorry to read about your experience at Pachacutec in Cuzco. It was absolutely our best and most traditional meal (aside from the potato and mud at the farmer's home). There were no musicians when we ate though it fairly early in the day culturally, which might have been the reason. On the flip side, as you've raved about the pizza we had one that was basically raw dough with sauce and cheese on top. The second pizza place (gluttons for punishment) had excellent breadsticks but the rest of the meal was dry and overdone. Unfair comparing it to Venice or Chicago however.
Just goes to show how different travel experiences can be at the exact same locations.
Interesting to hear that things have changed so dramatically over the past five years in Cusco. It's a shame, but I suppose that's the challenge of becoming a more popular destination. I truly miss Bolivia though - such amazing people and geography.
Just goes to show how different travel experiences can be at the exact same locations.
Interesting to hear that things have changed so dramatically over the past five years in Cusco. It's a shame, but I suppose that's the challenge of becoming a more popular destination. I truly miss Bolivia though - such amazing people and geography.
Feb 26th, 2005, 06:40 AM
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Hi Heather! WOW! What a difference of experiences at Pachacutec! What did you order? When did you eat? This might help other travelers. We ate about 8:00 PM on a Saturday night.
I agree with you that Bolivia was so very special. In Bolivia we found innocence and beauty of a "undiscovered" country.
Unfortunately when we arrived in Puno, Ray was feeling a bit under the weather and I was a bit travel weary so we did not make it out to the Uros floating Islands or to the shopping areas in Puno which you wrote about in your trip report. Puno certainly seemed like an interesting place and I wished we had more than a late afternoon arrival with an early next morning departure. Then again, I would not have giving up any time in Cusco for more time in Puno.
For other readers...here is the link to Heather's Peru/Bolivia trip. Lots of good tips and a good read:
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34544715
- Sharon
I agree with you that Bolivia was so very special. In Bolivia we found innocence and beauty of a "undiscovered" country.
Unfortunately when we arrived in Puno, Ray was feeling a bit under the weather and I was a bit travel weary so we did not make it out to the Uros floating Islands or to the shopping areas in Puno which you wrote about in your trip report. Puno certainly seemed like an interesting place and I wished we had more than a late afternoon arrival with an early next morning departure. Then again, I would not have giving up any time in Cusco for more time in Puno.
For other readers...here is the link to Heather's Peru/Bolivia trip. Lots of good tips and a good read:
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34544715
- Sharon
Feb 26th, 2005, 02:10 PM
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<b>La Paz - Valley of the Moon</b>
After a 45-minute bus ride from our hotel, we reached The Valley of the Moon. The site is similar to Utah's Bryce Canyon and contains the same eroded hoodoos. A couple of men played native music (drum, flute and panpipes) and sold tourist handicrafts. The music provided a nice accompaniment to our 45-minute hike. Along the way we spotted a giant hummingbird: imagine a bird about the size of a robin moving about like hummingbirds do! Seeing such a bird certainly left me in a state of puzzlement! Thanks to Linda, who was part of our group and had a South American birding book!
Our trip leader, Ric Finch, who is a retired geology professor, explained a bit about Bolivia's geology:
The South American plate moves westward over the Nazca plate (part of the Pacific Ocean). An important distinction is that the South American plate is continental and the Nazca plate is oceanic. One of the facts about oceanic plates is that in a collision with a continental plate, oceanic plates will lose, folding down and sinking below the continental plate, because they are thinner and heavier than continental plates. So, as the South American plate moves west and converges with the Nazca plate its force runs over the oceanic plate, forcing it down into the earth in a process known as subduction. This process causes the mass to become hotter: think magma and volcanoes. The margin of the over-riding continental plate is also damaged in the collision, folded and uplifted into mountains; and, molten material rises from the subducted plate, through the deformed edge of the continental plate, to add volcanoes to the folded mountain belt.
The Andes mountains consist of two mountain ranges. The western range is more volcanic and the eastern range is mostly a series of folded mountains. These are parallel ranges and they are not that far apart. In Bolivia the ranges are quite pronounced as two walls of mountains with sediment build-up in between which derived from the fight between uplift and erosion. The land in between these two ranges is the altiplano, which is relatively flat and high. Very few streams cut through the altiplano which help to maintain it's flat shape. In any case, all this wonderful science of plate tectonics and erosion creates some amazing landforms and natural beauty!
The city of La Paz is in a canyon of eroded material. A stream goes through and has cut into the mountain creating a large canyon. I became curious about how one builds such a large city in this setting: a place with geography similar to the Grand Canyon. I asked our guide, Mauricio, a trained architect about building practices in La Paz. He said that 65% of the land is very unstable. Engineers use a six-foot tall tripod and drop a weighted ball from the top of it. Then, by measuring the amount of land that has been disrupted, an engineer can design a way to stabilize a building on that site. As you can imagine, architects and structural engineers work together and building a stable, well-made dwelling space is quite expensive. Many people cannot afford this input or the construction methods, so if you look around the less affluent areas of La Paz you will find a fair amount of buildings which have shifted and have all sorts of structural problems.
After a 45-minute bus ride from our hotel, we reached The Valley of the Moon. The site is similar to Utah's Bryce Canyon and contains the same eroded hoodoos. A couple of men played native music (drum, flute and panpipes) and sold tourist handicrafts. The music provided a nice accompaniment to our 45-minute hike. Along the way we spotted a giant hummingbird: imagine a bird about the size of a robin moving about like hummingbirds do! Seeing such a bird certainly left me in a state of puzzlement! Thanks to Linda, who was part of our group and had a South American birding book!
Our trip leader, Ric Finch, who is a retired geology professor, explained a bit about Bolivia's geology:
The South American plate moves westward over the Nazca plate (part of the Pacific Ocean). An important distinction is that the South American plate is continental and the Nazca plate is oceanic. One of the facts about oceanic plates is that in a collision with a continental plate, oceanic plates will lose, folding down and sinking below the continental plate, because they are thinner and heavier than continental plates. So, as the South American plate moves west and converges with the Nazca plate its force runs over the oceanic plate, forcing it down into the earth in a process known as subduction. This process causes the mass to become hotter: think magma and volcanoes. The margin of the over-riding continental plate is also damaged in the collision, folded and uplifted into mountains; and, molten material rises from the subducted plate, through the deformed edge of the continental plate, to add volcanoes to the folded mountain belt.
The Andes mountains consist of two mountain ranges. The western range is more volcanic and the eastern range is mostly a series of folded mountains. These are parallel ranges and they are not that far apart. In Bolivia the ranges are quite pronounced as two walls of mountains with sediment build-up in between which derived from the fight between uplift and erosion. The land in between these two ranges is the altiplano, which is relatively flat and high. Very few streams cut through the altiplano which help to maintain it's flat shape. In any case, all this wonderful science of plate tectonics and erosion creates some amazing landforms and natural beauty!
The city of La Paz is in a canyon of eroded material. A stream goes through and has cut into the mountain creating a large canyon. I became curious about how one builds such a large city in this setting: a place with geography similar to the Grand Canyon. I asked our guide, Mauricio, a trained architect about building practices in La Paz. He said that 65% of the land is very unstable. Engineers use a six-foot tall tripod and drop a weighted ball from the top of it. Then, by measuring the amount of land that has been disrupted, an engineer can design a way to stabilize a building on that site. As you can imagine, architects and structural engineers work together and building a stable, well-made dwelling space is quite expensive. Many people cannot afford this input or the construction methods, so if you look around the less affluent areas of La Paz you will find a fair amount of buildings which have shifted and have all sorts of structural problems.
Feb 26th, 2005, 02:11 PM
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<b>La Paz - Tiwanaku Museum</b>
We saw an amazing collection of artifacts at the Tiwanaku Museum in La Paz. (Calle Tiwanaku 93) Displays are well lit and have all their signage in Spanish. This museum is definitely worth a stop if you are interested in archaeology, anthropology or ceramics.
A fifteen or twenty minute video (in English) explained current archaeological discoveries and the significance of the Tiwanaku site. The presentation is about discoveries at Tiwanaku and a nice presentation of how two archaeologists, Alan Kolata and Oswaldo Rivera, assisted present-day people living near Tiwanaku in rediscovering agricultural 'secrets' of the ancient Tiwanaku and passed on their findings to modern-day peoples who were rewarded with bumper crops. Prior to our trip I had read a Feb 1991 <i>Smithsonian</i> article, " The Secrets of Ancient Tiwanaku are Benefiting Today's Bolivia" and was delighted to watch a video where these archaeologists explain and show how their discovery of pre-Inca agricultural techniques was helping modern-day people.
Another interesting part of the video explains how the raised temple at Tiwanaku, Akapana, served as a water-mountain image with tunnels to control the flow of water under the temple. In this fashion, a cult of water was celebrated in the stone temple itself: water is life.
The exterior architecture of the museum reflects important Tiwanaku features and reflects a French architectural design. The style has been called neo-Tiwanaku.
We saw an amazing collection of artifacts at the Tiwanaku Museum in La Paz. (Calle Tiwanaku 93) Displays are well lit and have all their signage in Spanish. This museum is definitely worth a stop if you are interested in archaeology, anthropology or ceramics.
A fifteen or twenty minute video (in English) explained current archaeological discoveries and the significance of the Tiwanaku site. The presentation is about discoveries at Tiwanaku and a nice presentation of how two archaeologists, Alan Kolata and Oswaldo Rivera, assisted present-day people living near Tiwanaku in rediscovering agricultural 'secrets' of the ancient Tiwanaku and passed on their findings to modern-day peoples who were rewarded with bumper crops. Prior to our trip I had read a Feb 1991 <i>Smithsonian</i> article, " The Secrets of Ancient Tiwanaku are Benefiting Today's Bolivia" and was delighted to watch a video where these archaeologists explain and show how their discovery of pre-Inca agricultural techniques was helping modern-day people.
Another interesting part of the video explains how the raised temple at Tiwanaku, Akapana, served as a water-mountain image with tunnels to control the flow of water under the temple. In this fashion, a cult of water was celebrated in the stone temple itself: water is life.
The exterior architecture of the museum reflects important Tiwanaku features and reflects a French architectural design. The style has been called neo-Tiwanaku.
Feb 26th, 2005, 02:12 PM
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<b>La Paz - San Pedro Prison</b>
We passed by the prison on the way to the Valley of the Moon. If you are interested in a description of Bolivian prison life read the book <u>Marching Powder</u> which is about the time Thomas McFadden spent in the San Pedro prison. Prisoners have to pay their way while in prison and McFadden earned his keep by offering tours through the prison as a tour guide.
We passed by the prison on the way to the Valley of the Moon. If you are interested in a description of Bolivian prison life read the book <u>Marching Powder</u> which is about the time Thomas McFadden spent in the San Pedro prison. Prisoners have to pay their way while in prison and McFadden earned his keep by offering tours through the prison as a tour guide.
Feb 28th, 2005, 08:08 AM
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In response to Sharon's question, we enjoyed our meal at Pachacutec on a Friday night almost immediately after returning from Machu Picchu. I would guess it was 6:30 PM. The place was quite empty. We'd hoped to eat later that evening but after spending the day hiking around MP without planning ahead for food, we were famished (I would not do well on the Amazing Race). I wish I could recall exactly what I had - it was a shreaded chicken dish in a creamy sauce with peppers - picturing it I still remember how wonderful it tasted - and my husband had 1/2 cuy (sin head!) along with of course loads of potatoes. Maybe because we were famished the meal was that much better, but I was quite hungry when I ate several pieces of our raw pizza also and it didn't make the meal more enjoyable.
Ironically, my husband too was feeling very poorly in Puno. We came very close to cancelling our trip to Copacabana because of it, but fortunately he rallied. I loved that little town (just printed some digital photos of the area last night!).
Ironically, my husband too was feeling very poorly in Puno. We came very close to cancelling our trip to Copacabana because of it, but fortunately he rallied. I loved that little town (just printed some digital photos of the area last night!).
Feb 28th, 2005, 09:27 AM
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Hi again, Heather. Thanks for passing along your "foodie report" on Pachacutec.
So glad to hear your husband rallied in time to see and enjoy Copacobana. What a lovely place!
-Sharon
So glad to hear your husband rallied in time to see and enjoy Copacobana. What a lovely place!
-Sharon
Mar 1st, 2005, 06:55 PM
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<b>Oruro Carnaval!!!</b>
We arrived in Oruro Friday evening (Feb 4) about 5:30 PM to a very overcrowded village as it burst with excitement. The big event, La Entrada would begin at sunrise (630 AM) on Saturday morning, Feb 5, the last Saturday before Ash Wednesday. Already the spray foam, water guns... think super-soakers… confetti and water balloons were everywhere! Appropriate dress was anything covered by a poncho. We watched a group of small boys selling ponchos: they were snaking through the crowd chanting and singing... poncho... poncho... poncho... having loads of fun. There were also rows and rows of vendors selling confetti, masks, paper streamers and some of the biggest super-soakers I have ever seen.
Ray had brought a super-soaker from home and we had saved two 2-liter water bottles to use as refueling may require. All this fit snugly in his daypack. We also had a room with a balcony over the street. So, that could have been a bit of fun for water attacks if we had spent more time in the room.
Oruro's carnaval is not a simple pre-Lenten party. It is a blending of cultures: indigenous faith practices, Catholic faith practices, reminders of historical atrocities, legends, myth, reality, and a pre-Lenten party. Oh, and it is the time for water and shaving foam wars, BBQ, drinking, general relaxation, energetic dancing, revelry and blessings. Carnaval parade begins at sunrise on the Saturday before Ash Wednesday. The parade runs continually all day long and goes well into Saturday night: the wee early hours of Sunday morning. An all night-party street party commences after the first day's activities and at sunrise Sunday morning, the dancing begins all over again. The first day, as I mentioned, is danced for faith. The second and succeeding days are for fun.
We arrived in Oruro Friday evening (Feb 4) about 5:30 PM to a very overcrowded village as it burst with excitement. The big event, La Entrada would begin at sunrise (630 AM) on Saturday morning, Feb 5, the last Saturday before Ash Wednesday. Already the spray foam, water guns... think super-soakers… confetti and water balloons were everywhere! Appropriate dress was anything covered by a poncho. We watched a group of small boys selling ponchos: they were snaking through the crowd chanting and singing... poncho... poncho... poncho... having loads of fun. There were also rows and rows of vendors selling confetti, masks, paper streamers and some of the biggest super-soakers I have ever seen.
Ray had brought a super-soaker from home and we had saved two 2-liter water bottles to use as refueling may require. All this fit snugly in his daypack. We also had a room with a balcony over the street. So, that could have been a bit of fun for water attacks if we had spent more time in the room.
Oruro's carnaval is not a simple pre-Lenten party. It is a blending of cultures: indigenous faith practices, Catholic faith practices, reminders of historical atrocities, legends, myth, reality, and a pre-Lenten party. Oh, and it is the time for water and shaving foam wars, BBQ, drinking, general relaxation, energetic dancing, revelry and blessings. Carnaval parade begins at sunrise on the Saturday before Ash Wednesday. The parade runs continually all day long and goes well into Saturday night: the wee early hours of Sunday morning. An all night-party street party commences after the first day's activities and at sunrise Sunday morning, the dancing begins all over again. The first day, as I mentioned, is danced for faith. The second and succeeding days are for fun.
Mar 1st, 2005, 06:57 PM
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<b>Oruro Carnaval - Cont'd</b>
Did you know UNESCO has declared Oruro Carnaval a special mark of distinction and that there is much in place to preserve this heritage? For instance, one important part of the heritage is to make certain none of the dancers has any alcohol on the first day of Carnaval until after they have completed their ritual dance to the Sanctuary of the Virgin of Sacavón. So, to maintain the cultural heritage, none of the dancers drink until after they have completed their dance and received their blessings at the sanctuary.
We met as a group in the lobby of our hotel at 8:15 AM Saturday morning then walked the few short blocks to our grandstand seats, which were right near Oruro's main plaza. At 9:00 AM, the parade had made its way to our seats. Our seats were right near where Bolivia's president would sit and so we were guaranteed the dancers would make a very good show as they passed by. Oruro's carnaval parade is a pageant of dancers and band members in elaborate costumes. Everyone is people-powered. There are no floats or motorized transportation, simply masses of people on foot gyrating, jumping, dancing and singing.
Priests and altar servers led the parade. Miners wearing hard hats and decorated with many, many garlands of paper ribbon followed behind. Then a banner, a car decorated with cloth and many silver objects attached to the cloth, preceded each group of dancers and musicians. A statue of the Virgin rode on the hood of each car. One hundred fifty to two hundred people comprised many of the groups of dancers. More than 30,000 participants danced and played in this parade! Brass bands followed behind each group of dancers. The costumes were elaborate and the energetic dancing and singing went on and on in flashes of color and delight. Lead dancers used whistles to send signals to their group and keep it in sync. Each dance had it's own tune and several choruses of verse were sung for each tune. These same songs played over and over again… all day, all night, all day… throughout Carnaval. As the festival continued a fantastic vibrancy filled the air.
Many groups performed each type of dance. So it went on and on, over and over again.
Did you know UNESCO has declared Oruro Carnaval a special mark of distinction and that there is much in place to preserve this heritage? For instance, one important part of the heritage is to make certain none of the dancers has any alcohol on the first day of Carnaval until after they have completed their ritual dance to the Sanctuary of the Virgin of Sacavón. So, to maintain the cultural heritage, none of the dancers drink until after they have completed their dance and received their blessings at the sanctuary.
We met as a group in the lobby of our hotel at 8:15 AM Saturday morning then walked the few short blocks to our grandstand seats, which were right near Oruro's main plaza. At 9:00 AM, the parade had made its way to our seats. Our seats were right near where Bolivia's president would sit and so we were guaranteed the dancers would make a very good show as they passed by. Oruro's carnaval parade is a pageant of dancers and band members in elaborate costumes. Everyone is people-powered. There are no floats or motorized transportation, simply masses of people on foot gyrating, jumping, dancing and singing.
Priests and altar servers led the parade. Miners wearing hard hats and decorated with many, many garlands of paper ribbon followed behind. Then a banner, a car decorated with cloth and many silver objects attached to the cloth, preceded each group of dancers and musicians. A statue of the Virgin rode on the hood of each car. One hundred fifty to two hundred people comprised many of the groups of dancers. More than 30,000 participants danced and played in this parade! Brass bands followed behind each group of dancers. The costumes were elaborate and the energetic dancing and singing went on and on in flashes of color and delight. Lead dancers used whistles to send signals to their group and keep it in sync. Each dance had it's own tune and several choruses of verse were sung for each tune. These same songs played over and over again… all day, all night, all day… throughout Carnaval. As the festival continued a fantastic vibrancy filled the air.
Many groups performed each type of dance. So it went on and on, over and over again.
