August 6, 2013

• Cuzco 102

  Cuzco 102

   

  It is not hard to fall in love with Cuzco, the city that is the “navel of the earth” according to the Incas.  It is a mixture of 700 year old buildings mixed with developments that are forced to go ever higher up the mountains that surround the city.  It is a little like being in Europe, where things here predate anything substantial that you can find in all of North America.  Despite the diesel fumes and frequent dusty conditions, the air somehow seems purer at 11,000 feet.  Beauty abounds in the midst of trashy areas as well at times.  To my North American mind, there are some things that are hard to explain, but that is Peru.  

     For one thing, It is a city that has many dogs, and they seem to be a bit more vigilant than most dogs in Latin America.  On several occasions, I have had the occasion to have my course of action changed by a couple of dogs.  Of course, I am a bit more wary down here, since I don’t want to risk getting bit where I don’t know anything about the rabies status of an animal.  Several weeks ago, following a hike recommended by a guidebook, I encountered some dogs at a farm house.  I was probably more than 200 yards away from the house when they spotted me, and running down the hill, all the way to where I was, they convinced me in no uncertain terms that I really did not want to go on that hike anyway.  And on our street, there was an American Bulldog that looked like our dog Moses, except uglier, and most of the time, he paid absolutely no attention to me when I walked to the bus in the am, or back at night.  But on a couple of occasions, he acted like he wouldn’t mind having one of my legs to gnaw on, and once, he snapped at me.  Unfortunately for him, he was hit by a vehicle last Saturday, and the last time I saw him, a large crowd of people were gathered round, and some were crying, so I assume he didn’t make it.  Amazingly, despite nonstop traffic on Avenida La Cultura, I have seen large numbers of dogs make their way safely across and never get hit.  They are survivors, that is for sure.  And probably because there are so many dogs, there are not many cats.  I have seen only 2 in the city, and that is enough for me.  

    Also despite many numerous close calls, I have not witnessed any accident scenes other than one Sunday, a car hit a motorcyclist at an intersection close to where I was running. And I didn’t see that, but heard the crash.  I ran to the site, and found the motorcyclist without a helmet,  lying on the street with a gathering crowd around,  but  more stunned than hurt.  Many in the crowd were snapping photos, (por que?, no se!) Amazingly, there were police and nurses there in less than 90 seconds, and they had him loaded on a backboard, placed on the back of the police pickup, and hauled off to the hospital, probably within 4 minutes of the accident.  Of course, there was not time for a complete assessment, but I suppose he did okay.  But don’t try that at home.. There is a definite extra instrument with driving which is the horn.  I never knew how many different ways you could communicate with the horn.  Buses and taxis lightly tap their horn when they are passing a bus stop, to see if anyone wants them to stop, a little louder says I am stopped and would like some passengers, a little louder means that a bus is in their way, and the loudest beeps seem to be reserved for other taxis, which many times force their way in between as best they can.  I try to sit in the middle of the bus if I can, so that I am neither in the front or the back in case of an accident, but so far, so good….Of course, if it is standing room only, you don’t get many choices.  I counted 70+ people in a bus that seats less than 30, but the rest piled in somewhere.

  The other day, we went out to the city of Lucre, about 30 kilometers from Cuzco.  There, we stopped at a trout farm that is owned by one of the Mennonite pastors.  They appeared to be rainbow trout.  The water is constantly running through 4 cement ponds that he had built, and he had to install water pipes from a spring about ½ mile away to bring fresh, clean water at all times to the fish.  The river water can’t be used because it will kill the fish when there is a lot of muddy water in the river. They started a restaurant as well, and they cook meals with their fresh trout.  There is only one thing on the menu, but what a treat!  Once we told them we wanted 5 plates, they took a net and went into the one pool and in no time had 5 beautiful rainbow trout, probably more than a pound a piece in a bucket.  And about 40 minutes later we were eating beautiful fried whole rainbow trout (trucha) with papas (potatoes), maize (large Peruvian corn with kernels about 5 times larger than our corn), salad, and avocado.  The best trout I have ever tasted, I think, and I have eaten a lot from the Delaware Bay over the years.  There was a missionary couple from Northern Peru, Heinrich and Runell Groenewalde (missionaries from South Africa) visiting here this week, and it was a delight to get to know them and also eat with John and Cindy Kreider, my gracious hosts here in Cuzco.

   

   

  Here is typical scenery in Lucre, 30 km outside Cuzco      

   

    

                                                                   Here is Main Street in Lucre

   

         

  “Going Fishing”                         

   

   

    

                                                     Ah, Success!

   

       

  Outdoor restaurant, but with the chill and the wind, we ate inside                      

   

   

                                   Beautiful, freshly fried trout, with the trimmings

   

  

  Heinrich and Runell Groenewalde, L, and John and Cindy Kreider, R

   

     This owner was getting ready to plant corn in his one field, so he had opened up the canal to drain water over his field to get it wet enough to plant.  Rains won’t come for a while, but the corn can be taken care of by the irrigation until then.  They were planning to plant 4 days later, so I guess that means that frosts are less likely now.  And indeed, it seems that temperatures are moderating slightly as the days are getting longer, here south of the equator.  Seasons come and go, but as the days lengthen here, it means less light for you Northern Hemisphere dwellers.

   

   

   

   

  And here is building a house Peruvian style, the whole family, even children were helping with the project, mixing mud, etc.

   

       

   

     

   

  • 6:59 pm
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