More Festivals, More Machu Picchu

The past two weekends have been filled with adventure. Two weeks ago I had the chance to go to a fun festival filled with dances in the city of Puacaratambo followed by viewing an amazing sun rise. Last weekend I went to the most popular tourist site in South America, Machu Picchu.

Every July the usually lifeless town of Puacaratambo comes alive with the 3 day festival of the Virgin del Carmen (Virgin Mary). All day long there are dances of every type and even parties in the cemeteries, which I don't quite understand.

Dancing on roof tops

And in the cemeteries

Overall, I really enjoyed my time there, minus my hotel room which consisted of 4 walls, a dirty wooden floor, a piece of foam aka a mattress that spewed dust when hit, and some trash piled up in the corner of the room...not exactly the Hilton. While I can say it was by far the worst hotel I've ever stayed in, maybe a half a star hotel, after about 3 o'clock in the morning I was happy to have that small piece of foam to rest my head!

In addition to being known for this festival, Puacaratamo is also known for amazing and unique sunrises. Only here and one other place in Japan is there some sort of illusion to make it look as though the sun jumps up and down when rising. It was really cool to see! Arriving at 15,000 feet and about 15 degree weather at 4 am I was amazed to see how clear the sky was and at the unbelievable number of stars visible, more by far than I had ever seen before, including about a dozen shooting stars. After about 2 hours of waiting, we watched the sun rise. I think pictures will do a better job of describing what we saw than what I can do with words.

Last weekend was my first trip to Machu Picchu. It started with a crazy bus ride high in the mountains where we had snow on the 25th of July. It was a nice surprise for Christmas in July!

It didn't last long however. After about a half an hour of decent, I was in the jungle surrounded by banana trees, coffee and chocolate plants, and all sorts of other unfamiliar vegetation.

Driving a bit further, nervous the entire way with sharp drops off the side of the road and a driver going way to fast I was startled, but not surprised when we got into a head on car crash. Going around a curve too fast our driver slammed on his brakes when he saw a van coming in the other direction on the one lane road, but with the slick dirt road we slid until we hit the other van. Thankfully no one was hurt! After the crash the drivers got out of the cars and without the help of All State, the settled the damages on the spot with our driver paying the other driver about $120 USD to cover repairs.

The next day we went on a jungle hike to the base of Machu Picchu. The following we spent inside Machu Picchu. It was really impressive, and much more so than I even expected. The well preserved ruins sat atop a mountain in a beautiful setting surrounded by other mountains and rolling clouds. Again, I think Pictures will do more than I can with words.

Until next time, keep livin' the dream!

Doin' Work

I arrived to Peru with very little of a plan as far as work is concerned. I came here with an organization called Peru 109 which I knew would have some small projects to keep me occupied for a little while. My plan was to search for larger scale projects once I arrived as I found it very difficult to find projects that interested me from the states and were in Cusco, did not charge ridiculous fees, and were in the area of sustainable development.

After arriving in Peru, as I mentioned a few posts ago I still had trouble finding a good organization to work with, which left me very frustrated. I came here to do volunteer work, was ready to start, but could not find a group that wanted my help and that I was interested in. After a long search I was loosing hope. There were many organizations that I encountered installing clean burning wood stoves in Peru to improve the health of their users and the energy efficiency of the stoves, but I couldn't find one to work with that wasn't charging ridiculous fees. What's more, when questioning these organizations to see if I might be able to see their designs in the fields, they all refused or did not respond to my request. One however did inform me that there may be some designs for these stoves online.

With this bit of advice, I started my research coming across a heap of information. I then decided that it might be possible to start my own project designing, constructing, and installing clean burning wood stoves. After a few days of investigation, I discover this project would be much more complex than I originally thought, but decided to press on as it was a project that really interested me and that I thought was worthwhile. I found full books on the topic of rural village stove design and construction. People actually devote their lives to this issue as the indoor smoke created by these stoves kills 1.6 million people each year, more than malaria! It is also the cause of a host of other eye and respiratory illnesses. It's a much bigger problem worldwide than I ever realized.

Now after a few weeks of investigation I have prepared a document, partly informational, partly as a guidebook for me while constructing the stoves. If you're interested in learning a bit more about what I'll be doing over the next few months click on the title of this post "Doin' Work" to go to a website to download this document. It's a bit long, so I suggest just scanning it if you're interested. There are lots of pictures :)

Until next time, keep livin' the dream!

U of M goes to Puno

So after writing my last post I headed to the bus station to start my journey to Puno. Unfortunately due to a transportation strike I had to postpone my trip to the following day. I think it would have been better if I had left at night so I couldn't see what was going on while on the road. I'm sure you're all familiar with the "not a good time to pass" signs on the road when the center line of a two lane road changes from dashed to solid. Apparently here, those no passing laws are more of a suggestion than an actual rule. While traveling up steep twisty mountain roads in a bus packed with over 50 tourists it was common practice for our driver to pass cars as we were traveling a mind blowing 2 mph faster than they were. One time there was a large truck coming straight for us...I was sure I was going to die!

Small houses along the side of the road in the middle of nowhere.

Another interesting fact about Peruvian bus trips, it is apparently acceptable for the bus driver to stop the bus at will to take care of personal business. We stopped 3 times so our driver could check the price of wood on the side of the road.

Bus driver checking wood prices.

Thankfully, I did make it to Puno, unharmed where I met up with a group of 16 U of M students. I happened to know 7 of them, but had no idea some were there prior to my arrival, so it was quite a pleasant surprise when I arrived! My first night there, they naturally had a welcome to Puno party for me, so we headed out to the bars. After one more clam night, it was time for me to leave...so another night out on the town for a going away party. It was really fun to be hanging out with old friends and familiar faces.

During my first full day in Puno I traveled to the Uros islands on Lake Titicaca. These are floating islands constructed completely from reeds (small lake plants) grown in the shallows of the lake. There are about 2000 people living on about 50 small islands basically living off of the lake, eating small fish in the area or the same reeds with which they constructed their islands and use to fuel cooking fires. Life on these islands originally started as a way to protect villagers from land attacks. Eventually, people permanently inhabited the islands and still do today. It was a really fascinating lifestyle to see.

Uros Islands

Small home on the islands.

As the tour guide described it, this is the Mercedes Benz of the Uros. (also constructed from reeds)

On day 2 I decided to be adventurous and take a 2 hour bus trip from the city to a small village on the far side of the lake for some cool mountain views. I was the only tourist on the small 15 passenger van (which I think can actually fit 30 Peruvians...the trip was a little uncomfortable). On the bus however, I met a 17 year old local from the village to which I was traveling. After talking for about a half an hour on our bus trip, I got off at the same stop as him when he invited me to his small Adobe house overlooking the lake to meet his family.

My new friend's house

I naturally accepted and headed off to unknowingly meet his entire extended family as they were there this past Sunday for the passing of his grandfather the Friday prior. I felt a little uncomfortable during the remembrance ceremony which was performed in the local Quechua language, but afterward I enjoyed a bowl of soup made from water fresh from Lake Titicaca.

After this, my new friend Edgar invited me to his neighbor's house who lent us their small wooden row boat to head out for a trip on the lake. After walking through knee high mud and muck to get to the boat, we had a good time rowing around the shallows of the lake and using the onboard bucket to remove water leaking in :)

Trecking through the muck out to the boat.

Rowing around Lake Titicaca with Edgar.

My new friends.

The following day it was back to Cusco to start another week of improved cook stove investigation via the internet. The project is really coming along now and I have some good design ideas. More about that to come in the next post.

Until next time, keep livin' the dream!

Work, Fun, Friends, I've got it all!

So this week has been significantly better than my last! Starting with the 4th of July, I actually had 2! A few weeks before coming to Perú I joined the South American Explorer's Club which has volunteer resources, travel guides, and weekly events for members. This past week was a 4th of July BBQ. Let me tell you, there's nothing that will have you feeling more patriotic or missing your country more than your independence day. This was one of the hardest days for me to be out of the country!

When I arrived to the BBQ I was greeted by 3 Brits who were there to see what all the fuss was about...I was the only American :( Thankfully after about a half an hour there were about 8 other Americans that showed up. All were equally excited to be eating American style hamburgers and to be talking with fellow Americans.

The next day, the 5th of July, I celebrated with my host family as they were not around the house on the Fourth. To ensure a full Fourth of July experience, I made sure we had everything American for the BBQ. The menu included:

1/2 Pound hamburgers
Potato Salad
Chips and dip
Baked Beans
Watermelon
And of course, Smores!

Trying to restart the grill

Everyone in the family was astonished by the size of the hamburgers considering the hamburgers sold on the street here are paper thin and there is literally more lettuce in the burgers than meat. After finishing our dinner we started the camp fire, singing songs and roasting smores...it was a big hit!

The Fam hanging out around the camp fire

This week I was also able to find some work! At first I was disappointed again when I couldn't visit one organization because of a 2 day nationwide transportation strike. More disappointment came when another organization was unwilling to share their stove design ideas with me in fear that I might take their ideas and their work by starting a project in the same region as them. I finally got my break when the same organization mentioned there might be some stove designs online. I did a google search for "How to build clean burning wood stoves in rural villages" and I naturally got thousands of relevant results!

After doing a bit of research, I have decided I don't need to pay the outrageous fees of some local volunteer organizations. Instead, I'm going to start my own project designing, constructing, and installing clean burning, fuel efficient stoves in rural villages. I have spent most of my past week reading articles and books like the 120 page thriller "Improved Solid Biomass Burning Cookstoves: A Development Manual" by Prof. S.K. Sharma, Director of the Energy Research Centre of Punjab University. Let me tell you nothing gets me goin' like comparisons of the combustion and heat transfer properties of wood to cow dung! After a bit more research early next week, I plan to travel around the city and countryside sourcing materials and talking with villagers to better understand their needs. Hopefully by the start of the following week I will be able to start construction.

In addition to all of this, more good news. This weekend, I have been planning on traveling to Lake Titicaca to meet up with three of my U of M friends who are doing some volunteer work there. After a few emails back and forth, I just found out today that I actually have 3 more friends working there! Needless to say, I'm really excited for the reunion. The bus leaves in 2 hours and I still need to pack, so I guess that's all for now.

Until next time, keep livin' the dream!

Happiness and Frustration

Since my arrival to Cusco, I have really been having a lot of fun. This past week was no different. I got a chance to go to Inti Raymi which is Quechua for festival of the sun god. I have been to many similar festivals and celebrations in the past, some of which are ok, but I was actually really impressed by this one. Just like in old times they, in this case people imitating old Incans, had a long procession from Coricancha, palace of the sun, to a mountain top where a llama was sacrificed. When holding up the hart of the llama to the sun, if it continued to beat for some time, it would be a good year; the heart stopping suddenly was a bad omen. Viewing this procession, I really felt like I got a sense of what it was like to live in Incan times.

King of the Incas being carried through the streets

In addition to this, I had a lot of fun this past week with the other volunteers in my organization as it was their last week in Cusco. While it was sad to see my American friends leave on Saturday, I was excited for the arrival of my Spanish teacher, Tati, from U of M on Sunday along with 14 girls from U of M. It really couldn't have been better timing! Seeing a familiar face after all this time and getting to hang out with people from back home was really comforting for me.

All of this has not changed my incredible frustration with my volunteer work. I came to Cusco working with the organization Peru 109. I knew I would work with this organization for only a short time as they had small scale projects in the city of Cusco and I am more interested in working on larger sustainable development projects in rural areas. Until now I have served as tech support for an organization helping disabled citizens in the area, served as a big brother for kids living with their mothers in an abused women’s shelter, and also helped construct a garden/shelter in the same location to give the women something to put time into and also help the organization reduce food costs.

All of this has been fine, but at the same time I have been searching for new work. I have spent a couple of hours almost every day searching online, talking with locals, or travelling to almost a dozen volunteer organizations searching for a new project. Some of the projects didn't interest me, some organizations want nearly $2000 per month in order for me to volunteer which I think is outrageous, but what really grinds my gears are the organizations or people who have simply rejected my offer to work with them free of charge!

Thus far, there have been two such organizations, both doing projects like installing irrigation systems in rural villages, or stoves with chimneys to reduce smoke in houses. The first organization did not want my help for this work because "I had no skills to offer." Being the lowly electrical engineer that I am, I can see the concern of this organization that it might be difficult for me to learn how to dig a ditch, mix cement, or cut a piece of wood! They were looking for only professionals in civil engineering, carpentry, or other such fields.

Finally, my last hope...a little over a week ago I had a meeting with the director of the Association for Community Integration. I was really excited to work with this organization. The director, Juan told me that he would go to a rural village he has worked with, talk with the "president" of the village and I would then start a project. After passing the past week and a half working on small projects around Cusco waiting for this new work to start, I met with Juan again today. He told me, disappointingly, this rural village, which doesn't have light, electricity, or running water dose not want the help of a foreigner! They have recently been having small trouble in the area with, from what I understood, the government closing off roads to their village and some other things. Now the president of this village is not very trusting and does not want outside help at the moment! I don't fully understand the situation, but I know I am very frustrated by it.

Now, my search continues. Juan will talk with another village president in another 10 days. Until then, I will continue searching, continue talking, continue hoping for my one break to have the "opportunity" to help in Peru.

Until next time, keep livin' the dream!