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Archive for October 2011

31 October 2011

bullfight!

I never thought I'd voluntarily watch a bullfight, but when these (non-killing) ones were announced as part of the celebrations for Ollanta's town anniversary festivities, Iain and I figured, why not? It turns out bullfights in Ollanta go something like this: you show up at the town's tiny bullfighting ring at the what everyone said was the right time, and wait an hour before a marching band heralds the arrival of a random crowd of people who jog through the stadium and then leave:

At least they were having a good time?

A few minutes after them come the matadors (in pink socks!) and also a clown.

And then we all wait another fifteen minutes for the bull to show up, while the matadors pose for pictures and yawn, and vendors ply the crowd with yet more of the same ice cream, cotton candy and beer they've been selling for the past hour.

Finally, the first bull is eventually coerced into the ring. Waving of colored flags commences.

The matadors do in fact wear very tight pants, were you curious.

The matadors, clowns, and some random dudes who do not appear to be officially affiliated with the proceedings, take turns jumping out of the bull's way.

Or just jumping over the bull.

Eventually the bull is lasso'd and dragged back out of the ring, much to (I'm assuming) its relief. Iain and I stayed for two fights, and then left; it turns out we missed some drunk guys jumping in from the crowd and one even getting mildly gored and then fighting with the police - something I think I'm okay with having missed.

So that was my first, and most likely my last, bullfight. I'm glad I saw it - and am extra glad that it was of the non-bull-killing variety - but mostly we just felt bad for the bulls and a bit freaked out by the idea of random people drunkenly hopping in the ring. Next time, I think I'm happy just to sit under the cork tree and smell the flowers.

15 October 2011

dance dance dance

A few photos of some dancing that was happening at the local primary school a few weeks ago. How awesome are their outfits?

13 October 2011

huyana picchu (in which i am not a hero)

The really big, pointy mountain that looms over Machu Picchu is Huyana (or Wayna) Picchu, the "new" mountain to Machu's "old." When we bought our tickets to Machu Picchu using the Peruvian Mininstry of Culture's labyrinthine website (possibly the only thing more difficult than climbing this mountain was buying tickets to do so), we were offered a choice of tickets to just plain Machu Picchu, or else tickets to both Picchus. Not knowing what it was, it seemed like a good idea at the time.

Though anyone who knows me knows I'm not much of a hiker (or a _____ fill in the athletic pursuit of your choice here), but I was somewhat encouraged by the way the guidebook made it sound totally do-able (only an hour!); the sign at the entry to the mountain said the same thing. It turns out both lied - to climb the mountain, you have to sign in and out, and we checked on the way back out - no one did it in anything resembling an hour. Also what the guidebooks didn't mention is that the climb is @$*&!ing terrifying and dangerous, particularly if you're bad with heights: there are times when the path is just a scramble of steep rocks with a sheer drop into nothingness on the side, with an occasional metal rope to cling to. I developed a very unhealthy relationship with the many metal ropes - it was nice having something to hold on to, but seeing one inevitably meant the path was going to get much worse.

I kept flashing back to this sign the higher we got.

This is the path while it was still humane. After that, I didn't take any photos because I am a big baby and was honestly too freaked out to do anything but climb, so you'll just have to take my word for it that it's scary (also steep and pretty hard work - we took a lot of breaks, and passed a lot of people taking breaks, my favorite being the woman who was muttering stupid Incas as we went by).

This is where I stopped; there was a bit further, but it looked scrambly, and the sharp gusts of wind combined with my intense fear of heights were doing my head in. So I didn't make it to the top, which I feel lame about. But I got to a part where I could see sky (and, terrifyingly, nothing else except an insane plunge down), so I think it qualifies as *basically* the top, right? Right??

Or not - Iain is probably just as bad with heights as I am, but he made it to the unequivocal top.

This is the view down - that tiny pile of rocks to the left there is Machu Picchu! I love this view in photo form, but at the time all I wanted to do was get back onto solid ground. In retrospect - safely on the ground a week later - of course I'm glad we did the hike, but it definitely wasn't a fun experience while it was happening, and not something I might have chosen to do had I known what it would be like. Oh well. At least I'm not alone?

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07 October 2011

machu picchu in the mist

Last Saturday, we went with six other volunteers to Machu Picchu! Though we stayed at the site for several hours, the first 45 minutes after the gates opened were by far my favorite; we took a 5:30 am bus to get to the site by it's 6 am opening time, and there were clouds rolling over the mountains, obscuring Huyana Picchu and the ruins - it was incredibly beautiful, and felt remote despite the growing crowd of tourists. By the time we'd climbed Huyana Picchu and picked our way back down, the sun was out in full force and the place was ten times as crowded - so these are the photos I like best, because they remind me of how excited I felt when we first set foot inside: