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Travel
5 March, 2008 12:00:38 | in Amazon
Peru: Go with the flow
Simon Calder
The Independent
Simon Calder experiences perfection on a freewheeling trip on the Amazon
Perfect green: that defines the amazingly narrow yet startling spectrum of the Amazon rainforest. And it also happens to define what I have right here. They are perfectly green, fresh and clean, and I am counting them out: 10, 20, 30, 40, 50. Five $10 bills, straight from the US Mint, and the perfect conclusion to a trip as close to ideal as you could ever wish for in travel. Here you are, Segundo – gracias y hasta la próxima.
Aboard the Río Amazonas, Segundo Mesia fulfils a range of roles: tour director, ensuring the merry band of tourists – mainly American – are kept informed, fed and entertained. He was born in Iquitos, one end of the usual voyage of this most unusual vessel.
The Independent
Simon Calder experiences perfection on a freewheeling trip on the Amazon
Perfect green: that defines the amazingly narrow yet startling spectrum of the Amazon rainforest. And it also happens to define what I have right here. They are perfectly green, fresh and clean, and I am counting them out: 10, 20, 30, 40, 50. Five $10 bills, straight from the US Mint, and the perfect conclusion to a trip as close to ideal as you could ever wish for in travel. Here you are, Segundo – gracias y hasta la próxima.
Aboard the Río Amazonas, Segundo Mesia fulfils a range of roles: tour director, ensuring the merry band of tourists – mainly American – are kept informed, fed and entertained. He was born in Iquitos, one end of the usual voyage of this most unusual vessel.
read more »
27 February, 2008 12:15:53 | in Piura
Mysterious Pyramid Complex Discovered in Peru
Kelly Hearn
National Geographic News
The remnants of at least ten pyramids have been discovered on the coast of Peru, marking what could be a vast ceremonial site of an ancient, little-known culture, archaeologists say.
In January construction crews working in the province of Piura discovered several truncated pyramids and a large adobe platform (see map). Officials from Peru's National Institute of Culture (INC) were dispatched to inspect the discovery.
It was announced that the complex, which is 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) long and 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) wide, belonged to the ancient Vicús culture and was likely either a religious center or a cemetery for nobility.
National Geographic News
The remnants of at least ten pyramids have been discovered on the coast of Peru, marking what could be a vast ceremonial site of an ancient, little-known culture, archaeologists say.In January construction crews working in the province of Piura discovered several truncated pyramids and a large adobe platform (see map). Officials from Peru's National Institute of Culture (INC) were dispatched to inspect the discovery.
It was announced that the complex, which is 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) long and 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) wide, belonged to the ancient Vicús culture and was likely either a religious center or a cemetery for nobility.
read more »
20 February, 2008 10:45:20 | in Cusco
Alternative Inca trail in Peru
By Aurore Jouanin
TravelBite.co.uk
The South American country of Peru is every trekker's dream come true and often figures at the top of travellers' wish lists. Every year, the world famous Inca trail attracts millions of visitors from around the world who come to walk in the steps of the people who built the sacred city of Machu Picchu. However, people who spent time in the area will tell you the Salkantay trail is a rewarding alternative to the busy Inca trail.
The world famous trek can remind you of Saturday shopping on London's Oxford Street, whereas the Salkantay trail will offer nothing but pure wilderness, peace and physical challenge.
TravelBite.co.uk
The South American country of Peru is every trekker's dream come true and often figures at the top of travellers' wish lists. Every year, the world famous Inca trail attracts millions of visitors from around the world who come to walk in the steps of the people who built the sacred city of Machu Picchu. However, people who spent time in the area will tell you the Salkantay trail is a rewarding alternative to the busy Inca trail.The world famous trek can remind you of Saturday shopping on London's Oxford Street, whereas the Salkantay trail will offer nothing but pure wilderness, peace and physical challenge.
read more »
13 February, 2008 06:00:35 | in Transportation
The Man Who Pays His Way: With no food left and no sign of rescue, fellow travellers look appetising
By Simon Calder
Belfast Telegraph
By the ninth hour of being stranded on a high Andean pass, some of my 52 fellow passengers began to look really rather tasty.
The film Missing depicts the true story of a plane crash on the mountainous spine of South America, in which the survivors could remain alive only by eating the remains of passengers who had perished in the accident.
My chosen form of trans-Andean transport was a bus, not an aircraft. But with the on-board supplies of food exhausted and no immediate sign of rescue, the Hannibal Lecter cookbook began to seem like a good investment
Belfast Telegraph
By the ninth hour of being stranded on a high Andean pass, some of my 52 fellow passengers began to look really rather tasty.The film Missing depicts the true story of a plane crash on the mountainous spine of South America, in which the survivors could remain alive only by eating the remains of passengers who had perished in the accident.
My chosen form of trans-Andean transport was a bus, not an aircraft. But with the on-board supplies of food exhausted and no immediate sign of rescue, the Hannibal Lecter cookbook began to seem like a good investment
read more »
5 February, 2008 06:00:34 | in Cusco
A Ridge to the Past
By Richard Nisbet
I first came to Peru in 1975. I was brought here by a mystery. How could people who were supposedly primitive, Bronze-age people…. have made walls that look like this?
Later I read Thor Heyerdahl’s books on Easter Island and discovered that there was one remaining wall (and evidence of others that had fallen into the ocean) like those in and around Cusco. And there were other commonalities between Easter Island and the Andean highlands. They both had the totora reed, the bottle gourd and the sweet potato.
I first came to Peru in 1975. I was brought here by a mystery. How could people who were supposedly primitive, Bronze-age people…. have made walls that look like this? Later I read Thor Heyerdahl’s books on Easter Island and discovered that there was one remaining wall (and evidence of others that had fallen into the ocean) like those in and around Cusco. And there were other commonalities between Easter Island and the Andean highlands. They both had the totora reed, the bottle gourd and the sweet potato.
read more »
29 January, 2008 11:00:54 | in Cusco
The forgotten capital of Peru
by Venetia Rainey
Nouse - York University
Unable to reach Machu Picchu by the conventional route, Venetia Rainey explores the former Inca capital of Cusco, where history fuses with South American vibrancy
One of the world’s most spectacular treks is the Peru’s Capaq Nan trail, otherwise known as the Inca trail. The classic route covers 70km and reaches heights of over 4,200m above sea. It takes about four days to reach the legendary lost Inca city of Machu Picchu, officially named one of the Seven Wonders of the World last year. The sense of victory after such a hike makes for a once in a lifetime (and fairly costly) experience. At least, so I have been told.
I had the misfortune of suffering what all travellers must endure at one point or another: food poisoning. After drinking impure water whilst staying on an island in Lake Titicaca, I was crippled by the illness and utterly unable to keep food or water down. On the third day, I found myself being roughly pulled out of bed, and my pyjamas swapped for hiking boots, shorts and a t-shirt. Three hours from the starting point of the trail, I had to admit defeat. My family went on without me, and a rather put-out porter travelled back the five hour journey with me to the nearest town, Cusco.
Nouse - York University
Unable to reach Machu Picchu by the conventional route, Venetia Rainey explores the former Inca capital of Cusco, where history fuses with South American vibrancy
One of the world’s most spectacular treks is the Peru’s Capaq Nan trail, otherwise known as the Inca trail. The classic route covers 70km and reaches heights of over 4,200m above sea. It takes about four days to reach the legendary lost Inca city of Machu Picchu, officially named one of the Seven Wonders of the World last year. The sense of victory after such a hike makes for a once in a lifetime (and fairly costly) experience. At least, so I have been told.I had the misfortune of suffering what all travellers must endure at one point or another: food poisoning. After drinking impure water whilst staying on an island in Lake Titicaca, I was crippled by the illness and utterly unable to keep food or water down. On the third day, I found myself being roughly pulled out of bed, and my pyjamas swapped for hiking boots, shorts and a t-shirt. Three hours from the starting point of the trail, I had to admit defeat. My family went on without me, and a rather put-out porter travelled back the five hour journey with me to the nearest town, Cusco.
read more »
22 January, 2008 23:30:23 | in Cusco
Ancient "Lost City" Discovered in Peru
Kelly Hearn
National Geographic News
Ruins recently discovered in southern Peru could be the ancient "lost city" of Paititi, according to claims that are drawing serious but cautious response from experts.
The presumptive lost city, described in written records as a stone settlement adorned with gold statues, has long been a grail for explorers—as well as a lure for local tourism businesses.
A commonly cited legend claims that Paititi was built by the Inca hero Inkarri, who founded the city of Cusco before retreating into the jungle after Spanish conquerors arrived.
National Geographic News
Ruins recently discovered in southern Peru could be the ancient "lost city" of Paititi, according to claims that are drawing serious but cautious response from experts.The presumptive lost city, described in written records as a stone settlement adorned with gold statues, has long been a grail for explorers—as well as a lure for local tourism businesses.
A commonly cited legend claims that Paititi was built by the Inca hero Inkarri, who founded the city of Cusco before retreating into the jungle after Spanish conquerors arrived.
read more »
16 January, 2008 09:30:18 | in Amazon
Clues from the mists of time
Peru's ancient 'cloud warriors' put their dead in towering walls. The Chachapoya gave way to the Inca and Spanish, but first they flourished.By Patrick J. McDonnell, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
Kuelap, Peru
The broken skeletons were scattered like random pottery shards, rediscovered where they had fallen centuries ago.
Were these ancient people cut down in some long-forgotten battle? Did European-introduced diseases cause their demise? Were they casualties of some apocalyptic reckoning at this great walled citadel?
The "cloud warriors" of ancient Peru are slowly offering up their secrets -- and more questions.
Recent digs at this majestic site, once a stronghold of the Chachapoya civilization, have turned up scores of skeletons and thousands of artifacts, shedding new light on these myth-shrouded early Americans and one of the most remarkable, if least understood, of Peru's pre-Columbian cultures.
Were these ancient people cut down in some long-forgotten battle? Did European-introduced diseases cause their demise? Were they casualties of some apocalyptic reckoning at this great walled citadel?
The "cloud warriors" of ancient Peru are slowly offering up their secrets -- and more questions.
Recent digs at this majestic site, once a stronghold of the Chachapoya civilization, have turned up scores of skeletons and thousands of artifacts, shedding new light on these myth-shrouded early Americans and one of the most remarkable, if least understood, of Peru's pre-Columbian cultures.
read more »
8 January, 2008 09:30:54 | in Nasca
We know who drew these giant shapes in Peru's desert -- but why?
miamiherald.com
Everyone here, it seems, has a theory about the Nasca Lines.
The mysterious markings on the desert floor are a massive astronomical calendar. That's a popular one.
Or maybe they point to hidden reserves of water, the source of life in the desert.
Then there's my favorite: UFO landing site. Forty years ago, Danish writer Erich Von Daniken popularized that theory with his best-selling book Chariots of the Gods?
Now, strapped into a four-passenger Cessna circling over a figure called the astronaut, I'm not sure what to think. One of its hands points to the sky, another to the ground. His owlish eyes stare into mine.
Look at me, the 1,500-year-old seems to say. Can you solve my mystery?
Here's what's known:
Everyone here, it seems, has a theory about the Nasca Lines.The mysterious markings on the desert floor are a massive astronomical calendar. That's a popular one.
Or maybe they point to hidden reserves of water, the source of life in the desert.
Then there's my favorite: UFO landing site. Forty years ago, Danish writer Erich Von Daniken popularized that theory with his best-selling book Chariots of the Gods?
Now, strapped into a four-passenger Cessna circling over a figure called the astronaut, I'm not sure what to think. One of its hands points to the sky, another to the ground. His owlish eyes stare into mine.
Look at me, the 1,500-year-old seems to say. Can you solve my mystery?
Here's what's known:
read more »
25 December, 2007 06:00:12 | in Cajamarca
Trees that Still Seem to Breathe
Courtesy of
As we advance through this strange landscape we seem to go back in time. Our minds go back to a prehistoric age, enveloping us in a sense of mystery and the unknown.
It is a strange sensation. We walk among red hills speckled with the contrasting green of the bushes. In the distance, eucalyptus groves sway in a dance generated by the highland wind. The remains of the trunks lie everywhere.
We first learned of the existence of this unique place a few years ago. A brief report broadcast late at night informed us that it was located in northern Peru.
In a period now lost in time our region bore no resemblance to the landscape we see today. Dinosaurs ruled and great, luxuriant forests covered every inch of the territory.
Over millions of years great changes occurred. At some point, the dinosaurs and the enormous forests disappeared, giving way to new species of animals and plants. The causes of this extraordinary event have been lost to us and are wreathed in mystery.
It is a strange sensation. We walk among red hills speckled with the contrasting green of the bushes. In the distance, eucalyptus groves sway in a dance generated by the highland wind. The remains of the trunks lie everywhere.
We first learned of the existence of this unique place a few years ago. A brief report broadcast late at night informed us that it was located in northern Peru.
In a period now lost in time our region bore no resemblance to the landscape we see today. Dinosaurs ruled and great, luxuriant forests covered every inch of the territory.
Over millions of years great changes occurred. At some point, the dinosaurs and the enormous forests disappeared, giving way to new species of animals and plants. The causes of this extraordinary event have been lost to us and are wreathed in mystery.
read more »
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