A Whirlwind Sampling of Peru

The last two weeks are a blur for the three of us. Maybe with a few days to recover we’ll better appreciate our experiences but for now we’re in a much needed rest mode.

It began when Maribel and I met my sister Joyce in Lima Wednesday the 26th. Our plan was to spend two days trying to give Joyce a feel for Lima before flying on to Iquitos for Joyce’s first jungle experience, and then finishing up with six days in Chiclayo. We stuck to our timetable but had planned so many activities into the schedule that it often felt as if we were running a marathon.

Lima is a big city. Selecting activities to present a picture of the city in just two days was a challenge but we think we succeeded. We began our tour at what seemed to me to be the natural starting place…the Plaza de Armas. We timed it to catch the changing of the guard at noon at the Government Palace. Following a delicious lunch including Pisco sours with friends at Maury’s Hotel/Restaurant we toured historic San Francisco church. Then it was on to the Museum of Inquisition and Congress. Late afternoon found us back in Miraflores watching the sun set in Parque Del Amor. That evening we were too tired to go out so stayed in the apartment and ate Wisconsin cheddar cheese on crackers with wine.

The next morning found us at the Larco Museum in Pueblo Libre. What a beautiful and informative museum! The displays focus on cultural history, and we were surprised to see a large section devoted to the Moche culture from our neck of the woods in the Lambayeque Region. It is not a large museum but we spent over two hours wondering among the displays and on the grounds which are beautifully landscaped.

After the museum we traveled to Congress hoping to take a tour of the building and perhaps see congress in action, but at the entrance we were told visiting was restricted because a festival was being held on the grounds of the building. Perhaps it was the sad and disappointed expressions on our faces, but as we were about to leave an officious looking man motioned to us to follow him. He led us inside the building; gave us passes and arranged for a guide. It was an interesting tour and we were introduced to several members of Congress. A taxi took us back to Miraflores and Parque Kennedy where we had an early dinner. In the evening we window shopped at the Larco Mar Mall, and then it was early to bed as we had to be at the airport early the next morning.

The weather in Lima during our visit was cloudy, cool and damp. We actually wore light jackets in the apartment at night. The weather in Iquitos is not cloudy, cool and damp. We wore as little as possible and still had to stop frequently to rest and drink liquids. We ran the air conditioner in the apartment at maximum all night. It is hot in Iquitos.

Beside just enjoying the feeling of bring in a remote town on the edge of the Amazon River and rainforest there is a lot to see and do in Iquitos. Some of our activities included visiting a small cultural museum, the Manatee Rescue Center, the Amazon Golf Course, Quistococha Zoological Park, Pilpintuwasi Butterfly Farm and a Serpentarium on the Nanay River where Joyce was able to touch and hold a variety of native animals including a sloth and snakes. We spent time looking for pink dolphins on a commercial riverboat tour.

We visited two ‘native’ villages where we took part in dances, jungle walks and were taught to use a blowgun. In my view for the most part these are awkwardly staged theatrical productions designed to soften up the tourist for the trinket sale onslaught that follows the show, but there is enough entertainment to justify the time spent.

One of the highlights of our Iquitos visit was fishing for piranhas on the Amazon River. Given everything I’ve heard and read about piranhas I expected them to be jumping into the boat trying to tear us to shreds. Instead they proved to be sneaky sophisticated bait-stealers. Because there were witnesses I am forced to be completely honest here. Three of us fished… two of us caught fish. This was very damaging to my male ego.

Our four days in Iquitos went quickly and we left with mixed feelings – sorry to leave this beautiful setting but glad to escape the heat.

Chiclayo was the last and most laid-back of our locations, though we still kept busy. We revisited the Lord of Sipan museum and pyramids; walked the beach and saw the old train station at Puerto Eten; visited the villages of Eten, Boro and Cayalti, and spent a day in the historic town of Zaña. Joyce also had time to get reacquainted with friends and family members she hadn’t seen in a year.

And now it’s over. Joyce is back in the US and Maribel and I have already begun to plan for next year’s visit. A combination of Machu Picchu, Cajamarca and Tarapoto sounds promising.

The Thirteen Holy Souls

Not sure anyone knows how 13 skulls came to be placed in this unmarked modest adobe structure in central Chiclayo. One story tells of how a bus accident killed over 50 people and the skulls were a result of that accident. Another account says that a flood destroyed over 90% of the area and that weeks later the 13 skulls were found clustered about a large wooden cross. However it happened, the skulls have reportedly been in this structure for over 100 years, and are visited daily by hundreds of people in need of help.

There is a mystical feeling to the tiny room where often people are standing shoulder to shoulder in silent prayer. There is a traditional oration to be offered to the souls, ending with the promise to recite 13 times daily Ave Maria and Our Father for 13 days. An important part of the ritual is the burning of a single white candle, which can be purchased in a small side room. One source claims that 3,000 candles are offered daily.

Over time more skulls and other objects of a religious nature have been added to the collection, apparently offered as thanks for miracles received. Every inch of wall space is covered with plaques placed there by individuals who are absolutely certain the 13 souls answered their call for help. Most of the plaques simply read… “Gracias por el milagro concedido” (Thank you for the miracle granted), though other more elaborate plaques include a description of the miracle granted. And it is not just Chiclayanos who visit the 13 souls. Many of the plaques have city names from locations all over Peru.

It is my understanding that Catholic Church authorities in Peru neither condone nor condemn the practice of visiting and praying to the 13 souls, though it is likely that an official church position either way would have no effect on the many believers.

Tom

A Forgotten Train Station

In the mid 1850s Puerto Eten was a bustling fishing and shipping port, supplying goods and food products including fish and sugar cane to much of the Lambayeque Region. The demand for transportation to towns in the region was such that in 1867 it was decided to locate a major train station in the town for the transport of products and people.

By 1875 the station was the hub of a far reaching network to a host of towns including Pimentel, Chiclayo, Lambayeque and Zaña. Puerto Eten retained its position of prominence into the 1920s at which time for a variety of reasons it began to decline into the all but forgotten village it is today.

Behind the village’s municipal buildings is what remains of the once-grand train station complex that stopped operating in 1968. The rusting remains of six engines occupy one of seven buildings still standing. Their boilers have been stripped of many parts but beyond that they appear pretty much as if they had been parked in anticipation of returning to service.

A machine shop looks as if it too is waiting to be put back in action. The manufacturer information is still visible on many of the machines. All of the machinery is from several manufactures in Manchester and other cities in England, and all are date stamped 1870.

These passenger cars have been patiently waiting for more than forty years to once again hear…”All aboard!” That’s not going to happen, nor will the engines ever again have their boilers fired, but there is hope that they will no longer continue to sit neglected and unnoticed. Puerto Eten has a plan to turn the entire complex into a tourist attraction with the help of foreign investors. We hope those plans are realized…these grand old trains and the town deserve a better fate.

Tom

The Mayor died last night

I don’t even know his name. Most people in the neighborhood simply referred to him as the Mayor. He lived within sight of our apartment and up until a few months ago could be seen most days sitting on a chair outside of his house where he would happily engage in small talk with neighbors and passersby.

Sometimes he would decide to walk to the corner and read or ‘hold court’ while sitting on the street marker. He was not in good physical condition and it was apparent that the walk was painful for him. Sometimes I’d watch his slow progress from our balcony, all the while hoping he wouldn’t fall. Occasionally he’d stumble and catch himself against the wall of a house, but I never saw him turn back.

Whenever I’d leave our apartment I could count on his checking me out to see that I was properly dressed. In the summer if I was not wearing a hat he’d call out, “Senor, el sol es caliente.” In the winter it would be, “Senor, que es frio y ventoso.” He was one of those people you looked forward to seeing and spending a few minutes with…his cheery presence seeming to signify that at least for the moment all was well with the world.

Descansa en paz, señor alcalde.

“Fresh of the moment”

I opened our freezer out of curiosity the other day and found nothing but ice cube trays. No ice cubes…just trays. The refrigerator below it wasn’t much different, having only butter, milk and eggs as its tenants. I don’t know why the eggs are in there – they’re not sold refrigerated. Eggs here are big and brown and have shells akin to an armored truck. It takes a real effort to crack them, and when you do you’re greeted with a slight musty odor that carries through to the taste. You can buy white eggs at three times the cost of the brown but almost no one does. Keeping eggs in the refrigerator is probably just a habit Maribel picked up in the US.

In the US our refrigerator/freezer had lots of tenants. In the freezer you’d find a variety of pizzas, frozen dinners, turkey slices, fish, ground chuck, ice cream, and of course several packages of Johnsonville Brats. I maintain that if you die without having eaten a brat, your life was not worth living. http://www.johnsonville.com/lines/brats.html
The same can be said for cheddar cheese produced in Wisconsin, which brings us to the refrigerator. Our refrigerator was always full, mostly with cheeses, fruit, sandwich foods and left-overs plus the usual assortment of odds and ends.

Our pantry had a wide variety of canned goods including vegetables, fruit, beans, etc. The pantry also had potatoes, onions, sliced bread and hard rolls. To me sandwich and hard roll are inseparable whether we’re talking hamburger or baloney. If it’s not on a hard roll, I don’t want it. Anyway, the point to all of this is that in the US when I was hungry, anything I wanted was probably in the house. We would do the shopping for the week on Tuesday (for no particular reason) and maybe go into town twice per week for milk and bread.

It’s different here. People are obsessed with “fresh of the moment.” You buy only enough for the upcoming meal and only from a trusted vendor because you don’t want to buy anything left over from yesterday, which is why most Chiclayo women prefer to shop at street markets rather than the large chain stores. While at the market in the morning you may decide to purchase food for dinner tonight, but that’s a stretch. And you never buy anything for tomorrow.

The bigger stores like Tottus, Metro and Plaza Vea do have frozen food sections and canned goods, but they’re miniscule compared to those in the US. Of the canned goods, peaches and tuna are big sellers, though I’m not sure why. Frozen food cases have mostly ice cream, with a smattering of vegetables and turkey burger patties. The fresh food sections have a good variety of fruits, vegetables and meats displayed attractively but I’ll bet the markets just outside sell ten times as much, again because many women are skeptical of how fresh the food really is, plus prices are generally lower.

Personally I would rather take my chances on wrapped meat, fish and poultry in refrigerated cases in the supermarkets rather than the stuff I see hanging from hooks in the sun having flies shooed off of it, but that’s not how Maribel sees it. She’s been shopping this same market and from many of the same vendors long before the supermarkets showed up and I don’t see that changing, though she will acknowledge that sometimes (she insisted I add sometimes) meat purchased from the street market versus Tottus is “muy duro” (very tough).

I enjoy eating most Peruvian dishes and Maribel is a good cook, but there are times when I’d love to open the freezer and take out one of those greasy Hungry Man chicken dinners or Tombstone pizza. Oh well…next trip to the States.

Tom

Boro has got some problems

During a previous visit to the village of Boro we learned that the village does not have municipal water and that the wells are contaminated - not an unusual condition for many small desert communities. During a recent visit we became aware of an equally important problem, which also explained the piles of bricks laying throughout the village. In March of this year local authorities prohibited new and in progress construction because of the archeological ruins in the nearby mountains. The villagers claim this is a reversal of a decision made over ten years ago when authorities granted permission to farm and build houses on lots where clear evidence of title existed.

As mentioned in an earlier blog (August 8), Boro is a fairly recent community comprised of immigrants from the highlands. Many of them have constructed squatter shacks with the intent of first manufacturing their own bricks at no cost and then constructing houses. Many families were in the process of building their houses when the government edict preventing construction was issued.

Maria Bazan is the grandmother to these five kids. They have been living in these conditions for several years, always with the hope of someday living in a brick house which now is very much in doubt. Four of the kids attend the village school. Much of the family’s nourishment comes from the “vaso de leche” program and a free noon meal from government donated food. Maria’s son…the father of the kids works in Trujillo and returns on weekends. We’re not clear as to where their mother is.

We don’t know if there’s anything we can do to help these people but we’re going to try. Salomon Morante Velasquez (on the left in the photo) who is an attorney and Promesa Peru board member will represent the village in discussion with local authorities in an attempt to find a solution to the building problem.

On Sunday, October 9th Promesa Peru will sponsor a medical campaign at the Boro school as we did at Collique Alto last July. We’ve been told to expect 100 adults and 50 children. We already have the commitment of several doctors and nurses, and have approximately ¼ of the medicine we’ll need. If possible we’d also like to give some inexpensive toys to the kids. It was sad to learn that the only toys the Bazan family has are the make-believe horses the boys were ‘riding.’

We expect it will take another $300 over what we have now to finance the Boro medical campaign. We could sure use some help. If you or anyone you know would be interested in contributing please visit the Promesa Peru web page.

https://sites.google.com/site/promesaperuchiclayo/

We and the people of Boro would appreciate it.

Sugar Cane Towns

To my knowledge there are five sugar cane factories in the Lambayeque Region. Four of them are cooperatives located in Cayalti, Pomalca, Pucula and Tuman. The fifth is privately owned by Azucarera Del Norte SAC and is located on the route between Chiclayo and Ferreñafe.

Sugar cane towns share a common appearance and purpose. Those we’ve visited resemble raw frontier towns that exist solely to support the factory by providing labor and whatever else is needed. There are no malls, cinemas, chain stores or other niceties. Thick dust on dirt streets is constantly kept airborne by trucks hauling cane to the factories. There is usually no attempt at esthetics either collectively or individually, as if surrender to the desert’s constant onslaught had taken place long ago. An exception we saw yesterday is the town of Pucula.

The center of Pucula adjacent to the factory is as described above, but on the fringe where houses abruptly end and cane fields begin we saw an orderliness and cleanliness lacking in the city center and other towns. There is no liter in the streets. Many of the houses are freshly painted. Beautiful flower gardens butt up against attractive verandas. In talking with some of the residents we found there is a feeling of individual and neighborhood pride.

One woman we spoke with said she had lived in the same house for 49 years and that she and her neighbors have always tried to keep their area “limpio y tranquilo” (clean and quiet). She said that in December they erect a nativity scene in a small square surrounded by their houses and invited us to come back to see it.

We have no idea why these pockets of neighborhood pride exist in Pucula and not in the other towns. It’s not likely that these folks are better off financially. Perhaps we can learn more when we return in December.

Tom