Rose on Toes meets Machu Picchu

My first view of Machu Picchu.

Meeting Machu Picchu was the only thing I could think about my entire trip. Since my arrival day one in Lima I just wanted to be there. I wanted to see and intimately get to know the Pachamama.

The Inca’s are an illustrious bunch. It constantly amazes me how intelligent they are and were during the time when Machu Picchu was thriving. Considering the time period in which they built Machu Picchu which took place during the early 1500’s they seemed to know an awful lot more than I or many people today could ever hope to even try to understand. From their knowledge in the sciences such as Astronomy to their ridiculously intuitive engineering skills the Inca’s architecture today is still amazing to the worlds historians, scientists and archeologists.

Me in front of Machu Picchu.

Looking around Machu Picchu I couldn’t help but wonder why? WHY WOULD THEY LEAVE? Why after so much work and life taking place there would they just up and leave such a beautiful place that seemed virtually untouchable and a place they called home. Well though there have been many conspiracy theories according to our tour guide it was due to their concern of being attacked by the spanish conquistadors. They got wind that they were chasing some other Inca’s and the Inca’s at Machu Picchu were concerned they would be found and killed so they left. Ultimately their decision to leave was what brought them their demise. Had they stayed at Machu Picchu they may have never been discovered but I suppose we will never know. 

The Inca’s were a peaceful people according to our guide. They did not want to fight. They simply wanted to live and be free just as every human deserves to be. They were not prepared for the cruelty that the spanish brought with them which led to their vanquishment and what I view as slaughter. 

About to start hiking the mountain up to Machu Picchu

Though the end of the Inca Empire was a very sad one they left a beautiful history behind with ruins all throughout the Andes Mountains. Seeing Machu Picchu was by far my favorite part of the trip. Especially because instead of riding a bus up the mountain I hiked even after the serious discouragement of our tour guide. It was AMAZING and so worth it.

At pretty much a straight incline all the way up the mountain and in already way higher altitude than I am used to I feel so grateful that I was physically able to attempt and complete that journey. It was very meaningful to take a path that thousands, millions have taken before me in order to reach Machu Picchu and maybe even enlightenment. A woman hiked right along side us much of the way with what seemed to be her grandson. He said to us “ella es ochenta.” I translated in my head She was 80 years old! Hearing this made me feel so fucking pathetic for ever complaining about how hot, sweaty, dizzy or tired I was. This woman was so strong and empowered I felt her energy as she hiked up the mountain in her thick, fluffy pink dress. I felt strong now too. Though as I have stated before, I don’t consider myself a religious person, I can’t deny the magic of Machu Picchu. 

 

 

Things and people left behind

I miss the familiar. I miss my silly college air mattress bed with my 3 inch Tempur-Pedic foam pad on top. I miss the thick, dense, powerful and cleansing waterfall my shower produced that left me feeling clean for days. I miss twisting the nobs on my faucet and putting my toothbrush underneath it. I miss opening my mouth in the shower and feeling the hot water envelop my face and trickle down my throat.

I miss waking up next to the warmth of another person with all of our blankets holding our body heat in knowing that once we leave the bed all the warmth will escape us and the only thing left to do is start our day at six in the morning. I miss the bike ride back to my apartment in the crisp, cold air with each traffic light we stop at and gaze over at each other. I miss stopping for doughnuts and seeing the beautiful woman in the shop look at us with contentment and a sweet smile as we say goodbye to each other with a kiss…or two until suddenly we are apart on our own way to greet the day alone. I miss the difficulty and the pleasure I get from riding hard to get back to the warmth and security of my apartment passing several cars, buses and other cyclists along the way.

I miss my kitchen where I really do very little cooking but the cooking that I do, do is made just the way I like it. I miss the process of making and drinking tea. Grabbing the tea kettle off of the left back burner on the stove and holding it under the sink twisting the faucet nob so that water begins to rush and pool in the bottom of the kettle. Then placing it on the stovetop and hearing that “snap, crackle and pop!” Of the gas stove lighting the flame. The beautiful tones of oranges, yellows and especially the blues and violets that woosh out under and over the kettle and its sides. Then only minutes later the soft gentle whirring and purring of the water beginning to bubble, fizz and eventually boil.

My English Breakfast tea and green graphic mug.

Seconds after the whistle starts low and quiet until it’s reached a raging high pitched squeal.

Finally I must grab a hot hand onto the too-hot-to-touch handle to pour the water into my beautiful mug with a graphic green design on it with trees that he gave me. I put a spoonful and a half of loose leaf english breakfast tea in the strainer over the mug and pour the water directly over it, as the steam begins to rise and the comforting smell of home rises along with it.

Me drinking my tea and feeling the warm steam rising.

Lima surfer beach party…yeah

“What should we do today?” I asked pondering the options in front of me. I was getting sick of walking back and forth down the same streets. Things were starting to feel familiar, which felt really bizarre. “Well we haven’t gone down to the water yet?”

So it began.

The ocean peaking through as we are coming around the corner.

We made the descent down the side of the cliffs separating us from the rest of the city and separating the rest of Lima from the beach and the Pacific Ocean. We began walking down at a slight decline slowly going around a gradual turn. Once we reached the ark on the other side sat the ocean vast in size and absolutely beautiful. It was calling to me. “This was a really good idea,” Delaney said to me as we approached closer. I heard the click clicks of her camera behind me over and over again.

There were so many flights of stairs and some of them were really steep.

So many stairs. This was going to hurt on the way back up again. But I didn’t care. The ocean was whispering to me to come closer. It said to get away from the obnoxious noise of the city car alarms, honks, cat-calls and listen to the welcoming ocean breeze and waves of the tide rolling in and out, drawing me in and out.

I neared closer breathing in what felt like much fresher air. My hair blew around in my face as I cleared it away from my eyes so I could see that yes, this was real. I was here in front of this massive body of water so infinite in possibilities that we know less about it’s contents than outer space.

Finally crossing a bridge over a highway to get to the beach.

Finally we reached the beach. I went and sat and started filming the surfers and the instructors. One of them walked up to me and started talking to me about who I was and where I was from. I explained everything to him and he was very friendly. He even offered me a free surfing lesson!

Surfers and instructors preparing to go out into the ocean.

After hanging out with the instructor and his friends for a little while talking to them about studying journalism amongst other things Delaney and I decided to travel onward until l looked up and saw people flying.

FLYING!

They were paragliding. I needed to do this right now. So Delaney and I ventured back up the cliffside and I was right. The stairs did suck. There were so many of them! By the time we reached the top the para gliders were closing up shop. But I definitely intend on trying again tomorrow morning before my trip to Barranco.

Regardless I got to see great views and meet great people.

Convento de San Francisco’s beautiful secrets

We rode in taxis from Miraflores to downtown and were dropped of at the Lima Convento de San Francisco. A beautiful old church, which we explored the inside of and underneath. Underneath the church rests over 25,000 human remains of the catholic community from that time before the first public cemetery was built.

Beautiful, old cathedral enveloped my first view.

Not only was the church very beautiful but the peruvian people surrounding it. Children would run around chasing the pigeons away only for them to fly right back again for the children to chase them some more.

This adorable little girl was chasing and feeding the pigeons.

The cathedral was very beautiful but held many secrets inside that we were not allowed to photograph. Upon entering we were told, “no photos, no video, no exceptions.” But I was able to sneak a few, though not very good photos they at least give you a glimpse of the inside!

The beautiful courtyard in the middle of the cathedral. (Shh it’s a secret!)

The cathedral was filled with hidden rooms, beautiful hand painted tiles that took 19 years to do, an old library with hundreds of years old books, high and intricate ceilings. Everything was done with such detail and care.

Intricately done ceiling in the secret cathedral.

The catacombs were beautifully disturbing. I didn’t feel that it was appropriate to photograph down there though I was very moved. The ceilings were low and you were surrounded by walls of dirt. Everywhere you looked there were bones to be seen. It felt partially wrong for us to be observing people in their final resting place. All that was left to see was bones but they were everywhere and of all different parts of the body. It’s like when you know that you shouldn’t look because it’s wrong, but you can’t stop watching.

Once we left the catacombs we entered the church part of the tour. Here we were finally allowed to photograph.

The beautiful ceiling inside of the church.

Overall the tour was both beautiful and slightly disturbing. I immediately washed my face after leaving the catacombs feeling like I had taken some of those people that were down there with me. The peruvian people tend to leave me slightly stunned by the beauty.

A local woman sitting outside in front of the church.

Floor view of the front of the church.

The cat says meow in Miraflores John F. Kennedy Park

Cats sprawl out in Lima’s John F. Kennedy park.

I love cats. Ever since I was a little girl I have found so much love and comfort in their company. Growing up I have had several cats all with different personalities. First we had the brother and sister duo Arrow and Esper as in Esperanza, which means hope in Spanish. Then we had Pokie (don’t judge me too hard for the name I named him when I was 5!) Then we had Cutie and Maxie, also brother and sister. Then Ginger, and lastly, Abi.

Abi is my current cat and she is a little bit of sassy and sweet. She loves to play around and pretend she doesn’t love me but at the end of the day she always ends up in my lap.

Seeing all of the cats in the park at first made me really sad. I thought about the lack of a real home with family they had. I thought about whether or not they were being fed at all. I wondered how all of these cats got there in the first place?

After exploring my thoughts on the cats for a while I began to see that lots of people fed and cared for the cats. In tree nooks and crannies sat little containers filled with cat food. People all around the community were taking an initiative to feed and sometimes give love to these cats. I saw that many children ran around and played with the cats, picked them up and pet them.

In addition to some locals loving and caring for the cats many tourists pass through this park with fascination as to where these cats came from? I see people of all different race, gender and age picking up and petting these cats. The thing with cats is they need love and attention or sometimes they will grow to dislike people and even other cats. Just like people need interaction with each other and other animals cats need to socialize too.

A man and a woman sit while cat looks on.

Seeing the care that these cats received made me feel at least a little bit better about their lives in the park. Though they don’t have a family and a home specifically, the community of Miraflores in a sense has become their home and the people that come through the park have become their family.

A man takes a nap in the park while a local cat passes by.

This little kitten was hiding under a wheelchair while two ladies in front of it sat and talked.

A woman sits and reads her newspaper as a local cat looks on.

A cat enjoys a piece of chicken dropped from someone.

This cat was relaxing at the end of a most likely exhausting day lying around doing nothing.

Lima’s beautiful architecture ceases to disappoint

In Lima‘s beautiful and popular Miraflores district where my class has been staying lays waiting some of the most beautiful architecture I have ever seen.

The buildings of Miraflores are painted pastel in tones and variations of orange, green, purple, pink, red, yellow and every color in between.

Walking around Miraflores the first thing I noticed was the architecture. Mainly, I was extremely intrigued by the older more traditional spanish buildings. I love the romance that is built into the lines, the colors, the doors and the windows. Every building looks as though it was made with so much love and care. While looking I like to picture all of the different families that have lived there over the years and wonder, what life was like for them then and what did they do?

In class I learned that there was a major recession and a rough period in Peru throughout the 80s’ and 90s’. We were told that there were also many bombings due to governmental turmoil and terrorist groups. I was so impressed and relieved to see that not everything was destroyed. It was amazing to me that these possibly hundreds of years old buildings had survived such unrest. What a scary time it must have been for the Peruvians who have been so kind and warm to me.

Overall beautiful people and BEAUTIFUL buildings.

Delicious Chocolate at Choco Museo in Miraflores

Sweaty, smelly and ready for… Chocolate? In Lima’s Miraflores district in Peru the Choco Museo sits at Calle Berlin 375 with delectable chocolate of many forms.

Walking into the Choco Museo immediately you are overwhelmed (in the best possible way) by a rich, tangy chocolate smell that consumes you. Because the smell is so strong you almost feel as though you can taste it!

WHAT DO THEY HAVE?

At the Museum they offer a variety Chocolate, which a lot of  is made in the museum. They have white, milk and dark chocolate varieties. In addition if you are looking for something more than just regular old chocolate they spice things up with cocoa liquors. The liquors are made with pisco a very common and loved peruvian liquor and cocoa. The liquors come in a range of flavors such as: chile, mango, strawberry, ginger and coffee. They also offer cocoa jams with flavors like chocolate banana and chocolate mango.

Very kind Museum guide talked about chocolate in Peru and it’s relationship worldwide.

Though there are many types of chocolate at the museum already made you can also learn how to make your own chocolate and truffles. The museum is as their website describes “a free interactive” museum. You can tour the museum with a guide and try as many different things made from chocolate you can imagine…FOR FREE.  You can watch them make chocolate, learn how to make it yourself and taste almost everything from cocoa tea to pure cocoa from the bean (doesn’t taste as good as you think it would)! But that is what is so interesting to me is the process that they go through in actually creating the chocolate that we consume.

SHOULD I COME HERE?

Overall definitely worth a stop-in, however, only if you are in the area. The guides were very nice, interesting and helpful. But not worth fretting about getting to if you only have a little bit in Lima.

Hope you can enjoy it. I did!