Monday, January 19, 2009 . 10:48 PM
adventurar ano nuevo en peru
dear friends,
hope you guys are still checking back this moribund blog - nonetheless that doesn't diminish my enthusiasm of wishing you all FELIZ ANO NUEVO (Qing should know better, it's 'Happy New Year' in Spanish)!! I've been back from Peru for slightly over a week, and school's starting tomorrow. The past week, I've been cooping myself up in lab.... haha.... just kidding. Well, almost. I was beginning to start liking the peace and quiet of Madison, which I used to grouse about it being such a ghost town during the school breaks. The hard work put into lab seems to be paying off, so I'm willing to go back even during on holidays (like today). My grad student's really enthusiastic about the science and teaching me, just that sometimes I feel that my scientific knowledge is inadequate - at this point - to put forth any hypothesis or to interpret the results as an astute scientist would. It's a steep, progressive learning curve, I guess... the road to being a scientist. I shall be patient and not beat myself up over this. Somehow, Prof Venki's words seem to be haunting me whenever I think about 'research' these days. Ah... how silly of me.
I trust that Qing has settled down in Monterrey by now... hooking up some hot Mexican babes?? haha... Hey, I'm actually thinking of heading down to Cancun this spring break... wonder if our breaks will coincide? And Elvin should be Turkey-bound pretty soon. All prepped? Is WB still in Singapore? CNY's coming - argh... and i'm going to miss it for another year!! But I'm sure we can have our reunion party in 2010 when everyone's back... I should be able to catch WB (finally after 3/4 years) then! :)
My trip to Peru was like a dream.... just like most of my trips. I had gone to Peru for the sacred grounds of Machu Picchu, for the experience of roughing out with nature with my trusty bagpack, for exploring the many mystical wonders of South America and its rich culture. How shall I put it... Peru mesmerizes the senses! Lima's the gastronomic capital city of South America (think roasted guinea pig aka cuy (see below), cebiche, and pisco sour!), Machu Picchu's spectacular landscape robbed not just our breaths, but also our visions.... heh. My trip to Peru began at the historical colonial capital of Peru, Lima.
At the Main Square
New Year's Eve dinner - ROASTED GUINEA PIG!! Well, I'm not a big fan of it, but no trip to Peru is complete without a taste of this savory local delight! It tastes a bit like bird... you know, chicken. Very bony and smells a tad too game-y for my liking.
Sacred valley tour to one of the many Inca Cities.... that's me with the terraces at Pisac. 
Exploring the ruins of another Inca city, Ollantaytambo...
XY..... somewhere under the rainbow.... haha...
Our trek officially began on the 2nd January... we had a couple of days to acclimatize to the altitude of Cuzco and its surroundings (more than 3500m above sea-level). Popped a couple of Diamox pills... apparently some carbonic anhydrase inhibitor. XY and I had a discourse over how this inhibitors actually work to increase our oxygen carrying capacity at high altitudes. We concluded that both of our explanations were right, just that one was quantitative and the other qualitative... haha, science geeks. ;p
The weather was kind to us when we first started the trek, but soon turned fairly nasty. It began pouring intermittently - heavy enough to drench us if we don't don our ponchos. Not to mention, the trek was slippery, and it was cold. The rain overnight at our first campsite got so heavy, rain seeped from our ground sheet under and drenched our sleeping bags. We barely got any sleep that night - that long, cold, miserable night.
Our first meal prepared by Chef Emerson.
On our way to our first campsite.... walk.... walk.... walk.... but Johan (our local guide) made the walk less torturous by teaching us the Quechua language (language spoken by the Incas up till today, especially by the rural folks) and filling us in with fun and interesting facts about the Incas and peruvian culture in particular.
Upclose with llamas, and al pacas too!
"Iman sutiki?" (What is your name? in Quechua) and "Haika watayo?" (How old are you? in Quechua) were the 2 phrases in Quechua I probably will never forget. The kids responded in such a diffident, yet playful way.. they make you wanna pinch their cheeks! haha.... Meet Luz Marino (left), the grey-hair girl (centre, opss, I didn't catch her name) and Matteo (right).
Chilling out after the hike.... with a game of Sapo (Frog) - a local pasttime. The winner is the one who tosses the coin right into the mouth of the frog.
And finally, MACHU PICCHU - the lost Inca city. It's literal translation is Old Mountain. (Machu = old), Picchu (Mountain). That tall mountain you see there, is Huayna Picchu, meaning young mountain.
Huayna Picchu from the entrance to Machu Picchu. I can probably go on for an hour explaining Inca's cosmology, but I realize this entry is taking up too much time and I need to leave for lab soon!!! Some other time perhaps...
Pointing at Machu Picchu from Intipunktu (Sun Gate).
CL and XY at other Inca ruins... Sacsaywaman, overlooking the city of Cuzco.
CL and me at Tambomachay.
cheers to an awesome 2009,dash
