Travel
In the Land of the Incas
Accompanied by two congenial couples, the Noors and the Ahmeds, we landed in Lima for a Peruvian adventure in late-September, 2013. We visited The Larco Museum of Inca artifacts, which is housed in an18th century vice-royal lodge built upon a 7th century pre-Columbian pyramid. Its tall, white outside walls are covered by purple, orange and red Bougainvilleas. The Incas had spread in the 13th-16th centuries from Peru to south on the Pacific coast- conquering parts of modern-day Paraguay, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina. The Museum had originals or replicas of fine gold and silver jewelry, finely woven and dyed, bright textiles, vases and other objects of art, evincing a high degree of sophistication. Unlike modern times, gold and silver were equally valued by the Incas. Both metals were associated with the concept of duality- Gold represented the sun, the day and all that was masculine, while silver represented the moon, the night and that was considered as feminine. The Spanish Conquistadors arrived in 1526 and plundered the gold and silver of the Incas, marking an end to the great Inca Empire and civilization. The area then came under Spanish rule.
Considering Peru as a third-world country, our doctor in Washington had warned us to be particularly careful. But at the end of our eight-day visit, we were of the opinion that it was no third world country! Even the incident during our return road journey from Urubamba to Cuzco when the highway was barricaded at various strategic points, it was the ordinary people demanding higher wages to cope with the rising cost of living. Unlike our part of the world, there were not many slogans, no violence or stone throwing though there were plenty of boulders around on the mountainous roadside. At one point, Neena, our companion, spiritedly got down from the vehicle and pleaded with the rustic farmers in a mixture of English, broken Spanish and hand gestures to let us proceed on the ground of our health condition and the presence of women in our party. The appeal actually worked-they let us go only to be stopped after about three miles- this time by urban workers and young students. Police were present but no provocation was given by either the police or the strikers. After six hours at around 2 pm, magically every road barrier was removed and cars and buses, including ours, moved on. The patience and courtesy of the strikers, the public and the police were admirable. They offered us food and drinks and some opened up their shops and houses for our use. One farmer offered us his soccer ball to play in the near-by play ground. Since the ball was of the size and colour of a watermelon, I first thought he was offering it for us to eat in the hot, sunny weather.
Machu Picchu in Peru.
Plaza de Armas, Cuzco, Peru.
Peru has a population of 30 million and a per capita income on the basis of purchasing power parity of $10,000. It is the fourth largest country in South America. The population of Lima, the capital and its largest city, is 7.6 million with a quarter of Peruvians living in it. Eighty percent of the people speak Spanish and 16 percent the people the other official language called Quechua. We met some of them in the streets, shops, restaurants and plazas and found them happy and smiling, courteous and helpful, irrespective of their class and income level. Altitude of Peruvian cities and country-side can pose health hazards for visitors but these can be overcome by preventive medicines, taking plenty of Coca Tea (reportedly has anti-altitude sickness properties, which is served free at many places) and not over-exerting oneself. In moving to higher altitudes, one has to acclimatise by gradually going from lower to upper heights. The Coca Leaves, which are widely cultivated in Peru, Bolivia and Colombia, are also chewed and sucked-it is an energizing way to induce healthy mood and a source of the narcotic-Cocaine. We began our tour in Lima, the capital of Peru and a beautiful city at an elevation of five thousand feet. In the city centre are the ancient ruins, which still show evidence of houses, storage areas, roads and squares. We had dinner in the Huaca Pucllana restaurant adjoining the ruins, which gave us a feeling of modernity while looking at the old ruins of a different but fairly developed era. As we took a city tour by bus, we saw nicely kept houses with clean tree-lined, narrow, mostly-cobbled streets. Of maximum interest to our spouses were the various artisan markets selling silverware, pottery, handicrafts and shawls, table cloths, bed spreads and bags, which were of excellent quality and colour. The clothing items were made mostly of alpaca, llama and vicuna though there were excellent cotton products as well.
Plaza de Armas, Cuzco, Peru.From Lima, we went to Cuzco (11,000 feet)-90 minutes by air and then by road about 50 miles to Urubamba. We spent a day in a monastery turned into a hotel with flowers blooming profusely at the edges of green yards. Next day, we travelled by the Astrodome, a Peru Rail train, on a day-trip to Machu Picchu. We saw high rocky-mountains of 8-12 thousand feet. Though the upper heights were barren, the lower reaches (up to about 6000 feet) were covered by green Pine and Eucalyptus trees, tropical grass and bushes. Occasionally, we saw short plants called Bromelius which had red and yellow flowers. There were crevices on the mountain sides and other vertical shapes of what appeared like elephant trunks, indicating waterfalls and erosion of other times. The Urubamba River, during most of the two hours' comfortable journey, was flowing as a small stream through the rocky mountain bed almost parallel to the train. Though we did not take the deluxe train of the look of the famed Orient Express, in our train we still got a 180 degree view the spectacular surroundings all around. Complimentary drinks and snacks were gracefully served by the attendants. They also performed dances in native dresses, played Peruvian meditation music and modeled Peru Rail's fancy clothes, shawls and promoted these so effectively that some of us were tempted to buy a few. From the Machu Picchu train station, you have to take a bus for about 20 minutes to the gate of the ruins, which was a scary and often dangerous ride. There were deep canyons, often dropping vertically for about 1500 feet by the side of the mountainous roads, which were uneven and quite narrow for two buses to pass.
The Incas built Machu Picchu around 1450 but abandoned it a century later for reasons which are not quite clear- could be plague or the Spanish conquest. The Incas possibly had agricultural research centre, prison, fort, or abode for the deities at Machu Picchu, depending on the version of history you like to believe most. It was covered by jungles until in 1911 an American historian from Yale-Hiram Bingham discovered it. Machu Picchu was declared a Unesco World Heritage Site in 1983. In 2007, it was voted one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. Machu Picchu in local Quechua language means Old Pyramid-a broad base with a sharp top. It is an architectural jewel, which sits 8000 feet above sea level on top of a ridge between two peaks of different sizes-Machu Picchu –the old peak and the Huayna Picchu-the young peak. The beauty and mystery of the walled ruins are enhanced by lush landscape of the surroundings. An example of organic architecture, the structures were harmoniously sculpted out of mountains. Narrow channels beside the foot paths supplied water from natural springs for human and agricultural uses. There were 16 fountains, all interconnected by channel systems. The Incas could control the pressure and speed of water and even had filters to screen the water. The stones, mostly Granite, seem to have been chiseled into smooth surfaces and houses and walls built by laying one on the top of the other, with very little use of mortar. Peru being in a highly seismic zone, the dry-stone walls built by the Incas could move slightly and resettle without collapsing. Doors and windows all faced the east as they worshipped the sun. Machu Picchu and the sacred Valley is part of the rain forest being in the middle of the region between the Amazon and the Andes. The weather was semi-tropical and humid. Terrace cultivation was widely practiced with irrigation. Evidence of this is the hundreds of rectangular terraces now growing green grasses. What interested me most was the House for Condors, which is a very large bird that even now is seen in some Latin countries, including Chile, where it is the national bird. The condor house is carved out of stones in the shape of a Condor and on the floor there is a special place where the birds were sacrificed to the gods.
Both Lima and Cuzco, the two old and major cities of Peru, are called cities of plazas and fountains. Each had many plazas but the biggest and most beautiful plazas were in the centre of the cities, which they call Plaza de Armas or the main square. We visited these squares at night when they are tastefully illuminated, and tourists as well as local people with children stroll by and enjoy in a festive mood. There are public buildings like giant cathedrals, museums and city halls of fine architectural and historical value. Also private buildings were there such as houses, clubs, hotels and restaurants, most of which had unique and handsome wooden balconies. In the centre of these squares are bronze water fountains and statues celebrating their founding centuries ago or the liberators of the country, like Simon Boliver.
The cities, towns and the rural areas, we visited in Peru in the mild spring weather looked clean and picturesque There were well-tilled fields, some already with green, growing crops-wheat or corn, mostly in the valleys and others were getting ready to be sown. We also saw instances of what is known in Bangladesh Hill Tracts as Jhoom cultivation. Farmers burn the trees and bushes on sloping mountains to clear the grounds while at the same time naturally fertilizing them; the land is left fallow for a few years and cultivated again. In the interiors, people looked healthy and well-dressed, particularly the lovely, chubby children indicating a certain level of income and health. Hotels, restaurants, shops and transport services in a country dependent largely on tourism were efficient and well managed. We were told that there were two hundred and thirty thousand taxis in Lima–the vehicles and their fares were reasonable compared to most European or Latin American countries.
We returned from Peru without being adversely affected by its high altitude or its reported bad security situation. We brought back nothing but sweet memories of the sights and sounds of a beautiful, green mountainous country with an enigmatic past and its extraordinarily friendly, simple and courteous people.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments