Sunday, March 23, 2008
Crazy Quilt
Hola,
Happy Easter! Its not as big a deal here as I thought it would be, though I did get to see a cool procession for Good Friday complete with relics in coffins of glass and people festooning Mary in red Salvia flowers. Bryan and I are preparing for our two day trip to Machu Picchu. It is hard to do on the cheap and there are ways to get ripped off at every turn. We are taking a private bus to some town )Ollantaytambo, in case you know it and then training into the ruins. All direct trains are reserved weeks in advance, so we have to do it this way. I am trying to build up enthusiasm, because it just seems so gimmicky.
We had a great day collecting yesterday, though. Same driver, same undergrad, Bryan and i headed up, up, up to Paucartaytambo in pursuit of plants. We finally saw what a ¨white¨road on our maps is like...really not too bad considering, but again I am glad the rains are gone. Bryans plants, unlike mine, are actually useful and we had lots of fun in indigenous communities markets talking to the people about uses for his plants. When you ask about Puya, they smile and say yes they know it and the plants are far, far away. Two hours later and another 500m in elevation and I reached the puna, and could have been in any number of my favorite sites in Ecuador or Colombia. Same vegetation, same feel and maybe same Puyas! I swear one species is a long distance dispersal from Colombia! I loved being up there and looking down over giant valleys covered in a patchwork of crops. Wheat, corn, potatoes in full flower, quinoa, edible lupine...just beautiful, even if it means massive deforestation. You can´t get too upset about a lot of the environmental change here, though. These people have lived here for thousands of years and must have a few things figured out. I don´t, yet, though and must go work more on the Macchu Piccu plan. Back on Wednesday with more tales!
Happy Easter! Its not as big a deal here as I thought it would be, though I did get to see a cool procession for Good Friday complete with relics in coffins of glass and people festooning Mary in red Salvia flowers. Bryan and I are preparing for our two day trip to Machu Picchu. It is hard to do on the cheap and there are ways to get ripped off at every turn. We are taking a private bus to some town )Ollantaytambo, in case you know it and then training into the ruins. All direct trains are reserved weeks in advance, so we have to do it this way. I am trying to build up enthusiasm, because it just seems so gimmicky.
We had a great day collecting yesterday, though. Same driver, same undergrad, Bryan and i headed up, up, up to Paucartaytambo in pursuit of plants. We finally saw what a ¨white¨road on our maps is like...really not too bad considering, but again I am glad the rains are gone. Bryans plants, unlike mine, are actually useful and we had lots of fun in indigenous communities markets talking to the people about uses for his plants. When you ask about Puya, they smile and say yes they know it and the plants are far, far away. Two hours later and another 500m in elevation and I reached the puna, and could have been in any number of my favorite sites in Ecuador or Colombia. Same vegetation, same feel and maybe same Puyas! I swear one species is a long distance dispersal from Colombia! I loved being up there and looking down over giant valleys covered in a patchwork of crops. Wheat, corn, potatoes in full flower, quinoa, edible lupine...just beautiful, even if it means massive deforestation. You can´t get too upset about a lot of the environmental change here, though. These people have lived here for thousands of years and must have a few things figured out. I don´t, yet, though and must go work more on the Macchu Piccu plan. Back on Wednesday with more tales!
# posted by Rachel Jabaily @ 9:34 AM 
