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Articles Tagged ‘peru’

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Earthquakes and Lack Thereof

Wednesday, August 22nd, 2007

Like the North American continent, South America is partially very active seismic-wise and partially stable – West and East.  Randy and I discussed earthquakes a bit in Brazil because there are so many buildings in Brazil that could never withstand a good shake.  The materials are fine – concrete and rebar – but they keep building verticle well beyond anything stable.  This is not more prevalent than in the favelas where the highest densities of people exist.  Then you have coastal Peru and for this week we have Pisco in particular. 

As soon as I heard Peru had a 7.9 quake I thought about adobe and rickety old churches.  Peru has to be one of the grand-daddies as far as earthquakes go and I did not visit anyplace except maybe the Amazon where earthquakes have left their mark.  The main building material in Peru is adobe – mud.  On the coastal areas of Peru where there is a lot of poverty, the adobe buildings are not even plastered with stucco to give the appearance of being well-constructed.  They are straight-up bricks with questionable mortar, large amounts of that questionable mortar and there is usually no straight lines.  I´ve been in a few collapsed churches in Latin America and one of them was not many kilometers from Pisco near Nasca.  They provide an eerie setting for one to imagine being in there with a few hundred others when the big one hits.  It is unlikely that anyone stands a chance of getting out safely.  Even if you escape the building, the facade and belltowers are falling, too. 

Now Pisco has a new ruin.  In days past, they were saved for reminders of those lost?  I´m not sure what they do now, but there are some sites near Pisco I hope to someday see so I´ll learn then what they do with it.  Frankly, Pisco is not a pretty place and I would like to be optimistic that the quake will inject some new life into what I would have refered to as a “hole” a week ago.  Hopefully, Brazil (like New York City – have you ever seen the crazy water tanks mounted on top of the buildings in that town!!!) will never have a quake.  It has few ruins if any and it is better that way.  The buildings are old and rickety enough without the devastation of an earthquake.  And I would hate to have the cheeriest people on earth have something to be unhappy about. 

It’s a Jungle in Manu… Inkanatura Sucks!

Saturday, June 2nd, 2007

My last adventure in Latin America was a visit to Manu National Park in the Amazon Basin in Peru.  I went all out with a five day, four night stay at Manu Wildlife Center which has a great reputation.  Manu WC is owned by Inkanatura and another agency and I did my booking through Inkanatura.  I knew something was wrong when I tried to do the initial booking because I gave them specific times when I was available and told them that it was urgent that we complete the booking because I had other things like kayaking to book as soon as Manu (#1 priority) was done, but they went dead on me for a few days.  I should probably have moved on, but I sent another email to once again convey the urgency. 

[read on]

Last Day in Sacred Valley

Thursday, May 31st, 2007
I escaped from hectic Cusco with my new friend, Isabella (Swedish pharamacist living in Ireland), on my last day at altitude.  We chose to spend the day in Sacred Valley seeing the last bit of major sites that I had ... [Continue reading this entry]

And Now for Heaven

Thursday, May 31st, 2007
My Lake Titicaca adventure started with a ride to Llachon on Capachica Peninsula.  I went with a guide named Guido from Explorandes' kayaking outfit called Titkayak.  The Capachica Peninsula in combination with Chucuito Peninsula which is on an opposite shore ... [Continue reading this entry]

Protests in the Unknown Continent (Central America and Caribbean Included)

Friday, May 25th, 2007
Although La Paz and Bolivia in general seems to have the most, I have seen protests in Mexico, Ecuador, Peru and Argentina and I am sure they happen regularly in every Latin American country except Cuba.  I like the protests... ... [Continue reading this entry]

Heaven and Hell… Let’s Do Hell First

Thursday, May 24th, 2007
For this post I will just say that Lake Titicaca was Heaven and totally blew me away.  But then I had one horrible day yesterday and I need to just get that one out of the way before I tell ... [Continue reading this entry]

Lake Titicaca

Saturday, May 19th, 2007
This lake is quite beautiful and I am enjoying my stay.  Copacabana in Bolivia was pretty boring and it was Bolivia so...  Copacabana had a few gringo (and folks from other Latin American countries) hippies selling jewelry and other art.  ... [Continue reading this entry]

Got a Feeling Inside Can’t Explain

Thursday, May 17th, 2007
I wish I could explain why there are places that I just don't like and places that I love.  All I can say is that it is from deep inside.  Some places just set off alarms in me that there ... [Continue reading this entry]

Shoeshine Boys and Finger Puppets

Thursday, May 17th, 2007
Something that everyone seems to find disturbing in La Paz is the shoeshine boys with masks over their faces.  I had two theories: 1) they are from the jungle area and are cold in La Paz or 2) they are ... [Continue reading this entry]

Different Country, Different Day, Different Attitude

Wednesday, May 16th, 2007
I am so happy to be out of Bolivia and back to Peru.  A three hour drive including the time to get through immigration and it seems like I have entered a new world.  Puno doesn't have a great reputation, ... [Continue reading this entry]