In the park up above the Lima waterfront, this statue stands as a monument to the Peruvian proclivity for showing affection. Any doubts about how accurate this was was erased by a walk through the park. It was impossible not to pass at least one pair of entangled teens sucking face for all to see.
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Lima's Kennedy Park is a five minute walk from our apartment in Miraflores and chock full of activity from markets and events and locals just enjoying the space. Every time we walked through the park there was some sort of performance or dance party happening there.
Get a look after the jump.
Continue reading "Lima: Dancing in Kennedy Park" »
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Having spent our first week or so in Peru up in the mountains, it was easy to forget that it was winter time down there. During the day, the sun shone and temperatures got to the 60s. When we landed in Lima, closer to sea level, we encountered an entirely new weather pattern. It wasn't the cold, snowy winter we (usually) know at home, but there was a chill in the air and we didn't see the sun at all over the four or five days we were there. At all.
We read that it's like that for most of the year, but it's remarkable being right on the coast of the Pacific with a huge cliffside park across from the beach going for miles and miles and not seeing the sun once. I can't imagine how gorgeous it must be on a sunny summer day.
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One interesting thing I picked up from our visit to Qorikancha was that unlike the European astrology, which traces the stars to find deities, the Incan constellations find patterns in the darkness around the stars.
This representation of Incan Astrology was painted by Miguel Araoz Cartagena, a local artist in Cuzco. To read more about the constellations, read this.
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Peru is known for it's textiles and weaves and materials, so it's no surprise that we ended up at the craft museum in Cuzco. While Tammi shopped for "gifts" (ahem), I headed to the back of the shop to see weaving being done by hand. Take a look after the jump.
Continue reading "Cuzco: Craft Museum" »
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In what was probably the last historic site I laid eyes on over my month long trip to South America, Tammi and I visited Qorikancha, the site of a former Inca temple, which was inevitably looted by the Spaniards and turned into a church. This isn't much a sightseeing blog, so I'll let you read the Wikipedia entry for details and stick with the visuals after the jump.
Continue reading "Cuzco: Qorikancha" »
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Our trip to Peru wasn't all eating and hiking - Tammi and I did some sightseeing while we were in Cuzco, too. It just so happens that as we walked to the remains of an ancient inca temple, Qorikancha, we ended up walking down a strip of chicharrones joints. Go figure.
Baskets of freshly fried pork bits were on display in front of each of these places. How could we resist? Culture could wait. Get a look after the jump.
Continue reading "Cuzco: Chicharron Row" »
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While the eating options were a bit limited in Aguas Calientes, Cuzco was an entirely different story. One night, while looking for a place to grab a drink, we stumbled upon Cicciolina, an Italian place hidden in a courtyard of shops a block or two away from the main square.
We may have come for a drink, but as soon as I saw that our spot at the bar was directly in front of the open kitchen, it was pretty clear that we'd be spending hours there. See cooks, prep, pasta making and cocktail shaking after the jump.
Continue reading "Cuzco: The open kitchen at Cicciolina" »
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Yes, Halloween is over and everyone's looking to either Thanksgiving or just going straight to Christmas, I've decided to linger a bit and look back. Two months ago, I was wandering the aisles of Recoleta Cemetery in Buenos Aires enjoying a tranquility that is almost unheard of in my life or my city. The days and weeks and months since I've returned have been anything but calm - its been great and I hope to take some time to write about it - but it certainly hasn't been tranquil.
As the spiral into the holidays approaches, this week seemed like a good time to appreciate a moment of stillness. I'll be posting photos from Recoleta today on Twitter and for the rest of the week on Analog UltraClay.
Enjoy.
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As I mentioned yesterday, the town of Machu Picchu, formerly known as Aguas Calientes, is pretty much a tourist town. That includes the food. Pizza and Mexican and Chinese all stand next to restaurants selling the same ten Peruvian dishes, no one offering anything quite good.
There were a couple exceptions that we enjoyed and a month later, the one that sticks with me is The Tree House. Check out the space and the food after the jump.
Continue reading "Peru: The Tree House" »
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I've finally made my way through my film photos of Peru and have started posting them on my analog tumblr site. I'm starting with the photos from Machu Picchu and working my way through the rest of the trip. I'll be posting a few every day, so check back regularly.
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The closest town to Machu Picchu was historically called Aguas Calientes, but apparently has recently taken on the name of of its main attraction to avoid confusion.
It reminded me a lot of a smaller Siem Reap: full of travelers and an entrenched tourist economy that offers a little too much of a variety, little of it particularly great. Still, it was interesting to explore. See a bit more about it after the jump.
Continue reading "Peru: Aguas Calientes a.k.a. Machu Picchu town" »
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Well, ok, we didn't actually climb Machu Picchu. Not technically. For various logistical reasons that Tammi explains in great detail, we didn't manage to get the appropriate ticket to climb the actual mountain called Machu Picchu. This, it turns out was not a big deal. In fact, given the week of aches and pains I had after the hiking we did do, I'm not sure I'd have managed the mountain.
Since I'm so behind in my posts (and photo editing), I'll minimize the commentary and make with the photos after the jump.
Continue reading "Peru: Climbing Machu Picchu" »
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I was warned before heading to Peru that the altitude in Cuzco and to a slightly lesser extent the Machu Picchu area would take its toll on us. Having been gradually acclimatized to the 8,000 foot elevation of Aspen over the years, I was a little skeptical that it would be much worse than a minor headache and a nosebleed or two.
It turns out that 11,000+ feet is a whole different experience.
Continue reading "Peru: Altitude Adjustment" »
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Our flight arrived in Lima just before midnight local time. We weren't the only ones. Hundreds of people, coming and going, were swarming around the airport when we got here. Even now, four hours later, as we wait for our next flight to take us on to Cuzco, there are many, many people wandering its halls. The stores all seem to be open and we're sitting in a Starbucks, with other exhausted travelers.
I have no idea why, but judging by all the staffers walking about bright-eyed, it seems like this is a normal thing. I have no insight. I'm wiped out and writing this more to stay awake than to inform.
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Buenos Aires, Argentina. 2006.
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Las Cañitas, Buenos Aires, Argentina. 2006.
I can't remember if we just stumbled upon Soul Bar or if we saw it in a guidebook. Either way, we had a great time here, sitting for hours listening to American soul music and snacking while Tammi tried the various cocktails and I worked my way through the local Malbecs they stocked.
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Buenos Aires, Argentina. 2006.
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Buenos Aires, Argentina. 2006.
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Buenos Aires, Argentina. 2006.
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Buenos Aires, Argentina. 2006.
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Buenos Aires, Argentina. 2006.
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Museo Bellas Artes, Buenos Aires, Argentina. 2006.
::c::
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Buenos Aires, Argentina. 2006.
::c::
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Purchased in Buenos Aires, November 2006.
::c::
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Palermo, Argentina. 2006.
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Christina Fernandez de Kirchner was just elected President of Argentina. This was a topic of discussion on this afternoon's Leonard Lopate Show on wnyc.
Obviously the idea of a First Lady being elected to take her husband's office is topical here in the US. But really, I just wanted an excuse to post this bit of graffiti I found last year in Buenos Aires.
For a little more graffiti fun with the Kirchners, see Terminestor, a GOTD back in march.
::c::
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Last Friday was 4 years since Tammi and I started dating. To celebrate I made dinner and opened up a couple special bottles.
I bought this sparkling in Buenos Aires last fall. It's from a limited release of 9500 bottles. I have been saving it for a special occasion just like this.
This may very well be the best sparkling I've ever had. The taste was one you'd expect from a rosé. The flavor of black cherry was so strong, it reminded me of a kriek lambic beer. What was amazing was that it wasn't cloyingly sweet as a lot of fruity sparklings can be.
When it was done, I was irritated that I couldn't go out and get another. So, a hint to any friends who may be going down to Buenos Aires any time soon. This would make a fantastic gift to that special writer/photographer/geek.
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Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2006.
::c::
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Palermo, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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Buenos Aires, Argentina. 2006.
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Buenos Aires, Argentina. 2006.
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Colonia, Uruguay, 2006.
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Wishful thinking, I suppose. The sun is definitely not shining. New York saw the highest rainfall on record yesterday. 7.5 inches fell in Central Park. Today the city is soggy.
April Showers and all that, I guess.
::c::
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Recoleta, Buenos Aires, 2006.
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Buenos Aires, Argentina. 2006.
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Recoleta Cemetery, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2006.
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Terminestor, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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Mundo Bizarro, by Pum Pum.
Men's Room, Mundo Bizarro, Buenos Aires, Argentina
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