| You walk up the cobblestone path between the pink adobe walls. You turn the corner and there are a herd of llamas. They're waiting for their mistress, it's dinner time. They run to you, then realize you aren't she and dash back to their corner and raise their noses to the sky and hum, a high-pitched human-sounding hmm nnn. You discover that the llama is synonymous with Peru. And in the city of Cuzco it's not unusual to see an Inca woman walking her llama down the street or standing patiently holding his rope as he grazes on a strip in the center of the street. Peru is not only far away in miles but in perspective and values. Cuzco is the former Inca capital. And you see that the majority of its inhabitants are Inca, also known as Quechua. They still wear the dress of their ancestors and their language is hard to pronounce, lots of k's way down in the throat, like KKenKKo. To your ear it sounds Oriental. Your musician friend explains that their music is played on flute-related instruments that are made of wood. "Like the rondador (pan pipes), the tarka (a flute with square ends), the dulzainas (two small flutes played together), and the quena or kena which is larger and looks like a reed flute." He draws you a picture of them. "Some of the instruments can reach high treble notes like a piccolo, and others, although small, sound like an oboe." They use a limited scale, and their music has a melancholy sound which is well-suited to the difficult life of the Andes. The tune to "I'd rather be a hammer than a nail," your friend tells you, is really "El Condor Pasa" (the condor is passing). This Andean song is so old that no one knows when it was written. The Quechua have their own radio station in Cuzco and you listen to the exotic sounds of their language and music whenever you want. There are many unanswered questions in Peru. One is the mystery of the Inca walls. The huge blocks are set so close that one cannot fit a knife blade or even a piece of paper between them. Every wall has a perfect line of inclination toward the center, from bottom to top. Originally they were covered with gold, but the Spaniards ripped it off. They were unable to tear the walls down, however, so they built on top of them. The circular stonework of the Temple of the Sun is a perfect example. They built their Catholic church on top of it. Your guide says that no one knows how the blocks were transported from their distant location to Cuzco at over eleven thousand feet, nor do they know how they were formed. "Some say they were cut with silver wire," says your guide. But you have another theory, which recently has been suggested by other creative thinkers. It's possible that in ancient times people knew things that are now forgotten. Perhaps the material was reduced to granules, or was originally in that form at the quarry and that it was transported in sacks or baskets to Cuzco. There, molds were made and a catalyst was added to the material to harden it. The mold was then chipped off when the material hardened in the place where it had been set. Therefore, there was no need to lift the enormous blocks. Some, at Sacsahuam�n on the outskirts of Cuzco, weigh as much as three hundred tons and are fitted together with perfection. They came from outer space? You don't think so. You have more faith in the intelligence of the Inca. They discovered and invented all the ways of weaving textiles hundreds of years ago, and even with all our technology we haven't done any better. Many things are unique to Peru. The potato originated there and was carried to Europe where the Irish claimed ownership. The Peruvians have seven hundred kinds of potatoes, but they seem to prepare them in only three ways: boiled, fried in strips, or pur� (smashed). The potato is sometimes accompanied by cuy (guinea pig) which is regarded as a delicacy. It tastes like rabbit. In Peru, if you have a headache, a stomach ache, or a heartache, you just ask any waiter and he will recommend a t� de mate (herb tea). They also know the benefits of drinking coca tea. It is indispensable when going to high altitudes from sea level, like flying from Lima to Cuzco. It helps prevent soroche (altitude sickness). When you arrive in Cuzco at the Hotel Alhambra II, the concierge won't let you check in until you have leisurely sipped a pot of coca tea by the fire in the lobby. (Staying horizontal for twenty-four hours is helpful too.) "Coca tea doesn't make you high. You have to mix it with quicklime to turn it into cocaine," the concierge says, "The men who work high up in the mountains put a ball of coca leaves in one side of their mouth and a piece of quicklime in the other. (It doesn't taste very good.) The two mix and make it possible for the men to do hard physical labor at very high altitudes. It's the only way they can endure the cold and the pain, but, unfortunately, it rots their teeth and addles their brains." But there are other kinds of highs. Just for fun there's the Pisco sour which the hotel bartender introduces you to. Pisco is a clear light brandy A Pisco sour looks like a Margarita. He makes it with lemon juice, egg white, crushed ice, and beats it in a blender. The white rises to the top and he sprinkles a little cinnamon on it. But you find out that you must be careful when you drink this beautiful drink, it's potent. The first time you try it, you feel as if someone opened your head with a pronged can opener and put rocks in it. Boing! When you go to the Amazon jungle you sample other Pisco drinks, such as the boa constrictor and the anaconda. They are just as powerful. You love Peruvian beers, especially those made in Cuzco and Arequipa. And you try some homemade brews too. There is a maize beer called chicha de fora, another chicha made from fermented pineapple rinds and a liquor that is made in the Amazon from chewed and fermented manioc roots. Enterprising "brewers" sell these potions to the public. They put a flag outside their establishment to signal the non-reading public that the stuff is ready. But not all drinks are alcoholic. There is a homemade soft drink made from purple corn called chicha morada which is sold by vendors in the street, and in the stores you can buy Inca Cola in bottles. You decide to stay in Cuzco for six weeks and live in the back of a hotel, Hostal Raymi, where you rent a small apartment with a bedroom, studio, private bath with hot water, maid service, and kitchen privileges for $150 a month. The family who owns the establishment often invites you to take your meals with them. Lunch is the big meal of the day and the time when the family spends two or three hours together. One day you bring out your world map. Six-year-old Panchito points to South America with pride and exclaims, "America!" (It's all a matter of perspective.) And there is something else you learn from him. He shows you his primer. The first sentences he is taught to read are these: "My father loves my mother. My mother loves my father." Lovely. Those are the values taught in the Peruvian schools. They teach love. While in the United States children are taught other values, no doubt infinitely more important, superior ideas, like "See Dick run. See Jane run. See Spot jump." Ah, yes, Peru is definitely a backward country. Love is out, don't you know, and running is in. You ask Panchito to tell you about the game you see children playing in the street. Panchito says it's called aro con su manilla. They use an old bicycle tire and a stiff wire. They make a hook on the end and it hooks loosely on the tire. "You set the tire up and push it as you run." he explains, "Of course, its not supposed to fall over. Sometimes they use a forked stick. Then it's called aro con su madera. You can play it by yourself or in a game. The players make curving tracks with chalk. One at a time a player runs the course. The one whose tire doesn't fall is the winner." Wandering the streets, you find out that Peru is known for many things: its weaving, its gold and turquoise jewelry, and its pickpockets. It's said that the thieves are so proficient that New York City imports them. As you travel you discover that Peru is one of the most beautiful and varied countries in the world. It has two kinds of desert -- one like the high desert in California and the "Lawrence of Arabia" kind. There are several kinds of rain forests, including the Amazon. It has some of the most famous lakes, rivers and volcanos in the world, snow-capped black mountains, vertical vine-draped mountains, pastel pink ones. You ride through the altiplano (the high plains) on a twelve hour train trip from Cuzco to Puno (colder than a well-digger's - knee) on Lake Titicaca. Then you take the highest train route in the world to Arequipa, the white city. Along the way you see llamas and alpacas, cousins to the camel. The alpaca is smaller than the llama, but if the two aren't together, you can't tell the difference. So, what you do is walk up to the animal and ask him what he is called, "C�mo se llama?" but he doesn't answer. Instead he raises his nose to the sky and hums a high-pitched Andean song -- probably about a condor ... |