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The Big Picture Peru

David — Tue, 04 May 2010 21:16:44 +0000

A post based on The Big Picture blog at Boston.com.

Note: I have recently revised the blog to update various design dilemmas. This post — one of my favorites — has been made into a static page at the following URL:

http://www.davidcflood.com/static/bigpictureperu.html

Semana Santa in Arequipa

David — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 03:33:27 +0000

Here are some photos from my recent trip to Arequipa, which is a city in southern Peru about 15 hours in bus from Lima. Yes, 15 hours, but more on that later

I will also be posting a a bunch of new photos over the next few days. Stop by again to check them out!

Monasterio de Santa Catalina

Semana Santa in Arequipa

Daphne and hot chocolate melted from the bar

Jeremy the Explorer atop a cerro

A meadow outside of Chivay

A grainy meadow along the road to Coporaque

Beautiful terracing, or balcones in Spanish, along the Cañon del Colca

Nora hides in an old waterfall basin

Sun sets in Arequipa. One of my favorite shots of Peru

Descending into Chivay

Nora and I and an Inca ruin (we think it was Incan, at least)

Canta

David — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 15:36:29 +0000

Two weeks ago, we visited several pueblos in the province of Canta, which is located about 60 miles north of Lima. The area is home to a spectacular river valley where the Chillón River has cut a through the mountains.

What’s especially remarkable about this area is that it lies only a few hours from the dry, sandy desert of the Lima coast, yet Canta is extremely verdant. The various hues of green in Canta remind me that photosynthesis indeed is a natural process, that in most parts of the world, when you have a patch of earth, stuff tends to grow. Not in Lima.

There are a few primary reasons for the difference in climate between Lima and Canta. First, lying at nearly at over 9000 feet, Canta is much higher in the mountains than Lima and thus receives much more rainfall than areas on the coastal desert. Second, the Chillón River runs strong in Canta as much of the water has yet to be diverted for small farms, allowing for extensive farming in the river valley. Finally, much of the outskirts of Lima were constructed in areas far from coastal river valleys; essentially, these parts of Lima — deserts with dunes, really — were largely inhospitable before modern technology allowed water and food to be transported more easily.

Please check out some photos:

A man waits in Canta

Canta panorama

South of Canta. Look how green it is!

Pretty flowers along the river

The greenness and water-ness was very different from Lima

Nora by the catarata

The river weaves its way through the valley

I had fun sliding down this pole with niños in San Miguel.

Foto del día

David — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 16:00:59 +0000

Pisco sour perfection is a journey, not a destination

Foto del día

David — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 22:07:52 +0000

Celebrating acceptance to medical school

Happy birthday Maggie

David — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 23:30:32 +0000

My beautiful, smart, and hilarious little sister turns 21 today. But no matter her age, she’ll always be my little sister.

These pictures remind me of my favorite Beatles song, the inimitable In My Life. John Lennon and Paul McCartney both loved it as well, and it later became the only song in the entire Lennon/McCartney catalogue in which the duo disagreed on who was the principle songwriter.

There are places I remember
All my life though some have changed
Some forever not for better
Some have gone and some remain…

Though I know I’ll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know I’ll often stop and think about them
In my life I love you more

Happy birthday, Sis.

More Peru favorites

David — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 19:21:43 +0000

Some recent photos worthy of “Foto del día” status, but ones I’ve not had a chance to post.

Clever, risque breast-exam ads in Lima

El Parque de la Reserva

The side of Cerro San Cristobal

El Parque de las Leyendas

Me at the Zoo

Futbol in La Victoria on a Saturday

A Lima bus driver willing to go to great lengths to not wear a seat belt. (It's law.)

View from Tarmatambo. It's right out of Lord of the Rings.

An ad in a bus promoting more gender-sensitive language

A waterfall in Yurinaki

A bride walks through illuminated fountains in Las Aguas.

Traveling through central Peru

David — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 03:04:47 +0000

This weekend, my roommate and I traveled east from coastal Lima, through the Andes, and to the westernmost region of the country that could be considered selva, or jungle. It’s pretty amazing that in eight hours one can leave a coastal desert during what is considered the summer season, cross nearly the entire Andes (elevations near 12,000 feet), and arrive in a tropical rainforest during the rainy, winter season. Eso es el Perú.

Here are some highlights:

Peruvian superstar and boxer Kina Malpartida's had a fight televised during our bus trip. She won.

Baby potatoes in La Merced.

An ant near the Vela de la Novia waterfall in Yurinaki

A flower near the same waterfall

La Vela de la Novia. The water is rust colored due to recent rains that wash mud into the streams.

The selva, or jungle, in Yurinaki

A nun wades into the Río Perené at dusk in Pichanaqui

Cacti in Acobamba, Peru (near Tarma)

Chancras, or small farms, near Muruhuay

Sunset while eating Pachamanca, or meat and pototoes cooked underground

Dr. Seuss-esque trees outside of Tarmatambo

Saturday in Callao

David — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 16:00:31 +0000

Callao is the largest and most important port in Peru. It’s about an hour-long bus from where I live. Callao used to be geographically distinct from the city of Lima, but it has since been enveloped by urban sprawl. Thus, despite its unique history and technical separation from Lima, to the casual observer, Callao seamlessly transitions with Lima.

I had to wonder how Domino's pizza made it from Michigan to Lima.

A man fishes along the Callao coast with Lima looming behind him.

I loved how this maintenance man used a towel under his knee to protect his shiny white uniform.

Colors like these make American homes seem so stuffy and boring.

This U.S. poster was in the Fortaleza del Real Felipe, a Peruvian military fort. It was intended to honor Peruvian Americans who died in the war on terror. I love the huge bald eagle swooping in behind the FREEDOM ISN'T FREE banner.

The Callao coast as the sun descends.

My weekend

David — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:00:58 +0000

This weekend, I visited the city of Huaraz and its surroundings with my friend Brian. Huaraz is in the northern sierra of Peru, at nearly 10,000 feet of altitude. It is famous for being in the midst of the Callejón de Huaylas, a valley formed between two large mountain ranges, (1) the Cordillera Blanca and (2) the Cordillera Negro. The difference between the two mountain ranges is that the Cordillera Blanca has snow-tipped peaks, or nevados, as it lies further from the warm Pacific breezes.

Here are some photos:

Fresh trout along the Cordillera Blanca

Yungay. In 1970, over 20,000 people were killed here in less than three minutes when a large earthquake triggered a massive mudslide, covering the entire city

The turquoise waters of Lago Chinancocha (at 12,600 feet)

Visiting a pottery workshop

A chancra, or farm, near Yungay

Two Andean women in Huaraz

Cuy, or guinea pigs, in a Huaraz market

A panorama of Huaraz