Blogs

To get to Andahuaylas from Abancay, we headed West and so abandoned the road towards Cusco, which continues East. Before embarking on this brief trip, we weren’t sure what the condition of the roads would be, but they were all … Continue reading → read full post >>

To get from Puquio to Abancay, 300km or so further inland, on the road to Cusco, you have first to cross a long stretch of puna, or high-altitude moorland, that divides the southern tip of Ayacucho from Apurímac. Here, at … Continue reading → read full post >>

I took an overnight bus to Chimbote, a small coastal city that is just over 400km, from Lima, a little more than a third of the distance to Ecuador. I arrived about 6am, and though the bus station is some … Continue reading → read full post >>

It was some time ago that I first came up with the idea of an “Arguedas Tour”: a trip through (mostly) Peru’s Southern Andes that would include as many as possible of the places associated with writer José María Arguedas. … Continue reading → read full post >>

This post is way late. But after a week of reflection (in my overheating apartment) in Vancouver, I feel I should share some final thoughts in order to conclude this blog.  When I think back upon the beginning of this experience, I reflect on the end of the first week in Lima: I marvelled to […] read full post >>

Can’t believe that this is my last experience blog but it is. It feels like we just landed in Lima a few days ago to start this trip. In the past 6 weeks we have experienced so much. It’s hard for me to believe I actually did everything I did and saw all the places […] read full post >>

While in Peru, we spent more time in the small town (about 10,000 inhabitants) of Pisac than in any other place–almost three weeks, or just under half our time in the country. This was because originally we were thinking of … Continue reading → read full post >>

While in Peru, we spent more time in the small town (about 10,000 inhabitants) of Pisac than in any other place–almost three weeks, or just under half our time in the country. This was because originally we were thinking of … Continue reading → read full post >>

week6—endings; the making and unmaking of [insert something profound here]— experience blog #6 – Last days in Peru. Where do I begin? At this point, I am back in Vancouver and I have never felt cleaner or slept better than in the last 12 hours. Even given that, I would sacrifice this level of clean […] read full post >>

week6—one more thing off the to-do list— reading blog #11 – Mark Rice’s Making Machu Picchu  “The historian Alberto Flores Galindo once observed that Peruvians are often “in search of an Inca” to forge symbols of a new Peru.15 Perhaps it is time we lent attention to the influence of tourists also in search of […] read full post >>