Arequipa, Puno and in Between

Since the Temple closes for maintenance periodically, we use that time to see more of Peru.  We spent a few days in Lima before flying to Arequipa where we stayed with our good friends, the Palmers. Then we scheduled a group trip to Colca Canyon for two days then Puno and back.  East of Arequipa the Andes rise abruptly from 7800 ft to 20,000+ depending on the peak.  Nestled against these majestic old volcanoes this beautiful city of 1.2 million is fed by raging rivers flowing from the high mountain plateaus and snow fields. 

El Misti has three concentric craters. In the inner crater fumarole activity can be seen. Near the inner crater six Inca mummies and rare Inca artifacts were found in 1998 during a month-long excavation. These findings are currently stored at the Museo de Santuarios Andinos in Arequipa.  There are two main climbing routes on the volcano. The Pastores route, which is more used, as its starting point is nearer to the city of Arequipa, starts in 3,300 metres (10,800 ft). Usually a camp is made in 4,500 metres (14,800 ft) at Nido de Aguilas. The second route, the Aguada Blanca route, starts at 4,000 metres (13,100 ft) near the Aguada Blanca reservoir and a camp is made in 4,800 metres (15,700 ft) at Monte Blanco (the name of the camp comes from the fact that it has more or less the height as the summit of Mont Blanc). Neither climbing routes presents technical difficulties but both are considered strenuous because of the steep loose sand slopes.

 Enhabiting the high mountain plains are wild llama, vicuña , alpaca, and guanaco.  These vicuña roam over a wide area because of scarce food supplies at high altitudes.  The vicuña (Vicugna vicugna) is one of two wild South American camelids, along with the guanaco, which live in the high alpine areas of the Andes. It is a relative of the llama, and is now believed to share a wild ancestor with domesticated alpacas, which are raised for their fibre. Vicuñas produce small amounts of extremely fine wool, which is very expensive because the animal can only be shorn every 3 years. When knitted together, the product of the vicuña's fur is very soft and warm. It is understood that the Inca valued vicuñas for their wool, and that it was against the law for any but royalty to wear vicuña garments.

      Approaching Colca Canyon we reached altitudes of 16,250 feet then began the long winding decent to Chivay, a beautiful town of a few thousand farmers and merchants.  We had decided on a hotel in Yanke a little further down the road.  From the balcony fields stretched in terraced beauty in each direction.  More brilliant photos reflect the extensiveness of these terraces in the post to follow.  Early the next morning, I looked out to see a local farmer herding his donkeys up the lane next to the hotel.  

Fields have never has mechanized tilling ever!  It was astounding to realize the effort these families make to survive.  Life is never easy in a land of high altitude, short growing seasons and constant rainfall.  Principle muscle power is the donkey and man.  Together these two allow life to exist for both.  Fences are of stones gathered from the fields by hand.  Animals know every inch of these fields having eaten tufts of grass over and over trusting it would grow back.  

 All effort is muscular.  There are few if any motorized farm tools.  In the villages, goods are delivered by some motorized carts but this man was pushing his tricycle, muscle power. We've seen everything from bananas to oranges on these rigs.  One fellow was carrying re-bar for concrete construction with the nose on this tricycle and the majority dragging along behind like the American Indians did with their lodge poles. 

 Working mans hands.  No lack of exercise in any of the Peruvians, man or woman.  All contribute to the effort of survival.  Living at this altitude, these farmers and their animals have acclimated well.  No sign of fainting flowers here. One of the workers with me in the Temple has forearms the size of legs in circumference. He is the kindest and most gentle man there but what power.  You see the labor in their faces as well, deep furrows and rugged manly looks.  

The bluer the sky the higher the climb.  Here the altitude is reasonable high but not as much as the peaks of nearby ranges, even high plateau areas. At the highest altitude of about 16,500 ft, the sky was almost black in places.  What a picture imprint that bore in my mind.  Along with the blue sky is the lack of oxygen.  The slightest effort produces a heart beat that climbs quickly.  Taking it slow and easy is a must, even for those acclimated to the altitude.   From these lofty perches we see the massive canyon below shrouded in the morning fog.  Rain during the night was a good thing, leaving the morning clear for observing the Condors. And, view them we did.  Amazingly large birds that can be seen from a long distance.  Wingspan is almost 10 feet.  There are two types of Condors in the Americas, one in the North, California and one in South America, The Andean Condor

Both condors are very large broad-winged soaring birds, the Andean Condor being 5 cm shorter (beak to tail) on average than the northern species, but larger in wingspan. California Condors are the largest flying land birds in North America. The Andean Condor is second only to the Wandering Albatross (up to 3.5 m) in terms of wingspan among all living flying birds.





The adult plumage is uniformly black, with the exception of a frill of white feathers nearly surrounding the base of the neck and are meticulously kept clean by the bird. As an adaptation for hygiene, the condor's head and neck have few feathers, which exposes the skin to the sterilizing effects of dehydration and solar ultraviolet light at high altitudes. The head is much flattened above. In the male it is crowned with a caruncle or comb, while the skin of the neck in the male lies in folds, forming a wattle. The skin of the head and neck is capable of flushing noticeably in response to emotional state, which serves to communicate between individuals.

Colca Canyon Contrasts

The middle toe is greatly elongated, and the hinder one but slightly developed, while the talons of all the toes are comparatively straight and blunt. The feet are thus more adapted to walking as in their relatives the storks, and of little use as weapons or organs of prehension as in birds of prey and Old World vultures. The female, contrary to the usual rule among birds of prey, is smaller than the male.

Although it is on average about five cm shorter from beak to tail than the California Condor, the Andean Condor is larger in wingspan, ranging from  8.99 to 10.2 ft. It is also heavier, reaching up to 24 to 33 lb for males and 17 to 24 lb for females. Overall length can range from 46 to 53 in.  Measurements are usually taken from specimens reared in captivity.  This woman is holding a captured hawk, not a condor.  These birds are for display and revenue from pictures for the locals. 

 I was fortunate to take this picture using a long lens coupled with the cooperation of the bird flying straight toward me with a friend.  What a group of birds.  It looks clumsy and awkward in flight, has toes like a chicken and eats only dead animals.  It is a scavenger in every sense. 

When they start to circle it usually means food below so I hoped they weren't after one of us.  I know we are old but not that old. 

 After we had captured the pictures of the Condor, we made our way in our bus back down the dirt road toward Chivay, encountering craft sellers and locals out panhandling.  One of the Peruvian women near me when I took this picture told me she estimated this woman to be the most wealthy of all in the area.  Peru is truly a place of contrasts.  Many of the women are no taller than our grand daughters who range in age from 8 to 10 or 11.  

Up close you see the effects of life in the Andes.  She was chewing coco leaves too.  This is a habit for many here.  Coca may refer to any of the four cultivated cocas native to western South America. The plant is an important cash crop in Bolivia and Peru and plays a significant role in many traditional Andean cultures as well as the lives of the inhabitants of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. Coca is best known throughout the world because of its alkaloids, which include cocaine, a powerful stimulant. However, the coca leaf is not cocaine, just as grapes are not wine.    The coca alkaloid content in coca leaves is negligible: between .25% and .77%, which means two things: first, traditional chewing or drinking coca tea does not produce the high (euphoria, megalomania) people experience with cocaine.  Second, someone must apply complex chemical processes using any type of alcohol/acid base chemicals to the plant in order to transform it and obtain a concentration of coca alkaloid that is high enough to produce the transformation to cocaine paste and the high associated with cocaine. Furthermore, current U.S.A. extraction methods use the chemicals methanol alcohol and benzoic acid to extract coca out of a coca product at a molecular level for scientific testing.

 

 In the City of Chivay the economy is mostly agriculture with some local businesses, shops, restaurants and others who support the locals as well as tourists.  The people are poorer than in the Lima or Arequipa.  They are hard working and friendly, willing to talk to strangers and possessing the innocence of country living.  

Grandparents or parents care for children, never a babysitter.  The children are everywhere, innocently playing in the street or in the parks.  Parents or grandparents are nearby but not concerned excessively. 

Weight control is daily living, no spas or exercise clubs.  People eat what they need and work it off.  Weight control isn't a problem however those more sedentary do show the spread of that life style. 

On the road to Puno, high in the Andeas, lakes dot the landscape, llamas roam freely with their cousins the alpacas and others.  This picture is taken at 16,000 ft. 

Once we arrived in Puno we stayed in a very nice hotel right on Lake Titikaka.  Our next blog will cover the area around Puno with its reed islands (the Uros) and the people who live full time on islands made completely of reeds.  They have no electricity, no cell phones, no internet, no natural gas.  It is truly amazing to find these people and talk with them, share their homes briefly and see the crafts they make to support themselves in the tourism trade.  You won't want to miss the story.  

Back in Arequipa, Claudia went to the Mercado, local market.  These places are truly amazing with dried frogs hanging on lines, fish on display, meat of most types and other food sold in the open daily.  This market has been in existence since before the Incas according to local folklore. 

It is big and wide open to the air, since it rains alot in Arequipa, the booths are generally under some sort of shelter. 

These lovely specimens come complete with feet for your soup.  In the grocery stores in Lima, one can purchase the clawed chicken feet any day of the week.  We have yet to try them. 

You name it, you can find it in this market. 

Below you can see the endless varieties of potatoes available in Peru.  The cost is far less than in the US and the quality is superb.  The potato was originated in Peru thousands of years ago.  Peru had the first freeze dried potatoes because the potato grows in colder climates with different varieties preferring the higher colder altitudes.  In the process of experiencing freezing temperatures produced the inevitable freeze drying preserving the product for very long periods of time.

Besides their skills at building, the Incas were masters of agriculture, terracing their rugged mountains and breeding wild plants into strains which would grow in the dry, high altitudes. One of the results of this was the potato. Just think, without the Incas we would have no French-fries, baked potatoes, potato salad, potato chips, and probably much less cholesterol.

To insure a constant supply of food to all of their subjects, the Incas built thousands of storage sites and developed methods to preserve food. Freeze-drying today is accomplished with equipment developed for the space program, but the Incas achieved the same result by utilizing the harsh weather of the Andes. Potatoes were left outside at night to freeze. In the daytime, the hot sun evaporated the moisture, resulting in a freeze-dried potato pulp called chuño. The same process was used to preserve beef. They called the dried beef charqui, a Quechua word we still use today, only we spell it “jerky.”

For those who like Ceviche, seafood “cooked” by citric acid, they can also thank the Incas for this culinary invention.

To preserve corn, Inca farmers dried it for storage. When heat was applied to the dried corn the result was—you guessed it, popcorn! Five hundred years before the invention of the movie theater, the Incas were munching on crispy popcorn and getting the kernels caught in their teeth.

At the edge of Arequipa, the flat areas soon become mountainous as elevations rise quickly from the local elevation of 7,800 ft to 20,000 in a matter of 25 miles.  This country is a marvelous country of contrasts.  It is difficult to learn all there is to know about it.  Thanks for the computer and internet so we can learn on demand.

What a world we have here.  Our deepest thanks to those who organized that 'yonder matter'. 

Steve and Janell Palmer with their security Edgar.  These people have hearts of pure gold.  They pampered completely, hosted us for a week, checked on our travel progress coming and going, picked us up from the plane and bus and fed us.  Steve works for Freeport McMoran Inc. in Peru.  Steve and Janell have two college aged daughters and are from Arizona. 

Chocolate in Peru is the Very Best !

Chocolate is very good for your health, depending on the concentration of cacao powder.  It contains many antioxidants.   Cocoa powder is even higher, containing seven times the amount of antioxidants found in the beans. In addition, chocolate possesses a surprising number of other beneficial substances including cocoa butter (shown by French studies to counteract cholesterol), calcium, potassium, sodium, magnesium, iron, riboflavin, theobromine and vitamins A through E. Of course, excessive consumption of chocolate (or any single food) is not a healthy practice whether or not it involves sugar, salt and saturated fat.

  Chocolate originated in Peru, just as the potato. The history of this product is long and deep.  Quality is optimal and processing has superior potential compared with rest of the world especially the Ivory coast. Chocolate processing requires patience to produce a non-bitter flavor. 
     Cacao trees originated in the Amazon. Mesoamericans cultivated cacao for thousands of years, and chocolate was important to both Mayan and Aztec culture. The Spanish introduced the treat from the Americas to the Old World — and added the sugar. Eventually, other European powers wanted in on the action, so they exported cacao trees to their colonies — which is how Africa ended up providing much of the cacao we eat in chocolate today.


But apparently, "some of the fine flavor material wasn't moved in the beginning," says Meinhardt. So the bulk beans grown in Africa represent just a small sampling of the many flavors of cacao. Or as connoisseurs might argue, it's not the really good stuff.


The world's germplasm banks — collections of genetic material that the chocolate industry relies on to preserve cultivars — aren't much help, either. Meinhardt says, "There's not a lot of diversity in the collections."  Meinhardt and his colleagues from ARS aim to change that. So they teamed up with Peru's Instituto de Cultivos Tropicales to document the genetic bounty of wild cacao in the country's Amazon Basin. The haul from expeditions in 2008 and 2009 included 342 wild cacao specimens from 12 watersheds.
Like wine, cacao flavor is influenced by the region where it's grown. The researchers want to catalog Peru's "cacao varietals," analyze their DNA and identify the so-called flavor beans that premium chocolate makers covet. It's all part of an effort to help jump-start Peru's premium chocolate industry (and lure former coca farmers to cacao.)
 
The big question, of course, is what these chocolate discoveries taste like. Sadly for chocoholics, it will be several years before we get to find out. Cacao is a slow-growing tree; it takes at least five years for a tree to bear pods. So it will be a long while yet before the saplings now growing at a central collection spot in Tarapoto, Peru, yield enough beans to turn into chocolate.



It's possible the taste won't amount to more than a hill of cocoa beans. Then again, several years ago, the Amazon yielded up a wild cacao strain in Bolivia that Swiss chocolate maker Felchlin released in a limited edition bar called Cru Sauvage — or Wild Vintage — for about $60 a pound. Its flavor was apparently so arresting, it inspired one writer to journey into the heart of the Amazon in search of the man who helped bring it to market.
   

 Learn more for yourself by clicking on this link.  You will discover an entire world of fun, excitement and flavor.  Imagine the fun testing each of these exciting flavors...makes for exotic and heavenly adventure. Those interested should write me for samples.  I have connections you know !!

http://www.peruvianchocolate.com/favorite-links.php 

   If you are similar to this person, chocolate may play a significant role in your life.  There is ample proof of the use of chocolate.  The first recorded evidence shows consumption of chocolate as a drink.  Tombs containing royalty generally included a cocoa cup on the chest of the king or other royal figure.  Chocolate played a special role in both Maya and Aztec royal and religious events. Priests presented cacao seeds as offerings to the gods and served chocolate drinks during sacred ceremonies.

 Peru has everything you would expect from an ancient and sophisticated South American civilization; fortunately for us, this includes some of the world's finest cocoa. The organic cocoa  used is a blend of Trinitario and Criolla beans, best described as Ariba quality: that means the best of the very best! The cocoa from Peru comes from a cooperative made up of many tiny plantations in the San martin and Huanuco region to the east of the Andes in the tropical lowlands. That description just invites you to dive in and experience the mystery of Peru.

This chocolate contrasts interestingly to the 73% cocoa Dominican Republic chocolate, in that it has a distinctively fruity flavour with a hint of tropical flowers. No vanilla is added to this chocolate because of the naturally fruity overtones. This is a mild and natural rich chocolate which is simply brilliant! Great Taste Award 2010.

 

Lost in antiquity is the proof that the vanished Incas of Peru first "invented" chocolate, but there is little doubt that the Mayan Indians over 2,000 years ago created a beverage from ground cocoa beans blended with water, vanilla, black pepper and assorted spices. The liquid mixture was used during betrothal and wedding ceremonies, one of the first records of the association of chocolate and romance. It was also used for money.

Later, the Aztecs led by Montezuma II accumulated vast storehouses of cocoa beans, from which they made a drink called, "Cacahnuatt." In 1519, Spanish explorer Hernando Cortez took some cocoa beans back to Spain where a similar drink was heated with sugar, probably the first known cup of hot cocoa. By the mid 1600's, the drink was praised as delicious and health-promoting and soon gained popularity in France, then on to London as the first hot chocolate shop opened there. Chocolate houses became common in England by the 1700's.  


Innovations continued. The steam engine soon mechanized cocoa bean grinding which reduced production costs, making chocolate affordable to most people. The first chocolate factory opened in this country in 1765 in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. A major step forward in appeal was begun when Swiss candymaker Daniel Peter first combined condensed milk with chocolate liquor ( a non-alcoholic product from crushed beans) yielding milk chocolate, one of today's mainstay confectionery products. Although begun in Switzerland, the milk chocolate process was perfected in England. Over the years, the naturally bitter chocolate has been variously altered and embellished to give us so many degrees and kinds of sweet chocolate.The processing can produce non bitter chocolate but costs increase in doing so.

CHOCOLATE MAKING, A PRECISE PROCESS:

God created the bean; man makes the chocolate. The miracle cacao bean originates from the tree botanically identified as Theobroma cacao which has three varieties: Criollo, sparingly produced but valued for its aroma, essential oils and complexity; Forastero, readily fruitful but with less distinctive beans; and Trinitario, a natural cross between the other two.

The commercial output of handmade chocolate products, usually at a higher price than lesser quality chocolate, is an exacting process necessitating scrupulous quality control by workers who care about the worth of the finished product. Chocolate is an emulsion with acute sensitivity to heat and moisture, requiring devoted attention and knowhow as art and science are melded. Each chocolate chef guards proprietary formulas of time intervals, temperature controls and varying proportions of ingredients.  It all starts with the pod where the raw beans are extracted then dried. 

After the dried beans are shipped to the foreign chocolate plants, they are cleaned and roasted, then shelled. Shattered first into nibs (large fragments), the beans are crushed between heavy steel disks (conching) where heat and grinding pressure liquefy the cocoa butter, producing a thick, dark paste(called chocolate liquor, then collected for the chocolate manufacturing process. This liquor is poured into molds where it solidifies into pressed cakes of unsweetened or bitter chocolate and cocoa powder. Cocoa is made by removing some of the cocoa butter, but eating-chocolate (dark, bittersweet or milk chocolate) is made by adding it. The added cocoa butter enhances flavor and makes the chocolate fluid; milk, sugar, vanilla and lecithin are usually added.

HEALTH ISSUES:

As if chocophiles and the chocolate cognoscenti need any more motivation than the velvety richness of handmade chocolates fashioned by specialty shops such as Harbor Sweets, Hoffman's Chocolates (Greenacres, FL) , The Parrot (Helena, MT) and many others, there is added incentive in recent research showing chocolate has "high-quality polyphenol antioxidants, beneficial compounds similar to those found in fruits and vegetables and red wine," says Terri Kaminiski, spokesman for the Chocolate Manufacturers Association/National Confectioners Association (McLean, VA). These antioxidants are believed to reduce the risk of cancer and heart disease by zapping free radicals (unbalanced molecules) which attack living cells in the body.

"Dark chocolate and cocoa powder contain the most polyphenols that may have the protective effect against cancer and heart disease," says Carol Knight, Ph.D., vice president of Scientific Affairs for the Association. Dark chocolate contains four times the level of polyphenol antioxidants compared to kidney beans, for example, and is also comparable to other foods, such as black and green tea, red wine, apples, raisins, pinto beans and other vegetables. (A 41-gram chunk of chocolate-candy bar size-contains the same amount of phenols as a glass of red wine).

Purists know the beneficence of cocoa butter. It not only gives chocolate its uniquely smooth texture; despite its high saturated fat content it also does not raise cholesterol, apparently, because of the presence of stearic acid. Some low-grade chocolate concoctions, however, are potentially injurious. Chocolate blends use large amounts of sugar while substituting palm oil, shea nut butter or other vegetable or animal fat instead of cocoa butter. "Some even contains vanillin, a synthetic flavor chemically derived from wood chips," says Carol Anderson, researcher/writer for THE CALIFORNIAN. The "pre-melted" liquid chocolate, packaged in foil packets meant to replace a square of unsweetened chocolate, is not true chocolate but a combination of cocoa powder and vegetable oils. It doesn't taste the same as whole chocolate; nothing does.

HARBOR SWEETS, EXEMPLARY CHOCOLATE CANDYMAKER. The melt-in-your-mouth quality of fine chocolate is achieved by adhering to time-honored recipes and unerring attention to the details of the handmade process.

Only a limited number of chocolatiers have the mix of attitude and performance which contributes to the production of superlative handmade chocolate. Such an example who ranks among the best in the nation is a specialty candymaker in Salem, Massachusetts: Harbor Sweets, founded by Ben Strohecker. (His factory is relatively small compared to the multi-product manufacturers who make a variety of items which often includes baker's chocolate, cocoa mix, chocolate syrup, pudding, frosting mix, candy, cakes, cookies, etc.).

Strohecker is the embodiment of Willy Wonka, making handmade chocolate candy since 1974 and selling it at luxury prices to customers who are pleased to pay it.

His specialty chocolates are Marblehead Mints (sweet dark chocolate flavored with peppermint), Barque Sarah ( milk chocolate and toasted almonds), Sweet Shells (dark chocolate spiced with orange), Sand Dollars (pecan halves wrapped in butter carmel and dark chocolate), Sweet Sloops (Strohecker's flagship candy of almond butter crunch), Periwinkles (smooth milk chocolate) and some peanut butter and milk chocolate blends. They constitute what is perhaps "the most expensive handmade chocolates in the world," says Strohecker. The old dictum of 'you get what you pay for,' applies.  Ben Strohecker's stated philosophy is no mere public relations puffery but an actual working mechanism in his mind and the minds of his employees.

Along with his new president/owner, Phyllis LeBlanc, the driving philosophy is "to serve the employees and customers, not stockholders," he says. The majority of his 140 employees work part-time (20 hours a week) "choosing which four-hour shifts best suit their personal schedules, as well as the particular job each would like to do-dipping, culling, wrapping or molding, for example. "Our only rule," he explains, "is if you're not having fun, you're fired." Surprisingly, Ben has no secrets from them. "The monthly profit/loss statements are posted next to our time clocks," he adds. "Trust is what runs Harbor Sweets."

LeBlanc started at Harbor Sweets over 21 years ago as a dipper while a student at Salem State College and persisted later as a Master's student while still working. Today, she works with Ben various hours each day, as he gives advice. Her continued emphasis on the highest quality, "using no artificial ingredients, no synthetic flavors and absolutely no shortcuts keeps Harbor Sweets' chocolates in the very expensive category, priced by the piece rather than by weight," she explains. LeBlanc perpetuates Strohecker's belief that if you care about your customers getting their money's worth with genuinely luscious chocolates, you will care about the precise steps in the process to achieve that goal, and you will care about your employees. It will all fall in place.

Eating a chocolate dessert or a piece of chocolate candy might be considered a relatively trivial act in a society struggling with a number of unsolved social, political and economic problems, yet it is more civilized than indulgent in a not-quite-civilized world.   Silly Willy Wonka, to think that the product of the cacao tree could influence the course of human happiness. But it does....in its own proportionate way, nothing quite compares to the pleasure of chocolate.

Cacao beans, used to make chocolate, are advocated as an alternative crop to coca, used to make cocaine.  In the country that ranks second in the harvest of coca, the plant whose leaves are used in the production of cocaine, the idea to get Peruvian farmers to plant alternative crops is not new.

Traditionally, the idea has been met with criticism -- why would growers switch to crops that bring less income, economists ask -- but may have finally found a foothold in Peru, thanks to the success of a growing industry in cacao beans, used in the production of chocolate.

Read all about it.      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chocolate