But first, back to Peru for a moment. We enjoyed the city of Arequipa. As mentioned in my last entry, in Arequipa we witnessed a very large demonstration of miners working for better rights at the Cerro Verde gold mine near the city. Here is shot ... the police with full riot gear were pretty close when I took this shot so it was just a bit intimidating!
Then, still in Arequipa, we got a chance to meet with a representative of the NGO AENES which is working to promote organic agriculture in the small indigenous communities. I was astounded by the number of seeds they are saving. Here is photo which shows just a very small snapshot of the diversity of food in Peru (and Bolivia).
To get to Bolivia from Arequipa we first took a 6 hour bus trip through the mountains from Arequipa to Puno, Peru. On our way we passed through Juliaca, an impovershed looking town where the major protests against the Canadian gold mining company Bear Creek occurred late last spring. During these protests, 9 protestors were killed and travel through the area became impossible due to road blockades. I am told by people living in the Lake Titicaca area that the plan is to dump some tailings into Lake Titicaca... a sacred and astounding lake (although already suffering some contamination and pollution....) Local communities in Bolivia and Peru are very much opposed to this plan but I am told, it remains an ongoing issue. Hopefully things will resolve in a manner that puts Pachamama (Earth Mother) and Kotamama (Water Mother) first and foremost.
Here is a photo of one of the awesome modes of transportation in Juliaca - these also very much exist in Puno, Peru. These bicycle taxis are called taxi-cholos (hopefully spelled correctly). I would like to see some of these cruising around Canadian cities in the not-too-distant future.
Today we had the opportunity to visit a little indigenous pueblo Sahuiña, in close proximity to Copacabana. Recently a community-based tourism program has started there focused on the environment around Lake Titicaca. We travelled with a local guide by home-made boat to see the giant frogs of Lake Titicaca, the K´aira, which are considered sacred by the indigenous people. These frogs, now endangered due primarily to the environmental issues that threaten the health of Lake Titicaca, are sacred to local Aymaran people who bring the frogs to land for special rain-seeking ceremonies during dry periods.
We have enjoyed some stunning hiking around the Copacabana area. Although we are side-stepping much garbage in Copacabana itself due to lack of garbage removal and recycling programs and facilities, the area is absolutely gorgeous. It is a very relaxing place to be.
Just as well as there is currently a road blockade between here and La Paz, our next planned destination. In addition, the march of the indigenous people striving to protect Amazon basin TIPNIS park from plans to punch through a road from Brazil are set to arrive in La Paz within the next couple of days. We are told these people have the support of many many Bolivian people. They are marching on the government and this march has already received much international media attention so stay tuned...
So... for now, we will be here (at least until the weekend, then we will check the news again). Tomorrow, we plan to go to the sacred island, Isla del Sol (the Birth Place of the Sun) and we also hope to get over to the smaller less-visited Isla de la Luna (Island of the Moon) which I have yet to visit. It has been 10 years since Steve and I last visited Isla del Sol, a very beautiful place, together.
No comments:
Post a Comment