Archive for the ‘Peru’ Category

Loving Linquistics

07/07/2011

By R. Richards

You probably know about Google Translator but I thought I’d briefly write about it here, just in case you’ve never used it. If  you haven’t, check it out.

Use this to write to friends old and new in foriegn lands

It’s a great tool for reaching out across cultures and languages to those you may have met while doing your overseas expedition, and kept their address but never wrote to them because of the language barrier. It also features on-the-fly translation for those using gmail, and for other email clients, quick cut and past from the website into emails works effortlessly.

I must admit, my Spanish grammar isn’t the best, (I’ve been told I speak “Tarzan Spanish”). One of these days, I’ll get my conjugations down, but for now, in order to write a somewhat grammatically correct email to my friends in Peru, I admit it, I often use Google Translator.

Another cool site I stumbled upon yesterday is Freelang.net where I found a free downloadable Quechua English Dictionary. How cool is that?

I’m sure this  particular dictionary hasn’t been around that long, so I was excited to see and download it. It works quite well. I haven’t checked out the other languages but you can, at  here.

So get out there and start writing to someone, anyone and bridge the language gap. Enjoy.

“Voluntourism”

04/07/2011

Voluntourism Emerging as Fast Growing Niche for Outdoor Specialty Retailers
From: The Global Ripple
Clothes that can be worn a long time, not show dirt or stink, and be washed by hand: Rain gear. Sturdy, waterproof walking shoes suitable for mud. Duct tape. Bug repellent. Compact water filter. Headlamp. Pocket knife. Money pouch. Sun block. One-liter, reusable water bottle. Day pack…

These items could easily have been excerpted from a gear list provided by an outfitter, the National Outdoor Leadership School or a chapter of the Youth Conservation Corps, but they were not. They were found instead on gear lists published by — or on behalf of — the American Hiking Society (AHS), the Conservation Volunteers International Program (CVIP) and Wilderness Volunteers, which are among the growing number of non-profit conservation groups partnering with tour operators to fuel rapidly growing demand for voluntourism. Read the rest of this story..

Corn & The Advantage of Backwardness

02/07/2011

Machu Picchu, Maize and the Advantage of Backwardness
June 30, 2011 by Andean Air Mail & PERUVIAN TIMES
By Nicholas Asheshov
Special for the Machu Picchu Centennial –

Maize

Machu Picchu and the Inca Empire were the creation of an import from Central America, maize, and a dramatic climate shift that turned the Andean highlands from inhospitable wet-and-cold to pleasant, as it is today, dry-and-warm.

For more than half a millenium before this shift the high Andes had been miserable.  With the new dry-and-warm, starting around 1000 AD, a backwoods tribe, the Incas, put together the new climate and technology breakthroughs and by 1500AD had produced the world’s most go-ahead empire, heavily populated and larger, richer, healthier and better organized than Ming Dynasty China and the Ottoman Empire, its nearest contemporaries. Read the rest of this story…

Water, The Great Mystery

04/06/2011

Water, Check it out.

Austrian Researcher Alois Gruber states in the movie, Water – The Great Mystery, by Hopscotch Films, “At the level of thought, a person who thinks negative thoughts is polluting his own water of which his body is 75-90% composed, and giving it a negative charge.”  The movie had my attention.
The film’s narrator continues, “As it records new information, water acquires new properties yet its chemical composition remains unchanged. The structure of the water is much more important than the chemical composition.

H2O

The structure of water means how its molecules are organized. Water molecules join together into groups which are called clusters. Scientists *theorize that these clusters work as memory cells of a

certain sort in which water records the whole history of its relationship with the world as if on magnetic tape.”

Water's structure in clusters

“Of course remains water, but its structure, like a nervous system reacts to any irritation. Modern instruments have made it possible to record the fact that within each of the water’s memory cells there are 440,000 information panels each of which is responsible for its own type of interaction with the environment. “

Molecules coming and going

Marc Chaplin, Professor and Laboratory Chief of London University says, “If you consider a cluster as a specific group of molecules, then it can only survive a short amount of time,  but if you consider it as a structure, whereby molecules can leave and other molecules come in, the  cluster will survive in effect, for a very long time. Water can record and store information, like a computer memory.”

H2O has "memory panels"

“Basically water has photographic memory and you can imprint it with very subtle energies, even from 10,000 km away”  says Professor Rustum Roy, of Penn State University, and Member of the International Academy of Science.  “Does that mean remote communication can happen between human beings who are structures essentially composed of water?” asks the film.

Subject A in Russia

“In Februrary 2005 a professor and colleagues conducted an experiment  to confirm or disconfirm the hypothesis that remote communication between people is possible.  Two people were 10,000 miles apart, one in Moscow, the other in South America. The “virtual brain” of the experiment’s participants showed with EEG’s and EKG’s as well as other systems being monitored.

Subject B in S. America

Suddenly the two people had tuned themselves to the same wave, synchronization of areas of their brain, breathing patterns, and pulses. The theory is, liquids in the body carry out an information transmission system.”
The book the Secret Life of Plants was one of the first early works exploring and describing the reactions and relationships of plants to external stimuli in their world.  The author hooked up house plants in his office to a lie detector machine and to his surprise saw the plants react to his thoughts, regardless of whether he was in the same room or not, or the same city for that matter.

Subject A & B's synchronized scans

Dr. Masaru Emoto, author of “The Secret Life of Water”  was also interviewed in the film. Emoto, in his experiments, exposed different water droplets  to different thoughts, words  and intentions.

Water Crystals presented with Bach

These words and thoughts were directed at droplets before they were frozen, then images of the resulting water crystals were captured on film. The stunning results, such as  “beautiful” or “ugly” depended upon whether the words or thoughts were positive or negative. Emoto claims this can be achieved through prayer, music or by attaching written words to a container of water.    If you ‘re not familiar with his book or images, one of which is included here, check it out.

This led me to a logical conclusion from my shamanic studies in Peru, where the Inca and Quechua concept of Ayni, (reciprocity) runs throughout the mountain cultures in the Andes.

Q'ero Priests in the Andes

I learned to give words and form to what I had intuitively, (and most likely all of us have) had  known all my life from growing up in woods of New Hampshire, and later, mountain guiding in the mountains of the world –  that the mountains, streams and rivers, and other natural features give off a certain energy, and that we can interact with them as we would a person.  We can exchange energy, ask for support from the mountain, or lake,  and give back that support through emotional prayer, conservation protection and simple acknowledgement of the mountain’s energy and presence.
This might sound silly to the western logical mind, but the indigenous cultures who lived closer to the land knew and lived this life, and many still do, on a daily basis.  The western mind  is too busy, the channels are too clogged with data, to recognize the subtle signals that come from the old oak tree or the master mountain on the horizon.
The people of Cusco have twelve main “Apu’s “ or Mountain Spirits around their city, two of which are named Ausangate, Salkantay, Each main mountain or other geographic feature has its own characteristic such as male or female, strength,  allowance, introspection etc.. and the spirit of Ayni pervades all interactions with these mountain spirits.  As a side note, when I named our organization Mountain Spirit Institute in 1996, I had no awareness of the Andean “Apu’s”.
I took what I had learned, and melded it with my own intuition and experiences. When back in the U.S., I started to give more form to my relationships with the surrounding mountains and water features in my hometown of Sunapee, NH.  I started to see Mt. Sunapee in a different light, and in fact, took a job as a ski patroller mostly because I wanted to interact with the mountain energy on a daily basis. I wanted to, protect it, be in on the mountain, feel its power, and ask for strength from it as well.  Now that I think about it, maybe when Catherine Busheuff and I decided to move forward with those early meetings at the library, that later turned into the Friends of Mount Sunapee, maybe part of the seed that led to the mountain’s protection that exists today, came from those early interactions.  Many individuals have since carried forward  with their own passion to protect the mountain from abuse and over-development. I hope to think I may have had a small part in that.

Communication w/Lake Sunapee from NZ's Lakes District

I also started relating to Lake Sunapee in a different way as well. While I always felt the water was in my bones, this film, and Emoto’s book, gives me some credence that the water memory from where we come is actually part of us.  So after seeing the movie, I spontanisouly  meditated on the waters of Sunapee from here in New Zealand. I started feeling the healing power of the waters of Lake Sunapee, even though I’m down here on New Zealand’s south island,  very long way away. I could feel the exchange of energy, of love and gratitude.
So what’s this all mean – from the shamanic studies in Peru, to experiments in Russia to meditation and communication with a body of water in New Hampshire from New Zealand,  from one water body to another body of water? It means, at least to me, that we can interact more with trees,  mountains, rivers, lakes and each other on a level far deeper than conventional society believes. Traditional societies know about this connection, and its knowledge may just mean we learn to survive as a species.
I started Mountain Spirit Institute because I feel I can contribute to helping people reconnect to the natural environment, each other and a deeper connection to themselves by setting the stage for powerful transformative experiences. This film is an affirmation that I, and our board of directors are on the right track. Visit our website for more information on our core values, and our mission, and do see the movie!

Water's structure as important as chemical make-up

Chapters of the movie Water, The Great Mystery, include:
The Structure of Water
The importance of water,
Dead and Heavy Water
Natural and Artificial Water
The Effect of Water on the Body
Water as the Medium
The Power of Faith
A Water Crisis
Nature Disasters
Love and Gratitude

* While I didn’t look for footnotes to the research mentioned in the movie, nor check into the science, I decided to write this post to share my personal experience of the movie, and in life.

There was much more fascinating information in the movie than I was able to include here. Do see it to learn more about agriculture, hydro power, our public water supply and one of the world’s most pristine water supplies in Brazil.  All images are screen shots from the movie and are intended and used for review purposes only.

Peru: Protests Against Illegal Gold Mining

30/05/2011

Tourists Leave Puno Amid Escalating Protests

By: Andean Air Mail & PERUVIAN TIMES
More than 200 tourists who were stranded in southern Peru’s Puno department due to protests against mining activities have managed to leave the area, according to the president of the Regional Chamber of Tourism (Caretur), Manuel Quiñones.
The tourists were able to leave the region through the airport at Juliaca, state news agency Andina reported.
“The tourists, mostly Europeans, traveled to Cusco, Lima and others to Arequipa,” Quiñones said.
Many of the tourists, taken out of Puno on the small launches to visit the Uros and Taquile and Amantaní islands, spent a night on the islands and sought other exits from Puno the following day, while others returned to the city of Puno in the evening and went ashore at different hotel piers under dark, a lakefront source told, Read the rest of this story..

A Small World Indeed

07/03/2011

An email from some good folks in Sunapee NH
Dear Randy,
Bill and I just returned yesterday from an amazing trip to Ecuador (Galapagos Islands) and Peru (Lima, Cuzco, Machu Pichu).  Our tour group was treated to a performance by Chimu Inka at a local restaurant in Cuzco for our farewell lunch…we thoroughly enjoyed their music.

Chimu Inka photo shoot 2004

I purchased their CD but didn’t open it until we were back at our hotel.  Little did I know I’d see Sunapee, NH on the inside cover…the name Dexter didn’t ring a bell, but I suspected it was you as I recalled your last name.  Sure enough, I called Carol and she confirmed it.  Wish I’d opened the case while at the restaurant.  Our tour guide was an amazing guy, born and raised in Cuzco, G. Walter Rodriguez, in case you might know him.

They had a group of 4 dancers performing with them…I was privileged to be pulled into the dance with one of the guys…it wasn’t easy at that altitude!  But what a great memory! It was exciting to have that connection and a great memory of our trip.

My Response..

Hi Sharon,

 

Chimu Inka Album #3

Thanks for your email, and great to read your story! I do remember you both, and was thrilled to read of your experience in La Ratama restaurant with Chimu Inka. Yes…too bad you didn’t know about the connection while you were there, as the band  would have loved to know that you’re  from Sunapee, and would have given you a real local connection. They are like family to me. (more…)

A Long Lost Incan Noble?

04/03/2011

Why the discovery of the “Lord of Vilcabamba” changes everything
From: Andean Air Mail & PERUVIAN TIMES
By Paul Goulder

Inca Gable at Espiritu Pampa

It is worth examining the significance of the discovery of the tomb of a Wari noble at the Espiritu Pampa archaeological site, an “aristocrat” who has been named variously Lord Vilca, Huari, Wari and (here) Vilcabamba.   Journalists have a nose for the sensational, so it is not surprising that in Australia, for example, the Herald Sun should give significant coverage – as have newspapers around the world – to the discovery of a tomb thousands of miles away from Sydney, in the tropical cloud forest (ceja de selva) of Peru. The forest may be cloudy but with this find Peru’s history becomes that much clearer.
Read the rest of this story…

Peru Newspaper Editorial on Wikileaks

15/02/2011

The Peruvian Newspaper, El Comercio received a huge cache of Wikileaks cables. Here is an excerpt of today’s editorial in the paper on their decision making process.

Wikileaks: our duty to inform
Editorial from today’s Sunday El Comercio
English Version from: Peruvian Times

As has happened with other large news outlets in the world, El Comercio has received the Wikileaks cables, classified documents from the Department of State of the United States of America. The delivery of more than 4000 pages about Peru explain in part the dynamic of national politics and international relations. (more…)

Leading Peru Newspaper Receives Wikileaks

15/02/2011

From: Andean Air Mail & PERUVIAN TIMES

Cables Sent to Peru Newspaper

Peru’s leading daily newspaper, El Comercio, announced in its Sunday edition that it has received more than 4,000 U.S. State Department diplomatic cables from Wikileaks.

The newspaper revealed two of the cables on Sunday.   The first covers a conversation in 2006 just after the presidential elections, when APRA Congressman and co-secretary general Jorge del Castillo requested the help of the U.S. Embassy to convince PPC candidate Lourdes Flores to accept her defeat against Alan Garcia (a difference of a little under 70,000 votes) and join forces with APRA to defeat the nationalist candidate, Ollanta Humala, in the second election round, in exchange for a working relationship or co-participation in the Garcia administration. 

The second cable, dated March 2008, reports on the work by Hugo Chavez in Venezuela to help Ollanta Humala and other radical groups to organize an anti-summit in Lima for May that year, Read the rest of this story….

2 More Geoglyphs Discovered on Nazca Lines

26/01/2011

Japanese scientists find two new geoglyphs in Nazca

A New Face at Nazca

Scientists from Yamagata University have reported finding two new geoglyphs in southern Peru’s Nazca province.

The geoglyphs are located close to the Nazca Lines, one of Peru’s most popular attractions where tourist planes routinely fly over the ancient geoglyphs of monkeys, hummingbirds and spiders. The Lines are a UNESCO world heritage, created between 500 B.C. and A.D. 500, and are among the world’s greatest archaeological enigmas. (more…)