The trip has had some new lows and highs. On the 28th of October we leave
Lima and head up into the Andes. I have been waiting to see this area for
the last ten years. Or, since I read the book, "Henry Meiggs, Yankee
Pizarro", written by Walt Stewart. The book was printed in 1946, but
covers the life of Henry Meiggs from 1840 to 1880.
Henry was a very interesting individual. He had the contract to
built the "Embarcadero", in San Francisco. He had strong engineering
skills and he was excellent in motivating large numbers of workers, especially
the Chinese. As it turned out, he was not as capable in the business end
of his business. San Francisco was paying him by a voucher system, and he
ended up getting upside down. He was warned that the city was coming
after him, and he left the country, and headed south. He ended up in Peru,
where the interior had limited access to the outside world. It was thought
that it was impossible to build a railroad through terrain, as steep and remote
as this area of the Andes. Henry said he could do it, and got a contract
to build the railroad. It was considered one of the "Wonders of the
World", by Peruvians. He, along with 10,000 Chinese, built the rail line.
I don't remember the exact details, but there are over 80 tunnels and 80
bridges. The rail also does complete circles within the mountain tunnels.
It is also the highest railroad in the world, climbing just short of
16,000 feet. I was looking forward to seeing the railroad, the mountain
and the bridges.
So we leave the nice area of Lima and drive though the
outlying areas. Not attractive. |
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Traveling East through the Rimac Valley, we first past through the city of Chosica.
Chosica was a place we wanted to visit, as a "Then and Now" destination.
This picture is from a book printed in 1940, entitled
"South American Excursion", by Ernst Young. The valley is
described as remote.
Today Lima stretches for 18 miles to the East.
Now, Chosica is only 6 miles East of Lima. |
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Today it is a resort town. |
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We felt like we were standing on top of the
world......
I ran back from the camera, with it's 10 second
delay, and was short of breath.....
The next "Then and Now", was the large mine, just over
the summit. The GPS was reading 15,575 feet at this mine.
Just putting the BMW on the center stand left me breathless.
I can't imagine what it would have been like to work in the mines at
this altitude! |
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I was surprised at how little it had changed |
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To get the picture above, we had to ride into the
mountains behind the shaft tower in this picture. |
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The mountains above the mine. We were over
15,575 feet, and the mountains still towered above!

Then it required a short, and slow, walk to take the
pictures. We started the day in Lima, which is at sea level, so we had
no time to acclimate. |
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At the summit we started down hill to Tarma, Peru. It
is a very dry area, but canals have been built to supply water for
crops.
The indigenous do their laundry in the same canals. |
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It was overcast, so the photographs are not as rich in
color as it appeared to the eye. |
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The landscape was barren and brown, contrasting with the
small irrigated plots of flowers. |
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The homes are made of soil thereby they blend into
mountain scenery. |
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We arrive in Tarma and find a nice room at the Los Portales Hotel
. The hotel was built in 1950 by General Odria, who was the dictator if
Ecuador in the 1930's. |
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The church in Tarma, located on their "Plaza de Armas".
Tarma was a neat village, with children and families out for evening
walks. |
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Close up of the fountain. |
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We walked across town and decided to live life on the
dangerous side. The drivers of these 3 wheel vehicles play "chicken"
at every intersection! |
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Tarma is known for their annual "Flower Petal" Festival.
Coffee grounds are used to make the dark lines.
Then the spaces are filled in with flower petals |
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Once completed, the designs are obliterated by a
religious procession. The designs are completed about 1 hour prior to
the slow moving procession. |
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The designs are spaced about every 50 yards.
Approximately 30 men haul this huge litter.
They stop prior to each design, sing a song and wave smoking
incense.
Then the band, following the litter, strikes up a song, and then
proceeds over the flower petals, and then on to the next..... |
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The total life span of the designs is less than 2
hours...... |
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This design was just completed, and the procession is
one block down the street! The festival begins at the Church on Plaza
de Armas, and ends at a church 8 blocks away. |
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This is where the festival began.... |
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Click on the "Next" button to continue to "Peru 7"......

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