Thursday, June 9, 2011

Leftist Leaders, Machu Picchu and the last couple of weeks....

I was once again in Lima for the second round of presidential elections that will decide the fate of Peru for the next five years....to the elation of some and the chagrin of others, the darkhorse that nobody really expected to win is now the President-elect....Ollanta Humala, former Peruvian Army Captian and leftist candidate for Gana Peru, won the presidency with 52% of the vote (he needed 51% to win) over Keiko Fujimori with 48% of the vote....and the most interesting thing isn't what happened after it was announced that he won the presidency, the most interesting thing was what didn't happen...

the sky didn't fall, cities did not spontaneously combust, the markets didn't crash and Peru did not fall into the Pacific Ocean....


what did happen, is that the poorest of the poor in Peru spoke....they capitalized on the obligatory voting law enforced in Peru....although Keiko won in Lima and 8 other districts...in the poorest regions of Peru, using Cusco as an example, Ollanta carried over 75% of the vote and it was just enough to launch him into the presidency....although he is backed by Hugo Chavez and was elected on a socialist agenda he may not be all bad for Peru...he's promised to maintain the Economy while decreasing poverty and increasing Peru's middle class.....but can he deliver, and what methods will he employ?
will Peru become the next Brazil in much the same way that leftist Lulu has helped improve his country or will Peru become the next leftist dictatorship with the support of Chavez....

Peruvians, all of South America and the world will watch his first 100 days in office with interest....











Machu Picchu:
 
We're going there....up Huaynu Picchu ;)
This year is the 100th Anniversary of the "discovery" of Machu Picchu...as such, spaces on the classic inca trail, which are limited to 500 people monthly, were all booked until August.  SO, we had to settle for a different planned adventure unique for the variety of methods required to reach Machu Picchu...


We hiked the much less traveled ancient Inca Trail from Cusco to the Sacred Valley of the Urubamba river....
Followed by a 2 hour drive to a mountain top at 14,000 ft which we descended via a 5 1/2 hour mountain bike ride down to the highland jungle sitting at 4,000 feet.....

we then braved the Urubamba river's Class II & III rapids to reach the fabled Inca Trail that takes you from the jungles to the cloud forests that surround Machu Picchu....

along the trek through the jungle we crossed rickety "indiana jones" style bridges, crossed surging rivers on logs and via cable cart, braved blood sucking mosquitos, avoided dangerous jungle turkeys, and treked endlessly along jungle paths and rocky river bottoms....until finally, we reached the city etched into the Peruvian mountain-side....we still don't know it's original name so we call it what the locals call it..."old mountain" or Machu Picchu

after scaling the path up the old mountain to watch the sun part the misty mountains....we also conquered the younger sibling of Machu Picchu.....Huaynu Picchu, only allows 400 visitors per day, split into two groups of 200 at 7am and 10am...which is why you get up at 3am to hike up the mountain and be one of the first visitors to get one of the coveted stamps that will gain you entry to the path up Huaynu Picchu...and you thought waiting in line to get into a Las Vegas night club was exciting ;)

But you don't have to take my word for it....a picture speaks a thousand words...and in this case, even more than that and in multiple languages....check it out...
In the Mountains Above Cusco
My fiance and I above the Sacred Valley




Starting the ride in the clouds at 14,000ft - whoop!


Long muddy 5+hr ride complete in the town of Santa Maria

White Water rafting the Urubamba

Cable Car crossing over the roaring rapids!

Dangerous Jugle Turkeys...Watch out!

Trail washed out...make shift crossing over the river


Misty Mountains surrounding Machu Picchu 


well, having some internet issues...such is life in Peru  :(

I have a few more pics from the jungle trek and machu picchu to share....

additionally, after the Machu Picchu adventure I headed off to Las Vegas for a week to attend the National PA Conference and the Student Academy Assembly of Representatives.
I'm on the National Board of Directors for the Student Academy and they were gracious enough to pay my ticket and hotel to Vegas, so I couldn't really refust.  Took about 10 days off of my research but it was worth it.....I supported Yale's first every Medical Challenge Bowl team, worked on resolutions, attended some CME courses, and did some Salsa Dancing with PA's for Latino Health...

Check it out at the link below:


PAs in Las Vegas - ImPAct 2011

more pictures and more on Vegas on my next blog...hopefully, the internet will be more cooperative...
I've been trying to post since last night....

Headed back out to the village in the mountains one last time, trying to get some extra observations for my research ;)

Less than two weeks left in Peru and I'm going to enjoy every minute of it!

Hasta next time!

Whoop!

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