After 18 hours in two airbuses, luckilly equipped with
business seat/beds, we landed in Lima at
6 a.m. with a 7 hours jetlag. Professor Luz and driver William took us straight
from the airport on a 7,5 hour drive in a jeep to Huancayo, which is 350 km
North-East of Lima. From about 25 m above the sea level we climbed up to 4.818 m
to the pass Anticona.
On the way down there were several mines with small
cities attached, which contribute to the country’s improving economy. The
biggest one, in Oroya, was closed, because the government accused the (foreign)
company to damage the environment. Oroya miners were upset, because they lost
their jobs, and were preparing to block the only road through the Andes by the
end of the month, which was the time we were supposed to return.
Oroya mine
H u a n c a y o
A small city 3.300 m above sea level. Main road full of nice
shops, restaurants, banks. Busy place, friendly environment, but on every third
corner a police patrol. Saturday is obviously a wedding day. The parties were
cueing in front of a barock church on the Placa Constitution. Relatives from
all parts of the country, old ladies in traditional dresses and hats, music in
colourful costumes. A fiesta with dancing and singing, really nice welcome to
Peru on our free Saturday morning.
Wedding guests on Placa Constitution
T h e b a r l e y
p r o j e c t
Ten years ago, professor Luz irradiated seeds in order to
speed up mutation process, which is happening very slowly with all species on
Earth. The best one she planted for eight generations and finally arrived at
“Centenario”, a barley variety which thrives well up to 4.000 m above sea
level. The previous barley crops in such height were good enough only as a fodder;
this variety can sell for double the price of a conventional barley.
Irradiation in a gamma cell Professor Luz with her "centenario"
J a u j a m a r k e t
Small city in the province Huancavelico with a colorful
Sunday market. We filmed small farmers, coming with Bajaj taxi (same name as in
Jakarta !) and bringing small bags with crops to a merchant, who does not pay
immediately; he just writes a bill on a piece of paper, as he only gets the
money after reselling.
P i t i k h a r v e s t
Above the city Sincos lies a village Aramanchaya. Just
outside, in a place called Pitik, there are potato and barley fields. It’s
harvest time. Small farmers still harvest in a traditional way. Several guys
with sickels cut the crop and bring it on a alarge canvas, where the donkeys
thresh it. In the middle of the working day, the boss gave everyone a handful of
coca leaves to chew. The harvest was happening 3.767 m high. Checking my footage
afterwards, I heard in many shots my heavy breathing, which spoiled the
music of a piper, who was making the workers pace with a drum.
Getting fit with coca leaves Filming excercise close to 4000 m
Restaurant Huancahuasi in the outskirts of Huancayo was highly praised by tourist guidebook. It was large, touristy decorated, and
at 6 p.m. completely empty. A Peruvian specialty, guinea pig, tasted like a very
soft rabbit. Having the whole animal (with the head!) on the plate was a bit
disgusting.
The smile is just for the camera
Restaurant Inca, in a
side street just opposite the main church, was always full with locals, many
young people mostly just drinking Calentito
Especial. Looks like a juice, has a lot of rum in it and is served with a mini
glass of honey.
On the way back to Lima we stopped at Anticona pass, where I almost
fell unconscious after running up a short staircase to a viewing platform - still not adapted to the highlands. The trucks and busses going downhill could speed
up, which they did often in amazingly dangerous way. Our driver was very
disciplined and very safe.
IAEA video unit - producer & cameraman
L i m a
A mixture of modern districts and shabby slums. Traffic not
as heavy as announced by our friends, but often they urged us to close the
car window, check the door lock and keep cameras and handbags out of sight.
Main road along the Lima beaches Barranca district
Hotel Second Home
is run buy Lilian and her brother Victor, whose father is a well known
artist Victor Delfin. The hotel buildings are placed in three levels on a hill and are full of masters paintings, sculptures, even furniture.
He lives on the lower level next to a swimming pool, has his atelier and
exhibition room there. Our rooms were on the middle level and had balconys
looking down at the Pacific beach. The hotel complex is in the centraly located
Barranco district and it take 10 minutes to walk along nice houses and colorful
restaurants down to the beach.
Hotel enrtance hall by Victor Delfin
Ayahuasca bar is just around the corner from the hotel. Architecture reminds maur style buildings in
Zanzibar. Several rooms and yards interconnected in a maze, nicely decorated, in the evening filling with
young rich who want to be seen.
Documenting the barley project brought us to La Molina
university, where the centenario variety was born. There are test fields and
laboratories there. We also visited the irradiation facility, which took a long
drive to the North, through strange moonlike landscapes.
Four hours before leaving to the airport, we could gather
some impressions of the city centre.
Catedral de Lima
on the central square looks magnificent from outside but the inner décor is far
not so shiny as Europe barock churches. There is a chappel dedicated to
Francisco Pizarro.
Catedral de Lima
Monasterio de San
Francisco is a large museum with two highlights. Long catacombs with 70.000 “graves” and a
beautiful old library with 25.000
antique texts.
Here, at a stand near the exit I finally got my mate burilado, a small
dried pumpkin, decorated by Walas with religious and historic
motives.
Inner garden of San Francisco The catacombs
Near the main square Artist Walas with my mate burilado
More pictures can be viewed on flickr :
