Exploring Peru By Dr. Roger McCoach, Mathematics Department

It has been said that Peru has a way of turning every visitor into an amateur

archaeologist, historian, or outdoor adventurer. Its fascinating ruins, the cultures of

the Inca and Moche people, plus the Andes Mountains and Amazon River can

provide interest to anyone who sets foot in the country. Having toured the country

back in 2003, I decided that it was time to pay it another visit.

Peru is the third largest country in South America (behind Brazil and Argentina),

and is about 2.5 times the size of France. It has 2,000 miles of coastline on the

Pacific Ocean where 55% of its people live, and has 10 UNESCO World Heritage

Sites. Although the number of people living in poverty in Peru is over 30% and

unemployment exceeds 20%, the illiteracy rate is only 2.4%.

The tour began in Lima, the capital of Peru. A visit was made to the shanty town

of Santa Rosa which is actually just south of Lima. Several hundred families are

living there in a communal atmosphere. It was discouraging to see the poverty ...

latrines, the shacks, water stored outside in large plastic containers, and unsanitary

conditions.

The hope of the residents of Santa Rosa is to grow and prosper as did Villa El

Salvador, which also started out as a shanty town. Through extraordinarily hard

work, the residents of Villa El Salvador grew to become a self sufficient district of

Lima, with its own schools, water, electricity, parks, and paved roads. The district

was even nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 1986 for its excellence in social

work and community growth.

Having been to Lima on a prior trip, I passed on visiting the museums in the city

that I had already been to and made a very special day trip to the Nasca Lines.

Between 300 B.C. and 700 A.D. the Nasca (“pain and suffering”) people created

large enigmatic etchings in the sand. There are over 10,000 lines and 300 different

figures carved into the sand which have been preserved over the years due to the

dry desert conditions.

The 300 figures consist of plant, animal, and geometric patterns. The best known

figures include the images of a monkey, spider, whale, condor, hummingbird, dog,

parrot, and an “astronaut” - a human being with a hand raised to the sky. Other

patterns include numerous giant spirals, circles, trapezoids, and what appears to be

a long landing strip.

These figures are only observable from the air, so up I went in a 4 seat Cessna

airplane. Fortunately, with the day beginning with a 4 AM start out of Lima, I did

not have time to eat any breakfast, which might have otherwise ended up in the

aircraft, with its bobbing, weaving, and nose-diving during the half hour flight. It

was exciting to see the outlines of these figures, some of which can have a length

of 1,000 feet.

It is unknown why the lines and figures were created. One theory dictates that the

images represented an astronomical calendar which would be helpful in

determining planting and harvesting times ... valuable knowledge in this dry area.

Another theory suggests that the lines led to water supplies, and another believes

that the images were created so aliens from space would notice them.

After the short stay in Lima, the tour headed north to see some of the

archaeological sites in the area. Just five miles from Trujillo, the third largest city

in Peru, a visit was made to Huacas de Moche, a complex of Moche ruins built

around 500 AD. The Moche inhabited the area from 100 A.D. to 700 A.D.

The adobe Temple of the Sun at this site has become largely a lumped mass due to

El Nino rains. Built by 250,000 men, this unexcavated pyramid was approximately

100 feet tall at one time and contained 140 million adobe bricks.

Close to the Temple of the Sun is the Temple of the Moon, which is presently

being excavated. Each of the five layers of the temple was constructed when a

new ruler came into power. There are murals on the walls depicting various

scenes; a row of victorious warriors carrying their weapons, dignitaries holding

hands, supernatural beings with spider attributes, and lines of prisoners tied

together with a rope going from prisoner to prisoner, with the rope wrapped around

each prisoner’s neck.

A visit was made to a museum that featured the treasures of the Moche leader,

Lord Sipan, whose never looted burial chamber has been compared to the tomb of

King Tut. Buried along with the king were concubines, a priest, a warrior, a child,

dogs, llamas, hundreds of elaborate food and beverage vessels, and a guard. The

guard’s feet were amputated, symbolizing his perpetual guarding of the tomb. The

museum shows off the grandeur of this pre-Inca culture, with elaborate

headdresses and clothes, as well as items featuring gold, silver and precious stones

such as the beautiful “necklace of 20 peanuts,” which is half gold and half silver.

Visits were made to several other archaeological sites. At Chan-Chan, nine

palaces once existed (when taking power, a new ruler would build his own, new

palace). We saw walls there with friezes of aquatic scenes involving fish, seabirds,

and nets. The site at El Brujo had intimidating figures in high relief wielding a

knife in one hand and a decapitated head in the other hand. At Tucume, a complex

of 26 adobe pyramids (some climbable) was constructed from 1000 to 1500 A.D.

One reason why I selected this particular tour was that it included an Amazon

River Rainforest cruise. The facts concerning the Amazon River and its Rainforest

are staggering. The Amazon River is the second longest river on the planet (the

Nile River is the longest). In the rainy season, the width of the river can reach

distances of 120 miles. It is the largest river by water flow, with an average

discharge into the Atlantic Ocean greater than that of the next 7 largest rivers

combined. Amazingly, the Amazon River is responsible for 20% of the earth’s

fresh water entering the ocean. In fact, the river was discovered by a European

explorer when he sighted fresh water 200 miles out to sea.

More than 1/3 of all species in the world live in the Amazon Rainforest. It is home

to thousands of species of fish, over 50,000 different plants, and 1,700 species of

birds, as well. A region in the rainforest has the highest concentration of mammals

anywhere in the world. The Amazon Rainforest occupies approximately 2/3 of

the area of Peru, but it contains only 5% of its population.

Virtually all of the Amazon River cruises begin in Iquitos, a jungle port city of

500,000 people reachable only by water and air. A visit was made to the Barrio of

Belen, an intriguing shanty town in Iquitos with its homes built either on balsa

wood logs floating on water, or on stilts. The children of Belen go to school in the

morning and work in the afternoons. One can see women doing the laundry in the

river, and narrow dugout canoes grossly overloaded with fruits and vegetables.

The river is everything to this community, providing drinking water, rest room

facilities, and a place to bathe. This Venice of Peru provides a true eye-opening

testimony to the resilience, tenacity, and the survival of its residents, who

continually battle poverty, poor sanitation, and unemployment.

The animal life in the Rainforest is quite interesting. The group saw numerous

three-toed sloths high up in the trees. These slow moving animals (the Spanish

word for the animal translates to “lazy”) spend most of the day sleeping or

munching on tree leaves. A Peruvian superstition says that if a mother eats a sloth,

her children will either die or be lazy. We also saw monkeys swinging from tree to

tree, and yes … the guide said that they do sometimes miss a branch and fall. The

group also saw capybaras, the largest rodent in the world.

Dozens of birds were seen, to include various hawks and eagles, macaws, horned

screamers, kingfishers, vultures, herons, and bats. One day at dusk, a guide loudly

clanged cans together, which resulted in hundreds of wild parakeets flying out of

the trees.

A very unique feature on the cruise was a visit to a Peruvian shaman. Shamans are

spiritual healers, masters of mythology and ritual, and interpreters of dreams.

Shamanism is alive and well in Peru – not too surprising considering the poverty in

the country, the fact that about half of its population is still pure Amerindian, and

that shamanism has existed for literally thousands of years in the land.

The shaman was short in height, barefoot, and had several of his potions in bottles

out on a table for us to see. After blessing each of us in a short ceremony, through

a translator we learned about his life and training. He trained for 8 years for his

profession, including spending three months alone in the jungle. He is up at 2 AM

every day and treats patients from 7-10 PM. He makes his own potions from the

plants in the jungle.

He took several of the bottled potions and blew cigarette smoke into them. He

then passed the bottles around for anyone who wanted to sample them. I tasted

three of the liquids (a snake potion, a dragon blood potion, and a mother of all

spirits potion) which were rather vile in taste. In fact, one of them created an

extremely unpleasant cotton-mouth sensation in my mouth and throat.

Life along the Amazon River has many interesting and unique features. On

average, there are three families per home with each family having 6-7 children.

The houses are elevated on stilts because of the floods that can occur, and are

typically open on three or four sides. The floors are made of palm wood which has

some flexibility to it (the families sleep on mats placed on the floor). At night,

mesh nets are put on the sides of the home to keep out bats. Not surprisingly, life

along the Amazon River centers on fishing, often done in homemade dugout

canoes. In fact, 90% of the meals consist of fish for the people who live along the

river.

Another interesting fact about river life involves the fish scales of the arapaima fish

- they are so course that they are used to file fingernails. Flowers are never given

to a woman in the Amazon - they are only used for funerals. There is a saying

along the river ... “a machete is like your second wife, because you spend so much

time with it.” The average lifespan of a male on the river is 50 years due to the

hazards of the river and along its shores, which include snakes such as the

anaconda. Instead of couples swapping rings, they exchange parrot feathers, as

parrots mate for life.

For unknown reasons, people indigenous to the Amazon River area do not get gray

hair, and almost never need glasses. Ripples on the water surface are often

minnows coming up for air. In the Amazon Rainforest, we saw catfish holes in the

side of the riverbank, where they laid their eggs. There are monkeys as short as 6

inches, called Saddle Back Tamarin monkeys. Although we never saw any of

them, pink dolphins can be found in the region. They weigh more than the more

familiar gray dolphins, which makes it difficult for them to leap out of the water.

One night the group ventured out in a skiff to explore the rainforest in this different

setting. The sounds that we heard were quite different than those heard in the day.

The group saw white lipped frogs, a smoky jungle frog, possums, and night hawks.

Bats skimmed the river water at blazing speeds. The guide told us that up to 50

monkeys sleep together at night with their legs and arms intertwined for safety.

There are two sentinel monkeys, one on the top of the pile and one on the bottom.

The guard duty is rotated throughout the night.

A very interesting day was spent walking through the rainforest. We saw an iodine

tree whose leaves are used for treating mosquito bites. The zebra tree has

alternating black and white leaves. Ant and termite nests could be found

everywhere. Monkey ear mushrooms are large and white in color. The Bird of

Paradise plant is one of the prettiest plants that can be found. After rubbing the

fluorescent tree, one’s hands will glow in the dark due to the chemicals on the tree.

We learned that trees in the Amazon Rainforest do not have rings. Mahogany trees

have vines like the ones seen in Tarzan movies. A tree in the shady rainforest will

actually grow faster than one exposed to significant sun, as the tree in the shade is

striving to grow upward and find the sun.

On the walk through the rainforest we saw bullet ants whose painful sting packs a

punch of being shot by a bullet. In fact, it is estimated to have a sting 30 times that

of a wasp. The paddle trees are 100 feet in height, their lightweight yet durable

root wood being used to make canoe paddles. Its bark is a common remedy for

malaria and fevers with the local people. The stem bark and leaf stems can be

chewed to relieve the pain from toothaches.

Some interesting facts on Peru; a haircut in the country will cost $2.50. A $90 fine

will be leveled to a Peruvian who does not vote in an election. The smooth, black-

skinned hairless Peruvian dog called the “biringo,” has existed for centuries. The

dogs date to pre-Inca times, and these warm to the touch dogs were kept as

portable heaters by ancient nobility. Public school class sizes are typically over 40

while private school class sizes are under 20. To encourage tourism in the country,

there are people who are money exchangers walking the streets of Lima. The

alpaca sweaters produced in the country have a softness revered and envied by the

world. Peruvian horses are very graceful and are involved in many dance

exhibitions.

The cuisine in Peru is both outstanding and diverse. With approximately 3,000

different types of potatoes grown in the country, this food is seemingly

everywhere, to include a wonderful dish which has mashed potatoes wrapped

around chicken. We had heart of palms salad and a heart of palms casserole. I

tried a meal of goat, which was rather tough. A delicacy in Peru is guinea pig,

often eaten on holidays. Juane is a traditional dish eaten at a solstice celebration.

It consists of chicken, rice, onion, both hard boiled and raw eggs, plus seasonings

wrapped in maranta leaves, bound together with wood bark ties, and then cooked.

While walking through a market in Lima, I noticed skunk for sale. Ice cream made

using the lucuma fruit was delicious. Hard boiled pigeon eggs are tasty and

inexpensive.

The drinks in Peru are as varied as the food in the country. Inca cola is the most

commonly found soda - yellow in color with a bold taste. The coffee in Peru is

served very strong. Besides being used in ceremonies, cocoa tea (made from cocoa

leaves) is used by workers in the fields for energy and to combat fatigue. The best

known alcoholic drink in the country is the Pisco Sour, similar in taste to a

whiskey sour. It contains pisco (brandy), lemon or lime, egg whites, syrup, and

bitters. Many fruit juice drinks in the country were sampled on the trip, to include

sweet banana and lemon grass juices. I did, however, forgo the frog juices in

Lima. The animals are literally placed in a blender along with other ingredients.

The drink is supposed to help relieve symptoms of asthma, bronchitis,

sluggishness, and a low sex drive.

An article that discusses archaeological sites in Peru and does not mention Machu

Picchu would be sadly lacking. I was fortunate to visit Machu Picchu in 2003.

Dormant for centuries, this lost city of the Incas was discovered by the western

world in 1911 by Yale professor Hiram Bingham. Now a UNESCO World

Heritage Site, it is considered one of the “New Seven Wonders of the World.”

Invisible from the Urubamba Valley below it and 8,000 feet above sea level, this

stone complex escaped exploitation by the Spanish Conquistadors. Clouded in

mystery and intrigue, we still are uncertain of its place in Inca culture – a citadel,

an astronomical observatory, an agricultural site, and now widely believed to have

been a retreat for the nobility. The city was constructed, inhabited, and

deliberately abandoned in less than one century.

At Machu Picchu (which translates to “old mountain”) one will see steep terraces,

tiered gardens, granite temples, and lots and lots of staircases. Much of the

intricate stonework involves shapes of trapezoidal prisms, which will survive

earthquakes better than rectangular blocks. Both windows and instruments appear

to have been built to track the sun during the solstices. Nestled among Andean

mountains and the clouds, the site has a dreamlike, breathtaking beauty. I was able

to climb a mountain at the site called Huayna Picchu (“small mountain”). At the

top one can look down at the city and see the switchbacks that lead up to it.

Peru is truly a very interesting country with something to offer for virtually

everyone. A number of people in the tour group were repeat visitors to the

country. The friendly people in the country enhanced the visit to this charming

area of South America.