of Sadness, Disappointment and Hypoxia… Sporadic notes from the road

Sadly there were deaths on the Inca Trail this year after a series of storms and mudslides, as I´m sure you´ve heard. An Argentine young woman and a Peruvian guide died at one of the campsites. Other local habitants also died due to flooding around the Cusco valley.

My trek was officially canceled the night before we were to leave. I knew it was coming, the news of the slide had spread fast within the trekking community. I am disappointed I could not go. I had psyched myself up for the trek and the anticipation was nearly killing me. However, I would not trek out there during the worst of the rains, or hike myself into mudslide territory. Still, there is a trek un-trekked now. I have it in my mind that I will hike the Inca Trail, but most likely I´ll be going during the dryer season next time.

If you´re going to look like a dork, go all the way! Me in Colca Canyon.

I felt as though I had waited weeks to leave on a trek. Getting stir crazy to be out of a city. Out in nature. Eventually I left for the Colca Canyon in Arequipa. Finally. Hiking. Trekking. Getting up at 2am. Ouch.

The highlight of the Colca Canyon 3 day trek is definitely San Juan, population nine. Don´t let those pool-crazy tourists tell you the Oasis is the best. Yeah, the crystal blue pools nestled between rocks at the bottom of the canyon, right beside the river are very welcoming after a hot hike, but when will you have the chance to hike into a village and double the population? To see how nine people on this planet live. Simply. In the middle of nature. Bringing in supplies by donkey. Herding sheep. Raising rabbits. Listening to the clucks of a wandering rooster.

A wood burning oven is used to cook all the meals as our host prepares breakfast while her daughter runs around in San Juan inside the Colca Canyon.

The bungalows where we stayed had thatched roofs, adobe walls and mud floors. Various creepy crawlies are the only version of room service. We were not totally roughing it though. A modern version of the outhouse with flushing toilet was very welcome. Nobody likes to squat over a hole.

Two days, a blister later and after relaxing poolside in what felt way to decadent for ´trekking´the group woke at 4:30am to hit La Subida. The Climb. 5k. No big deal. 1300meters (@4200ft) up. Ok, fine. Going from 2300meters asl (@7,500ft) to 3600meters asl (@11,800ft). Uh-huh. Bring on the altitude! It was good. It was breath-taking (the views at this point… it literally became breath-taking about 400meters from the finish). The goal – make it to the trees at the top. The time – 2 1/2 hours later. The satisfaction – hiking a 5k in 2 1/2 hours and then sitting down.

My calves are only mildly miffed at me today. The rest of my body is fine. My lungs even held on, although I will admit to feeling queasy at times. There was the option to hire a donkey for 50 soles, but the ever-masochistic-me would have none of that. Trek in. Trek out.

The benefits of getting up early. A rainbow over Colca Canyon at 6am.

So it is off to rock climb tomorrow morning. Lets see if I can´t destroy my arms now. I haven´t written about the city of Arequipa. I know. I´ll give it another day of walking the streets to let it all set in and get back to you. Sporadically.

Rain, rain go away… Sporadic notes from the road

Locals pile mud into sacks from behind a house at the base of the Cristo Blanco in Cusco, Peru after heavy rains for consecutive days have caused mudslides in the area.

I didn’t expect my sporadic notes to be frequent, but I wanted to put this out there.

Unfortunately with the heaviest rains in 15 years, Cusco has been declared in a state of emergency and Machu Picchu has been closed for the next 3 to 4 days, at least. There have been mudslides within the city limits and throughout the area and severe problems with transit between the towns as well as getting in and out of Cusco. The bridge to Pisaq collapsed two days ago. It has been raining all night again, so new problems I’m sure will arise for the Sacred Valley area.

Approximately 2,000 or so tourists are stranded in Machu Picchu and Aguas Calientes. According to El Commercio, the newspaper out of Lima, the Peruvian army will be airlifting them by helicopter. The usual mode of transportation to and from Aguas Calientes, the train, is partly under water for what I hear is several kilometers. The river nearby is running full.

Locals in Cusco, Peru clean up the stairs and rebuild walls after heavy rains have caused mudslides in the area.

More problems with crop damage, bridges underwater and lack of potable water is severely impacting the area and the people who live here. Surrounding towns are most effected with an estimated 40% without potable water.

Go here to see videos uploaded by locals in Cusco.

I was speaking with a guide last evening who is also involved in the search and rescue community here and he says the Camino de Los Incas is also in bad shape. I have a meeting today to see if I will be leaving tomorrow to hike the trail. At this point I am very pessimistic. The state of emergency is for 60 days, Machu Picchu is closed, and I can not see the benefit of adding more people to an area that is already experiencing some of the worst damage in years. Nor do I feel like hiking into a mudslide.

Rain, rain go away.

Sporadic notes from the road

A rainbow makes an appearance over the main plaza and church in Cusco, Peru.

Begin.

As the title indicates these will be sporadic notes…

Current location: Cusco, Peru

Current weather: Raining and on the nippy side

Current aim: adjust to altitude before leaving for the Inca Trail in a few days.

Fun facts that seem oddly stupid: While boarding the airplane from Buenos Aires to Lima on Aerolineas Argentinas, 3 days ago, passengers were allowed to board from both the front and back doors after we were shuttled to the plane. Passengers apparently picked at random which door and those sitting in the front of the aircraft did not necessarily board by the front door, and vice versa, causing some rather entertaining gridlock in the already narrow aisles. I boarded from the front. Seat 14F.

Hostal notes on Loki in Lima: The bar in the hostel provided several examples of the mating rituals of the young human male. Removing shirts, showing off tattoos, asking the female he was trying to impress if she needed another drink. Insisting she did. Smartly, she continued to decline.

I ended up in a room built for 4 beds, but with 6. It was a little cramped. Add a snorer, a car alarm, and various comings and goings and I didn’t sleep all that well the second night in Lima. I’ve decided that wanting and craving sleep is a sign of maturity and wisdom.

Sites: I spent the day in the neighborhood Miraflores. Beautiful houses with arched windows, brick and stucco, white walls, flowering gardens and electrified wire fences above the already towering gates to keep the unwanted out. The view of the beach is spectacular from the cliffs. I also toured the Huaca Pucllama ruins. The Lima people worshiped the sea, therefore women were important, therefore the bodies of the sacrificed they’ve uncovered have all been women. Condensed version of the tour. Worth the 10soles to enter.

Also throughout Miraflores is a cow art exhibition. Artists take a cow statue and create something. My fav is Cowpido or Cow + Cupid = Cowpido in Spanish.

Favorite misc. site thus far: Japanese tourists doing group stretching exercises in the domestic side of the Lima airport.

Currently now in Cusco, Peru. Raining as usual for January. Must by myself a poncho. Paid the final balance on the Inca Trek. Noticed with humor the highest pass that we’ll cover at 13,776ft or 4,200m is also known as Dead Woman’s Pass.

Sleep status: Well rested thanks to the tranquil and lovely Hospedaje Turistico Recoleta.

Altitude sickness level: None I’d say. Had a brief headache yesterday. Drinking water like a fish and therefore using the bathroom every 15min. No alcohol, no heavy food. I did get a dose of reality when I went to walk up to the plaza San Blas yesterday and realized half way up the hill that my heart was trying to escape my body. I stopped and panted on the sidewalk along with the rest of the tourists. Good company.

Ok. Enough update. Next one somewhere along the way.

Stop.

Feliz Año Nuevo

A new year, new possibilities, new beginnings, new experiences…

Celebrating on the terrace of a friend’s apartment in Buenos Aires, we kicked off the new year with an old ritual. Each person wrote three things they’d like to accomplish, see come to pass, or just their wishes, on a piece of paper.  Under a full moon, we took the papers and lit them on fire to release those three things to the universe.

Then, we went back to enjoying the fireworks exploding in every direction over Buenos Aires.

Feliz 2010. Que tengan un año de paz y amor.

Photo by Beatrice Murch



Ode to Christmas

Merry Christmas and many Winter Solstice Blessings.

Just a small bit of holiday spirit to share.

A project takes on its own life

or at least its own blog.

The Avantgarb{age} series, which started here on this blog as the Trash Fashion series with Argentine designer Aidana Baldassarre now has its own web space, Avantegarb{age}

We’ve finished shooting, finished processing (sort-of) and we’ve even put together a small sample book to ship around. Most importantly, we’ve started contacting publishers. I approach this stage with the blissful ignorance of one avoiding the reality of book publishing and jumping in despite the sharks in the water.

The mantra: What does it hurt to try? Which translates we’ll be sending out proposals, even without that golden personal contact inside the organization.

So, well that sort of brings me to a request. If you like the work (or not) and have a contact inside a publishing company, we’d be grateful for the information. You can email me directly at cate (at) cateincba (dot) com.

Working Cover Sample

From my point of view

Last Sumo photo, maybe.

The Weigh In.

More sumo, with a twist

I thought I was done with Sumo for awhile when the opportunity came up to photograph a different type of Sumo wrestling. It is called Sumo Okinawense. Each participant wears a red or white cloth belt. The grab each others belt and do not let go as each wrestles to get the back of their opponent on the ground. It made for some good faces and good photos.

Check them out.

39 South American Sumo Wrestlers

Los Luchadores de Sumo Sudamericano

Ignacio Lóizago

Mario Frabetti

Paula Elbaum

Namesson Tiburcio

Jaqueline de Fátima Silva

Eduardo Elgueta

Masaaki Francisco Tanaka

Yuichi Roberto Ishikawa

Renee Crespo Jr.

Carlos Rauch

Alan Galvao

Juliana Medeiros

Angela Barrionuevo

Maximilliana Villarreal

Mariano Garcia Calvo

Carim Giupponi

Rodrigo Menehem

Pablo Moyano

Santiago Aguirre

Martin Alarcon

Sebastian Paunero

Janaina Fernanda Silva

Luciana Watanabe

Diego Querejeta

Diego Cervantes

Cecilia Rios

Mariana Salgado

Sebastian Videla

Maximiliano Viera

Alfredo Fontana

Gabriel Wakita

Cássio Gomes

Juan Manuel Rey

Gabriel Pereyra

Fizu Quiroga

Lisandro Mendoza Mendez

Keisho Mizumoto

Yutaka Shinoto Nakagoshi

Andres Guerreño

14º Torneo Sudamericano de Sumo

This past Saturday, October 17, 2009, the 14th South American Sumo Tournament and the 2nd Feminine Sumo Tournament, was held in Buenos Aires, Argetina. Among the participants were wrestlers from Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay, Brasil and Argentina.

I photographed the event for Sumo Amateur Argentino and posted the photos to Flickr. Personally, I used the event to take a series of portraits, along the style of the previous Los Pibes project. Those will be uploaded in the next few days.

So, in no particular order… Enjoy the action.

(click an image to see it larger and then you’ll be able to scroll through the images by clicking the arrow below each)