Travels with Russ and savers meeting!

This past week was full of exciting events: Russell came to visit on his spring break, and the first matched savings program in South America (Corredor Puno Cusco Project) had its first-ever meeting of alumni! The meeting was held about an hour south of Cusco, and more than 250 former participants showed up (over 100 more than were expected!) Some women traveled several hours in order to spend a full day meeting and sharing tips with other savers about financial education, budgeting, saving, financial services, and starting businesses....pretty impressive, especially considering that the majority of women have been done with the savings program for two years. Each group of women came dressed to represent their particular region - some wore flowers in their hats, others had corn husks, and many wore the traditional dresses and weavings of their region. Needless to say, it was unlike any other meeting I had ever been to in the U.S.!
Jam-packed room of Corredor alumni and current savers from across the Southern Highlands

Vilma, a former participant in the Corredor Puno Cusco Project (and now helping me to translate interviews in Quechua!) speaks with a current saver from Espinar

The next day, Russ and I headed out from Cusco to the Sacred Valley, a breathtaking region outside of Cusco surrounded by high Andes peaks and ancient Incan ruins. On the first day in the valley, we checked out Moray, a circular agricultural terrace built by the Incas:

Some of the flowers and vegetation at our hotel in Urubamba:

Checking out the salt flats in Maras at sunset:
After a few days of exploring Cusco and the Sacred Valley, we descended to Lima to enjoy some warm weather and ridiculous ceviche. We checked out Astrid y Gaston, one of the famous restaurants of celebrity restauranteur and Lima native, Gaston Acurio:


Candied Aguaymanto berries (native to the Andes) completed our very delicious dinner of pisco sours, classic white fish ceviche, Pekinese style Guinea Pig pancakes, and grilled fish with quinoa and vegetables:

Saturday morning we walked on the Malecon (boardwalk overlooking the ocean), enjoyed the sculptures and sea breezes at the Parque de Amor in Miraflores, and wandered through the bohemian neighborhood of Barranco. What a fun trip! Check out all of my photos at: http://picasaweb.google.com/barbrosen. Enjoy!

Storms and Sunshine in Cusco

The last couple months have been a really interesting time to be in Cusco: the week that I moved here at the end of January, there were torrential rains for several days....having been warned that January and February are the wettest months here, I figured this was normal and that I'd just have to get used to it. Except, of course, when I heard later that week that the amount of rain had been unprecedented, causing flooding and damage to bridges, train tracks, and thousands of homes (many of which are made of mud bricks) in the Sacred Valley outside of Cusco, while stranding tourists at Machu Picchu. In Cusco things were fine for the most part, since the infrastructure is better and the city is not situated as close to the flooded rivers, but Machu Picchu will be closed until April 1 because the train tracks are still being repaired, and the train is the only form of land transport to the town nearest the ruins.

In Cusco, the departure point for all travelers heading to Machu Picchu, it has been uncharacteristically slow -- the lack of tourism has clearly been hurting the local economy, while also bringing a measure of peace and quiet to a normally bustling hub for foreign travelers. On a visit to interview a lending group outside of Cusco in February, I was able to take some photos of the damage to some of the bridges that were completely swept away by the floods:
On a brighter note, though, the local community in Cusco has made a big effort to collect donations and support rebuilding efforts in the Sacred Valley, although from the looks of it there is still much to be done to help people who have lost their homes and belongings. Some links to local charities that are helping those affected by the flooding and landslides:

http://www.livingheartperu.org/help.htm

http://www.deseaperu.org/

http://www.kusikawsay.org/

http://www.waykitrek.net/

http://www.spiritsoftheearth.com/foundation.html

And while Cusco has been experiencing a slump in tourism, my friends have helped contribute to the economy by coming to visit me on their spring breaks -- this month has brought visits from my lovely friends Bess, Gabe, Lauren, Diane and Mike. Despite some minor challenges with dirt roads, broken mountain bikes, and bad alpaca meat, they were able to see Cusco as well as some of the amazing Inca ruins that are a little bit off the beaten track, while experiencing the beauty that is the Sacred Valley:

Sacred Valley of the Incas

Gabe in a Square: Saqsawayman ruins

Lauren, Me, and Bess: Courtyard of my building

Peruvian chicken/Oscar viewing at my apartment. Classy!

Mike, Me, and Diane at the big Jesus statue overlooking Cusco!

Next week, not only is Russell coming to visit!, but on Tuesday we are going to a big convening of former and current participants in the savings programs I am studying. It's been challenging getting out to the countryside the last few weeks because of the rainy season, roads, and my Quechua translator getting the flu, so I'm very excited to interview participants and schedule many visits to the countryside in the next few months! Will take photos! --B

For photos from the past few months, check out my Picasa page at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/barbrosen