A couple weeks ago I decided to go with my workmate to visit Arequipa and tour the Colca Canyon - my second time over. Arequipa blew me away - the city is still gorgeous and has become quite clean and stray-dog free - Yay!!
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Medio Luna is a sustainable tourism organization in the Sacred Valley of Peru that is run by some of the local rural peoples of the valley and their families. Medio Luna’s rural tourism circuit is a rare gem in an ever increasing hub of tourism, and within the bustle of Peru’s modern life. In Media Luna one receives more than just a rare glimpse into the life and world understanding of the rural persons of Peru whose customs and habits can be traced back to Incan traditions and ways of thought.
In this unique full day cultural experience one is welcomed by some of the peoples of Media Luna and then taken to the beginning point of the day. The day begins with a hike, with a true local guide, to the salt flats of Maras. This guide explains along the way the trails of the Incan peoples, and their ways of thought around the salt flats. After a strenuous climb one is rewarded with a stunning view of the flats and a walk within them. After a brief rest, the day continues with a visit to an adobe house where cuys (guinea pigs) are raised for eating – there a very welcoming woman explains the processes of raising and cooking cuys and also why they have been a staple of the Incan diet for many many years. After finishing this activity a local lunch is enjoyed in a rustic setting where one can both digest a delicious meal and one’s experiences thus far. The afternoon resumes with a showcase on natural textile dying and weaving and a meeting with a medicine woman who treats you to an explanation and show of the valley’s herbs and their use. Finally, you end up at a house where there is a woman who explains what exactly chicha is and how it is made. Of course you are invited to a glass of this natural corn refresher before your day ends and you are whisked back into the bustle awaiting you. Since having gone on this full day cultural excursion with Media Luna, I feel so blessed to have a greater understanding of the rural peoples of Peru and their customs and ways of thought. Thank You Media Luna!! Lima is quite the interesting city both architecturally and culturally. In our week in Lima, we mostly hung out where we were staying in the posher area known as Miraflores, as well as its artistic cousin area of Barranco. Miraflores had your typical big grocery stores, a myriad of fast food joints including a Mc Donalds and KFC, as well as many of the Embassies, upper end housing with lush gardens, and small cute chocolate shops, organic markets, and yoga studios. Barranco was more an evening / night scene area with art galleries, cutting edge bars and clubs, and colourful restaurants - reminding me of the town of Cabo San Lucas in Mexico. What I love about the housing is how it is more to human scale than we are used to seeing in Canada. There are colourful walls, balconies, and cactus plants everywhere. The fences are wrought iron but also painted in various colours, and things are very clean but energetic looking. Because the area of Miraflores also houses many of the government buildings of Lima you have these human scale houses kitty corner to big sky-rise buildings of towering glass. You also see security officials with batons and at times guns patrolling the streets and buildings giving the city a surreal sense of security. For how safe and relaxed these areas seem the security and stories that float around whisper otherwise. The most beautiful part of Lima, at least for myself, is its endless boardwalk that skirts the city and the ocean. It is green, and houses parkland, and sculptures, docks, and water restaurants and of course a passageway that runs through. We went and walked a part of it at night one day. My friends had been talking about taking lanterns to light with us - and I was wondering what these were. Interestingly when we arrived to a parkland area of the boardwalk we stopped, and were each given one of these kite lanterns. One by one we lit them and watched them blow away into the sky like rockets - there we watched them sail over the city until they faded in the distant night sky.
Apart from the ceviche, and coffee, and fresh juices, we gorged on chewy brownies, fresh organic pizza which used avocado in place of cheese, and a lot of fresh Indian food made by Yusra and myself. We were making the food for a fundraiser for Nexos Comunitarios and our menu consisted of aloo gobi and spinach curry, along with chicken curry and rice. For dessert we made faluda - a rich Indian milkshake that is rose flavoured. It was all very delicious. It was my first time truly teaching cooking, and it was super fun - between running around getting food and spices at the markets and grocery stores, and prepping the food for the classes, and then showing people what to do - I loved it!! I made the decision to leave my job as a school teacher and move to Peru to work with an NGO not that long ago. As the time for me to move to Peru - (or what I like to call my other home) - came closer I was wracked with emotions of excitement and awe, but also of nervousness and for the first time in my life a bit of - "I can't believe I really am doing this." Saying goodbye to family this time was tough... maybe it is because I know in my heart that I may not return to Canada for a long while this time, and maybe not especially to live for... perhaps years. As I said goodbye to my mum yesterday, tears welled up as I realized that I will not always be there for her when I want to be, nor she for me. I realized that I would not be able to thank her or my dad enough for the opportunities they have afforded me. On the other hand I am blessed to be going to a wonderful place, where I can help others, and also work on my art and writing, and so the parting is bitter-sweet. I was full of nervous excitement yesterday as I sat in the Houston airport waiting for my flight to Lima, Peru. As I sat on the plane - I thought "Ok, this is it.... Am I ready?"
7 hours later... I step of the plane and just like that I feel at home - back at home in my second home. Full of excitement for what is to come - ready to run into adventures. I know I will miss Canada - its open skies and wondrous towering mountains - my wonderful family, and great friends. I also know that even though I have moved, that I will always go back to visit.
Another decade gone. I am now three decades in - OMG.... I made it to thirty!!
In regards to energy - I have a little bit less energy than in my early twenties; but it's more channeled and I waste less time so really... no biggie. Looks wise - I guess a bit older, but then I suppose that happens to us all. Am I happy with myself and my achievements - so far so good. I can always do more, but I figure slow and steady :) So turning thirty - I suppose some cry, some run away to Vegas to party, and others have full extravaganzas with their friends and family, and yet others do nothing. Well... I just wanted a low key day by the ocean, filled with walking, and so I went to Vancouver for a weekend (my dad joined - which was fantastic) - and we did just that - walked and walked and walked by the ocean - on top of it all, the weather couldn't have been more perfect; and it was perfect!! This has been wonderful; a joy. All I feel is thankful, and at peace. I've begun writing and sketching again and have an outlet for my stories. I've been in and around lush nature and animals; I've lived and adventured and I've met some wonderful people. This is our awesome group. It is awesome - you become like an eccentric family - and after two weeks its time to say goodbye. You've become friends, and now, in the day of today, you can keep in touch via facebook, emails, linked in, twitter, mail, and phone. It's actually quite incredible. What a fantastic world. Adventure Awaits!! It's Christmas Day, and I've got an early start at the beach with my very first surf lesson. I am nervous and excited. I get to the beach early for a quick walk and a some stretching. I hear "are you ready?" I get up and boldly go forth. I fall again and again and again - as expected. The teacher is ever patient and keeps giving me new tips. The focus of now - to find a semblance of control; or rather to become one with the ocean and in doing so both giving up and gaining controls - I think this is what Stephen Covey would call true synergy. I finally manage, once, close to the end of the lesson, a small run. Not bad. And better yet - I've discovered a new sport I could love. I've also discovered something else, it turns out; a muscle group I've never really felt before - ow ow ow.... It's now Christmas afternoon, and I've gone on a dinner boat with the group. We motor along on the rolling waves and chill with some drinks and a decent soundtrack. Soon the boat stops in a very clear patch of ocean bathed in sunlight. Within minutes I'm out snorkeling in the ocean with gorgeous tropical fish. After frolicking around it's dinner time - fresh fish in a cilantro cream sauce with rice and potatoes - deli!! After another couple of drinks we begin to witness character changes in the people around us as they begin to shed their inhibitions - some acting goofy, others a bit crazy, and other's happier or moodier than I've seen them before. Soon however, everyone is in rapture of the pink sunset that quickly steals the sun on the open ocean. Night has enveloped the sky and soon the stars will twinkle from the darkness.
Later that night, fresh warm creamy cheese cake, and good conversation cap a practically perfect day. Again I thank my lucky stars. I feel fully charged and connected to this beautiful world. |
AuthorHello! My name is Tahira Karim. I was born and raised on the Canadian prairies have been leaving and returning ever since. I absolutely love to travel. I am an observer of life and culture, and I have a passion for history and food. I am a visual artist who specializes in painting and drawing. And this blog is a jumble of my writing and thoughts on travel, culture, and food, with a bunch of personal stories thrown into the mix. Enjoy! Archives
June 2017
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