Sarsfield family trip to Peru Easter 2002 Welcome to our presentation about our trip to Peru at Easter. 1
Map Peru is in South America, just South of the Equator. We got there by aeroplane. It took 14 hours. We flew from London to Madrid, in Spain… and then across the Atlantic Ocean…. across the rain forest of Brazil…… all the way to the Pacific Ocean and Lima. That day, we stayed awake for 23 hours continuously. The time difference is five hours behind the UK. So, when we were waking up at 7 o’clock, you would be having lunch. We went to Lima…. Arequipa….. Puno….. Cusco….. and then back to Lima. There are three different areas in Peru. These are: The Costa – the Coast….. The Sierra – the Mountains……. and the Selva – the Rain forest. We were mostly in the mountains, but also saw the coast and the forest areas briefly. 2
Lima Lima is the capital of Peru. It is a town in the coastal desert. It rains about 3 times per century – and it rained a little when we were there! There are flat roofs and no drains! So if it does rain, even a few millimetres, the city gets flooded and comes to a complete standstill. 3
Andes Mountains The Andes mountains are very high and steep. They were made because of two tectonic plates colliding together – the Nasca plate, which is under the Pacific Ocean, and the South American plate. Because of the plates colliding, there are earthquakes, volcanoes and hot springs in Peru. Just next to Arequipa there are several active volcanoes – including El Misti, which overlooks the town. When we were there, there was a small earthquake (about 10 seconds long), but we all slept through it! At Aguas Calientes (which means Hot Waters) we went to hot springs – natural outdoor pools which were as hot as a bath! 4
Mountains In the mountains there are high peaks and fertile valleys. It is warm in the day, with strong sun, and very cold at night. There is lots of farming in the mountains. They grow: barley, lots of kinds of corn, and two other grains which grow well in the high plains - Kiwicha and Quinua. They also grow over 2000 different kinds of potatoes! The people keep a small number of farm animals: cows, sheep, goats, donkeys, alpacas and llamas. Alpacas are kept for their wool and their meat, which tastes delicious – quite like beef. Llamas are used to carry loads in the mountains. They can travel about 35 kilometres in one day. 5
How people live We visited a family living on the high plains. They lived in a mud house and they had a few animals tied up outside. They cook outside on a fire of animal dung. We tried some potatoes - dipped in mud! Their life is very simple. They weave and make carpets and grow crops. Behind the house we saw a special costume made out of a condor (a huge bird, like an eagle). The costume was for a dance. 6
Uros floating islands The Uros people live on 42 man-made islands floating on Lake Titicaca, which is the highest navigable lake in the world. The islands are made of reeds and the people live in reed houses, sail in reed boats and even eat the fleshy parts of the reeds. The also eat fish they catch in the lake. Nowadays tourism is important to the islanders and they sell lots of craft items. We spotted solar panels on the island and even a TV in one of the reed houses! 7
Taquile Island Taquile Island is a natural island on Lake Titicaca, where the Quechua Indians live as they did centuries ago – fishing, farming, knitting and weaving. The men knit and the women weave. They live as a community and take it in turns to be in charge. The community decided they didn’t want a hotel on their island and so they take it in turns to welcome visitors into their homes. 8
High Altitude Lake Titicaca and the surrounding area is very high above sea level – nearly 4000 metres. Here are some of the effects of high altitude: There is not much oxygen so you get breathless and can feel sick. Fizzy drinks fizz a lot! A soft boiled egg takes 5 minutes to cook instead of 3 minutes at sea level. The foil packaging of a camera we bought was all puffy, because it was packed at sea level. Plastic bottles collapse when taken from high altitude to lower altitude. There are lots of lightning conductors because lightning can travel easily through the thin atmosphere. You have to wear high factor sun cream because ultraviolet rays (the ones that burn you) can travel easily through the thin atmosphere. 9
The Incas The Incas were an ancient civilisation found in Peru from about 1100 AD until about 1572. (From the time of William the Conqueror until Tudor times in England.) They built up a large empire and were great architects and stone masons. Their temples and palaces were made of stones fitted closely together, and many are still standing today – even though there are lots of earthquakes in Peru. The Incas were defeated by the Spaniards, who came to South America looking for gold. (In fact we should say ‘The people of the Incas’, not the Incas, because the Inca was the name of the ruler.) 10
The Incas The people of the Incas were good at farming. They built terraces on the sloping hillsides to keep the soil in place and made irrigation channels to give the crops water. In the high plains they discovered a way of farming on strips of land in a lake, which stops the crops freezing. They also discovered how to freeze-dry potatoes and salt meat, which meant that they could store food for years when the harvest was bad. The Incas were friendly to the people they conquered and helped them to build and farm better. For example, the people near Lake Titicaca built towers to bury their dead. The incas didn’t try to get them to change – instead they showed them how to build better towers. And if people they conquered had different religious beliefs, the Incas made temples to their gods inside the Inca sun temple. 11
Inca sacrifice Several mummies from Inca times have been found buried in ice on volcanoes. The most famous and best preserved is called ‘Juanita’. These mummies can tell us lots about how the Incas lived. Juanita was chosen as a baby to be a sacrifice to the gods and was treated specially all her life. She was probably sacrificed as an offering to the gods asking them to send rain. For a few weeks before the ceremony she wouldn’t eat meat, because the Incas believed that the gods didn’t eat meat. She was taken to the top of a big mountain and killed by a blow to the head. With her in her grave were dolls, silver llamas, pots, food in bags and coca leaves. 12
Cusco Cusco was the heart of the Inca empire and the name means ‘belly button of the world’. The city was built by the Incas and then taken over by the Spanish when they conquered Peru. The Spaniards knocked down most of the Inca buildings, but sometimes built on top of Inca walls. 13
Machu Picchu Machu Picchu is an Inca city that was discovered in 1911, deep in the mountains. It is quite complete because it was not found and destroyed by the Spaniards. No-one is exactly sure what the city was for, but there are terraces, a large main square, houses, schools, temples, and an observatory for the stars. 14
Cloud forest Machu Picchu is on the East side of the Andes and all around is cloud forest. This is like the rain forest, but higher up in the mountains. The cloud forest was very hot and humid and smelt like the palm house at Kew Gardens. There were lots of drip tips on the leaves. And aerial roots, taking moisture from the air. And epiphytes – plants which grow on other plants. We saw a lots of different kinds of orchids and a giant centipede, butterflies, humming birds and poison ants. 15
What is it? • A stone • The hardest material the incas had • Used by the incas to grind stones and as a weapon • Lots are found in the high plains Now, to finish, we have a quiz about some things from Peru. This stone is an example of the hardest material the Incas had. They didn’t have iron tools (only gold, silver and copper, which are soft), so they used this type of stone for grinding stones and as a weapon. Lots of these stones are found in the high plains. Do you have any ideas what it might be? Clue These are found in the high plains because of the thin atmosphere, which means they don’t get burnt up as they fall to earth. Answer It is a meteorite. 16
What is it made from? • An instrument • Called a chajcha • Made from a substance commonly found in the mountains of Peru Next we have an instrument called a chachja. (CHACH-KA) We have several instruments from Peru – pan pipes made from bamboo……a drum made from sheepskin and struck with beads…. and the chajcha or shaker. What do you think it’s made from? Clue It’s made from something that is found in the mountains of Peru…….something that comes from an animal Answer It’s made from goats’ toenails. 17
What is it? • A small animal • Kept as a pet • Eaten by the Peruvians on special occasions • Appears in the painting of The Last Supper in Cusco Cathedral The last item is a small animal, that is kept as a pet. This animal has been eaten in Peru since the time of the Incas. It’s eaten on special occasions. In fact, there is a painting of The Last Supper in Cusco Cathedral that shows Jesus about to eat this animal. Any ideas what it might be? Answer It is a guinea pig! 18
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