Destinations

Condors soaring higher as the thermals warm in the early morning air at Colca Canyon; brown, white or multi-colored baby alpacas awaiting their next bottled milk snack on the lawn of Las Casitas de Colca; modern day Peruvian highlanders in international orange jumpsuits and helmets utilizing the ancient Inca rope pull/log roller technique to move heavy road equipment across an arched bridge over a rushing river in Machu Picchu township — all of these are part of the broad Peruvian experience.
 
I just returned a few weeks ago from a remarkable and truly mind-changing visit to Peru.  This modest country in terms of ’self-promotion’ contains the widest possible options for visitors to learn and grow as individuals.  A culture deeply rooted in the land itself expresses its history through the daily living of the people, in the historical remains of many cultures dating back several thousand years, in the constant growth of the Andes by millimeters a year and in the booming economy holding firm even in current times.
 
A few highlights from this recent trip:
 
Sunday service held in the church next to San Francisco Monastery in Lima — Quechua sung by the voices of devout Catholics who stem from the highland people of Peru and still express their long-lived history in the costumes they wear at festive occasions which occur almost every week.  Cathedrals and churches are altar-adorned and made of wood carved from trees imported from Central America — deep mahogany wood twisting in Baroque curves reminiscent of Bernini’s marble columns in St Peters - Rome.  Here in Peru the complex altars are draped in gold not only melted from early Inca gold artifacts looted after the conquest but embellished by silver art created from silver extracted from the mines of this land. 
 
The Cathedral of Lima holds the remains of the Spanish conqueror, Pizzaro.  Huge and richly decorated it shows the enormous wealth of the country and its deeply Catholic heritage brought by the Spanish.   Nearby the Aliaga family whose ancestor traveled with Pizzaro has been living in Peru since the 16th century and now hosts elegant dinners in their private 20-bedroom home located just a few steps from the Plaza.  This building modestly presents itself to the street behind substantial wooden doors.  Dinner is delicious and eaten after canapés and cocktails served in the spacious and historical lounge.  Everything is presented in rooms which have lasted centuries overlooking internal shrub- and tree-planted courtyards.  One feels transported back centuries and gets the feel of “once upon a time.”
 
I was able to see the annual Potato Festival celebrated in the main Plaza des Armes of Lima.  The plaza was filled by bands and dancers from all the regions of the country giving expression to this most essential vegetable sustenance here in Peru.  The Inca even invented a way of freezing and drying potatoes to make them last for several years — dessicated but retaining all the nutrients and vitamins needed for survival. 
 
Nature along the coast has beaches festooned with flocks of pink flamingoes whilst red-headed turkey vultures hunch on the nature park signage in a relaxed pose awaiting their next potential meal.   The dry desert of the Peruvian coast reminds one of the Skeleton Coast of Namibia with dunes, windswept barren rock-strewn surfaces but here in Peru, the Andes sends water down long rivers and streams allowing pencil-thin lines of liquid nourishment to nurture smallholdings of vegetables, wheat and other grains.  The long descent from the mountains ends in outlets to the sea rich in wildlife and feeding occasional flocks of goats tended by peasants living a precarious and transient existence along the coastal road.  Just beyond these islands of plant richness, the dessicated desert takes over again.
 
The mountains are a world unto themselves — high passes at 16,200 feet descend into valleys like Colca with an almost Grand Canyon-like eroded riverine depression splitting the high fields of corn, quinoa and wheat.  Huge and even active volcanoes such as the three famous ones near Aerquipa dominate the area which is full of deep mines and grasslands of the high Alto Plano.   Aerquipa produces fine weavings in the small factories which handle the products of the alpaca, vicunya or other camelids who inhabit those grassy plains.  
 
Machu Picchu is mentioned here not last by intent but because it’s impressive site at 8,000 feet is a fitting summation of all that the history of Peru can present.  Dominated even at this elevation by higher peaks and sited dramatically above a deep lush valley, one can even hike the famed Inca Trail to the Sun Gate where the Inca astromoners could determine by the sun breaking through the 3 openings along this ridge of mountain, the solstices and equinoxes every year.  The Inca Trail was the “information highway” of it’s day connecting Cusco with Machu Picchu.  Along it’s 27 miles of up and down at high elevations, teams of runners going at top pace ran from outpost to outpost using the still undeciphered “quipus” (threaded counters knotted in a yet unknown language telling of crop quantities, of citizen censuses, of armed and administered parts of the empire … all needed to run the Inca government during its time in ascendency) as informational sources for their rulers.
 
There is so so much more but this short set of paragraphs should give a sense of this remarkable country and lead you to want to learn more and to visit there as well.

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Looking for a quick little get away that won’t break the bank?  Portland, Oregon is it. There is so much to do and see in Portland the whole family will come away satisfied. 

If the peaceful tranquility of a garden setting is what appeals to you, there are two choice and both close by.  Visit the International Rose Test Garden in Washington Park where you can see 7,000 rose bushes and spectacular views of the city.  Next to the International Rose Test Garden is the Japanese Garden.  It has been proclaimed as one of the most authentic Japanese gardens outside of Japan and has an unsurpassed view of Mt. Hood.

Museums are a plenty with oldest museum in the Northwest, the Portland Art Museum, which is internationally renowned for exciting art experiences.  Located in the heart of downtown’s cultural district, the Museum’s campus includes an outdoor sculpture court and historical interiors. Tour the world and travel through history in magnificent permanent collection galleries, six stories of modern art and special exhibitions.  Each Sunday features activities for families.  In the World Forest Center Discovery Museum you can see the forest from a bird’s-eye view or take a wet-free raft ride in Class IV rapids. Climb underneath the forest to see the life below, or try your smoke jumping skills! Round out your adventure with video journeys to Siberia, China, South Africa, and Brazil.  If you are the scientific type , one of the nation’s leading science museums, Oregon Museum of Science and Industry is 219,000 square feet of brain-powered fun! Five enormous halls bring science to life with hundreds of interactive exhibits and displays. You can experience an earthquake, take part in live lab demonstrations, see a movie in the OMNIMAX Dome Theater, explore the universe in a world-class planetarium and even tour a real submarine!

No town big or small is complete without activities for kids and of course Portland has that.  Trek through the tropics amid the sounds of birds, monkeys and other creatures. You’re not in West Africa, you’re in Portland at the Oregon Zoo’s African Rain Forest exhibit. After you’ve survived the steamy tropics, dry off in the savanna, where giraffes, rhinos and hippos graze. From the crest of the Cascade Mountains to the coastal waters of Peru, travel around the world in an afternoon.  Want to cool down?  Enjoy indoor ice skating at the Lloyd Center Ice Rink, located in Oregon’s largest mall. The ice rink is a fun place to skate and build memories.  If you prefer a good old fashion Amusement Park, Oak Amusement Park has rides, go-karts, roller skating, picnic grounds, an historic dance pavilion and waterfront views making this jewel of an amusement park only minutes from downtown Portland.  Safe, wholesome, affordable family fun is always on the menu along with fries, hamburgers, corn dogs, cotton candy and more. Families can come for a whole day of fun without breaking the bank.

This is just a small sampling of what Portland has to offer.  

So if you are looking to get there, just think planes trains or automobiles. One can either take an hour and a half flight from Oakland, a scenic 8 hour drive from San Francisco, or a ride on the Amtrak Starlight Coast.

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Turns out that my best friend Greg, from when I first moved to San Francisco in 1979, and who I lost contact with years ago, found me on Facebook about a month ago. So when I happened to post a message that I was going to London, he suggested we get together as he’s being living here for a while.

Greg doesn’t have your average desk job. He’s a movie producer and he’s here filming Gulliver’s Travels with Jack Black, Emily Blunt and very friendly Jason Segel. So I took the bus to Oxford, then another bus to Woodstock and visited him on the set at Blenheim Palace.

I had been there once before with my sister in the 70s when we were both in college, and it was great to go back. Oxford is a fantasy - a university town from the 13th century, as is Blenheim - a storybook palace in the spectacular English countryside. Before I connected to Woodstock I enjoyed visiting the churches, the libraries and the school buildings of Oxford, where some of Harry Potter was filmed. The sophisticated nature of the tourists in this town makes for a very different tourist experience. The first time I went I was 21 and actually was able to handle Michelangelo prints - by myself - with plastic gloves they gave me. It was for many years a highlight of my life. And this time the Ashmolean Museum was sadly closed for renovations, but I could still sense a trust that the locals have in the visitor as I roamed the historic schools that make up Oxford. No guards. No rules. It’s close to a perfect world.

It took me a while to find Greg. First I found the sword department. There are soldiers in this movie. Pretty cool, but I decided not to try and borrow one. Then I saw a princess up on top of the palace. But Greg was out to lunch. I mean, where do you go in Woodstock?

As I was checking out the scene of massive amounts of production equipment, I heard his voice from behind talking to a colleague. Walked right by me, but fortunately, silver hair and all (both of us) he recognized me once I called his name. We spent the better part of the afternoon catching up in between takes (and more takes) and whatever else went on. Jason (playing Horatio) filled me in on the plot while Greg was busy. From what I could tell, it looks pretty hysterical. Look for it in June of 2010.

Visit http://www.joshfriedmantravel.com/  for my complete set of photos from this trip and other posts.

Tags: blenheim palace, gulliver's travels, oxford, woodstock

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