Peru 2005: And thus the journey begins...

"Recently I took a month vacation and visited Peru. It was special this time and I wanted to share it, not just what happened but what went on to make it. I will post the first chapter of my travelogue, that describes the making of this journey. I will break it into pieces to make it bearable. Last section is what is my favorite. It gets long and long as I delve into social realities with my cynical commentary!"

a. Tourism or Travel

Preparing for travel is somehow 75% of the work done (assuming you are not going to document it, unlike what I am trying to do here!). The analogy runs straight with research where most of the time is spent in researching for a problem. Having formulated the problem, the journey through the solution is short-lived magical period of life that passes in a breeze.

“What is the point of vacation if you have to go through pains in organizing and working it out?” This is the question many people fire at me and I don’t have a straight answer for it. So I think I will try answering it with an incident. A really good friend of mine, an aspiring to be “real estate tycoon”, always advises me on investing at right places. I confess that I would like the money it brings that can buy the security of life I want to live, but find it extremely boring. However, his ambition takes him to look at same boring data ten times over, advise the same thing over and over to people hundreds of times while ogling at barren lands in different parts of the country wondering on prospects of growth. He calls it passion, I call it mania. On the other hand, traveling for him is a headache which he wants on platter to be organized by tour agencies. When he fired the above question at me, I just pointed this difference to him and asked him to exchange our shoes (not really literally!). The real fun is in working it out oneself. It is not really the need for wealth, but a kick, the pleasure and satisfaction he derives in finding right investment for growth. For some, it is practical, wise and understandable; for others like me, a life spent in accumulating just wealth is a sheer waste of the short span of human life. “Life is all about experiences,” I would say to my now estranged and still understanding partner who has been a catalyst to the change in me, “good or bad is just a matter of perspective.” Life is rich when your experiences are rich and travel is like a window to the world. As far as possible, I don’t want somebody to shrink this window and take the pleasure away from me.

Now a lot has been said by different people on differences between travel and tourism. From what I gather, travel is generally associated with “doing it yourself and taking a dirt road”, while tourism is seeing what you are shown. No wonder everybody wants to be a traveler! However, when we traverse through new lands, we all engage in tourism, so the debate is really a mute point. The difference really is how receptive one is and allows oneself to learn and change from experiences one encounters. Now if one cushions ones journey with comforts in an effort to avoid unpleasant experiences, one also shuns some pleasant and amazing experiences that one might encounter. Further, all tastes are acquired, they take time to develop and it is comfortable to close oneself from enjoying the local tastes and habits, thereby avoiding a whole new experience. It is a choice and compromise each traveler/tourist makes for himself/herself. Generally a lot more is learnt when one travels with an open mind; that what one learns at home is just one way of living and there is nothing good or bad or right or wrong in ways of the world others live in. It is how the people of that place adapt to their geographic/social/economic/historic realities and as travelers we are fortunate to experience something otherwise we would have never known.

b. Why Peru?

Peru has been on my mind for years. But for the experts/enthusiasts of world culture, the famous Inca site of Machu Picchu is known to anyone with an interest in tourism/ travel to South America, thanks to global marketing to the bored yet rich people of the world. Buenos Aires as Paris of Latin America (with the enticing tango dance as its soul) and carnival and beaches in Brazil were the first things that were known to me before I read about Peru. However, as my knowledge and interest in South America grew, I knew that it was the first Latin American country I want to visit. The sheer geographic diversity, the magical charm of pre-Columbian Inca civilization with the fact that it is one of the three countries in Americas to still have indigenous population living in its own ways, was a reason sufficient enough to charm me. Guatemala is the second place with rich Mayan heritage. Bolivia is another place but I never really considered Peru and Bolivia separate but for the fact that they are separate political entities. In fact I wanted to fly into Lima and flow out of La Paz. Now pick a place in the world to travel and consider the possibility of a civil war or revolution to break there and you can be sure with high probability that it is one of the Latin American countries! In addition to language and religion, all ex-Spanish colonies share this in common. This time when I decided to go to Peru and Bolivia, political unrest in Bolivia and state travel warnings made me reconsider the plan. I knew that things would get in control by the time I make my journey, but then Peruvian embassy didn’t give me a multiple entry visa, leaving an irritant me. Now what threat can an Indian national be to Peru, while rest of the western world involved in thorough Peruvian exploitation throughput history, exclusively doesn’t even need a visa! Anyway, I decided I will “just” go to Peru. Peru is a big country with amazing diversity and shades of color, that the time I plan to spend there is not even sufficient to do justice to it as well.

c. Traveling "alone"

Now there were two other things on my mind while I was focusing on Peru like a “hungry wolf”. I haven’t really traveled all by myself before and it is a completely different experience even in thoughts. But for obvious practical difficulties, most people find it boring. However, from where I stand, I wanted to experience traveling alone for a while. But for the obvious feeling of adventure it has much more to add. I think it is the people of the place that makes it rich and exotic. Their customs and beliefs, their ways of living, their arts and crafts, their joys and sorrows is what gives color to the world. It is a shade so different and enriching that it mesmerizes you even with slightest interaction. The most memorable experiences when I look back are those fleeting moments of interaction with the locals.

I can’t forget the man who helped me find metro in Korea and wanted to practice his English with me; an engineer in China (on plane) who could converse with me by typing on laptop screen but couldn’t talk in English; restaurant guy in Mexico City who told us that we look like Mexicans from Acapulco; the Mayan taxi driver in Tulum; the carpet weaver and his family in Oaxaca, to name a few. The interaction was fleeting but memorable. I probably can (very coarsely) differentiate in art and architecture but I am not a connoisseur of these “higher tastes” of human life. While appreciating these “higher forms” of human creation, it is finally nature and its creations that enthralls me and wins me over. Moreover, I think I connect more with nature’s palpable and yet complex and abstract creations, the “human beings” or what biologists like to call “homo sapiens”.

Now what has traveling alone to do with the people of the place. I will say everything! The bigger the group you are in, more likely it is for you to lock yourself in your own small microscopic world of comfortability denying your senses the true feel of that place. Further, in a big group, the body language one presents is of a closed person, avoiding the others to make that step into ones personal space, which I actually relish when I am traveling. Of course crooks, thugs, thieves and touts are the first ones to encroach this personal space, but well… that is a different story! When I first wrote it, I didn’t know that I was going to learn this hard truth so soon in my journey to come J I may be wrong but the way I perceive it, traveling in groups is like trading off richer experiences that comes at a cost of increased insecurity and boredom that comes by not being able to share your experiences regularly.

d. Traveling with a "Purpose"

There was another important thing I had in my mind for a few years, what marketing now terms as “traveling with a purpose”. People have been traveling through different parts of the world for ages and many of the receptive ones have found their lives transformed from the experiences they had. As a tourist, one is a receiver of the new experiences one buys and one sees only what one can afford. However, many who have treaded difficult paths with open mind have had overwhelming experiences that humbled them. It is the point where one realizes that being able to travel to different lands is a gift one is fortunate to have and not a deserving birth right, no matter what ones fictitious status is in the society one lives. It is the point where one realizes that one just can’t be a mute spectator and receiver in this world of give and take, but owes something to the world one traverses. This holds special meaning in the global world we live in. At this point in history where we stand, there are few global centers of prosperity and wealth. But the way it stands, it is offset by extended global zones of neglect and exploitation. The exploitation can take many forms be it those of the simple-minded people of the world not capable of fighting their case, or of the nature or the ecological zones. Exploitation is not new to human history, but there hasn’t been a time before when it was so global in nature, so well organized and structured and assisted by modern technology that its rate is out of control. Think of it, nature which has been considered bountiful till date in school text books, is now feeling the burnt of depletion due to human exploitation! A savvy traveler who traverses the unknown lands is dismayed at the plight of the people who are warm, simple-minded and welcoming; an eco-lover is dismayed at the exploitation of magnanimous nature for oil, rubber or “tourism” itself; a culture-lover is dismayed at the complete depletion of cultural diversity, traditions, arts and crafts due to forces of modernization and infact at the extinction of those indigenous communities who fail to adapt to changes forced on them in their habitat; a history-lover is dismayed at the plight of those archaeological sites and findings that are a link to our past but completely abandoned due to lack of resources and funds.

Infact, tourism itself can be viewed as an evil in many senses that causes irreparable damages to now touristy places. While providing employment to few, it has led to increased exploitation and objectification of people. We ourselves were dismayed when we visited various Mayan sites in Mexico. Mexico boasts of more than 8 billion dollars per annum travel industry and “Rute de Maya” (Route of Mayas) is the most popular travel route. Even the hoards of tourists, who visit the beaches of Cancun, flock to the Mayan pyramids of Chichen Itza in tour buses. But in the midst of tour madness, I wonder how many people realize the plight of real living Mayan people who are discriminated against almost openly and live at the brink of poverty, while the local entrepreneurs with European and American investment mint money at the name of Mayas! What I am yet to describe that I see later in the land of Incas has amazed me even further. Local Indians dressed in traditional clothes sit on the sides of the streets or ruins, hoping for tourists to give them money in exchange for a picture with them. A typical tourist who wants to take cherish able memories back for his family/friends finds it a good bargain in return helping the poor locals with his money. In some remote villages through trek routes, there are little kids who approach people for “carmello”. The look on their innocent faces and bodies reflect hunger and malnutrition. Some are just genuinely touched by what they see and want to help. The cause which looks just and fair at the same time objectifies people, hurts local self-respect and creates what I will term “poverty tourism”. Most of those who even realize it, in one way or other, go through the dilemma, as they want to help. I have myself found helpless in such scenarios but to give however little to see a smiling face. Infact, a testimony to this tourism is reflected in the postcards that we end up buying. A closer look at many postcards shows the face of a mal-nutritioned child in abject poverty, who was probably paid a penny or a candy for the picture. Many of us, without thinking, buy these symbols of poverty as a souvenir of our trip and send it home.

There are vast majority like me who observe what I described above, think about it till the impulse lasts, and then turn their blind eyes towards it. Unfortunately, this is the reality of life and justified “scientifically” (read “lousily”) by Darwinism! On another extreme, there are a marginal few who have been impassioned by it, and have decided to spend their life for a cause. Somewhere in the middle, there are a few skilled in corporate/bureaucratic dealings but have let their heart and head touched by what they have observed. The various non-Governmental voluntary organizations formed by these enterprising individuals in addition to assisting a cause serve as a bridge between those who seek a change for a better world and those marginal few who are busy changing it. Nobody really knows how to fight against modern exploitation which is empowered by global economy and modern means and technology far more powerful than mankind itself. NGOs serve an important purpose and role in current world. They in structure and organization are very similar to modern churches of power, worship and exploitation called “corporations”, thus inheriting some of the corporate “evils”. However, even though small, they serve a purpose in spreading alternate philosophy and religion important for balance and tolerance. The ideas to empower a change differ from each organization to the other. Each tries to live under the realms of reality. For some empowerment is education and assisting the cause with persuasion/arguments/lobbying, the modern elements of fighting ones cause. For others, more driven by heart that head, undoing the harms of the world in whatever little way is what requires immediate attention, be it fighting individual cases of child and social-abuse or planting trees to avoid deforestation.

Coming back to me, I knew time has come for me to use this bridge of NGOs to connect with the reality of the world. Even though I wasn’t going to contribute anything of significance, my quest for better understanding has to begin. Most of us are trapped in a never-ending betterment of our lives, working for a corporate cause, believing in it as a just and a well-meaning cause, making marketed dreams as our own dreams. It feels next to impossible to break the conformity in life, well preserved by social pressures and obligations. Some try to find recluse in charity and donations while living in their comfortable casas (homes). Charity has almost become a religious rite for rich and famous. Even though the concept of charity serves an important economic purpose for social institutions which can’t levy taxes, it is the spirit behind charity which has left me completely disillusioned.

This time I was determined to take a longer haul than what I am used to if need be. My search for right project led me through the websites of many voluntary organizations, in an attempt to find the project that suits the qualms of my mind. Now I am a little of all: eco-lover, culture-lover and history-lover! Also I was almost desperate for more local interaction in places I visit. When I first started looking at small projects of short-duration, it was the cost that completely baffled me. The price appeared ridiculously high and ever suspicious I found it another money-making enterprise providing poverty tourism like any other tour agency. A budget-traveler like me could easily make though such places for such a small time in far less an amount. After inquiring and digging in further, I was calmed down by the reasons and explanations. A voluntary organization like any other organization has to survive in a corporate world using the rules of corporate survival and has spending that it has to pay for (including advertisements). Further, the places where they work, the project and the people have real needs with real problems. It is essential to contribute to sustain such projects and help the organization carve a niche. It is kind of unfortunate and an interesting fact that those who actually venture out for such cross-cultural experiences are mostly students and philanthropists, who have to cut their own pockets for such an experience. I have had worked for few years and have little reason to complain. My anguish is more principle-based. I can’t tolerate the existence of organizations which mint money by marketing a just-cause.

Now the first project to win me over was the work in a cloud rain forest and helps the local Ashanika community. The location was remote, people indigenous with traditional customs and the work involved was to undo the harms of deforestation. However, given the remote nature of the location, it was difficult to sustain the project and it was discontinued. My heart sunk as I loved the idea of working there, but I kept on my search for another attractive project. I found another project with EarthSciences that involved excavation at a Wari site in Sacred Valley. For someone in an interest in understanding how the archaeologists write those superb stories, my mind craved for such an experience. However, this involved working in seclusion in a barren land. While it makes an interesting story to read about the culture of the dead people, I was craving to experience the culture of the living people. Finally I was going through the website of Global Citizen Network (GCN). There wasn’t anything particularly attractive about the place and project was also very vague. But there were two things that caught my attention. First was the unique philosophy. Cross-cultural interaction was the founding fabric of the organization and I was curious as to how this is achieved as this was the most important craving in me when I travel. Second, even though the project was vague, it involved exploring the possibility of a project that GCN can work with the local grass-root organization called JIREH. Now, coming from a third world country, I am not fancied by poverty tourism. I have found it bizarre when even the open-minded people from the western world would visit a third world country and say they saw a lot of poverty. May be they stand right in their awe at it, but I would have found it a mockery if I visit another third country, get awed by poverty and feel great about helping them for a week or two. However, this specific project was a unique learning experience. I have seen poverty at the sides of the street, but for most part, have turned blind eye towards it for the years that I have grown up in India. The project was an opportunity for me to understand and appreciate various problems from close, to learn how the grass-root organizations work, and to see how the network of support is created for the cause. For years, I have been dismayed at how little is done. It was an opportunity to learn what all goes in the little that is done.

So here I was, in my flight from LA to Dallas to Peru. Dallas airport was filled with people with yellow t-shirt Christians. They were all flying to Brazil to build a Church in spreading the message of their “God”, as the t-shirt proudly proclaimed. Suddenly, it dawned on me that I was going to Latin America, where as it stands today, Church probably has stronger hold than Europe and North America. I just wished their human cause was bigger than their God and I got lost in anticipation of the journey that has begun.