Otavalo - last day in South America

My last day in South America, and I made good use of it. I met a girl from Israel on the plane from Lima, and we decided to head north together and visit the town of Otavalo, famous for it's craft market, and some lakes about a 45 minute taxi ride outside of town.

The landscape was beautiful. The ride from Quito started in arid mountains and became greener as we approached Otavalo. The lakes are high above the town and it was quite a bit colder with less vegetation than the valley. Headed back to town, we had the great fortune to see the valley below us filled with clouds, stunning in the few rays of sun that shone through.
 

We did some bushwhacking, and I came out all covered in burrs.

The view of Quito from the hostel.

Oil extraction in Ecuador

For decades Texaco extracted oil from the jungle in Ecuador. In 1993 Texaco, which has since been bought by Chevron, was sued for contamination leading to increased cancer rates in indigenous populations. They allegedly improperly disposed of 18 billion gallons of waste, including 18 million gallons of crude oil. In 2011 they were found guilty in an Ecuadorian court. In response, Chevron refused to pay, saying that the ruling was an act of extortion and fraud. I read Chevron's press release, and their sources that they claim point to fraud. However, they have quoted portions of emails, and when read in context don't actually say what Chevron claims they say. A U.S. judge ruled that Ecuador cannot pursue collection based on the possibility that Chevron will receive a favorable ruling in their countersuit accusing the plaintifs of fraud, and that "Chevron would be forced to defend itself and litigate the enforceability of the Ecuadorean judgment in multiple proceedings. There is a significant risk that assets would be seized or attached, thus disrupting Chevron's supply chain, causing it to miss critical deliveries to business partners." However, since it was tried in Ecuador (at Chevon's request) what jurisdiction does a U.S. court have? "U.S. Circuit Judge Gerald E. Lynch suggested a ruling in the company's favor might set a precedent that would allow U.S. judges to "trump ... the law of every other country in the world." It will be interesting to see how this plays out, because it will effect how other countries manage their environmental degradation.

Key sources:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/27/AR2009042703717.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-12460333
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/16/chevron-on-the-defensive-in-court_n_966465.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/08/federal-judge-bans-collection-chevron-ecuador_n_832714.html

Lima

I was only in Lima for one morning to catch a flight back to Quito. I walked through the major park that is bordered by government building and art museums. I only had time to go into one, and most of it was closed for renovation. Lima is covered in fog for large portions of the year, and Herman Melville wrote about Lima is his chapter dedicated to whiteness in Moby Dick. I did read the entire book. It only took six months. 

Nor is it, altogether, the remembrance of her cathedral-toppling earthquakes; nor the stampedoes of her frantic seas; nor the tearlessness of and skies that never rain; nor the sight of her wide field of leaning spires, wrenched cope-stones, and crosses all adroop (like canted yards of anchored fleets); and her suburban avenues of house-walls lying over upon each other, as a tossed pack of cards;- it is not these things alone which make tearless Lima, the strangest, saddest city thou can'st see. For Lima has taken the white veil; and there is a higher horror in this whiteness of her woe. Old as Pizarro, this whiteness keeps her ruins for ever new; admits not the cheerful greenness of complete decay; spreads over her broken ramparts the rigid pallor of an apoplexy that fixes its own distortions.

Huacachina

Haucachina was once a retreat for the Peruvian elite, but now it's pretty much a party town for backpackers. There are only 200 people living there, and it's mostly hostels, restaurants, and tour guides. People paddle around the lagoon in boats or sandboard down the dunes. I sat by the pool and that evening climbed a sand dune to watch the sunset. 

I got this room for $7.50 a night.

There was trash all over the dunes, mostly plastic bags. Sad.

Nazca lines

I flew over the Nazca lines one morning, and they were pretty amazing. In addition to the figures, I hadn't realized that there are long straight lines running across the desert. No one really knows what they are for, some theories are that it was a water cult, an astrological calendar, or, of course, aliens.

First, here is a map showing just the lines, and not the figures:

And now, the figures:

The whale

The astronaut

Santa Catalina - Arequipa

I visited an old monastery in Arequipa. It spread over several city blocks, and was one photo-worthy view after another. It was founded in 1580, and the nuns there all came from the best families in Peru.