Mirafoto exhibitions, Lima

Fell into Lima at just the right time, the 7th edition of Peru's biennial photography exhibition "Mirafoto", sponsored by VII is being held in galleries and spaces all over the central areas of Lima from the start of November until January. Unfortunately their official site is outdated so won't bother posting.
I have been chatting via email while in Arequipa to local Limena photojournalist, Ana Cecelia Gonzalez - a World Press Photo award recipient (3rd prize, People in the News - 1992), awards judge and now producing her own solid work again. She is also exhibiting at Mirafoto and I look forward to taking in her work. She tells me:
"I have been photographing kids between 14 and 19 hoping to understand what it is like to grow up in a country without any solid structure, where one is faced with corruption on a daily basis... "
See her work here: http://www.acgvz.com/indexE.html

Thought I'd post her World Press image below

World Press Photo 3rd prize, People in the News 1992


© Ana Cecilia Gonzales-Vigil
Abimael Guzmán, leader of the Shining Path guerrilla movement, is kept in a cage after being taken prisoner. His guerrillas murdered thousands of people in the name of the proletarian revolution. Guzmán, a former philosophy professor, was sentenced to life imprisonment by a military tribunal

Machu Picchu

Words can't explain the awe. We all know the images.
I knew I was going to see something cool. Friends who had been there before attempted to ready me for a surreal and magnificent experience but still I wasn't prepared for the almost spiritual hold this place had on me. A rare chance to be choked up by a man-made structure in one of natures most spectacular scenes. There is beauty and there is mystery within that beauty. There are stories and history, discovery and feats of construction that defy what we can understand as possible. I could go on forever but those who have been know what i'm getting at and those considering a visit before half of it slips off its foundations - should believe the hype and get there. Don't take my feeble attempts to show this on digital sensor, I couldn't begin to imagine capturing the emotion on any device.
Cloudy pre-rainy season days led up to our visit to Machu Picchu. I was rained on while climbing to some ruins high above Ollantaytambo the day prior and locals promised while hard to predict, to make sure we had serious rain gear for Machu Picchu the following day. I watched the stars find their place between clouds as I went to bed full of slightly dampened anticipation. We woke to cloud and made the 1 1/2 hr train journey up through growing dense jungle, consoling myself that as a cloud forest, I would be seeing the mountains around the ruins as they were so named. Not so. We got off the bus, made our way through to the entrance of The Lost City to see the first sun hitting it, bathed with a golden glow. Epic.
Now I'm not the most spiritual of guys, and not overly superstitious to boot but I should say for all you people guilty of praying to God for the first time in your lives for a drop of sun on Melbourne Cup Day or the like - give the Sun God, "Inti" a try. On a misty walk through Ollantaytambo the day prior, Ally and I threw our hands in the air and asked this Incan god of the sun to do what he knows best, give us a break and shine some light down on us (not like we hadn't taken our fill in Arequipa, but we gave it a try.) You know the rest.








Farmers below knew of the ruins long before Hiram Bingham laid claim. The real discoverers of Machu Picchu.

Lake Titicacas tourist islands - Uros and Taquille

Floating Islands of Uros




Visited in huge numbers by tourists, one can only imagine what these islands may have held for those original, intrepid travellers before they became such a commercial circus. Fascinating dress and customs, simple existences against the magical backdrop of Lake Titicaca make them an obvious must see for just about every tourist (including me) to visit Peru or Bolivia - with good reason.








And the howler of all storms on the way back to Puno - a sight for us after 4 months in the driest of deserts.

Visa extension, Bolivia, bribes, Copacabana

Spent 20 mins across the border into Bolivia for a quick extension of our Peruvian visas. Copacabana is a quaint little town nestled up against Lake Titicaca and funnily enough the pace there seems to slow almost to a welcome coma from bustling Puno.
Corruption is no secret in all walks throughout South American countries and of course Peru and Bolivia excel in what we have all ashamedly come to expect as travellers. Im not new to it here either but the sly way in which our Bolivian immigration attendant looked over his shoulder as we slipped him a few extra dollars as a "propina" (tip) to make sure we could get straight back over the border without staying the obligatory 24 hours, was comedic. And it was even more so as we proffered more cash when "making sure" our Peruvian gatekeeper stamped us with a 6 month visa (the same length we managed to get for free on the Chilean/Peruvian border). He slips it ever so deftly under his paperwork, making sure he isnt seen - by who? The one honest guy working the whole Peru/Bolivia border?

Shores of Lake Titicaca

Felt privileged wandering the shores of Lake Titicaca, about 20km out of Puno to be offered a ride by a friendly trout farmer, to see his farms out on the lake.






Women fixing the nets


Some more pics while taking in the Lake Titicaca shore outside Puno



Stock grazing on a makeshift football pitch

Puno - early morning on the shore of Lake Titicaca

Heavily touristed places unsettle me a bit but am first to acknowledge that the masses flock to these places for a reason.
Puno is the first stop on a trip ending at Cuzco from Arequipa that we have undertaken with Allison's parents as they visit us here in Peru for a couple of weeks.
Puno exists for tourism and it's main attraction, Lake Titicaca is flanked by humble farmers working the land and trout farmers plying the lake.
At 3800m above seas level, this is more than just one enormous navigable lake. It's cold nights, floating islands, vicious sun, micro-climate and lakeside communities (among many other things) make it an unusual and fascinating place to be in. Unlike Arequipa, folk in traditional dress are everywhere, and not just for tourists. A short trip away from the tourist centre gives way to a Peru you expect from the postcards and glossy brochures, though they aren't selling you anything - just going about their lives as they have done for the longest time.
I got up early, very early to see Puno getting ready to serve the tourist hordes. I was left alone to wander as the sun came up over Titicaca and gradually the locals set themselves up to greet the gringos. Only at this time, over a period of 4 days, did I find Puno with it's guard down and being itself - to a degree. It was one of the most beautiful mornings i'd had yet (there is a Machu Picchu early morning to follow as stiff competition!)

No time for blogging - thats a good thing

Will post some pics of our travels through Puno, Lake Titicaca, Bolivian border, Cuzco and the magnificent Machu Picchu very soon. Currently being very touristy for the first time on this trip and having a great time with Allison's parents thus not leaving much time or energy to blog some of the hundreds of pics I have taken over the last 2 weeks. It has been great just to capture this stunning country and not consider stories for a short time. Ally has loved having a shopping partner and Adam has seen to it that I have put on a few extra kilos. The food has been one of the many highlights.
Will resume some normality in Lima soon before again embarking on a small trip into the jungle - namely Iquitos. We will spend 4 or so days on the Amazon River getting to this town, unaccessible by road. I hope to get some pics up before then as I am sure after, the back log will be ridiculous.