The girl effect

and a follow-up:

The Majestic Plastic Bag

An excellent 'mockumentary' by Heal the Bay on the fascinating and undocumented life of the plastic bag, an every day consumption product we all use. Beware of the branches and terriers!

h/t The Road to the Horizon

¿Minería en el Paraíso? Lanzamiento de campaña

A tres años de la consulta vecinal organizada en los distritos de El Carmen de la Frontera, Ayabaca y Pacaipampa, las comunidades de las provincias piuranas de Ayabaca y Huancabamba, junto con ellas de las provincias cajamarquinas de Jaén y San Ignacio, plantean otra vez más la pertinencia de actividades mineras en sus territorios, los cuales se caracterizan por su única riqueza, fragilidad e importancia ambiental.

El Frente por el Desarrollo Sostenible de la Frontera Norte del Perú, respaldado por Muqui - Red de Propuesta y Acción y el Comité Académico Técnico de Asesoramiento a Problemas Ambientales (CATAPA, Bélgica), lanza la campaña internacional ¿Minería en el Paraíso? Zonas libres de minería. La campaña quiere respaldar a las comunidades de las antes mencionadas provincias que han declarado sus territorios zonas libres de minería. Con esta declaración, expriman su deseo para un ordenamiento territorial y una zonificación ecológica-económica que respete su modelo de desarrollo con cultura e identidad. A través de una e-petición, buscamos el respaldo de la comunidad internacional para estas comunidades.

En el norte del Perú, hace tres años, miles de campesinos rechazaron el proyecto minero Río Blanco en una Consulta Vecinal. En un entorno de bosques, páramos y valles fértiles, ellos quieren un futuro para su agricultura orgánica y exportadora. Las organizaciones sociales y comunidades de cuatro provincias piden la creación de zonas libres de minería! Tú puedes apoyar su decisión firmando nuestra petición.

Para más información, invitamos a recorrer nuestra web, mirar nuestros vídeos, o leer nuestros boletines.

CSR of Canadian mine companies in Peru

Sharing with all of you a very interesting video on Corporate Social Responsibility in Peru, with a particular focus on Canadian mine companies - and there's a whole bunch of them over here!

Kick-off Mining in Paradise?

Launch international campaign “Mining in Paradise? No-go zones for mining”, Ghent (Belgium). www.mininginparadise.org

In northern Peru, 3 years ago, thousands of peasants rejected the mining project Río Blanco. Between forests and páramos, they want a future for their organic and export agriculture. Social movements and communities from 4 provinces demand the creation of 'no-go zones' for mining. You can support them.

Dear friend,

We would like to invite you on Thursday, September 16 to join us when we launch the international campaign "Mining in Paradise? No-go zones for mining", an organization of CATAPA and several Peruvian organizations. On the day of the launch numerous activities are held to support the campaign and the demand of the Peruvian farmers to declare their land "no-go zones for mining".

We start at 15:00 with an action on ‘Sint-Pietersplein’, afterwards (from 16:30) we move our actions to ‘het Zuid’, Woodrow Wilsonplein. From 21:00 we get together in El Negocito (Brabantdamstraat 121), where the film of the campaign will be presented. Afterwards you can enjoy a performance by Ernesto Bórguez (Chile) and taste some refreshing cocktails that fit in the campaign theme.

During the afternoon and evening you can sign the e-petition "no-go zones for mining" and let us take your photo to support the campaign. We hope you can be present!

Finally do not hesitate to inform as many people as possible of our campaign. You can send them this e-mail, tell them about the website (www.mininginparadise.org) and ask them to join our Facebook and/or Twitter Group. And, off course, to sign the petition!

We hope to see you on September 16.

PS: In case of heavy rain, the action will continue from 16:00 in El Negocito.

Trapped miners suffer from overweight

Due to loads of work lately, this has been a story largely overlooked by me. Since August 5, 33 miners have been trapped in the San José copper and gold mine in Chile. On August 18, the authorities managed to establish contact with the trapped miners and showed a note saying 'all 33 are ok'.

Apparently it's gonna be a big fuzz to get them out, as it might take up to three or four months before they could dig an escape shaft. The chilean president Pinera already stated the trapped will have to spend their national holiday - September, 18 - inside the mine, and plans have been made for the Chilean and Bolivian president to meet in November to have a joint meeting talking with the miners (one of them is Bolivian).

Have to dig into it later on today, but wanted to share with you already the following CNN coverage, commenting the request on behalf of the chilean authorities for NASA to send a psychologist and a nutritionist:

Also, according to medical records, there are at least nine miners who would be too overweight to fit through the proposed shaft to rescue them, Manalich said.

The miners are believed to have lost about 8 kg (17 pounds) so far during their time in the mine, and officials expect that the overweight miners will be able to be rescued by the time the shaft is completed.

"Believe me, they will lose weight," Manalich said.

Gudynas: The agony and failure of the extractive development model

It's been a while since my last post, I admit. Life has been pretty hectic and surprisingly beautiful at the same time. I'll try to write some stuff down the coming weeks, and randomly post some interesting stuff. In that series - Eduardo Gudynas, from the Centre for Latin American Social Ecology (CLAES) talking about the agony and failure of the extractive development model:

Argentinian actors say no to open pit and nuclear mining

Conciencia Solidaria, an ngo from mineral resources (and multinational mining companies) rich Córdoba, realised a telling clip with a bunch of Argentinian actors explaining the dangers of open pit and nuclear mining. Particularly interesting are their references to the use of toxic chemicals such as cyanide, which has recently been banned by a European Parliament resolution, and the use of water that goes along with these kind of mining projects. The purpose of this clip (in Spanish) - other than awareness raising, obviously - is to have people sign a petition against mass scale open-pit and nuclear mining in Argentina. I've been told the media in Argentina refuse to put in on their air waves... ¡El agua y la vida no se negocian!

Peru is truly making progress

I just read an article that criticised a governmental publicity clip on how "a small group of radical extremists have declared a war on employment and development in Peru out of political and ideological reasons, a war full of lies. All these people want to do is block national and foreign investment. These anti-systemic actors oppose the great benefits derived from processing our natural resources and modernising our infrastructure, in order to maintain the great inequalities that justify this war on employment and development. Warning! SOS! No one should stranglehold Peru!"

As the clip clearly shows, the small group of extremists are the affected communities protesting against the government for it to respect their rights and not to sell out the country. And, lest we forget, the object of reference also includes a set of subversive ngo people and rebellion inciting foreign priests.

The main weakness of the Gardner's Dog rhetoric [el perro del hortelano] is that it all depends who's perspective your interpreting it...

Beats me how you get out of this polarised debate.

World Cup commentaries: Peru is making progress

Although I'm not a big fan of watching football on a screen, the World Cup is an exception. On the watch for nice samba football and spectacular goals, I do enjoy the games, the enthusiasm that surrounds the event and the sudden surge in nationalism that goes with it.

I'm definitely not your football expert, nor the greatest of all commentators. I was quite happy with the commentaries I got on the Belgian tv channels - filling in the boring passes with random anecdotes on the players' stats, where they've been playing for the last ten years, their average number of goals per season, injuries and whatever else you can come up with.

Not so here in Peru. Whenever a team manages to cross the line in the middle of the field in a somewhat organised attacking kind of way, they start raising their voice as if they were about to score the most unbelievable goal of the WC, even though they're so not close to scoring anything. And when they do score, you can plug your ears for a minute or two to overcome the tremendous GOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL GOAL GOAL GOAL (ctd.)!!!!!!!

Those niceties aside, another curious phenomenon takes place when the commentator becomes an advertisement reader. While you're watching the game, hearing names pass by as they're eternally passing the ball to one another, all of a sudden the same voice starts promoting the tv channel you're watching ('the WC channel' - el canál del mundiál), a construction firm or whoever else is an 'official' WC sponsor. These announcements interchange with the tv programme of the night, including a brief summary of a popular soap. To make it even weirder, they also make publicity for the government (propa...ganda?) with statements such as 'With a three-fold increase of the regional governments' budget, Peru is making progress!'. 'El Perú Avanza' just so happens to be the slogan of the government's ruling party...

Time and money

Time is an intriguing concept. We all know there can be too much of it, but most of the times we're running out of time. On top of that, every culture lives time in a different way.

On June, 5th, it was one year after the road blockade of indigenous peoples, protesting near Bagua in the north of Peru for their right to be consulted, had turned bloody, leaving 33 people dead and one police officer still missing. This year was to be different - a strictly peaceful ceremony in commemoration of all the victims, indigenous peoples, civilians and police officers alike.

On the eve of the 5th, there was a ceremony with representatives of the indigenous peoples making statements, youngsters chanting and playing music, and before all of that, one minute silence. It was odd to see how this one minute had turned into less than 30 seconds, despite the person standing next to the speaker keeping track of time. And even during those few dozens of seconds, people couldn't stay silent.

commemoration ceremony on the eve of the "baguazo" (c) Tom Van den Steen

It struck me that this was in stark contrast with the general time experience of people here in Peru. Normally, 15 minutes turn into 30 - at best - and when meeting someone, it's always good to ask what the actual arrival time should be if you want to avoid waiting for an hour or more. Or, when taking a bus in a more remote, less populated area.

After Bagua, we left for Chachapoyas, a good two hour and a half drive with one stop over. We were taken to the bus terminal from which the mini vans left for Pedro Ruiz, where we had to change for Chacha. When the bus leaves, we asked - "in half an hour," the man said. Well, we had our fingers crossed but knew it would take a little longer. Trustful we would leave soon, we paid our fare after some twenty minutes, when the guy came to collect our money and write down our names. Oddly, soon after that, the van left empty, leaving us at the same shoddy terminal. Somewhat surprised, we decided to keep our cool (which wasn't that easy with 30+ degrees) and wait for the van to return.

An hour had almost passed, and we were still stuck in Bagua. We decided to ask our money back and look for another way of getting to Chachapoyas. "I'm sorry, not possible, the driver has taken the money." When he'd be back - "soon". A big argument, the intervention of some helpful cops and the arrival of a few more passengers later, the driver mysteriously returned with the van and we were set to leave (at least until the gas station, where we pulled over for some gas). Oh privatisation of public transport...

Now we know - never pay your bus fare before the bus actually leaves.

Guarango: still no justice 10 years after the Choropampa mercury oil spill

Today, June 2nd, is the 10 year mark of the mercury spill that intoxicated thousands of villagers of Choropampa (Cajamarca). Demands for medical attention and compensation still have not yet been heard.

In memory of this tragic event, Guarango has put exceptionally the full HD version of its documentary "Choropampa, the Price of Gold" for free during one week on its YouTube page for you to view it. Watch it in Spanish or with English subs.

More information here.

Protesters in Choropampa (c) Guarango

I'm mad as hell

Put your head outside your window and scream "I'm mad as hell!".

Two clicks, one minute. Make your voice heard!

Say NO to Peruvian Rum Day

On April 27th, the Peruvian president Alan García, known for his love for mining investment, following his adagium 'el perro del hortelano' - or is there something in it for him as well? - instated a resolución suprema (supreme resolution) to dedicate, from this year onwards, the 5th of June to Peruvian Rum.

Odd, one would say, Peru is better known for its pisco, isn't it? Its national drink is the pisco sour, right? True that! That's why, according to García, Peruvians should devote more attention to this drink that has recently conquered the international market and has acquired a reputation for its high quality.

It is very clear, though, that García is using the national rum day as a shameless diversion for the anniversary of the tragic events at Bagua, where on June, 5th, 2009 33 police offers and indigenous people lost their lives. Join others in denouncing this despicable act (which, so I've been told, is almost impossible to overrule) and say NO to Peruvian rum day!

Foto: www.peru.com

Chicken, baldness and Coca-Cola (1)

While the ‘Western’ media were dusting off their camera lenses, Evo Morales, the president of Bolivia, presented in Cochabamba the blueprints of the peoples’ answer to the failure of Copenhagen. From April 20th till April 22nd, over 35,000 people from 142 countries exchanged ideas and experiences on how to combat climate change and save our planet. This event came to a close on the International Day of Mother Earth, with traditional dances, festivities and speeches from Evo Morales, Hugo Chávez and other high dignitaries from socialist Latin America. The centre-piece of the closing event, however, was the Peoples’ Agreement, laying the foundations of a more unified reform movement, trying to save humanity and Mother Earth from destruction.

Rather than presenting in brief the Agreement’s findings, I’ll leave the reading of it to yourself and stick to some critical reflections of this event. This is not to do away with the idea behind the gathering of peoples from all over the world - we do need a reaction to the international community’s long lasting failure to find more sustainable ways of living on this planet. The Cochabamba experience taught me, however, that there is still a long road to go before we reach realistic and feasible alternatives.

For starters, it was quite contradictory, to say the least, that this conference was convened at the initiative of a state representative, while the whole purpose of it was to give a voice to the peoples - a voice so profoundly ignored at Copenhagen. However benign his intentions may have been, it was very easy for Morales to ‘abuse’ this forum for his own political convenience and to further build on his socialist political programme [read: orchestrated by Castro and Chávez]. Not surprisingly were the peoples granted only one hour of centre stage attention at the closing ceremony to present their agreement, whereas socialist leaders from all over South America were playing the audience for over three hours with their propaganda filled rhetoric, vaguely reminiscent of the conference’s topics.

The black sheep was, quite predictably, capitalist imperialism and its voracious extraction and contamination of natural resources, disrespectful of the ecologic, cultural or spiritual value that the peoples attach to their environment. It is just too simple, though, to blame it all on a ‘system’. At the end of the day, it’s us, people in real life, politicians and Joe the plumber alike, who act (or tolerate actions) - the consequences of which are becoming ever more visible now, all over the world, especially with the most vulnerable.

Of course, there’s plenty of things wrong with capitalist society, but we shouldn’t forget that a lot of things we take for granted in our lives, we do so thanks to the fruit of capitalist labour. Just think of the many drugs that help us deal with previously deadly diseases (such as cholera or leprosy); the gamut of communication tools at the disposal of even distant communities to obtain loans, call doctors or help them develop economically in another way; the roads, schools and hospitals that are being built by multinational enterprises in the areas where they operate - even though this should be the government’s role.

One of capitalism’s flaws is the commodification of natural resources. Whereas a few decades back most people had water, land, medicinal plants and the like freely and readily at their disposal, these commodities turned into goods now come at a cost. Every voice that goes against this kind of market dynamics is being marginalised or done away with, ignoring more sustainable visions. That is why this conference was so important, lest we forget that these other visions exist, that there are other ways of dealing with natural resources, more in line with the Agreement’s ‘Buen Vivir’. Not sharing these visions does not give developed states the right to prevent peoples to live in more harmony with their environment. [It is quite disappointing, in this respect, to read that the Agreement still talks of ‘developed’ and ‘developing’ states - a terminology which presupposes that the development model of these so-called developed states is the most sustainable model, and hence to be followed; quod non.]

On the other hand, we should not lose our realism. One cannot undo globalisation. Plastic found its way all over the world and far away communities are welcoming visitors with a Coca-Cola sponsored sign. Denying this would actually do more harm than good. If governments don’t have efficient waste policies in place, then all this waste - extracted in Congo, made in China, shipped by Greeks, publicised by Americans, traded by Chileans and bought by Bolivians - will become part of our new environment. It was rather appalling to see that you couldn’t look not even 5 seconds (!) outside a bus window in the middle of a deserted highland without spotting plastic wraps, bottles or other waste, simply thrown out by thousands of travelers through their windows. Not a single working group at the conference, not a single word in the Agreement that raises this issue.

It is exactly this kind of realism that is missing in two of the more striking conclusions of the Peoples’ Agreement. It is not hard to understand that the conference’s participants demand justice for all the environmental damage that is being done to them by the polluting ‘North’ (or ‘West’, so you prefer). The question is, however, whether an International Climate and Environmental Tribunal is the right answer to these peoples’ plights. A look at the current proceedings of the International Criminal Court seems to suggest the contrary. However nobel its statutes, the Court’s young life has taught us that it is very difficult, expensive, time and labour consuming to present cases. It is mostly the big fish that end up in front of the Court - the smaller ones sleek through the net as they aren’t worth all the effort and expense. Yet the actions of these smaller culprits are the ones people feel and see the most, and for which they seek justice. An Environmental Tribunal, similar to the Court but also allowing states and companies to be brought to trial, would no doubt face the same problems and frustrations, thereby not generating the hoped for rebuttal of environmental injustice.

Another interesting proposal is the World Referendum, allowing all peoples of the world to express their opinion with regards to the above mentioned Environmental Tribunal; the role of the current capitalist model in our world (I wonder how they will put this one into a yes/no question); the level of emission reductions by which developed countries should abide; the necessity of an international treaty establishing Mother Earth’s Rights; and so forth. Not only will this Referendum pose tremendous logistical challenges, there are other practical obstacles that still have to be solved - such as establishing the quorum that will give this Referendum legitimacy, or the fact that holding a referendum presupposes democratic structures. Let us not forget that one in five people on this planet live in a not so democratic country, apart from the many other regimes on earth that rule without bothering about their population’s opinion.

In their enthusiasm for this particular Referendum, participants seem to have ignored the fact that not the whole world was present at this conference - possibly making it a lot harder to get the worldwide support necessary to legitimise the Referendum’s demands. Although more than 142 countries were represented in Cochabamba, over 70% of these participants came from Bolivia alone. Add to these the bunch of Latin Americans for whom it was relatively easy and cheap to come over for this three day event, and you notice that, in fact, the four other continents - and their voices - were fairly underrepresented. If this movement is really to succeed, it should aim for more legitimacy and reach by gathering similar voices from across the globe, before claiming global representation.

To conclude, the road ahead of us, to a more sustainable society on a global level, is still long and winding. There is a good reason why Greek philosophers stated that a synthesis is the result of a thesis and an antithesis. Kyoto/Copenhagen was the thesis, Cochambamba the antithesis. Let us now try to combine the best of both worlds, from traditional peoples’ cultures and capitalist society, and mix it into a solution, without marginalising dissenting voices or consolidating structural injustice. But, most importantly, let us not wait for the synthesis to happen for us to contribute our fair share in the battle against climate change.

Cochabamba closing ceremony (c) Tom Van den Steen

Machu Picchu magic

Easter magic. There's nothing better to describe my visit to Machu Picchu.

(the pictures that go along with this post are in the gallery on your right hand side)

4am. I walk up to the sanctuary's entrance - this way I would have my fair share of an Inca trail. It promised to be a hell of hike, constantly climbing steep staircases in the lush bushes of the mountain. A day earlier people had witnessed the sunrise at Machu Picchu, so expectations were high. The higher I got, the less optimistic I became (and not only because of a sudden lack of air in my lungs) - drizzling clouds were surrounding us, and they didn't look like giving up soon.

5.30am. At the top I discover that apparently I wasn't the only one that nuts to wake up so early and hike all the way up. "Line up please, three lines," the security guards told us. A bit later a park guard came to ask whether we wanted to get on the 7am or the 10am hike up Huayna Picchu, the bigger one of the two mountains behind the sanctuary. Still looking for my breath, it was an easy choice.

6am. Finally they let us in! Off I go, into the mist. Once I got at the famous lookout point, there was literally nothing I could see. Not a single ruin. What a disaster, I thought! All this effort for nothing.

It was perfect to regain some strength, though, and to let my shirt dry. Little by little, the misty clouds started clearing up. Yes, I could even see the two tops of the mountains behind the sanctuary! That's when the magic started. Flares of the mist disappeared and revealed parts of the ruins, to close them in minutes later. Hordes of tourists were exploring the sanctuary nonetheless, but I was good, sitting at the guardian's shelter.

7.30am. Amazing! Mist is clearing up, rising from below upwards. Part of the Machu Picchu magic is revealing itself: the 2000 ft cliffs on both sides of the sanctuary, which you never see on the pictures. Believe me, it's all the way down, not a terrace on your way. This makes the place even more mystical and surreal than it already was!

8.30am. The whole site's clear! Huayna Picchu was still covered in some clouds (I knew I was right in not picking the 7am shift!), but at least I was dry and could oversee the whole site. Indescribable. It's just amazing. For some reason, pictures just cannot reveal how it is to be there and see it, for real, in real life.

11am. I'm on top of Huayna Picchu! What a view... It's just you and the sky - and a whole army of mosquitos and other bugs. Fortunately there was a quieter place a bit more down, just atop another sanctuary, looking down on Machu Picchu. It still doesn't get to me why they would build such a place in the middle of this stunning nature, with no other signs of human presence in miles.

3pm. I finally get back at the sanctuary after a 'small' detour on my way back - I am completely exhausted, thirsty as hell and lacking one shoe sole. Where do I get my heavily overpriced bottle of water? At the entrance... Just about a hundred more stairs up and down!

4pm. I'm closing my day with a few more moments at the guardian's hut. Still can't believe it. Still heavily impressed. Utterly happy to have made it. Life is beautiful!

I leave you with this intriguing shot of Peruvian men about to embark on the Inca trail, taken in a collectivo bus on the way to the train station in Piscacucho...

Inca hopes, expectations and wanderings (c) Tom Van den Steen

Ayacucho

I haven't been too active lately on this blog, but for the best possible reason: traveling! First weekend trip was to the Sendero Luminoso struck city of Ayacucho. The place is renowned for its Semana Santa processions, the week before Easter, culminating with a huge spectacle on Easter itself. I was already booked for Easter weekend, so I had to content myself with the weekend before that.

The processions were quite interesting and spectacular. Have a look at some of the pics in the gallery on your right hand side! Although we had to wait for more than an hour, it was well worth the wait. Out of nowhere this huge shining construction appeared out of the church, carried by a few dozen men, accompanied by fireworks and a zillion camera flashes... Perhaps just as impressive was the Palm Sunday procession, with hundreds and hundreds of people carrying palm leaves while accompanying a statue of Jesus on a monkey and praying.

On another note, I thoroughly enjoyed the Sierra, as the Andes part of Peru is called. Amazing views, lush green mountains and a blue sky with sheep clouds - life can be great! Especially when riding on horseback on the pampa where a united army of South Americans kicked the espagnoles' asses big time, leading to an independent South America.

It's pretty amazing what people do here in Peru to make some money. Apparently, you can get by offering your scale for people to weigh themselves! Or were these ladies just giving people the opportunity to weigh themselves, with the end of lent approaching...

Ayacucho (c) Tom Van den Steen

On making and giving away money

I have been quite struck by the commentaries of many Peruvian people on the way in which companies operate in this country. It seems like Peru is one of those places that simply hands out its money to foreign companies instead of investing in its own people so that, in the long run, Peruvian companies can take the place of foreign ones.

Last week I had the pleasure traveling to Machu Picchu. As most of you will know, the common way of getting there is by train. There is basically just one company offering you its services to get there: PeruRail. For a 'modest' price - that equals a plane ticket Lima-Cusco, by the way - they give you delight of delaying your train by a few hours, on top of the two hours it takes to travel some 20km from Piscacucho to Aguas Calientes. FYI, they are charging the same for this ridiculously short ride as they used to do (before the terrible mud slides struck the Sacred Valley) from Cusco to Aguas Calientes, which is about 112km! Despite its name, PeruRail isn't in Peruvian hands - Chilean businessmen are reaping the benefits of overcharging tourists...

Similar examples are legion. Take the airports. Unlike most countries, where you have already paid your airport tax when buying your plane ticket, you have to pay a separate fee to use Peruvian airports (in Lima, for example it's about 7 USD for domestic flights and 35 USD for foreign flights). A wonderful system to get your money without delay, so did the Germans think!

Apparently Peru is exporting quite a bit of its fruits to Chile. Guess who's making huge profits by exporting fruits to "the West"?

Politicians seem not to care about money slipping through Peruvians' hands and ending up in foreigners'; they care about votes. In many countries alike, votes are often bought with construction works. Start building something, and people are happy that they have work. Never mind that you're rebuilding the same road every four to five years, because you wouldn't invest in decent material or people skilled enough to build solid roads or houses or ...

Never mind that mining companies don't have to cough up more taxes (which could then be invested in the communities that suffer from the negative environmental and health consequences, or in education, to skill people for the post-extraction era when the mine closes shop) because you signed a deal safeguarding them from any future increase in taxation or from sharing increases in their own profit margins due to rises in commodity prices.

What did you say - el perro del hortelano?

a wall in Pitón (near Cusco) promising more contruction works (c) Tom Van den Steen

How low can you go?

Bargaining, it has never been my forte. For starters, I'm not that big a shopper in the first place. Usually if I'm buying something, it's because I really want it (and can afford it), or because I need it. Secondly, I've never been to places where you bargain your transport, only where you could haggle a bit on your tourist t-shirt or that tea porcelain you will never use again. But Peru would be different, I would pull an effort this time.

If you're in a hurry or you just have to go a long way and you have absolutely no clue which buses to take (and no, there's no bus map or anything even remotely similar that you could use), the easiest option is taking a cab. If not one out of two, then certainly one out of three cars is a taxi. Big or small, white and yellow, with a big sign on their roof or just a sticker with 'taxi' on their window - but all old and rusty. Oh, and none has a meter. You just have to bargain your fare before getting in the cab. I usually ask some Peruvian I know how much the ride should cost more or less, so that I have my bargaining target. Gringo as I am, they'll overcharge 9 out of 10 times anyways.

The good thing about this horde of cab drivers is free market competition. If you don't like the sound of 10 soles, then the next one may offer you the same ride for 8 instead (and they'll cue up, no worries). That makes it a funny challenge to grab a cab, but it also makes you forget the economic reality of some if not most of those cabbies.

The other day, we were taking a cab with four people on a ride that we could have got for 8 soles (roughly 2 Euro/2.8 USD), but we were offered it for 10. So the bargaining game started, but the old man just wouldn't go under 9 soles - despite our well founded argument that you can't easily divide 9 by four, 8 would make a much better figure.

As it turned out, the old man was driving most of the year 7 days a week ("The few days I take off, my wife terrorises me"). His 32 year old daughter inherited from her mother schizophrenia, but in a more severe form. He had both a picture of his family and a list of all the drugs she has to take daily. Everything he earns goes to help his daughter, he loves her incredibly much. "Whether she'll get better or not, lies in God's hands."

It makes you think - how low can you go?

Miraflores sunset when leaving the office (c) Tom Van den Steen

Renting a room

Although I'm very happy with the hostel where I'm staying now, I wouldn't mind moving in into a house or an apartment shared with other people. Knowing that you'll be staying in such a place for a few months makes it easier to make the place your own. So I was very happy when a friend of a friend told me that she was moving in into a house that her parents had just bought and that she was looking for housemates.

"It's a bit out of the centre, but easily reachable by bus, so don't worry", she told me. Off we went, by bus, and half an hour later we reached a very nice house, it had a garden and all. Very spacious, nice wooden floors - I was sold (or so I thought)! Her parents happened to be in town as well, so I said to my friend that I wouldn't mind coming over to her place and have a chat with them, to reassure them that I'm not a "descuartizador" - someone who slices people and throws the pieces away in different places [those who had the pleasure of listen to my story about 'belgian' fries, the New Orleans pre-1900 mob slang verb 'to french' should come spontaneously to your mind.. ;-)].

There I was, sitting on the couch and waiting for her mum - the big chief - to arrive. "So, what brings you to Peru?", she asked. We chit-chatted for a while about who we were, what I was doing here, about my friend's family, very Sunday afternoon-like. And then, out of the blue: "So, you're interested in a room, right? Well, the room goes at 400 S/. per month, and of course you'll have to pay the gas/elec-bills on top of that." Sure thing, that's what we had agreed on before. "Oh, and do you smoke? 'coz I don't stand people who smoke." Lucky me I do not... "Good, good, otherwise I wouldn't have rented you the room."

Fieuw, we could continue our Sunday afternoon conversation - what have I done so far here, what places are nice to visit etc. Half an hour later, again, completely out of the blue: "By the way, you'll gonna have to pay two months' rent as a deposit and I'd like one month's rent in advance." Sounds fair to me, no objections there. "Oh, and are you religious, do you believe in God?" Renting a room is always an interesting experience...

Barranco beach with a view on Miraflores (c) Tom Van den Steen

You're free to pass

welcome to La Oroya (c) Tom Van den Steen

Last week I went with a few people from the Peruvian ngo CooperAcción and a group of Swedes from the christian-based organisation Diakonia to La Oroya (3750m). Now, the name may not ring a bell, but the city is the metallurgic capital of Latin America. Exciting, one might say, daydreaming about the sheer amount of economic activity and prosperity this company generates.

Alas, the reality is quite different. For over a century of mining and metallurgic industrial activities leave their mark on a community and its environment. Surprisingly, only 13 years ago did the first scientific research take place in the city, following an initiative of CooperAcción, to examine the people's state of health. The results were stunning: : over 90% of the children have an amount of lead in their blood that exceeds up to four times the maxima set by the government and the World Health Organisation. And this is just the top of the iceberg...

I'll be dropping more facts about that region later on. For now I'll leave you with the following picture:

'right-to-passage' boundary (c) Tom Van den Steen

On the winding road from Lima to La Oroya, passing 4818m, we encountered various signs saying '(este es el) limite del derecho de via'. I have no clue what the correct legal term is in English, but it should be something like 'the right to passage'. As almost 19% of the country is in the hands of mining companies that have been granted concessions to explore and exploit the natural resources in the area of their concession. Apparently, this also means that the national roads have become private, and therefore mining companies are granting you 'the right to passage'...

The last Inca...

... lives in my hostel! Unfortunately not for long anymore. We did spend a jolly few weeks together, I must say. He's been my 'Peruvian' master - showing me around and teaching me the basics of how to become a Peruvian instead of showing off my gringo-ness. Actually, señor Lupo, a retired veterinarian, has been living in the US for the past 50 years. But he's stayed Peruvian in his heart, and as a sun from the Andes highlands he prides himself of his Inca-roots.

The first weekend we went all around Miraflores, one of Lima's fanciest and safest districts, tasting food and drinks at gastronomic festivals, indulging our stomachs with tropical fruit, chirimoya (s.Lupo: "oh, this fruit is one of the best there is; it's like sex - once you've tasted it, you only want to have more of it!"), cebiche, tamales, anticuchos (s. Lupo: "oh, this dish, it's like sex - once you've tasted it, you only want to have more of it!"), picarones and many more Peruvian delicacies. Truth be said - I want more of it!

Life in Peru can be quite hard, you know. Here's what we had to endure on a Sunday afternoon, sitting on a terrace with a cold Cusqueña - the best Peruvian beer there is according to s.Lupo:

view from the miradora in Barranco, (c) Tom Van den Steen

Saludos calorosos de Lima

¡Hola amig@s! Here I go, with a second attempt at keeping you posted of my actions somewhere on this lovely planet called earth. My very good intentions for this time are to keep you posted with shorter pieces, which are faster to write and quicker to post. Let's see how this works out...

A bit over two weeks ago, I landed in Lima, Peru. So here I am, in the 'western hemisphere' (oh yes, how eurocentric are we), after a bumpy flight and a hell of a taxi ride to a hostel that was booked but didn't have a spare room. No, I didn't sleep on the street, a hostel nearby helped me out for the first nights - and those first nights ended up being two weeks (and counting). I just decided to stay in Pensión Yolanda, as I felt very welcomed by my host who's always been up front and helpful with me (oh, and let's not forget the occasional pisco sour he's offered).

view from the Miraflores cliffs right in front of my office

(c) Tom Van den Steen

I'll be staying here for quite a while, so do pop over if you feel like visiting Peru. For now, I'll leave you with the wonderful vista I have every time I leave my office here!