Huaca de la Luna (Temple of the Sun)

While in Trujillo, Paddington visited the Huaca de la Luna a few kilometers outside of the city. This temple was one of the main centers of the Moche civilization, which lived in this area from about 100 A.D. to around 800 A.D.

Paddington in front of a temple wall inside the pyramidal temple.

Paddington above the walls of an earlier temple. The Moche priests built temples on top of each other, today leaving us with at least five levels of successively built temples, each one filled in to complete the next one.

Paddington in front of one of the complex's main alters. Note that all the visable colors on the walls are original.

Paddington in front of the temple's northern external wall. On the wall are painted six distinct lines of painting representing different parts of the Moche culture.

Trujillo

As part of one of the Princeton Bridge Year-sponsored trips around Peru, Paddington is currently in Trujillo. This city on the north coast of Peru boasts beautiful colonial architecture as well as pre-Incan ruins which will be visited in later posts.

Paddington in Trujillo's Plaza de Armas with the main cathedral visable in the background.

Paddington in the city's archeology and history museum which is housed in one of the many classic Spanish colonial mansion scattered throughout the center of Trujillo.

Mapimundi

For his first large scale community project in the Sacred Valley community of Media Luna, Paddington, assisted by Alex, Brett, and Eleanor as well as children, painted a world map on the outside wall of the community primary school.

Paddington with the space for the mural primed in the background.

Paddington hard at work creating a grid which was later used to properly draw and locate all the countries of the world.

The world drawn in pencil.

Finished! The map came out great and everyone involved was more than satisfied. In the coming weeks expect more updates as other features are added to the wall included the handprints of all the participants.

Thanksgiving!

Since Paddington wasn't able to celebrate in the normal tradition at home with his family, he and his Princeton friends cooked Thanksgiving dinner for their Peruvian host families. It was a great night of food and friendship!

Paddington with the most important part of the night: the desserts made with canned pumpkin brought all the way from the U.S.

Paddington with the two normal turkeys al estillo Peruano (Peruvian style) after being cooked in the community oven for over five hours.

Some of the sweet potato dishes. This was one of the easiest menu items to prepare as camote is a very popular Peruvian food.

And lets not forget the massive amount of dishes left after a successful party of over 30 people.

Tour Gastronomico of Cusco

Last week Paddington and his Princeton Bridge Year friends were taken on a Gastronomic Tour of Cusco by their Spanish teacher Reyner. The tour included three stops: a Ceviche restaurant, a French pastry bakery, and a Peruvian coffee shop. Here are some pictures of the filling journey.

Paddington with his Fuente del Mar (Fountain of the Sea) loaded with fried seafood, rice and shrimp, ceviche, and other marvels of Peruvian seafood.

Paddington with his sizable portion of ceviche, the national dish of Peru!

Paddington with various desserts at La Bondiet fresh bakery in Cusco.

Paddington Makes Cleaner-Burning Stoves

To commemorate Paddington's last scheduled day of making cleaner-burning stoves in Sacred Valley communities, he decided to document a bit of the process.

Paddington in the initial stages of construction of the ProWorld model stove. Note the buckets of mud and water, which are key in the making of the stoves. By constructing the stoves from readily available materials, the cost is lowered and the stoves blend in with the adobe houses.

Paddington next to a nearly finished stove. This stove just needs to have the chimney built higher as well as a smoothing of the cooking surface to be completed.

Paddington heads home on an oddly empty combi from a hard day of work. He can rest assured knowing that he has made one family literally breath easier due to eliminate smoke pollution around the stove.

Oasis Sangalle ~ Colca Canyon

The climax of Paddington's visit to Colca Canyon was the night he spent at the Oasis Sangalle. Located at the bottom of the canyon, the world's second deepest, the only way to arrive is by hiking down from Cabanaconde at the rim of the canyon to the Oasis at the bottom.

Paddington's bed in one of the group bungalows. He had a little trouble sleeping due to the burros grazing on the roof of the bungalow for much of the night, but regardless who can complain when sleeping in such an incredible place.

Paddington with the Oasis' pool and the walls of the canyon in the background.

Another view of the canyon walls from the Oasis.

Paddington with a bungalow and some terraces in the background.

Chivay

As part of his trip to Arequipa, Paddington traveled to Colca Canyon. Along the way he stopped in the town of Chivay for the night.

Paddington's hotel, La Estrella de David.

Paddington's room for the night. Three rooms for one person seemed a bit much but it sure was comfortable.

Paddington in front of a statue of Juanita in the main square of Chivay. Juanita, aka as the Ice Princess, is an Incan girl who was sacrificed over 500 years ago but whos frozen body was discovered in 1995 by American scientists atop one of the tallest mountains in the region of Arequipa.

Paddington in front of Chivay's main church.

Monasterio de Santa Catalina (Arequipa)

Paddington visited the Monasterio de Santa Catalina while in Arequipa. The convent is located in the heart of the city and is over 20,000 square meters in size. It was built in 1580 and enlarged during the 17th century. Lucky for Paddington, his visit took place by candlelight, making for a truly unforgettable experience!

Paddington in one of the convent's many courtyards.

Paddington posing on the window sill of a nun's quarters.

Paddington preparing to be lowered into the well located in the convent's restored kitchen.

Paddington in the main dining hall with Cuzco School artwork visable in the background.

Casa de Moral (Arequipa)

While in Arequipa, Paddington visited the Casa de Moral, a restored Spanish colonial house built in 1730.

Paddington posing in the dining room. The house was home to several of Arequipa's colonial mayors.

Paddington on a stage coach which belonged to one of the previous owners.

Paddington posing on the roof of the Casa de Moral. Barely visable in the background is Misti, Arequipa's beautiful volcano.

Trip To Arequipa

This past week Paddington traveled with his friends from Princeton to Arequipa. Heres a glimpse of the beginning of his trip, but there are more pictures coming in the next few days...

Paddington getting ready to board the night bus (barely visable in the background) from Cusco to Arequipa, the second largest city in Peru.

Paddington in the Plaza de Armas. A colonial city, Arequipa boasts many Spanish structures, such as the cathedral in the background, which Paddington was able to visit during his time there.

Brett's Latest Real Blog Entry

I will continue using the Paddington blog for Paddington's adventures in photo form. I am also starting an occasional blog on Brett's real experiences in Peru at: http://myproworld.goabroad.net/journal.php?action=myjournals&travelerID=52491

My latest entry is available at the following URL:
http://myproworld.goabroad.net/BrettDiehl/journals/5894/Un-D%C3%ADa-en-la-Vida

Pitusiray

This past Saturday and Sunday, October 2 and 3, Paddington traveled with 17 other friends to the lagoon at the top of Pitusiray Mountain. The lagoon is famous for shadows of a Puma and an Incan Warrior which appear over top of it during this particular week, but due to some unusual conditions, it was impossible to view these shadows.

A view of the Sacred Valley taken only a few hundred meters from the lake.

Finally at the lagoon! Paddington is exhausted after 7 hours of hiking. The elevation of 4,200 meters certainly doesn't help him catch his breath. Before....

....and after the snow storm. While camping overnight at the lake, a rare winter storm came through and dropped a few centimeters of snow on the ground, making for a wet and uncomfortable camping experience. Nonetheless, the view and beauty of Pitusiray certainly made up for one night of lost sleep.