So I am learning again. Today I got all of my samples approved at the National Institute of Culture (INC). The list was checked and checked again. Everything looks good. All I need is the signature of the director of the INC in Moquegua. As it turns out though, she's sick today. She called in and couldn't make it to the office. They hope she'll be in on Monday. What to do? Roll with it.
I had planned on spending the weekend in Arequipa (a really lovely city with actual coffee and a Morrocan restaurant and a supermarket). This is not to be. I was also planning to be in Lima by Monday. Likewise changed. This is okay. I'm going to stay a bit longer in my sweet little hotel with the garden. I'm going to get to play with some Chiribaya textiles tomorrow...I mentioned that I have a little training in textiles and now the women in the museum want me to teach them something - I hope I can remember a few things! It's been a while since I tapped that knowledge, and I've never tried to explain it in Spanish.
Also, I'm planning to go out on the 'Ruta del Pisco' tomorrow afternoon with friends. Pisco is essentially a brandy made from grapes, and is the national drink of Peru (I'm not sure if that's official, but there's no doubt about it). I'm in the heart of Pisco country. A little tasting seems like a brilliant idea for a Saturday afternoon.
On Sunday, I've been invited to accompany my friend Niki to her archaeological site, which should be great fun too.
So, I have a down weekend, where I'll do a whole lot less eating in fancy restaurants and shopping in sweet little stores, but I have a good line-up ahead. Hopefully the diretor of the INC will be feeling better by Monday, or more rolling will be required!
There was a bit of rolling required last Wednesday too, when I took my little trip down to the coastal town of Ilo. I went to pick up some more water samples from the river (the same one that flows through Moquegua) and also to visit the Centro Mallqui Museum in Algarrobal - just outside of Ilo.
I was out of my hotel by 8 and in a collectivo by 8:10, heading for Ilo. They dropped me at the plaza (every town in Peru has a central plaza, and they are always a good place to start when you're not sure where you're going). I wanted to get to the mouth of the river, but not knowing where that was, I wandered for a few blocks, found a travel agent, and asked for help. She was terrific and let me know that what I really wanted was a cab. So, I went back to the plaza to find one, but first found a breakfast place with a COFFEE MACHINE. You in the States probably have no idea how thrilling this is, but somehow Nestle has convinced the entire country of Peru that NesCafe is the best of all possible ways to drink coffee, and in Moquegua that's all there is.
After breakfast, I found a cab, drove along the Pacific Coast (yipee!) and then to the river, where the driver waited while I sampled. Then he took me on up to the museum.
Centro Mallqui is the bioarchaeological institute in Peru, run by Dra. Sonia Guillen. They have two museums. The other one is in Leymebamba, where I was last summer. I was excited to see the facilities in Ilo. I wrote to Sonia before my visit, and she graciously arranged for a private tour for me with Rosa Choque, a wonderful woman who works and lives at the museum. Rosa gave me a behind-the-scenes look at the collections, including many fabulous mummies, amazing textiles, tons of ceramics, faunal collections, lithics, and a whole shelving area for corprolitos (old poop for the non-archaeologists in the crowd). The facilities are truly impressive. The museum is lovely too, and is well worth the visit. The Chiribaya culture lived on the south coast from about 1000ad until about 1400ad (those are approximate dates pulled from memory, but they're close). Preservation in the coastal desert is absolutely amazing - everything mummifies - people, llamas, dogs, guinea pigs, it's bioarch heaven.
After my tour, I asked about taking some samples for a little side project I'm working on. I had written the week before about this, and had a letter of permission from the archaeologist in charge of that particular collection, but it was not to be. There is a protocol to arranging for access to collections, which involves advance notice, arrangements between the head archaeologist and the curator of the museum, and compensation for the time and trouble of the staff. This is not something that can be done at the last minute. Or by students, for that matter. So, there was nothing to do but roll with it. I collected another water sample from the river, had some lunch, oogled the replica textiles that Rosa had created, and set out for 'home'.
Well, setting out is one of those relative things. I left the museum, crossed the street, and waited there for a car, bus, collectivo, mule, anything heading back down to Ilo. Forty-five minutes later, I was still standing there. When a busload of health workers finished touring the museum, I asked a fellow if perhaps they had space for one more. He said no. They were full. Okay fine. Then another doctor said 'Come on, we can fit one more' and I jumped at the opportunity. So, I rode back to Ilo in a bus crammed full of health care workers. The driver was great, and let me stay on the bus after they were dropped off so that he could take me right to the corner where collectivos left for Moquegua. I hopped out, thanked him profusely, grabbed a collectivo back to town, and headed back to the museum lab, where I worked until midnight to get everything ready to present on Thursday so I'd have clearance to take my samples out of town by Friday. Back to story #1...
But no worries. I'm rolling.
:)
Karen
p.s. And very importantly, yesterday was my niece Nicole's 8th birthday! Happy Birthday Nicole!
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