New Year's Greetings from Puno

Trip Start Jan 20, 2004
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Trip End Ongoing


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Sunday, January 1, 2006

Things change in twenty five years! This quiet, grubby, remote little town, nestled in a bay on the shores of Lake Titicaca at 12,500 ft, that we knew back in the late '70s, is gone. It has been replaced by a vibrant, bustling small city that is a major destination for tourists and travellers on their way from Cuzco to La Paz. The town that used to only come alive for a couple of weeks in February each year for the Candelaria festivities, now bills itself as the folkloric centre of Peru and celebrates fiestas and festivals almost every month of the year. Where there used to be only a handful of rather meagre lodgings and doubtful eating spots, now every other building is a smart hotel, up-scale restaurant, tour agency, trendy artesania boutique or internet café. The narrow streets are still congested, but with masses of new taxis and micro-buses instead of broken down old pick-up trucks, and the new pedestrian mall is thronged with people buying gifts and going out for a special dinner. Yes, the face of Puno has been transformed to such an extent that we almost didn't recognize it!

However, some things never change! We thought we had travelled back in time as we heard the incessant tapping on metal doors of courtyards again as if doorbells had never been invented; as we experienced the interminable wait for change in smaller shops and restaurants as if nobody had ever thought of a daily float; as we saw the whole town still full of half-finished buildings with re-bar sticking out the top waiting for financing to build the next floor; as we navigated the roads under perpetual repair with gaping holes and trenches just waiting for the unsuspecting pedestrian (watch out, Jane!); and as our nostrils were assaulted by the pervasive smell of urine on favourite corners - luckily washed away when there is a downpour and the streets are totally flooded. 01 First glimpse of Puno
01 First glimpse of Puno
 On the positive side the surrounding hills and wide open skies of the altiplano haven't changed either, and continue to provide a perfect setting for the town, and of course the deep blue waters of Lago Titicaca are still a constant presence.

We lived and worked in Puno from '78 to '81 on a CIDA-funded Project investigating the possibility of introducing rapeseed as an oilseed crop to the altiplano. A lot of other work was carried out on the improvement and agronomy of cereals and other crops grown in the area, supported by a whole range of transfer of technology activities, agro-meteorological and soils studies, and socio-economic research into the conditions facing the families and communities trying to eke out a living under the harsh conditions of the Peruvian Sierra. The idea of rapeseed (now known as canola) never caught on, but the agricultural research station that the project established at Salcedo is still thriving (congratulations to Christiane our architect!) and George and Barry (i.e. Dr. Vandrish and Dr. Grace) will respectively be pleased to hear that the soils lab and the meteorological station are still in daily use!! Most of the agronomists and agricultural scientists in a variety of other disciplines trained by the project are now working in responsible positions in the agricultural scientific community throughout Peru, but it was a delight to be shown around the Salcedo facilities by Vidal Apaza, a young agronomist whom we trained and is still working for the National Institute of Agrarian Research in Puno.

Definitely the highlight of our visit to Puno was meeting up again with the Mujica family - Angel and Luz, and their children Hoover and Brigitte. 02 Puno - city of re-bar
02 Puno - city of re-bar
 Angel, our colleague and former counterpart Project Director, is now the world's leading authority on quinua, an ancient Andean cereal crop that is gradually becoming more widely recognized. When we worked in Puno all those years ago, quinua was definitely generally regarded as a "poor man's" food, consumed mostly by the indigenous people of the altiplano. Nowadays you can find quinua in your friendly local health food store, and it is slowly but surely becoming a staple of health-conscious yuppies in North America and Europe. Anyone who took a cooking course at the Herb Garden will surely remember the delicious quinua salad!

We spent two evenings with Angel and Luz, remembering old friends and colleagues and reminiscing about life in Puno a quarter of a century ago (Hoover and Brigitte must have been bored out of their minds!). It was extremely interesting to catch up on what has happened in Peru in the intervening years, and to hear Angel's perspective on current events in this corner of the world and what the future may hold for the Andean countries. We enjoyed a traditional New Year's meal of roast pork and potatoes with them and other family members, and also another delicious meal of lake trout and quinua. On a very sad note, we found out that Angel and Luz had lost their 25 year-old son Eric two years ago to a rare kidney disease. It seemed a strange turn of fate that they had also experienced the acute grief and despair of losing a son - a young man who was embarking on a promising career as a dentist, but whose life, like Mike's, was cut short far too soon.

To end on a cheerful note, we would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year. We hope that 2006 will bring you peace, joy and happiness....and many travelling adventures!
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