Off The Grid In Peru Is Evolving!

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I’m still working out the kinks with the new layout…thanks for your patience! 

You may have noticed a new section called “Universal Ponderings”.

If not, take a look. I’ve been so immersed in telescope research, that I’ve neglected to write.

Anyway, here’s my plan:

Today, I will work on OTGIP…not research telescopes.

Today, I will work on OTGIP…not research telescopes.

Today, I will work on OTGIP…not research telescopes.

Right.

Facelift!

Off The Grid In Peru is undergoing a facelift! Please be patient as I build the new site!
Thank you!

May 2012 Update

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Once again I find myself apologizing for the lack of posts in recent months… and once again, much has changed!
 

Casa de Milagros cares for 24 of my brothers and sisters. The kids are expecting a new director…the right person to help Casa, in June. But they still desperately need donations and assistance if they are to survive. You can visit http://www.casademilagrosperu.org and see for yourself. Thank you to all who contribute!

The Casa staff and kids preparing Christmas birds. Oh, the meal was soooo delicious!

Feeding Frenzy! Ok, not really. They’re nothing like I was on Christmas Morning at their ages. Guarantee you that.

The lovely Soledad…my friend forever!

Tio ‘n Tia

And finally, the summer storm  (southern hemisphere + December = summertime) brought snow to the mountains just in time for Navidad! It was in 60′s despite the chilly outlook up high!

The beginning of the year was very intense with a lot of work at the Casa. In March, I had opportunity to travel back to the US. My trip was short but I was able to return home to Chicago to visit Family. No friends this time :(

With mom and my sister.

My Mom looks fantastic!

Here are some photos of my mother’s father. He was a WWII vet who spoke 5 languages (Russian, Polish, German, Spanish and English).

Here is grandpa sitting on a jeep. He explains below on back of the picture that he has German Officers to guard and after he makes them clean the shit house (his words, not mine) he and his buddy will ride in the jeep while they walk the prisoners 30 miles.

My grandpa was a tough guy from the Ukraine who taught ballroom dancing at the Aaragon in Chicago. My mom tells me stories of how he ran off every boyfriend she ever had!

Here is my dad’s mother. I have very few photos of her and wish I had spent my teens years differently with her. My grandma was tough as nails and worked harder than any woman I have ever met, to this very day. I wish I could tell her that she inspired me to be a strong, independent woman, but I didn’t realize how fundamentally she influenced me until after she passed away. <3

Thanks to my aunt Cooki for this photo.

After I stuffed myself silly with all my favorite hometown foods, I came back to TX and before you know it, I was back in Peru. The best thing I brought back (besides kool-aid and alot of it, A1 steak sauce and real maple syrup) was my new camera and lenses! I am now shooting with:

  • Canon 60D
  • Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L
  • Canon 70-200mm  f/2.8L IS II USM
  • Canon 1.4 III Extender and various accessories
  • Adobe Light Room 3

Oh and how I am loving my new gear! I just began using it this past  month. I know, what happened in April?? Well, Rick and I wrapped up our work at the Casa and found ourselves right back where we started a year ago. It’s a beautiful thing, but transitions often require a moment to process, and we have the luxury of doing so…so we did. We have mastered the art of doing nothing, to say the least.

  And may I add that back to square one is a beautiful place to be? Rick has been working on his music, much to my delight.

 My beautiful ol’ man. Ricardo by Cristo.

Me on the back porch.

Since it is fall/winter in the Valley, we have clear skies that cause hot, sunny days and cold nights. In the sun, we can reach 85-90 degrees. Days without sun, it may not get over 55! Nights dip down to 45 degrees. As winter wears on, we will see fantastic, but short lived storms that bring frost to the grass in July, the peak of winter.

The current cold temperatures caused the birds to greatly diminish in number. You can hear them at certain times of day, but they’re very hard to spot. This week, we have heard hawks and eagles crying as they stop over in ‘the yard’ for water. In December/January, the birds sing from dawn ’til dusk and you can’t look sideways without seeing beaks and feathers. Meanwhile, I am watching the birds like a hawk for a photo op.

Winter also means a change in gardening…we’re still seeing lettuce, beets and gooseberries….but no corn, peaches or avocado.

As of late, I’ve been focused on photographing the sky.  This is one of the first shots I took with my new lens.

Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L           ISO 160, f/5.6 at 1/50 of a second

Thanks for reading my update.

I’m glad you stopped by.

Do come again?

~Julie aka Tia Julia

Cigarette Bandit on the Lose!

Here’s a Peru tale I’ll never forget… On the road from the Valley to Cusco, there is a section that collapsed into a ravine, so while under construction, it goes down to one lane and we often have to stop a few minutes for traffic to flow past. On Wednesday I had just lit a cigarette, hung my arm out the window and this crusty ol’ Peruano dude, complete with gold rimmed teeth, walks by, stops at the car and takes the smoke from my hand! With a smile and a puff, he tells me “Welcome to Peru”!  He kept on walking, and that’s exactly how it happened.

Any foreigner with white skin living in this country might understand the truer, deeper meaning of this interaction. Most people outside of Lima are poor beyond what humanity should allow and because of my skin color, I am a constant target for thieves, beggars and con artists. I tithe, and I am proud to admit it. I give away money, food and cigarettes every single day with a simple request that they pay it forward and do something nice for someone else. I would have given my cigarette bandit an entire pack, only if he’d stopped a little longer to introduce himself.

I live in the weirdest place on earth.

Casa de Milagros

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Rick and I have changed our life course to become a bigger part of the Casa.

It’s time to share some photos!

Doris, Yulissa, Maria Flor and Michael ready for a Christmas party!

Handsome Michael….he looks like a model!

Soraida learns piano with Exwar.

4 de La CASA

Leo, Michael, Exwar and Tio Ricardo

First Concert

Beautiful Guadalupe and kitty kat!

Guadalupe, Exwar and Rosa post concert

Julie, Guada y Rosa

Beauty and Brains….our resident Chemist Irmelinda graduates the US equivalent to High School

Exwar being a clown. Total camera ham.

Soledad.

Zenobia y Leo

Blurry but fabulous! Leo, Zenobia and Michael on Mama Kia’s Birthday

Zenobia, Jhon and Leo pick flowers at Kia’s Sanctuary for Day of the Dead

The Casa

The Casa under some low hanging clouds

November 2011 Update

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I’m sorry! It has been exactly 4 months to the day since I last blogged!

Good things have happened, life has changed …and All Is Well!

  • The entirety of August, I travelled back to the United States to wrap up life as I once knew it! I sold or gifted most everything I owned and saved only my favorite items in storage! Translation….life in Peru is long term, if not permanent!
  • Rick and I are doing great! Happy, healthy and well fed! As gringos accustomed to sea level, we’re still adjusting to altitude and speaking Spanish more often than English, but both improve everyday! Rick is dialed in on art, his bonsai collection, writing music and reviving the Casa band with the kids! I am focused on cooking, photography, stars, insects, birds and flora! Life is good in Peru!
  • We’re not accepting any visitors until next year because all of our time is dedicated to the Casa! Christmas shopping, rainy season and a whole new crew keeps us busy! This is the most wonderful time in both of our lives! Learn more and watch for coming updates this month at www.casademilagrosperu.org.
  • Winter was mild in the Valley, as it is year round. The warmest time of year is now in Spring, but the sunny days and warm nights only hung around for a measly 3 weeks! We are already seeing our summertime clouds and rain, which will last through April. No matter what, the gardens are full and the fire roars when we catch a chill!

It’s good to be back, now on to it!

~ Tia Julia

Coming soon:

Critters of all kinds….

Food and Flowers….

Life in Peru!

Creepy Tales from the Valley

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 After a few weeks of back to back groups, I’ve decided to share some of the storytelling with you, interested reader. I myself have witnessed many unexplained phenomena as has Rick, his family and guests at the Sanctuary. I’ve never met anyone who has felt threatened or afraid.

The land we live on was once a village and during construction in this valley, many  Pre-Incan tombs have been unearthed, most reburied, some undisturbed and one too many molested. We live in a magical place, so it’s no wonder things often go bump in the night.

Enjoy.

Living Amongst the Dead

  • A couple who owns some nearby property was vacationing in Europe while construction was being done on their structures. One night, the wife awoke in bed to find a Pre-Incan man in her bedroom. He was angry and told her she needed to get back to Peru immediately, take the skull and bury it in a specific location, sealing it in with rocks. Not knowing exactly what that meant or if it was real, but feeling the nagging seriousness of the energy, she woke her husband to explain what had happened and they rushed back to Peru. Upon their arrival, a neighbor presented them with a skull that the construction workers had found. They decided to play a game of catch with it before she caught them red handed. Needless to say, the skull is resting in the exact specified location.
  • There is a tomb at the Sanctuary. It lies between the restrooms and the bedrooms behind a San Pedro Cactus.
  • Some have seen Pre Incan Indians, more have heard them but most sense that we’re not alone here in the Valley. The energy is benevolent and their presence obvious.

Cabins

Our sleeping quarters are separate from the main house. It is a 4 bedroom, 2 story structure. When there are no groups, no one sleeps there beside Ricardo and I.  

  • While sleeping upstairs, one night we heard someone creeping back and forth on the wooden porch. At one point, it sounded as if someone checked the door to see if it would easily open. We each grabbed a weapon, opened the door and found no one was there. We thoroughly examined the surrounding area with the same result. We stayed silently vigil once back in the room and we continued to hear someone out there, but never once saw a break in the light shining underneath the door when someone was on the other side making noise. That very same night, before the creaking, we were hearing voices in the room, but could not make heads or tails of what we were hearing. At one point, Ricardo and I were looking directly at each other without speaking when I distinctly heard a child’s voice behind me ask “mommmm?”.  Ricardo stared in disbelief for a moment before asking me what I just said, without moving my mouth, because he had heard a specific and familiar woman’s voice state his name aloud…crystal clear.

Regular activity in the cabins includes:

  • Hearing shuffling, bumping and walking in the upstairs rooms when living in the first floor cabins.
  • Hearing bumping, shuffling and thumping in the room you’re in.
  • Varying degrees of effort to test if the window will open.
  • Talking, mumbling, chanting and sighing.
  • Energy shifts causing chills, cold air and a concrete sense of additional presence in the room.
  • Flashing light at night.
  • Oval light orbs gently swooping throughout the room.
  • Being woken by the door opening and closing to find no evidence supporting what was just heard. Our last group had multiple reports from multiple rooms.

The Main House

  • A favorite activity in the house is to knock on the door. We will hear it then promptly check all doors to find no one in sight. One night Ricardo had 12 consecutive bangs on the door until he threatened the offender with committing suicide so that he might beat the crap out of the knocker on the other side. The knocking promptly stopped.
  • I once was alone at night and heard someone gingerly and briefly thumping around up on the roof. First, terra cotta tiles break easily. Second, there is absolutely no way any person or critter could get up there and back down again without a ladder and a whole bunch of ruckus without me seeing them.
  • Most recently, Ricardo and I were sleeping in the house because all of the cabins were full with guests. 3 separate times, I was woken in the middle of the night. Someone was in the fridge, someone was messing with the dishes in the sink and someone was playing with the items for sale in our store. KitKat n ‘Cardo were right next to me.
  • Things move around, especially in the kitchen. For example, Rick turned his back for only a moment to return to a tub of butter that had been turned over onto it’s side, without noise, without anyone else being present.
  • A few weeks back around 6am, Rick and I were having morning coffee by the fireside when we heard an explosion of shattering glass. We both felt a surge of energy as we bolted from our seats to find this oddly shaped hole in the glass:

We found a trail of shards inside the house, meaning whatever hit came from the outside.  It’s also unusually low to the ground and too close to the wooden wall brace. With ample vegetation and a nearby retaining wall, the mechanics of  an object making this impact are implausible. Still, we fully expected to find a bird, but there was none. You must understand that birds hit the glass everyday and when they hit hard, they drop like a stone and cannot move for at least an hour. Never has a bird so much as fractured the glass. But hence, no bird on the ground. There was no rock, no object- not a shred of evidence to explain this damage. We can only believe some source of energy created this oddly shaped hole. 2 weeks later, someone sliced her finger on this glass and received 4 stitches as a result. This one remains a true mystery.

The Sky

  • If a star exists, you can see it at 10k feet in the middle of nowhere. With my recent encounters at the ECETI ranch in Trout Lake, Washington, my eyes are constantly set to the skies. When I returned to Peru in February, some activity returned with me. I have seen some lights in the sky that do not behave like stars or satellites. Most notable was a night clear as a bell when the sky light up 3 times as if lighting were striking. I have never seen lightning in the valley. Not to say it doesn’t happen, only to say it wouldn’t happen on a perfectly clear night.

Nickname Teflon

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 Here’s a picture that has absolutely nothing to do with this post!

-view from Lamay, Peru

Those I’ve known my lifetime would attest, that nicknames… won’t, don’t, can’t… stick to me.

On occasion, I’ve been referred to as “Jules”, but my name being Julie, that doesn’t really count. It’s like calling Joseph Joe.

The closest any persons, in quantity of 2 or more have gotten to making a nickname sticky, are those who call me “JZ”. However, those are my initials and I suppose this one might count, if it were more widely used.. accepted.. practiced…

“Tia Julia” is a new one for me. It might qualify as a nickname. My affiliation with the Casa is the sole reason for this one. I like it. It’s in the running with “JZ”.

Those I’ve known my lifetime would also attest, that sometimes, I say the wrong thing to the wrong person.

So this one day, I tell Ricardo of my superhuman power, which was of course, the wrong thing to say.

Since  then, I hear an ever changing disposition of nicknames, all day and all night.

I’ve decided to share some of my favorites, or those I can remember…

….because  not only do they amuse me, but this only proves my point: that nothing sticks like my given name, “Julie”.

  • Weenil(s), Weens
  • Waugus
  • Scribbles Mc Scrabble
  • Frog Wallaby
  • Koobs
  • Scrapnatty
  • Kookamoo
  • Cragmalien, Crags
  • Tia Fongoooool
  • Tia Joooooooool
  • Tia Chuleta (chew-let-uh.. pork chop, basically)
  • Itchy Von Scratchy
We’ll see how this goes and perhaps, I’ll continue posting the latest chorus of my slippery, silly monikers…

And That’s Exactly How It Happened.

True Story…

Last week, we’re sittin in the car in Calca, in front of the Mini-Market ready to pull away, when this random Peruano dude comes walkin down the sidewalk on his phone…and he kicks the front car tire! Not with any amount of force or concern, and he didn’t skip a beat in his step or his phone call. He didn’t even make the effort to look at us, but he took his foot to that car with intention….like he was kicking a can out of his way that happened to be in his path of travel.

Hysterical.

And I’m sure he sensed that we’re nice people, albeit crazy gringos, who actually find that stuff amusing… or he’d have risked himself an old fashioned punk rock beating, right there, in the town flippin’ square de Calca, mid day, no holds barred.

And that’s exactly how it happened.

Yesterday morning, I’m in the house alone and I’m uploading some pictures when I hear a distinct crunching and swallowing in the kitchen. I quickly realized that KitKat was next to me sleeping, so I gently set the computer down and stood up when this random, brown, fox looking dog…trots right past me, casually,…out the front door, all the while licking his lips. I step out behind him, but he’s gone like the wind, just as if I had  imagined the whole thing.

The nerve.

I’ve never had a dog pull an eat n’ dash on me before. He coulda stuck around for a head pat, a thank you or even a decent meal. Ya never know with me….I enjoy feeding the hungry.

And that’s exactly how it happened.

Last month, I’m in Cuzco stocking up on a few bottles of wine and liquor. In my broken Spanish, I joke around with the grandmother running the place that I need the booze for medicinal purposes, y’know, “porque, yo tengo un novio”. She laughs hysterically with her Hindi pal of equal years as they both move in close on me to reveal that they have what I really need!! She recommended that I purchase some cocaine from her because it’s the best I’ll ever have and will take care of all of my problems with ‘the man’.  I assured her that even without coffee, one might already suspect I was a heavy cocaine user because ‘yo tengo mucho energia’ and I’d better just stay away from it… lest I implode with overexcitement…a heart attack…an overdose…or simply die of starvation in a Peruano Carcel for purchasing an illegal substance. (In Peru, the authorities do not feed you in prison, so I understand.)

No kidding. It happened just like that. Surreal.

Anyway, the booze works, I remain cocaine free …and order is restored in the universe.

And that’s exactly how it happened.

All day yesterday, we heard TNT being detonated in the valley. I don’t know why or what they’re doing, but 11:39pm…KABOOOMA BOOMA BOOOMA…12:20am…KABOOMA BOOMA BOOM! We live in a valley…stuff like that echoes. A lot. Don’t these people have families to go home to? Should we really be detonating things in the pitch black dark?

Whaddo I know.

Except I didn’t sleep last night.

And that’s exactly how it happened.

One Night in Cuzco

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All 3 of us had important things to handle, so we decided to spend the night in Cuzco, rather than rush ourselves into exhaustion. We typically don’t stay overnight since the additional 1k feet in altitude can wreak havoc on the body, but not always.

We got lucky this time.

We did our usual trip to the Mega Mart for things we can’t find in the valley, we swung by the El Molino for various items including Baileys Irish Creme, a new backpack, a citrus juicer and smaller clothes to fit me… I’ve shrunk down from an XL to a MD…and it’s high time my pants stayed up around my waist….but I digress. Since we had an overnight, we spent our days leisurely and ensured food, drink, shopping and people watching, were amply explored.

Plaza de Armas, Cuzco at dusk with Cristo Blanco in the background.

What we can’t see are the 3 decorated wooden crosses to the right, for Semana Santa.

 

View with Pisco Sours on the balcony at Trotamundos.

The Plaza appears empty of people…I captured an extremely rare photo!

We ate at Tupananchis off the Plaza, twice. The frozen lemonade is outrageously delicious!

They’ve got a luxurious atmosphere with slow, but classy service. You can smoke inside, there’s a great patio with heaters.. and inside, there’s couches, couches  …and more couches!!

For Rick, photographs aren’t the most effective smile producing tactic, but I notice and appreciate the effort.

Lazy, lazy gringos…we can’t hide it.

Tupananchis serves alpaca, cuy, beef filets, ceviche, local trout and fabulous desserts!

Alpaca wrapped in bacon with mushrooms and yucca strips.

Shrimp in Garlic sauce with potatoes and vegetable wontons. I think they were filled with a base of mushrooms, onions and cheese, though the remaining ingredients escape me. Delicious.

Gimmie summa dat!!

Chocolate crepe with lucuma (sweet potato/pecan tasting fruit) filling. Wow, wow and wow!

The Shaman Shop around the corner had this piece of artwork and for me, it was love at first sight. I decided to buy it the next day since we were headed to dinner, but much to my chagrin, after breakfast, the painting magically appeared at the hotel….pretty sneaky….you know who you are.

The crown on his head is reminiscent of Pre-Incan culture, either Cupisnique or Chavin, ca 500BC.

The knotted ropes are called Quipus (key-poos), a pre-Incan/ Incan method of communication, mathematics and presumably more advanced information that assisted in construction of pyramids, astrological alignment of massive settlements and other wonders such as the Nazca lines. To this day, they have not been able to decipher the Quipu code, as it was known only to an elite group who harbor their secrets in their graves. Do some research on Quipus…it’s fascinating subject matter!

 I Love the monkey-like body on this guy.

Detail of the blanket, emphasized by brush technique.

Beautiful art, so well priced, it’s a steal!

Cuzco is a lovely, quaint city with character, and characters. I look forward to our next dance!


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