Huascaran, a top remained a dream

"But until we put us to the test we know very little about the uncontrollable feeling in us that push ourselves through glaciers, streams and dangerous cliffs, despite our conscience prohibits that.."
John Muir, The mountains of California

Beppe has convinced me. I must admit that not He hasn't insisted so much to convince me to participate to the climbing expedition of Huascaran (6768 metres). It is the highest peak of Peru located in the Cordillera Blanca. Thus, the fourth of August, we are at Marco Polo Airport leaving for Lima, via New York and Atlanta. Here I introduce myself to my new travelling companions, Mario, Gabriele and their partners Roberta and Anna Maria which complete the group.

 

Arrival in Lima

Arrival in Lima
After a long flight with one-day stop in Atlanta, we land at 4:15 local time on August 6th at Lima, capital of Peru. Something should be said about this city that, despite having been defined by Herman Melville (an U.S. writer of 1800) "the saddest city on earth", is able instead to reserve many pleasant surprises. Lima owns both the decadent splendor of the colonial city and the vitality of Far eastern cities; it offers cloudy and melanchonic winters and even hot and ventilated summers. It also presents disordered and poor districts and quiet elegant corners. It is located on the Pacific coast of the ocean, in the middle of the coastal desert that characterizes this part of Peru. Due to a meteorological phenomenon known as thermal inversion, Lima remains shrouded by a layer of low clouds throughout the period running from May to October. Only during the summer, the climate becomes more pleasant; The only winter precipitations are merely insufficient to sweep away the dust of the desert. It was founded on January 5th, 1535 by Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro, with the name of Ciudad de los Reyes, on the map of a pre-existing indigenous settlement at the banks of the Rimac River, which seems to derive its current name. At that time Lima was populated only by a hundred of conquistadors, already in the seventeenth century, the population reached about 25.000 people, mostly Indian, servants and craftsmen, as well as African slaves. This city suffered in recent years a strong uncontrolled immigration rising from 550.000 inhabitants of the'60s to about 6.000.000 people of current days. This phenomenon caused major social and economic problems as unemployment and exclusion, relegating most of the immigrants (Andean-Indian origin Incas ) to live in massive suburbs, often without electricity, water and paving road. Formed by shantytowns these places are called barriadas here, while the high-bourgeois classes of Spanish origin, transferred in the central districts of Miraflores and San Isidro.
The visit of Lima starts from the central Plaza de Armas, located in the heart of the historical downtown, where it received the spirit of the Pizarro's time: the square is home to the Palace of the Government, the Cathedral and the Archbishop Palace and, at 12:45 during weekdays, people can assist to the changing of the guard carried out by troops of the Hussar regiment, with red and blue parade uniforms. A few steps from here we meet another aspect of social reality of Lima: the flourishing market of Polvos Azules contraband, where you can buy at very attractive prices Chilean wines, Scotch whisky, cigarettes and crafts. In addition to buyers unfortunately also abound burglars, so you must be very careful on carrying value objects. The same situation happens also throughout the city centre, where it is largely inadvisable to venture alone at night. Continuing the sightseeing, six blocks from Plaza de Armas lies Plaza San Martin, the fulcrum of the modern center. This two squares are connected by the Jiron de la Union, closed to car traffic and location of the most elegant shops in Lima. Up to the 40s, the ladies that walked along this path without hat were watched with disapproval; today the road is packed with vendors and fast-food. Among the various activities there is an Andean version of bingo, where prizes are decided by the movements of a guinea pig that runs between numbered cardboard arches.
We leave from Lima with a line bus that leads us to Huaraz, the "Courmayeur of the Andes". Leaving the city, we cross the huge shantytowns that characterize Lima periphery. These slums are formed by houses built of rough bricks or wooden with reeds roof. Left Lima we are driven for about two hours on the Pacific coast, the landscape looks like a huge sandy desert, with huge dunes high even hundreds of metres, and no sign of life. Turning inland, the rocky and sandy desert becomes mountainous with numerous cactus. Going up the vegetation takes place against the desert, with agave and eucalyptus plants accompanying us until late 3500 meters, higher pastures predominate the scene. After a step to 4100 metres, the road gently goes down toward Huaraz where we arrive at 16:30. Huaraz (3190 metres) is the capital of the Ancash department and has a population of over 60.000 inhabitants. Despite its appearance of old Far West town, it is well organized to address the needs of tourism, and offers many opportunities of very convenient housing and hotels. It is a much lively city and along its main street campesinos expose for sale large quantities of fruit, vegetables and wool garments. Many travel agencies put on display multicoloured advertising boards with the tourist attractions of the area and the possibility of hire for all mountaineering and trekking equipments. There are even good restaurants, cooking from pizza to Chinese restaurants, however, those where they serve the typical local dishes (lomo saltado, chicken a la brasa, cuy and roast guinea pigs) are to try.

Preparations

Preparations
We dedicate the day next to our arrival, to visit Huaraz and to the preparations for the climb. We also engage a guide with two porters. Accompanied by one of them, which will also be our cook, we make a brief trip to outdoor markets in order to buy fruit, vegetables for the soup, as well as sugar, biscuits and whatever else we'll need for the following days. Nowhere else, in my opinion, is so pleasant to walk between the large variety and quantity of goods that are there, especially for the intense colors that characterize these roads. The local women exhibit in goods selling, wearing very typical profile clothes, with strong and vibrant hues, the 3000 metres sun revives much more the color of the huge heaps of the exposed fruit. Even the fabrics and garments sat on benches are very gaudy and attract the attention of those who, like us, is not accustomed to admire it in their own country. In markets another exposed (and very sold) commodity are the coca leaves; you can see entire sacks filled with these little dried leaves that are purchased to make infusions similar to tea or to chew them, as normal gums. The coca leaves (even if raw material for the production of cocaine) in natural conditions, without being treated, are not a drug; they have a slightly exciting effect, certainly less than coffee, and it seems that they help to release fatigue at high altitudes. I will be tired, in the following days, also drinking coca tea and chewing coca leaves; who knows what it would have been without them!

The departure

Finally (or should I say unfortunately?) arrives the day of departure to Huascaran. The girls don't try to reach the top, they'll wait at base camp. I am slightly concerned because, unlike my comrades, it is the first time that I participate to a climb over an altitude of 6000 meters. At 8:30 we start to Musho (3080 meters), port of entry to the Huascaran park. Once done registration and payment of the entry fee (10 U.S.$), at 10:30, we start walking to reach the base camp, located 4230 meters high, where we arrive at 15:30. The climb to the field does not present any difficulty or wind, we walk on a comfortable path to 3500 metres height through an eucalyptus forest, the only negative note is represented by the weather conditions that slowly begin to deteriorate. At 17:00 begins to rain, but fortunately we had time to place tents. At these latitudes (we are in the equatorial zone) all the year, there are 12 hours of light and the same amount of darkness: at 18 the sun sets down and at 18:30 there is already complete darkness. Dinner is then consumed from us not only intothe darkness, but also under an annoying light rain, with no possibility of recovery. Our chef cooked us a good vegetable soup, followed by chicken with potatoes and rice; because we were fasting from 7:30 am, all the dishes were much appreciated, despite the various hardships. At 19:30 we go all sleeping in tents.

The acclimatization

Today is dedicated to the acclimatization we don't climb to camp n°1, but at 11:00, despite the uncertain weather, we leave for a training excursion and reach the advanced field at 4800 meters, on the threshold of the Huascaran glacier. The place is fascinating: a little above the camp there are rocks, which have been a constant since the base camp, give place to the glacier that rises up to the top, at 2000 metres of height above us. A pale sun succeed to come off between the clouds and, in those rare moments, the top of Huascaran shows all its charm. The view of crevasses that lie at its base worries me and I'm also concerned at the thought that we should cross them in the coming days. While we admire in silence this spectacular landscape, unfortunately begins to snow, so we are forced to come down rapidly to the base camp. The first stretch of descent is tilted on plaques that during the ascent, gave no problems since they were dry, but now that they are rapidly covering of a light layer of snow, we are obliged to descend with great caution to avoid slides. Fortunately during the descent stops snowing, leaving us a beautiful sun. The Huascaran shows again in all its terrible beauty; we can see very well the hill of Garganta that separates its two peaks. We reach the base camp at 15:30 and, after about an hour, starts again to rain; we consumed a fast dinner, consisting of two tablespoons of rice eaten in tents, because outside rains, we go to sleep. Tomorrow, if the weather will improve, we should rise to n°1.

Climb to Field n°1

It rains all night long, but at 7 am the weather changes to fine. We decide to wait for the curtains to dry, an subsequently disassemble them to leave for field n°1 placed at 5200 meters of height above the glacier. While girls are going back to Huaraz, we start at 11:00 following the same path of yesterday up to 4800 meters, which mark the beginning of the glacier. The ascension is not trivial. A change on rocks is equipped by our guide Rafael, yesterday we walked it without hangings, but we were without backpacks. Almost the entire route to the field winds on inclined granite plaques, to be crossed with caution. The stretch of the glacier that from 4800 metres brings us to 5200 metres of field n°1 height, doesn't show difficulties and is walked without crampons and ropes. Passed 5000 meters, I begin to feel fatigue; only one day of acclimation to this height is not sufficient, in any case at 17:00 we are all in the field where we set our tents. The weather, that in the morning was calm, went slowly spoiling and, while we assemble tents, begins to snow. Even today we are fasting from 7:30 of this morning, at 19:00 we drink tea and eat a cup of soup. Despite the diet and the inconvenience of bad weather, I feel fine; inside the tent, warming up in a sleeping bag, I manage to sleep and only occasionally I'm woken up from impetuous gusts of strong blowing wind. It snows all night long. At 7:30 am I put my head out: it doesn't snow anymore, but a dense fog envelops the entire camp and our tents are semi-submerged by snow. We can't continue. We decide to spend the entire day here in the hope for better time, in order not to climb on top (because with all the snow would be too dangerous), but to see if we can shoot some photos of the mountain. Casually starts to snow for a little time. Even at this moment, as I'm writing these notes in the tent, snows. It's 11.30 of the 11th of August. Even the descent from the advanced field, which is located at the base of the glacier, near the base camp, could be dangerous if the tilted plates would be covered in snow. The day passes slowly inside the tent with only some exit outside at times when the weather shows a little leniency. At this camp we are not alone: a shipment of Chileans and a Peruvians, which are also blocked by bad weather, provide us company; someone also built a magnificent snowman with a wool cap.

The failed attempt

The following day weather has improved; Chileans and Peruvians are gone to try the climb. We decide to imitate them and we are start at 9:00. Fresh snow is very high and sometimes we sink until knee, so the ascent is now very challenging. Reaching the altitude of 5500 metres I feel the fatigue and proceed slowly, in order to avoid slowing down companions, which are certainly much more trained me, I decide to stop and return to camp n°1. My companions and the other two shipments continue but, at 5700 metres altitude, they also decide to abort. In addition to very high snow that hinders the path, there is also a high risk of avalanches. An avalanche fell a few hundred meters before them on the track they were supposed to go. They have been convinced that taking this decision was wise. Infact few days after it has been encountered a fatal accident happened in the place they achieved. A Spanish expedition reaches our camp to try the climb the following day. We pass the third night on the glacier at 5200 metres of height. Tomorrow we must come back to Huaraz.
At midnight, to find hardened snow and ice, the Spanish expedition departs for the top, but even it is also forced to return because of the bad snow conditions. At 10:00 we begin the descent that leads us to the previous base camp and then to Musho from where, with a minibus, we'll reach Huaraz where we'll find Roberta and Anna Maria. Finally, after a hot shower (so much desired!), we expect a decent lomo fino (fillet) and chips-based dinner.

We change destination

More than just disappointed for not having reached the top, a question pursues me: "would it be successful if the weather had been better"? The only answer to this question is to retry it, perhaps on another mountain of equal charm and beauty. So this time we decide to bet on an easier and less high mountain: our choice falls on Misti volcano (5822 meters) in southern Peru. With a bus we arrive in Lima and, hence with a flight, we move to Arequipa, a city situated on a desert plateau at 2300 meters, at the base of the volcano. Peru is crossed by Cadena del Fuego (Chain of Fire), an underground lava river that runs throughout its length and crosses the subsoil of Arequipa which, over the centuries, suffered several seismic shocks.
Arequipa, with approximately 1.000.000 inhabitants, is the second urban area of Peru and is nicknamed la Ciudad Blanca (white city). This name derives from the fact that it is almost entirely built with sillar, a white volcanic rock from Misti volcano. It is characterized by a dry and mild climate during all year round; agriculture and pastoralism, in addition to tourism, are the main sources of wealth in the region. The Plaza de Armas of Arequipa is one of the most beautiful squares of Peru. An entire side is busy with two cathedral towers (and the cathedral itself), rebuilt twice in the first years of the 19th century after being destroyed by a fire and an earthquake. A two-storey porch runs along the other three sides of the square.

Arequipa

Before beginning the ascent to the volcano, we dedicate a day to the visit of the city; one of the most interesting point is the convent of Santa Catalina, which in 1970, after four hundred years of isolation, was opened to the public. Although it has been, and still is, a cloistered convent, the vow of poverty and silence was not so much respected by the first nuns. During the period of peak cells were infact similar to luxurious rooms. In 1832 the French feminist Flora Tristan visited the monastery and reported that nuns (daughters of the local aristocracy) spoke without restriction and spent enormous amounts of money having each their servitude. Visiting Santa Catalina, three blocks from the central Plaza de Armas, is like to dive in the sixteenth century: the streets, arcades and gardens still bear the original names. The convent, where once lived up to five hundred nuns, today accounts only about fifty.
Walking through the city, we can not fail to note the enormous presence of the volcano that dominates and is visible from every point. Tomorrow, with a trek that we strive for two days, we'll try to reach its top, while girls will wait us in the city.

Climb to Volcano Misti

The Misti volcano is a huge cone formed by volcanic rocks and sand which stands isolated in the middle of a desert hill; on its slopes are located nor a drop of water, not a blade of shadow, only rare shrubs are present on lower levels. Its base at 3300 metres can be reached using a dirt road suitable only for off-road vehicles. From here we must continue on foot and, during the first day, we must climb up to find some space to place the field. The camping site is located at 4600 meters, in a ravine of considerable slope, formed by volcanic rocks with few pitches suited to host a single tent. The first half of the stage is fairly easy and runs on an easy path with moderate slopes; going on the ground from solid becomes sandy. Also slope accentuates and fatigue is beginning to be felt, even because for the entire journey we are accompanied by a hot sun. In the last stretch, before the camp, the trail is totally made by volcanic sand with considerable slope. At every step the inconsistent ground landslides under our weight, considerably increasing the effort of the climb. Once mounted tents, the sun begins slowly to set down, and the heat, which accompanied us throughout the day, slowly decreases evn thanks to a cold wind that further contributes to down the temperature that, after the sunset, reaches few degrees below zero. The slight haze that was present during the warm hours vanishes; when the night comes up, the sky is perfectly smooth and a breathtaking spectacle is given itself to our eyes: the city of Arequipa, 2300 meters below us, that is the only town within a radius of a few hundred kilometers, lights on and looks like a gigantic island emerging from an bleak but impassive ocean; this unique scenario is already sufficient to refund us from the cold evening and the pains of the day.
We wake at 3:30, to leave at 4:00 without removing the camp. After about an hour of quite easy journey (because the soil consisting of volcanic rocks is compact) we see sun beginning to rise. Below us, in the distance, we are able to see the desert plateau in the middle of which casts the shadow of the volcano, which is certainly a beautiful and unusual spectacle: a flat desert, illuminated by the pale rays of the rising sun, with a huge and regular cone of shadow in the middle. Considering the height and the fact that the terrain from rocky has turned into an immense landsliding rocky field, makes you able to understand why the effort begins again to be felt. At 10 we reach the top at 5822 meters: the fine and cold weather, opposite of yesterday, accompanied us throughout the journey. Despite the height and the rather low temperature, there are few traces of snow only in less exposed to the sun places. As reached the top, the toil of the climb is amply rewarded by the view of the huge crater, in whose mouth are still visible several active funnels; below us, 3500 meters farther down, we can see very well the desertic plain and, only in remoteness, the Andean chain skyline. After half an hour of rest on top, unfortunately, we must go back down in order not to miss the off-road that will take us away. With a long descent and only one stop at the camp to dismantle tents, around 15:30 we reach the place where the company is already waiting for its driver.
The Alpinistic (or better Andean) part of our trip is ended. Tomorrow Mario, Gabriel, Roberta and Anna Maria willreturn to Italy, while Beppe and me will enjoy another week of tourism.

Titicaca Lake

With a bus we reach Puno on the shores of Titicaca Lake, on the border with Bolivia. The Titicaca is the highest navigable lake in the world, being located at 3856 metres of altitude. The inhabitants of the region live, as well of tourism, fishing in its cold waters, cultivating potatoes and raising Llamas. This is the area of Peru where traditions remained more undamaged, where neither Spanish nor the invaders took modernity and tourism, leaving the Inca culture unchanged. According to legend is here, on the shores of this lake, where the civilization of Incas originated: the legend says that the Sun God, with his children, emerged from the waters of the lake to give rise to the Inca dynasty.
As arrived we dedicate the day to the visit of the Sillustani ruins, placed about 35 kms far from Lima. The ruins consist in chullpas (funeral towers) where nobles were buried. These circular towers, reaching a height of 12 metres, are shrouded in mystery; the time of their construction remains unknown, although a Spanish chronicle of 1549 reports that they were built recently. "They are formed by huge boulders placed on each others, with a small entrance door from where is not possible to enter, that's why we believe that the body of the deceased was released into from up above, before the construction of coverage. Even the lifting technique for the enormous and heavy stone blocks displacement remains a mystery. It could be the same used by the Egyptians during the construction of the pyramids: huge inclined planes made of earth being removed at the end of the work.
We dedicate the day yet to the navigation on the lake in order to visit some of the over thirty islands that rise from its waters. The most famous Titicaca islands are the Uros Islands, made of floating canes, an hour of navigation from Puno, which take name from the Indians living there. This small archipelago, consisting of about half a dozen islets, is the first stage of our visit to the lake. These islands, formed by reeds, that grow on the banks of the lake are artificial, probably built as a refuge to defend natives from the enemies. Because of poverty in the area, most of the Uros moved to Puno. The few remaining sell their handicraft products to tourists, also engaging fishing and hunting of the many birds that populate the lake. Their survival is also based on the lake shore vegetation, especially on reeds used to build homes, boats and even the same islands. Since the bottom of these artificial islands rapidly deteriorates in water, people must continually add layers of reeds on the top and this makes spongy the consistency of the surface and causes a strange feeling of instability during walks above. Second and final goal of our visit to the lake is the Taquile island, home to skillful weavers, two hours of navigation from Uros islands. The village is located on the top of the island, at about 4000 meters and to achieve it we must make a steep staircase walk with more than 500 steps that will put to the test many tourists. Taquile is the home of traditional Peruvian tissues and is frequent to encounter men intent on packing splendid headgears of wool, along the roads and on the main square of the country, garments that are also worn by the inhabitants of the island. The colors and the decorative motifs of these garments provide an indication about who wears them: marital status, family position, and so on. For example, singles wear a mesh hat with a white tuft, while the headgear of married ones are decorated with red dots. You can buy excellent caps of wool, with colorful drawings, at discount prices.

Cuzco and Machu Picchu

Today is dedicated to the visit of Cuzco, the ancient capital of Incas. Cuzco, 225.000 inhabitants, is a city where past and present coexist; almost 500 years after the entry of Spaniards, the city remains a cross between the Inca and European culture. Today, of course, it is very different from the descriptions made in Spanish chronicles, when from here started chasquis (fast messengers of the Incas) to bring news and orders in each of the four areas of Tahuantinsuyu, as all regions on which Incas extended their domination were called. According to the legend, Cuzco was founded by Manco Capac and Mama Oclla sister, sent by Inti, the Sun God. Equipped of a golden stick, the couple had to find a place where the shaft dove easily on the soil. They found it in Cuzco: there Manco Capac founded the city and taught men how to cultivate their fields, while Mama Oclla teached women about the secrets of weaving. At the time of its peak, Cuzco had a sophisticated system of aqueducts, roads were paved, and poverty did not exist. But his role as Inca capital lasted only about seventy years, ending at the arrival of the Spaniards. As there is no written records of the Incas, many clues to the appearance of the Inca capital are provided by the diaries, often unreliable, of conquistadores who, in their painstake search for treasures, cast greedily to the assault of ancient temples, stealing the gold and silver works that were here and taking it with them. Only in 1535, when the capital of the new Spanish colony was transferred to Lima, and the wealth of Cuzco had already been fully exploited, silver in Bolivia took definitively attention out from the valley. Today, after centuries of neglect, the discovery of Machu Picchu, made in 1911, transformed Cuzco to the point of departure for visits of one of the most famous tourist attractions of South America. The visit of Cuzco must necessarily begin from the fascinating Plaza de Armas, the tourist and commercial heart of the city. At the time of the Incas this square covered an area equivalent to twice of the current and represented the exact center of the Tahuantinsuyu empire. The Plaza was the place where most important military and religious ceremonies were held and where there was a stone covered with gold foils to which deal was dedicated before undertaking any military action. In the days of Spanish rules the square was the theater of bloody scenes, as the execution of Tupac Amaru II, the head of the Indian rebellion that has been captured while trying to flee, he was sentenced to be eviscerated and quartered. Today people gather in Plaza de Armas especially during holidays. The square becomes particularly spectacular after sunset, thanks to his lighting that highlights his most solemn aspects.
The last leg of our journey is dedicated to the visit of Machu Picchu, the most ancient ruins of the Inca period. Machu Picchu is reachable from Cuzco with a trip of four hours on a typical shaky train that runs in the upper valley of Urubamba.
In 1536 Incas rebelled to the Spaniards and fled to Vilcabamba, in the forest at northeast of Cuzco, where they resisted for thirty-five years before being finally defeated. The city was quickly swallowed by the jungle and fell into oblivion. When, in the eighteenth century, unleashed the race in search of the "lost city", where was supposed to be all the gold slipped to the Spaniards, the name of Vilcabamba she was associated returned to the chronicles. The Muisca Indians, that populated the current Colombia, provided a clue to whom were obsessed by this search, referring to the Spaniards about a chieftain that every year during a ritual, after having sprinkled his body in gold powder, dove in the waters of a lake. This episode contributed to associate to the lost city the name of "El Dorado", literally the Golden Man. When in 1911 Hiram Bingham discovered Machu Picchu, was actually looking for the ruins of Vilcabamba. Bingham was convinced he had found the last refuge of the Incas; Vilcabamba in reality is located a hundred kilometers west of Machu Picchu. The error of Bingham is comprehensible: he could not imagine that in the forest at north of Cuzco there were two lost cities! It is clear today that the remains found by Bingham are not those of Vilcabamba, but the discovery raises an enigma: if Machu Picchu was not Vilcabamba, what was then? The ruins took its name from the mountain that dominates them (Machu Picchu means Old Peak), while the other top, little far, has the name of Huayna Picchu (Younger Peak).
Surely the Spaniards were unaware of the existence of Machu Picchu and since they had many informants among the Incas, the only plausible explanation is that even Incas, during the Spanish conquest, didn't knew it. The city and the region were probably abandoned before the Spanish conquest, disappearing from the memory of the Sun People, this total ignorance about the existence of the ruins can be explained by the fact that the quipucamayocs (historians who orally transmitted the empire chronicles) are now known to the modern historians for their censoring habit to erase from memory facts or persons whose memory was, for several reasons, uncomfortable. Perhaps this was the fate of Machu Picchu: a rebel province punished in a manner so cruel that its existence didn't even pass to history.

Back at home

The journey draws to his close, tomorrow we'll return to Italy. Having not succeeded in conquering the Huascaran peak has certainly left us all a little disappointed. Delusion which is partly mitigated by the reaching of Misti volcano top, and the subsequent immersion in Peruvian and Incas cultures.
Climbing mountains, overcoming steps beyond 5000 meters, crossing by foot endless valleys and living immersed in nature for weeks, certainly gave us the taste of the adventure flavor, offering beautiful landscapes, dawns and sunsets with beautiful shades of color. Even to people familiar with ethnic groups, traditions and customs here (totally different from ours) have a charm that you can hardly find in other situations. Our journey in Peru was this all. Despite the disappointment for the previous failure, remains in my heart the memory of the magnificent and, at the same time, frightening glacier on which we stayed for three days and three nights. The climb of the Misti volcano, together with joy at the achievement of its peak, left us the memory of the splendid and together terrifying vision of its crater, the beautiful landscape of desert plains that was below us and of the indescribable rise of the sun that passing trough its slopes permitted us to admire the cone of shadow cast on the valley. Visiting the ancient Incas settlements and trampling on the same land that, hundreds of years before, was inhabited by people of which, even today, we ignore almost everything, had the charm of mystery and stimulates the desire to deepen knowledge. Walking in countries outside the totally tourist areas, among local gaudy colors, visiting the many outdoor markets displaying goods so strange and talking with the locals, gave me a sense of tranquillity and inner peace that is in clear contrast with the frenzy and collective agitation that pervades us in our cities. These people, even in their extreme simplicity of lifestyle, managed to maintain over the ages an enviable balance with nature.