IBM CSC Peru

The travel journal of an Australian IBMer contributing to an economic development project in Piura, Peru

[heatherpappas]

I always find myself reflecting when I am at airports – what got me here, how do I feel about it, what could I change in future or what is perfect just the same. I am doing some of that as I sit at my gate in Lima International Airport, ready for my flight to Santiago which will connect me tomorrow to Sydney, my home.  I have ended this trip on an absolute high post Machu Picchu, travelling the last 3 days back via Cusco and Lima exploring the sites.

En route to Cusco we had a ‘small’ hiccup with the trains back to Ollantaytambo coming to a halt due to a malfunction on the train in front of us. We got stuck for 4-hours confined to a cabin with a rowdy bunch of boozy tourists who had just come off their gruelling trek! We had a great laugh with a bunch of strangers, and eventually made it back to Cusco late that night exhausted.  Roaming the next day with Matt lead us to two epic highlights in Cusco, namely our lunch at a gorgeous restaurant hidden behind the main square… food has been a bit mixed along the way so it was very refreshing! Second was the stunning main cathedral & surrounding museums… I also managed a reunion with one of my Piura travel buddies and randomly bumped into one of my brother’s mates on the street, as you do!  We packed out our day and finished up at dinner with our tour guide Armando who resides in Cusco and would not be escorting us back to Lima. He has been so fantastic, flexible and accommodating, and I thoroughly enjoyed his company and the tour with Intrepid.

Pretty handy that Matt is a Star Alliance member, which meant that for our flight back to Lima we were upgraded to Business Class! My first experience ever, shame it was only for a 1-hour flight but nonetheless a special treat to end our travels.  We explored Lima’s CBD including the famous San Francisco church, monastery and catacombs, where people queued for hours to pay their respects inside the cathedral to celebrate a significant feast day.  We topped off our day with a late dinner at IK restaurant, which Tripadvisor suggested as one of the best in town, and it lived up to expectations.  I had my last pisco sour on Peruvian soil and bought myself a bottle to take home!  All in all, an amazing day in the capital – it’s probably the only place we needed a bit more time, but can’t complain after the trip I’ve had!

So how did I get here? IBM got me to Peru which I am so grateful for, but I’m also stoked that I threw myself onto this two week tour of incredible sights and immersion in the culture.  I feel super content with what I’ve seen and done, and now really eager to get home! What would I change? I think I would’ve pushed some of my friends or family a little harder to come along with me, as I prefer to share these experiences with my loved ones… I probably didn’t try hard enough to convince them that it would be amazing to see this place, but I’m sure now that they hear about it they will re-consider in future. What was perfect was the pace and style of travel for me, and everything we got to see. I am super lucky to have had this journey and can’t wait for my next adventure, which is marrying the love of my life next year.  Hopefully that involves some travel too!

[heatherpappas]

My alarm went off at 4.20am this morning… yes I’d packed my bag the night in anticipation of the delirium, but was quickly overcome by excitement and nerves as I ran down to breakfast, as usual undecided about how many jackets I need to take! Mountains is clearly not my thing, but after checking that the weather was expected to warm up significantly, and we were already at 16 degrees at 5am, Matt and Armando convinced me that one was enough.  Buses start from the town centre at 5.30am since the site opens at 6am, but we didn’t expect all 2500 people at the bus stop at that time of the morning!  Turns out more than 70% of tourists ascend to the site first up, so we had a good hour wait as the buses rolled in and out taking people up the mountain.

As we walked into the site and looked out over the large granite rocks, steps, and structures, I was overwhelmed with so much emotion! I almost cried in relief, not just because I’d made it here but that I’d made it alone, overcome a reasonably strong fear of heights, and although I had a few minutes of nerves, I felt extremely comfortable and excited by my surroundings which was so unusual for me at a place of such magnitude.  I took a few deep breaths as we headed straight into our guided tour of the city. We quickly learnt that it’s not 100% clear what the original name for the city is, but some historic papers refer to it as Machu Picchu which translates to Old Mountain, but there are suspicions it could also be named after Wayna Picchu, meaning Young Mountain, which is the one the opposite mountain that features in the background of all the famous photos.

We learnt that the Inca city was strategically built where it is to sit between the Sacred Valley and the Jungle, enabling the Incas to maintain relationships with both sides at this crossroads.  They even had dedicated meeting spaces where Jungle leaders would join them for discussions and to make agreements about the region.  There was a clear split in the city, the farming side and living quarters, where there are temples dedicated to Pacha Mama and the Sun.  The temple of Pacha Mama was shaped in the form of a uterus so that Kings are buried inside of Mother Earth in the foetal position. They also ensured the temple of the Sun faces east, built in the perfect position that intercepts the sun at both seasonal extremes of the year… to achieve this they would’ve observed the sun for years!  They also created a sun dial at the top of the mountain to assist navigating the seasons.

The adventure junkies that we are, Matt and I agreed to a short 30 minute hike to the Inca Bridge not far from the main city which meant more cliffs, but a scenic walk through forest and mud.  We made the most of the greenery, having spent so much of the last few weeks in desert. This was followed by some token tourist photos attempting the awkward gaze out at the city…it was spectacular! After several hours of walking, gazing, wow-ing, gasping, and photo taking, we were ready for a pizza and a beer.

It became very apparent that even though the Incas did not conquer the ‘uncontrollable’ jungle people, they were the driving force behind a social, political and religious revolution for the parts of Peru, Ecuador, Columbia, Chile, Bolivia and Argentina that they ruled.  Learning the meaningful and intelligent reasons for everything they achieved in this city just made this aesthetically beautiful place all the more special.  A once in a lifetime experience, one I will never forget!

[heatherpappas]

When you hear about Machu Picchu you always hear about the Sacred Valley and Aguas Calientes as the gateways into the city, and obligatory visits en route…so this is where went! Our journey commenced by bus to Ollantaytambo in the Sacred Valley – a small town about an hour and a half from Cusco.  This included a ‘home visit’ for lunch on the way, cooked by the friendly Seniora Celia and included the locally brewed corn beer.  Sadly, not quite as good as our newly beloved Cusquena, but we did our best to have more than a few sips!  This was followed by a competitive game of Sapo, or the toad game, which involved tossing large coins in an attempt to get them into the toad’s mouth.  The toad is merely a small bronze ornament, with points allocated to various parts of the board where the coin lands.

Reaching Ollantaytambo in mid-afternoon we headed straight for the small Inca site overlooking the town, which involved a steep incline to the site of what once was the Temple of the Sun, sadly another structure destroyed by the Spaniards.  It still provided us with a beautiful view of the town and surrounding mountains.  We stayed overnight here and started the day at a coffee shop near the town square, watching primary school students performing the traditional Cusco dance of Huallata.

We etched closer to Machu Picchu with the famous train journey to Aguas Calientes, which is only known by this name due to its hot springs, but officially known as Machu Picchu town.  The hot springs were not recommended, and after seeing photos of them in the shape of modern pools, we skipped it and wandered around town.  So pleasant was the fact that this town was split by a small river running down the middle, the running water of which we could hear from our hotel rooms.  Filled with Inca trekkers having their post walk beers, this little town was loud and humid, sitting low and deep amongst the surrounding mountains.  We’ve reached the gateway!

[heatherpappas]

Up until now there has been sporadic talk of the Incas throughout our trip.  Armando will mention in passing that a building is from the Inca times, or you can see the partial rock face as being an original Inca component of a structure, or noticing the shape of the puma on cliff edges, and of course the theories of how the Incas created the Nazca lines. It’s not till now reaching Cusco, the Inca Capital, that we are getting into the depths of their history.  The Inca people were mysteriously forward thinking – they designed buildings in a trapezoidal shape to minimise the impact of seismic activity, and they were able to slice oversized rocks to fit pieces so that mortar or the like was not required (the slicing done with something equivalent to a diamond cutter that clearly didn’t exist, or did it?).

Wandering through Cusco town we learnt about the Inca Kings, who were considered the sons of the sun.   When a King would die, children were often sacrificed and buried with them with pottery, always in the foetal position facing east in the direction of the rising sun. ‘Pacha Mama’ or Mother Earth was also held in high regard by the locals who would pray to her for good weather for crops. The Inca Empire was short-lived, lasting about 100 years in their peak spread, and quickly dissolving with the invasion of the Spaniards in 1533.  It was not clear how they dissolved – some say drought moved them out of their ‘conquered’ regions.

Linked strongly to Peru’s heritage is also the coca leaf, which we’ve already been drinking in tea form to assist with acclimatising, but was also used as part of ancient remedies to treat illness.  The reputation of the coca leaf was severely impacted when the UN declared it a drug, due to it being a component of the drug cocaine.  However, we learnt at the coca museum in Cusco that you would need 150 leaves in your mouth at once to feel any drug side effect, hence why Peru and Bolivia still use coca leaves and deem it legal.

To top off the day we wandered through the crazy San Pedro Markets, where local foods are on display such as the yuca from the potato family, the sweet lucuma fruit half way between a pear and a mango which is exclusive to the Andean region, the sweet cucumber known as pepino, and cherimoya fruit… not to mention the ever popular and spoken about ‘chica’ corn.  I will mention though that we tried the Cusco delicacy of guinea pig tonight which was slightly disappointing… But nonetheless, I love that food is as much a part of the Peruvian culture and history as anything else!

[heatherpappas]

Puno is the mainland hub for tourists visiting Lake Titicaca, the highest navigational lake in the world.  It’s funny that when you think of a lake, you assume it connects directly out to the ocean, but at this altitude there is no ocean in sight!  Considering the unfortunately modern translation of its name, it’s a pretty stunning place.  I also learnt that the name comes from the local language ‘Quechua’ translating Lake Titicaca to Grey Puma, or Puma of Stone, directly related to the shape of the lake.  The Incas worshipped the trinity that is the Condor, the Puma and the Snake, which represent the sky, the land and the underworld respectively.

We joined several tourists at the port early in the morning to jump on an 8-hour cruise of the lake that involved stopping at a few islands on the Peruvian side… yes, it is split harmoniously between Peru and Bolivia.  Near the coast of Puno we first visited Taquile Island where a traditional group of 5 families continue to live on islands made from reeds.  This existence was triggered by the locals fleeing the Spaniards in the 1500s.  Due to changing tides, the man’s primary role is to collect reeds to ‘top up’ the floor of the island, and the woman’s role is to sew and stitch pieces that are sold to tourists, which is their main source of income.  The lifespan of one of these small islands is only 80 years, so they start the process again… however, it is likely that the current generation on this island will be the last, with their children studying at schools and colleges on the mainland, and less interested in returning home.

We cruised the lake for a few hours before jumping off at a large island inhabited with farmers growing quinoa, potatoes, and fishing local trout.  We had an exhausting half hour climb up to the main town square… which took longer, with several breaks.  At this point, the oxygen levels were to blame for everything we experienced!  It was worth it though, with a beautiful view overlooking the lake as we ate freshly grilled trout and rice for lunch with some coca tea of course.

[heatherpappas]

I was quite sad and nervous leaving Arequipa, not only because I wish I had more time to explore, but the one thing that was scaring me from day 1 of booking this tour was how I would cope at high altitude.  I tried to minimise the risk by starting (as directed by my GP) the altitude sickness tablets prior to ascending to our next stop Puno, but that left me without sleep with some serious nausea… so I took the plunge and stopped them and hoped for the best.  We ascended within the first 45 minutes of leaving Arequipa to Puno’s altitude of 3800m… I was quick to notice the change in the air pressure.

We stopped on the way where the locals served us mint and coca tea that is meant to help with any symptoms.  Moving at a snail’s pace was also recommended, so I almost settled into a spacewalk as not to startle my body too much! We take little things for granted, like being able to jump out of bed quickly, or walking at a good pace on an incline.  These instantly became harder as our bodies adjusted.  Our highest point on the road was 4500m, so I was pretty pleased when we arrived in Puno back at 3800m, feeling a little puffed but thankfully in a reasonable state.  Lucky the stunning view made up for this…

[heatherpappas]

I was done with my adventure hit for a while, so it was convenient that Day 4 was 12 hours of scenic driving down south along the coast and then eventually inland for the climb up to Arequipa.  Some incredible cliff faces, valleys, lagoons, lakes, and desert everywhere! Not to mention the thick fog at one point in the trip, which is apparently not common for this time of year but was likely triggered by the small earthquake experienced in the Ica region the previous day.  Yikes! Apparently we were within a reasonable distance to feel the effect, but coincidently were on the sand dunes at the time…

Arequipa greeted us with a pleasant evening, the main square lit up by the beautiful Basilica Cathedral.  The most touristy spot was a rooftop bar overlooking the cathedral, which we thoroughly enjoyed gazing at, wearing ponchos loaned by the restaurant to help deal with the chilly wind.  It was a pretty restless sleep which was no doubt due to Arequipa’s 2400m above sea level altitude, which was a first for me living on the coast of Sydney.  Matt and I both adjusted pretty quickly the next day though and headed out for our walking tour of Arequipa.

Arequipena’s are proud of their local produce, particularly papaya and their sweet dessert queso elado, which we were coerced into trying first thing in the morning. This was followed by visits to some lookouts where we could see the city’s split by the river ‘Chilli’…well that’s what I understood it was called anyway!  We then ventured downtown to take a tour through the beautiful Monastery of Santa Catalina, as well as back into the main square to head inside the Cathedral.  I was thankful to get some time in the afternoon to wander the streets aimlessly, finding little alleyways, not to mention the beautiful museum of Juanita, a young Peruvian girl sacrificed and buried in one of the highest local mountains… her remains are kept in Arequipa for viewing.  I really enjoyed exploring this city - it reminded me of a large version of Toledo in Spain, a small town I got to visit 4 years ago, with cobblestone pathways, classic architecture and a chic vibe.

[heatherpappas]

So, I'm currently sitting at Nazca airport waiting for my travel buddy Matt to complete his flight over the famous lines that mysterious appeared during the Inca times. I found it hard enough to stand up in the small tower lookout to see some of the lines, so there was no way I was going up in a 4 seater! Nonetheless, I feel pretty content with my level of adventure today - it surpasses most days in my life thus far! We checked out of our hotel in Paracas this morning and headed to the port for the famous boat ride out to Isles of Ballestas. It's impossible to dock on the islands, but you get close enough to see the several species of birds and wildlife including penguins and sealions. My stomach was put to the test with choppy seas and the boat pausing for all of us crazy tourists to take pictures.  27 photos of the same sleeping animal later, and just when I thought I couldn't take any more rocking, we were back at the port and onto the road towards Nazca.   On the way we stopped at a small town with sand dunes... did I mention I don't do rollercoasters? Well I may have just overcome that fear! We jumped into buggies for a sand dune adventure I will not forget! Super exhilarating and scary - I wasn't so embarrassed by my screams with others just as loud!!

[heatherpappas]

After saying adios to the group at the airport I had a transfer waiting for me to head back into Lima. Upon arrival at the hotel I was surprised to learn that my tour with Intrepid which was expected to be up to 12 people, was in fact only 2 of us! To be honest this was instantly disappointing and slightly awkward... but when I eventually met the tour guide Armando and my obligatory travel partner Matt, I realised this could be a blessing in disguise. Being only just 2 meant we instantly dictated a customised tour, starting with a Cusquena beer over food and a walk through Miraflores. We didn't have to wait for anyone, agree on a time, no one was late, and if we didn't want to stay anywhere for long we just agreed to move on! After a month of 15 people taking hours to pick a restaurant for dinner, this was a huge relief. We then started day 2 on the road to Paracas, a port about 2 hours from Lima where we explored the national reserve - an absolutely magnificent area where desert meets ocean.  We learnt about the local conservation activities and impact of global warming on the coast... funny enough the land on this side of Peru will continue to rise and in some many years Paracas will end up at high altitude!  This drive was followed by a coffee on the balcony of our hotel, with the sunset... a relaxing moment to myself. 

[heatherpappas]

One last photo with the 10am flight crew leaving Piura - 11 of 15 present :)

[heatherpappas]

It's hard to sum up my feelings in this moment - it's been a tough month away from home, in a small city with a completely foreign culture, a challenging client, with a bunch of strangers that I can now call friends. We only had IBM in common when we started but now we have so much more! I am super grateful for what these interesting and funny individuals have taught me, for the laughs, quirks, patience and company! I'm even more grateful to Piura for welcoming me and helping me appreciate my home, and learn so much more about myself. This isn't quite the end of my adventure in Peru but it does end the IBM CSC experience. I hope the next leg shares more about Peru but complements the work I've been doing here the last month! Lima, I'm on my way back...

[heatherpappas]

Our solutions have finally come together and we are frantically getting ready to present to our client!  We had a couple of late nights early in the week creating our beloved powerpoint slides and gather some last minute data to finalise our stats… death by analysis…

In a nutshell, it was super hard to just go all in with a digital system to overthrow the current paper based forms for the health department.  We had to be so mindful of the limitations on budget for PCs and access to internet in remote areas.  We did though suggest some cost effective ways that they could get internet in more centres, and what an online and offline electronic system might look like. Offline would allow remote locations to still populate information on a digital system, but then export it to a usb and physically deliver to their nearest online location as they normally would with the physical forms.  This would still eliminate some of the errors that come from poor handwriting.  What was more valuable in my personal opinion was the small process changes we recommended they implement on the current paper system that will make their lives easier starting today.  This included creating some incentives for patients to return their forms if they e.g. leave with them to get medicine from the pharmacy… we suggested they collect their ID cards as collateral.  We also provided some filing suggestions and the initiation of a change committee to help create empathy for each stakeholder, which would be a forum to share ideas for process improvement.

Our recommendations were super well received!  Not without the chaos that is any Peruvian meeting though, which I felt all happened in my section of the presentation by the way! We had people walking in late, taking phone calls, then the coffee man walk in with 2 coffees to then realise there were 11 of us in the room triggering another 3 trips in and out.  These were complemented with everyone munching on chifles of course, which are Peruvian banana crisps served with everything, which then triggered side conversations in Spanish that I lost control of! I was dizzy and super overwhelmed by the end of it, but I think our point was made, and they were all so excited to take our feedback forward for implementation.  We had three levels of management in one room, and it was clear by their conversation that they rarely got together – hopefully this triggers a more frequent channel of communication, which we recommended as being key to success!

[heatherpappas]

A few Peruvian connections through the CSC program manager lead us to this gorgeous beach side house in Los Organos, about 2.5 hours from Piura, just south of the well-known party town of Mancorra.  As intriguing as Mancorra was to all of us, we had the same agenda of a relaxing weekend with freedom to eat or sleep whenever, swim whenever, and sip a pisco sour watching the sunset… we’re getting old! Some of the group headed out for a whale watching expedition on Saturday morning, but 3 hours on a boat is not quite my idea of fun!  The rest of us slept in, enjoyed a (slightly romantic) walk along the beach and some time to read and listen to music.

One of our team bonding pass-times has been the German card game of Toros, named after the Taurus bull I suspect, which I started off quite well at… my performance quickly deteriorated on this trip away though! The bunch of nerds that we are, we had the spreadsheet happening with our average scores regularly monitored.  Our chef extraordinaire Mohit, my fellow Sydney sider, then cooked us up a storm of chicken biryani from his native India for dinner, which was topped off by some home-made pisco sours using a pump water bottle to shake the egg whites. Yum!

[heatherpappas]

Inspiration is the word to explain these kids, and it’s exactly what I expected to experience. We were lucky enough today to take some time away from our project and visit a local school for high performing students that has only been around for 2 years.  They select the top student from each school in the region who then sits an entrance exam to be selected for a scholarship to study and board at the school.  Most students, aged 14-16, are from the poorest areas of the region, ranging from Piuran towns to the Amazon – some of them who can’t go home on the weekends or holidays as it can take them up to 4 days to travel back to their home towns.  Most of them have not left Piura, so you can imagine their fascination with the places we’ve visited and people we have met in our lifetimes.  How privileged are we to be in this position?!

We split into small groups, and for the first time in Peru I haven’t needed a translator to communicate.  These kids are absolute guns at English! I felt like my true feelings were able to be shared, through a mix of Spanish and English and teaching each other words and sharing our future aspirations.  They are all aspiring to be engineers, business managers, architects, and teachers. What was sad is they know they have to leave Piura, or even Peru, to get opportunities and fulfil their dreams. We ended the day with at least 50 friend requests on facebook, which I don’t have the heart to ignore but realistically can’t accept.  I have these photos to savour to memory of these kids though – I know they will find their way, and maybe I will see some of them in Sydney one day!

[heatherpappas]

So… back to the project front after a packed out weekend. Just when we thought we had heaps of time, we’re less than 2 weeks to go and need to draw a serious line in the sand on information gathering.  We are so deep in the chaos of the patient record system that we are confusing ourselves.  My teammates Jonathan and Vish started the week at one last field trip to a rural medical facility whilst I prepared a presentation for a spontaneously requested status update meeting with some members of the Health Dept.  The line has been drawn, and we agree this week is dedicated to narrowing down the issues we want to address, and the associated solutions that seem most feasible to recommend.  

Sporadic is probably a good word to describe Peruvians – your food takes anywhere from 5 minutes to an hour to arrive, people may or may not show up to a meeting, punctuality is not really a thing, unless you’re a taxi driver…side note since I mentioned them is that there is a serious oversupply of taxis rumoured to be fuelled by a tax on their vehicle that they can avoid if it is being used for work purposes! They beep at you continuously as they drive past hoping you might be struggling to walk and desperate for a taxi. Sigh.  So really there isn’t much of a system for anything, and in terms of wrapping up our project, the hardest part is key stakeholders disappearing without notice and the lack of communication to us, and amongst themselves. Ding ding ding! We had a few epic light bulb moments for our solution including communication and information sharing tools…their expectations are technology though, so we will just have to meet them half way!

[heatherpappas]

A highlight so far was seeing the local football team Atletico Grau beat their rivals from the Amazon 4-1 at their home stadium in Piura! Crowd control officials and police noticed the three of us ‘foreigners’ and quickly escorted us to purchase grand stand tickets on the west side of the stadium.  We were then stared and laughed at as we weaved our way into some seats in the middle of the stand, in amongst the drums, cheers and sledging from the crowd... the passion from the supporters was inspiring! This was followed by an intense negotiation with the lady on the side of the road as we attempted to buy jerseys from her, and a bumpy ‘mototaxi’ ride back to the hotel... aka. the peruvian tuk tuk!

[heatherpappas]

Travelling with 15 people from 10 different countries is proving to be quite challenging when it comes to decision making and coordinating activities! After several group msgs and meeting attempts, a waterfall adventure to Caracucho was agreed for Saturday, with the expectation set that it was a 1 hour drive and 30 minute walk right to the heart of a refreshing spot for a picnic, and the pictures above probably tell you the same...this was far from reality!

The trip constituted a two hour drive involving dirt and winding roads... yes my tummy survived!...with a slippery ascent to the waterfall with serious concentration required for 1.5 hours amongst rocks, branches, sand and pebbles to test our judgement and footing!  A few sugar stops for those feeling dizzy, a nose bleed, and two rolled ankles later (serves him right for wearing crocs!), we made it to the place we almost thought didn’t exist.  For some, this involved a jump off the rocks into the water, and for others... clearly me...a refreshing dip of the feet.  Nonetheless, some snacks and a hydration stop were welcomed, before the walk back down and trip back to the hotel for a lazy Saturday night in!