Ica is a town in the Peruvian desert with an adjacent town called Huacachina. Huacachina is an oasis in the desert comprised of a lagoon surrounded by hotels and restaurants. I decided to go to Ica to acquire footage for the documentary and see if I could speak to some locals about any practices they may like to share.
October 3, 2021
So today I landed in Lima, Peru and was picked up at the airport by my Peruvian contact’s cousin, Sebastian. He and his sister took me to the bus station. Upon arrival I bought some snacks and a face shield, as the shield is mandatory on public transportation. Luckily while waiting for the bus I was able to interview them. It wasn’t intentional, we just started talking about the documentary and what I’m doing and they started sharing with me local Indigenous holistic food practices. They told me about some thing called sangrita which is a soup that’s made out of the blood of a chicken to help those suffering with anemia. Apparently you kill the chicken, then you take the blood and use it to make a soup or cookies for kids that don’t want to drink the soup.
Indigenous people knew how to help those that were suffering from this type of disorder. They knew how to identify the problem and find the solution. To get the chicken blood you can go to a vivero, which is a small local business where they slaughter chickens in a humane way. There, you can pick your chicken and have it prepared for you to take home and cook. It is the freshest way to eat meat. I was fascinated by this conversation. They explained that another remedy is using the curdled gelatinous part of the fat in that soup in other recipes to aid with anemia.
It was an amazing to just sit down and talk to people and learn. Everybody has information and is a tool for knowledge. We all know things that others may not and if we work together we can acquire that information which is the basis of this documentary. I was so grateful for that moment and learned so much. I hope that someone sees this and may be able to use this as a holistic solution for their anemia. I suggest googling recipes for Sangrita. If modern-day medicine hasn’t worked perhaps this well.
After about an hour at the bus station I was finally able to board the bus and take my six hour trip to Ica. I wasn’t really too interested in spending any time in Lima because of the pandemic; I didn’t want to expose myself to anything if I could avoid it. I was more concerned with going to the desert in Ica and Huacachina to get footage for the documentary and talk to people in that region. I also booked a tour of the Nazca lines to also get footage and talk to people in that area.
October 4, 2021
On my first day in Ica, I took a taxi into town to get an international Sim card which would be necessary to communicate with locals, my guide and access Wi-Fi. I’m not very trustful of hotel Wi-Fi so I’d rather buy the Sim card in another country and hotspot that to my laptop which I feel is somewhat more secure. Upon arriving in the city I had my first Peruvian dish, Lomo salteado, a sautéed meat, french fry and onion dish served over rice. I paired it with the local favorite – Inca cola; it was delicious.
After my meal I returned back to my hotel to investigate the grounds. At which point I was approached by someone who talked about the Tubulares desert tours. I saw this as a great opportunity to get the footage of the desert for the documentary. It was relatively affordable $14 for a 1 1/2 hour trip. It was amazing! If you get a chance to visit this region of Peru, I highly recommend this tour. It consists of riding in 8 person open jeeps into the desert. The driver scales deep mounds and rushes down them like a roller coaster. All you have is a safety belt and faith that you do not tip over. It was amazing. If you’re an adventurer you are going to have a blast. The best part is when you get to the top of the mound they put you belly down on a snowboard with straps that you hold onto, then they push you so that you slide down the sand mound. It was phenomenal. Definitely one of the best experiences of my life. I booked a sunset tour because obviously that’s where you’re going to get the best footage. It was a lovely experience. I was able to acquire such amazing footage. It was literally the best $14 I’ve ever spent in my life. I was very grateful for this experience.
Below is the sunset in Ica. This was photographed with the iPhone XR
October 4, 2021
Today I travelled to Nazca for a day trip to see the Nazca lines. After arriving in Nazca I went directly to the airport to register for the flight. I boarded the tiniest little plane to see the Nazca lines. It was very loud, and required special headphones to cancel some of the noise. The ride was a little nauseating, so, if you ever partake in this excursion bring motion sickness pills. I don’t feel like I had enough time to see everything because it takes a while for you to actually find what they’re pointing out, at which point you don’t have enough time to zoom in and take pictures.
If you figure out how to angle your phone against the window you can pretty much catch everything underneath and then look back and try to see if you got it on your camera LOL. It took some getting used to, but I found that the Samsung 21 ultra worked better than the iPhone XR for this particular feature. I captured more surface area and clear video and was also able to zoom in better. So far I’m learning that the Samsung takes better high quality pictures in 6K but they tend to be more muted or matte as opposed to the iPhone with 4K whose colors are far brighter. So for anything that involves a saturation of color being important I will use the iPhone, as for anything where I need to emphasize zooming in with clear details I will use the Samsung 21 ultra. For the Nazca lines I preferred the Samsung footage. Originally I used both, but as the trip progresses I will have to decide which camera would be best for which activity.
Below is a photo from the Nazca Lines with the iPhone XR
October 6, 2021
While walking the perimiter of the lagoon in Huacachina, I met and briefly conversed with Henry Mejia Quispe from the Wari (aka Huari) tribe. He enthusiastically shared a brief synopsis on his knowledge of crystal healing, ayahuasca, and San Pedro. Mr. Quispe conducts hippie tours and sells healing crystals and jewelry in the Huacachina, Peru and Ica, Peru area. You may contact him via his Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/henry.mejiaquispe
The brief informal conversation with Mr. Quispe below is in Spanish. This footage has not been edited or translated yet. The lagoon behind him is in Huacachina, Peru. This was also filmed with the iPhone XR
I’ve never been more excited and joyful, I am so grateful to have this opportunity to embark on this adventure. I finally feel like I am living my life’s purpose.