That’s it I am finally here! So excited and curious to see what adventures await. After arriving in Peru I was picked up and dropped off at the bus station so I can take the bus to Ica. In order to go to Nazca to see the Nazca lines it is recommended that you stay in Ica. I am going to Huacachina in Ica. Get this, Huacachina is an oasis in the dessert!!!! I am looking to get footage for the background of the documentary and see who I can interview along my travels.

🇵🇪 I was lucky to find an amazing tour guide who is helping me every step of the way. She arranged my transportation to the bus station purchased my bus ticket, hotel stay, arranged all my tours, transportation and had people stay with me until I got on the bus. Luckily I was able to interview those people and learn a lot about how to heal anemia and iron deficiencies with chicken blood. Random right?! 

To hear the unedited audio interview which is in Spanish make sure to sign up for a Patreon account with a minimum $25 monthly donation so that you view the unedited video and audio interviews as well as sneak peeks of the filmmaker’s insights. Two interviews per month will be uploaded to give you content every month so you can gladly support the project. You can cancel anytime. https://www.patreon.com/theindigenousdocumentary

The next few months will include one Spanish interview as most were completed in Peru and hhave not been translated yet. Keep in mind these are unedited so they will not have captions or anything of that nature, any unedited interviews will be in the language that it was conducted in until we can edit them and translate them for the docu-series.

Ica, Nazca & Paracas

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 and I got great footage. I was very grateful for this experience.

Below is the sunset in Ica. This was photographed with the iPhone XR

October 5, 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.

October 7, 2021

So my tour guide convinces me to go to Paracas National Park and the Ballesta Islands, apparently it was included in the price of the hotel. When you book your hotel in Huacachina ask them if any tours are included because many times, they are. Apparently so was the tubulares tour I paid for, something my guide failed to explain. I decided to go to Paracas because it was free and I could get background footage for the documentary, to help compensate for the unnecessary spending of the tubulares tour (it was only $14 + $10 tip) and I had a free day.

Below is the footage for Ballesta Islands

Arequipa & Colca

So from Ica I took an overnight bus and arrived in Arequipa in the morning. There was a six hour delay, so of course I made friends with people at the bus station. I met this Mexican-American woman whose grandmother taught her a lot of holistic practices and I was lucky to verbally interview her. Many of the things that she shared mirrored several practices I grew up with. She shared a lot of information.

We discussed practices of how to protect yourself.  I’m going to see if I can put verbal interviews on this blog. So check back for ay updates. Part of why I chose to do this documentary is that I am always meeting people and having extraordinary conversations and I wanted to share that with the world. Knowledge and information should be passed on, not hoarded. This conversation attest to the fact that can go anywhere in the world have a conversation and learn something amazing from somebody. 

When our busses arrived we parted ways as we ended up going on two different buses to the same place. After arriving in Arequipa, I checked in. After settling in, I walk out of the hotel entrance and I bump into same girl LOL. Coincidence or fate, it was a very “Celestine Prophecy” , a book by James Redfield moment . Peru is also where the book took place, coincidence or fate. I didn’t see her again since I was only there for one day.  Something tells me we will cross path’s again.

I did go across the street to the convent which seems to be a big attraction for the town. I learned in the past, Catholics at the monastery had indigenous peoples as servants. I paid for a tour guide from the monastery and immediately afterward paid a private third party guide. I wanted compare information from both and they were identical. I recorded my private tour guide, I will see if I can add the audio. I am still trying to figure all of this out on my own.

I was told affluent people gave up their daughters to the church and donated large sums of money to the church as payment for their sins, in exchange for forgiveness and a clean slate. The more money they donated the bigger the room and more privileges the daughter had in the convent. In the past daughters did not want to go to the convent, they were forced to go and the family had to pay via donation to get the girls in. As time progressed it was the opposite, nuns volunteered and donated their time and services to help the church gain money. The monastery is called a city within a city because it had everything you could possibly need within its walls. There was no need to leave the convent.

Arequipa is a beautiful colonial town that is very modern and up-to-date amenity wise, yet it still had the charm and aesthetics of colonial times. They have street performers in the plaza and several shops. In retrospect, I wish I would’ve stayed an extra day to get to know a little bit more about the town but instead I had already planned and paid for a tour bus the following morning, which is more affordable then a commercial travel bus, to take me to Colca. Many people suggest you have to spend a day in Arequipa to acclimate your lungs as you progressively go up in altitude to prevent altitude sickness. very similar to how many people stay in Cuzco for a few days before going to Machu Picchu. I suggest at least 2-3 days, as I only stayed one day and paid for it as you will soon learn.

I was fine with the altitude until one hour before we arrived at the center of town in Colca. It is suggested not to eat or drink anything until you arrive where you’re going or else it’ll affect you. Guess what I did at the rest stop? I had a chicken sandwich and Coca Tea. As we started ascending I started getting short of breath and a mild headache. I rarely ever get headaches. Please heed my advice, when you’re climbing to a higher altitude don’t eat or drink anything if you’re quickly changing altitude.

After arriving into town the tour bus passengers sat together for an included lunch at a pre-selected restaurant. The included lunch is yet another benefit of the tour bus vs the commercial bus option. In most cases tour buses tend to leave on time more frequently than commercial buses as exemplified in my experience in the delay in Ica to get to Arequipa. Ivonne, my personal tour guide had the bus tour guide arrange a taxi to my hotel. I stayed at Anyi Anna Wasi, which was an unforgettable experience.

I was literally in the mountains in these round houses that make you feel like you’re in a cartoon. My mom said I look like snow White and the seven doors because the doors are literally half the size of your body so you have to crouch down to get in but then when you’re inside. Ever. But every time you walk out of your apartment it’s a huge it’s an amazing breathtaking view. I’ll see if I can add some film and photos below. Each door has it’s own apartment, mini living room and a bed and a bathroom. I highly recommend staying here.

The Wi-Fi was spectacular in the main house and if you’re in the perimeter of the main house can still access of the Wi-Fi or a little apartments that didn’t have Wi-Fi so you have to get it. It is thoughtfully decorated. I learned why they’re able to sleep at night without any heat if necessary. It’s the layering of the blankets there was about four blankets on the bed and the way that day so materials that used to make a blanket with the llama and I’ll pack offer, you’re sweating at night. They have mastered every way I’ve had a survive. Where I learned about their infamous etched in mountains. Basically it was an irrigation system but allow the water to flow down the mountain and then they planted crops on each layer so that the water would naturally take care of the crops. Also it allowed the mountain and the props to absorb the water so that it didn’t go into the valleys where a lot of people actually lived only the elite lived above them in the mountains. So it was also a way to save stuff any flooding that might occur had they not had these to deter the water.