Los animales de carga en el Turismo Responsable

by Carlos Buj

Brooke, una ONG, inglesa por supuesto, se dedica a preocuparse por las condiciones en que viven los animales de carga en todo el mundo, especiamente en el turismo. Los animales de carga son aprovechados al máximo en condiciones indignas incluso para los animales.

La pregunta que me asaltó a mí y seguramente a ti también es ¿no hay que preocuparse primero de las personas?

Quizás una cosa no quita la otra. Además tener animales en buenas condiciones también beneficia a sus dueños. En el video y en el texto a continuación piden a los turistas que tengan en cuenta estas cuestiones.

Millones de caballos y burros de trabajo son parte de la vida cotidiana en los destinos turísticos más populares. Pero el exceso de trabajo y las malas prácticas pueden hacer sufrir mucho a los animales.

Muchos animales pasan todo el día transportando pesadas cargas, ya que llevan a los turistas a través de terreno difícil a precios de ganga, a menudo bajo el sol abrasador, con la cortina de poca agua, o de descanso. Agotados, los animales sufren por calor, lesiones, golpes, deshidratación y heridas para que sus propietarios empobrecidos puedan traer algo de dinero a casa.

Toda persona tiene el poder de evitarles el sufrimiento a caballos o asnos, y Brooke está ahí para ayudar a los viajeros a tener cuidado y tomar decisiones responsables …

Stay away from the crowds with Naturaleza Activa

by Paul Bellinger

Naturaleza is highly rated by lonely planet and footprint. I've taken several trips with Eduardo (Lalo) and Guillermo Rendon and will continue traveling with them any time I am in Arequipa. Our trip to Colca Canyon was three days and two nights. What sets Naturaleza apart from the other guide companies is that they keep you away from the large crowds of other tourists, taking special routes that other guides do not use or do not know about.

Time and time again we would be ahead of the crowds. I never felt like we were just following all the other tourists around the typical loop in the canyon. On the first day we descended into the canyon and saw no other tourists at all, only locals with their mules. We stayed in an amazing "familiar home," (Roy's in San Juan de Chucho) which doesn't mean we slept on the floor of someone's house, but that we stayed with a family who has built several cozy little cottages on their property and who cooked a traditional dinner and breakfast for us.

Roy's had no electricity, but had plenty of hot water to shower up and great food. The next day we beat the crowds again. We stopped at the museum on our way to the Oasis, just like most tours do, but we got there before them, didn't have to wait in line, and were on our way out when the crowds showed up.

One of our guides (Lalo) went ahead to the Oasis and reserved us a spot at the best pool while preparing fresh fruit for a snack. We had lunch there and swam at the pool for a few hours. The views were awesome and the pool was nice and cool after a long morning of hiking. Then we climbed out of the canyon in the afternoon, once the sun had receded a bit so it wasn't too hot.

Everything was planned perfectly and I wouldn't expect any less from the Colca Specialists at Naturaleza. We stayed at a hotel on the second night in Cabonaconde, where again, our guides reserved us a table for dinner while other tourists were waiting in line to get a table.

Naturaleza has a huge advantage when it comes to providing the best service for their customers, not just because they specialize in Colca trips and have lots of experience, but because everywhere they go they are warmly greeted by the locals who go out of their way to help their friends at Naturaleza provide the best experience for their customers.

I couldn't count the number of old ladies that lit up when they saw Guillermo and rushed to give him a kiss. He's more than a tour guide, he's an adopted son of the region and everyone treats him as such. He's an adopted son of the region (officially) because he stands up for the local communities against other big tour companies that trample on the local culture while trying to profit from tourism.

Check the blog "The Colca Specialist" for details on Guillermo's activism in the community. Once you read it, you'll never think twice about going with another tour company. Lalo (Eduardo) the owner of Naturaleza was also amazing, and always at our service. From serving us food to taking away our dirty plates, Lalo was always there to help us and the locals.

While other tour guides just sit there while the restaurant servers take care of their customers, Lalo does it himself. No wonder the locals love him, he doesn't treat them like servants. On the third day we went to the Cruz del Condor, the only time we were immersed in a big crowd of tourists. And it wasn't a problem, there were so many Condors that they attract a big crowd.

After the condors we went to Chivay for the hot springs. Again, it was not crowded at all when we got there, but as we were leaving, the parking lot was a total traffic jam of tour companies and hikers wanting to relax after some tough hiking. We went to a nice buffet for lunch and again, by the time we were leaving there was a huge line for the buffet and we were already stuffed and on our way.

Like I said, Naturaleza keeps you ahead of the crowd at every turn. They keep your stomach full of awesome food, your head full of information about the local cultures, and your legs tired from great hiking. By the end of the trip I felt like I was actually ripping them off when I thought about all of the food, hotels, hot springs, pools, and overall amazing service that I got for my money.

I truly couldn't believe how amazing everything went and that there were no miscellaneous charges for all of the cool stuff we did. I highly recommend Naturaleza Activa for any trip in the Arequipa area, but especially Colca Canyon, as they are truly the Colca Specialists.

You'll be traveling with the owner of the company himself who takes every effort to provide the best service possible. And if you get the privilege of going with Guillermo, you'll be with the adopted son of the region, the secretary general of the tourist association of the province, and a man who stands side by side with the local people as they struggle to cope with the reality of tourism in their communities. Don't think twice, go with Naturaleza!

Scientists uncover Inca Children´s countdown to sacrifice

Craig Brierley

Hair samples from naturally preserved child mummies discovered at the world's highest archaeological site in the Andes have provided a startling insight into the lives of the children chosen for sacrifice. Researchers funded by the Wellcome Trust used DNA and stable isotope analysis to show how children as young as 6-years old were "fattened up" and taken on a pilgrimage to their death.

A team of scientists led by Dr Andrew Wilson at the University of Bradford analysed hair samples taken from the heads and from small accompanying bags of four mummies found in the Andes. These included the 15-year old "Llullaillaco Maiden" and the 7-year old "Llullaillaco Boy" whose frozen remains were found in 1999 at a shrine 25m from the summit of Mount Llullaillaco, a 6,739m volcano on the border of Argentina and Chile. The Maiden, described as a "perfect mummy" went on display for the first time last month in Salta, northwest Argentina.

Dr Wilson and colleagues studied DNA and stable light isotopes from the hair samples to offer insight into the lives of these children. Unlike samples of bone collagen and dental enamel, which give an average reading over time, hair growth allows scientists to capture a unique snapshot at different intervals over time, helping build up a picture of how the children were prepared for sacrifice over a period of months. The results are published today in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA.

"By examining hair samples from these unfortunate children, a chilling story has started to emerge of how the children were 'fattened up' for sacrifice," says Dr Wilson, a Wellcome Trust Bioarchaeology Fellow.

It is believed that sons and daughters of local rulers and local communities were chosen for sacrifice, possibly as a way for the ruling Incas to use fear to govern their people. Some girls, know as acllas, were selected from around the age of four and placed under the guardianship of priestesses; some would later be offered as wives to local nobles, others consecrated as priestesses and others offered as human sacrifices.

By analysing stable isotopes found in the hair samples, Dr Wilson and colleagues were able to see that for much of the time prior to sacrifice, the children were fed a diet of vegetables such as potato, suggesting that they came from a peasant background. Stable isotopes of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and hydrogen from an individual's diet are deposited in their hair where they can remain unchanged over thousands of years.

However, in the twelve months prior to sacrifice, the isotopic evidence shows that the Maiden’s diet changed markedly to one that was enriched with plants such as maize, considered an "elite" food, and protein, likely to have come from charki (dried llama meat).

"Given the surprising change in their diets and the symbolic cutting of their hair, it appears that various events were staged in which the status of the children was raised" says Dr Wilson. "In effect, their countdown to sacrifice had begun some considerable time prior to death."

Changes in the isotopes in the hair sample in the final 3-4 months suggest that the children then began their pilgrimage to the mountains, likely from Cuzco, the Inca capital. Whilst scientists cannot be certain how the children died, it is believed that they were first given maize beer (chicha) and coca leaves, possibly to alleviate the symptoms of altitude sickness and also to inure them to their fate. This theory is supported by evidence of coca metabolites that the researchers found in the victims' hair, and in particularly high concentrations in the Maiden's.

"It looks to us as though the children were led up to the summit shrine in the culmination of a year-long rite, drugged and then left to succumb to exposure," says co-author Dr Timothy Taylor, also of the University of Bradford. "Although some may wish to view these grim deaths within the context of indigenous belief systems, we should not forget that the Inca were imperialists too, and the treatment of such peasant children may have served to instil fear and facilitate social control over remote mountain areas.”

Previous research has shown that Llullaillaco Boy appears to have met a particularly horrific end. His clothes were covered in vomit and diarrhoea, features indicative of a state of terror. The vomit was stained red by the hallucinogenic drug achiote, traces of which were also found in his stomach and faeces. However, his death was likely caused by suffocation, his body apparently having been crushed by his textile wrapping having been drawn so tight that his ribs were crushed and his pelvis dislocated.