Tracy Barnett Online

Year: 2010

  • Asuncion, Paraguay: Daily life in the plazas

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    ASUNCION, Paraguay – Life is settling into a rhythm here in Paraguay’s capital city. I start my day at a homey hostel called Casa da Silva with a cup of cafe con leche and some bread and cheese and conversation with Doña Da Silva, her granddaughter Angelica or Lola. After this, it’s time for me…

  • Ica and Huacachina: Two marvels in the Peruvian desert

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    A display at the Ica Regional Museum depicts a pre-Inca doctor performing brain surgery. Less than an hour inland from Paracas is the city of Ica, where a huge sand dune looms behind the highrises. Friends with more money than I possess recommended Las Dunas, an all-inclusive resort, but I chose to stay near the…

  • Peruvian penguins and a touch of luxury

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    PARACAS, Peru – The pungent scent of the sea washes over the landscape like the rhythmic waves, and I contemplate the pleasure of lingering here in the peaceful beauty of the Paracas Hotel and enjoying a sumptuous breakfast buffet. But I’m scheduled for the first boat to the Ballestas Isles, and the penguins await. I…

  • Lima’s love affair with light

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    LIMA – One more entry about Lima, just because it deserves it. This city has been called grey and dreary and at first glance one might understandably think so, given that the coastal fog that shrouds the city lifts so rarely. But that’s given Limeños the inspiration to play with light in ways that other,…

  • Huaca Pucllana: The ancient pyramids of Lima

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    Who knew that Lima’s fashionable Miraflores district was the site of an ancient ruin? Most Limeños, in fact, didn’t even know until relatively recently. This was the version presented by Alejandro Olivo, our guide, whose grandfather farmed these lands and who used to play soccer here when he was a boy. As far as he…

  • Caral: The oldest city in the Americas

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    I’d been reading about Caral, considered to be the oldest city in the Americas, in the fascinating book 1491, a new look at archaelogical discoveries in the New World by Charles Mann. So when Sarita suggested a day trip, I jumped at the chance. Sara booked a tour, and after a few mishaps inevitable to…

  • Peru redux: Lima eight years later

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    LIMA, Peru – I landed in this misty Andean capital a week ago for the wedding of my dear friend and former student, Sara Fajardo. Eight years ago I had come here with her and spent a month divided between here in Lima and in Ayacucho, where we translated for a medical mission and then…

  • Impressions from my first week in San Salvador

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    SAN SALVADOR – I have great hopes for this little country on the Pacific Coast, this country of volcanic landscapes and volatile history – a country whose name means The Savior. I am curious to learn what the crucible of revolution may have wrought on the human spirit here. Much has been written of the…

  • Santa Ana, El Salvador: Volcanos at sunset and a bittersweet sorbet

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    COATEPEQUE LAKE, El Salvador – The palms are swaying restlessly in the electric darkness, waiting for the storm to arrive. Lightning flashes over Santa Ana Volcano on the far side of the lake; just a few minutes ago I was walking along the shore with Elmer, catching the last bits of sunset over the lake.…

  • All you need is love: A Mayan immersion in Belize

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    My first day in Belize, I had come in from the dock, hot and confused and dusty. My pack weighed like a grey elephant on my back, and I had to find the bus stop. I stopped in at Gloria’s Restaurant, a big, breezy dining room where I could get directions and maybe grab a…