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Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Ferrenafe Cemetery

Ferrenafe is not the town you imagined yourself visiting in Peru. Far from the Andes and the Amazon, on the northern desert coast, Ferrenafe is a small provincial town with one tourist draw, the Museo Nacional Sican, where elaborate gold funerary masks, pristine ceramics, impossibly pink Spondylus shells and jewelry of semi-precious stones from the pre-Colombian Sican culture are on display. Archaeologists continue to discover burial sites full of gold at the nearby Batan Grande dig site.

Most visitors view the museum and simply leave Ferrenafe. Spend another hour or two to gain some insight on more modern rural Peruvian funerary practices. Located a ten minute walk from the Sican Museum, the Ferrenafe Cemetery is a free attraction that will leave an impression.




 The cemetery is made up of hundreds of outdoor stacked brick sarcophagi, plastered and painted turquoise and white. Each features an alcove dedicated to the departed. The alcoves are precious jewel box art pieces, with original paintings, dolls, decorative gates, and fresh and plastic flowers (mostly in plastic Inca Kola bottles). Older sarcophagi have crumbled into piles of bricks, while some newer alcoves sit waiting to be decorated, with new cement with a name scratched into it.

To reach the cemetery from the Museo Nacional Sican, walk towards the cathedral and plaza on calle Batan Grande. The unmissable white cemetery gate will be on your left. Be sure to bring your camera!


Sunday, March 11, 2012

Temple Ruins by Horse & Carriage


For less than it would cost for a taxi between bars in San Francisco, we rented a private tuk tuk and driver for the morning to visit the temple ruins of Wiang Kum Kam on the outskirts of Chiang Mai, Thailand. The ruins cover an area that is filled, not only with ancient and modern temples, but also family homes. We splurged on a private horse and colorful carriage with driver. Part of the thrill was voyeuristically peering into the patios of private homes from our carriage as we went from temple to temple.

The site is an oasis, where city dwellers can worship while marveling at the beauty of the ancient sculpture whose red and white brick is partially covered with green foliage. One of the most beautiful Buddha sculptures, of black stone draped in a saffron sash, was renovated through the efforts of concerned neighbors. Visitors can stroll in the park-like setting, but the site is not just for gawkers. We encountered a Thai family fishing in a pond that had formed inside a ruin. A shrine with fresh marigolds, cigarettes, bananas, recently burned candles and incense, and miniature sculpture overlooked the family as they fished.

The photo above was taken in a busy area of Wiang Kum Kam, where vendors sell offerings to worshippers and new and ancient sculpture and architecture exist side by side. Hire a tuk tuk and driver through your hotel in the old city. The tour takes less than half a day and is absolutely lovely!



Special Loy Krathong (Lantern Festival) strings attached to Buddha's hands


I'm not sure why lady cannot enter. This was the only sign I  saw like this in Thailand.