A Feline in the Foothills

 

I guess cats really do have 9 lives, or at least they sure do live a damn long time. Turns out, a large image of a cat has been discovered at a UNESCO World Heritage site in southern Peru. This isn't anything out of the ordinary for this specific area as hundreds of lines like this can be found in the area depicting animals and assorted geometric shapes. UNESCO refers to this phenomenon as the "Lines and Geoglyphs of Nasca and Palpa". Details from their larger article found here:

"Located in the arid Peruvian coastal plain, some 400 km south of Lima, the geoglyphs of Nasca and the pampas of Jumana cover about 450 km2 . These lines, which were scratched on the surface of the ground between 500 B.C. and A.D. 500, are among archaeology's greatest enigmas because of their quantity, nature, size and continuity. The geoglyphs depict living creatures, stylized plants and imaginary beings, as well as geometric figures several kilometres long. They are believed to have had ritual astronomical functions."

I find history in general fascinating, but even more-so when we can't figure out why the hell people were doing what they were doing. Like the article above mentions, they believe it has something to do with rituals, which makes sense, but to make these by hand and for them to last until modern times is truly hard for me to get my mind around. Also, just how? How could they possibly make these thousands of years ago with limited technology they had? I mean the cat is looking a little funky but still, to make these by hand by simply removing and moving rocks to show the surfaces beneath into giant images is hard to grasp mentally. 

It also gives me some hope, you know? Like there's still so much out there we have to find and discoveries like this keep that hope alive. Hear more from Johny Isla in this article here:

“It’s quite striking that we’re still finding new figures, but we also know that there are more to be found,” Johny Isla, Peru’s chief archaeologist for the lines, told the Spanish news agency Efe.“Over the past few years, the use of drones has allowed us to take images of hillsides.”

Isla said between 80 and 100 new figures had emerged over recent years in the Nazca and Palpa valleys, all of which predated the Nazca culture (AD200-700). “These are smaller in size, drawn on to hillsides, and clearly belong to an earlier tradition.”

It will be interesting if / when they do find more and what comes about these potential earlier traditions, maybe it will give us some clarity on what they mean and why they took the time to make these massive images on the Earth. Also pretty cool that drones are helping us finding items like this. I love seeing technology and history collide and when it enables us to experience things we couldn't have before I continue to look forward to what we still have to find out there.

Time Capsule - Trip to Brazil Part 1: Paraty

Hey there! I've always wanted to write about my trip to Brazil in 2019 so I thought I'd dig up some pictures and tell a piece of the trip here. For a little background, before my girlfriend entered her DPT program last summer so we decided to finally take up her sister's offer and come visit her sister in Sao Paulo, Brazil. At the time I was working at a company with unlimited PTO, so we decided in May of 2019 to take a 3 week trip to Brazil. During our time there her sister planned a road trip during one of the weekends heading north through the mountain town of Cuhna, where we spent a night and into the state of Rio to visit a city called Paraty. More on other adventures later, but moving forward this post is all about Paraty. 

Paraty, founded around 1500, is on UNSECO's Worth Heritage List and is unofficially recognized as the halfway point between Sao Paulo and Rio De Janero. As you near the city center the streets become made of stone and all motorized traffic is barred leaving just foot traffic and the occasional horse. As we descended from the mountainous jungle into Paraty it started as a few small pousadas (bed and breakfasts) here and there with a restaurant in between, it seemed like most small Brazilian towns I had seen on the road trip so far. But as I made my way to the city center I realized this was unlike anything I had seen before.

Our lodging for the next two days was about 10 miles or so out of the actual city center, towards the jungle and accessible by a one lane dirt road in and out. More on this later, first we had to explore the city itself and get some lunch before heading out into the jungle, but was also near a beach. After a bit of a bumpy ride to find some parking we were ready to explore on foot. To paint the picture, the group consisted of my girlfriend and me plus her sister, husband and 2-3 month old baby. As we explored for a bathroom and eventually a place to eat I couldn't stop smiling at this cool little town I had been brought too. The streets made of stone, merchants everywhere selling their goods, music in the distance and food on every corner

After a walk around and a few snacks and a few souvenirs purchases we decided to sit down for some lunch. We found a restaurant with a man playing acoustic guitar in the corner and sat down for our meal, there was one other small family besides us and we had a view of the street and passing traffic. 

With most meals I had in Brazil the meal starts with fresh juice, I think my favorite was the pineapple juice but we had so many it's hard to pick. I had a Brazilian style picadillo and it was delicious. Their style of picadillo ended up being my favorite meal in Brazil, besides fejoada. After lunch we headed back to the car and it was time to check into the pousada. It was about a 20 minute drive from the city center, which sounded like a breeze but we were not prepared for the drive ahead. After arriving to our turn to the pousada off the highway we found it to be a dirt road. We were in a new-ish Toyota Camry and it was definitely not built for off-roading. Keep in mind the terrain all around us is essentially jungle, tree covered hillsides, green as far as the eye can see. It was a bit bumpy but not enough for us to turn around so we made our way forth. As we continued to drive down this dirt road deeper into the jungle I noticed my cell service slowly dropping one bar at a time. I'm not necessarily someone who needs their phone but as we continue into the unknown jungle a little contact with civilization was comforting. Our ride gets bumpier and my cell service is all but gone at this point and all you can see is jungle around you with scattered signs of human life. It's incredible people live out there and have been for so long, it's interesting to me how humans can live such different lives but still be the same species.

As the jungle thickens we pass an area designated for an indigenous tribe in the are, fenced off. I imagined in the past everything I was seeing was there. Houses, a few churches, some schools and random businesses dotted the sides of this dirt road as we drove on. Finally, we see our turn into our pousada. It was overgrown and we were driving basically blind but we knew we had the right spot. We passed a tree line and the place came into view and it was one of the most spectacular sights of my life. Buildings somehow constructed in the middle of the jungle and something out of Swiss Family Robinson.

We pulled up and finally parked to find animals all over the place including a dog, chickens and even a peacock running around. A man smiling ear to ear walks up and greets us helping us with our luggage with a kid not too far behind him. As it turns outs this is a family run business in which they created from the ground up - I'm talking the plumbing in this 12-15 person capacity bed and breakfast. After getting our rooms we unload our stuff and join up in the common area to rest after an extremely long day. 

To be continued...

Top 3 Non-Dairy Frozen Treats Right Now

In college I worked at a pizza place resulting in me eating so much pizza I became lactose-intolerant. I can't confirm this with a matter of fact, but at some point I realized dairy products and my body cannot co-exist. First I struggled with that concept, then I was sad, then I was angry, and now, I am at peace. 

With veganism and dairy alternative lifestyles on the rise it has without doubt become easier to enjoy the things I've given up on in life due to my intolerance. While my intolerance isn't fun, it's not deadly - I could intake some dairy products here and there and it's not going to completely ruin my day. However, I still find myself actively searching for the dairy free alternatives.With that in mind, I present to you my top three dairy-free desserts running:

 

Number 3: Alden's Organic Dairy Free Caramel Drizzle Round Sammies

 I live directly behind a Sprouts, a healthy / organic focused grocery store, which is ripe with dairy alternative options especially the desserts. Recently while meandering the back aisles of said Sprouts I stood gazing at the dessert fridges looking for the perfect frozen treat. And the fridge gazed back, as if shrouded in light the box pictured above took center stage in my view. Astounded by the opportunity to enjoy an ice cream sandwich again I jumped at the possibility and threw them into my basket. 

Fast forward a few hours and with dinner and dishes complete it was time to give these a go. First, I can safely say this is the best dairy-free ice cream sandwich I've ever had, and I've had many. The balance between the outer sandwich exterior and actual caramel drizzle within the "ice cream" truly made this phenomenal. I want to say I legitimately ate this within 3-4 bites, and it's not something I am proud of but need to emphasize how delicious these were. It's also part of my criticism, they're too small. But I do also enjoy that part, it's a perfect amount to leave you wanting more. And you know what? I want more. I'm looking for these every visit to Sprouts and have yet to find them stocked again - they move fast. One day again I'll enjoy these greats but let me be the first to say keep your eyes peeled for yourself. 

 

Number 2: Trader Joes' Soy Creamy Cherry Chocolate Chip Non-Dairy Frozen Dessert

I think this one most speaks for itself and needs little explanation but it's essentially my favorite "ice cream" and it's not even close. Soy Creamy is loaded with cherry chunks and hunks of dark chocolate with cherry flavored ice cream, it's delicious and needs to be on everyone's list when going to TJ's. This one especially is something I suggest to people regardless if they have an issue with dairy or not. When my girlfriend brings this home from a trip to Trader Joe's I'm a happy guy, it's that simple. Soy Creamy is also a great topping ice cream too. For example, we baked fresh vegan brownies and put this one top "pizookie" style and it was one of the best desserts I've ever had. Get out there and try this if you haven't. 

Number 1: Haagen-Dazs Peanut Butter Chocolate Fudge Non-Dairy

So I will admit I've only stumbled onto these recently however I am not guilty of recency bias. These are the best dairy-free dessert options on the market. I genuinely did not believe my girlfriend when she told me these were dairy-free. The peanut butter and dark chocolate make it so rich you are absolutely convinced this is loaded with all the dairy in the world, but its not. Honestly these would be the absolute perfect dessert but they come three to a box and that is a terrible policy and I would urge all ice cream companies worldwide to stick to four, please. My hatred for odd counted ice cream bars aside I will actively be looking for these bars in the future because they were best dairy-free frozen treat I've ever had.