Monthly Newsletter - November 2008

For the sixth of eight competitions, the participants of the Association of Surfing Professional Women’s World Tour competed on the famous Peruvian waves. Hosted in Peru and presented by Rip Curl, the Movistar Classic Mancora competition took place on November 1, 2008. In the surfer’s serene haven of Mancora, the top 17 female surfers vied for the title of the 2008 ASP Women’s World Title. Peru For Less had the exciting opportunity of planning their pre-competition trip. Peru for Less Director Bernard Schleien met up with some of these athletes in Cuzco (now their favorite Peruvian destination) for an exclusive interview!

On October 30th, only a few hours after their magical visit to the Inca citadel Machu Picchu, director Bernard Schleien caught up with modern day surfing legends: Nicola Atherton (AUS), Rosanne Hodge (ZAF), Serena Brooke (AUS), Jessi Miley-Dyer (AUS) as well as 36-year old Layne Beachley (AUS), former seven-times ASP Women's World Champion and last year's runner-up in Mancora and 20-year old Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), 2007 and now 2008 ASP Women's World Champion.

Bernard: What brought you to Machu Picchu? Many celebrities come to Peru and never visit Machu Picchu but you did. Why?
Layne: That was the whole idea behind coming to Peru! We have read a lot about Machu Picchu and once it became one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, it created a lot of interest. We had the time and the opportunity to visit it before we went down and surfed.
Nicola: You go to all these amazing places all around the world and all you see is the beach. You’re at one beach one week and next beach…next beach…next beach. It gets a little repetitive. Ya know you’re in a country you want to see what it has to offer, experience the culture…and ya know see something new. And ya know you might never be back here again or you never know Machu Picchu might close down and you won’t be allowed back up there so I think it’s about taking opportunities when they arise.

Bernard: The change from the coast to a dramatic landscape like the Andes must be pretty impressive, right?
Nicola: Yeah. I think we’re all blown away, especially hiking up Wayna Picchu today. We were lucky we got some sunshine and got to see Machu Picchu from above. It was really really good!

Bernard: What’s the thing that you like most about Cuzco…and when I say Cuzco I include Machu Picchu, Wayna Picchu, etc.?
Nicola: It is just completely different from where we come from pretty much. I mean it is just rustic and it has an old charm to it. I think where we come from living in Australia everything is fairly new…it’s all built up but this is just really historic, it’s been here for so many years.
Serena: If I had a choice you would never live in Lima. You would just go straight here. If I moved to Peru, I’d move straight here. There aren’t any waves here and I would live here.

Bernard: How would you describe being at Machu Picchu?
Stephanie: You feel very belittled I think. You feel insignificant. You are so high. Looking down, it was kind of scary at times.
Layne: The mountains that we drove through when we left Machu Picchu today…driving through the Sacred Valley…the diversity of the landscape and the mountains…it was so barren and then so tall and rugged and then snow covered mountains next to it and the way the clouds congregate it and all the different colors…it was just beautiful.
Nicola: If you take all the mountains we’ve ever seen and put them together that would be like the mountains that we’ve seen in Peru. Like mountains from Chile….Rio…I don’t know just stick them all together. Peru is really diverse.

Bernard: When you saw Machu Picchu what did you think?
Stephanie: My head was filled with questions actually. Like I wanted to know where did they find materials that were so strong to hold the bricks together for so many years and why did they choose that place and how did they get the rocks in such a nice shape? Yeah, ya know, it was just full on. Yeah there were all of these little rock walls right on the steepest edge of the cliff and it’s like how and why did they even want to build like right there and I guess the higher you go…like when we walked up Wayna Picchu, it’s like a power thing. When you are up so high you just want to keep going higher and higher again. I guess that’s why they just keep choosing to be higher.

Bernard: Earlier we were speaking of dramatic opposites. In Peru you will see the coasts and the cordillera up in the Andes and at the same time you visited an orphanage…doesn’t it make you think that there are other dramatic changes in Peru other than just the geography? Like you will see a lot of wealth but at the same time kids that maybe don’t have that kind of entitlement?
Layne: I see simplicity and I see happiness so I see a lot of wealth in this country just because everyone seems so happy and genuinely proud of where they live and how they live. I admire that because you know we live in such a materialistic world in Australia and it is so enjoyable just to be able to come here and not need much. I think that the reality of being minimalistic and so different and diverse is an eye opening experience for all of us. So I love the diversity of it.

Bernard: How was your experience with Peru For Less?
Stephanie: They all speak good English. That was so helpful.
Layne: It was awesome. It was amazing. The people were beautiful and everything was easy. It was great!

For more information on Cuzco and Machu Picchu please consult our website.  If you would like to ask the Travel Advisor that planned the ASP Women’s trip about your own personal journey to the Inca Heartland write to: chris@peruforless.com.

By
Stephanie Byrd

PAST NEWSLETTERS:

• Newsletter October 2008
• Newsletter September 2008
• Newsletter August 2008
• Newsletter July 2008
• Newsletter June 2008
• Newsletter May 2008
• Newsletter April 2008
• Newsletter February 2008
• Newsletter January 2008