Friday 12 April 2013

Now that's what I call Peru 2013

This is a light hearted blog with little science behind it but will hopefully tell you more about our experiences on the trip so far. It also shows that our cognitive ability of knowledge of music as well as imagination has not declined in the low oxygen levels. This is:

Now that's what I call Peru 2013

1. Hot, hot hot- Arrow
This song is for the students who spent a total of 900 minutes cycling in a heat chamber at 40 degrees Celsius for the study on the effect of heat acclimation. Each person averaged 268 miles throughout the heat acclimation sessions.
2. Sweat- Snoop Dogg
There certainly were a lot of sweaty people at the end of each early morning session before lectures. Special mention to Luke Holland who regularly looked like he was drowning in his own sweat and regularly lost 3kg in sweat in a 90 minute cycling session.
3. Milkshake- Kelis
This refers to the gorgeous/disgusting milkshake containing ice cream and double cream used for the fat metabolism study it really was an opinion divider.
4. What's your flava?- Craig David
The second part of the fat metabolism study was looking to see whether the subjects could taste a variety of flavours and whether that changed while at high altitude.
5. Walking on the sunshine- Katrina and the Waves
The six minute walk test has taken place out in cold Eastbourne, in the labs and in the hypoxic chamber. However we have chosen this song as we think it is very apt for our final 3 walking tests on the local Cusco athletics track while basking in the sunshine.
6. Hips don't lie- Shakira
Some of the walking techniques used in the walking tests have been unique to say the least. The most successful technique found so far is swivelling the hips like Shakira herself (the learning effect has been taken into account)
7. What's it gonna be- H2O and Platnum
The hydration study has led to regular conversations about urine which is an extremely bizarre topic conversation for a group in their late teens and early 20s. The study has involved a lot of drinking of water (H2O) in order to stay hydrated.
8. Turbulence- Lil Jon and Laidback Luke
The song title is a very good description of a lot of our flights particularly the last one from Lima to Cusco.
9. No air- Jordin Sparks
It may be a pretty obvious one but this refers to the lack of oxygen in Cusco that really does seem to leave you with no air.
10. Ain't no mountain high enough- Marvin Gaye
The first thing you notice while looking out of the tiny windows of the aeroplane is that there doesn't seem to be anywhere flat to even land a plane. I think most people will agree that the views created by these mountains eclipse the torment of walking up and down them. Lets see if we still think this after the Inca Trail.
11. I'm horny- Mousse T
The whole group has been shocked by the driving standards in Peru, where it seems instead of looking you have to listen to the horn of the car that they are just about to crash into.
12. Who let the dogs out?- Baha Men
The number of dogs in Cusco is astonishing with one constantly in sight. However it isn't like Eastbourne with dogs firmly attached to their owners, instead these are stray dogs scavenging for food and chasing the runners amongst the group.
13. Rollin'- Limp Biskit
If we were to put all the rolls we have eaten in a line, we could probably create our own trail to Machu Pichhu. Us bloggers have had an average of 4 rolls a day, but when you can but a roll for the equivalent of 7p you can't go wrong.
14. Jammin'- Bob Marley
And what better filling to have with these copious amount of rolls than jam. In a new country without the same standards as we are used to, strawberry jam has been the safe choice for lunch. Added to being provided with jams and rolls for breakfast everyday as well.
15. Highway to hell- AC/DC
We have already talked about the poor driving standards but a particular scary experience is the drive from Cusco to the outskirts of the city in Huacarpay. This long stretch of road really is the highway to hell with appalling overtaking the norm, whether that is over train tracks, round corners or when another coach or lorry is driving straight at you.
16. Another brick in the wall- Pink Floyd
'Hey teacher leave those kids alone' sounds a bit harsh on the teachers at the school as they have been lovely and welcoming throughout our welcome but we think this is the best song for the kids of Huacarpay school. The kids have welcomed us with open arms and we have made some special bonds. At the end of the work at the school we exchanged gifts and had some great pictures taken with kids who seemed to really appreciate the hard graft we put in.
17. Hi ho hi ho- 7 Dwarves
With our pic axes, spades and sickles the group have resembled the 29 Dwarves while working at the school.
18. Wonderwall- Oasis
Wall building turned into a theme of the work we completed at the school which involved a lot of hard work and frustration in building it up. They truly turned into wonder walls and something that the incas would have been proud of.
19. Circle of life- Elton John
One of the major changes made to the school is the coliseum which has been changed adding a circular concrete path.
20. 5 colours in her hair- McFly
One of the final jobs of the project was to paint the playground equipment, tyres and lines for the football pitch onto the playground. It resulted in a lot of messy people, who seemed to get more paint on themselves than the things they were supposed to be painting.
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