Sitting here in my hotel (that my parents generously gave me for my last night here in Peru), I can't believe it will be March in like 6 hours. It seems like it was just yesterday that I was pacing around the Atlanta airport wondering what the hell I was getting in to, or just an hour ago that I started working in the clinic and really wondered what I got myself into.
Let me tell you about my last 2 days here in Lima, and then some parting words to this crazy country.
Yesterday after waking up I hopped in a cab and headed to the high-rise Marriott that Mom and Dad set up for me. It was early in the day, but they held my bags and served me a nice warm breakfast while I waited for my room to be set up. It was wonderful sitting on the 24th floor, overlooking the Miraflores cliffs, the LarcoMar shopping center and the expansive Pacific Ocean. After getting the room, I hit the road. I walked about a mile or so to the Metropolitano high-speed bus system station and was promptly greeted with a "NO BILLETES" sign, which means that the machine that dispenses tickets was not accepting bills, only coins. So I turned around, convinced some street vendor to change out my 10 soles bill for some coins and then headed back. I took the bus about 10 stations North to the sleepy neighborhood of San Isidro. While amazing restaurants and beautiful parks awaited me, I headed East first to El Museo del Nación, the National Museum of Peru.
While the art and pottery was semi-interesting, it was the exhibit on the 6th floor that drew me to the museum. As you may know, between the years of 1980 and 2000, Peru was rocked by hundreds of terrorist attacks, a Coup d'état, and constant political turmoil. In the years to follow, it would be named "The Internal Conflict," which to me is a silly euphemism for a war that claimed the life of 70,000 people. While I won't get too detailed with the history, extreme poverty racked the country prior to 1980, especially in the rural areas. Soon, a socialist group called El Senderoso Luminoso ("The Shining Path") appeared and promised a better life. Unfortunately their tactics, which began as unorthodox, quickly became violent. Attacks on government institutions turned to attacks on civilians. Poor, uneducated and uninformed rural citizens were often trapped between El Senderoso Luminoso and the Government. Thousands died. Thousands more starved. In 1990, Alberto Fujimori was elected president and he started a stringent anti-terrorist campaign known now as "FujiShock". Unfortunately when the parliament was understandably reluctant to allow him to suspend constitutional rights he orchestrated a Coup d'état from within, dissolved congress and appointed legislators who more aptly backed him. Violence continued throughout the decade, spreading to the capital of Lima which had previously been spared. By the late 90s, it was found that Fujimori was extremely corrupt, even rigging elections and paying off legislators. He fled the country to Japan and renounced the presidency. He has since, by the way, been extradited to Peru and is serving multiple life sentences here.
Needless to say, this was a troubled history that is extremely recent. Following the example of South Africa, Peru created a Commission on Truth and Reconciliation, to find out the truth of what had happened so that the country could begin to move on. Their findings were summarized in a huge report released a few years ago and crowned in the museum exhibit that I saw yesterday. Being there, I was shocked by the reactions of Peruvians around me. Sitting in the quiet film room, for instance, an older woman wept to the right of me seeing images of what had so recently been breaking news. It reminded me of my own experience visiting museums of international tragedy and Ground Zero in New York City. I was happy to see that Peru decided that embracing the truth of what happened in its "Internal Conflict" was the only way to ensure eventual reconciliation and prevent something like this from ever happening again. It was a moving exhibit. I urge anyone ever in Lima to take a few hours and check it out.
After el Museo, I headed west on Ave. Pardo to the quiet, beautiful San Isidro neighborhood. It is known as one of the areas in which the high-rollers build their houses, and I can see why. Bordering a huge open park, San Isidro seemed like a perfect place to walk around, raise a family, etc. Following the advice of my trusty Lonely Planet I ate at Tanta, a Peruvian restaurant created by a celebrity chef (think of the Peruvian Wolfgang Puck). I ordered Ají de Gallina, a popular national dish and it was absolutely to die for. With inside information from my guide, I indulged in their Passion Fruit Cheesecake Mousse. Oh my god was it incredible! haha.
Yesterday evening I walked to Kennedy Park in the center of Miraflores for one last dinner. It was artists night at the park which meant hundreds of vendors were selling beautiful paintings, handcrafted jewelry and other trinkets. I had an amazing dinner (complete with Pisco Sour) from the famous restaurant Haiti before heading off for a nice post-dinner Churro con Chocolate at the dessert stop Manolo. It was a great last night.
Today was uneventful. I spent it strolling around the neighborhood taking pictures, and just soaking it in. It was nice to relax after being on the run so much lately.
---
Final Thoughts
It has been such an amazing experience living down here for the past 30 days. It has truly flown by.
I have made such amazing friends in Cuzco that made my daily life a constant adventure. I relished in sharing their experiences at their own volunteer placements and being able to share mine. When days were tough, I had a great support system to just come home, plop on the couch and get things off my chest. I can't say enough good things about my host organization, Maximo Nivel, who worked tirelessly to make sure I was safe, healthy and cared for. A million thanks to them.
Also, as always, a huge thank you to my parents/family/friends who always have my back as I'm off trouncing around the planet. It is an amazing relief to know that all of you guys are in my corner and just a skype call away. I would not have had the guts to be here if it weren't for you guys.
Finally, to this crazy country of Peru. As I have said before, this country have exhilarated and frustrated me to both ends of the spectrum. I have had the pleasure of traveling from the jungle to the city, from mountain peaks to the beautiful rivers below. I explored towns of 40 people, and currently write from a city of more than 10 million. Over the course of the month, I have seen so many differences in living situations, and yet I have observed so many similarities in the people of this country. It's evident on the hillside that looks over Peru, on which a simple message is cut into the grass, visible from miles away: VIVA EL PERU.
The people of Peru walk, talk and live with a certain defiance. This is their home and they refuse to give up that which makes them... them. This passage says it best:
"To some, the country's problems might seem insurmountable. But living in Peru- and being Peruvian- has always required just a little bit of defiance. In the 1950s, Peruvian journalist Jorge Donayre Belaúnde penned a lengthy poem to his homeland called 'Viva El Perú, ¡Carajo!' (Long Live Peru... Damn it!). The verse is an epic, warts-and-all tribute to Peru, depicting life in the Andean villages as well as the sprawling urban shantytowns. Peruvians, wrote Donayre, aren't scared off by difficult circumstances- not by cataclysmic earthquakes, nor difficult geography, nor the bad habits of their wily politicians. In the face of adversity, there is an intractable optimism. In the 50-plus years since Donayre first wrote those words, that hasn't changed one bit.
Viva el Perú... ¡Carajo!"
To Peru and their amazing people and to my friends I leave behind here... ¡Hasta Luego!
Thanks for reading and commenting. See you back in the States,
Greg
Monday, February 28, 2011
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Days 27-28. Welcome to LIMA!
If Cuzco was the quiet child with the unique personality, Lima is the eccentric, outgoing brother... craving attention and screaming at all hours of the day. Having spent the last 4 weeks in quiet, everything-is-within-walking-distance Cuzco... I was a bit shell shocked when I arrived at the Lima airport yesterday.
Lima is huge. Home to 11 million people (while Peru only has 30 million people total), 1 out of every 3 peruvians live here. It is a sprawling metropolis with groups of skylines. Most unique is the fact that the city hangs on cliffs that overlook the beautiful Pacific ocean. A quick 20-minute hike down a path takes you to the actual coast, but the city lies high above on beautiful rock-tops that overlook the sea.
I am staying here in la Muniipalidad de Miraflores, a district right off the pacific ocean, about 20 minutes drive to the center of Lima. When I arrived at the airport, I was happily greeted by my own name written on a sign held by the driver who was there to pick me up. For a few bucks I had arranged for him to get me at the airport and drive me 30 minutes south to my hostel in Miraflores. When I arrived, tired from a combination of traveling and the night before in Cuzco, I was introduced to the hostel. It's a beautiful old building that has been converted into a youth travelers' oasis. With nice lockers, wide bunk beds and a big family room I have already met lots of people passing through Lima or here for the long-haul. Juan, the guy who runs the place gave me a great orientation to the building as well as the surrounding city on maps. While Lima has been known to be home to crimes against tourists from time to time, Miraflores is a very safe area.
Yesterday I walked all the way south to the center of Miraflores via Ave. Pardo. I passed great restaurants, grocery stores and about a million office buildings. After 20 minutes or so I took a right onto the main drag, Ave. Larco which took me past the expansive, green Parque Kennedy towards the beach. Lima reminds me slightly of Tel Aviv with the 70s-esque architecture and apartment buildings overlooking every road. The veiw from the top of the cliffs to the beach is amazing. Right next to the Marriott, is the famous LarcoMar shopping center, a 3-story outdoor mall carved into the cliffs. I was all set to have a great Peruvian lunch yesterday when, there, right in front of me was a giant Chili. The restaurant "Chilis" was right ahead. While I fought my urges, the possibility of having a nice, hot (for some reason all peruvian food is served luke-warm) meal with some decent french fries just called to me. I sat down, ordered a buffalo chicken sandwich, and was in absolute heaven.
From LarcoMar I walked back North, this time right along the cliffs back to the hostel. On the way I passed the famous Parque de Amor (Love Park) which features a massive statue of a man and a woman in kissing the throes of passion (not joking). Along the route are a million other small parks, playgrounds and grassy areas to sit. It was great- and as I have said, the views are beautiful.
After a mid-afternoon nap, I headed to "Norky's," one of the restaurants that Juan recommended to me. I ordered their famous dish and my favorite dish, the Lomo Saltado and found myself in gastronomic paradise. I retired back to the hostel, hung out chatting with some new friends and then had a well-deserved sleep.
--
This morning I decided I wanted to see the historical center of Lima. Lima, as you may know, is not only the capital of Peru, but was the capital city of the monstrous Spanish Empire when they ruled South America centuries ago. The center of it all (both the country and the former empire) was La Plaza Mayor in the center of Lima. Today it hosts El Palacio Gobierno (the government palace, where the president lives) as well as El Catedral, the official post office and other stately buildings. The architecture is a unique fusion between Peruvian and Spanish. It was really pretty. I walked around for awhile and then walked a few blocks North to El Convento San Fransisco (the San Francisco Monestary), one of the oldest on the continent and home to the famous Catacoumbs, thousands of tombs underneath the floor of the church. Down below, our tour guide told us stories of some of the over 70,000 people buried there over the past 5 centuries. Bones are literally everywhere, scattered among the low-ceilinged, candlelit stone corridors. It had a very Indiana Jones-like feel. One of the funniest things for me was seeing the paintings of Christ in situations like the last supper; in the center of the table was Cuy (guinea pig) as well as corn and potatoes. It goes to show you that Christianity (and all religions) really morph themselves to the culture of the country they're in.
Following the advice of my Lonely Planet guide, I headed back to El Palacio Gobierno to see the pageantry-filled Changing of the Guards at 12 noon. Throngs of slow-motion high-stepping Peruvian soldiers marched to the sounds of the military band. It was cool to see. I then headed up to a unique part of the city, "BarrioChina" (Chinatown). Very interesting to see...
After paying a visit to another Plaza to the East and walking around the center for about an hour longer, I decided to try public transportation to head back to Miraflores. While it was tough to get going, I eventually found my way on the Metropolitano system and ended up getting off of the high-speed bus in an area I recognized. I walked about 20 minutes toward the beach and decided to descend the 300 steps to the beach below the cliffs. Following the advice of Jenna, who pointed out that I am so uniquely commitment-free, I just sat on the pier for about 2 hours and read my book. Listening to the waves and just reading with the Miraflores skyline just over my shoulder. It was sublime. I took my time walking back, often stopping to sit on a park bench for 10 minutes or grab a coca-cola at one of the many street-side cafes (think Nice or Madrid). It was truly a wonderful day.
This evening I moseyed on back into town, grabbed a great dinner at LarcoMar and actually went to see a movie by myself. It was great with the exception of the national earthquake/Tsunami drill that happened at 8:00 sharp. The movie was paused as the entire movie theatre, shopping center (and, I'm told, the entire country) walked out into the street to areas that are supposedly safe for such natural disasters. After a few minutes we headed back in, and the James Cameron flick continued. Only in Peru.
I'm having a great time here and I'm sad that it's coming to a close before I know it. I plan tomorrow to hit up some museums and maybe try some surf lessons or paragliding.
Love from Lima!
Greg
Lima is huge. Home to 11 million people (while Peru only has 30 million people total), 1 out of every 3 peruvians live here. It is a sprawling metropolis with groups of skylines. Most unique is the fact that the city hangs on cliffs that overlook the beautiful Pacific ocean. A quick 20-minute hike down a path takes you to the actual coast, but the city lies high above on beautiful rock-tops that overlook the sea.
I am staying here in la Muniipalidad de Miraflores, a district right off the pacific ocean, about 20 minutes drive to the center of Lima. When I arrived at the airport, I was happily greeted by my own name written on a sign held by the driver who was there to pick me up. For a few bucks I had arranged for him to get me at the airport and drive me 30 minutes south to my hostel in Miraflores. When I arrived, tired from a combination of traveling and the night before in Cuzco, I was introduced to the hostel. It's a beautiful old building that has been converted into a youth travelers' oasis. With nice lockers, wide bunk beds and a big family room I have already met lots of people passing through Lima or here for the long-haul. Juan, the guy who runs the place gave me a great orientation to the building as well as the surrounding city on maps. While Lima has been known to be home to crimes against tourists from time to time, Miraflores is a very safe area.
Yesterday I walked all the way south to the center of Miraflores via Ave. Pardo. I passed great restaurants, grocery stores and about a million office buildings. After 20 minutes or so I took a right onto the main drag, Ave. Larco which took me past the expansive, green Parque Kennedy towards the beach. Lima reminds me slightly of Tel Aviv with the 70s-esque architecture and apartment buildings overlooking every road. The veiw from the top of the cliffs to the beach is amazing. Right next to the Marriott, is the famous LarcoMar shopping center, a 3-story outdoor mall carved into the cliffs. I was all set to have a great Peruvian lunch yesterday when, there, right in front of me was a giant Chili. The restaurant "Chilis" was right ahead. While I fought my urges, the possibility of having a nice, hot (for some reason all peruvian food is served luke-warm) meal with some decent french fries just called to me. I sat down, ordered a buffalo chicken sandwich, and was in absolute heaven.
From LarcoMar I walked back North, this time right along the cliffs back to the hostel. On the way I passed the famous Parque de Amor (Love Park) which features a massive statue of a man and a woman in kissing the throes of passion (not joking). Along the route are a million other small parks, playgrounds and grassy areas to sit. It was great- and as I have said, the views are beautiful.
After a mid-afternoon nap, I headed to "Norky's," one of the restaurants that Juan recommended to me. I ordered their famous dish and my favorite dish, the Lomo Saltado and found myself in gastronomic paradise. I retired back to the hostel, hung out chatting with some new friends and then had a well-deserved sleep.
--
This morning I decided I wanted to see the historical center of Lima. Lima, as you may know, is not only the capital of Peru, but was the capital city of the monstrous Spanish Empire when they ruled South America centuries ago. The center of it all (both the country and the former empire) was La Plaza Mayor in the center of Lima. Today it hosts El Palacio Gobierno (the government palace, where the president lives) as well as El Catedral, the official post office and other stately buildings. The architecture is a unique fusion between Peruvian and Spanish. It was really pretty. I walked around for awhile and then walked a few blocks North to El Convento San Fransisco (the San Francisco Monestary), one of the oldest on the continent and home to the famous Catacoumbs, thousands of tombs underneath the floor of the church. Down below, our tour guide told us stories of some of the over 70,000 people buried there over the past 5 centuries. Bones are literally everywhere, scattered among the low-ceilinged, candlelit stone corridors. It had a very Indiana Jones-like feel. One of the funniest things for me was seeing the paintings of Christ in situations like the last supper; in the center of the table was Cuy (guinea pig) as well as corn and potatoes. It goes to show you that Christianity (and all religions) really morph themselves to the culture of the country they're in.
Following the advice of my Lonely Planet guide, I headed back to El Palacio Gobierno to see the pageantry-filled Changing of the Guards at 12 noon. Throngs of slow-motion high-stepping Peruvian soldiers marched to the sounds of the military band. It was cool to see. I then headed up to a unique part of the city, "BarrioChina" (Chinatown). Very interesting to see...
After paying a visit to another Plaza to the East and walking around the center for about an hour longer, I decided to try public transportation to head back to Miraflores. While it was tough to get going, I eventually found my way on the Metropolitano system and ended up getting off of the high-speed bus in an area I recognized. I walked about 20 minutes toward the beach and decided to descend the 300 steps to the beach below the cliffs. Following the advice of Jenna, who pointed out that I am so uniquely commitment-free, I just sat on the pier for about 2 hours and read my book. Listening to the waves and just reading with the Miraflores skyline just over my shoulder. It was sublime. I took my time walking back, often stopping to sit on a park bench for 10 minutes or grab a coca-cola at one of the many street-side cafes (think Nice or Madrid). It was truly a wonderful day.
This evening I moseyed on back into town, grabbed a great dinner at LarcoMar and actually went to see a movie by myself. It was great with the exception of the national earthquake/Tsunami drill that happened at 8:00 sharp. The movie was paused as the entire movie theatre, shopping center (and, I'm told, the entire country) walked out into the street to areas that are supposedly safe for such natural disasters. After a few minutes we headed back in, and the James Cameron flick continued. Only in Peru.
I'm having a great time here and I'm sad that it's coming to a close before I know it. I plan tomorrow to hit up some museums and maybe try some surf lessons or paragliding.
Love from Lima!
Greg
Friday, February 25, 2011
Days 24-26: So Long, Cuzco...
Sitting on the tarmac this morning at the Cuzco airport, 20 minutes or so before departing the city I've called home for the past month, I was overwhelmed with how fast the time flew by. As I looked out the window, I recalled arriving 4 weeks prior and wondering where the hell I was and what I was going to do.
Now, I was leaving so many amazing memories and so many great people behind. I go over in my head the different people who I got to know, from the guys who introduced me to Cuzco when I had just arrived to those who had just shown up as I was in my final days. My Peruvian friends Nelly, Lucas, Karo, Magnolia and my professora Denise who taught my spanish classes. The staff at Maximo Nivel including Jacob, Cathy and Andrea. My amazing friends at San Pedro from start to finish. I have been lucky enough to bring so many incredible new people into my life, and that will forever be my favorite part of traveling.
Since my return from the Jungle, I used my last 3 days in Cuzco to do the things that I had wanted to do but had not had time to do. I toured the cathedral at the La Plaza, ate at amazing restaurants and got some gifts for family back home.
Last night, the 7 of us who were in the house all went out for a a celebratory last night. It was Teagan and my last night, plus Blair was departing the next night. What was supposed to be a quiet night out before a day of traveling turned out to be an epic pub-crawl visiting our favorite sights one last night. We went to our favorite bar, Indigo (where our house had a reserved table every weekend :-) ) and said goodbye to our good friend and great bartender Camden. Camden insisted on buying us drinks, and so we of course returned the favor. Before we knew it, we were across the street at La Chupeteria (the shot bar) having way more fun than we should have been. When we arrived back home, Lucas tried his best to make us late-night munchies. He is seriously the nicest man alive, I'm going to miss seeing him every night.
When I woke up, only a few short hours after I went to sleep, I was feeling the effects of the night before. I came downstairs with all of my bags in tow and said my goodbyes to the staff at San Pedro and then to Nick, my roommate. Lucas called me a cab and before I knew it I was riding through Cuzco one more time. The airport is located close to the clinic that I worked at every day, so I was able to see that one more time. I was all smiles chatting with the cab driver who was giving me advice on where to go in Lima. One long check-in line and an hour later I was sitting on the plane, staring out the window at Cuzco one more time.
So here we go:
Cuzco has been an amazing classroom for me. In the past 4 weeks, First, I have re-ignited my education in Spanish, giving myself a large amount of confidence conversing in the language while learning more about the intricacies of communicating in what I truly consider to be a beautiful language. Second, I have gained a lot of perspective based on my work in the clinic. While many would correctly be hesitant to classify Peru as a "third-world country," the healthcare infrastructure in which I worked was exactly that: third world. Despite this, i was forced to become comfortable speaking with scared and sick patients in a foreign language in unfamiliar circumstances. It was a huge challenge. Finally, traveling to Cuzco and throughout the area alone has been difficult but extremely rewarding and revealing. As I have said before, I was often lonely, confused, hungry or even sick. Despite this, I was more often elated, excited and absorbing of absolutely everything around me. I have made some great friends, and learned of a culture that is so different than my own. Forced to deal with everything from transit strikes to a continual lack of hot water (seriously... wtf?), I have gained a lot of confidence in my ability to just live and survive anywhere.
To Cuzco, the rainy city in the clouds, high above where human beings can breathe, I say "thank you" from the bottom of my heart. You have taught me, enlightened me, frustrated me, and ultimately gave me one of the most fun and adventurous four weeks of my life.
Sitting here in my hostel in Lima, somebody asked me about traveling to Cuzco. I was taken aback, realizing that my experience there is behind me. I reflected on my month living there and I couldn't recommend it any more to him- or to anybody! to you!
I'll talk to you tomorrow and fill you in on all the happenings here in Miraflores, Lima!
--Greg
Now, I was leaving so many amazing memories and so many great people behind. I go over in my head the different people who I got to know, from the guys who introduced me to Cuzco when I had just arrived to those who had just shown up as I was in my final days. My Peruvian friends Nelly, Lucas, Karo, Magnolia and my professora Denise who taught my spanish classes. The staff at Maximo Nivel including Jacob, Cathy and Andrea. My amazing friends at San Pedro from start to finish. I have been lucky enough to bring so many incredible new people into my life, and that will forever be my favorite part of traveling.
Since my return from the Jungle, I used my last 3 days in Cuzco to do the things that I had wanted to do but had not had time to do. I toured the cathedral at the La Plaza, ate at amazing restaurants and got some gifts for family back home.
Last night, the 7 of us who were in the house all went out for a a celebratory last night. It was Teagan and my last night, plus Blair was departing the next night. What was supposed to be a quiet night out before a day of traveling turned out to be an epic pub-crawl visiting our favorite sights one last night. We went to our favorite bar, Indigo (where our house had a reserved table every weekend :-) ) and said goodbye to our good friend and great bartender Camden. Camden insisted on buying us drinks, and so we of course returned the favor. Before we knew it, we were across the street at La Chupeteria (the shot bar) having way more fun than we should have been. When we arrived back home, Lucas tried his best to make us late-night munchies. He is seriously the nicest man alive, I'm going to miss seeing him every night.
When I woke up, only a few short hours after I went to sleep, I was feeling the effects of the night before. I came downstairs with all of my bags in tow and said my goodbyes to the staff at San Pedro and then to Nick, my roommate. Lucas called me a cab and before I knew it I was riding through Cuzco one more time. The airport is located close to the clinic that I worked at every day, so I was able to see that one more time. I was all smiles chatting with the cab driver who was giving me advice on where to go in Lima. One long check-in line and an hour later I was sitting on the plane, staring out the window at Cuzco one more time.
So here we go:
Cuzco has been an amazing classroom for me. In the past 4 weeks, First, I have re-ignited my education in Spanish, giving myself a large amount of confidence conversing in the language while learning more about the intricacies of communicating in what I truly consider to be a beautiful language. Second, I have gained a lot of perspective based on my work in the clinic. While many would correctly be hesitant to classify Peru as a "third-world country," the healthcare infrastructure in which I worked was exactly that: third world. Despite this, i was forced to become comfortable speaking with scared and sick patients in a foreign language in unfamiliar circumstances. It was a huge challenge. Finally, traveling to Cuzco and throughout the area alone has been difficult but extremely rewarding and revealing. As I have said before, I was often lonely, confused, hungry or even sick. Despite this, I was more often elated, excited and absorbing of absolutely everything around me. I have made some great friends, and learned of a culture that is so different than my own. Forced to deal with everything from transit strikes to a continual lack of hot water (seriously... wtf?), I have gained a lot of confidence in my ability to just live and survive anywhere.
To Cuzco, the rainy city in the clouds, high above where human beings can breathe, I say "thank you" from the bottom of my heart. You have taught me, enlightened me, frustrated me, and ultimately gave me one of the most fun and adventurous four weeks of my life.
Sitting here in my hostel in Lima, somebody asked me about traveling to Cuzco. I was taken aback, realizing that my experience there is behind me. I reflected on my month living there and I couldn't recommend it any more to him- or to anybody! to you!
I'll talk to you tomorrow and fill you in on all the happenings here in Miraflores, Lima!
--Greg
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Heading to LIMA!!
After 3 last amazing days in Cuz I'm heading to Lima tomorrow morning.
I'm currently celebrating with friends here at San Pedro and we're about to head out to the bars of Plaza de Armas one more time.
I will write more tomorrow!!!
Talk from Lima! Can't believe I'm leaving this incredible city tomorrow in the morning :-(. I will return soon.
Greg
I'm currently celebrating with friends here at San Pedro and we're about to head out to the bars of Plaza de Armas one more time.
I will write more tomorrow!!!
Talk from Lima! Can't believe I'm leaving this incredible city tomorrow in the morning :-(. I will return soon.
Greg
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Days 20-23: LA SELVA INCREÍBLE!
Looking back... years from now... I think I will remember my time in the Amazon Rainforest with a smile and a laugh of disbelief. In all of the travels I've been fortunate to have, I have never been so far removed from civilization, so far removed from the comforts of home before.
The journey to, the journey within and the journey back out of the Jungle (La Selva) was as terrifying as it was incredible. It was a test of both endurance and ability to absorb all that was around. I have literally never had an experience like it before. I will do my absolute best to try and describe it to you below.
--
Cuzco -> Atalaya
The trip began a few hours before we boarded the bus on Friday morning. Deciding that we would like to try and sleep as much as possible throughout the trip to the Jungle, we made the obvious choice of going out and partying before leaving at 4:30 in the morning. Since a few of my friends were leaving from Cuzco over the weekend, this would be the last night that I would be able to hang with them. We all met here in San Pedro and sat around with drinks laughing and playing kings cup and some canadian game called "Ninja," then took off for La Plaza de Armas. While I was reluctant at first (I wanted sleep), it turned into a crazy-fun night. We danced for hours at the two big hotspots, "Mythology" and "Inkateam" and didn't leave til close to 3 in the morning. Deciding that we still hadn't had enough, we found the only late-night food spot in the city and chowed down there. We got home with about an hour to spare before our 4:30 am pickup. I took a quick nap, got my stuff together and was rudely awakened by my cellphone alarm clock.
I grabbed my bag, donned my jacket and walked downstairs. Go time.
The 6 of us: Trent and Angela (Calgary, Canada), Mili and Ryan (Nevada, USA), Celeste (Amsterdam, Netherlands) and me, were picked up by a small van who took us past the still-partying Plaza de Armas and dropped us off at La Estacion Terrestrial (the bus station). We had a seat in a small, crumbling room, waiting for 5:30 to hit and our bus to arrive. Sooner or later, the bus pulled up, a kind of hybrid between 4-wheeler and coach bus with seats as uncomfortable as a school bus. We hit the road, climbed up out of the Cuzqueñan valley and then started our descent. Cuzco, as you know, is over 3000 meters above sea level and our destination in the Amazon is right around 1000 meters. This is a vertical difference of almost 7,000 feet, and you don't realize how far that is until you descend it for hours upon hours upon hours. It became clear within about an hour of leaving Cuzco that the roads were going to be treacherous. They are completely unpaved, only worn from years of use. With the rainy season upon us, this meant crossing areas that were completely submerged. As if this were not enough, the road itself winded through the various mountain ranges, clinging to the rock wall on the left and dropping off thousands of feet just to the right of the wheels. As if this were not enough to make anyone squeamish, the "road" is only wide enough for one vehicle, so every time there was traffic in the opposite direction, the drivers would turn off their engines, get out, discuss with one another and then perform a perfectly choreographed dance with 20-ton machines squeezing by one another often with literally inches to spare.
It was slow-going. We never really accelerated past 20 or 30 miles an hour due to the tough road conditions. Sleep was difficult, but welcome, since it brought me a nice respite from thinking about plummeting to my death with every single turn. 3 hours after departure, the descending stopped and we arrived in the tiny valley town of Paucartambo. Paucartambo reminded me of the town of Aguas Calientes in that it was located in a valley along a river next to skyscraping mountains. We were told we had 20 minutes to get out and use the bathroom, but that soon turned in to an hour when the driver realized that one of our tires had gone flat.
When we departed Paucartambo, all of a sudden the roads we left behind seemed like paved superhighways. The road leading us on from Paucartambo was even more narrow and even more treacherous. I closed my eyes and tried not to think about the fact that I'd be making the return trip in the middle of the night. Despite heading to the jungle, we were still very much in the mountains... until we reached an area called Tres Cruces. There... laid out before us was it... the beginning of the Amazon Basin. The mountains dropped off like the edge of a bathtub, and down below, as far as the eye could see was the bush- lush green jungle in all directions. It was a geological formation the likes of which I had never seen before.
We continued on the death-road for a good 7 hours after Paucartambo. It took this long, because of the rains deteriorating the road's condition even further. Finally, about 3ish (I had no watch), we arrived at a hand-painted wooden sign along the road that read "ATALAYA." We grabbed our bags and stood up for the first time in awhile.
Stepping outside I was hit by the humidity of jungle air. The bus pulled away as fast as it had arrived... and we were there. Some of the people from Atalaya had come up to the road to meet us and introduced themselves, mostly from Spain. To get to the reserve we hiked down less than a mile toward the sound of rushing water. Sure enough, a raging river was right in front of us. Strewn across it was a single cable. Underneath the cable, on two wheels was a makeshift basket, a few planks of wood suspended to the wheels with thin metal bars. Rope went from either side of the basket to either side of the river. The water was so powerful that the rope that stretched between the basket and the far side was dipped in the water, being flung by the current violently in the air before re-hitting the surface and being thrown again. You definitely did not want to fall in this water. When it was my turn I threw my backpack on the back of the basket, sat on the front... said the Sh'ma... and then told the guy to let me go. I slid about halfway between the near and far side before momentum ran out and I stopped above the raging waters. After I had a mini-freak-out, I realized I needed to collect the slack from the rope and start pulling, and once I did I started to move to the other side. After about 30 seconds of pulling... I reached the other side. I grabbed my bag and stepped off. I smiled and looked around. I had arrived.
--
On Day 1 we arrived and got our bearings straight. From the zip line we walked up a few stairs, across a small wooden bridge and in front of us was the main pavilion with the kitchen and tables. One of the first things I noticed was a monkey, introduced to me as "Chico" sitting on the edge of the pavilion watching us arriving. Gloria, the cook stepped outside and welcomed us with customary besos on the cheek and then showed us to where we would be sleeping. About 200 yards down a path was an even larger pavilion with 4 foot high walls to demarcate small rooms for two people. Each "room" had a mattress on the ground and attached to cables above were mosquito nets strewn out over the beds. Trent and I claimed two beds on the left as you entered the pavilion, and most of the others were right nearby. We put our stuff down and then met the other, more playful monkey "Paula" who liked to wreak havoc by climbing up to the rafters of the pavilion and then swan diving into the mosquito nets. Gloria had some food for us for lunch and it was truly amazing. Remember: no electricity = no refrigeration = no meats/chickens of any type. The fact that she was able to whip up meals that were not only edible, but amazing was so great!
Most of that day was spent hanging around. The jungle- without electricity, clocks, or any contact with the outside world... literally no phone or any way to contact anywhere else- was the most peaceful place I've been in awhile. A small bookshelf held a book that I had always wanted to read: "Into the Wild," and so I grabbed it and started reading.
At 5:30 we all ran to our beds to grab our flashlights as the sun was quickly setting. Around 6, Gloria called us into the kitchen for dinner. Again- amazing. I didn't think I could ever be a vegetarian before... but now I'd consider it. When darkness arrived, we headed off to bed with no idea what time it could be (my guess was around 8). When it's light, you get up... when it's dark, you go to sleep.
Before I left, a friend told me the great thing about the jungle is that even though you're going to one place, you get two very different destinations: Day and Night. Night in the Amazon is a different beast. We are unwelcome visitors in the world of the night in the jungle- and the animals have no problem reminding you of this fact. It is loud... impossibly so. the buzzing of insects is matched by footsteps, far away and close by. Animals scream and yell... it downpours torrentially for 5 minutes and then clears. As I lay in bed, double and triple checking the integrity of my mosquito net, I had one of those where-the-hell-am-I moments. I slept on edge, rising immediately with every creak or loud noise (which happened about 400 times an hour).
--
The next morning, on Day 2, the spaniards had returned from town and we finally met the man in charge of the reserve, Álvaro. He told us to eat up because were going to hike through the jungle on La Trocha de los Monos (the Monkey Trail). We donned these funny looking shoes called "Wellies" that were approximately knee-high plastic boots that were water tight. In the rainforest during the rainy season the mud is inches deep, and no other shoes are acceptable. Unfortunately, similar to much else in the rainforest, what things are supposed to do and what they do do are often two very different things. After we set off, while trudging across the first of many deep streams water flooded into my wellies... mine were no longer water tight. So I spent the next 3 hours walking with soaking wet feet. Hiking in the jungle was an incredible experience. The term "trail" is misleading since a machete-wielding Álvaro was required to forge much of the path. We spent much of the hike walking up steep muddy slopes, and I'm pretty sure I was on my ass for just as much time as I was on my feet. Throughout the hike, Álvaro pointed out the many animals, trees and plants that we happened upon. It was as exhausting as it was fun. By mid-morning, we headed back to Atalaya, completely drenched in our own sweat and eaten alive by the millions of bugs who saw us as giant walking hamburgers.
Then, at the suggestion of Álvaro, we quickly changed into our bathing suits and hiked to The Waterfall (La Cascada). This was the GREATEST part of my trip to Peru so far, and I returned every single day to the waterfall to bathe. The falls are about 60 feet or so up and end in a beautiful, natural, two-leveled pool that is about 5 feet deep each. The lower pool is great to bathe and just splash around in, and then when you work up the nerve, you can hike up to the upper pool and the actual falls. Just approaching the falling water means being pelted with unbelievable winds and water flying at you from all angles. When you finally work up to it, you can make it under the actual falls and feel the amazing power/pain that comes with being hit by such powerful water. I could only stand under there for a few seconds at a time but it was the most AMAZING feeling! I took so many pictures and just couldn't get enough of splashing around there. I was like a kid in a candy shop.
We ran home and were promptly chastised by Gloria for being late for lunch (no joke). I quickly changed, apologized profusely in my best Spanish, and then ate her amazing lunch. The afternoon was spent under the pavilion making getting to know my new Spanish friends, reading my new book and watching the rains move in over the river and mountains in the distance. It was so relaxing, it reminded me of my summers in Highview, WV as a kid.
We stayed up a few hours past dinner and then retired to our beds and slept like absolute babies, dead from the activities from the day.
--
Sunday is a 'day off' at Atalaya. Gloria, our chef, had the day off, which meant that pretty much everybody would head into town to get fed for the day. Most of the Spaniards took off in the morning, but we decided that a late-morning waterfall trip was in order. This time we brought some shampoo and soap and cleaned off, and of course played around in the water. Again- SO MUCH FUN! Around 1 pm we decided that we would walk to the nearest town (a few km away on the death-road) named Choncachaka and then take a cab to the next closest, much larger town called Patria where we would get some grub. Unfortunately for us, this was the exact time that the jungle chose to start down pouring. By the time we crossed the zip line we were completely drenched from head to toe despite our rain coats. We then had the un-enviable but hilarious task of walking to Choncachaka. It took us about 20 minutes to reach the "town." There is a point, I learned, at which you reach the most wet that you can possibly be- and then from there the only direction you can go is "dry."
Choncachaka is an impossibly tiny town. From it's beginning, you can see the end. There are 3 stores in town. Approximately 40 people live there, and the school serves 8 students. It is the definition of tiny amazonian town.
We were there to reach the next town, Patria. One of the guys with me, who had been in the jungle a few weeks already, suggested that we hitch a ride on one of the few passing trucks. Sure enough, a few minutes later a large enclosed cargo truck covered with a canvas roof rolled down the road. Now, I pride myself on being travel saavy- not making stupid decisions that put my life in risk. Every once in a while, I fail and end up in a potentially terrible situation. Call it youthful ignorance, lapse in judgement, leap of faith or just plain stupidity: this was one of those times.
In order to hitch a ride on this truck we had to get in the back and basically be locked inside the enclosed cab which locked from the outside in. Everything was against my better judgement. But I didn't want to be the one left on the side of the road in the rain. I got in the truck. The door was shut and locked. The vehicle shook to life. We all smiled and laughed at our "predicament," Trent jokingly exclaimed "welcome to the Peruvian sex slave trade!" but we were all masking the truth: I have never been more afraid of my life. I counted the amount of horror stories that I could come up with that started with "then 7 rich tourists hitchiked in the jungle." I am not an overly religious man but I prayed that the men driving the truck did not wish us harm. My brain was on overdrive, trying to figure out how to get out of the canvas-topped, wooden-sided truck if need be. I reached for my swiss army knife that I keep in my left pocket... shit... I left that back safely locked in my bag back at Atalaya. Toward the front of the massive freighter was a small rip in the canvas. I moved an old tire underneath it and then ripped the canvas open so I could see out the front... this made me feel slightly better. 15 long, long minutes later I saw a town. I prayed so hard that the truck would safely stop and we would be let out. The truck rolled through town without slowing down and my heart must have been going about 250 beats per minute. Then... of course... it pulled off. The engine shut off. A door in the front opened, and closed, and a second later the back door was open and a smiling Peruvian man asked us in Spanish if his driving was slow enough for us. We were never in any danger... but boy did we feel like we were.
Back on solid ground I felt like I had lost 5 pounds in sweat from the ordeal. Patria was hardly larger than Choncachaka but boasted one restaurant that we had agreed to meet our Spanish friends at. They saw us walking and yelled out at us and a few minutes later we were sitting in an old rickety restaurant and drinking some Pilsen beer to take the edge off of our hitchiking experience. We laughed about the day, talked about what was safe/unsafe to eat and had a great lunch of undercooked chicken :-).
After a quick visit to el mercado, where we picked up some Pisco, Rum and some sodas we all shared a much safer cab back to Atalaya. That afternoon and night we had so much fun bonding with our friends from around the world. We played "Cucherros" (Spoons) with the losers having to drink pisco without a chaser (not a fun experience, haha) and then taught them how to play some other games. Some of the ladies put together an amazing spaghetti and tomato sauce dish, which was great considering we were planning on not eating any dinner in Gloria's absence. That night we stayed up really late eating, playing, laughing, drinking and talking about our travels, our hometowns and our plans in the future. It was an amazing night. I woke up in the middle of the night to Chico the monkey scrambling to sleep with me at my feet. It was raining outside and he was apparently pretty cold. He tried to get in my sleeping bag, but I wouldn't let him. He hung with me for a half hour or so before deciding I wasn't warm enough and decided to mooch off of someone else's body heat. That night I also had one more awesome thing happen: I had my first dream completely in Spanish. That's never happened to me before and it was a pretty cool experience to have. I guess that means I have been learning!
--
On my last day in the jungle we decided to take another hike, this time on a different trail, el trocho de arboles grandes (big tree trail), where we were able to observe some trees that were hundreds of years old and hundreds of meters tall. Their canopies were the size of football fields. We helped in the re-forestation efforts by collecting their seeds and scattering them throughout to make germination more likely. It was suffocatingly hot since the rains the day before increased the humidity by a lot. I kept chanting to the group "La Cascada!" to try and get everyone excited about the cool water that awaited us at the waterfall. Before we made it there, though, we stopped at a swinging vine where we took turns swinging over the treetops. Having heard about a girl who fell recently and was lucky to walk away from the accident and also thinking that my good luck could only last so long, I decided against swinging on the vine.
I should also note that Chico the monkey joined us on our hike, but decided that it was too wet for his delicate feet and so took turns riding on our shoulders. Too funny.
About an hour and a half into the hike we got really lost; the guy who was leading us must have took a wrong turn and all of a sudden we were on no perceptible path. I was pretty frustrated at this point. Having endured about 5 rounds of being drenched beyond belief while climbing up breathless pitches... I was reaching my breaking point. Within about 25 long minutes we had found a landmark and began heading back in the right direction. We arrived back at Atalaya and then set out for the waterfall for what would be my last time.
I took it all in. There's a part of the waterfall where you can't walk through (it's too powerful) but if you duck underneath you can swim beneath the falls to the rocks behind the water. It's the most amazing view, sitting behind the water from inside the falls. Getting there by swimming underneath the falls is a pretty big leap of faith... you just duck down and start swimming, arms outstretched, hoping to hit rocks and then come up safely inside the falls. It was incredible. I couldn't stop just going back and forth, loving every second of it.
Finally at 5:30 it was time to go. Of course it started to rain again at this time too. I was supposed to leave with Mario, who lived in Choncachaka just down the road. We zipped across the river together and then walked up to the road in the rain. At this point he told me in spanish that he was going to ride ahead on his bike into town and I should just follow behind. He told me that when I get to town, ask the people at one of the stores where Mario lives and meet him there. It was getting dark, I was alone... this didn't seem like a good idea... but before I could argue too much.. he was gone.
As I walked those last few kilometers alone on the road through the jungle I couldn't help thinking about everything I had seen and done. My experience was the most exhilarating and frustrating, most incredible and unique experiences I've ever been a part of. Thinking about it, going to the jungle was like getting rid of any room for error. Like living without health insurance. There were no doctors, no hospitals, no police. It was as removed a place as I have ever been.
I arrived in Chocochaka and asked one of the men at the store where I could find Mario. I was humbled when I arrived in his house. Mario, an 82-year-old man lived in a one-room shack with a patchy roof that had water dripping through. We talked briefly about his life, how he has lived in the tiny jungle town for the past 40 years and how he hopes to travel one day. I felt like I had gained a lot of perspective while sitting in Mario's house.
30 minutes later I boarded the bus that rolled through the town. The trip was pretty insane as the driver navigated the curves in the dark. As the only non-peruvian aboard the 30-some person bus it was an interesting trip. At one point, around 2 AM, the police stopped us and raided the bus looking for Coca leaves that locals try and smuggle out of the jungle. I was pretty blown away when they took a woman's pillow and opened up the pillow case to find a huge ziploc bag of leaves- This apparently is a pretty common thing to try and do in Peru. When the lights of Cuzco rolled over the horizon around 5:30 AM, 11 hours after I departed Chocachaka, I was extremely relieved to be home safe. I cabbed home to San Pedro and fell asleep. Happy to be home, content with my amazing few days in the Amazon.
The jungle was an incredible adventure. As I said above, it was both testing and rewarding. In the end, it's the sitting around with my friends, watching and listening and living among the animals and biodiversity that exist only in the Amazon. I will never forget these past few days, speaking for hours in spanish, waking up to a monkey in my bed, hitchhiking between jungle towns and having the confidence to know that I can live through it all. I feel very lucky to have been given this experience... I will truly never forget it.
The journey to, the journey within and the journey back out of the Jungle (La Selva) was as terrifying as it was incredible. It was a test of both endurance and ability to absorb all that was around. I have literally never had an experience like it before. I will do my absolute best to try and describe it to you below.
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Cuzco -> Atalaya
The trip began a few hours before we boarded the bus on Friday morning. Deciding that we would like to try and sleep as much as possible throughout the trip to the Jungle, we made the obvious choice of going out and partying before leaving at 4:30 in the morning. Since a few of my friends were leaving from Cuzco over the weekend, this would be the last night that I would be able to hang with them. We all met here in San Pedro and sat around with drinks laughing and playing kings cup and some canadian game called "Ninja," then took off for La Plaza de Armas. While I was reluctant at first (I wanted sleep), it turned into a crazy-fun night. We danced for hours at the two big hotspots, "Mythology" and "Inkateam" and didn't leave til close to 3 in the morning. Deciding that we still hadn't had enough, we found the only late-night food spot in the city and chowed down there. We got home with about an hour to spare before our 4:30 am pickup. I took a quick nap, got my stuff together and was rudely awakened by my cellphone alarm clock.
I grabbed my bag, donned my jacket and walked downstairs. Go time.
The 6 of us: Trent and Angela (Calgary, Canada), Mili and Ryan (Nevada, USA), Celeste (Amsterdam, Netherlands) and me, were picked up by a small van who took us past the still-partying Plaza de Armas and dropped us off at La Estacion Terrestrial (the bus station). We had a seat in a small, crumbling room, waiting for 5:30 to hit and our bus to arrive. Sooner or later, the bus pulled up, a kind of hybrid between 4-wheeler and coach bus with seats as uncomfortable as a school bus. We hit the road, climbed up out of the Cuzqueñan valley and then started our descent. Cuzco, as you know, is over 3000 meters above sea level and our destination in the Amazon is right around 1000 meters. This is a vertical difference of almost 7,000 feet, and you don't realize how far that is until you descend it for hours upon hours upon hours. It became clear within about an hour of leaving Cuzco that the roads were going to be treacherous. They are completely unpaved, only worn from years of use. With the rainy season upon us, this meant crossing areas that were completely submerged. As if this were not enough, the road itself winded through the various mountain ranges, clinging to the rock wall on the left and dropping off thousands of feet just to the right of the wheels. As if this were not enough to make anyone squeamish, the "road" is only wide enough for one vehicle, so every time there was traffic in the opposite direction, the drivers would turn off their engines, get out, discuss with one another and then perform a perfectly choreographed dance with 20-ton machines squeezing by one another often with literally inches to spare.
It was slow-going. We never really accelerated past 20 or 30 miles an hour due to the tough road conditions. Sleep was difficult, but welcome, since it brought me a nice respite from thinking about plummeting to my death with every single turn. 3 hours after departure, the descending stopped and we arrived in the tiny valley town of Paucartambo. Paucartambo reminded me of the town of Aguas Calientes in that it was located in a valley along a river next to skyscraping mountains. We were told we had 20 minutes to get out and use the bathroom, but that soon turned in to an hour when the driver realized that one of our tires had gone flat.
When we departed Paucartambo, all of a sudden the roads we left behind seemed like paved superhighways. The road leading us on from Paucartambo was even more narrow and even more treacherous. I closed my eyes and tried not to think about the fact that I'd be making the return trip in the middle of the night. Despite heading to the jungle, we were still very much in the mountains... until we reached an area called Tres Cruces. There... laid out before us was it... the beginning of the Amazon Basin. The mountains dropped off like the edge of a bathtub, and down below, as far as the eye could see was the bush- lush green jungle in all directions. It was a geological formation the likes of which I had never seen before.
We continued on the death-road for a good 7 hours after Paucartambo. It took this long, because of the rains deteriorating the road's condition even further. Finally, about 3ish (I had no watch), we arrived at a hand-painted wooden sign along the road that read "ATALAYA." We grabbed our bags and stood up for the first time in awhile.
Stepping outside I was hit by the humidity of jungle air. The bus pulled away as fast as it had arrived... and we were there. Some of the people from Atalaya had come up to the road to meet us and introduced themselves, mostly from Spain. To get to the reserve we hiked down less than a mile toward the sound of rushing water. Sure enough, a raging river was right in front of us. Strewn across it was a single cable. Underneath the cable, on two wheels was a makeshift basket, a few planks of wood suspended to the wheels with thin metal bars. Rope went from either side of the basket to either side of the river. The water was so powerful that the rope that stretched between the basket and the far side was dipped in the water, being flung by the current violently in the air before re-hitting the surface and being thrown again. You definitely did not want to fall in this water. When it was my turn I threw my backpack on the back of the basket, sat on the front... said the Sh'ma... and then told the guy to let me go. I slid about halfway between the near and far side before momentum ran out and I stopped above the raging waters. After I had a mini-freak-out, I realized I needed to collect the slack from the rope and start pulling, and once I did I started to move to the other side. After about 30 seconds of pulling... I reached the other side. I grabbed my bag and stepped off. I smiled and looked around. I had arrived.
--
On Day 1 we arrived and got our bearings straight. From the zip line we walked up a few stairs, across a small wooden bridge and in front of us was the main pavilion with the kitchen and tables. One of the first things I noticed was a monkey, introduced to me as "Chico" sitting on the edge of the pavilion watching us arriving. Gloria, the cook stepped outside and welcomed us with customary besos on the cheek and then showed us to where we would be sleeping. About 200 yards down a path was an even larger pavilion with 4 foot high walls to demarcate small rooms for two people. Each "room" had a mattress on the ground and attached to cables above were mosquito nets strewn out over the beds. Trent and I claimed two beds on the left as you entered the pavilion, and most of the others were right nearby. We put our stuff down and then met the other, more playful monkey "Paula" who liked to wreak havoc by climbing up to the rafters of the pavilion and then swan diving into the mosquito nets. Gloria had some food for us for lunch and it was truly amazing. Remember: no electricity = no refrigeration = no meats/chickens of any type. The fact that she was able to whip up meals that were not only edible, but amazing was so great!
Most of that day was spent hanging around. The jungle- without electricity, clocks, or any contact with the outside world... literally no phone or any way to contact anywhere else- was the most peaceful place I've been in awhile. A small bookshelf held a book that I had always wanted to read: "Into the Wild," and so I grabbed it and started reading.
At 5:30 we all ran to our beds to grab our flashlights as the sun was quickly setting. Around 6, Gloria called us into the kitchen for dinner. Again- amazing. I didn't think I could ever be a vegetarian before... but now I'd consider it. When darkness arrived, we headed off to bed with no idea what time it could be (my guess was around 8). When it's light, you get up... when it's dark, you go to sleep.
Before I left, a friend told me the great thing about the jungle is that even though you're going to one place, you get two very different destinations: Day and Night. Night in the Amazon is a different beast. We are unwelcome visitors in the world of the night in the jungle- and the animals have no problem reminding you of this fact. It is loud... impossibly so. the buzzing of insects is matched by footsteps, far away and close by. Animals scream and yell... it downpours torrentially for 5 minutes and then clears. As I lay in bed, double and triple checking the integrity of my mosquito net, I had one of those where-the-hell-am-I moments. I slept on edge, rising immediately with every creak or loud noise (which happened about 400 times an hour).
--
The next morning, on Day 2, the spaniards had returned from town and we finally met the man in charge of the reserve, Álvaro. He told us to eat up because were going to hike through the jungle on La Trocha de los Monos (the Monkey Trail). We donned these funny looking shoes called "Wellies" that were approximately knee-high plastic boots that were water tight. In the rainforest during the rainy season the mud is inches deep, and no other shoes are acceptable. Unfortunately, similar to much else in the rainforest, what things are supposed to do and what they do do are often two very different things. After we set off, while trudging across the first of many deep streams water flooded into my wellies... mine were no longer water tight. So I spent the next 3 hours walking with soaking wet feet. Hiking in the jungle was an incredible experience. The term "trail" is misleading since a machete-wielding Álvaro was required to forge much of the path. We spent much of the hike walking up steep muddy slopes, and I'm pretty sure I was on my ass for just as much time as I was on my feet. Throughout the hike, Álvaro pointed out the many animals, trees and plants that we happened upon. It was as exhausting as it was fun. By mid-morning, we headed back to Atalaya, completely drenched in our own sweat and eaten alive by the millions of bugs who saw us as giant walking hamburgers.
Then, at the suggestion of Álvaro, we quickly changed into our bathing suits and hiked to The Waterfall (La Cascada). This was the GREATEST part of my trip to Peru so far, and I returned every single day to the waterfall to bathe. The falls are about 60 feet or so up and end in a beautiful, natural, two-leveled pool that is about 5 feet deep each. The lower pool is great to bathe and just splash around in, and then when you work up the nerve, you can hike up to the upper pool and the actual falls. Just approaching the falling water means being pelted with unbelievable winds and water flying at you from all angles. When you finally work up to it, you can make it under the actual falls and feel the amazing power/pain that comes with being hit by such powerful water. I could only stand under there for a few seconds at a time but it was the most AMAZING feeling! I took so many pictures and just couldn't get enough of splashing around there. I was like a kid in a candy shop.
We ran home and were promptly chastised by Gloria for being late for lunch (no joke). I quickly changed, apologized profusely in my best Spanish, and then ate her amazing lunch. The afternoon was spent under the pavilion making getting to know my new Spanish friends, reading my new book and watching the rains move in over the river and mountains in the distance. It was so relaxing, it reminded me of my summers in Highview, WV as a kid.
We stayed up a few hours past dinner and then retired to our beds and slept like absolute babies, dead from the activities from the day.
--
Sunday is a 'day off' at Atalaya. Gloria, our chef, had the day off, which meant that pretty much everybody would head into town to get fed for the day. Most of the Spaniards took off in the morning, but we decided that a late-morning waterfall trip was in order. This time we brought some shampoo and soap and cleaned off, and of course played around in the water. Again- SO MUCH FUN! Around 1 pm we decided that we would walk to the nearest town (a few km away on the death-road) named Choncachaka and then take a cab to the next closest, much larger town called Patria where we would get some grub. Unfortunately for us, this was the exact time that the jungle chose to start down pouring. By the time we crossed the zip line we were completely drenched from head to toe despite our rain coats. We then had the un-enviable but hilarious task of walking to Choncachaka. It took us about 20 minutes to reach the "town." There is a point, I learned, at which you reach the most wet that you can possibly be- and then from there the only direction you can go is "dry."
Choncachaka is an impossibly tiny town. From it's beginning, you can see the end. There are 3 stores in town. Approximately 40 people live there, and the school serves 8 students. It is the definition of tiny amazonian town.
We were there to reach the next town, Patria. One of the guys with me, who had been in the jungle a few weeks already, suggested that we hitch a ride on one of the few passing trucks. Sure enough, a few minutes later a large enclosed cargo truck covered with a canvas roof rolled down the road. Now, I pride myself on being travel saavy- not making stupid decisions that put my life in risk. Every once in a while, I fail and end up in a potentially terrible situation. Call it youthful ignorance, lapse in judgement, leap of faith or just plain stupidity: this was one of those times.
In order to hitch a ride on this truck we had to get in the back and basically be locked inside the enclosed cab which locked from the outside in. Everything was against my better judgement. But I didn't want to be the one left on the side of the road in the rain. I got in the truck. The door was shut and locked. The vehicle shook to life. We all smiled and laughed at our "predicament," Trent jokingly exclaimed "welcome to the Peruvian sex slave trade!" but we were all masking the truth: I have never been more afraid of my life. I counted the amount of horror stories that I could come up with that started with "then 7 rich tourists hitchiked in the jungle." I am not an overly religious man but I prayed that the men driving the truck did not wish us harm. My brain was on overdrive, trying to figure out how to get out of the canvas-topped, wooden-sided truck if need be. I reached for my swiss army knife that I keep in my left pocket... shit... I left that back safely locked in my bag back at Atalaya. Toward the front of the massive freighter was a small rip in the canvas. I moved an old tire underneath it and then ripped the canvas open so I could see out the front... this made me feel slightly better. 15 long, long minutes later I saw a town. I prayed so hard that the truck would safely stop and we would be let out. The truck rolled through town without slowing down and my heart must have been going about 250 beats per minute. Then... of course... it pulled off. The engine shut off. A door in the front opened, and closed, and a second later the back door was open and a smiling Peruvian man asked us in Spanish if his driving was slow enough for us. We were never in any danger... but boy did we feel like we were.
Back on solid ground I felt like I had lost 5 pounds in sweat from the ordeal. Patria was hardly larger than Choncachaka but boasted one restaurant that we had agreed to meet our Spanish friends at. They saw us walking and yelled out at us and a few minutes later we were sitting in an old rickety restaurant and drinking some Pilsen beer to take the edge off of our hitchiking experience. We laughed about the day, talked about what was safe/unsafe to eat and had a great lunch of undercooked chicken :-).
After a quick visit to el mercado, where we picked up some Pisco, Rum and some sodas we all shared a much safer cab back to Atalaya. That afternoon and night we had so much fun bonding with our friends from around the world. We played "Cucherros" (Spoons) with the losers having to drink pisco without a chaser (not a fun experience, haha) and then taught them how to play some other games. Some of the ladies put together an amazing spaghetti and tomato sauce dish, which was great considering we were planning on not eating any dinner in Gloria's absence. That night we stayed up really late eating, playing, laughing, drinking and talking about our travels, our hometowns and our plans in the future. It was an amazing night. I woke up in the middle of the night to Chico the monkey scrambling to sleep with me at my feet. It was raining outside and he was apparently pretty cold. He tried to get in my sleeping bag, but I wouldn't let him. He hung with me for a half hour or so before deciding I wasn't warm enough and decided to mooch off of someone else's body heat. That night I also had one more awesome thing happen: I had my first dream completely in Spanish. That's never happened to me before and it was a pretty cool experience to have. I guess that means I have been learning!
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On my last day in the jungle we decided to take another hike, this time on a different trail, el trocho de arboles grandes (big tree trail), where we were able to observe some trees that were hundreds of years old and hundreds of meters tall. Their canopies were the size of football fields. We helped in the re-forestation efforts by collecting their seeds and scattering them throughout to make germination more likely. It was suffocatingly hot since the rains the day before increased the humidity by a lot. I kept chanting to the group "La Cascada!" to try and get everyone excited about the cool water that awaited us at the waterfall. Before we made it there, though, we stopped at a swinging vine where we took turns swinging over the treetops. Having heard about a girl who fell recently and was lucky to walk away from the accident and also thinking that my good luck could only last so long, I decided against swinging on the vine.
I should also note that Chico the monkey joined us on our hike, but decided that it was too wet for his delicate feet and so took turns riding on our shoulders. Too funny.
About an hour and a half into the hike we got really lost; the guy who was leading us must have took a wrong turn and all of a sudden we were on no perceptible path. I was pretty frustrated at this point. Having endured about 5 rounds of being drenched beyond belief while climbing up breathless pitches... I was reaching my breaking point. Within about 25 long minutes we had found a landmark and began heading back in the right direction. We arrived back at Atalaya and then set out for the waterfall for what would be my last time.
I took it all in. There's a part of the waterfall where you can't walk through (it's too powerful) but if you duck underneath you can swim beneath the falls to the rocks behind the water. It's the most amazing view, sitting behind the water from inside the falls. Getting there by swimming underneath the falls is a pretty big leap of faith... you just duck down and start swimming, arms outstretched, hoping to hit rocks and then come up safely inside the falls. It was incredible. I couldn't stop just going back and forth, loving every second of it.
Finally at 5:30 it was time to go. Of course it started to rain again at this time too. I was supposed to leave with Mario, who lived in Choncachaka just down the road. We zipped across the river together and then walked up to the road in the rain. At this point he told me in spanish that he was going to ride ahead on his bike into town and I should just follow behind. He told me that when I get to town, ask the people at one of the stores where Mario lives and meet him there. It was getting dark, I was alone... this didn't seem like a good idea... but before I could argue too much.. he was gone.
As I walked those last few kilometers alone on the road through the jungle I couldn't help thinking about everything I had seen and done. My experience was the most exhilarating and frustrating, most incredible and unique experiences I've ever been a part of. Thinking about it, going to the jungle was like getting rid of any room for error. Like living without health insurance. There were no doctors, no hospitals, no police. It was as removed a place as I have ever been.
I arrived in Chocochaka and asked one of the men at the store where I could find Mario. I was humbled when I arrived in his house. Mario, an 82-year-old man lived in a one-room shack with a patchy roof that had water dripping through. We talked briefly about his life, how he has lived in the tiny jungle town for the past 40 years and how he hopes to travel one day. I felt like I had gained a lot of perspective while sitting in Mario's house.
30 minutes later I boarded the bus that rolled through the town. The trip was pretty insane as the driver navigated the curves in the dark. As the only non-peruvian aboard the 30-some person bus it was an interesting trip. At one point, around 2 AM, the police stopped us and raided the bus looking for Coca leaves that locals try and smuggle out of the jungle. I was pretty blown away when they took a woman's pillow and opened up the pillow case to find a huge ziploc bag of leaves- This apparently is a pretty common thing to try and do in Peru. When the lights of Cuzco rolled over the horizon around 5:30 AM, 11 hours after I departed Chocachaka, I was extremely relieved to be home safe. I cabbed home to San Pedro and fell asleep. Happy to be home, content with my amazing few days in the Amazon.
The jungle was an incredible adventure. As I said above, it was both testing and rewarding. In the end, it's the sitting around with my friends, watching and listening and living among the animals and biodiversity that exist only in the Amazon. I will never forget these past few days, speaking for hours in spanish, waking up to a monkey in my bed, hitchhiking between jungle towns and having the confidence to know that I can live through it all. I feel very lucky to have been given this experience... I will truly never forget it.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Day 19: Feeling home and 'bye for now
I'm currently sitting on the couch ater a filling meal of meatloaf and potatoes. All my friends from the house are here too, we're listening to music, making fun of each other's accents and laughing about the events of the day: I truly feel at home.
This afternoon 5 of us went to El Molino (the black market) for some last minute supplies for the jungle. I got a mosquito net, a flashlight, some bug spray and a sweet jungle hat. I also got caught up in the illegal DVD sales (3 soles= 1 dollar per movie) and I literally had to be dragged away from the shop by my friends. I ended up buying 5 movies and a full season of "House." So awesome!!!
We are all very excited for La Selva (the jungle) tomorrow. Tonight we are going to be playing it low key, relaxing over some drinks and then maybe sleeping for an hour or two before the bus picks us up in the wee hours of the morning. We should be rolling by about 5 or 6 am on our way to Manu, Peru. Hopefully we'll be there in the mid-late afternoon, in one of the most off-the-grid places I will ever have been. I'm nervous for the regular reasons: don't want to get sick... don't want to be mauled by a puma... you know, the usual. I'm also curious as to how backcountry it will be- with no electricity one can't help but wonder.
I am equipped with lots of good gear, though, and I will be fine. Very excited. So this is it for a few days, I won't be back in Cuzco until Tuesday at the earliest, so don't expect any updates between now and then.
Until then, have a fantastic weekend, and talk to you when I'm home safe and sound!
Love,
Greg
This afternoon 5 of us went to El Molino (the black market) for some last minute supplies for the jungle. I got a mosquito net, a flashlight, some bug spray and a sweet jungle hat. I also got caught up in the illegal DVD sales (3 soles= 1 dollar per movie) and I literally had to be dragged away from the shop by my friends. I ended up buying 5 movies and a full season of "House." So awesome!!!
We are all very excited for La Selva (the jungle) tomorrow. Tonight we are going to be playing it low key, relaxing over some drinks and then maybe sleeping for an hour or two before the bus picks us up in the wee hours of the morning. We should be rolling by about 5 or 6 am on our way to Manu, Peru. Hopefully we'll be there in the mid-late afternoon, in one of the most off-the-grid places I will ever have been. I'm nervous for the regular reasons: don't want to get sick... don't want to be mauled by a puma... you know, the usual. I'm also curious as to how backcountry it will be- with no electricity one can't help but wonder.
I am equipped with lots of good gear, though, and I will be fine. Very excited. So this is it for a few days, I won't be back in Cuzco until Tuesday at the earliest, so don't expect any updates between now and then.
Until then, have a fantastic weekend, and talk to you when I'm home safe and sound!
Love,
Greg
Day 18: Lots of goodbyes
The unique thing about this trip is that it has always been in a constant state of flux; people are arriving every day and departing with similar regularity. Because of that, it's hard to pinpoint when groups of friends first form and then get close, since members are always coming and going. I'm not sure when, but at some point, I got a great group of friends: Steph and Jeremy from Australia, Sarah, Trent and Angela from Canada, Peter from England, Celeste from the Netherlands, and Nick, Mili and Ryan from the US. We all live here at San Pedro and we have been having just an obscene amount of fun together.
Unfortunately all things must come to an end and last night was our celebratory dinner before it did. Today, Steph and Jeremy (the first people who I met in Peru, and really my first friends) took off for Macchu Picchu, and by the time they get back, 6 of us will be long gone in the jungle. By the time I return next week to San Pedro, I'll have left 5 people in the Jungle and 4 others will have left the country already.
With this in mind, we all went out last night to one of our favorite places to drink (Norton's pub on La Plaza) and then splurged for a great dinner of Lomo Saltado and cooked Alpaca at one of the fancier restaurants in Cuzco called Inka Grill. The food was great, a welcome change from the norm. As Jenna pointed out, I should have worn my new Alpaca-knit sweater while eating the Alpaca, but alas, I forgot to do so. And for the record, it did taste like chicken- disgusting, tangy, hard-to-chew chicken (I wasn't a fan). The Lomo Saltado, however, was incredible and is quickly climbing the charts as one of my favorite foreign dishes (look out, Pad Thai...).
Some other funny happenings:
-Yesterday Trent, Lindsay and I tried out our first Yoga class here in Cuzco. It was very interesting. The teacher was a nice guy with great english, which made understanding the class a lot easier. However, I think he really was determined to do every move in the yoga handbook, as I suffered through what was undoubtedly the slowest and longest yoga class known to man. At the end, when it was clearly time to go, I couldn't stop laughing as he continued to lead us through more and more positions and chants. It ended up being- literally- a two hour class. I do feel great today, though! Hilariously, during the last part of class, Savasana (where you lay like a corpse for a few minutes and just relax), some peruvian kids snuck into the class and started ruffling through the bags. I promptly hopped up out of my peaceful slumber and told them off.
-I've developed a sense of local entitlement when it comes to cabs. The fare is S/.2.50 (about 90 cents) to anywhere within the city limits, but when a white touristy-looking guy like me jumps in, the cabbies tend to demand up to 5 soles, figuring that the passenger doesn't know enough spanish to fight him. Wrong! Yesterday, as usual, I told the cabbie that I would be paying not a cent over 2.50 and when he refused to go lower than three, I told him to pull over and got out and walked. Yes, I know that I was fighting over 50 centavos (about 15 US Cents), but it was the principal of the matter. I may or may not have told him in Spanish that his car sucked anyway while I got out of the cab angrily.
Alright, I'll update later today before I take off for the jungle!
Greg
Unfortunately all things must come to an end and last night was our celebratory dinner before it did. Today, Steph and Jeremy (the first people who I met in Peru, and really my first friends) took off for Macchu Picchu, and by the time they get back, 6 of us will be long gone in the jungle. By the time I return next week to San Pedro, I'll have left 5 people in the Jungle and 4 others will have left the country already.
With this in mind, we all went out last night to one of our favorite places to drink (Norton's pub on La Plaza) and then splurged for a great dinner of Lomo Saltado and cooked Alpaca at one of the fancier restaurants in Cuzco called Inka Grill. The food was great, a welcome change from the norm. As Jenna pointed out, I should have worn my new Alpaca-knit sweater while eating the Alpaca, but alas, I forgot to do so. And for the record, it did taste like chicken- disgusting, tangy, hard-to-chew chicken (I wasn't a fan). The Lomo Saltado, however, was incredible and is quickly climbing the charts as one of my favorite foreign dishes (look out, Pad Thai...).
Some other funny happenings:
-Yesterday Trent, Lindsay and I tried out our first Yoga class here in Cuzco. It was very interesting. The teacher was a nice guy with great english, which made understanding the class a lot easier. However, I think he really was determined to do every move in the yoga handbook, as I suffered through what was undoubtedly the slowest and longest yoga class known to man. At the end, when it was clearly time to go, I couldn't stop laughing as he continued to lead us through more and more positions and chants. It ended up being- literally- a two hour class. I do feel great today, though! Hilariously, during the last part of class, Savasana (where you lay like a corpse for a few minutes and just relax), some peruvian kids snuck into the class and started ruffling through the bags. I promptly hopped up out of my peaceful slumber and told them off.
-I've developed a sense of local entitlement when it comes to cabs. The fare is S/.2.50 (about 90 cents) to anywhere within the city limits, but when a white touristy-looking guy like me jumps in, the cabbies tend to demand up to 5 soles, figuring that the passenger doesn't know enough spanish to fight him. Wrong! Yesterday, as usual, I told the cabbie that I would be paying not a cent over 2.50 and when he refused to go lower than three, I told him to pull over and got out and walked. Yes, I know that I was fighting over 50 centavos (about 15 US Cents), but it was the principal of the matter. I may or may not have told him in Spanish that his car sucked anyway while I got out of the cab angrily.
Alright, I'll update later today before I take off for the jungle!
Greg
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