August 20, 2005
Kanela and I took a long hike this morning then I headed to Café Andino for a game of scrabble with another PCV. I had my usual scrabbled egg whites and broccoli with tofu and my first Chia tea. It was a spectacular breakfast.
I’ve been thinking for days that I would try my hand at some homemade veggie soup. With it being cold here at night and fresh vegetables at my fingertips, there’s no reason not to. After tossing in every bean, vegetable, and spice that I could find in the kitchen and 3 good hours on the stove, I have to say it was quite tasty. I invited some other PCVs over to enjoy and we all sat around in my host family’s kitchen eating soup and drinking wine. It was a really great time.
August 17, 2005
I just spent 3 days in Lima working on the PCV newsletter; we found the previous file corrupted, so that means we are starting from scratch. We’ll have to come back into Lima in a couple of weeks to finish it all up. I stayed with a really neat Embassy family. Having been PCVs in the Dominican Republic, they understood exactly the experience that I have here in Peru.
August 12, 2005
The trainees and I decided it would be nice to get out of Huaraz for a while, so we rented a taxi and drove up the Callejon (valley) to Carhuaz and Campo Santo. In Carhuaz, we sampled the famous ice cream. It does hold its own. It was very tasty, just like the homemade stuff I remember at home in Georgia. We visited Campo Santo, a site that is now essentially a grave yard in memory of the old town of Jungay that was totally destroyed by an earthquake and avalanche 30 years ago. They only thing that survived the natural disaster was the statue of Jesus and a church. You can see partial houses sticking out of the ground and demolished buses on their sides. Many families have placed markers of their lost ones; it has the most eerie feeling as you walk the grounds.
August 11, 2005
With my trainees, we headed to Canchacuta. Seems the community is getting used to gringos. I think the trainees had some problems with the altitude on the hike in and out of the community. We were lucky on our way out this time and found a car heading into Huaraz, so we had a relatively comfortable ride back into town.
August 10, 2005
I was up at 4:30 this morning to welcome the new trainees to Huaraz. There will be 9 new volunteers placed here in September and they’ve made their way here to see what being a volunteer in all about. I will have 2 trainees shadowing me for a couple of days.
August 4, 2005
I finally made it back to Huaraz all in one piece, with several mosquito bites and a pretty good tan. This was quite possibly the best vacation I have even taken.
August 1, 2005
Wanting to see what the region had to offer, we flagged down what we thought was a taxi in hopes of getting a ride to some waterfalls. What we found was a Lima guy on vacation who agreed to give us a ride if we could pick up his cousin (the local) first. The guys proved to be like all Peruvians and were full of questions and flirts for the girls.
We found the waterfalls to be spectacular. We even jumped from the cliff into the lagoon below. It felt like I reading some travel documentary, but in actuality it was me experiencing it all for myself. I had never imagined myself swimming in a river in the heart of the Amazon Jungle.
The Peruvians were pretty excited to show us more of Tarapoto, so we headed to a lake where we could relax in the water on old tire enter tubes, as monkeys and sloths hung out on the banks. I even jumped off of the old rickety wooden ‘diving’ board.
To finish off a spectacular day, we decided to see what the dance scenes had to offer. Meeting back up with our tour guides, we danced salsa and meringue until the wee hours.
July 31, 2005
We got a ride to Pedro Luis, 2 hours from Chachapoyas, where we found a taxi that would take us all the way to Moyabamba, 5 hours away. So, all 7 of us piled into a station wagon and entered the lushness of the Amazonian Jungle. Finally, we had found sweltering heat, greenery, and sunshine. In Moyabamba, we got on yet another bus, 3 hours this time to bring us to our final destination of Tarapoto.
Oh, Tarapoto, what a marvelous town! The streets were zooming with moto-taxis and motorcycles. All of the locals walked around in their shorts, tanks, and flip-flops. We settled into a cute little hostel and met up with some other PCVs that had taken the easy way to Tarapoto, a 24-hour-one-bus route. I still think our way had been much more fun.
July 30, 2005
Arrival in Tingo was at 3:00 am in the morning. We didn’t have a clue where to stay so we started out aimlessly down the dirt road. Finding a police station, the sleeping cop pointed us to a hostel. After pounding on the door for what I know was 30 minutes, the señora sleepily let us in and we found a bed, if not too clean nor warm, at least sleepable. All this commotion just to see the famous ruins of Kuelap. After 4 hours of sleep, we crawled out of the hostel to get a free ride (3 hour day bus) halfway up to Kuelap. We were let out at a cute little house and were welcomed in by a tobacco-chewing Virginian. Having worked supporting tourism in Kuelap during his summer breaks for over 30 years, he was a wealth of information. We hitchhiked the rest of the way by waving down a university group on tour from Chachapoyas. They were a whole lot of fun and we ended up staying with them for the rest of the day and trip. They even gave us a ride into the next city on our route, Chachapoyas. In Chachapoyas, again we crashed in a cheap hostel and had the best fried chicken I’ve found in Peru on a terrace restaurant just off the plaza.
July 29, 2005
We bussed another 22 hours to Tingo. What can I say? It was pretty miserable -- a tiny bus, lots of dust, from hot to cold, to cold to hot, filled with a hodgepodge of travelers. We had two flat tires along the way, but it was a nice break from the uncomfortable seats and we could stretch our legs. I slept, listened to music, and prayed the bus would stay on the donkey trail of a road. It might have been the best scenery of my life. You could see lush mountains and deep gorges that stretched into a horizon that looks like it could go on forever.
July 28, 2005
Seven of us in total, boarded a bus to Celedin (6 hour day bus) at 9:00 am. What an awful road! The driver even had to ask the local farmers for directions. The views were terrific.
Celedin was nice, quaint, and friendly. We had some pretty bad food and stayed in a sad, little hostel. There were fireworks in honor of Peru’s Independence Day. A bit dangerous, since they set them off so close to the crowds, but fun, and a different taste of life in the Andes Mountains. If I really sit and think about it, we are so far removed from life, as I usually know it. I am over 24 hours away from Lima, the closest city of “civilization”, and 8 more hours by plane, to my home country. This trip has certainly helped me to clear my mind of some of the negativity I had been picking up of late in Huaraz. It’s reminded me of some of the reasons I joined PC in the first place – to travel, to see the world, learn more about others. I am definitely doing that right now. It seems so surreal, when I think back to my life at home and what my friends and family are doing there. I am so far from their realities. It’s also been great for me to share stories with my travel mates as well. Even if we are from all over the states, I find we are really all cut from the same mold.
July 27, 2005
In Cajamarca, we have met up with several other PCVs. This is the first time I have traveled with this many people. I had forgotten how it can get hairy at times when you travel together. You see other’s quirks unlike you see them when you just hang out together.
I am definitely glad to be out of Huaraz. I had needed this break. It feels good to be traveling with just a backpack, not worried about appearance, cleanliness, just having a good time. I can’t believe I didn’t bring my hairdryer or makeup. I have one pair of shoes and one pair of flip-flops. I have to do this more – see more of what Peru really has to offer. It’s so easy to just go, to hop on a bus, to see something new.
I am always such a sucker for woven hand bags. I had to buy a couple and order a ‘special-made’ one to pick up tomorrow. They were great; shopping always makes me happy.
We went to the famous Baños del Inca just outside of Cajamarca this afternoon, the site where the Inca himself bathed centuries ago. It was a worthwhile experience. I bathed in natural hot springs that are channeled into to small, personal pools. I also treated myself to a half-hour massage. The baths are cool because you can see the water boiling right out of the ground at 71 degrees Celsius.
July 25, 2005
Today was the beginning of my much anticipated “Jungle Trip”. Two other PCVs and I traveled to Trujillo (an 8 hour night bus), since the next bus to Cajamarca wasn’t until later that night, we just hung out in town for the day. It was odd to be back in my old stomping grounds. I got that lonely/nervous feeling in my gut, the one I used to have daily and it was a good reminder that Huaraz is so much better for me. However, I have missed the amenities of the city, my bike club, my host family, and the grocery stores.
Ok, so now it’s time for another night bus to Cajamarca. We have 2 nights in a row on buses, no bathing. My clothes still look suitably clean.
