Last week I
spent probably my best two weeks since coming to Peru! I started out leaving
Amazonas on a Friday and after a 24 hour ride arrive in Lima on Saturday
morning. My parents weren’t expected to arrive until Sunday at 6am so I called
a friend from Chocta who had recently moved to Lima and spent the afternoon
with her. We ate ceviche but mostly just hung out in her house as I was tired
from the long bus ride. In the morning I got into a taxi for the airport where
the travel agency my parents had used had sent a person, Carmen, to meet us. We
chatted in Spanish until the flight arrived and we switched to English for my
parents. From the airport we went to our hotel where they took a nap and I used
some incredibly fast internet (even in the capital city of Amazonas you never
find internet like they have in Lima, those lucky ducks). After the old man and
lady were rested, we went walking to eat lunch and shop. That first lunch of
ceviche, soups, and salad was our first indication that the food in this city
would be one of our favorite parts of Lima. We went out for dinner later for
delectable meat and potato dishes. The next day was more of the same, eating
and shopping, then eating some more. We marveled at how cheap food was even at
fancy restaurants where we felt way underdressed. Our last day in Lima was,
appropriately, a “food adventure.” We had a chef take us to a local market and
then teach us how to prepare a Peruvian cocktail (Pisco sour) and three typical
Peruvian food dishes: ceviche (fish cooked with lime, red onion, pepers), papa
causa (mashed potatoes with avocado, olives, tomato), and loma saltada (beef
sautéed with pepers and tomato).
The next
leg of the trip was in Cusco, an hour flight from Lima. We arrived in the early
morning and our guide for the next few days took us to the hotel. We showered
and rested and then were off for a city tour. We learned about how to tell if
the textiles sold everywhere in Cusco were “baby alpaca” which just means the
first shear of the alpaca, or “adult alpaca” any other shear, which isn’t as nice
and soft. We went to a gorgeous view point of the city and then walked around
stopping in churches and museums. I loved Cusco! It’s almost all stone cobbled,
the streets as well as the buildings, keeping true to the mysterious Incan
culture. Our guide was very passionate as he had spent many years studying the
Incans. The next day he took us to the Sacred Valley tour. We first stopped at
a house where a few traditionally dressed women explained how they prepare,
dye, and weave their gorgeous alpaca textiles. Then we stopped at a salt mine.
This is pretty much a huge chunk of mountain fitted with little shallow pools
of salt water that are fill up from a streaming salt water lake. Then we went
to crop circles which were used by the Incans to gradually accustom desired
crops from the jungle to the highland climate. That’s when we started to
believe that that Incans were aliens with special powers because these
structures were impressive if built with modern tools, however no tools besides
simple picks and hammers were ever found. We ended our day in a cool town
called Ollantaytambo where our bus for Machu Picchu would leave in the morning.
And at 6 in the morning we headed off to one of the Word Wonders. After 2 hour
train ride and a 30 min bus ride, we were there (along with a thousand other
tourist from all over the world). It was quite cool to hear all the different
languages and see the variety of people crawling all over the Incan ruins. The
ruins seemed so randomly plopped in the midst of vast, steep, thickly forested
mountains. We walked around with our tour guide who was an expert, having lived
in Machu Picchu for a year studying every rock and structure looking for
answers he never really found. After lunch we walked up to a view point about
an hour and a half up from the base. From there we could see the main ruins as
well as other structures up and down the mountain ranges indicating that maybe
the city was A LOT bigger than it appears now. We headed back to catch our 4pm
train that took us back to the city of Cusco. Back in our hotel we ate light
room serviced dinner and then slept like babies.
The third
and final leg was up in my neck of the woods, AMAZONAS! But between us and this
northern region of Peru stood two flights and an overnight bus ride over the
unpredictable roads of Amazonas region. We had a few hours to kill in Chiclayo
where we met our guide for the next 4 days. Mister Oscar didn’t take a breath
talking at us for those few hours, and as we’d find out, wouldn’t be taking a
breath from speaking for the next four days. And on the bus ride we of course
ended up getting stuck in a minor land slide. In our essentially seamless trip
so far I was not surprised we’d have at least one bump in the road, or in this
case, mud in the road (hardy har har). So after the 12 hour instead of 8 hour
bus ride my parents were a bit cranky, or mostly just caffeine deprived as we
arrived to Chachapoyas. After unnecessary difficulties we got our coffee
ordered, put food in our bellies, and felt 100 percent better. I called a
friend who lives in Chachapoyas and told her we were now in Amazonas. She told
me “now the real adventure starts”. It’s so true. After Lima and Cusco, heavy
tourist populated areas where everyone knows how to cater to foreigners,
Amazonas travel would be a bit different. Only the most adventurous of
travelers (as some call them hippies and backpackers) make their way up here to
the north. We handled a landslide already and I knew we’d be facing long drives
on unpaved roads, no English speakers, unreliable hot water and wifi, and food
that just can’t keep up with Lima/Cusco’s standards; but I had faith my parents
would be just fine, and more, enjoy themselves in this region that I, for now,
call my home.
That first
day was low key as we visited a famous ceramic maker, went to an outlook of the
valley, then to an outlook of the city, and after walked around the streets of
Chachapoyas. Although Oscar sometimes made you want to scream, if we were able
to listen and not tune out his seemingly endless babbling, he taught us some
really cool things about Chachapoyas that I didn’t know after living here for a
year. We ate at a restaurant where Dad tried guinea pig and they learned that
service isn’t the same as in Cusco as in even the nicest restaurants in
Chachapoyas. The next day we headed to Kuelap, “the Machu Picchu of the north”
or as we call Machu Picchu, “The Kuelap of the South.” That’s a huge ruin from
the Chachapoyan people who were later conquered by the Incans. We had a nice
lunch of “cecina,” dried meat which is a famous and common dish in Amazonas,
but my parents joked about how we ate beef jerky for lunch. At least they
appreciated the view from the table we ate at! Later that day we did some
shopping, getting some last minute things before we had to pack up, as it’d be
our second and last night in Chachapoyas. In the morning mom woke up with a
cold, just like Grandma, her mom did for our last few days in Peru. She didn’t
know if she’d be able to do the waterfall hike on our agenda as we headed off
to the town of Cocochimba, I think it’s called. From this town you can see the
Gocta Falls, “the Third Tallest Waterfall in the World.” They only recently
built a path to the waterfall in 2006 because all the locals thought it was
haunted. But once they went and measured its height, it became a huge thing and
the town got suddenly rich and busy off of tourism. It was a beautiful day and
the falls were calling to her, so mom pulled herself together and we started
out on the 2 hour walk to the base of Gocta. This was an incredibly beautiful
hike through lush green jungle but on a clear and easy to walk path. It poured
rain only as we were eating a packed lunch under a roof, and cleared up for us
as we were ready to leave. This whole trip we could not have asked for better
luck with the weather. Every time we arrived to a new place they’d tell us we
just missed a rainstorm and when we left it’d start to rain again! After the
hike we rested at the beautiful hotel where “every room has a view of the waterfall”,
and we slept our best sleep, showered our best shower, and ate our best free
breakfast of the trip.
Waking up
that morning, we headed off to Luya, and from there, Chocta! I’d been waiting
for this day for so long and now it was here! In Luya it was market day and a
bunch of my friends from Chocta were there. I introduced a few to mom and dad
and mostly enjoyed the stares from everyone. After a brief tour of Luya we
headed straight up the tomb site of Karajia, only passing through Chocta. As mom
and dad fell silent, I prayed that the driver would drive more smoothly on the
terrible roads up to Karajia. Because I had done the hike to Karajia probably more
than 10 times by now, a few times in sandals, many times in jeans, I forgot
that it is actually kind of a hard hike, straight down and back up. So I made
it seem easy and my parents were underprepared in their jeans and without water
as, of course, it was sunny and clear. But they made it with just minor
complaints and we were off to Chocta to meet the host family. The first hour,
consisted of mostly my host family marveling at the height of my dad. The kids
couldn’t keep from cracking up as Dad crouched through their doors, dodged
laundry lines, and filled up the bed he laid down in. We ate huge plates of
freshly slaughtered-just- for-us-pork and rice. Then we sat outside
entertaining all the little boys that followed us around. Afterwards we went up
to the plaza where I introduced mom and dad to a few friends and we showed them
the two schools, health post, and played a bit of soccer at the soccer field. Afterwards
we came back to the house and ate dinner. Afterwards my parents gave my host
family presents. Rosary beads for my host parents, a picture book, and a framed
picture of Jesus to hang in their room. I’m glad I gave Mom the religious hint
because those gifts were such a hit! We prepared for bed, Dad looking like a
giant in a tiny bed and Mom in bed with me.
In the
morning we made coffee using the last three of my Starbucks instant coffee singles.
A friend invited us for breakfast and my parents learned how much they eat in
the mornings and how sweet they like their coffee and tea in Chocta. Afterwards
we met the high school teachers and then visited the elementary school where we
ended up spending a good couple hours. We were invited to a sweet milk drink (mom
had me secretly drink hers) and chatted with the principle. The kids swarmed us
clinging to my mom and gawking and laughing at my dad as I frantically
translated questions and answers. When we finally got free of the children we
visited my host sister in law, Bremi, whose baby Marlleli is my god-daughter.
After drinking more tea and bananas my parents learned about how you’re
constantly invited almost forcefully to food in Chocta. Then we went down to
the house where lunch was almost ready. As dad rested and mom played with
Marlleli I made an agreement with my host mom that I’d plate the food to save
my parents from having to stuff themselves again. During lunch in hushed
Spanish (as if my parents would understand anything) Bremi and my host mom
asked if we’d be ok with cutting Marlleli’s hair after lunch. Although I’ve
never actually been to a “first hair cut party” I knew it was a big deal and
agreed it’d be fun for my parents to be here for it. So the kids ran off to
gather more family members and my host brothers bought a case of beer. Marlleli
sat so calm as I chopped of a lot more hair than I intended. My host mom
instructed mom and dad to cut a few pieces too. Then she made a speech about
how since I am her granddaughter’s godmother we are co-padres (like co-parents)
and since Mom and Dad are my parents she’s also copadres with them (if that
makes sense). Now I can see why half the town goes around calling each other
copadre and comadre. And now she always asks me “have you talked to my copadre?
How is my comadre?” It’s actually really sweet. Anyways, after the hair was
cut, we went out front and took tons of pictures and drank some more beer. I
was nice and buzzed when our private taxi rolled up to take us to Chachapoyas
where we said goodbye as they got on their night bus to Chiclayo to catch a
flight to the Galapagos. I left the bus station to look for a hotel room for
the night feeling a tad more homesick than I’d felt before the visit, but also
refreshed and thankful for the trip of a lifetime we had just spent together.
