To the farm

Janet and Carlos are tour agents here in Chachapoyas, and in the Peruvian way have befriended me. I often sit in their office chatting with Janet… She practices her English and encourages me to continue to break my teeth in Spanish.

They are a lovely and hardworking couple, who have managed to buy property in a small town a couple of hours from here that lies directly below the Kuelep ruins. An invitation was issued to go with them to their property today, which I gladly accepted.

The town of Tingo is not much to look at upon arrival. We stood and looked out over the river and Janet pointed to a lovely expanse of land and said with pride “That is mine”. Over the bridge we strolled, squeezed through a fence and wandered. Part of the land is cleared and part is wild… But there are orange trees, avocado trees, sugarcane, bananas and a number of different plants used for medicinal purposes.

We made our way to a lean to type structure at the spot the land slopes up and away from the river. A large log was procured and we sat just looking around and in general talking about what a great future they could build here. Big plans… an upscale hostal where people can take a break from their travels and unwind. Group pictures: Janet, Carlos, their son Daniel, nephew Brian, Hostal owner Eduardo, puppy and I.

And we swatted mosquitoes. I suggested they might want to get busy building some bat houses, many bat houses, to encourage the feisty mosquito eaters to come and breed.

We ate lunch, mine consisted of a pre-cooked, seasoned bean melody bought at the market in the morning, (here’s hoping that my digestive system stays unaffected) and I shared the cookies I bought at the bakery.

We picked oranges, Carlos took his machete to some undergrowth, and Janet took me up to the spot they thought to build their house. The view was magnificent.

I feel a Peruvian retirement coming on.

Off to the river to cool down. The kids went in and water-fights ensued. Eduardo and I tried to stay away from the fallout, and I took pictures.

Back to the village to look for transport to our second planned excursion for the day… Macro, with are Chachapoyan ruins built high up on the cliffs at the base of the mountain that holds Kuelep. Transport turned out to be a Moto-truck, something I have not seen before. Think motorcycle with a trailer built into the back. What a hoot, bouncing down the dirt road, dust flying and wind whipping our hair around.

We are deposited at the side of the road where the adventure got started by crossing the river in a cable car type set up, load a couple of people into the box and just keep pulling the cable until you reach the other side. Carlos did all the pulling, young strapping man that he is.

And I found myself following another one of those ancient trails… up, up, up. Not a profusion of stairs, and a lot of dirt scrabble. We kept an eye out for fossils, this area is just filthy with them, and admired the view as we got higher. The first rounded house was easily accessed along the trail, but we were headed to the caves above the ruins and so kept on.

Searching for handholds in the crevices of the ruins and then the cliff face became the name of the game. At one fairly critical point (think teeny path, long, long drop down) the only handhold I could find had visible spider webbing, and I stuck my fingers in even as I asked myself just what I would do if a spider actually came out and made my acquaintance. Happily the situation did not materialize and I made it up to the next switchback. Climb, climb climb. No, do NOT use that tree for a handhold because it is actually the base of a very big cactus and will rip your fingers to shreds. Oh, that one is ok to use.

Scrable, scrable and I am inside a cave that used to be a tomb, before the grave robbers got to it. There are remains of offering that have been made recently, some burned coco leaves and sea shells. I look out and drink in the view. I look up and see the rest of the cliff face, heavily dotted with looted caves, and wonder how anyone got up that high, yet alone carried remains and offerings to be left.

Used my bum on more than one occasion on the return trip. What goes up has to come down (i.e. ME) and I did, again often with fingers clinging along the way.

Fun, fun, fun.

Back to the cable car, with a stop in at the local farm after an invitation is issued. A sugar cane brew called Chicha was served (I took a polite sip, but didn’t want try the tummy gods a second time today) and we got a chance to peruse the amazing collection of fossils they have found over the years.

After a return trip over the river we prepared ourselves for a walk back to the village just as a bus came along the road. There was room for 3, which meant 2 kids and 2 adults, so Eduardo, the kids and I left Janet and Carlos to wander back and find a ride. They insisted.

I collapsed on the bed and flaked out for an hour, forced myself up the hill to eat dinner, had a cold shower and am now just finishing up with my tale of the day.

Great day. The kind of day I make the for which I journey.

Tomorrow I teach.

Buenos noches!