On this pleasant Sunday morning the power is once again off
in town, and the scuttlebutt has it that it will be late afternoon before we
see it again. This means a morning
without coffee, sigh.
The generators have been brought out in order to have the flag
raising ceremony as usual, so music is blaring and microphones are
working. Extra loud this morning too it
seems.
I wandered over to my property yesterday and took a couple
of pictures of the new fence and by default Manuels’ family working on the almost
cleared land. They are fast workers to
be sure.
My fence: and the view beyond...
The sun has favoured us here for the past several days, and
I have been meandering around simply enjoying being here. No huge long hikes, just the couple of kms
between here and the property, with a couple of trips up and down the mass of
stairs up the road thrown in for exercise.
Janet invited me along on a visit with the owner of a local
eatery to discuss adding breakfast or dinner options to their tours. Not a bad idea when most tours start long
before the restaurants open. I have been
asking around about the myriad sights to see that are not on the main tourist
hit list, with the thought of putting together an “extended” Chachapoyas tour
for those who want to go that bit further.
Just an idea.
My vocabulary of “understood” Spanish is noticeably
improving, but I am still sputtering and stuttering when I try and speak. Frustrating.
Another round at the market, and there is but half a pigs
head left on the counter… There will
definitely have to be some market tutoring when it comes to things like cheese,
chicken and beef. A) not my strong suit
to start with and B) there are just too many choices and vocabulary specifics
involved. The cheese I bought a few days
ago is very salty goat cheese, better for cooking, so I passed it along. One day when Janet is headed that way I will
tag along and play silly gringa again. I
did manage to find the small store that sells fresh unsweetened yogurt… the
stuff you buy in the supermarkets here is sickenly sweet.
Spent an evening helping Jose and Donna put beds together in
the new hostal. I was irritated when one
of the young tourists looked into the room and asked me in English “why are YOU
helping them?” to which I replied “Well,
why shouldn’t I? This is what people do…
help each other”. Young snot. Wanted to cuff him up the ear and tell him to
join in.
Next day I took my boots to the curb to give them a good
knock together to shake some of the caked dry mud off the bottoms, bent over,
started banging them together and promptly put my back out. Ouch.
Two days of baby steps, bed rest and Tylenol 3. Managed to shuffle slowly around the square
but stairs and treks were a non-starter.
On one such shuffle it dawned on me that there is a serious
baby boom happening here in town.
Strollers and strapped-on kids everywhere. I managed to get my hands on a wee newborn to
coo over for a few moments while anxious papa looked on. At baby stage they just think I am another
adoring fan.
Add a couple of years and I become something akin to a
circus clown… craning necks and wide eyes.
It is really kind of an odd power to have. Their first glances become stares, then comes
the double and triple takes. It is at
this point I usually wink or make a face, which must reassure them because they
usually smile and the peek a boo game begins.
Sometimes to the ire of their mothers… like when they are walking up a
sidewalk in front of me and said small unit keeps slowing progress by turning
around to engage with me. Fun most of
the time.
The bank card I have been using since I got here will
still not work in the banks’
machine. I had this problem last year
at this bank. Stupid. Was working, now it doesn’t. I know it is not the card because it is
working at a different institution, which charges double the fees for half the
cash. GRRR.
The hostal is full right now, albeit with Peruvian families
that are here caring for relatives who have had surgery. I got the lowdown on the Peruvian medical
system, and it is not so rosy.
Apparently here there are doctors and hospitals, but they carry no
supplies whatsoever? If you need help
someone needs to go to the pharmacy and buy… bandages, needles, medicine,
sutures… everything. What if there is no
one to get supplies? Apparently it is
the patients problem?
There are two people here who have had surgery, and their
families and the doctor are all staying here.
Surgeons must come from Chiclayo…
10 hours away. First you go there for a
consult, then when there are enough patients the surgeon comes here, does the
surgery, stays for a couple of days to make sure you survive, and then goes
home.
Better not get sick, huh?...
And better always have emergency money hanging around.
Still, this town is booming and a lot of expats are wanting
to call it home. I spent a pleasant
couple of hours with an American woman who is trying to decide between
Chachapoyas and another town in Equador.
Lots of talk about politics, the environment and gun control. Not the kind of conversation I am able to
have with the locals here yet.
After a breakfast of apples and yoghurt, with an energy bar
in to quell some queasies, I think I will take advantage of the nice weather
and tackle another round of stairs to get some exercise. Today I am feeling a bit on the bored side,
so will see if I can find something to do…
No comments:
Post a Comment