Hello everyone! It is 10:00 PM here in Chiclayo and we have just finished saying our goodbyes to Isabelle and Victor, the presendents of Cafe Feminino. We also had the oppertunity to purchase some Cafe Feminino Coffee of our own from them, which I am sure we will let you taste when we get back to Canada.
I now have a bit of down time to tell you a bit more about the mountains. So to pick up where Jason left off....
We were awoken by the rooster at around 4:30 AM, then the pigs at 5:00 AM, then the donkeys, then the goats, and lets not forget the dogs that roam the community. Breakfast was at 7:30 so we could begin our work on the pilca around 8:00. We were all very tired from our journey the day before, but still put on all our sunscreen, bugspray, and carried our water bottles up the mountain side to help out the male workers of the community.
Are those men ever in shape! They worked just as hard as they did the day before and did not show an ounce of tiredness. Us, on the otherhand, we slowing down a fair bit. When lunch time rolled around, it was clear that we were struggling. One of the women of the village, Saterdina, noticed this and was quick to tell Rebecca that we should take the afternoon off and get to know the community and appreciate the place that we had come to visit. We were of course happy to take up her offer, but I did feel a little guilty about leaving the men to do work all afternoon while we got to rest. Saterdina explained that we should not feel bad at all. Just bringing the materials for the pilca with us we were helping the village.
We took this oppertunity to branch out in small groups and get to know this lovely community that we were living in. It turns out that the community is essentially one large family. The grandmother and grandfather live in the main area with some of their children and grandchildren, while other children of theirs, Saterdina included, live at nearby farms with their families and hike into the main area every day.
While the men were busy working on the pilca, the women spent their time doing chores and crafts and watching over the children. Kristina, Natalie, Jason, and I decided that we wanted to play with the children. We met the cutest little boy who looked ot be about 5 years old. We played with his truck and had took turns trying to make him laugh. Soon his little brother and and other little girl had joined us and Jess snapped some really great photos. I loved spending time with the children because I find them to less intimidating to get to know, especially if your spanish is as poor as mine. It is amazing how much you can communicate just by smiling and laughing.
We moved into the main house area and Kristina brought out some bracelet making tools. We showed the younger women who were looking after the children how to braid the bracelets. I also multitasked by entertaing the two little boys I mentioned earlier by tossing a ball of yarn back and forth. Meanwhile, Becca, Megan, Jenna, Jess and Barbara chatted with Saterdina and Megan tried to learn how to make a blanket from scratch. We had a good laugh at her because it certaintly was not as easy as Saterdina made it look!
Before dinner, we took a walk with Saterdina back to her farm. She chatted more to us about what life in Peru was like and also showed off the beauty of our surroundings. She truely is such a spectacular women and I can´t even begin to describe the love that we all felt toward her.
After saying goodbye to Saterdina, we chatted about the day together on our way back to the community. Jenna and I talked about our frustration that we just couldn´t find a good word to describe how we were feeling and how amazing this experience has been so far. Becca came up with what I think is the best way to describe our feelings when she said ¨I feel full¨ Meaning that our hearts are full of love and happiness to be in such a spectacular part of the world and that we now feel some sort of new completeness. This still may not describe my experience perfectly, but it is so close!
Much love and talk to you all soon!
Kat
Sunday, June 12, 2011
First Day: SJ vs. the Mountain
Hey Everyone,
Back from dinner, and after some downtime and recouperation I am able to share how our first day in the mountains was. Our trek thursday began with the trucks arriving at the Saranga Hotel already strapped with the pipes that would be used in water irrigation by the indigenous mountain farmers. We loaded up the two pick-ups and the taxi cab that came with us and headed out of Chiclayo. Driving in the city is a little crazy; lanes and stop lights are more of a suggestion here. Once we got out of the city we headed through the neighbouring areas on what I assumed is a highway, although it was significantly different than the 401. After about an hour\hour and a half we reached the base of the mountain, also our stop for lunch. However we ran into a slight complication with the road, as part of it was covered with the river that was running through it. No problem though as our drivers simply plowed through and we made it to the other side. It was a thrilling experience to say the least. After a quick lunch and some photo´s of the river we loaded everyone, bags and all, into the two pick-ups and headed up the mountain. The windy roads up the mountain almost seemed surreal at first, but like Sean put it, roller coasters will never be the same again. About an hour later we arrived at the village where the trucks were dropping us off as that is as close as they could get us. We were finally able to appreciate the mountainous view from a stopped position, and it is something that even now I cannot explain ho beautiful it was. From there we loaded our gear onto our backs and began the hike to our home for the next three nights. The hike started off nice with a downhill slope through a gorgeous forest setting and thankfully lots of shade. We passed multiple rivers which Megan decided were easier to walk through than above using rocks. Of course we needed to get over a mountain so the terrain took a change in direction from nice and flat to can ground really go that steep? It was one of the hardest things I have done in my life. I am sticking with the story that the air was significantly thinner in the mountains and that is why I ran out of breath climbing this behemoth of a landmark. We all found it rough going up but stuck together and made it over the mountain. It was really nice to see how everyone looked out for one another and made sure that they were doing okay. However once we got to the top we quickly found out that there was still quite a ways to go before we hit the village. After another of the longest hours of my life I made it to our new home. It consisted of 3 houses that the local families stayed in and a larger community house that we used as home base. Modest is an overstatement when describing this village. The houses were made of clay bricks and sheet metal roofs, and the ground was caked and dry around the village. What was truly shocking and amazing all in one was the contrast of this village to its surroundings. It was so easy through the next few days to forget where you were and look out and see the most beautiful countryside I personally have had the priveledge of seeing. The mix of the mountains, clear blue skies, and the fresh clean air had enough of us smiling constantly throughout the weekend. We were greeted by the families of the village and headed up towards where the supplies we brought would be put to use to build a Pilca (a water storage system which they use for irrigation for crops). The President of the village, Marcos, welcomed us and thanked us for not only providing the materials for this project but coming to actually visit and get to know them. Through our translator Rebecca we thanked them for the experience they were providing us and they were helping us more than they would ever know. After these past three days, that could not be closer to the truth. We went to work right away and we quickly found out the true meaning of a hard days work. The twelve of us worked as hard as we could after a 2+hour hike until the end of the day. I could not believe how efficient the farmers were at their work. Jordan and I could barely keep up moving dirt from the site working with the elder of the community who had to be at least 60. It was a very humbling experience. We were able to wash up and wipe off the dirt from the afternoon of work before dinner. I forgot to mention that we were served goat and some potatoe dish for lunch, and the same goat showed up for dinner with rice. Other than Sean and I, the goat didn´t get great criticism, but I though it was amazing. Two meals in a row maybe not, but it was still very good. The locals came in to see us every once in a while to see how we were doing, drop off some coffee or sleeping mats, but for the most part left us alone. Near the end of our trip we were able to really get to know them and they became more comfortable around us. We headed to bed early as we were all thouroughly exhausted.
Something that dawned on me somewhat the first day but significantly as we headed home on Sunday was the similarities between these locals indigenous farmers and us. They were completely untouched by North American society, yet they shared so many similar habits and traits as if we were at home doing the same thing. It was one of the greatest realizations that I have experienced so far on this trip. This was definitely not the experience I was expecting, but it is certaintly one I will never forget.
Thanks for reading and buenos noches.
Jason
Back from dinner, and after some downtime and recouperation I am able to share how our first day in the mountains was. Our trek thursday began with the trucks arriving at the Saranga Hotel already strapped with the pipes that would be used in water irrigation by the indigenous mountain farmers. We loaded up the two pick-ups and the taxi cab that came with us and headed out of Chiclayo. Driving in the city is a little crazy; lanes and stop lights are more of a suggestion here. Once we got out of the city we headed through the neighbouring areas on what I assumed is a highway, although it was significantly different than the 401. After about an hour\hour and a half we reached the base of the mountain, also our stop for lunch. However we ran into a slight complication with the road, as part of it was covered with the river that was running through it. No problem though as our drivers simply plowed through and we made it to the other side. It was a thrilling experience to say the least. After a quick lunch and some photo´s of the river we loaded everyone, bags and all, into the two pick-ups and headed up the mountain. The windy roads up the mountain almost seemed surreal at first, but like Sean put it, roller coasters will never be the same again. About an hour later we arrived at the village where the trucks were dropping us off as that is as close as they could get us. We were finally able to appreciate the mountainous view from a stopped position, and it is something that even now I cannot explain ho beautiful it was. From there we loaded our gear onto our backs and began the hike to our home for the next three nights. The hike started off nice with a downhill slope through a gorgeous forest setting and thankfully lots of shade. We passed multiple rivers which Megan decided were easier to walk through than above using rocks. Of course we needed to get over a mountain so the terrain took a change in direction from nice and flat to can ground really go that steep? It was one of the hardest things I have done in my life. I am sticking with the story that the air was significantly thinner in the mountains and that is why I ran out of breath climbing this behemoth of a landmark. We all found it rough going up but stuck together and made it over the mountain. It was really nice to see how everyone looked out for one another and made sure that they were doing okay. However once we got to the top we quickly found out that there was still quite a ways to go before we hit the village. After another of the longest hours of my life I made it to our new home. It consisted of 3 houses that the local families stayed in and a larger community house that we used as home base. Modest is an overstatement when describing this village. The houses were made of clay bricks and sheet metal roofs, and the ground was caked and dry around the village. What was truly shocking and amazing all in one was the contrast of this village to its surroundings. It was so easy through the next few days to forget where you were and look out and see the most beautiful countryside I personally have had the priveledge of seeing. The mix of the mountains, clear blue skies, and the fresh clean air had enough of us smiling constantly throughout the weekend. We were greeted by the families of the village and headed up towards where the supplies we brought would be put to use to build a Pilca (a water storage system which they use for irrigation for crops). The President of the village, Marcos, welcomed us and thanked us for not only providing the materials for this project but coming to actually visit and get to know them. Through our translator Rebecca we thanked them for the experience they were providing us and they were helping us more than they would ever know. After these past three days, that could not be closer to the truth. We went to work right away and we quickly found out the true meaning of a hard days work. The twelve of us worked as hard as we could after a 2+hour hike until the end of the day. I could not believe how efficient the farmers were at their work. Jordan and I could barely keep up moving dirt from the site working with the elder of the community who had to be at least 60. It was a very humbling experience. We were able to wash up and wipe off the dirt from the afternoon of work before dinner. I forgot to mention that we were served goat and some potatoe dish for lunch, and the same goat showed up for dinner with rice. Other than Sean and I, the goat didn´t get great criticism, but I though it was amazing. Two meals in a row maybe not, but it was still very good. The locals came in to see us every once in a while to see how we were doing, drop off some coffee or sleeping mats, but for the most part left us alone. Near the end of our trip we were able to really get to know them and they became more comfortable around us. We headed to bed early as we were all thouroughly exhausted.
Something that dawned on me somewhat the first day but significantly as we headed home on Sunday was the similarities between these locals indigenous farmers and us. They were completely untouched by North American society, yet they shared so many similar habits and traits as if we were at home doing the same thing. It was one of the greatest realizations that I have experienced so far on this trip. This was definitely not the experience I was expecting, but it is certaintly one I will never forget.
Thanks for reading and buenos noches.
Jason
Roller-coasters shall never be the same...
Hola amigos!
You will be glad to know that we have made it back safe and sound to our hotel from our trek through the mountains! We will be posting a blog sometime later tonight or tomorrow! Off to get cleaned up and have some food! Check back later to see how the trip was!
You will be glad to know that we have made it back safe and sound to our hotel from our trek through the mountains! We will be posting a blog sometime later tonight or tomorrow! Off to get cleaned up and have some food! Check back later to see how the trip was!
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