Oct. 27, 2019 - First big adventure
Adventure Time!
This week was quite an adventure! 5 days of hiking and traveling and boy do my feet hurt!
Something I've learned about myself over the past year is that I am always ready and willing to tag along with someone else's adventure, but that I don't often initiate my own. This time, I tagged along with my new Dutch friend Simone that I met in Máncora. I’m thankful to find people like Simone who are driven to adventure and want to share those experiences, even with complete strangers!
I arrived Tuesday morning in Chachapoyas, a lovely mountain city, small enough to walk across in 30 minutes and to feel safe at night, but big enough that I can be here for a week without getting bored. The city has clearly put a lot of effort into a consistent visual aesthetic and cleanliness of the main areas of town. One thing that surprised me is how religious Peru is; lots of shops closed Sunday, lots of proselytizing. I saw two marches on Sunday carrying crosses through the streets. My experience in Ecuador was completely different.
I arrived at 6:30am and immediately accepted an invitation to a hike to Yumbilla falls with an eclectic group of travelers from the UK, Italy, Netherlands, and France. Gocta falls is the more well-known waterfall because of its immense height, but according to my hiking companions, Yumbilla is a way better experience. The trail leads through the jungle and behind a waterfall. It was an awesome hike and I’d highly recommend it!
That evening, Simone and I planned our Gran Vilaya trek. Purchasing through a tour company costs 600-800 soles per person (about $200) but that seemed really high. Estimating our costs, it was only going to cost us 200 soles total if we did the trek without a guide. If you want to read more about how to do the trek alone, you can read it here
So our adventure began! The Gran Vilaya trail took us through tiny mountain towns, to the Sarcophagi of Karajía, into the beautiful Belen Valley, through the cloud forest, and the ancient ruins of Kuélap.
We walked for about 15km per day. The third day though was very difficult with an ascent from 1700m above sea level (5577ft) to 3200m (10,500ft) over the 15km trek. For context, Denver Colorado sits at 5300 ft above sea level. The last 100m ascent of the hike had me gasping for breath as we trudged up the steep, muddy slope.
Check out this 360 VR view from the first summit!
I also got to try the traditional Peruvian dish "Cuy". Here's some before and after pictures :X. It was good. Tasted kinda like chicken but a little chewier and with a different after taste. Reminded me of frog legs.
Our final destination was the Ruins of Kuélap, built by the Chachapoyas (AKA "Warriors of the Clouds"). An estimated 3000 people lived here between 500CE and 1500CE. The city reminded me a lot of the Air Temples in Avatar: The Last Airbender.
The Peruvian government has been pushing tourism to Kuelap as a new Machu Picchu. They built a Gondola in Nuevo Tingo 3 years ago to cross the valley and climb the 1000 meters up the mountain to the ruins.
Spanish
After two weeks of gringo company I basically can't understand Spanish anymore. When trying to talk to people, I can't tell the words apart. I can still speak but understanding is becoming really difficult. I think I need to practice listening comprehension so I'm going to spend the next week here in Chachapoyas studying and working with a Spanish tutor. I'll be using the app "News in Slow Spanish" to practice my listening comprehension.
Politics
No updates from Peru except that the President apparently now has a 70% approval rating so good for him!
On the other hand, the situation in Chile has rapidly devolved. A minor fare increase on public transit has triggered a revolution against rampant inequality. President Piñera of Chile has responded to each protest with military force, escalating the violent conflict. Last Sunday, he proclaimed "Chile is at war". This past Friday, an estimated 1 million people took to the streets in the capital of Santiago bringing the city to a complete standstill. The president has agreed to some concessions in an effort to appease the masses, but these have not found purchase in the hearts of the Chilean protestors still frustrated by how out of touch their billionaire president is from the daily troubles of the middle and lower classes.
I have also recently learned that civilians in Bolivia have mobilized in protest against perceived election fraud by the incumbent president Evo Morales. In contradiction to a 2-term limit established in the 2009 constitution, the supreme court of Bolivia decreed there was no term limit, and the incumbent president ran for his 4th term (his first term didn't count because it was before 2009). The president must win by a margin of 10 percentage points to avoid a runoff election. There was irregularity in the availability of the voting record with the election committee going dark for 24 hours before releasing a result of Morales winning by 10.14%. Protests in every major city are ongoing and the international community (including the US) is calling for the runoff election to take place anyway. I'm intending to be in Bolivia in a month or so, so I will be following this closely.
That’s all I got for you this week! See you next week!
r/mildlyinteresting
