WOW so much happened in these past 10 days. I cant even believe how incredibly fast it went by though! I know Im going to leave a bunch of stuff out, but I will try. Fortunately I was really good about writing a bunch of stuff down so that I wouldnt forget things, but we will see!
I actually convinced my professor to let me out early today. Normally we get out at 1 30, but the other girl is sick today so he let me leave at 11 30. 4 hours is way too long to sit down anyway! Plus, I have 3 papers to write haha. I would rather do this... and we have to watch a 4 hour movie tonight too (in Spanish...), so I will have to stay at school all day. It just is a very long day today in general, so he took pity on me I think. Heart of gold.
Anyways... back to June 10!
Class went by incredibly slowly... I had to pack up everything the night before (I am INCREDIBLY grateful that I ended up buying that hiking backpack. Its the best for quickly carrying everything in a large back and then still having both arms to carry things!) I had to bring all of my stuff to school because we were leaving at 330 and I would literally have gone home and then come back a very short time afterward... a group of us went to the grocery store to stock up on water and snacks. We were told to eat very lightly all day because we were going up so high (the 2nd highest railway pass in the world... China beats us.) In my opinion, they were really trying to scare us about altitude sickness. We stopped 2 times within the first 2 hours haha... They handed out puke bags which freaked me out more than anything and I ended up becoming so hungry that I scarfed down a bunch at the highest alititude anyway. haha I was completely fine though. I never felt the effects of altitude sickness though we were very high at some points. i never took pills for it either. Some people got it really bad though... sick to their stomachs, fevers, massive headaches. Its like the lottery though... you never really know who is going to get it! After a very long bus ride (we ended up leaving about an hour and a half late... one thing I have definitely learned is Peruvian time... add about 2 hours to everything we do!) we finally made it to the hacienda. We got there around 1 and had a bowl of soup then went straight to bed. The hacienda is gorgeous. Its located on a farm with mountains everywhere. At night the skies were incredibly clear... more stars than I have ever seen in my life. It was absolutely gorgeous... but FREEZING. We knew it would be cold, but I havent been that cold in a long time. There is of course no heat or hot water, so taking a shower was very interesting. I took the strategy of just going all in like a band aid, but a lot of people either skipped showers or just washed their hair. Haha.
Friday June 11
We got to sleep in until 830! During the day Tarma gets to be very hot, so its really hard to dress. The key is to dress in layers! Hacienda La Florida is a plantation where food is grown for sustainable living, but it is also used as a hotel for friends. There were 2 German girls who helped out with the farm, and there were so many dogs, sheep, cows and llamas. After a delicious breakfast of fresh bread and really fresh cheese, homemade jam, eggs, and coffee we had a 2 hour introduction meeting about Tarma. The most famous anthropologist in Peru joined us in Tarma because he is a friend of Jorge, and he talked to us several times throughout the trip about the incans, peruvian lifestyle, coca leaves etc. Very interesting. After exploring the hacienda more...(i really wish i could upload pics... it is INCREDIDBLY beautiful. Bright blue skies, the Andes mountains surroudning us, old timey feeling... very cute!) We ate fresh fish straight out of the river for lunch and then we went off to another hacienda to hike. There was a slighty miscommunication though... We had to take two different buses to get there, and Jorge was in the other bus. He didnt wait for our bus, so we were told to meet up with them ourselves. Turns out we couldnt quite find them though we had other professors with them. We kept walking and walking pretty much straight uphill (this was really hard for some because of the alititude I think), but we just got lost in the Andes. Haha I found this really funny because we got to the top right as the sun was setting adn then we realized that we had no flashlights and we didnt quite know where we were. Some people freaked out, but I thought it was incredibly cool... we were in the middle of the Andes somwhere, but I never felt unsafe. I was actually more scared the one time Jon and I heard a bear (I swear it was a bear) when we went hiking and were lost. The hardest part was navigating down the mountains again in the dark, but we were cmpletely fine. nobody was hurt, though many freaked out more than necessary haha. We stopped downtown Tarma for the best dulce de leche around! So delicious, and I was starving by this point. When I say downtown Tarma, its probably different than youre thinking. Tarma is deifnitley not a tourist destination. Its in a valley of the Andes, but its still higher in altitude than most places. There are no white people. We were stared at no matter where we went, but it was a lot of fun to explore. We were just always supposed to be in groups, but Tarma was probably one of the safer areas we went... the worst that would happen was pick pocketers they said. I dont really remember what we did after this, but it was late... I know we had really good chicken for dinner though haha.
Saturday June 12
We had to wake up at 615, take freezing showers, and have wonderful breakfasts.
Then we loaded up the buses for 2 hours and went to the butter factory! We were the only foreigners to ever step foot there. They have the absolute best butter in the world. Its more expensive than even the best butter sold in the states, but the owners refuse to sell it commercially. Everything was taught in Spanish, but I had a friend translate the parts I couldnt understand, which I was very thankful for. The butter plantation also had thousands of sheep and 400 alpacas. The sky was once again incredibly blue and wonderful. After the butter plantation we went to the site of the Battle of Judin. I honestly didnt get that much out of this because it was once again all in Spanish, and it was harder for me to get a translation.
After that we ate boxed lunches and stopped at a small place to watch the US vs. England game!
I also switched haciendas this day. Long story. But I was actually very happy to switch since the other hacienda was where most of my friends were. Hacienda San Martin is also in Tarma but it is about 10 minutes away by bus. We could walk downtown within 15 minutes though, which we definitely took advantage of, and this hacienda ended up being nicer! It was much smaller, but they heated up water bottles to put in your bed at night to keep you warm. Definitely helped! The food was also better! And the wallpaper in the dining room was made especially in France for this hacienda. It was attacked by the Shining Path, the communist group that is the cause for the violent news coverage, about 10 years ago too. There were new born puppies here! And pet guinea pigs (theyre actually not there anymore... I think we ate them yesterday... sorry Mr. Piggy!) And a room with a fire place and a tv that was brought in for us so that we could watch the World Cup haha. Had rum and coke with the professors and just hung out before going to bed.
Sunday June 13
Another early day. Went to a convent. It was interesting to hear both sides of the story... first from the natives perspective and then to hear the side of the Spanish. It was called Convento de Ocapa. Afterward we listened to the anthropologist for about an hour talk about the Spanish influence on the natives. I didnt know this, but the Peruvians actually found the plant that could cure malaria, which eventually allowed the British and the French to essentially take over Africa. It was very cold in there though, so i was happy to travel on to dinner by the river. We ate at a really cute restaurant literally on the river where we could enjoy delicious trout, potatoes and cheese, those amazing corn nuts, and of course chicha (purple drink... sort of like wine). We spent the rest of the time traveling to other cities in the area looking at the differences and similarities. My favorite place was Huancayo which had a really nice market. I bought a lot of warmer knit items, like scarves, gloves, socks, hat, etc. (Side note... at this point I thought that I would be able to go on the trek that I had initially been disinvited from because I didnt speak Spanish. It turned out that enough people were sick that that restriction was lowered. I bought a bunch of stuff to go on the three day hike with 8 hours of walking in the Andes a day, but that night I felt really bad. I thought I was getting altitude sickness late, but I actually just was dehydrated. I chugged a 2.5 liter bottle of water and felt fine (it was under 1 american dollar for that!), but by then they didnt want me to go because they thought i was going to get sick on teh trek. All in all, I could have gone on the trek, but its all good.
Monday June 14
Today was Kaitlins birthday! She, Liz and Ginny all went on the trek, so they left early this morning. i got up with them, but decided not to go because I felt awful the previous night and didnt want to get sick at the top of the Andes and have nowhere to go. I went to the meeting about the trek though, and they said that we would only have 2 bottles of water a day. Turns out that they got one bottle of water in the morning and a bottle of inca cola at night, which definitely would nto have been enough for me. You also couldnt carry additional snacks of water really because you had to carry other thingsin your backpack, so it was probably a good thing that I decided not to go, though I think it would have been incredibly cool. I got to sleep in a little bit today though since about 18 people went on the trek. We left around 1015 to see Incan ruins. By the time we got there some people had already dropped out of the trek because they werent feeling well! In Tarmatambo we listened to stories about the Inca ruins around us, natural herbs that could be used for medicine, myths from the natives and finally a soccer field (high in the Andes it is the women who are known for soccer!). We also saw the national flower of Peru and an escape route for slaves. We went back to the hacienda la florida for lunch (at 4...), walked around Tarma at night, hung out.
Tuesday June 15
We had to get up early to go to Cement Andino, the highest cement factory in the world. We got a tour, listened to how they are now environmentally friendly, and learned that if you have a baby that high in the Andes and raise them there for 3 months they will have exponentially better lung capacities. haha I thought that was really interesting. Then we stopped at a museum about the Incans... it was really popular to have a cone shaped head back in the day, so they used to tie bands around baby foreheads to make them elongated. After that we went to a textile market. The people were incredibly nice, but it was very hot and very crowded. So many people would crowd around us and take pictures haha. We ate lunch again around 4... lomo saltado, which I have had a lot here. Its beef, onions and pepper, then a side of rice and french fries. We went into downtown Tarma afterwards to get more snacks for the long period of time between breakfast and lunch haha. 3 more people joined us that night from the trek who had to come back. Everyone was just getting really dehydrated. That night after dinner we taught our Peruvian professors (and children) how to play beer pong. haha
WednesdayJune 16
We went to a school in Tarma that specialized in trades like electricity and woodwork. The students were very welcoming and proud of their work. Around 11 we were served breakfast and then were off to a cave! It was about an hour away and we walked around in it. I cant remember the name of it, but I have it down somewhere haha. Then we had picnic lunches, and I finally got to play soccer while we were waiting for the trekers to meet us. I was on the Peruvians from the towns team because only 2 girls would play so they wanted to split us up. haha I ended up having a hat trick that game and the peruvians nicknamed me the conqueror haha. Finally the trekers came back! They looked exhausted and extrmeely hungry. They were very thirsty too, so they got to enjoy a nice lunch in a nearby restaurant while we went back.
We actually had about 3 hours of free time before a meeting at 9 and dinner at 10. Jorge brought us manjar blanco and natilla, 2 popular desserts in Peru. I had the natilla before, but everything was delicious. I caught up with my roommates that night... I had missed them so much while they were gone!
ThursdayJune 17
We left for the jungle town today! Got on the bus around 7 to get to Pichanaki about 4 or 5 hours later. It was crazy how much the landscape changed. One minute it was dry mountains then within 15 minutes it was a tropical jungle! So much fruit everywhere! and Coffee beans! The town we stayed in itself isnt probably the safest. Lots of drug trafficking, but they escorted us everwhere. We ate lunch at a Chifa (Peruvian Chinese food) in Satipo, but it wasnt very good haha. Everyone got ice cream afterward... adn then we wlaked around the town market! It was very cute haha. We finally got to our hostals back in Pichanaki, and I was lucky enough to have the nicest one. Some others had a room where the toilet was in the shower, but I was lucky enough to have it separated. There was no hot water, but it was so hot and humid that you were freezing in there but then it was hot once you got out so it wasnt that bad. that night we didnt have dinner... there is only one place they trust in Pichanaki (a german pizza place), but we figured out that its closed on Thursdays. We had crackers for dinner haha.
Friday June 18
Very hot and humid day (nice change!)
We went to a school in this jungle town, which was very interesting. We were treated like celebrities. I always had to be with someone who spoke better Spanish of course, but the students asked some really tough questions... about abortion, Obama, Arizona immigrant laws etc. Afterward they all wanted us to sign our names, so that took quite some time too. It was really cool coming to this school though because a lot of these people dont really understand what the United States is. They have no idea what the difference is between Lima and the US. It was interesting to see this side of Peru, and everyone was incredibly welcoming.
We ate jungle food for lunch! We waited a very long time because no place is used to accomodating over 30 people at once... we did get to see the beautiful river though! It was incredibly beautiful, though very hot and buggy. I never get bug bites, but I definitely got some (even after lathering myself with bug spray!) Good thing Im taking malaria meds haha.
Jungle food was very good... had 2 different types of jungle rodent, plantains, rice, salad, fish sticks, incredibly good fruit juice. Ended up not getting very much food though, but it was still good to try a bunch of different things. We went back to the central area of Pichanaki (Plaza de las Amas) and went to a meeting with the mayors assistant because the mayor had already gone home (we were 2 hours late haha surprise surprise) We got back to our hostal at about 6 and felt really sick... from lack of food and water I think. Watched some of my classmates go on regional TV, which was cool. We were supposed to get dinner at 8, but we didnt end up getting dinner until 1030 that night.. i had two small pieces of pizza from that German pizza place and ice cream haha. Still was very hungry that night... made up for it the next day though! Went to a discotec with everyone that night! haha its funny when your professors are dancing next to you!
Saturday June 19
This was my favorite day! We went to a banana plantation in the jungle. The owner was a recovering alcoholic and drug addict who changed his life and grew citris fruits and bananas for all of Peru. The plantation was HUGE. We ate chicken a la brasa for lunch and got a tour of the plantation. After that we saw a soccer field with Peruvians playing, so of course we pulled together a team of 6 of us to challenge them. So. much. fun. It was incredibly incredibly sweaty, and I hadnt run in a long time, but it was so much fun to play them! Haha the two girls on our team ended up being the best probably haha which the Peruvians found funny, but it was fun. Jorge didnt like me really until this game. He called me the champion, and actually acknowledged me after it. We ended up losing, but I had our only goal. For the first time I felt like I could actually communicate or something of the sort in Peru. I was the one who was able to do something without having to rely on others... who knew soccer would make me feel that way for the first time. Sometimes I get very frustrated because I literally always have to depend on others to help me out, but playing soccer was different. Sounds silly, but it was a great feeling. After losing, taking pics with the people who we played against, and being drenched in sweat, some of us went to swim in the river. It felt good, but I refused to go underwater haha Im scared of parasites! There are 3 people who are on antiobiotics right now because of parasites they have picked up! Geez. Im trying to avoid that haha. We met back up with the plantation owner to ask him more questions and then finally headed home. Forgot to mention taht to get to the plantation we had to ride on a raft thing across a river and then take a 30 minute mototaxi ride. Mototaxis are fast, but incredibly bumpy and dusty. When youre already sweating and dust is flying everwhere, you become caked in brown dust... haha. Since teh sun was already going down, Jorge didnt wnat girls to just ride in these mototaxis alone, so about 20 of us piled into the back of a pickup truck haha. This was the wildest ride of my life, but so much fun! Finally we made it back and across the river. We went straight to the German pizza place again! SO GOOD. this time instead of getting a family style dinner, I opted to get my own personal pizza, which allowed me to become full (and i still paid less than I had the day before when we split it across the table.) My pizza had ham, peach, mango and pineapple on it. Sounds gross but was delicious.
Went back and showered. We all went out and ended up getting about 1 hour of sleep that night haha totally worth it though!
Left at 4 45 on Sunday. On the bus all day... got into Lima around 930 or 10. Very tiring day. Happy fathers day though! We stopped in Tarma again at the hacienda to eating Pichamanka, which is something that most peruvians only eat 3 or 4 times in their lives. It was the best meal ever. THey cook everything underground... chicken, potatoes, tamales, veggies. SOOOO GOOD. we were all very tired though. Ready to get back on teh road!
Ok sorry for the abridged version of this! Getting hungry though haha. Overall, it was a very wonderful trip! I became even closer to a lot of people, and it was nice to get back to Lima despite teh rainy misty weather and white skies. I took my first hot shower in 10 days, which was actually marvelous! I have a lot of work to do though unforutnatley...
Hope youre all doing well! Sorry for my typos, poor sentence structure and grammar haha, but I just tried to type this as fast as possible!
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