Electricity, stone coffins, Gocta, and small doorways

It’s been a long time……since writing. Here are my legit excuses! We didn’t have electricity for two weeks in July. Every chargeable item I own went dead. Including my laptop. The reason for the power outage is just as absurd as the duration of nightmare. A local man from Yamobamba didn’t like the fact that an electricity pole lay on his property so he took matters into his own hands and climbed the pole to cut electricity. This gesture not only cut his own power but that of 5 local villages. After hiring an attorney and asking for large amounts of money he said he would turn the lights back on. This game between the local and the municipality went on for weeks until there was finally a settlement. The local got his money and the villages got electricity. Nonetheless, people were pissed. I travel three hours to Otuzco one Sunday just to charge my cell phone.

The best part about the electricity game was that towards the end of the two weeks I went to Trujillo on a weekend to check snail mail, go to the bank, etc but most importantly to charge all my electirical items. I brought my razor, phone, ipod, and camera. This was a Friday. That night I heard on the news that the city would be “doing maintance” and there would be power outages from 7am-7pm. Was this a joke? I had just traveled four hours from the mountains to the coast to charge everything I own and there wouldn’t be power here either?! HELL I TELL YOU.

I called my uncle and sister that afternoon and they were shocked to hear that a city as large as Trujillo (pop. 861,044 ) could turn the lights off all day. Remarkably, the city ran a smooth as usual, just like any other day. Remember back a couple of summers ago in NYC when there was a power outage that wipped out most of the city? Americans were hoarding supplies like it was amegeddon. An in Peru? Just another day of uncertainty.

So that’s my first excuse for not writing in weeks. Next has to do with a long visit from a great friend Knox, aka Tio. Knox arrived the third week of July just in time to celebrate Peruvian Independence Holidays. He stayed in Lima with friends and made his way north to Trujillo to meet me. Surprisingly we connected without any delays or problems. I was elated to see him and excited about our next plans. Along with him he brought many toys from the states, like a waffle ball set ( an almost impossible find here), a thermometer, reading material, and a new pair of shoes. I was grateful. The most original surprise was a video post card from NH of my parents and his family. We watched it with my host family and they were awe struck at the houses, the motorcycle, the lake and especially the golden retriever who swam (UNDERWATER) to fetch balls. For some reason the dogs here don’t swim or play fetch! Weird, eh?

Above all, Knox had an excellent visit. We visited the capital city of Chachapoyas in Amazonas. Which is another department (state) half Andes half Jungle. I had yet to see any of the jungle in this country and was pretty impressed. We lodged locally in the city and took day trips touring local archeological sites and main attractions. We saw stone coffins (sarcophaguses) built high into the cliffs honoring the culture of this pre-incan civilization, the Chachapoyans. We visited the remains of an existing village called Kuelap and toured the intricacies of the stone structures. My favorite day trip was to an infamous waterfall called “Gocta” which was recently discovered and is claimed to be the third tallest waterfall in the world. We were so impressed, even our underwear soaked through in hopes of getting as close as possible. See pictures from Links Section.

As we made our way back from Chachapoyas through Chiclayo and south to Trujillo our next mission was to acquire a rugged rental car for the next week in my town, Carata. Knox jokingly compared, renting a car in Peru is like trying to rent a bulldozer. You can do it, but it’s not easy. Let just say tourism, has a long way to go in this country. The idea that you can simply rent any car model and be free to explore (as in most parts of the world!) doesn’t happen here. Travel is based on an amazingly thorough busing system, which is cheap and usually reliable (when the buses aren’t being high-jacked).

We eventually got a truck and got on the road to head east to the mountains. Knox was truly astonished to learn that the quality of roads was like nothing he had ever experienced. And this coming from a man who has years of experience driving on some of the worst terrain in Central America. I’ve gotten so used to going 2 miles an hour on back roads that resemble river beds, I’ve come to think it’s absolutely normal! We arrived in Carata and although he had seen pictures on the web, there’s nothing like the view at 9,000 ft. Home Sweet Home.

To prevent altitude sickness, we spent a good two hours eating lunch and trying to buy a birthday cake in Otuzco (2,000m). I’ve learned now, after the sad but true story of my sister and boyfriend who were genuinely miserable (but were good sports for toughing out a crappy time).

Knox helped me with work (house visits, English classes, etc.) and also spent time meeting the important people of my day to day life, the fam. We toured the town, and I introduced him to locals, kids and the drunks. I explained to him the challenges I face, and the hopes of achieving some of my project goals. We took two day trips, and really abused the rental truck. Fortunately it didn’t rain at all while he was here. In return for receiving the fabulous video post card, we made a short film from Carata for those of you back home. I’d like to find a way to link the video from this blog, any suggestions?

Ps- Knox made it home alright even with terrorism threats but he did arrive a little bruised and battered from hitting his head on door ways and fences designed for a country of midgets.