Leaving Wednesday night out of a bus depot in La Victoria, which is one of the three or 4 worst districts of peru, i was warned to be very careful with my belongings and dont talk to people when they try to bug me or talk to me. I was glad i was not by myself, and it felt like everyone was looking at me, in this working class nieghborhood known for its gangs and drug problem. So, the bus takes off and its dark, so I do not see much to the side of the bus, but shortly after Chosica, the road begins to climb very fast. Within 4 hours of winding roads, the bus passes Ticlio, the peak of the highest train route in the world, and the highest point of the worlds highest highway. Shortly after this, we pass La Aroya, one of the worlds most polluted towns, and also the mining capital of South America. For some 50 years, the mining work was unregulated by the government, and thus, costs were cut by doing whatever was needed to derive the most ore. A few hours later, i look out the front window, and see a police car stoped on the other side, and illuminated by its lights is a human body which must have been ran over 15 times or so. It was steaming, and looked very similar to the deer i hit in oregon when my dad made me go back to make sure it was dead, and was obviously dead as it had been ran over multiple times as well. but this made me feel different, thinking that this person probably couldn't even be identified, and as it was in the middle of nowhere, his or her family probably wont ever know what happened. 15 minutes later, i got off the bus, and entered an adobe, which had no floor other than dirt, and went to bed, at about 3 in the morning. it was about 32 or 33 degrees, and this house was built solely out of mud bricks, probably 200 years ago, has no bathroom, and only one room and then a table outside in an enclosed yard. I don't know what i expected, but at this point, i realized any hope of being comfortable for the next 5 days was probably lost. In the morning i was told we would be staying in a different house, which is a little more comfortable, in the next town over. i do not remember the name of the town as it is a long name in Quechua, but i couldn't find any of these small towns on the internet any ways. Soon, the temperature went from around freezing to close to 70 degrees, with some of the clearest skies i have ever seen. This new house was made out of brick, was probably 100 years newer, and had a separate bathroom with a semi-warm trickle of a shower and a toilet, which would work if you put water in the tank from a giant barrel. i took one shower in 5 days, and it felt good. Walking around this town, and huancani were amazing. i dont think people visit these towns, as they have no hotels or grocery stores, only markets. people would look at me wierd, and throughout my trip about 5 people wanted to take their picture with me. they would arrange this of course with someone in the family that i was staying with. i can now relate with the polar bears in the san Diego zoo. but it was interesting, and everyone was nice. i would pass old women in Andean clothing walking their bulls or cows, or herds of sheep, and pass many wild dogs, and this marked the first time i have ever really worried about being bitten by a dog. one day, while walking with my friends uncle, i watched him tell a lady and her cow that hed like 2 liters of milk the following morning. fresh. and he was proud to be able to give me fresh milk. it is weird, how poor these people are in the area. maybe not poor, but how little they have, and how unsuspicious, warm, greatful, hospitable, and proud they are. and its weird how much i take for granted what i have.
during my time in the andes, i visited, Jauja, the first capital of Peru, which also has the first cathedral of the Americas. the town has about 105,000 people, and is about 12,000 feet in elevation. for 3 soles ($1.20) you can have a meal of soup, an entre, and juice, and be very full. but hopefully you dont have to use a public bathroom, as these consist of a hole in the ground, surrounded by all kind of stuff that is normally found in the missing toilets. but, you gotta try everything, a few times, right? i went to Laguna de paca, a lake that is very touristy for Peruvians, but is beautiful. there i ate fried trout, and ceviche of trout. trout is a big food in this area, and it is bountiful. we went out on a boat, and it was a fairly large boat, but rown by a kid who must have been 8 years old, who gave us a history of the area. i also went to a trout hatchery about an hour way, in the area of Concepción, in the city of Ingenio. Its wierd to contrast this to a fish hatchery of the us, but it was nice, and i learned a lot. one of the most memorable parts of the trip was going to a traditional party in Huancani that was taking part during the week. There is a traditional type of music called Huayno, which is played by a band with brass and other traditional instruments. The party had free beer and free food, and a group of people will walk in procession in front of the band, dancing, and yelling, and singing, and multiple groups of bands and people converge in the town square and party all night. this town had about 500 people, and i think i met most of them. they loved me for some reason. and the reason is because i was the first extranjero to ever come to their town and partake in one of these annual parties, and i had fun, and tried to dance, and old ladies touched my butt, and it was sort of surreal, kind of like something out of the motorcycle diaries. that is how i felt, like i was in that movie. and its weird to think that it wasn't really that different, that these towns hadn't changed much in the last 50 or 100 or 200 years. So, the next morning we headed out, back to Lima. This time i was able to see the roads, as we traveled in the day time. It was amazing. also, a little more scary. the roads, which are so high, are surrounded by huge cliffs, and huge peaks that must go up another 3 or 4 thousand feet in parts. We passed numerous tunnels, bridges, waterfalls, and lakes. It was great getting to go to this area with a family who is from the area and has family there, and get to stay in a small, untouristy town. i learned so much more this way, and really got to understand the area and the people, and i felt like i was there for so much longer than 5 days.
back in lima, the weather is getting a lot colder. it is overcast most of the time, and around 55 or 60 degrees. Like southern california, the weather changes only 5 or 10 degrees between day or night, which is nice. I didnt wear sunscreen the whole time in the andes, and got pretty sunburned because it didnt feel that cold, but i guess the sky is clearer, and the sun is closer. an amazing time i had.
