Chau Cajamarca

After all my goodbyes had been said in site, it was on to Cajamarca for another round: a despedida with the Cajamarca volunteer family.

I also checked a few final items off my Cajamarca bucket list, such as the Ransom Room (where Inca king Atahualpa was held by the Spaniards before his execution)

Starbucks invaded Cajamarca literally the week before we left -  probably better that way

Gabe and me

Saying goodbye to the best: Cajamarca Peru 19ers

Laguna de los Condores

In June, Chris and I decided to check one final item off our Peru bucket list: the 3-day Laguna de los Condores trek in the northern region of Amazonas. This trek is raved about by the few volunteers that make time to do it, for the pristine beauty of the cloud forests around the laguna, the up-close encounters with archaeological sites, and the off-the-beaten-path aspect the trek retains due to its remote location.

After a long bus ride where each curve of the road brought us inches away from vertical precipices, we arrived in Leymebamba, the rural town that serves as the trek's departure point. Our volunteer friend Andy, who lives in Leymebamba, introduced us to our guide, Clemente, and we spent the next few hours visiting the numerous spots in town necessary for pre-trek preparations. There was the national park entrance fee paid at one house, use of the bunkhouse and stables at another, then the rowboat rental fee, pairs of knee-high rubber mud boots, food shopping, and finally a visit to Clemente's house so we'd know where to meet him in the morning. This ramble about town, rather than a one-time lump payment to a single tour agency, was definitely part of the charm of the journey.

Early the next morning, we set off: Clemente, the pack-horse, and Chris and I alternating between walking and riding a second horse. We walked for ten solid hours through a landscape that slowly but constantly transformed: farmland, meadows, dry forest, cloud forest, rock fields, barren high mountain slopes, pampas, humid and jungly riverland, etc. etc. It was incredibly beautiful, and undisturbed by human touch except for the occasional cowherd shelter. The mud boots turned out to be worth every inch of rubber (despite the horrible blisters they caused) - at points we sank in thick mud or water up to our knees! And this was during the dry season, so I couldn't imagine walking the same route during the rains. Just as dusk was beginning to gather, we arrived at the farmhouse where we'd be staying and collapsed into sleep soon after.

On the second day we walked ten minutes to the ridge overlooking the laguna that gives the trek its name. There are actually no longer condors living in the area, but the name stuck. The lake itself is a starkly beautiful deep black, taking on such a dark color because of its extreme depth, surrounded entirely by dense green cloud forest. All the moisture in the air and soil gives the environment the humid and wet feel of a jungle, despite being at high elevation. We uncovered our rowboat and paddled across the still black water, which was a perfect mirror reflection of the surrounding mountains. On the other side, Clemente set some fishing lines, and then we embarked on a 40-minute hand-over-hand scramble up the side of the overgrown cliff. Our destination were the six chullpas (mausoleums) tucked into the rock face high above the lake. Built by the Chachapoyas people to house their mummified dead, the stone structures are very well-preserved, and the 200+ mummies found there remain in the museum in Leymebamba. The afternoon finished out with some tranquil hours of fishing, and with just simple lines and flies we caught enough trout for dinner!

The chullpas are nestled into the side of this mountain

Day three was another ten-hour stroll, reversing our course back into Leymebamba. We arrived exhausted and blistered, but both feeling that it was one of our favorite adventures in Peru.

Baños, Ecuador

This post belongs in October 2013, along with the rest of the photos from Lindsay and my trip to Ecuador. However, at the time we went, the town of Baños was on the Peace Corps list of prohibited travel sites for volunteers, due to the semi-active status of the nearby Tungurahua volcano. So, despite Baños being one of the coolest parts of our trip, these stories were held in reserve until such time as they couldn't result in us getting kicked out of the agency: end of service!

We were lucky to arrive in Baños the day after Tungurahua had become more active than usual, allowing us to visit a (safe-distance) lookout point and watch the lava and sparks spew out and glow red against the black of the night sky. This was one of the most awe-inspiring experiences I've had, witnessing an erupting volcano firsthand and feeling the force of one of the most powerful and beautiful spectacles nature has to offer. We couldn't get any worthwhile pictures in the dark, but it's a memory that I know I'll preserve even without photos.

Our days in Baños were spent playing in the great outdoors: white-water rafting, biking, visiting beautiful rivers and waterfalls, bungee jumping off bridges, and canyoning/rappelling down some small-scale falls.

Ready for rafting!

The bridge jump

Waterfall rappelling

At the bottom of all the waterfalls

*Side note: I am updating these blogs from the luxury land of America, and these photos just uploaded in approximately 0.2 seconds - SO fast!

Despedidas

I just finished a delicious goodbye lunch - cuy, of course - with my host family and friends in Cajabamba. This lunch, complete with a scrumptious cake from my sitemates, was the last in what has been a seemingly endless series of goodbyes. Now all that's left is to pack some final items (including a 3-kilo jar of honey, yikes), try not to cry, and get on the bus to Cajamarca tomorrow morning. I am both sad and happy, as this is both an ending and a new beginning, but mostly I just can't believe that two years has already gone by, that I've finished my full Peace Corps service, and that I won't be coming back to Cajabamba for a very long time. 

Goodbye lunch with Sercofe ladies

With Isidora and Filomena, two profesora friends

Made a point of eating shambar this week - my favorite traditional Cajamarcan dish: a thick soup made of semi-peeled wheat, multiple types of beans, pork, peas, and other veggies

Final lunch in Cajabamba: cuy and cake!

Yum!

Last classes

As I have only one more class left to teach here in Cajabamba, this week has been filled with several last classes. At each one, I've told my students where I'm going, why I'm leaving, that I've enjoyed teaching them, and that I'm proud of them. Then, with some prompting from the profesoras, a student or three would get up and give some palabras thanking me for the time I spent with them and wishing me well in the future. My 8th-grade boys even gave me a standing ovation :) All of the nice words, cards, hugs, and well-wishes that I've received this week will hold a special place in my heart, as will the memory of all these goofy kids I've had the privilege to spend two years with.

7th graders at José Gálvez school - the most organized they've ever looked

Goodbye cards from the 7th-graders

How to say goodbye

Two years ago, when I left for Peace Corps, I said a lot of goodbyes. It wasn't fun; leaving loved ones is always hard. But now, as I start to say my goodbyes here in Cajabamba, I'm realizing that those 2012 farewells were comparatively easy. Although I was leaving home for a long journey, I knew exactly when I'd see those people again. I also knew that I'd be able to talk to them somewhat regularly via skype or email. Being able to say "talk to you soon" or "see you later" makes a goodbye much less daunting. 

This time around, I can't say those comforting words - I have no idea when I'll next see these friends, and I know we won't be talking on the phone. The finality of these goodbyes gives them a weight that discomforts me. The reality of the situation dictates that I should be saying "goodbye" instead of "see you later," but the word doesn't match my heart's hope that I will somehow see these friends again, so I can't bring myself to say it. Each conversation is a struggle to put too many emotions into unwieldy words: "thank you," "I'll miss you," "I wish you the best," and so much more. 

Goodbye lunch with one of my community bank groups: Doña Teo, Vero, Jovita, Zoila, Doña Carmen, Nely, Zonia, and Rosa

Microbe wars

Over two years into this, and Peru still knows how to make my digestive system suffer - I'm on my second round this month of antibiotics, followed as usual by some restorative pro-biotics (a.k.a. yogurt).

And yes, pretty much all yogurt in Peru is the drinkable kind.