29.8.04
Atalaya
On Thursday I left Huancayo to Satipo together with Haydn, Vera and Marco. The way down to Satipo from the highlands, reminded me somewhat the way down from La Paz by bicycle. In Satipo, a pleasant jungle town (which mainly says it is much warmer than Huancayo), we stayed only some hours, and then continued to Puerto Ocopa. There we stayed over the night in a sympathic small hotel, and went the next day by boat to Beitania, much different from the boat I took in Bolivia, as it was not full with tourists, but rather with locals. Beitania is one of the jungles native communities, which have a legal status as such. We spent there a day and a half, and enjoyed the tranquility of the place, the sun the natural pool they have half an hour away. From there, we continued today to Atalaya, where I am now. From here the plan is to continue for some days up on the Urabamba river, and then continue walking to Vilcabamba and then to Chiquequirao (this time I think it is spelled correctly :).
Idiotically, I didn´t bring with me the cable for the camera (somehow, I didn´t think I will find an Internet place on the way), so I cannot upload any photos. Anyhow, I will tell more on the next opportunity.
26.8.04
To the Jugnle
So, Alea Jacta Est. Tomorrow I am going to a trip of three weeks in the jungle, the first week in boat, and then hoepfully a bit less of two weeks of walking, in which in the end we (I, an Australian guy, A Finnish girl, and a Peruvian guy who also serves as the guide although he did only parts of this trek) will se the "lost" Inca city of Chuquiquirai (I hope I don't mispell it), where Manco Inca and the remains of the Inca empire may have taken refuge from the Spaniards after the lost the final battle in Ollantaytambu.
If everything will go as planned, I will arrive again to Cusco, from where I will get to Brasil (probably by one or two flights), where my flight to Israel departs the 2nd of October. If not... Well, hopefully I won't get lost in the jungle and miss my flight.
Now I have to go to pack...
BTW, Sorry I didn't have time to upload and photos from my time in Huancayo. I'll try to do it after the trip (or you will just see them in Israel).
23.8.04
On Friday I was invited to a wedding. It was actually the first Catholic wedding I went to ever. It was quite interesting, but there was no part when the priest asked if anybody has any objections (maybe that's just in American films...) After the church part we went over to the fiesta part. There was a lot of waiting (The bride and the broom had to dance first, and then their parents, and then their brothers...) but at last beer was served and everybody started to dance. It was mainly Peruvian music (with my favorite lines: "Nunca, pero nunca, voy a olvidárte, cariñita", and "Vas a llorar, a llorar, de dolor, vas a sufrir, a sufrir, par mi amor") and old English music ("rock around the clock" and the like) - it was really fun! As I didn't have any formal clothes with me, I lent clothes from the parents of my house-owners. It was a huge success: I got this 80's retro look...
On Saturday, everybody woke up late, and we (some of the volunteers) went to the villages of San Geronimo, where they sell silver and gold jewelry (even had some star of David necklaces), and Hualhuas, where they sell textile products. I was too tired to appreciate it.
Today we went to the Laguna de Paca. This is a marvelous looking lake, and climbing on the mountainside near it (there are some pre-Inca ruins there) provides some of the finest looks I have seen in my trip: the lake is just fantastically located in the Montero Valley, surrounded by mountains. In the distance one can see the top of a snow capped mountain, which name I have forgotten. There is a legend about the creation of the lake, which is very similar to the story of Sdom veAmora. God was angry about the people there, so he drowned them all in the lake, which He created, while saving one family who was nice. However, while running away to the mountains, the wife looked back and became a stone pillar. After visiting the ruins, we went down to the lake shore (it was very unstable, almost like the floating islands near Puno), took a boat trip on the lake (though we didn't visit Isla del Amor, which was a pity, as there were two German and one Peruvian girl on the boat :), and later ate some Pacha Manca, a typical Peruvian dish.
Soon I will be leaving Huancayo. My plans are yet undecided, but I have to get somehow to Sau Paulo in Brazil for my flight home.
16.8.04
Back to Huancayo
Today early in the morning I came back to Huancayo. The Huancaian group got the 5th place. However, they were dancing some hours in the bus on the way back (while I was trying to sleep). After coming back, and sleeping for some hours, I went with the other volunteers to a place called Miraflores, which is a small place in the country side where they have a lot of fish pools and a fish restaurant. Later some of us went to the Sunday market of Huancayo, and I bought some food (mostly deserts) and a kind of game with a gummy ball and things you have to collect (that's not a very good explanation, I know, but I don't know the name of the game).
14.8.04
Huanuco
Today I am in the city of Huanuco, in the department of Pasco, to which I have arrived yesterday as part of the Huancaian delegetion to the "I Mega Evenet Nacional de Danzas Folkloricas". As I wrote in the last post, I was invited by one of the dancers, whom I met in Huancayo. The Huancaian group dances a dance called Huaylarsh, which is some sort of agricultural dance. It is quite an interesting event, as there are here groups from all over Peru, and they dance in their traditional clothes (especially are interesting the groups from Pucallpa and Tingo Maria, which are in the jungle area, and are almost semi-naked). Yesterday was a parade of all the groups, and somehow I was asked to go with the Huancaian banner in front of the Huancaian group. That was quite an experiance... Again, not a thing I thought I will do in Peru. It was also quite exhausting as we walked for almost 3 hours in the streets of Huanuco (the group members themselves had to dance all the time, which seemed to me really hard for such a long period, as they were also bare-footed). Today is the competition day, and hopefully we win :)
12.8.04
On Thursday I went to the Rosario orphanage. The children and all the staff where busy planting artichokes (alcachofas in Spanish), so I helped them with that. It was quite fun as it arised in me memories of Gan Karmit, where in primary school we had to go to study some agriculture.
Today I may be going to see a dance competition in Huanuco, to which I was invited by a girl I met here (which participates in the competition).
8.8.04
Yesterday I did a thing which I didn't think I would do in Peru: I taught a poem of Yona Wallach in Hebrew to a class of Hebrew learners. This might sound a bit odd, but it turned out that the mother of the coordinator of the volunteering organisation studies Hebrew in her Methodist church. So I, and the other Israeli, helped her for a while with her homework, and then I proposed I will come and assist to one of the Hebrew lessons. I had with me a poesy book of Yona Wallach (Thanks, Inbal!), so in the end I just taught one of the poems from it (the one called Shir), and read them another one (100% Gever). It was quite amusing. The Hebrew students (one of them was a theologist) read quite well, but didn't know most of the words.
Today we (all the volunteers) went to the Pre-Inca ruins of Arwaturu (burned bones in Quechua) and the lake of Ñahvinpuqu. The was there a fantastic view of the Mantaro Valley, though the ruins themselves were not so impressive (still, they stood quite firm already some hundred years, maybe even thousand).
By the way, if someone wants to know more about the organisation through which I volunteer, here is a link.
5.8.04
Today I helped a kid with his math homeworks (multiplication mainly) and then I played agaisnt another one chess (Ajedrez in Spanish). Till now it's 2-2 (we played already 4 games). Just a short post to say hello...
4.8.04
I had quite an interesting weekend. On Saturday Juan José, Yair and I went to Torre Torre, which is a kind of naturally formed sand pillars. On Saturday I went with Yair to a local bar with live music where I lost my jacket - I danced with some girls there and then forgot all about it :(
On Sunday everybody went to Sicaya, to see a local festival called Santiago. There was a lot of music (actually sounded like a very disharmonic big band, as every group played another music), dances (I joined, of course), Peruvian beer and food.
The volunteering is going good, and it is actually quite fun playing with the kids and helping them with homework.
