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Published: October 12th 2008
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On to Miña
Trying to keep up with my guide. Choco to Miña. Resorting to ear plugs to fend off rooster and donkey sounds, I sleep well at Choco. The Southern Cross lingers in my mind as I pack up. Edison and Mario are prepping breakfast. Soup of course, then cereal puffed Quinoa with strawberry yogurt. There’s coffee and coco. This is the long day, so they’re cooking lunch now: chicken and rice and cheese sandwiches. We’re off at 7:30 a.m., a bit later than we’d wanted, following the mountain stream northward through the canyon spur.
I’m feeling chipper, but don’t try as hard today to keep up with Edison, even so we strike a brisk pace. Today takes us from just under 11,000 to almost 15,000 over the pass above the village of Miña and the stream named Aho Mayo. Today Edison tells me he once climbed (ran) the Colca Canyon trail ofsome 1000 meters in 47 minutes, that’s about 3,300 feet. He’s made, did I say, like a Moroccan marathoner at 5’4” and maybe120 pounds. The canyon narrows as we proceed north, opens again as we approach Miña. The path is full of rocks and boulders, and the number of boulders increase. Edison hands off a packet to a villager for
Winnowing
Using the wind to prepare corn. At Miña mailing; something regarding college studies.
We pass a woman dressed in a white blouse, red vest, and a hat of grey. She is winnowing chaff out of a harvest of beans by tossing them in the air a small basket at a time, like a chef would flip a skillet of vegetables. The chaff blows off back down the valley.
Another woman with a load of grass over her shoulders passes us. In a few moments we see this is food for her llamas. Further on, north above the town there are numerous terraces, prepared for spring crops, some already planted with corn, I learn.
Our route takes us west and south as we begin a steeper climb, but not for long. It’s time for lunch. We stop just by what looks like a church but now serves, it appears, as an agriculture enclosure. It commands a south view of the canyon, no Colca, but the spur canyon we followed up to hear from Choco. Mario and his mules have arrived before us. Lunch provisions are unloaded, and the mules tethered near the enclosure. I check out the view while lunch readies. I’m feeling pretty good,
Andean Vista
View of Mismi from above Miña. and the mules are finding a bit of forage in the taller grass here. Mario is in good spirits, while Edison is preoccupied with making sure we have the time to get over the pass. We are at just over 12,000 now and need to climb nearly 3,000 feet this afternoon. It's 1 p.m.
First though, I take in the view ann see Mismi, source of the Amazon, now south of us in the distance. Lesser mountains closer to Colca fill the middle distance. Closer yet are the green of the foliage in the spur canyon and the reds of sandstone and granite that rim the Choco canyon. Evidence of scree and rock slides are all around.
Lunch is ready. We eat quickly and off we go, proceeding still west and south now toward the first pass of the trek to Andagua. I stop frequently at first for photos of cactus flowers and the views. After 45 minutes, the grade steepens and my focus switches to the breathe. Edison points out and picks a sprig from a chacacoma bush so we can appreciate it as a tea after dinner. Small shrubs and cactus give way to dark brown
Above Miña
Climbing above Miña after lunch broom, growing in thick shocks, like brome grass, that are spaced almost uniformly at a couple feet apart from each other.
From here on it's a slow plod over a local village and livestock path. There are fewer rocks here as we've climbed way above the canyon floor. At one point, the grade flattens, and we enter a grazing area. There are several head of cattle here, thin and rangy, and with horns.
Soon the terrain steepens again. Small shrubs and cactus give way to dark brown broom, growing in thick shocks, like brome grass, that are spaced almost uniformly at a couple feet apart from each other.
After an hour more of steady climbing we are at the pass. The head is a bit achey and fatigue has set in. We have time only for a short break, the sun is setting behind the mountains to the west in front of us. I take a moment to appreciate things, and down we go. My feet are sore, especially the toes, and my descent to our camp is slow. It's getting cold as well and I'm dressed for the canyon, not the pass. The altitude is also
Barn above Miña
Climbing up there southwest after lunch. a factor and it is slowing me more than I realize.
It's into a camp, which is an enclosure of stone, built for livestock and the shepherd or two. There's a stone hut on the southside of the enclosure, and it has a grass roof. Edison has set up my tent, for which I'm grateful. I'm soon inside changing out of a sweaty shirt and putting my cold weather gear. It must be just above freezing already, if not below. I've had little awareness of the fact that the coloration of the mountains in this valley has changed to the color of iron oxide and in some places where glaciers and yearly snow melt of ground the rock into a dark umber.
Now dark has settled in, and while I can't appreciate the taste of the hot chocolote, I can the warmth. I've got a headache, and before I know it, nausea. Nothing serious, and afterwards, I'm feeling better and ready to eat a little of the meal of pasta with tomato sauce and thick, sweet chicken and potato soup. I eat half. The chacacoma tea, heavily sweatened, tastes of chamomile. I take in more hot chocolate as
From near pass above Miña
Looking eastward over the brow of Miña canyon to the Cordillera de Chilca well, the fluids going in better than the solids. I could really use a sports drink now, or even a cola.
We talk for a while over the tea. Mario, 43, and has eight children. His typical employment is working with his mules to cart gear for trekkers in Colca Canyon. He also farms a little. Both Edison and Mario served in the army, Edison briefly, during the time the Shining Path was more active in the early 90s. He has lived in Cuzco, Arequipa, and Lima, along with some time in the Huarez area west of Cuzco, where drug trafficking and terrorism have been more active. Talk lands on the topic of the poor treatment Andejino’s get compared to mestizos and Spanish, particularly those who’ve moved from the country to the cities. Competition for jobs is high, as the good jobs are few. Most are tied to tourism. Edison calls Mario senor out of deference, although Mario says he is not quite old enough for that. Mario must be happy to have his mules and a small income and food for his family from crops. Edison must be hoping for a better income after he graduates law school,
At the Pass above Miña
I would like to take a nap though his taste for the open air and his freedom could make the office life a drag in comparison.
Now it’s to the tent for sleep. One thing though: in my determination to stay well-watered, I have to pee four times during the night, and that’s an effort, given the circumstances. My body seems to be retaining water during the day and releasing it at night. I took in well over four liters over the day. Each time out of the tent, I take a moment to appreciate the stars, the Southern Cross, and that Crosby Stills and Nash song comes to mind. I love the trip and miss home.
No need for ear plugs tonight. Halfway toward morning, the wind whips up a loose tent flap. It collects off Mr. Cirani and other peaks and pushes down the valley to where we are at 14,600 feet. Soon it settles into a colder calm. I could use another Chacacoma tea, but then I'd have to pee again.
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