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Published: September 11th 2006
Well, Pancho and his two sons picked up eleven of us at 8 in the morning and we made the 2 hour trek up into the mountains. I thought that Tunis Mills was rural... HAH! I have never seen anything like I saw on this trip and I don´t think I ever will again. I´ll say upfront that I´m glad I did this trek but I would not do it again!!!
After 2 hours we made it to the small village we were starting from which was at 13,000 feet. We all felt the altitude immediatley after getting off the bus. There was a Quechan man and women who got the llamas together and loaded our packs on the llamas and then we headed out to go up... up...up.
When I decided to do this I never really thought about the altitude and that was a mistake. After the 1st mile which I know doesn´t sound like much but is alot at a high altitude we were all suffering a bit. Our pulses were beating in our heads like a man with a sledgehammer was in there and it was hard to get your breath. I guess I was
thinking that there were be a trail to follow. NO! It was rocks and this strange grass that grew in clumps and was a bit spongy. The mountain people cut the grass into clumps and dry it out for the rainy season. They use it to burn with alpaca poo for energy for their fires.
Anyhow, I wish I could describe the view. The vistas were amazing and there is no roads, no houses, no people... just us and the wind. It was unbelievable. We stopped for lunch which was lovely... cheese, chips, chicken sandwiches, dried bannanas, cakes, etc. I ate about half of my chicken sandwich and I knew I was in trouble. My head was pounding like it never had before and I was horribly nauseous. Soreche.... altitude sickness. Pancho gave me oxygen and lied down with for about a half hour. It didn´t help. At that point when we headed back out I was put on a horse and led by the Quechan man. There were some sights with the mountains with snow, a huge beautiful lagoon, Peruvian geese all at 14,000 feet. I wish I´d taken a picture but I was so nauseated that I
couldn´t even reach in my pocket to get my camera. Several of the people on the tour promised to e-mail me some pictures.
Eventually we reached 14,500 feet and the air was quite thin. At this point we started to descend. The descent and the ascent were a bit scary in parts. Again, no roads, lots of stones and all unsteady footing. On horseback this was SCARY! As you all know I like to ride horses but I like it on flat ground! These horses reminded me of the horses they use at the Grand Canyon. We were on edges were the fall would immeidatly fatal, steep descents with huge chunky rocks etc. All I could think about was my brain squished all over the rocks.
I was the first one to be sick but I was NOT the last!! Ina and Junelle both rode horses down. We made it to this village. Mostly all made of stone rocks and the roofs made of straw. We got off the horses and jumped into the van for the 5 minute ride to where we were staying.
A word about the 2 Quechan´s with us. They rode from where
Inside their Cooking Hut
I wish I could share with you how smokey it was in there. The use llama poop for energy... no wood. The smell was intense and my eyes burned for an hour afterwards. I don´t know how they do it.we ended our journey with the three horses and 12 llamas early in the morning to where we started our journey and then rode back again with us!! The woman herded the llamas and the man took me across the trek while carring a sack made of alpaca tied to his back with rope. A very crude backpack.
On the journey to where we were staying Hedi threw up out of the van window. Ina wasn´t doing well either. All of us (for the most part) were suffering.
We got to this school house and inside they had layed crude mattresses with sleeping bags and pillows where were all to sleep lined up side by side. They cooked our dinner and while that was happening they took us to meet on the families. The one we went to visit were older. When asked how old... she didn´t know. Pancho said that over 50 they stop counting. The older folks tend to several huts, one for sleeping, one for storage, and one for cooking. We went into the cooking hut where she was preparing dinner over a fire of alpaca poo. I will never forget the smell and the
burning of your eyes and throat. I kept my hand for the most part over my mouth. I don´t know how they do it! It wouldn´t have been as bad if they´d had a chimmney so imagne all this smoke just wafting around in this VERY small hut. It really is more survival and existence than life. They do the same thing day after day after day. They cook 4 small meals. The women get up at 4 AM and make this soup they eat for breakfast. Sometimes they have meat but not often. The meat is always fresh (no more than 1 week old) since they don´t have refrigeration or electricity. I couldn´t wait to get out of the hut!
After that we had a lovely dinner but NO ONE was that hungery. Oh, I forgot to mention the weather.... COLD. It was about 30 degrees so when you went to the latrine.... you ass was cold! Let´s talk about the latrine... On the trek we used the backside of rocks but I think this was harder. You squat over this very small hole and put your feet on the feet marks and TRY not to pee on
your leg. I found that nearly impossible! I put up a picture.
So, in the evening when we went out to the latrine you had to bring a flashlight. Thanks Meghan... Your flashlight was a big hit! Anyway, since there is no city or lights anywhere the stars were something to behold. They seemed so close and the Milky Way went on forever. It was a big nerveracking going out at night because like in Ayacucho there are alot of dogs and you need to be careful since they will bite. You could hear them barking when you made your way to the latrine.
We all went to bed after dinner and were asleep by like 7:30! The altitude and trek exhausted everyone.
We got up at 8 AM this morning (Sun) and they made a breakfast of eggs and plantains and of course the staple of coca tea. No one ate much as we were all feeling a bit ill.
We then went outside and met a young couple who were going to shear their alpaca. This was the first shearing for this animal so they would get about 30 soles for the wool... about
Shearing Alpca
They cry like babies! This was the first cut from this young Alpaca $11 dollars. The alpacas cry like babies, it was kind of sad. He used a knife that he consistenly sharpened on a rock and did the entire alpaca in about 10-15 minutes. This young couple are only 22 and 23 years and looked much older. They also already had two babies. Since they are young and just starting out unlike the older couple we met the night before they only had one hut for everything... sleeping, eating, cooking. It was very, very small... dirt floor (like the others), no beds, dirty and colder in there than it was outside.
Soon a bunch of horses came from other parts of this village and we all mounted up for what Pancho said would be a half hours ride. Everything is a half hour when you ask him and its not! Anyway my horse was muy lento. Very slow and a bit spooky-nervous. Not at all like the horse I had when we were doing the trek. We went for about an hour and the whole time the Quechan people with us I know were laughing at me. I could hear them saying, Gringa. (which is not a deregatory term in Peru).
Shearing Alpca
This young couple is just starting out so they have one hut for everything. They are only 22 and 23 years old and they have two young babies. Anyway we rode to about where we got off the trek the day before. We rested and talked for a bit.
Pacho told us that the people of the mountains are not Catholic anymore. They are Evangelical. The missionaries got to them. They don´t sing or dance.
He also told us that at Christmas he has been taking donated clothes from volunteers in the states. Their clothes are beautiful (like the womens skirts and the mantas) but everything is holey, no socks, shoes coming apart, etc. He said that if we have any clothes that we don´t need (particarly for kids) to send to him so he can take to the moutain people. I am going to do that for sure!! Maybe I can get UPS to kick in on the cost of the delivery... worth a shot right. These people have such a hard life and simple thing like a used jacket or shirt would mean so much to these people. Pancho seems to help quite a bit where he can. He told us that when he started these treks about 2 yrs ago it was difficult. The people didn´t understand why these gringos were there... did
they want to mine silver or gold, did they wat to change their religion? It took a while for them to understand and now they like it since it brings a few soles to their pockets.
Anyway, we then headed back to the village on horseback. This time a very young girl led my very slow horse. I was told the reason it was so slow was that it was very young. duh... it was spooked at most things so I was glad for the guide particlary because we didn´t go back the way we came. We went over lumpy land, stones, water etc.
We made it back to the school house and they cooked this wonderful Peruvian dish Lampo something... I can´t remember. It was beef, onions, garlic, peppers, potatos, rice with lots of veggies in it, etc. Again, it was good but none of us were that hungery. We had an hour to rest before we headed out for the hot springs. Most of us layed down and slept since we all had splitting headaches.
We headed out and when we got to the hot springs none of us wanted to go in. All we
wanted was ours beds and a shower. The ride back made several us a bit sick. Ayacucho City is like in a bowl with the mountains all around. Its constant switch backs for the entire ride in order to make it back to down to 9,000 feet. The roads were mostly paved however there are always cows, bulls, sheep, etc on the road. There are also no guardrails and when you look at your window straight down its quite a view.
We got back to the house tonight at about 5 PM and were all exhausted. We had a little dinner and I came over to the cafe to do this blog. It´s 8:30 and I´m ready for bed. I´ll need some energy for those kids tomorrow. We also have Spanish lessons on Monday´s and that´s mentally exhausting.
Oh, one last thing. As you can imagine at great altitudes you will get sunburned quickly and you won´t feel it since its so cold. I did put sunscreen all over my face but I forgot my neck. I ended up putting on a baseball hat and that exposed my neck. I put up a picture... OUCH!!
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Jodi
non-member comment
you are so strong...
You are such a strong person to be doing this. I looked up to you before, but now I know what I truly amazing person you are! God Bless You! Anyhow, if you get the address for clothes and such, I will definitely use it and pass it on. What a great way to donate clothes! You are in my thoughts and prayers.