al fin, he llegado! I am so happy to be back in Peru. It was a long journey to get here to Chachapoyas--left home at 9am on the 18th, flew from Albuquerque to Dallas to Miami to Lima, arriving after some delays at 6am the 19th. Then had a nap, ate one of those amazing Peruvian salads drenched in lime juice and some ceviche (I cannot resist the Peruvian ceviche), and boarded what was supposed to be a 23hr bus ride--turned 26hr bus ride--to Chachapoyas, where I am now.
On the bus ride, I was lucky to find myself sitting next to a doctor who works for the public health dept and goes into the native communities to care for the people. He told me all sorts of disturbing things, like that the native people lie to anthropologists to make themselves appear more ¨native¨and that there is a lot of rape of young girls and domestic abuse. We exchanged contact info so that next time I return, if I can sequester a few weeks, I can go into the jungle with them and do some medical work.
Yesterday was then my first legitimate day in Peru. I woke up at 530 to go to a sweet cave, full of great cave formations, remains of human sacrifices, and ancient pottery and sculptures. Then to see a couple different sites in the cliffsides, which were full of sarcophogi (structures built from earth in the shape of people and painted as such, to house dead bodies of important people). They are the only ones apparently in the americas, and are from the Chachapoyan people, who are pre-Inca. We also saw some Chachapoyan mummies, which were bound in the fetal position to facilitate their rebirth into the next life.
I arrived around dinner time after my day of excursions and was lucky to meet and share dinner with a Swiss couple who are riding their bicycles from Ecuador to Argentina, where they are then planning to surf for a couple months. I also met a dude from San Diego who rode his motorcycle from his home all the way through Central America (took a boat from Panama to Colombia with his bike), and has made it here to Northern Peru, destined for Patagonia, and will then potentially board a cargo ship to Africa with his bike. Ah! I am completely inspired by these folk and now am even more set on biking to Southern Mexico, which Justin and I have been talking about.... I asked the bicycle couple what they did to prepare and they said nothing. They didn´t train nor bring anything special, just some tire patches. When they´re tired they stop. They get stronger every day. They eat whatever they get on the road. They camp and stay in hostels when they are available. They talk to locals about routes and take it day by day. They encouraged me to just do it. That there is nothing holding anyone back but their own fear, because truely there´s no reason not to....
So that´s what´s on my mind now, as I head for Leymebamba, where I will be for a couple days.
Con mucho amor y cariño,
Rachel
On the bus ride, I was lucky to find myself sitting next to a doctor who works for the public health dept and goes into the native communities to care for the people. He told me all sorts of disturbing things, like that the native people lie to anthropologists to make themselves appear more ¨native¨and that there is a lot of rape of young girls and domestic abuse. We exchanged contact info so that next time I return, if I can sequester a few weeks, I can go into the jungle with them and do some medical work.
Yesterday was then my first legitimate day in Peru. I woke up at 530 to go to a sweet cave, full of great cave formations, remains of human sacrifices, and ancient pottery and sculptures. Then to see a couple different sites in the cliffsides, which were full of sarcophogi (structures built from earth in the shape of people and painted as such, to house dead bodies of important people). They are the only ones apparently in the americas, and are from the Chachapoyan people, who are pre-Inca. We also saw some Chachapoyan mummies, which were bound in the fetal position to facilitate their rebirth into the next life.
I arrived around dinner time after my day of excursions and was lucky to meet and share dinner with a Swiss couple who are riding their bicycles from Ecuador to Argentina, where they are then planning to surf for a couple months. I also met a dude from San Diego who rode his motorcycle from his home all the way through Central America (took a boat from Panama to Colombia with his bike), and has made it here to Northern Peru, destined for Patagonia, and will then potentially board a cargo ship to Africa with his bike. Ah! I am completely inspired by these folk and now am even more set on biking to Southern Mexico, which Justin and I have been talking about.... I asked the bicycle couple what they did to prepare and they said nothing. They didn´t train nor bring anything special, just some tire patches. When they´re tired they stop. They get stronger every day. They eat whatever they get on the road. They camp and stay in hostels when they are available. They talk to locals about routes and take it day by day. They encouraged me to just do it. That there is nothing holding anyone back but their own fear, because truely there´s no reason not to....
So that´s what´s on my mind now, as I head for Leymebamba, where I will be for a couple days.
Con mucho amor y cariño,
Rachel
Karajia sarcophogi
cliffside tombs
our sweet guide 
2 comments:
Ohhh R1... Your biking friends sound like they told you exactly what you were looking to hear... Haha, you seize to amaze me!
Raquelita, que divertido leer sobre tus aventuras. Muchas gracia spor compartir tu experiencias. Que lo sigas pasando bien.
Con amor y muchos abrazos,
Carlos
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