Goodbyes and Christmas Blessings

Okay—so it’s hard to know where to begin—I usually don’t go so long between posts! And the past few weeks have been particularly eventful—I’ll try to do this justice, without blabbering on too much so you can get back to Christmas with your family.

So—starting with Huánuco—let me break it down. Katrina and I tried to make the most out of our last week in Huánuco. We started by making a trip to the river—just the two of us—to do nothing more than splash around and play. We continued by having our campfire we’d planned for the previous Sunday. Katrina and I were a little skeptical that the campfire would have great success since we had to move it to the middle of the week—and our fire was made of random sticks, but were pleasantly surprised by the outcome. A big part of the success was Jimmy being in town—he has the amazing ability to unite people. We sang songs, rolled on the round a little, and swapped some scary stories, ending the night with s’mores. The week continued trucking by celebrating Katrina’s birthday, complete with her own mototaxi driving lesson, courtesy of Jimmy. Finally, we topped things off by helping Eynor play hooky from school (with parental approval, of course) and taking him to the only pool in town with a slide (which we promptly realized was placed inside of a rather creepy bar.)

Thursday night, Wilfredo came into town to help us prepare for the Christmas service in Huánuco. He was also nice enough to drop us by the local mall, so we could FINALLY get our pictures with Papa Noel, aka Peruvian Santa Clause (who turned out to be phenomenally creepy looking.) That night was when the goodbyes started—Jimmy and Tonio were headed out on a work assignment, so it was our last night together. Jimmy gave an unexpected, but emotional speech that really made it sink in to us just how hard leaving Huánuco was going to be. Saturday was upon us before we knew what was happening and we put together an imperfect Christmas service that ended with a massive dog fight in the backyard. Dog fight’s aside, the service went okay with Katrina and I tag teaming preaching duties, and afterwards we sent everyone home with a snack bag and bellies full of Peru’s traditional Christmas food and drink: Chocolatada (which is basically hot chocolate) and Paneton (bread with dried fruit.)

Sunday morning we woke up with heavy hearts, knowing we’d be saying our goodbyes all too soon. When the hour was upon us, we shared tearful hugs with Eynor, Fabrizio and Carolina, the only ones left at the house, and made the long journey back to Callao. Though we only had a few short hours in Callao, we used them to help Graciela’s family decorate their Christmas tree and pack our bags for our next big adventure: Cusco.

In complete honesty, Cusco deserves its own blog post…but it’s not going to get it. So here’s a break down of what we did there.

Monday, we arrived early to give ourselves a little time to acclimate to the high altitude of Cusco. We spent our time poking around Cusco and we quickly discovered that the Cusquenan flag looks a lot like the gay flag, but upside down and with one extra color. Tuesday, we were off for a tour of Cusco, where we visited nearby ruins and the Convent of San Domingo, which used to be an Incan temple. One of the biggest things in the Convent was the architecture—something I love about the Incans is that we still don’t understand a lot of things about them, including how they carved out their rocks and were able to mold them into shapes with 12 different corners.    

The next day we hopped on a bus bright and early to take our tour of the Sacred Valley. We spent most of the day poking around ruins and marveling at the Incas. We stumbled upon more than one place where the Incans irrigation systems were still working today, a feat which continues to baffle scientists today. We ended the day by hopping the train to Cusco and hitting the hay bright and early to prepare for the main event: Machu Picchu.

Thursday we started the day early than we cared to, but wide awake and at the foot of Wayna Picchu by 6:15 a.m. Wayna Picchu is the monumental mountain that you see surrounding the Incan ruins in all of the Machu Picchu pictures. The mountain was a little over an hour hike and unfortunately when we got the top the view wasn’t exactly breathtaking—all we could see was fog. The downside of visiting Machu Picchu during the rainy season is that you can end up stuck in the clouds. However, wandering through the mist of Wayna Picchu isn’t a bad way to spend a morning. From there we took a Machu Picchu tour, and by the end of the day we were able to shed our ever attractive ponchos and snow hats and embrace the warm air and wonder that is Machu Picchu. I could have sat on the lookout point all day, but alas, we eventually had to go back and we ended our day by soaking in the natural hot water springs that the local village had to offer.

The next day it was back to Callao and we had to get ready for our Christmas service in Callao. Katrina and I’s role in the service was very minor, and for the most part we simply got to enjoy what the Callao team had organized. They gave away toys to all the kids, and of course, the ever popular Paneton and Chocolatada. After hugs and chatting with everyone in Callao that we hadn’t seen in a few months, we had to whisk away to the airport to catch our flight back to the US. And after a long and tiring night of travelling, I’m back in the States with the family and happily plopped on the couch with my Dad. Which brings us up to date.

Katrina and I are living the life of an average American for two weeks and January 5^th it’s back to Callao. January we’re getting a visit from Steven and Emily with the church and we’ll get to map out a schedule for our final six months in Peru. We’re ending the month with a visit from my friends Dave and Erica and by early February we’ll be in Iquitos—a city in the Amazon river basin.

So as I sit here on Christmas, talking about trips from one of the Seven World Wonders to the Amazon River—I feel obligated to say how truly blessed I’ve been to have such amazing experience over the last few months—that will continue on into 2014. There’s a million and one things I could say—but since it’s after midnight now and officially Christmas, I’m simply going to say Merry Christmas.

Huanuco to Lima to Cusco

Hi everyone! I know I am due for an update, but while we're on the road in Cusco it's a bit hard to get to a computer. I promise a blog post in greater detail late this week, talking all about our sad departure from Huanuco and Machu Picchu. Until then, here's a few photos to tide you over! 

Tingo Time: Our Trip to the Jungle

While this week started out on a sour note, but ended with a bang. Let’s recap.

At the sulfur pool, our first big stop in Tingo!

Tuesday was Jimmy’s birthday. Katrina and I gawked as Carolina prepared his birthday meal by killing and preparing two hens. I had envisioned us going out to a giant stump, then thwacking the chickens off with a lumberjack-style ax, but it turned out we just cut the chickens throats over a bucket in the kitchen. From there, Carolina dipped them in hot water to help pull out the feathers, then cut them up, and threw the leftovers to the dogs—which is when I discovered Mohada acting sick.

Wednesday, we had the joy of public transit with a dog (yet again). The vet recognized from the last visit with Hueso and quickly informed us that Mohada had caught the virus distemper from him. Distemper is apparently rampant in Peru and 80 percent of dogs that get it, die. I was in a sorry state after this news, but the vet gave gave Mohada a few shots and a few instructions for us to help Mohada as much as we could.  

Being Bats at the Cueva de las Lechuzas

Thursday morning we returned to the vet for a status update, and he said her temperature had broken, and gave us a pill regiment for the next three days. With that good news, I was able to approach our next venture with a little less worry on my mind: Tingo Maria.

Tingo Maria is the “selva” (jungle) and is just over two hours away from Huanuco. When we told our host family we wanted to make a trip, they forbid is from going alone; Tingo has a bit of a reputation for drugs and violence. Luckily, Jimmy was down for a trip to Tingo, so the three of us headed out. Our first night was quiet, walking around the plaza and soaking in the city. In honor of Christmas, a giant fair was set up in the middle of the plaza, and we quickly hopped on a Peruvian Ferris Wheel, which apparently is a LOT different than an American one. For starters, it’s fast. Too add to that, the carts were like the teacups at Disney World that you can spin around and around and around. Somehow Jimmy and Katrina were able to get their spin-fix and I was able to not barf, which seemed like a fair compromise to me.

Our favorite stop of the trip: the waterfalls! 

Friday was a FULL but fantastic. We started the day by finding a reputable travel agency, then booking a few excursions. Our first stop was the Agua Sulfurosa Medicina which was a beautiful pool, full of, well, sulfur and water. It reeked like rotten eggs, but was interesting to try and we kept ourselves highly entertained by slinging stinky mud at each other and catching little fish in our hands. From there we the National Park of Tingo Maria to check out the Cueva de las Lechuzas, which is NOT full of owls, like the name might suggest. Nonetheless, it was cool. Our next stop was my favorite of the day: Catarata Santa Carmen. This was essentially a series of waterfalls and small pools for swimming. We played here for hours, taking pictures and enjoying the fresh water.

The mountains behind us are called the Sleeping Beauty.

Here I feel like I should pause to say that the normal Peruvian thing to do is to swim in your underwear. Neither Katrina nor I wanted to “Do as the Romans Do” in this situation, so we swam in our bathing suits. I think this deterred Jimmy from the traditional underwear swim for a while, but after a half hour of watching Katrina and I have fun, he abandoned his pants to join us. So that is why there is a picture of a man in his underwear in a lot of my Facebook pictures (Rachel, this side note is for you.)

We finished the day by visiting a lookout point of La Bella Durimente, a series of mountains that look like a woman laying down to sleep. Exhausted, we went back to the hotel, freshened up a bit, then returned to the fair in the plaza, time playing in a kids bounce around like a bunch of five year olds.

Pausing for a picture in the bounce around. 

The next day, we headed out for another round of excursions, this time checking out the Laguna de los Milagros, where we swam around and exfoliated with some of the mud (that turned out to be full of fish poop). From there, we headed to the Serpentario, which is a local place full of snakes. Katrina had been itching to get a picture with a boa, and convinced Jimmy and I to do the same. My verdict: the snake was heavy and needed lotion—no wonder its skin falls off.

After that, it was time to head back to Huanuco, so we bought our last few fresh jungle bananas and headed home. I was greeted by a happy Mohada, who seems to be doing okay, but has another vet appointment tomorrow.

Catching a picture with the boa!

Sunday, we’d had a campfire planned, but ended up having to postpone it because a pastor visited from Orlando’s parent’s church. The pastor, who oddly enough was named Santos, treated us to a few of his church’s regular songs and delivered the sermon. He brought his family along with him, who were a joy to meet and we might get to see again on Sunday before we leave.

On that note, this week is our last one in Huanuco, which is so hard to believe. Huanuco has been a breath of fresh air (literally, Lima is full of smog.) We’re headed back to Lima on Saturday, and from there it’s off to Cusco, for our next big adventure. Until then, we have a lot planned before we leave Huanuco—we’re not done here yet!  

Thanksgiving Cuy & A Final Farewell

14 days until Cusco, 19 days until the United States—what more do I need to say? Let’s recap.

Sweet baby Hueso, smiling for the camera.

Last Monday was doggie bath day, take two. Everyone but Oso got baths again and I have some nice battle scars from Mohada to prove it. Mohada in Spanish actually means “Wet” which makes it ironic that she hates baths so much. Anyway, the ultimate challenge was trying to wash 60 pound Luckyl by myself. My strategy was to lock him in the bathroom then turn on the shower (we actually had water pressure that day.) I’m fairly convinced that I took more of a shower than Lucky did, but the job got done and I was laughing for the rest of the day at the image of huge Lucky trying to escape by wedging himself under the bathroom door.

Thursday was Katrina and I’s first big holiday away from home. While Thanksgiving isn’t a holiday in Peru, we still got to celebrate a little because it happened to be Carolina’s birthday. We even had a special meal, but we swapped out a few token items: Turkey for cuy (aka guinea pig) and pumpkin pie for birthday cake. This was our second go at eating cuy and I have to say it was much better this time. The first time it was so hard to get over what you were eating that the taste didn’t really register—but this time around we could actually appreciate the spices Carolina had cooked it with. All the same, I think I’d rather have turkey on Thanksgiving next year.

The hike up (and dog that followed us.)

Thursday was also our epic encounter with White Devil. Katrina and I have both had uncomfortably close encounters with dogs in Huancachupa and we have kindly named them Stank Eye and White Devil (for White Devil’s namesake, please watch Ace Ventura 2.). We were caught in huge rainstorm after Skyping our parents for Thanksgiving when White Devil sprung out of nowhere. He charged at us from behind and bit Katrina’s leg. She launched a rock at him, which he barely seemed to notice. He charged again, this time feasting on Katrina’s umbrella (RIP.) He followed us, trying to bite us for what felt like ages but was probably only a minuet or two. By the end of the encounter, we were shaking and soaking wet because we’d been using our umbrellas as weapons instead of—well, umbrellas.  Needless to say, it wasn’t our ideal Thanksgiving experience and we’re now slightly horrified to walk through that dog’s territory ever again. 

Our week continued going downhill from there, unfortunately. Hueso, the little black dog, had been acting sick and started getting worse. He began crying out in pain and smelling horrible, even though I’d just bathed him Monday. He also began shaking uncontrollably. By the weekend, I couldn’t stand it anymore. I sat up with him for nearly an hour Friday night, holding him and trying to comfort him while we cried out in pain. It was enough to make me cry and I promised myself that the next day I’d do something about it. Saturday, I awkwardly asked the family if I could take their dog to the vet and Jimmy obliged. I carried Hueso down the Hill of Death and on a 45 minuet long combi ride to the local vet, who said Hueso had a virus that had entered his brain. He received a shot, but the doctor told us if he wasn’t better by morning he should be put down. Naturally, I was a wreck after this and I very embarrassingly cried in front of Eynor and Fabrizio when they asked me who the vet visit went.

Taking a quick breather on the way back to Huanuco.

When Sunday morning came, Hueso was worse. He’d started frothing at the mouth and couldn’t walk right. I was a disaster because I knew what had to be done—but there was a slight problem: church for this week was a hike through the mountains and I’d have to be gone all day. I spent all of breakfast ugly crying in my room (ugly crying is when you can’t catch your breath and snot runs down your face—thus the name) but finally made the decision to go on the hike—and that was the last time I saw Hueso. Antonio and Carolina took him to the vet to put him down while we were gone.

I’m still pretty heartbroken about Hueso and there’s not much more that I can say, other than that he was in a lot of pain, and even though he was just a baby, I’m glad he’s not suffering anymore.

That tiny city down there? That´s where we walked to.

Ending this on a more chipper note—Sunday’s hike. We drove a little over an hour into the mountains in a taxi that had three people in the trunk, three people in the back and four people in the front. Yes four people in the front—the driver shared a seat with someone. After that slightly horrifying drive, we hiked the rest of the way up the mountain which was one heck of a workout. Orlando’s father, Tonio, who is at least 75 years old, kicked my butt the entire way up the mountain—I certainly felt like the stereotypical fat American by the time we got to the top. But that was just half the challenge—we WALKED the entire way down the mountain and back into Huanuco.

Now, I don’t know if you’ve ever walked down a mountain before, but let me tell you something—it’s really hard. By the end of it, Katrina, Eynor, Fabrizio and I had all fallen multiple times and the whole group had trembling legs. At the end of the day, we walked from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with occasional rest breaks. Today Katrina and I have very sore legs, but I think we’re also proud of ourselves for doing something that was so challenging—we finished the journey and that’s all that matters.

Hueso & Mohada snoozing in my lap. 

Looking forward, I’m trying to get my head up. I’m trying to love up the five dogs that are still here and appreciate the time that I get with them. Katrina and I are trying not to be scared of another encounter with White Devil, but it’s a little hard.

I do have to say, when I was carrying sick little Hueso through White Devil’s territory I felt a lot stronger—I knew I’d do anything to protect my Hueso. I’m going to hold on to that feeling and pray for no more close encounters. I’ll be sure to let you know how it goes.