Stay Focused, Stay Alive

January 19, 2012

Most of the people I am close with in Ollantaytambo had either left or were going to leave soon for mini vacations. I also had huge days coming up next week . We have to move to ANOTHER dorm (long story, future post) and I am some sort of guest of honor in Soccma at a huge fiesta, so it seemed like a good time to shoot down to Chile to reset my visa.

I don’t have video games in Peru. Well, using a console I don’t. But driving a motorcycle in Peru is the best video game I have ever played. Let’s start with the trip to Arequipa, then move on to general game play.

The drive to Arequipa is 9 hours, some beautiful, some boring. The first 4 hours or so were pretty straight forward, in fact, driving into Juliaca has one of the only flat straight roads I have been on down here. Easy right? Apparently trucks and busses think that because a road is straight and flat you can pass whenever you want. I had to head over to the shoulder 3 times. My favorite was when I watched a truck pull halfway out to check to see if anyone was coming. It paused, pulled back a little, went back to halfway, thought for a minute, then decided, “heck, it’s only a motorcycle, I’m just going to pass and he can get out of my way”. Good stuff.

But the best part was the 14-15,000 foot pass through the national park. Yeah, I forgot it was rainy season, or at that altitude, snowy season. It got pretty bad. The sleet built up on my visor, my breath froze inside it. I couldn’t see anything. If I lifted up the visor, my face got pelted. There were trucks everywhere. It was probably the most dangerous riding I have done. But whatever, I just kept going and eventually made it out. It cracks me up how I had 2 hours in a nice, sunny valley, 4 hours on a flat plain, 2 hours in the mountains in treacherous conditions, then an hour in a gorgeous desert setting where I mostly dried out. Gotta love Peru.

Yeah, not too safe on a bike...

Am I back in Michigan?

Dropping into Arequipa later that day. Even the factories look like a video game. Isn't this a level on black ops?

Faster Than Speed: Peru Edition

Let’s review this exciting hot new game, soon to be released for the PS3 and Xbox 360.

You play as Johnny Danger, a young adventurer in search of ancient Incan Treasures. Your vehicle is a Suzuki DR650 dual-sport, a tank of a motorcycle that can go anywhere. You will need it.

Each level contains a variety of dangers and obstacles you must overcome to reach your goal.

Animals: You will face herds of sheep, goats, alpacas, llamas, and cows. They travel right in the middle of the road, usually around blind curves. There are also constant single animals darting in and out, like chickens, donkeys, and pigs. You will have no warning.

Dogs: They get their own category.

1. Strays: They are plentiful and wander where ever they want. They are dangerous because they lope along the side of the road and give no warning when they will just turn into the road itself.

2. Mountain Guardians: They live in the middle of nowhere at high altitudes. I have no idea how they eat. They are VERY passive, I have never seen them move. But they lay and watch right in the middle of the road. You must go around them.

3. Packs: These are easier to spot, but with a large group of dogs you must be wary of the one who wants to impress the rest and jump out in front of a vehicle. Or a motorcycle.

4. Chasers: These are the worst. They lay hidden until a motorcycle drives by. Then they jump out at full speed barking at the top of their lungs nipping at your heels. You must become immune to these dogs or you might turn into oncoming traffic (like I saw a Peruvian almost get killed once). Feel free to kick at them. Bonus points.

Vehicles: There are semis, medium sized trucks, small trucks, double-decker busses, mini-vans, taxis, 3-wheeled taxis, SUVs, combies, 3-wheeled bicycles, little motorcycles ,food carts, tourist busses, and pick-up trucks all weaving together at completely different speeds, stopping whenever they want, in both lanes (especially on curves), like some kind of messed up symphony. Most of these spew dark, thick, nasty smoke from the exhaust. Good luck.

Physical Hazards: You will be required to successfully navigate all sorts of immobile obstacles as well. There are speed bumps, speed troughs, pot holes, grates, landslides (often hidden around blind curves), train tracks, rivers, thick mud, loose gravel, missing sections of road, hairpin turns, rocks, hidden traffic lights, broken traffic lights, no way stops, cobblestones, bottles and trash thrown out of windows, deep concrete gutters, and standing water. Another favorite are all the one way streets. They are not marked. Do not turn down a road until you see another vehicle do it. Most cities have multiple one way streets in the same direction in a row. Do not assume they alternate. One of the greatest hazards is the scenery. You will constantly be wowed by indescribable valleys and mountains. They usually coincide with a hairpin turn right in front of you that you weren’t paying attention to. Have fun falling off the 1,000 foot drop.

Humans: People assume you will avoid them. This leads to interesting dodging techniques. It’s like when two people walk down a narrow hallway and kind of dance back and forth deciding which way to go, except one of those people is going 40 mph on a motorcycle and the other has a huge bundle of vegetables strapped to their back. But when you are stopped, they will extend to you a kindness you have never experienced and help you on your way.

Weather: Rain, hail, sleet, wind, snow, dense fog, sandstorms, sun, rainbows.

Construction: This is interesting. Peruvians are big fans of cutting trapezoids into the pavement then filling it in. That is all they do, all the time on every major road. While they are doing this, there are sign people at each end. The sign people get bored and like to have fun, stopping everyone, letting both sides go, only letting motorcycles through, not showing up to work that day…

In the end, the treasure is worth it. You will become a very skilled motorcyclist and experience an adventure like no other. Just remember to always wear your helmet, drive rested, and don’t drink anything weird.

Waterfalls, Electricity, Books, and Alex

January 5-12, 2012

Ana’s best friend from her boarding school and his mom came down for a week to visit. She was happy to have someone her age around here and of course it is nice to have visitors. One of our goals was to take them up into the villages to visit our girls and let them see what life is really like outside of the tourist zone.

So we headed up to Soccma to check things out. We started at Nohemi’s house and spent some time with her sisters and mom. Her mom gave us some delicious tea and the puppies were a big hit as usual. We then headed over to Maria Elena’s house to give her a Christmas present bought by one of my students. But neither girl was home, I guess they were down in Urubamba taking some sort of test or something.

We then started our hike out to the famous waterfall below the Incan lookout. We climbed up to get the view from above first. But the whole time we were walking, the locals were telling us how all the people worked together to fix the lower road that had been destroyed by landslides. That means we could hike down to the bottom. Yes, I’ve always wanted to stand underneath a huge waterfall!

We headed down and it was awesome! Coming up to it the mist was so thick it was almost like it was raining. I got underneath and the water was COLD. And under the main stream it was a lot of force, I could only stand under the side parts. But it was a lot of fun.

We then hiked to Anita’s house and chatted with her and her family for a bit. It was a beautiful hike home and a great experience for Brenden and his mom.

Another shot of the landslide on the way up to Soccma

Waterfall from above

Vegetation on the path to the bottom of the waterfall

Can't wait to jump in...

I couldn't get the entire thing in the shot

YES! Standing underneath it.

Hiking home, that is the road up to Soccma

Hiking back to Pachar

The rail to Machu Picchu

Now is a good time to talk about Peruvian paperwork and electricity. The last few visits to Soccma I have learned about and become a part of their ongoing electricity problem. From what I understand, for years and years they have asked for electricity for their village. For one thing, it is a huge problem for the kids to try and do homework. They have such long walks they get home around dark and then have to burn expensive candles to see if they want to get anything done! So a few years ago, the electric company finally started running lines up to the village. The deal was, they would run the lines as long as the village paid for every house to have a meter installed. Alex raised the money in the states ($6,000) through the Rustic Pathways Foundation and paid the company. Last summer the work was finished on the lines and electricity was turned on for one week to test it. But then they shut it off until the meters were installed. But for some reason the company would not install the meters. They told the village to hire someone else to do the work, but will only return the money to someone from Rustic. Well, the only Rustic affiliated foreigner from October to April in the Sacred Valley is me. So it has been a several weeks long process of getting paperwork from the states to give me the power to represent the foundation. I have been to notaries, municipalities, offices in Cusco, photocopiers, and village meetings. Right now we are close. We have one more document to get authorized then I think I will be able to get the money and pay for the meters. The date on the receipt is June of 2009. It is classic Peru. There aren’t normal laws, but the paper trail for something simple is long and arduous.

Our volunteer Rachel’s last day was the 6^th and she wanted to do something interesting. Well, I had two children’s books (written in both Quechua and Spanish) that two students had bought over the summer for their family. I promised I would deliver them before I left. It seemed like a good time for a motorcycle ride, hike, and visit to a tiny village up in the mountains.

We set off on the ride up the valley, and she enjoyed her first motorcycle ride. (How many times have I provided someone’s first ride down here?) There is about an hour hike up to the village, and it was a lot easier than back in June. Adjusting to altitude is a great thing. The family was happy to see us, and it was great catching up. The father (Genero) showed us the guinea pigs, his fields (very proud), and we sat in the kitchen to talk. I then presented them with the books. His son Gido immediately opened one and started reading in Quechua. His father was correcting him when he made mistakes. It was awesome to see a young boy reading out of his first book. I had to film it. I have never seen a book outside of a classroom before, the family was really happy. Then, the mother (Josefina) grabbed the other book and started reading too! Thank you so much Maya and Emma for buying those!

Hiking up to Huilloc

He insisted I wore the same clothing...

This past Wednesday I got the chance to go with Keri and Anisha to visit a young boy who lives near Palomar. I have had great experiences working with Awamaki’s health program, and am especially inspired by Keri’s work. We hopped on our motorcycles and headed up to his house. The story is basically that Alex has a mental disability. A few years back, he fell off his bed and injured his hip. Somehow, his family either didn’t notice or didn’t know what to do. Considering how transportation and medical services work down here, I’ll bet they felt like they couldn’t do anything and hoped it would heal on its own. Well, it didn’t. He can’t walk and spends his entire life in a bed. He is now 12, can’t speak, and his family is kind of burned out on taking care of him. Awamaki provides diapers for him, and they try to visit him as much as possible.

It was a pretty powerful experience. Keri is absolutely amazing with him, and his face lit up when we walked in. She changed his diaper and just hung out with him. We chatted, played with the cats, and talked a little with his younger sister and brother. Sometimes they take him outside, but we didn’t get a chance this time. It was tough to see this kid who is now going to have to go through his entire life lying on a bed because of mistakes and a dysfunctional health system.

I guess he has been taken to several doctors and none can perform surgery to fix his hip. He is also waiting on a special wheelchair (a normal one won’t work). The special school in Urubamba for kids with disabilities that I visited has offered to accept him, except there is no transportation available to take him every day. So that’s it, 12 years old and a life in bed ahead of him. I didn’t take any pictures. I just felt that some things and moments were better left private. If you want to meet him, get down here and I will take you to visit.