"Here on the mountain I have spoken to you clearly: I will not often do so down in Narnia. Here on the mountain, the air is clear and your mind is clear; as you drop down into Narnia, the air will thicken. Take great care that it does not confuse your mind. And the signs which you have learned here will not look at all as you expect them to look, when you meet them there. That is why it is so important to know them by heart and pay no attention to appearances. Remember the signs and believe the signs. Nothing else matters." - CS Lewis 'The Silver Chair' (My favorite book)
I'm sure you already know this, but first impressions are a big deal. Every time I've arrived in a new place I've had some kind of feeling about it, and so far, it's been pretty accurate!
Also before I get into my writing, I need to thank the good Lord that my computer can handle an input of 100-240V...because I broke my power converter and the only one I could find here in Cloud-land only has a micro USB attachment...for which I am also grateful because my phone and camera are useful here.
Anyways. When I first arrived here, I knew I was going to love it. It might have been the fact that after a 48 hour bus ride, a guy from a lovely hotel down the road from the bus station was there to offer me a nice place to stay, in my own beautiful room with it's own bathroom - a first since I've been travelling - for really cheap. But it wasn't just the one guy...the people here are out of this world.
I seriously debated whether I actually wanted to write about all my adventures here, selfishly, because I think the biggest thing I love about this place is the people...and all the places I've been that are really touristy have a very different attitude. Most places that are tourist-ridden, the people treat you like a meal-ticket, because they know you're traveling and that you have money. And it's totally fair, because most of the tourists treat the locals like they're tourist
attractions - so really, 90% of the time when locals speak to you, they're trying to sell you something whether it's an item, food, a tour, get you into their restaurant, etc. And if not, it's usually men who speak to you (or at least, to women), and it's usually to ask if you have a boyfriend, tell you you're beautiful, or ask your hand in marriage. But this place....Everyone is just cheerful, and helpful, and proud of their culture, and works hard. Sure, they know you're a tourist (because there aren't many), but I was actually astonished when I actually chose to walk into a restaurant, had to ask for ice cream, asked to buy something. No one begs your attention, and people seem like they actually want to talk to you, which is cool because I've actually made friends and been able to practice my Spanish while here.
Everything about this place is underrated. When I first read about this place being a hidden gem, It was always accompanied by the most popular tours that people do if they do come here, mainly: Kuelap ruins tour, and the Gocta waterfall tour, and I knew from researching that there's a less-travelled hike to a different waterfall called Yumbilla - so I just figured that 5 days here would be plenty.
I was wrong. WAY, way, way wrong.
Sure, there are the main tours. I've heard Kuelap is better than Machu Picchu, there are tours to these cool sarcophogi of ancient people that overhang a cliff, I actually did the Gocta tour, you can do tours to the lakes and canyons of the region...but there's so, so much more, guys.
My first morning here, I just walked - it's kind of my thing, scout the place out, wander around and check out the place. And the moment I went outside and saw the clouds in the mountains I wanted to chase them for photos. So I wandered out of the city, followed this random dirt road that happened to lead directly where I wanted to go...and it kept going, but the further I went, the more beautiful it got! So, like three hours later I decided I should turn around and head back haha.
My second morning here, I wasn't planning on doing anything, because I found out that this week in Chachapoyas is tourist week, so they have big celebrations every day. But on my way to breakfast I ran into this nice guy who asked me if I wanted to do a tour to the giant waterfall, it was SO CHEAP that I jumped on board. Of course, I was not prepared, so I basically took what I had and jumped on the bus and didn't know what to expect at all. Turns out, we took the bus to a tiny town on a cliff in like a bowl of mountains (called Cocachimba), with a ton of waterfalls around it. Seriously there are like 5. The guide explained to me that when there isn't a lot of rain, there's only Gocta...but if it's been raining a lot, waterfalls form pretty much everywhere.
Here's the Gocta story. Only discovered in 2007(ish), when some explorer dude found it. It's a two-part waterfall, together totalling 771m high. It's high. People argue about whether it's the 3rd, or 4th, or 6th highest waterfall in the world, but I don't really think it matters - it's magnificent. The crazy part of the story is that no one understood why a waterfall this size went 'undiscovered' for so long, why the village people who live RIGHT THERE never told anyone. Folklore says that there lives a mermaid in the pool below the waterfall, and that anyone who visited would be cursed by said mermaid - so they never went, and never told anyone about it. So cool! The path is pretty muddy, it's a good moderate 11km round-trip hike with a pretty okay gain/loss of elevation, but when you get there it doesn't matter because you get to have the most powerful cold shower of your LIFE. It's basically all mist by the time it gets to the bottom, but the sheer power of it creates its own gusts of wind carrying the waterfall directly into your face. Soaked. Aaaand then because it's the rainforest, where it was at one moment hot and humid, now that you're wet, it's cold and pouring rain haha. Anyways, it was an awesome last-minute trip - totally worth the almost 15$CAD I paid to go.
That evening, I concluded that I wouldn't have time to see Kuelap, and that it was okay because I feel like I've seen enough ruins for this trip. And I started finding out all these cool other things in the area - well, kind of in the area. Basically, once you're in the Amazonas region, you have your main 'base' towns, and then everything else is connected by really, really cheap collectivo trips. I was at a restaurant in Chacha, and there was a map of all the waterfalls, hikes, caves, lookout points, towns, etc. And I noticed the CAVES and decided to look them up when I got back to internet. I read the story about Leo's Cave in Omia, and decided to go there. Of course, very few venture into the rainforest by themselves, but I met this lady who was only in town for the evening, and was going to Tocuya (about 30 mins past Omia) in the morning, and would love to travel with me, take me to her home where she owns a huge coffee farm in the jungle, cook for me, etc. Of course, she only spoke Spanish, so that was an adventure all its own. It's about 2-3 hours trip to Mendoza, which is another 'base' town in the jungle. So much cloud forest. And then about 30 mins moto ride to Omia, where the cave is. Leo, the guy who owns the land, and his wife are SUPER nice. And it's not a huge tourist destination, so it was just me and my friend, and you hike up the mountain on his farmland where he shows you the monkeys, the coffee trees (coffee fruits are SUPER bitter), the AMAZING orchids, and there's this fern plant that when you touch the leaves they fold up, and it's the absolute coolest - I love plants - so you play with it for a bit...and you climb until you finally get to this small, rocky hole in the mountain that doesn't look like a cave even. But once you maneuver yourself inside, it's just MASSIVE. I can't even really explain, unless you've been in a massive cave before you won't understand, because you only know it's massive by pointing your flashlight around and finding out where the floor, the ceiling and the walls of the cave are. And when you see a WHOLE LOT OF BLACKNESS that just keeps going into the mountain...it's big, and awe-inspiring - you literally can't think of words to say except 'awesome' and 'wow' and 'whoa'. It was the first time I've ever seen quartz in it's natural state, in it's natural place - just growing all over the cave. And what you don't see in the pictures is how much it sparkled!!!! There were so many formations that he showed us that looked like sculptures of things - God truly is the master potter.
So we spent the day eating bananas, nunas (sp?), lemons that are sweet, coffee fruits, oranges, etc. straight from the trees, wandering the jungle, and stayed in a hostel back in Mendoza because we didn't have time to drive to her farm and back for the next morning - which is a shame, next time I will plan for like a MONTH here, because I found out Tocuya has some fabulous natural hot springs, there are WAY more caves than Leo's to explore that just aren't promoted, and many more hikes, waterfalls, Kuelap (of course), and just incredible things to see. Like I said, this place is WAY underrated. If I had known, I would have planned for far more time here.
Basically what I'm trying to explain, is that it turns out getting off the map (literally, I googled 'Tocuya' and it doesn't exist on google maps) is by far the best thing I've done on my whole trip. I love this place, the people, the atmosphere, the EVERYTHING. How everyone is so friendly, and everyone is SO helpful, and kind. People treat you like people, and it makes it so much easier to treat them like people and make friends. And it's the cheapest place. AND IT HAS THE MOST AMAZING COFFEE. I would stay in Mendoza just for the coffee alone - produced right there in the surrounding jungle, straight from the source. And it cost less than 50 cents. And it's the other thing that I just can't explain except, imagine the best cup of coffee you've ever had...and now imagine it 50 times better and fresher. You can't. And I couldn't. It's just that good, you'll have to see for yourself.
This trip...in all...there have been so many surprises! Some good (like this place), some a little more frustrating (the atm in Arequipa ate my credit card, demolishing my budget, I broke my power converter, etc), but all just so...good. I know I still have 20 days left before I head home, but seeing as I have 1 more day here, a full day of bussing and flying into Iquitos to camp in the Amazon for a week, and then only 10 final days in Lima to visit with friends, I've started to really think about what the heck I'm supposed to bring home from all of this - I can't help it, I'm analytical in nature :)
I'm finding I'm starting to be torn between wanting to stay, and really being excited to go home. Which is annoying, but also funny because the last thing Pastor Landen said to me before I left was that the best thing is to leave 'hungry', wanting more, ready to re-visit ----foooooreshadowing. But, being excited to go home is more strange to me. I was looking at going home to no job, no money (a little more now that my card is blocked until I get home, a bright side!), no plans...but awesome people. And then I wondered what the heck the point of everything here was. And I'm starting to realize even through this 'blog', I'm not the same as I was when I left.
I've learned so many things - not just from traveling, but from being alone, dealing with a bazillion emotions that I have on a daily basis but normally have so many things to distract myself from facing them. There's something cool that happens when you figure out who you are, that you have nothing to be afraid of, that you have nothing to hold on to but the One that holds on to you - to see first hand the power and provision God, to actually be able to SEE His leading...you start to figure out how powerful of a person you are. And I'm not being cocky or arrogant, because it's not ME that makes me powerful - it's His revelation that with Him, I can literally do anything - there's no fear or obstacle than can prevent me from doing what I set out to do. There's no more of this fog that I'm stuck in that 'I want to change the world but I can't because I'm small', because He's not small. And there's no more 'well I want to achieve this, build this, change this, but I can't because it's too hard' - things that are difficult are not impossible, and it's important that we figure that out.
Before I left, I had a dream of what I wanted to do, but I thought about all of the things it would take, how I would have to start from scratch,
how I didn't know where to start - and I've never been able to fully commit to anything, because I was afraid I didn't know where to go, how to proceed. And I still don't know those things. But I'm not afraid of that, because I have ideas, and passion, and Jesus to put the pieces together. So I'm a little excited for home. A LOT excited for the people - the people are my home - but also a lot excited for continuing adventures! Knowing this trip wasn't (isn't) just a break, or a vacation, but just another piece of my life where I got to learn a LOT about me, a LOT about Jesus, and gain a lot of perspective and insight about how to fight a battle in our own culture that so many of us are losing - or think we're losing.
Anyways, that's me on a power trip, in a fabulous mood- talk to me again after my 24 hour bus ride, I'll probably be less energized :)
Hope you all are enjoying summer! If my adventures make you feel sad about being at home, just know I'm actually freezing right now, because it's winter - maybe not an Edmonton winter, but still, it's coldish.
Love you guys! See you super soon!
-B. <3