El Parque de las Aguas

This Wednesday we traveled to Jesús María to visit el Parque de las Aguas. Following are some pictures of the cool fountains I saw:

Viaje a Pozuzo

Greetings!

As I mentioned in my last post, I spent the weekend traveling through the Andes to visit Pozuzo, the home town of my housemate Cris. And as promised, there is lots to tell and lots of pictures to see!

But before we get to any of the good stuff, I am going to give a brief history of the area I visited (because I like that kind of stuff). So if you don't care, skip to the next paragraph...NOW... Pozuzo (est. 1859) is a district of Oxapampa in la Selva Alta (High Jungle) region of the Peruvian Andes. What makes Pozuzo interesting is that it was a site of German colonization in the decade of its conception and then forgotten (or ignored) by both the Peruvian government and the German motherland for an entire century. In 1854 land ownership laws and natural disasters created a famine in Germany and the land was not able to support the people who lived on it, so a German explorer cut a deal with the Peruvian government that allowed him to send 10,000 of the most hardworking, high-moraled Catholics Germany could offer to build a functioning colony in la Selva. But, after the first round of immigrants arrived in Peru many, upon seeing the true task set before them, chose to find other work in Peru or work in las haciendas. This left 165 people to settle on the Rio Huacabamba, and thus was born Pozuzo. More settlers from Germany arrived in the following few years and eventually a group broke off to found Oxapampa (now the capitol of the Oxapampa district). It was not until 1976 that the Peruvian government delivered on their promise and build roads from Pozuzo, meaning that this colony had lived in seclusion from the rest of Peru for an entire century. This ensured that many customs of the original settlers remained intact making a visit to Pozuzo a uniquely cultural experience, which leads me to...

Our Trip to Pozuzo:

Our adventure started on Wednesday night as myself and three of my housemates were watching Ru Paul's Drag Race in the living room of our home in Lima. Cris, our house mate who has been living in Lima for the past two years, came in and asked if we would like to join her Thursday to travel to her home town, Pozuzo. We immediately accepted the offer and looked up the Yellow Fever and Malaria risk for the region (because for all we knew, we were going into the depths of the Amazon and were sleeping in tents). So we packed our bags and set out Thursday evening for our first real Peruvian adventure. We took an anxiety filled cab ride to the bus station and boarded a bus that would drive for 12 hours to take us to Oxapampa. 12 HOURS, no typo. 12 hours on winding mountain roads; 12 hours next to the world's smelliest bathroom, 12 hours listening to a child repeatedly vomiting from altitude sickness (though his high spirit never waned!). Luckily I have a steel stomach and was able to sleep for about 11 of the 12 hours. I woke up Friday morning to beautiful scenery outside my window.

Main Square in Oxapampa

 We ate a quick breakfast in Oxapampa and boarded a Micro (imagine a normal sized minivan with 12 seats instead of 7). The trip from Oxapampa to Pozuzo was only another 3 hours but it seemed longer than the 12 hour bus ride. The micro doubled as an all-terrain vehicle, traversing narrow, mountain, dirt roads. We crossed small streams and took hairpin turns. It was the bumpiest ride imaginable, a nail biter for sure. But after 16 hours of bonding, we arrived intact (barely) at Cris' beautiful home in Pozuzo.

Cris in front of her home in Pozuzo

We got settled in, rested for about 30 seconds, and went on a walking tour of el Centro de Pozuzo (led by our wonderful guide Cris). As told in pictures:

Cemetario outside of the catholic church

 The group from left to right: Clare, Cris, Nicole, Dani, Pati, Philip, Adrián

 Interior of Catholic Church

 Pati on a bridge leading to a path we briefly hiked (I didn't note the name of this one)

 "Let's protect Nature: it gives us life"

View of el Rio Huancabamba

After playing cards in the square and checking in with worried parents (some may have sugarcoated the proposed trip) we had a relaxing dinner at the restaurant of one of Cris' many "Tías" and turned in for what turned out for all to be the most restful night's sleep any of us had in recent recollection. 

Rest it turns out we would need: Cris had a full day planned for us on Saturday. We ate a wonderful breakfast prepared for us by Cris' mother, and embarked for our first adventure-- a light hike in el Parque Nacional Yanachaga Chemillen. 

 Panorama of the Falls at the end of el Camino de Colonos

 "Cedro"

 Looking into the valley at el Rio Huacabamba 

 Some foliage I encountered after our hike

 I have been told to include more pictures of myself in my blog

View from a footbridge on Camino de Colonos

Red ants on the flowers pictured previously

After sweating it out on the trails, we hopped back in the carro and enjoyed some well-deserved tortillas with honey (mmmmmm). Next we traveled to “las lluvias eternas”—The eternal rains, which are a series of what you might call waterfalls with an invisible source that make it look like it is raining and cast impressive rainbows everywhere. I wish my words could do it justice, because of the nature of the lluvias, I couldn’t take my camera out without getting it all wet. But, I don’t think photos could even capture the beauty of “las lluvias eternas.” However getting to the falls turned out to be quite the expedition. According to Cris, visitors usually take a leisurely path to view "las lluvias" from above. But because a footbridge was out of order we had to enlist the help of a machete wielding 10-year-old to break the path and lead us across streams and through a quite treacherous hike. Doris was the most enthusiastic guide you could imagine. She swung her machete through brush obscuring our path, pulled us unwillingly across streams, and was a constant source of encouragement to a group of tourists who had no idea what they had gotten themselves into. By the end, I had quit my shoes and backpack and gone ahead of the group to explore. My rock climbing this summer turned out to be a great advantage as I was able to easily maneuver the vertical rock faces that lined the falls. I stood in the “rain” and swam in the larger falls at the end. I wish I could communicate with all of you how it felt to be a part of this place. I can only think of a Spanish word that comes close to describing it: Impressionante.

 Some butterflies drying their wings on Doris' socks. I tried to show her but she picked them up and shook them off--pulling the remaining ones from their perch by their wings and tossing them aside

Doris and I--pictured here without her machete

After an equally long and tough trek back to our vehicle we traveled, beaten and wet, to our next destination. We took a tour of a tipical Pozuzan colonial home, led by the homeowner, himself—a Peruvian of German ancestry who took great pride in documenting and sharing the colonial history. He told us how settlers came with nothing but tools to construct the pueblo and showed us pictures of previous generations who had lived in the house he now inhabits.

I tried on a Cañasto, which was used to gather potatoes and corn 

 Cuyas (Guinea Pigs)--not pets in Peru. They eat them

 Desfila de las Gallinas (parade of chickens)

 Original tool-bench and tools that were used to build the home

Original stove, still cooking

Next we returned home to Cris’ to freshen up and take a siesta before dinner at a restaurant in Prusia—a neighboring town. A youth dance group that Cris used to be a part of performed just for us (if that is any further indication of the incredible hospitality we encountered this weekend). They performed about 5 numbers of mostly German or Austrian origin and then taught us the basic steps of a few dances, which we butchered, and they enjoyed.

We finally returned to sleep a last time in Pozuzo before starting the long trip back Sunday morning. Though we try, we cannot thank Cris and her family enough for their incredible hospitality and warmth. On Sunday, we woke at 9 for a last breakfast. The trip back was shorter in duration then our embarking journey, but more tiring. We boarded a micro to Oxapampa (3 hours), another to la Merced (2.5 hours), another to Tarma (2.5 hours) and a final van to Lima (5 hours), all totaling a 13 hours of restless, bumpy travel. But, we finally arrived home tired, but in good spirits to start classes the following morning. 

It was a fantastic trip.

THIS IS NOT A FOOD BLOG... but I couldn't help myself:

 Panqueques con Manjar

 Rice Dumplings with Chicken

Mate de Coca

        It may seem like I am starting out strong here by posting pictures or writing an entry every day, but for now I know I have the free time and am seeing more new cool and interesting things than I will see once classes start. Entonces, disfrútalo! (Enjoy). 

        Today was the welcome session for international students to PUCP (Pronounced affectionately by faculty and students like "poop" but with a "c" before the "p"). There are 247 international students studying at PUCP this semester and we come from all corners of the world-- the US, South America, Canada, various parts of Europe and Asia, and I think there is even a student from Australia! La Pontifica Universidad Católica del Perú was established in 1917 and now is home to 25,000 students and over 1,000 professors. It is a very well-respected university and international students can remedy their lowly tourist status a bit by boasting that they attend "La Católica." Not only is PUCP an excellent university, but it also has one of the most beautiful campuses I have ever seen. There are flowering plants everywhere and expansive green spaces that are a much welcomed solace from the thick urban smog residue that seems to cover just about everything else in Lima. There are even deer that call PUCP their home (I have yet to see any yet, but I have been warned that they like to steal food if you get too friendly) I am super excited to start attending classes and spend my weekdays in this beautiful place. Tomorrow is our academic orientation and Monday we start attending classes to "preview" them before we make our final decisions about which ones we want to take. 

       The last session of our welcome session today was a safety talk to help international students navigate Lima. There is lots to take into consideration when living and commuting in a developing city with over 8 million inhabitants. A lot of it was a bit scary but they armed us with tools to avoid dangerous situations and to avoid theft. A more lighthearted topic we addressed was a phenomenon the Limeños call "Los brincheros." Bricheros are men or women (Bricheras) that seduce Gringos in order to be invited into their home country and get a green card. It was more or less a joking topic to lighten the mood but I thought many of you would appreciate it because the most common warning I received before my departure is that I shouldn't "fall in love with some Peruvian and stay down there."

       I am also amazed at how quickly my spanish speaking has improved since I got here. My host family requires that spanish be the only language spoken in the house, so despite living with 5 other english-speaking students, I have had lots of practice and am learning so much every day. If I am not a fluent speaker by the time I return in December,  you will all know that I must have left Peru and lived in a van in California for the duration of the semester or something. I am actually having a hard time coming up with english words as I am writing this, because the spanish ones are the first to pop into my head. 

      Also tomorrow I will be leaving to visit our housemate Cristal's home in Pozuzo which is about a thumb width's east of Lima on my Lonely Planet Travel Guide's map of Peru. It doesn't seem like far but it will take us 14 hours to travel by bus. The bus ride promises lots of quality bonding time (sleep) with my housemates. It should be a BEAUTIFUL weekend, so get ready to see lots of pictures!

Hasta mi regreso, Adios!

 Peruvian Dance that was performed at the welcome session. I didn't catch the name of this :( 

 Necessary university shot

 Cool tree on campus with ginormous hanging flowers. My compañera told me that this is a hallucinogenic plant and can poison you if you take it in too large of quantities. I looked it up when I got home and found out it is called "Angel's Trumpet"

Just a closer look at those cool flowers

(PS) If you just can't get enough of all this Peru stuff, check out my friend Dani's blog. Dani is another student from UW in my program and lives with the same host family as me: http://daniday237.blogspot.com