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
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
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