the Sierra

Since my host father works for Spain to help to the rural Peruvian population, he frequently has to take trips into the country. Yesterday, I got to accompany him into the mountains to a village or area called Punchape. We went for a hike while we were there. It was wonderful.

I was so thrilled to be in a calm and quiet place. We were 1800 m above sea level. The drive up there was quite the adventure as the roads are unpaved, very rocky, and windy on the edges of some cliffs.

On our hike, we saw remains of an ancient wall built by the Incan empire. Wild life included vultures, lizards, ants, and a parrot. There were many mango trees, papaya trees, colorful flowers, and cacti.

At the top of the hike was a waterfall and a large pool that it formed. Interestingly the pool of water disappeared underground leaving the people who live in the region without water, although water is nearby.

After our hike, we stopped at a small restaurant which was really someone's home and ate. Then we continued on our journey to the place that a man was working on building a dike by hand. The two engineers that had come along stayed there and will return to the city tomorrow after helping him. In order to get to where the man was working, we had to drive the pickup through a river. It surprised me how we would just plow through 3-4 feet of water with the pick up at times without giving any thought to the groud beneath the water.

We passed people hard at work in fields of corn, rice, sugar cane, grapes, and some other crops that I am unfamiliar with.

The weather was fairly hot, with sun off and on, but clouds not giving any reprieve from the heat. I would like to return to the mountains to hike again sometime.