La Merced

Viernes, 04-Julio-2014

So a little background first...

La Merced is a town located on the edge of the Amazon jungle. It's one of two key Chanchamayo settlements and is much bigger than any of us expected (~20,000 people). There is a beautiful town square and lots of small restaurants and shops. All I can say is we all thought we'd be roughing it in small shacks in rural nowhere so this is a HUGE sigh of relief. 

We are staying here since it's safe and has working plumbing; it also is the largest town near where the Asháninka tribe communities are located (more on them later). The host family I'm living with has a beautiful house located on the local coffee plantation. The weather here is fantastic (80-90s) and the showers actually have hot water. I still cannot get over the fact that we are able to have the best of both worlds - a nice living arrangement and close contact with tribal communities who need our help. 

The trip to get here began at 5:45am and was a 5-hr bus ride from Huancayo to La Merced. The bus ride took us from 3200m to 800m and was basically all hairpin turns down the mountains. But it was absolutely gorgeous and we got to watch the sunrise as we drove!

My favorite part of the ride is the fact that it was a local bus. This made traveling so much more exciting bc we saw lots of traditionally dressed men and women get on and off as we drove. It also was interesting to see where the bus chose to stop. I did not see a single bus stop. You literally just have to know to go stand by a certain banana tree on the side of the road and that's where the bus will pick you up or drop you off!

We decided to leave so early so that we could make it for the World Cup game at 11am. I've learned that plans revolve around fútbol since Dr Franćois and Danel are huge fútbol fanatics. We arrived in La Merced, dropped our luggage off with the host families, and headed straight to Restaurant Shambari Campa to watch Germany and France play. This is the best restaurant in La Merced so I had a veal dish prepared with local spices: Seco de Chanchamayina con plantanos frittas y arroz. 

After the game, Danel took some of us on a quick walking tour of La Merced. We went to the top of the municipal building in the town square and had an amazing view of the entire town! 

Danel also showed us where the grocery store was and the local market. Lastly he introduced us to the mototaxis. These 3-wheeled motorbike taxis are how you get around town and they are so fun!! 

Finally after a long day we went back to the Highland Coffee plantation and relaxed. We met more of the host family and got settled in for the next 5 days. Our host family is Yaniña (mom), Omar (dad) and three sons: Sebastian (15 y/o), Ramses (4 y/o), and Enso (2 y/o). They also have a lady named Christina come help with our meals. Best part about this family... No one speaks English so it's been great to practice our Spanglish since there's no other option!

Also they have 3 dogs who are adorable!! Two are puppies and one is an old dog named Borris who looks like a koala. 

Right before dinner, the whole group met at our host family house (bc it's the best) to discuss our plans for the next few days. It just so happens that our day off is tomorrow and we start visiting communities, clinics, and hospitals on Sunday. We will be visiting Pichanaski, Marankiari, and San Rámon during our stay in the jungle. 

So to kick start our day off, we decided to go to the discoteca, Kametsa Cafe Rocks. It was a jungle themed 2-story bar that played awesome music and had a huge dance floor. I'm glad Paula taught us how to salsa on Wednesday since those moves definitely came in handy. The fun times continued as we successfully fit 7 girls in 1 mototaxi when we left the bar to come home... The driver was pretty amused by it all haha