Slow Down

Sábado, 05-Julio-2014

I feel like we've been going nonstop since we got here and so today is such a blessing to have. It's only our 6th day in the country and yet I feel like I've been here for weeks. 

There's no better way to start your day than with a hike to a waterfall. We woke up a little too early considering we were out dancing till 2am but it was so worth it! The 14 of us grabbed mototaxis at 8am and headed to the trail head for Catarata Las Reinas. We crossed the river and were off!

The first part of the trail took us through the countryside towards the thick of the jungle. It was a great warmup for the second half of the trail. There also were lots of butterflies and pretty flowers that Lauren was able to take awesome pictures with using her macro lens. 

Soon we reached a check point and payed our 2 soles to enter the trail to the waterfall. Before heading on though, we took a short break to play on the rope swing and enjoy the hammocks. One of the guys named George could finally be George of the Jungle! 

The next portion of our hike consisted of rock climbing, crossing strong-current rivers, and climbing makeshift wooden ladders. It was a very technical hike but I loved how challenging it was! My quads were actually a little sore by the end of the 3 hour hike. 

The waterfall we found at the end was beautiful! The water had cut through the rocks in a very cool shape and the walls around it were all inverted. The water was pretty chilly but definitely manageable seeing as we all got it. I guess we truly have acclimated to the whole cold shower thing... However we should've brought our shampoo bc it was the best water pressure I've seen here so far! How I miss taking a nice hot pressurized shower... That'll be the first thing I do when I get back!!

Our hike back to the entrance was actually a little harder since it was climbing down wet rocks and doing controlled slides through mud. I did manage to bust my pinky toe up pretty bad but it was after the water portions so hopefully it'll be okay. Good thing I'm surrounded by medical professional right? Everyone had some bumps and bruises by the end but thank goodness there weren't too many bug bites!!

As we were on our way out, we passed 50+ people headed up the trail to the waterfall and all I can say is thank goodness we went before them!! It took us a solid 3 hours to hike there and back and that was without anyone slowing us down. It's gonna take them a lonnngggg time with that many people. 

Once back at home, we ate lunch and it was interesting to say the least... Yaniña made a local dish which called for cow stomach as the meat. As you know, I can literally try anything once. Well this was my one and ONLY time trying cow stomach. Just thinking about it is making me queasy. It looked like unfried calamari and had about the same texture. Never again :(

After a late night, early morning, long hike, and questionable lunch it was definitely time for a siesta. We all took about an hour nap and then went with Yaniña to the Highland Coffee plantation tour. So a little history on Yaniña and her family. They own the land that Highland Coffee grows coffee beans on and therefore gets a portion of the profit without actually owning the coffee company. The plantation tour is located right next to the house so we could walk down there easily. Also we have delicious coffee anytime of day :)

The coffee tour consisted of many samples of coffee, chocolate, jam, honey, juice, coffee liquor, and more. This plantation actually won "best coffee" award by a top French magazine last year and I can tell why!! Mmhh so good!! And yes Mom, I will be bringing some home for you. 

They also produce a type of coffee been that is completely unique to La Merced and it is known around the world. It's unique because of the way the bean is processed. A misha is a small anteater/raccoon type animal that will eat the coffee bean fruit and poop out the coffee bean seeds. Some enzyme in its stomach does something to the coffee bean and makes it the most delicious coffee in the whole wide world! The misha is only found in the Chanchamayo egion and are under protection so people can't take them. But anyways at Highland Coffee plantation, they have employees who collect and sort through miso poop to get the coffee beans. Apparently it's worth the effort since it's world renown. Oh and btw the coffee retails for $75 USD a cup!! 

On a side note, I've confirmed that my two favorite Peruvian fruits are the chitimoya and guanabanana, both have a green scaly outside that covers a sweet white fruit. Highland Coffee had juice and jam made from these fruits and it was my favorite out of all the regular flavors. 

Our tour inspired us to find a Peruvian coffee maker (they make espresso and add it to boiling water) so we headed into town to find the Saturday market. Sadly we aren't sure where the Saturday market is because the only one we could find was the everyday market which sells fruits, veggies, spices, and meats. So after about an hour of wandering we finally gave up and attempted to head home.

Attempt is the key word because we happen to get caught in the middle of a political parade! There's a big election coming up and tons of campaign paintings around the city. Well this one campaign decided to shut down the main square area and hold a huge parade with mototaxis, cars, bands, and banners. Our mototaxi tried to get around it but couldn't so we just jumped in and started cheering for this rando politician. I think he was running for governor but I'm not exactly sure...

Today has been a well needed day to slow down, reorganize my things, and enjoy the beauty that surrounds me in the wonderful jungle town. Now I'm getting super excited to visit the Orito Bajo community near Pichanaki tomorrow and can't wait to get started with our medical mission!!