Chachapoyas - Gocta Reflections

So, I spent four nights in a sleepy little jungle town called Chachapoyas. I arrived, again, at 5:00 in the morning and stayed at a hostel called Hostel Chachapoyas. This hostel had HOT WATER and a TV, with MOVIES!! These are secretly (well, were secretly) why I stayed in the town for so long. Screw the waterfall and ancient ruins, give me my creature comforts. Not really...

But, I did realize later that this was the first room that I have had to myself since Galapagos, which is almost four months. It has honestly taken a little getting used to.

Strange for me to say because I lived alone for five years, and now, after living with Kehren and Taylor for a year in Boone and living first in a house and later in a room with three other women, I have a hard time being alone. I am constantly finding the balance between being alone and being with others, but honestly, it feels good to long for the company of others.

The first day, I was having slight problems with my stomach, so I relaxed for the afternoon and found another coffeeshop called Fusions. Here I met with a Peruvian guy and French girl who helped me with my Spanish CV. I also ate a scrumpous lentil burger.

The second day, I took the morning off and in the afternoon headed to a local village called Huancas and a nearby canyon. I took a taxi up the hill and walked down alone. I made it back to town right before the rain. Thankfully this luck with the rain seemed to follow me throughout my ventures in Chachapoyas.

When I returned to my hotel I found a good PSF friend of mine in the lobby of my hotel, Matt Bell from New York City.. That's right NEW YORK CITY. After spending my share of quality time alone, my heart was pleased to see a familiar face.

Matt and I went to the Sarcofagas the next day. We took a taxi to a nearby pueblo and hiked down a hill for about twenty minutes When we reached the bottom, we saw the ruins. The faces that you see are depictions of significant kings from the Chachapoyas people. The tombs of the kings are buried under the statues. The "kings" are looking over a huge valley where once stood a small Chachapoyas pueblo. There are still a few ruins scattered throughout the valley. To be more in sync with nature, the Chachapoyas built all of their structures in circles. We even stumbled upon what seemed to be human bones.. This is me staring at them!

The return trip was honestly the best part of my Sarcofogas experience. First, as we waited for our taxi, we met a 13 year old boy named... HITLER. Yes, that was his name. I double checked and asked him to spell it. While in South America, I have met my share of Stalins and Lenins, but never a Hitler. This was a shocker, especially to Matt, who's Jewish. Although you can't hate a 13 year old, you can despise the Peruvian education system for being completely oblivious.

We had also just missed a huge downpour, and on the way home, we met a truck stuck in the mud. Matt, being the young stud that he is, got out of our taxi and assisted the Peruvians with the ordeal. The whole population of the 300 person town came to watch the show. After 30 minutes, the truck was finally pulled out and we made our way down the road.

The next day, Matt and I went to Golcta, the third or fifth, depending on your resource) largest waterfall in the world. We started this adventure at 5:00 in the morning. After an hour convi ride, we arrived at a crossroads. We were dropped off there and started on our twelve mile hike.

After hiking uphill for approximately an hour, without coffee, we found a nice little house/shop to stop at for breakfast. We, being the Americans that we are, walked directly in to what we thought was a small tienda. We didn't know, however, that there was a mother and child sleeping in the room. No one seemed to be bothered by our entrance, and we asked for hot water and eggs. The hot water was for our portable coffee machines, Matt's strainer and my French press...... And, yes, we're Americans. We had a lovely breakfast and shared some of our coffee with the girl who we had woken up. Interesting fact: Although Peru produces delicious coffee, most Peruvians drink instant coffee made by Nestle.

After breakfast, we made our way to the waterfall. We only got lost once. There is always a predictable lack of signs on Peruvian trails, and we failed to check another route. We made it in a little over three hours. We ran into a sugar cane mill along the way (to the right). It reminded me a little of home.

We could barely stand at the bottom of the falls because it was very wet and windy, but we did manage to stay and watch the water falling. The water reminded me of smoke flowing down from the top of the rock. It seemed like something you would see if you were tripping on some type of hallucinogenic drug. We watched the water fall for probably thirty minutes.

On the way down from Gocta, I found myself thinking and worrying about my future in the states. What am I gonna do? How will I make money? Do I want to get my PhD? When suddenly, it hit me that no matter what, it will be okay. And, that the risk that I took by coming here greatly outweighs the stress that I may or may not meet in the future. This, gave me peace, and a refined vision on how I want to live my life.

After having a quick breakfast with Matt the following morning, I headed off on my never-ending trip to the real jungle. But, that story's for another blog post. I am in Iquitos, Peru right now making my way to a small Colombian jungle village called Puerto Narinyos. Although I have made acquintances along the way, I am venturing on, sola (without others). But there is one friend that I take with me everywhere, and no it's not my Mac, it's my Yoga. I visit this friend daily and our relationship keeps me strong! So, I am going to keep enjoying my adventure and meet more intriguing people along the way. Until next time.. Namaste :)