The Peruvian People and their Colorful Culture
Our first major stop after entering Peru was the lovely city of Chachapoyas (Cha-cha-poi-us) nestled in the highlands of the Andes mountains. There are several interesting archaeological sites within close proximity. The first we visited was called Keulap and is located on the top of an impressive mountain ridge. With walls exceeding 60 feet tall in some sections the manpower necessary to construct such a structure was staggering to think about. The second site was called Yalape and unlike Keulap has hardly been touched by archaeologists (probably because they can’t find it – we got lost several times :). Visiting this site felt like an Indiana Jones film set: overgrown ruins, hardly visible trails, and incessant rain pouring down on us the whole time (and the whole place to ourselves). We got wet, but thoroughly enjoyed our adventure into archaeology.
Our time in Chachapoyas also coincided with a major Catholic celebration so we were privileged to enjoy multiple religious processions (small parades), traditional dancing, two fairs, and special foods. The highlight of the event was the creation of many enormous colorful carpets, laid on the roads surrounding central park, made of dyed sawdust, corn, salt, beans, rice, and flowers. Different organizations and families spend up to 24 hours making these beautiful works of art. Which, shortly after completion, are then solemnly walked upon in the largest procession thus completely destroying them! It was an amazing cultural experience and we were so glad we could be there during it.
We did several day trips from Chachapoyas to visit some of the tallest waterfalls in the world. The highest one being Yumbilla (Yoom-Bee-Uh) which is 2,938 feet high!!! It is a waterfall in three separate parts, but apparently that is how they measure waterfall height for ‘world’s highest’. No matter how they figure it – we both agreed it was a REALLY tall and spectacularly beautiful waterfall! We also visited Gocta waterfall (a mere 2,500 feet high:). One of the most interesting things about both these waterfalls is that they were not ‘discovered’ until 2007 and 2006 respectively!!! These absolutely enormous waterfalls, some of the tallest in the whole world, were completely unknown to the ‘world at large’ until very recently. It makes one ponder what other unknown wonders remain still undiscovered!
From Chachapoyas we traveled to the small colonial town of Leymebamba (Lay-may-bamba). One morning we awoke to find the police force, local school children and town elders performing a flag raising ceremony together. Since our $10 hotel room had a balcony right on central park I was able to get a photo as the Peruvian flag was carried with honor around the square. Our first visit was to some ruins located at the end of a difficult and vertical three hour hike. The ruins were in pristine condition and hardly receive any visitors (see: difficult, vertical, three hour hike:). The site caretakers prepared us a traditional lunch of soup, potatoes and beans. Super generous and kind! Our next stop was the museum where many artifacts are on display; including a room full of mummified remains! Our last stop in Leymebamba was a small cafe that is famous for the many varieties of hummingbirds that can be observed there. We were not disappointed as the beautiful birds zipped around energetically just a few feet from where we sat!
The next morning we were planning to move on to the city of Cajamarca, unfortunately, Sharon got very sick and we were unable to travel the next day while she recovered. If you look at the pictures you will see Sharon lying on the roadside next to her bike. This was not an accident; this was the next day when she thought she felt well enough to travel…and perhaps wasn’t. Every time we stopped for more than a few minutes she got off her motorcycle and lay on the ground. Traveling by motorcycle can be exhausting when you feel healthy, so you can imagine how hard it is when you don’t feel 100 percent. Additionally, this was a particularly challenging section since we drove down 10,000 feet and then up 10,000 feet and then did it again – that’s the Andes for you! Our last stop before Cajamarca was the site where some of those mummies we saw in the museum were found. The holes are carved into the steep sides of a mountain where natural rock formations preserved and protected them for hundreds of years!
We hope this update finds you well and enjoying your own adventures!
A quick update on our current ‘adventure’ of getting our motorcycle repaired so we can continue our journey…the parts should be here today which would put us back on the road in about five days if everything goes well. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers!
Chris & Sharon
