More about life in Chachapoyas and returning to Cusco

One day while Hildegaard was traveling again, I switched on the hot water and not only did all the lights flicker, but all the power went out! I learned from my last experience with being locked out, to get her cell phone number for emergencies. I dialed her number but the call would not go through; she was apparently out of range. So, I was left on my own again, not knowing when she would return…maybe a few hours, a day or two? I had my flashlight for when it got dark and could boil water on the stove to make hot water and take a “spit bath” for the time being. Things were not THAT bad…

A few days later, Hildegaard and her mother are back and the same “electrician” supposedly has repaired the on/off switch so the power will not go out again. Things are good for awhile and then one day I turn the switch on and POW! No power again! And of course, Hildegaard is away again and I cannot get through on her phone, AGAIN! Hildegaard’s mother and father show up a few days later and they find out right away there is no power again. This time though, it is not the dangerous wiring, but something within the whole building and it would have to be totally rewired. Little did I know, that the process would take almost 2 weeks! So for 2 weeks, I had to use flashlights and candles after the sun went down and had to take spit baths! This was camping now…!

Night life in Chacha 

At Taberna, a local bar. Secy of school(left), teachers, and Gregory(right)

Fidel, owner of ILC(black shirt) dancing at La Reina disco

Gregory and me early in the evening...

Teaching at ILC was a unique experience but one that I would not like to repeat. The very first day the teachers were asked to meet at the school to be given their teaching books and their class schedules. We were soon told that the printer was malfunctioning and that we needed to wait a bit. Well the “bit” turned out to be about 3 hours. This was not a good way to start! I was to have 3 classes/day and a private English student. My first  class was a group of 12 teenagers aged 13. This was going to be a challenge, I knew so I had to prepare very well! They turned out to be my favorite group; it was a lot of fun and really kept me on my toes! And I came to find out that it was actually easier to teach a larger group than just 2 or 3 students because I could get them to work in pairs and do activities.

The facility was the ground floor and the 2^nd floor of a home and the owners lived on the 3^rd floor. The plumbing was horrible as were the acoustics. Walls had been put up to make separate classrooms and they were paper thin so it was very noisy. The equipment like CD players were sometimes in the rooms and sometimes not so you never knew what to expect. Additionally, the desk/chair combos were for children and really not suited for adults to sit in. There were no tables with chairs which is usually the set up for ESL classrooms. The teaching books were so old, many were falling apart and the student books were in short supply so many students had only photo copies of books. 

 We received our “stipend” at the end of the month for the teaching we had done that month so at the end of August, we were paid. 3 of us teachers were leaving at the end of September and when time came to be paid, we were given checks that were 2 weeks post dated. Fidel told us that he was short of funds and was getting money from the government in a few weeks. There was really nothing we could do but hope that the check would be good later. The day I was supposed to cash the check, Fidel called me to say he still did not have the money and to please wait a little longer. I went to the bank on 3 separate occasions and each time the check was still NSF! To date, we have still not been paid for the month of September. Our TEFL instructor had mentioned that the schools in Peru were famous for not paying their teachers, but I didn’t think it would happen to me at my 1^st job! I believe Fidel used the money for start up costs at a bar he was opening. I do not have much respect for him for the way he ran the school, etc.

We left the same way that we came to Chachapoyas: by bus. But this time, I decided to take the 24 hour bus to Lima since Lora and Charlie were also going so I would have company. Just as Fidel and Gregory had met me on my arrival, they also were there to see us off. Gregory jokes about it and says that they want to make sure that their teachers are actually leaving...!?
The bus left early in the morning and about 1/2 hour into the trip, we stopped for breakfast which was a surprise to me! A nice surprise since we were hungry! It turned out to be a very pleasant ride and a great way to travel by seeing all the little towns and villages along the road. We arrived in Lima early the next morning and I stayed in Miraflores(nice, clean, safe area near the beach) for a few nights and just enjoyed a big, clean bathroom with hot water, a bathtub,  a shower, and a hairdryer! And a TV! I had not seen a TV the entire time in Chachapoyas...
I met Charlie and Lora at a restaurant that evening for pisco sours and dinner and the next day I was sick, sick, sick! I do not ever remember being that sick! All night I was sick and I remember thinking that if things didn't improve by morning, I would have to seek out some medical attention. Thankfully, I stopped being sick, but could hardly move for the next few days. I had to delay my trip back to Cusco because I was too sick to travel.


I booked a flight back to Cusco where I would have a teaching job at a little school by the name of Speak Easy. I had met the owners of the school while I was there during June and July since I was taking private Spanish classes from Enny, one of the owners. At the time I was taking my lessons, I had no idea that she was an owner. I just thought that she was a very nice, very warm and friendly Peruvian giving me Spanish lessons! One day during our lesson we were discussing what we would be doing on the weekend, and she told me that she was going to play tennis. I got very excited and asked her where did she play? She asked me if I wanted to play with her and I jumped at the opportunity! We played many times together at her tennis club: Club International, on clay courts and sometimes her husband would join us. I had made it known that I was looking for a job teaching english and Daniel one day offered me a job. So at the end of September, I started a 5 month teaching job at their school. The following pictures are some of my classes and students:

My advanced class

My Basic 1 class

My Pre-Int class: 4 men ages 18-25

I found a 1 bdrm apt to rent for $280/mo that was fully furnished and by Peruvian standards it was considered luxury; although my stove was a 2 burner camping stove attached to a 5 gallon propane tank, the kitchen sink had only cold water, no washing machine, and no central heat. But I had hot water in the shower, a TV, and a small refrigerator! This was luxury compared to Chachapoyas! The school was just a short 20 minute walk away...

I lived across the street from the Mercado Vigen Asunta and this is were I bought most of my food. Yes, even the chicken that was not refrigerated. And I was never sick for the 7 months I spent in Cusco.

View from my kitchen window of men loading sacks of potatoes on their backs into the bed of trucks. They did this all day long!

Kuelap, the Machu Picchu of the north

A few hours drive away by car from Chachapoyas is Kuelap.This fortress is the largest stone structure of South America. It contains more than 450 stone houses. It is located on a mountain higher than Machu Picchu, is much older than the Inca Empire. This Machu Picchu of the North was found in better condition than the one in the South. The Kuelap complex remains relatively unknown in this remote zone, which only thirty years ago took two months to walk out to from the nearest road. The fortress is filled with a million air plants, bromeliads and orchids, high on a mountain top, in this mysterious cloud forest. I asked my student and friend, Lucy, to take me as well as 2 of my fellow teachers Lora and Charlie. So early one weekend morning, we all jumped in a cab and traveled up to Kuelap. It was another terrifying cab ride along the narrow, steep, bumpy, windey, unpaved dirt roads!

Lucy and her 12 yr. old son, Oliver with the fortress wall behind

Lucy was a wealth of knowledge;however, she only spoke Spanish. So Charlie, one of the teachers with us helped us a bit...

One of many houses and walls

Me and Lucy in passageway on our way out

Close up of the walls showing the triangular details

Top of the passageway leading back down with our group

The interior of one of the houses; standing around a grain storage hole

Charlie and Lora at the top of the lookout tower

Charlie and Lora walking around remains of houses

Oliver with wild Llama behind him

 It was a 1/2 hour walk back down to where the taxi said he would wait to take us back to Chachapoyas and we were hoping that he would still be there! If not, we would be in big trouble since we were 2 hours away! 

Waterfall at Gocta

Gocta; 3rd highest waterfall in the world

"The Department of Amazonas, which includes Chachapoyas and the ancient walled city of Kuelap, is where the main trunk Amazon River violently carves out a valley in the Andes, deeper than the Grand Canyon to enter the Amazon Basin. This is the land of the Cloud People or Chachapoyans who live in the "ceja de selva" or eyebrow of the Amazon. This is the cloud forest of eternal mist, high in the Andes, overlooking the Amazon Basin." Anonymous

One of the very first weekends I was in Chachapoyas, I took at full day tour to a very remote valley that would involve a 4+ hour very strenuous hike(hardly any level portions of the trail and mostly steep hiking going up or steep down) into the jungle to the upper waterfall named "Gocta".It was first discovered in 2006 by a German explorer and by his measurements, it was determined to be the 3rd hightest waterfall in the world.This day, we would just be going to see the upper part of the falls. It would take another whole day to see the lower portion.  4 of us left by taxi from Chachapoyas and were driven to a very small village where we were met by an older local man who was in excellent shape to guide us along the trail to Gocta. He did not speak a word of English, but thank goodness 1 of the men in our group was from Lima and spoke enough English that he could translate for us! 

Me along the trail with waterfall in the back; less than 1/2 way there

Lots of potatoes growing along the first part of the trail; clear, clean, beautiful air and sky

Our guide explaining how they make an alcoholic drink made of sugar cane. Tasted very sweet and very strong! I only had 2 sips and that was enough to make me light headed. To left is the man from Lima who could translate for us!

Extremely beautiful and serene hike

Waterfall in the distance!

About 1 1/2 hours into our trek to the waterfall, I was getting tired...! Every 100 yards or so I would ask our guide, "Donde es Gocta?!" to which he would point ahead and laugh at me! I knew a few words in Spanish so I also asked him how many times he did this hike and he answered 2-3 times per day! I was absolutely in awe of his physical condition since I knew that he must have been older than me...

The other couple that were in our group, were chewing on coca leaves and sucking on limes, but obviously this was not having any boosting physical effects, since they were both just as tired as I was!

Finally made it!

The other couple in our group(coca leave chewers) below the falls in the canyon

Pool at the bottom of the upper falls

Trail on our way back down. Parts were very scary; straight down and very narrow rocky trail! This would be illegal, I think, in the US.

 

Horses come to rescue hikers that are too exhausted to make the trek back!

Our worn out hiking group at the only restaurant in the village. We're waiting on fried chicken for lunch; the lemonade could not go down fast enough!

Lower Gocta Falls

This was another full day outing to get to the lower falls. A group of us from the school went in 2 taxis to the village where the hike began.  Another very strenuous 4 hour hike but a little bit easier on my knees!

Gorgeous colors of the rocks

Me