The Big Field Trip

     My family and I went on a four day trek to see ruins. Our guide, Edgar, went with us. We hiked to Karajia to see sarcophagi. They were on a big boulder, way above us. If we went right below them we couldn’t see them because they were on a ledge. The sarcopahgi looked like pottery people. Really important people who had died were put inside of them. One of them fell a few years ago. They found bones corn, cloth and gifts inside. At the beginning of the hike my brother and I were scolded by a woman for chasing baby chicks.

From the big field trip

     When we were driving in the taxi on the way back from Karajia, we passed oxen pulling a plow. My mom, Angela, stopped the taxi and took a picture of the oxen. The plow was made of wood carved from a tree. It was the beginning of the rainy season so everyone was planting and plowing. They planted potatoes, corn, squash, beans, and berejena, a kind of fruit that looks like tomatoes. The men plow and the women plant seeds. They believe that women have a special touch that makes plants grow well.

From the big field trip

     We drove to Cohechan, a small town, to eat lunch. We had breakfast there too because we woke up very early. We ate at a woman’s house. There were lots of dogs begging for our food. We ate giant potatoes, lentils, coca tea, rice and chicken. Coca tea helps you from getting altitude sickness.

From the big field trip

     Next we drove to Valle Belen. It was a muddy drive. The road was sooooooo slippery. We thought we would slide off the cliff and die! It was a great drive because we could see the beautiful view of the valley.

From the big field trip

     Valle Belen has a river that looks like a brown, curvy wire. We caught trout in the river with a net. We threw the net in the river then we took it back out. There were metal weights on the net. When you pulled the net out, the weights came together to trap the fish (if there were any fish). We ate the trout at night time. Everybody thought it was delicious except me.

From the big field trip

     Cyrus, Cruz, Papa, and Mama played soccer. I didn’t play. I played with the horse. After I played with him I rode on him a little bit. We spent the night in a cabin in Valle Belen. We slept in bunkbeds. The next day we packed up the horse for a 6 hour hike.

From the big field trip

Tags:   Ancient Sites · Chachapoyas · farming · Peru2 Comments