From the big field trip

The Chachapoyas built the trail 1,000 years ago. The stones have been scattered around because horses have been using the trail for hundreds of years. Next to the trail there were ruins. The Chachapoya people made the fortress for protection. I saw what was left of the circular walls of the ruins that used to be homes. It was called the Pirquilla ruins.

From the big field trip

We finished our hike at a town called Congon. The people in Congon were very excited because the road that let cars come to the town was just made one week ago. The people were farmers. I saw them growing coffee plants, platanos (bananas), and cotton. I played with little children who were very generous. They even let me play on their swing and hold their baby chicks. When I tried to get the chicks from the mama hen, I had to get a stick and push the mama hen aside and get all the chicks and run off with them. The mama hen would run back where the chicks used to be and look all over for them. Then I would put one chick down and it would run to another mama hen.

From the big field trip

My family and I stayed at a house in Congon. It just got electricity less than a year ago. CAN YOU IMAGINE THAT? I met a girl who lived at the house, and I drew and wrote about a farm in my journal while the girl did her school work. She had black hair and was very kind to us. She had a very big, kind, chubby, white and caramel colored dog. I met five more friends who had a very big pig. I could even ride him. Cyrus and my pappy watched a bullfight on TV at an L-shaped house that was also a store. Cyrus and I slept in one room. If you turned on the light for a long time it would attract mosquitoes and other bugs that you would not want in your room at night.

From the big field trip

The next day we left Congon. I did not want to leave, but when I saw the horse that I was going to ride I wanted to leave. I wish I could have brought a chick with me.

Goodbye everybody,

Isabella Kirkman

p.s. Does anybody have a funny story that you could tell me about farm animals?

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

From the big field trip

His home is made out of wood and his roof is made out of metal. He had a hose that was almost two miles long. It brought water from a spring to a large bucket in his back yard. They used the water to drink, to wash clothes, and to wash hands. When the bucket overfilled, the water fell into a smaller bucket. When that overfilled, sometimes the animals would come and drink it. If they didn’t drink the water it would leak into the ground. There is a generator that gives them light at night. His house is really close to Abra Patricia reserve. It is also located near a highway.

From the big field trip

Hector has a restaurant connected to his house. People drive by and if they are hungry they come to the restaurant to eat. The food comes from his farm. He grows potatoes, corn, aji (chili) and other vegetables. He also owns many chickens and animals. The chickens lay eggs for them to eat and they save some eggs to turn into new chickens so they can eat those chickens.

From the big field trip

The ducks are different colors. My favorite duck I named Patriño. He was red on the head and black on the belly and white on the back. He even let me hold him. There were puppies too. Hector keeps dogs to guard the house and the animals. A lot of puppies have been stolen. I had two favorite ones. One was white and the other one was white with black spots. The mom dog was a barker when she didn’t know me, but when she got to know me she stopped barking. Sows are girl pigs. They grow piglets for people to eat. When they kill the pig, they make bacon and pig heads and pig feet and pork chops to eat.

From the big field trip

 Hector had a spectacled bear paw with claws on his wall. The police shot and killed the spectacled bear to have a feast. They said it was good. But it was not good because there are only a few spectacled bears left in the world.

From the big field trip

Hector has brought orchids from the forest and he is growing more. After he grows enough he will bring them back to the forest. Some kinds of orchids are very rare. The rarest orchid is a purple and white flower.

I think Hector’s house is really nice because I love the animals and the kids. I liked the orchids because some of them were the rarest flowers on earth. I really would like to live there with my parents because I love the view and the animals.

From the big field trip