Third Day- La Kuelap

Hola, after an extremely long 9hr drive through the mountains, we arrived at 3am to the cold city of Chachapoyos.  We had 2hrs to sleep as we were waking up early to go on a hike to the Kuelap (an extremely old military fort used 3000 years ago).  After an extremely scenic two hour drive, we arrived at the beginning of our hike.  Little did I know I had made a large mistake not wearing sunscreen this day.  When we got to the fort it was absolutely stunning, the rocks were meticulously placed and everything had been preserved over the years.  We then climbed up the steep narrow passage way to enter inside and found ourselves in a half jungle half rock city.  There were lamas running around, and birds everywhere I turned.  We went through and our guide explained the different places used for cooking and showed us the mass grave where there are still bones to this day.  After visiting for a while we returned to the hotel where I realized I had received one of the worst sunburns ever, with my scalp being completely pink as well.  That night we went out after dinner to one of the discotecas in the city.  We had quite a few beers and danced very hard, it was a great night but everyone regretted drinking when we hiked for theree hours the next day.  Onward to Gocta.

 

                                                                                     

Segundo Dia - Catarata Aquashayacu

 

Hola, the second day we left from the hotel early in the morning and drove to a waterfall about and hour away.  On the way there we stopped by a vista point that gave on a view of a huge valley with more vegetation than I have ever laid eyes on before.  We drove for a few more minutes and ended up at the beginning of the Catarata hike.  The hike consisted of moss covered stone steps winding around the stream made by the waterfall.  It was as well covered in pro-eco signs that I photographed for my sisters pleasure.  When we got there the path gave to a beautiful pool at the bottom of a majestic waterfall.  The water was nice and crispy cold, just the way I enjoy it.  After bathing for a while our class returned to the bus and drove to the center to buy some touristy souvenirs.  Once we had finished we returned to our hotel for one final shower and dinner, then we boarded the bus and began our 9 our drive to the city of Chachapoyos. Into the mountains....

Primero Dia-Lagun Azul

Today we arrived in Tarapoto after an 18 hour bus ride.  It is like a whole new world, the Jungle is absolutely beautiful.  We pulled into the hotel at 9am, had breakfast, and then began the drive to El Lagun Azul.  We got there in around two hours of hard, hot driving.  When we arrived it was clear it would be better name the Brown Lagun but it was fine.  After a tour of the Lagun by boat we had lunch, and then jumped in the water for a splash.  The water was absolutely amazing although a bit warm for my taste.  We then returned by boat to our bus then road back to the hotel.  There we could bathe in the awesome swimming pool, and had a great dinner.  We ended up not going to the discoteca and just throwing a huge party in the hotel, fully equipped with crappy music and cheap beer.  That night we had to go to bed at 12'oclock, as we were waking up at 6am for our hike to the Catarata.  Catarata Aquashayacu coming up tomorrow.

Viaje-Intro

Hello again, I just returned from my viaje de promoccion trip in Tarapoto (jungle) y Chachapoyos (highlands), it was absolutely amazing. The first day we had an 18hr bus ride to Tarapoto, and stayed there 2 days. We visited el Lagun Azul y La Catarata Aquashayacu, the 3^rd day we had a 9 hr drive to Chachapoyos. The first day there we visited la Kuelap, the second La Gocta Catarata, and the Thirs an ancient cavern. After which we took a fifteen hour drive back to Piura, six days of the most beautiful landscape I have ever seen, I love this country. I shall be posting each day, a day-by-day detailed post on every different sight we visited. Ciaooo

Just Livin The Life

Hola, phew I have become the lazy blogger.  I am enjoying myself greatly and attending school everyday.  The other day I attended a Pina Colada fiesta which was extremely fun, although I have no photos of it myself there are many of them posted on my facebook.  I find myself not knowing what to write about, I have fallen into a routine while living here. I wake around 830 everyday, prepare for school and make my way to school, after I return home have lunch and then a lot of down time.  Most nights around 830 I go to my brothers School (French Alliance) and from there we grab a few beers or simply return home.  Unfortunately, I have come to despise my school, everything about it.  The people are extremely loud and immature, its long, and none of the teachers make an effort to include me in the work ( consequently I understand nothing).  Today I am going to speak with my AFS coordinator, Roger, and find out if I can work my program in a different way, and see if I can attend night University classes, community service, or other activities so that my presence isn't required in my school 6 and a half hours a day.  On the bright side, next week is the viaje de promoccion (graduation trip) for my grade.  On monday we will be driving Piura-Chiclayo-Chachapoyos, I am extremely excited for this trip as I am absolutely entranced by the Amazon jungle and have always wanted to travel there.  We will also be visiting a beautiful fort and an amazing lagoon for swimming.  Expect an influx of posts and pictures after the trip. Ciaoo todos ill keep you updated from now on.

School

Hola. Sorry Ive been absent, school has been keeping me extremely busy.  I have officially completed my first week of school, and my ability to speak Spanish has soared since then.  The first day was extremely embarrassing for me, I entered the school without any uniform and the entire school was assembled for La Formaccion.  Every person turned and stared at me, I felt holes burning through me.  After I was presented to my class and began making friends immediately, as the people are extremely nice.  Soon, I realized that when my AFS booklet told me school here is extremely strict, they were exaggerating.  The words I would employ to describe my school are small and noisy.  My entire grade is in one classroom, and there is shouting, bickering, and complaining.  I have found that no matter what comes out of the professor's mouth, everyone has to loudly contest it in their own way.  After my first day I watched X Men: First Class in Spanish with my brother, it was a great movie.  Tuesday was an extremely long day at school, a whole eight days of incomprehensible school.  That night my Mother, Brother, Robbert (AFS), and I went out to the Waka Waka hookha bar.  There we drank beer, chillaxed, danced salsa, and sang French songs in karaoke.  We had an absolutely beautiful waitress, so I bought her a beer, danced some salsa, and retrieved her number from her. :)  Dinner next Wednesday.  This Wednesday was horrible, after a long day of school I grabbed a bite to eat with Robbert at Atikos.  After, we returned to my house only to have me shuttled off to the AFS president in Piuras house and speak about troubles in school.  It ends up someone took it upon themselves to fabricate a story in which I a drug consumer and seller, and I carry a gun, and told it to the principle.  After, we spoke to the AFS president and everything was explained, she informed the principle that it was a fabrication and a misunderstanding and everything was fine.  The next night, I went with the professors from L'alliance Francaise to dinner for Jimmy's last night.  Despues de la cena, we returned to Rogers office and belted our hearts out to famous french songs...In particular Belle from Notre-Dame de Paris.  Continuing to have a wonderful time, although  its starting to add up money-wise. Main expense: taxis and food :((

Outtings - La fin De la Semana

Hello, Im back, I was out for a while as the internet is extremely temperamental.  On the 13th of September I was able to meet many new people, and started my transition towards being more independent in Piura.  My brother went off to his French class at 7, and I traveled alone in a taxi (now having my own set of keys to the house) and picked him up a 8:30.  We went and had a beer then I returned to the French school at 9:45 since I had been invited to a birthday dinner of one of the professors.  We walked to the Mega Ronda Cafe and had a bunch of classic Peruvian food based off of turkey.  We stayed very late, until we began receiving horrible looks from the proprietors, as we were the final customers left and were stopping them from going home.  After the dinner I proceeded to walk home with Roger, a French teacher and my AFS contact, it was a nice walk as I was able to speak to him about some of the problems I had been having with the family maid.....  The next day Gabo and I spent a few hours walking around Piura looking at the scenery and, most importantly, keeping our eyes out for the prices of houses, as the family plans to move in October.  When we arrived home a huge Peruvian meal was waiting for us, absolutely delicious!!  That night I was again going to go to the French class to pick Gabo up, instead I received another call at my house from the girls in the French class, saying they had ditched and wanted to hang out.  I agreed, and we all went to the mall, there we ate ice creams and played children's games. I had a wonderful time.  The next day Gabo didn't have school and we were supposed to play basketball with the girls from his school at the Universidad Nacional de Piura, unfortunately the gym was closed so we went back to the kids games.  It was so much fun I couldnt believe it, with the girls and Gabo we played games, took photos, and danced in public.   Still having        a great time. Starting school in two days :(...