Idiota!

NOTE  I wrote this on the 4th but could not post it....

In the heart of the "Zona Rojo" our boat was stopped by the military.  The three military persons had machine guns. They had us lined up on the shore while they questioned each of us as they look at our identification.  Being the only foreigner created quite a stir.  It was not long before two superiors showed up to question me.  As Cho explained that I was simply a "tourista" they really did not know what to think.  One said I was a pilot and we had to convince him I was not.  I guess drug runners land float planes on the water for cocain pick-ups.  Anyways, they finally let us go, but only after being lectured in Spanish about how dangerous it was to be in the area with drugs and "comunistas."   As we were leaving one of the superiors called me an idiota!  I wanted to laugh and I wanted a picture, but I was too scared to laugh or ask them for a picture.  Cho said it was a good thing I did not.  I must have apologized to the others in the boat at least 3 times.

So we drove down death road from Ayacucho to San Francisco and this time it was not as scary.  I did video parts of the ride.  Saw another live rock slide, but it was small. 

At San Francisco we could not find a place we wanted to stay at. Cho kept checking hostal rooms to see if they would meet what he thought was my standards.  We finally crossed the river and stayed in a hostel in Kimbiri.  It was not too bad but way below almost anything you would find in the states.  No one has hot water and no one has toilet seats.  This room did have a toilet seat, but it seats are very rare.  They also supplied toilet paper - another rarety - everyone keeps tissue with them.  We left at 5 AM for the boat and when the boat owner saw "gringo" he doubled the price. It made Cho mad, so we left the boat guy sitting there and took a taxi to a samll port about a mile away, Port Ene.

Port Ene is a dump.  I hate to say it, but Peru has no trash laws.  Everyone litters without thought.  Kimbiri was fairly clean.  San Fran very trashy.  Satipo so far has been the cleanest jungle location.  At Port Ene there was not one square foot without some type of trash.  Also as you go along the river, you will see the village trash dumps on the banks.  When I gave some village kids candy, they just toss the wrapper right on the ground.  I do not even think trash is a concept in the villages.  A shame really and there does not seem to be any type of trash collection system.  Anyways, out of Port Ene we could not catch a commercial boat so we had to hire a private boat.  The cost was high because of gringo.  My choice was stay the night - yikes! or pay the price.  Eventually Cho worked out a price that saved us a little, but still too much, but this was way too small of a dump for me to spend another night in the red zone, so I paid.  The good thing was that being a private boat we could make good time and get to the north side of the red zone in one day.  Which we did.  A few hours north of Port Ene I did not see any more coca fields or bags of coca, but there were more check points and military presence as we worked our way north.  It was so obvious along the Apurimac and now nothing - the contrast just seems so arbitrary????

The Rio Ene was nice.  Not very populated and scattered grass huts. We saw a fair amount of Ashaninca Indians.  Even in the public places, the Ashaninca seemed to want to keep to themselves.   I meet a few other people of different tribes on the differnet boats as the boats act as water taxis and the only way for people to move around or get supplies.  Of course gingo is the spectical.  Many of the local people were just as curious about me.  Some just stare and some want to talk, each person a different word for something and they all want me to know their own words for thier dialect, either way, it is a fun

 experience trying to interact with them. 

From the Rio Ene, we made it to Puerto Ocopa at dusk and took a cab to Satipo, more than an hour
away.  Satipo is Cho´s childhood home.  The next day we went to his uncles home and then drove up into the mountains to his uncle´s farm.  What an experience and an honor to be their guest.  They killed a turkey and two chicken to celebrate me being there, cooked them in the ground (traditional method) with yucca, sweet potatoes, and potatoes.  We had chicken soup as a starter - and it was all of the chicken -  head, feet, etc.  I really felt bad because the Peruvians just do not let anything go to waste and I just
could not eat the meat off the chicken neck in my soup - but for the main meal I did clean the turkey leg bone cleaner than any bone I have had before and ate the heart and liver which I normally would not do.  They still cleaned the bones way more then I did, including the checken feet.   Anyways it was quite the feast and they were very generous with very very little.  The farm had all sorts of fruit trees and the setting was just beautiful.  Fresh oranges, bananas, etc., almost everything you wanted right there.  His uncle was helping out a few Ashaninca kids (I think early teens) who he let live at the farm and they helped with the farm.  Santipo is known for their coffee and a big part of the farm was all about coffee.  I think it was in the 80´s but Cho said they lost everything to the comunistas when the fighting was going on as the comunistas took over that area and liked the remote location of their farm.

Cho really knows the Ene - Tambo area well.  Excellent guide.  As we go along he tells me stories about what he did in this area and that area, etc.  We still have a hard time communicating, but we each fumble through it till we get the jest of what the other is saying.  He gets along with everyone and before long he has everyone laughing.  It is a shame I do not understand Spanish better as I am sure I am missing out on great parts of his personality.

The next morning we got up at 5 for the long drive back to Pueto Ocopa and boarded a
commercial boat for Atalaya.  This section, the Rio Tambo is really quite populated.  Still very remote, but populated by indian tribes.  I would say about every half mile or so you would see a hut, a dug-out canoe, raft, or person on the bank.  There are long stretches without any sign of life, but the closer we ot to Atalaya, the more populated it seem to get.  The boat we were on was like the private boats I posted in an earlier post, just much longer and wider. We would stop along the way and people would get on or off with their supplies.  At most of the stops the children would come running out of the bush to meet who was returning.  Some stops people came down to the boat to sell fish,

popcorn, drinks, etc., really quite fun. One indian couple who sat behind me had the cutest little girl and they were trying to get me to adopt her - presumable for a better life.  Most people here think an American who can travel is wealthy.  Very sweet family.  He told me he lived deep in the jungle, but if you saw them on a village street you would never know.  Maybe later I can add photo´s to this blog - the pictures really tell the story.  We also passed thorugh a part of the river called devil´s canyon where they plan on building a dam on the Tambo.  I just cannot see this happening, so may villages would be wiped out!

We got into Atalaya after dark and Cho took us right to the hostel.  I paid about $10 for this room with no toilet seat and a wall you could look over into the other room´s bathroom if you wanted (she did not mind - lol - just joking).  Prior to Atalaya we have been in mountain jungle areas. Atalaya is where the Ucayali and Tambo rivers join.  The river is much wider and the land is flatter - this feels and looks like the jungle - not that the mountains were not jungle, they very much are jungle, this just has a different feel. We plan on leaving in the morning for Pozo.  At 4 PM today, he still did not know how to get from Pozo to Pucallpa so I think we are just winging it.  It should take us two or three days to get to Pucallpa.  Hopefully I will have better internet and can post there. 

Happy 4th of July all!