just to make things clear . . .

two hands . . .

think I am crazy?

Ed Stafford walked for 2 1/2 years along the entire length of the Amazon accompanied most of the way by Peruvian guide and friend Gadiel Sanchez Rivera - www.walkingtheamazon.com

Cajamarca

Dylan and I rolled into Cajamarca to take a rest and wait fro Matt to catch up. Cajamarca was the first good sized city I had been in for over a month since Loja, Ecuador - quite novel to see streets lights. But Cajamarca is best known to Peruvians as the place where the Incan Empire came to an end through the treachery of Spanish Conquistador Francisco Pizarro.
In brief, Pizarro with a force of 168 soldiers was confronted with a battle hardened Inca army of 80,000 in the heart of the Inca Empire. Over the course of several months of talking, spying and conniving on both sides retreat was impossible for the Spaniards and support over 2000 miles away. Pizarro seized a moment by luring the Inca command structure into a confined square unarmed, while a demand for obedience to the Holy Roman Empire was delivered (refused), then mounted a surprise attack with four small cannon and armored soldiers massacring 1000's of unarmed Inca, decapitating their command structure, and seizing the King Atahualpa. Not pretty but talk about huevons - the conquistadors have always struck me as bad ass crazy. Atahualpa offered to ransom himself for a room filled with gold and two times filled with silver - that is the stone building pictured - the El Cuarto del Rescate, or Ransom Room. So Pizarro takes the gold and executes him anyhow thereby defeating the Inca Empire. Quite the story (being retold below), and typically in the telling Atahualpa is depicted as the noble ruler dealing in good faith betrayed, admired by all. However, good to remember he too was king of a militaristic, expansionist, colonial empire . . . not to defend the Spaniards.
Cajamarca was a nice city with an obvious middle class, universities, and tourist infrastructure that catered mostly to nationals. Great markets, great dairy, beautiful central plaza, and elaborate carved stone 16th century churches.





Matt showed up at our hotel for a happy reunion after we had been there for a few days and we stayed a couple more while he rested. The last time I saw Matt was a month earlier in the Ecuadorian Amazon when he headed to Cuenca to wait for a replacement stove pump and I continued onwards through the Amazon basin. The three of us, Matt, Dylan and I, headed out together for more dirt roads through the high sierra.

My Sister Loves Flipper

Does this look anywhere near the ocean?
Peruvians love their seafood and ceviche is ubiquitous. No matter where you are there is ceviche, which used to make me leery, after all how far from the ocean am I? But now I eat with abandon! "Flipper" is a family owned "chain" of three "Flippers." Enjoy Susan!

Aspiring Big Brother's Take Note: I used to be able to get my sister's dinner, at times, by telling her she was eating "Flipper" then making Flipper noises . . . sometimes all I had to do was make the noise for her to pass it over.

Coca Leaves In Context

"Coke adds Life," well, it certainly did but Coca Cola decocainized in 1903. However, they still import hundreds of tons of coca as a flavoring ingredient for their soda, as well as, a range of other products like Red Bull. Yet, the United Nations in the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs lists coca leaf as a "Schedule I" narcotic along with cocaine and heroin. Additionally,the convention calls for the uprooting of all wild coca bushes and the eradication of coca leaf chewing within 25 years . . . so much for that. I have a quid in now as I write. However, if you were not familiar with the politics of coca and the War on Drugs before coming to the Andes - be prepared for an earful. A common t-shirt slogan in Peru is "Coca no es una droga."


The coca plant was first domesticated in the Andes 2-3000 years ago. Coca is a bush that grows wild and cultivated up to ten feet high on the lower eastern slopes of the Andes. Coca plays a significant role in traditional and contemporary Andean culture medicinally, commercially, and religiously. Coca is a mild stimulant that suppresses hunger, pain, thirst and fatigue, plus quells upset stomach and headaches associated with altitude - making it great for all those 12000 - 16000 foot passes on a bike! Also, coca actually increases sexual stamina instead of just making you think you look sexy like cocaine. New leaves are harvested from the plants three times a year and sold legally in markets throughout the Andes. Traveling throughout the high sierra it is rare to not see someone chewing coca when they are working. The tell tale rim of green around the mouth, the bulging cheek, white teeth scoured from chewing the leaves, and the cal dipper moving from gourd to mouth as they stroll across a field. Often when I meet people in the high Andes one of the first social acts is to offer coca then conversation begins.
To chew coca leaves requires two things - coca leaves and an alkaline. The alkaline takes a variety of forms depending on the region of the Andes and serves to release the alkaloid cocaine that creates a numbness in your mouth. Above is pictured coca leaves and a cal gourd that holds quicklime to serve as the alkaline component.




First thing is to open up your coca bag and sort through your leaves to remove stems because nobody wants to chew on sticks. A pint size bag of dried coca leaves costs roughly one sole.













Then starting stuffing them in your mouth and chew a little to get them moist and compacted. You want about a ping pong ball sized wad, or quid, wedged in the side of your mouth. Whatever you are comfortable with. . . though I have been mortified to watch some campesino take advantage of my hospitality and stuff half my bag in his mouth until it looked like he was munchin' a freakin' softball! Most folks are a little more sparing because you can always add more later.



After, you have a nice mouthful of coca you pull the stick out the gourd, it should have a little cal stuck to it, then you swab the cal onto the coca in your mouth a few times. Be careful not to get any on your lips because it does burn. Chew a couple times and stick it off to the side. After 10 minute or so your mouth will get a little numb and you can just hold it and swallow the juices. Periodically, you can a few more leaves and a little more cal. The quid can last hours until it loses its taste depending on the quality of the coca leaves. OK. You are good to go and start climbing those passes.

However, most people in the United States associate coca only with it alkaloid derivative cocaine. But as one guide at Manchu Pichu said, "coca is to cocaine, as elephants are to ivory." The following video illustrates this point - it is a little grainy and in Spanish but with relevant subtitles. I chose it in part because it shows the social condition people who make the cocaine paste.

The ratio is 1000:1 - 1000 kilos of leaves to make a single kilo of cocaine paste - that would be a lot of chewing. After seeing this video and you hear about the destruction of cocaine labs deep in the jungle you have to wonder who is actually getting bombed? When herbicides are sprayed aerially who is getting sprayed? What/who else is being killed? And these people do not look wealthy to me. These issues resonate throughout the Andean chain.

President of Bolivia Evo Morales, a former coca farmer, addressed this topic at the 61st Session of the United Nations General Assembly in August of 2006:
"I would like to take advantage of this opportunity, Ms president, to say that there are also other historical injustices, such as the criminalization of the coca leaf. I want to say, this is a green coca leaf, it is not the white of cocaine, this coca leaf represents Andean culture, it is a coca leaf that represents the environment and the hope of our peoples. It is not possible that the coca leaf is legal for Coca Cola and that the coca leaf is illegal for other medicinal purposes in our country, and in the whole world."

Incidentally, about the only conspicuous drug use I have noticed in Peru over the years has been homeless kids sniffing bags of glue.

More High Sierra More Passes More Fun

I woke early, 5:30am, in Balsas after a hot stuffy night and read Anna Karenina for an hour drinking cold instant coffee while the town awoke. Roosters crowed, wood smoke of cooking fires wafted in, dogs gave lazy barks, engines started and donkeys brayed marshaled for a days work. We wasted little time getting ready and started climbing from the Rio Maranon at 800 meters. Thankfully the morning was overcast though still warm. Each rise we crested opened up into a higher valley with another set of switch backs for the 45 kilometer ascent of over 2000 meters. Traffic was light but dusty as the road continually climbed. The afternoon was clear enough to give a view across the high sierra to the Rio Maranon 1000's of meters below.When we topped out you may notice I have no bags on my bike! For past two days were leapfrogging birders on a bus and on the second day we stopped to chat . . . actually Dylan did, I was head down plowing forward, and what a fortunate stop. I learned that I saw a Vermilion Flycatcher, yes, that was a giant Grosbeak, and tiny Andean Woodpecker. Some of the birders were Cornell grads that were familiar with Binghamton, and the Chilean guide offered to take our bags to Celedin for us . . . It felt great to ride the final 15km with out bags, all of a sudden the climb was really enjoyable! After a short 10km descent we landed in Celedin for a couple days to rest, eat lots, give Matt a chance to catch up, and repair bikes/gear. The top rail on my rear rack, that the bags hook onto, snapped on one side directly in front of the weld. I had some stiff blue plastic tubing that I wrapped triple and secured with hose clamps purchased from the funeral supplies/hardware store down the block . . . should be good for a few more thousand miles - I hope.
We headed out of Celedin late morning towards Cajamarca where we would hit pavement after 250+ km of dirt roads. The climb was a gentle 50km through high sierra diary country at over 3000 meters in elevation. After a rolling top out we had a blazing 20+km descent to the small town of Encanada (slightly dust obscured) and achieved a kind of instant celebrity status. We were directed to the town's single hospedeja with rooms for 15 soles ($5) for the two of us . . . I am pretty sure we could have gotten the room for 10 soles but Dylan asked, "is that each?" . . . oops. I saw her gears spin. She said, "yes, but I'll give it to you for 15." Woman was quick - so we got ripped $1.50 . . . I get used to thinking in local currency. We could not find a restaurant so we bought some chicken and fries on the street for 2 soles (3soles = $1) and cooked in our room later. But we did find a bar. The road workers we passed in the day sat with their helmets still on in a small adobe room with dirt floors drinking Cusquenas for 4 soles (Peru's best). At our feet was a truck tire inner tube with a spout of sorts. The woman running the bar kept filling a 5 gallon bucket from the inner tube then filling various sized plastic bottles that people brought - I asked - it was cana, cane liquor, 1 sole for one liter. Wow! At that price you can't go wrong unless you go blind of course . . . out came the handy platypus bottle.

We rolled out past our hospedeja in the late morning for a short ride into the regional capitol, Cajamarca, site of Inca Royal bathes, ransoming of the Incan King Atahualpa, and his garroting by Pizarro.

Peru Stencils

Yanacocha, near Cajamarca is the 2nd largest gold mine in the world and largest in Latin America. The mine in owned by Denver based Newmont Mining Corporation. The rest is news and pretty self explanatory.