Wasn’t a postcard enough?

The ultimate that can happen going out with a FACTORTIERRA crew on a field assignment is getting bore.

 

By Juan Félix Céspedes Cortés

 

    PIURA CITY, Peru – It was 6:00 in the afternoon, October 23^rd, 2008, I was jumping happy, the emotion got me full. I already wanted to know Huancabamba City… although I feared that happened what I fear so much – barfing during the trip. For that, I seemed an astronaut because the many things I carried in my baggage, although Liliana overcame me because she carried three times more the baggage of the whole crew including a cube for the cheese to bring on. Even sometimes I doubted if she carried clothes or she simply carried as baggage her whole house including the pet.

 

Anyway, with Liliana, Candy, Alex, Nelson, Alan, and this humble me, we got oaboard the bus that would get us to the sky. While we waited for the rest of persons to come in up and started, we occupied the comfortable seats. Me, of course, feeling little tickles in my stomach by the emotion, although I truly didn’t know if it was emotion or preoccupation after learning in that instant, the damn bus had no bathroom. And the trail to Huancabamba began. We left the bus station and they turne don the TV to watch the typical movie that, just in case, was in English with small subtitles. The only one I understood was “OK”.

 

Everything was quiet, not rushing, calm, when the bus suddenly disaccelerated. What Happened?, I asked. I looked at the window and I saw the highway finished and and a road without asphalt began. It was an indication that we were near to start the climb up. We had entered a kind of forest. I charmed about the beauty of the few I could see of the landscape because it was eight and something else at night.

 

Like doing my homework, I asked Nelson and Liliana about the landscape I watched. He and she, very kind, answered me. The bad is from all the names they said me and the too scientific explanation they brought me, I only understood it was a kind of forest, although my face expressed wisdom and serenity, I replied an “oh, what interesting” to all their comments.

 

    We had a quick first stop. The truth I don’t remember what the place’s name was. The first I did was coming out down the bus faster than a road-runnerlooking for a bathroom. On our way again, I began to see how we started the climb up. Little by Little, the mighty abyss appeared. Obviously, I felt fear and I also felt that emotion, that adrenaline of watching it.

 

After that wonderful preliminary show, we arrived to Canchaque City. The bus stops here for the passengers to eat something or go to the restroom. It was supposed I needed the second choice. The whole crew went to Canchaque’s Square to take some airand obviously to know something that was new for almost all but for Alan and Nelson who already knew it.

 

Nelson surprised us again with his large knowledge on the history of that square, what looked us like interesting and I did understand this time – there was a little angel in the middle of a colum, and this one inside a water font.

 

The air to breathe was quiet, a calm place where nothing could disturb you. An intense peace was perceived. Surely, I enjoyed it with some sweet passion fruits I bought and shared to the crew, that was the only one I was eaten despite everybody pushed me to eat something else.

 

    On our way again. It was around 11:00 at night and we started our final section to Huancabamba. Time after time, I looked at the window and I only saw a big dark abyss and I felt how my ears capped by the atmospheric pressure, not for the few habit to take a bath.

 

Amid that game of seeing through the window and close it, I got deeply asleep until we already had come into Huancabamba City. At least, with much emotion, but more fatigue and cold than emotion because it was 3:00 in the morning. With the whole crew and baggage, we walked on to the hotel, that was less than a block away the bus station.

 

The girls were to a room in the second floor and the rrest of the boys in a room below. Two problems broke out here – first, there were just three beds in that room, what was solved putting Alex and Nelson in one, Alan in the another, and me in the another else… second, after turning off the lights, something pulled the sheets. I hope it was some ghost.

 

6:30 in the morning. I felt someone woke up his bed. For God’s sake, they just had three hours sleeping!I opened up my eyes and I realized it was Alan. I admire that power of good-will and formation that, despite the effort, he was awoke at 6:30 like a soldier ready for the action. Mentally I clapped that attitude and I rolled around. I got to sleep for 15 minutes more. Then, I also woke up and the rest of the boys did the same.

 

7:30. Alan, Alex, Nelson and I were ready, but we were still waiting for the girls to come in down, what happened one hour later. We went to have breakfast. For the record, I was hungry. We just went to the bus station for drinking a juice and eating something fast.

 

    After keeping our baggage, wewent to the city’s main square for buying some stuff before going to the hostel where we would lead a workshop. On my way, I started to feel impressingly decompensated. Here in Sullana [198 feet altitude], I did sports and I often wwent out to jog before awakening. Surely, that didn’t work at all – I was high [6511 feet altitude] and my body was not adapted, so I just stepped ahead a little and I tired.

 

I recuperated after some minutes and a bubble-gum, but we already got to the Main Square at the same time. The beautiful place combined to the Cathedral was something spectacular, appropriate for some pictures. Finished what we had to do, we started the trek to get back the hotel for picking up our baggage to go up the hostel. I mean the trek because my body did not ended to adapt to the height yet.

 

We had mototaxi for getting to. Candy, Liliana, and Alex in one, Alan, Nelson, and I in another. The first moto to go out was Liliana’s. The ours went out three minutes later. While it carried us up, I watched the wonderful Huancabamba City.

 

The moto stopped in a place soon and I watch well. Liliana’s moto was ahead us and beside it, a very steeped big slope. I also watch Alex was going down Liliana’s moto. Then, the driver said he needed someone go down too for the moto can go up a hard section to wait for us above. While who wwent down had to go up by walking, it was about 17 feet. The section was not very long neither.

 

    I went down and, with Alex, I decided to throw the scrubs away, so going up through two marked shortcuts, that only could be advance on them by foot. Good idea, bad result. Less than 10 feet of the first shortcut and I couldn’t go on, my soul neither. I looked like a boxer dog, the tongue hanging. The breath lacked me much that I couldn’t say any word, even my mental throat had dried.

 

I was not to give up, I had to go on up. It was the decision I had taken so just go above. We started the second shortcut soon. For God’s sake! My body was heavy and I was doing an superhuman effort. I felt how my heart beated like a big drum in a carnival group, but I had two mixed-up feelings here – the adrenaline to go up and know something the rest wouldn’t do by lazy, and my phobia to snakes. I think I didn’t give up because of that.

 

We got to the hostel at least. At the first look, it was nice although it didn’t looked like what it was because it looked like small outside but it wasn’t so. I figured out the hostel was a place like a hotel, that was located in downtown and into a very accessible zone for the city. I won’t figure out anything on those trips, never again. If the hostel was pretty and warm, the bad was it located on the top of a hill which road was very steeped, and the worst of all was it located next to a cemetery. Nice place to have an eternal nap.

 

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