From The Coast To The Jungle Of Chanchamayo

Pulling up roots 2 months deep in the sands of Cerro Azul and Cañete I have finally embarked into the lush twines of the amazonian jungle. Taking a heavy right from the coast of Lima I began entering bare hills which turned into naked mountains. As the bus continued to climb miles up the steep twisting highway the hot, sticky air slowly began to turn cold fogging up the bus windows. Leading into the Chanchamayan region I was able to see quite a diverse array of land ranging from valleys with thick rivers, sierra then straight into what seems to be the almost impenetrable amazonian jungle. Its a hearty clash from the coast. The beach has its own culture and Cerro Azul even more so. Its heavy tourist push, which begins in the summer months (Jaunary- March), seems to inflate all their prices as the locals take adavantage of the supposedly thick-pocketed-Limeños and foreignors. The common crowd in which I passed most days was that of the more laid back surfer though not all were technically surfers. It was not uncommon to hear dirty jokes, pulled pranks or a bit of locura that comes with this residential crew. The ocean was a heavy part of their day. If the waves were not prime it never seemed to detour much from the daily paseo to ¨the point¨ where they stood around hoping a nice pacific push would change the day. As for a general perspective of peruvian costal people it seemed that though soft in the center their hard coating left me occasionally more frusterated than ever. It wasn´t unusual for people to shout out commands instead of asking politely. Overall it seems that in Peru el chisme or gossip is unbelievably rampant and a nightly stroll could end up being quite a saucy town fabrication. The townsmen are a bit resistant to any unfamiliar or outside interactions. Of course this does not include everyone and even the worst of them participated in the town´s persona giving it a sort of strange charisma. As for what I have seen here in Chanchamayo the common person seems to be more open and sincere then those of Cerro Azul though have less respect for personal space. I suppose I may draw a bit of attention seeing as Im a foot taller than the grand portion of the population and several shades whiter. Currently I am in San Ramón whose erect mountains are completely overgrown with vegetation of every sort. I climbed up to one of the cataratas near San Ramon with a few of the locals and it seemed like the weight if the water pounding down had created various pools where locals and tourists alike could take their pick from the lot. The sporatic rains leave trails of life in every inch of the land. I will admit that it is hard to sell jewlery when the ground is always wet but where there´s will there´s a way. I am planning to stay in San Ramón until Friday for their artisanal fair then to Merced with the same intent. I have been taking photos but have not been able to sync then to any computer. I am trying to work out the quirks.