Tales from Peru

Arrerios, Street Vendors and other tales from Peru:

At nearly 16,000 feet in the Andes the sun is relentless. Moments after it sets the temperature plunges, the stars come out and the cold Andean night begins. Five Mountain Fund supporters have just returned from this land of contrast and a successful circumnavigation of the beautiful Nevado Ausangate massif.

Southeast of Cuzco, the awesome Cordillera Vilcanota includes a number of peaks of which Ausangate is the highest at 20,945 feet (6,384 meters). On a clear day, the peak is visible from Cuzco. The snow-capped peaks of this area offer spectacular mountain scenery, hot springs, turquoise lakes, glaciers, herds of llamas and alpacas, picturesque villages and traditionally dressed Indians. The seven day circular trek starts and finishes at the small Andean village of Tinqui and takes you around the massif of Ausangate and over three high passes (two of them over 5000m).

Prior to undertaking the trek of Ausangate, we spent one week touring the major Inca sites that populate the Sacred Valley and the city of Cuzsco. All of us marveled at the craftsmanship of the Inca builders in Pisac, Ollantaytambo and Machu Picchu. In the week preceding the trek we also got to know our guide, Freddie. We came to appreciate his knowledge of the culture from which he has descended as well as his pride in the history of his country.

The people that live in the high Andean landscape are tough; there is just no other way to put it. The extremes of landscape and temperatures demand it of them. Our ‘arrerios’, for example, are some of the hardest working and most rugged people I have ever had the pleasure to know. ‘Arrerios’ are the horsemen who rise every morning, long before us we trekkers , and greet us with hot drinks and hot water for washing. They leave camp after we do and in spite of the fact they have to take down the tents and pack everything on the horses and prepare a lunch for us to take with us, they appear, as if by magic, at the next night’s camp ahead of us. We see them setting up the tents in the distance and by the time we arrive our dining tent is up and hot drinks and a snack are waiting. I really have yet to figure out how they do it.

The arrerios aren’t just tough, they are also very caring and compassionate - rugged and gentle at the same time. About the third or perhaps it was the fourth day on the trek I came down with an illness that I’ll delicately refer to as Inca revenge. By the third day without food I was becoming very cold as we approached our final pass over the 15,000 feet mark. Even though I was wearing a down jacket and my insulated belay pants, my body had nothing to create heat with. I staggered behind Jose, old Jose that is, (his son, young Jose was with us as well) rumored to be anywhere from 60-70 depending on who you asked. I was just about to complain of the cold when I noticed that Jose was wearing the classic rubber sandals of this regions, with no socks, had no gloves on and was wearing only the light rain jacket I had given him at the start of the trip. Even in my diminished state it was clear that to complain of cold to a man with bare feet and a windbreaker would have been a cowardly act on my part. Jose speaks Quechua, and I don’t, so the language barrier may have saved me from making any remarks as well. Jose had been walking with me for three days now to make certain that if I became too sick to walk, I could ride the horse he was leading. Every half an hour or so he’d stop and point at the horse, a gesture that clearly meant that as far as he was concerned I ought to be riding it and not trying be macho about things.

Less than twelve hours later I had recovered enough to share a few beers with these guys while soaking in some hot springs. That evening we dined together on a feast they had prepared in the tradition of the high Andes, Pachamanca. This important part of Peruvian cuisine , has existed since the time of the Incan Empire. Preparation begins with the heating of stones over a fire, and the meat (typically lamb) is then placed on top. The fire is covered with grass and earth, and the resulting oven is opened up after a couple of hours and the feast is served!

We had a great trip, even with the illness I loved it. As one participant noted, after every pass the scenery would open into another valley that was always, if such is possible, even more beautiful than the one before. Several members of our group tried out inflatable kayaks in a glacial lake at 15,000 feet. The arrerios were enthralled with the whole kayak business and each took a turn paddling the lake with huge smiles on their faces. I think for me personally, the moments of care and compassion shown by our arrerios will always stay with me as the true high point of this trip. Mountains are indeed beautiful places, magical places too. I don’t think anything is more magical and beautiful, though, than the friendships I have with these arrerios -, my proud, tough and kind kings of these mountains.

I think all of us felt good knowing that our trip had raised much needed money that will be used as micro- loans to help people in Peru start small business, purchase a street-vending cart and inventory. These are fine, hardworking people. Access to capital is very difficult and yet even a modest amount can make all the difference in the world for them. Our program, called Aynikuy, is making small loans available at terms that are within the reach of the people needing them. Peru gave all of us on this trip wonderful times, hospitality and friendship. It’s great to be giving something back to Peru.