The plan was simple, really. 17 volunteers were to meet at my host family's house at 8am, pile into a combi+taxi and be driven about an hour, to the point where the gravel road ends. From there, we were to hike between 1-2 hours more (depending on who you ask) to a nice, refreshing waterfall.
We got a bit of a late start--the drivers showed up a little early, so I gave them a deposit to go buy gas, which for whatever reason took an hour... but hey, it was a beautiful day, we were off on a grand adventure. When the combi driver had to stop in El Nino to dump water in the engine, I didn't think much of it.
Until he asked us all to get out so he could attempt to make a running start up the next hill. Surrounded by nothing but reddish rocks and sand and a burning sun, we watched as the combi broke down well before the road ended. But being the resilient, adventure-seeking PCVs that we are, we kept walking while the taxi driver went back to Viru to get some tube necessary for fixing our transportation. Little did we know, this was adding almost 2 hours to our intended hike.
We finally got to a small tienda near the end of the road, already tired and running out of water--except the only water she had was con gas (gross). I mentally thanked myself for remembering to bring a small first-aid kit with iodine tablets, so that we could purify waterfall water in case we would run out on the way there. Because of course at this point I was still assuming that, after finally getting this trip together, I wasn't just going to see a waterfall--I was going to swim in it!
Onward! I had brought plenty of bugspray and sunscreen, although when a quick look at my legs proved that the bugspray was absolutely useless, you'd think I would have questioned the sunscreen, too--instead I passed off my long sleeve shirt to Christina, who was already turning a rather alarming shade of pink. Then Greg and I slowed down a bit, our guide (the 2-handed combi driver who didn't seem to want to be there) never looked back to see who followed, and we fell behind...
Our first wrong turn wasn't so bad--we quickly came across a house and the family sent us back the other way. There were footprints to follow in the sand. The second came as we were hiking uphill, already tiring. I slipped a little near the edge, and while I was in reality in no very real danger, my newly-discovered fear of heights (and/or falling off of things) meant that I saw my life flash before my eyes in a terrifying shower of gravel and sand. But hey, no adventure is complete without a little breakdown, right?
Later on, Greg was tiring and probably (OK definitely) dehydrated and I was... well... in my determination to reach the waterfall and dehydration-induced crankiness, I was a bitch. Although I swear at the time I was just trying to be encouraging? No, let's just skip ahead to the part where, sprawled on some rocks in relative shade, I realized that there was no way we were going to make it all the way to the waterfall.
A man walking down the mountain the other way estimated that we still had a hour more to go, but at this point I was ready to never ever again believe anything a Peruvian says about distance or time. At first I wanted to ignore him and press on (the whole hike was supposed to be 1-2 hours, how could there be another full hour to go?!) but Greg was actually feeling ill (turns out yelling at him is a poor cure) and I resigned myself to the fact that I, too, was much too tired and cranky to take another step.
The visions of our fellow volunteers swimming and jumping and laughing in the pool surrounding the waterfall quickly disappeared when the group showed up at our shady spot completely dry and looking just as tired as we were--turns out Greg and I were 2 of 6 who didn't actually reach our destination, and those who did said that it was unimpressive, with much too strong of a current to actually allow for swimming. Apparently Youtube videos lie.
The hike back was much faster (and significantly shorter, since both taxi and combi were waiting for us at the edge of the road--finally something went right!). We started back, but after a few minutes realized we were short one volunteer!
The good part about heading back was that we found another store, hidden near the first wrong turn Greg and I had taken, that sold REAL water--it was even a little bit cold! And the best part was that Sue was not at all injured or even very far from the path. We never did figure out how this happened, since she was walking in the middle of the group, but somehow she got separated from us on rocky terrain and, rather than wander in circles through the desert, stayed put until we came back for her.
Together at last, we headed back, stopping only once to change a flat tire and rolling into Viru just before the hub cap fell off and the combi may have shuddered through it's last very turn (although I doubt it, since Peruvian vehicles seem to run more or less forever).
I took stock of myself and the group and the most bug bites I have ever had in my life, and here are a few things that I learned from this adventure:
1) Bug spray is useless. Wear shoes and pants.
2) SPF 30 is also useless. Wear sleeves or a higher SPF.
3) Never listen to a Peruvian when they tell you how long it will take to walk somewhere.
4) Combis always break down at the most inconvenient time.
and finally,
5) Two stumps are more than enough to drive a vehicle with manual transmission. His lack of hands did not prevent him from coming back for us. That is, after all, the only thing that went right the entire trip!
