Dan Will Travel
I'm Dan and I WILL Travel
Ok, time for some quizzes. Here is a chance to be the life of the cocktail party. (LOL) And a chance to win totally not-valuable prizes. Like Peruvian coins if I end up with any, or something else essentially worthless.
Quiz 1: Lima is the second driest capital in the world. What is number one? Believe me, if I gave you number one, I doubt that many of you would get Lima for number two, but it gets 1.2” of rain per YEAR. A typical November day in Seattle.
Quiz #2: Lima is the third largest city in Latin America. What are number one and two? Since I already forgot the correct order, you do not need it either. Just the two cities.
Lastly, Quiz #3: What is the largest city in the world with NO road access at all. The only access is via plane or boat. I was there today. Rather forgettable place, but great trivia.
OK, all correct answers will get something of my choice, and it will be essentially worthless, but go for it!
Chachapoyas is truly remote. It has one paved road into it, and all others are gravel or worse. The choice of airports is Terapoto, 7 hours away, or Chiclayo, about 9 hours not counting road slide delays. It seems they built an airport in Chachapoyas for the tourists, but the runway is 70’ too short, and is on top of some mountain, so I guess they cannot fix it? I looked it up in advance of the trip and saw pictures of the terminal and everything, but no flights. Of course, you can take the bus, which is only 23 hours to Lima. (Flights, if they existed would be less than 1 hour.)
To further grasp the remoteness, my hotel, Gocta Lodge, which was very nice, sits with a great view of Gocta falls, one of the 10 highest waterfalls in the world, and only documented in 2002! Prior to that it was totally unknown, except to the locals of course.
 |
| Gocta falls, 2,505′ high, officially discovered 12 years ago. |
 |
| Gocta Lodge. I was in the upper far right. |
 |
| Morning clouds over the valley |
 |
| Of course, llamas on the grounds. |
 |
| Nice sunset from my deck. |
Karajia is one of the other top sites in the Chachapoyas area. It is an astounding collection of six sarcophagi that are 1000-1300 years old and perched high up a cliff eerily staring at the valley and river below. They include clearly visible skulls above two of them, thought to be warriors with their “prize” staying with them. They are about 8’ tall, and in pristine condition with the painted faces and garments still intact. Now, this is an area of constant landslides due to unstable rock and torrential rains, yet, that long ago the Chachapoyas’ figured out that placing them in a recession in the cliff face would protect them and it has done that for all of this time. And, their total inaccessibility has also protected them from vandals and or grave robbers. Outstanding site, and only a 35 minute walk through picturesque fields to reach the viewing area.
 |
| On the way up to Karajia |
 |
| Villagers spinning the wool before weaving. |
 |
| Well, there they are, after 35 minutes walk. Totally inaccessible which surely saved them from damage. |
 |
| A close up. Note the skulls above two of them. |
 |
| Yes, that is a skull and an arm or leg bone to the right. |
 |
| Thanks to having a guide, we walked further and turned around and here are more sarcophagi. 50” right above the main viewing area, but hidden unless you go further. |
 |
| A close up from directly below. |
 |
| OK, proof that I was there. This one was easy. 7,500′ elevation, but only about 350′ elevation change to get here. |
 |
| Maybe why the entrance fee was only about $1.25 as we shared the trail with the cows and such. My previous Indian experience taught me to not stand directly behind them in case they decide to relieve themselves. My German translator was not aware of this fact, so I was able to provide good education here. |