Casa Chapi is situated in a remarkably beautiful area. In each direction from the campus are green and brown rugged hills populated by corn fields, a few cows and people working. One of these hills obstructs the view of Chivay, the nearest town, so that we are some of the only buildings within eyesight. During the day this is all set against a clear blue sky which is rarely sullied by the appearance of clouds, while at night a dense population of bright and vivid stars emerge to create a magical scene. There are nights when the light from the moon is so bright there is no need to use a torch to help guide your way around the unlit campus. This natural beauty is matched by the warmth of the people who live here. The countryside surrounding Chivay is the kind of place where everyone who passes you greets you with a “Buenos Dias” or “Buenos Tardes”. Being from a capital city it has taken me a little while to get used to this but now I appreciate strangers who make the effort to say hello, it makes a nice change from actively ignoring all those around you. Within Chivay town itself the people usually display a similar kind of friendliness. My favorite place to go in town is around the market, a set of stalls and little outlets selling all manner of home goods, clothing, meat, fruit and vegetables. There are also a number of stalls selling ready made dishes like fried chicken and noodles, fried rice and some other, more traditional cuisine. A favorite of myself and Diane’s while she was her were “anticuchos”, basically a stick of lean, succulent alpaca smothered in a green chilli sauce with a salted potato thrown in for good measure. I have been told that due to the recent tourist boom in the Colca Canyon that Chivay has grown hugely in the past few years. The impressive town square and a long street just off it lined with elaborately decorated statues displaying traditional dances of Peru are both additions that have been completed recently. The town itself has grown too, as Peruvians move here to set up businesses and take advantage of the money and opportunities that tourists bring. Even in my short time here I have noticed the influx of gringos armed with their fanny packs and cameras at the ready. Around the middle of the day when most of the buses come it is not unusual to see tourists of all ages, the majority of whom are from Europe and North America, flocking around the central plaza and market areas. Most of these dwarf the local Peruvians as they examine the various souvenirs and trinkets on offer. Despite these outside influences the people of Chivay seem to be doing an impressive job of retaining their own culture. It is a local custom for the women of the Canyon to wear intricately designed hats to designate which area of the Canyon they are from. These are coupled with similarly weaved dresses of white, blue, red, green and other colors which never fail to impress me with the detail of their craft. Quechua is the original language of this region and sometimes you can overhear people conversing amongst themselves in this tongue rather than in the more commonly heard Spanish, though it is worth mentioning that these people are usually quite advanced in age. There are also a number of ruins and archaeological sites around. Some weeks ago I headed out to one such site, the remains of a pre-Incan community about an hour’s walk in the hills above Casa Chapi. Not realizing there was quite a simple path already cut out for hikers I took the difficult route through thorny bushes and dried up plants. The cuts and scrapes I incurred as a result were quickly forgotten once I reached the site itself. After poking around the old stone houses whose roofs had collapsed long ago I sat in the shade of a tall tree, the only one around. A breath-taking view of the countryside and a few towns and villages stretched out below. The tranquility of the site was aided to by the fact that the only person I could clearly make out was a single man working with his tractor in a field far in the distance. Last Sunday I walked to the far end of Chivay with two friends to a collection of Pre-Incan stone huts which sit upon a hilltop overlooking the town. We continued walking and came across something even more impressive. Built into the stony hillside is a large bull ring with tiered levels cut into the ground rising all around to provide a place for spectators to sit and watch. We could simply walk in the ring itself and around the areas for the bulls, there is no wall or division to keep people out, there is not even a sign to say that it’s there. I have never lived in the countryside before, these seven weeks spent at Casa Chapi have been the longest time I have spent living outside of a city in my entire life. While I will admit there are times I miss the noise and rush of city streets the peace of this area is something to enjoy. I feel lucky that I am here in the Colca Canyon, the beauty of its nature makes it a truly lovely part of the world. Aside from this there is a simultaneous sense of history and progress in the landscape and amongst the people which makes it an interesting place to be now and a fascinating place to imagine in the future. If the tourist trade continues to grow and bring opportunities to the area without ruining its landscape or tarnishing the native culture then the coming years for this area of Peru hold great promise.
Posted on: Mon, 28 Jul 2014 18:23:45 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015