The Changes Keep Coming

In the movie - The Naked Gun: From the Files of the Police Squad!, Lt Frank Drebin says,

“Jane, since I've met you, I've noticed things that I never knew were there before... birds singing, dew glistening on a newly formed leaf, stoplights.”

If Lt. Drebin (I miss the deadpan humor of Leslie Nielsen) were in Chiclayo these past few months, and especially at the intersection of the Pan American Highway and Chinchaysuyo Avenue he would definitely notice stoplights. This intersection (and many more like it) is the reason I swore I would never drive in Chiclayo. Traffic from seven different directions (five lawful and two otherwise) converge on this uncontrolled intersection. I have often sat in a small corner park watching as moto taxis, taxies, combis, busses of all sizes, private cars, sugar cane trucks and other vehicles all somehow managed to avoid each other amidst the sounds of honking horns and screeching brakes. Though I never saw a major collision, there were occasional fender-benders followed by an entertaining exchange of insults. All of that has changed now.

Lt. Drebin…behold the stoplights!  Readers may be wondering why I’m making a big deal about stoplights. The reason is that stoplights are (were?) not the rule in Chiclayo. Most intersections are uncontrolled. There are stop signs in some places but these are universally ignored – that, or they are stolen for the metal. Add to that the fact that motor vehicles have the right-of-way and you can begin to see why pedestrians feel a great sense of accomplishment in having successfully crossed a street. But as I said, that is changing. Regions in Peru are receiving substantial amounts of money from the central government in Lima, and much of that money, at least in Chiclayo is being spent on infrastructure. It isn’t just this one intersection with new stoplights – they are being installed in many locations throughout the city. And in addition to stoplights large scale civic improvements are taking place. It’s as if the city has launched a modernization/beautification program.

Along with the physical changes there are indications that another change is taking place…this one cultural. Most people still throw trash in the streets but a growing number of them are using recently installed trash receptacles. Another example…last week Maribel and I saw a woman walking a dog. Nothing unusual about that. The dog did his thing on a sidewalk – again nothing unusual...a common hazard pedestrians face is avoiding dog droppings on sidewalks. But after the dog made his deposit, the woman did the plastic bag thing and picked it up! We never expected to see that in Chiclayo Peru. Never! I imagine that local passersby were even more amazed than we were. To a Chiclayano, the only sane explanation for doing that is that the woman has discovered a monetary value for dog droppings.

These are interesting times. I wonder if modernization will have an impact on traditions and customs, for instance regulating street vendors, or other customs that may be viewed as being not in tune with a modern city. I also wonder if older residents view these changes as good or bad. Probably a little of both.

Restaurant review

Roky’s is a large restaurant chain with many locations across Peru. There has been a Roky’s restaurant in Chiclayo on Balta Avenue for about two years. I like this restaurant. It opens early and offers a good breakfast menu including an American breakfast. It also offers broasted chicken (which I prefer) along with the ubiquitous pollo a la brasa served at all pollerias (chicken joints). When we learned that Roky’s had taken over the site two blocks from our apartment of the failed restaurant Chifa Antai, which closed after just six months of operation and a heavy financial investment we were eager for it to open.

Roky’s on Santa Victoria opened for business about two weeks ago. Our first experience with it was disappointing when we walked there for breakfast only to discover they don’t offer breakfast. Their hours are 12:00 noon to 2:00am. Our second experience was last night when we wanted broasted chicken. There is no broasted chicken listed on the menu so we settled for pollo a la brasa.

When Roky’s remodeled they added a children’s play area and party room on the second floor. Good for business…bad for a relaxing dining experience. But it wasn’t the kids shrill screaming or the competing traffic noise from the open front door that torpedoed our attempts at conversation, though they certainly made it difficult. That honor goes to Billy Ocean’s ‘Caribbean Queen’ blasting from speakers in all four restaurant corners (it wasn’t until very recently I learned that the words he was singing are Caribbean Queen. I thought the words were ‘Carrie, you twit’. The next time you listen to that song see if you don’t agree).

And then we saw a waitress delivering to a nearby table what appeared to be broasted chicken.  We called our waitress to our table and asked if broasted chicken was available. She said it was, and in response to my question regarding why it isn’t listed on the menu, she replied, “Everyone knows we have broasted chicken so we don’t put it on the menu.” I started to say, “and everyone knows you have pollo a la brasa yet it’s plastered all over the menu” but thought better of it. It wouldn’t prove or change anything.  

The food and service are okay, and of course the facility is shiny new. Prices per menu item appear to be two to four soles more than similar restaurants including the Roky’s on Balta (???). Though disappointed at the lack of a breakfast opportunity, I might go back to try the broasted chicken…unless I hear the lilting strains of ‘Carrie you twit’ upon my approach.

Impressions of Loja and Cuenca Ecuador

Other than a vague plan of ‘going to Loja’ we had no agenda or timetable in mind when we boarded the bus in Chiclayo at 9:00am for the three hour ride to Piura at $5.75 per passenger. It’s a boring ride through barren desert with nothing to see, which is good because the bus company Linea has replaced transparent windows with thick screen windows, obscuring any clear view to the outside. I wonder how many complaints they have had from disappointed Nikon-bearing tourists.

Once in Piura we learned that travel options to Loja are limited to two bus companies. Cooperative Loja offers departure times of 9:30am, 1:00pm and 11:00pm. We and a handful of other passengers boarded the 1:00pm bus ($10.00 per passenger) for what is advertised as an eight hour ride to Loja. The bus has transparent windows which is good because the scenery improves a bit but not a whole lot. There was a “For sale” sign in the front window. That, and having to stop twice to adjust the right rear wheel brake didn’t do much for my confidence. The lavatory door on the bus has the sign, “Solo por urine.” The door is locked so you must see the attendant to unlock it. I wonder how many complaints they have had from uncomfortable tourists who ate and drank freely in Piura. Fortunately it’s only a three hour ride to the border town of Macarà.

Many gringos in northern Peru are familiar with Macarâ. This is where they do the border jump to get their visa renewed. The border crossing process is simple but can be time consuming if there are many tourists. The first step is to visit the Peruvian Immigration office to get an Andean immigration form. You fill out the form and take it across the road to the Peruvian police station. Assuming all goes well at the police station you return to the immigration office with the completed form and passport in hand. After the immigration officer stamps your passport you walk across the international bridge to the Ecuadorian immigration office, where you get and fill out their version of the immigration form. After the immigration officer stamps your passport you are free to take photos; board your bus and be on your way for the five to six hour ride to Loja. As the crow flies it is 93 km from Macarâ to Loja. Traveling the winding mountain road the distance is 197 km. There are times when I enjoy the scenery and almost constant up and down hair-pin turns through the Andes. There are other times when I feel…okay, enough already, let’s get there. We were glad and relieved to finally arrive in Loja at 10:30pm.

We checked in at the Grand Hotel Loja, where a triple room for me, Maribel and Brian cost $85 including breakfast. It’s a good hotel – fairly modern, clean, good service and a good restaurant. We would stay there again (as we unintentionally did).

It’s a new day. We’ve slept well and had a good breakfast. Now what to do? Almost every sizeable town occupied by the Spanish during the colonial period offers and features in their ‘what to do and see’ literature historic churches, colonial districts and parks. These are a given. For me the question then becomes…what beyond the standard does the town offer? Loja offers several interesting attractions. Without going into detail, we enjoyed the City Gate Monument, Reinaldo Espinosa Botanical Garden, La Banda Park encompassing the Loja Zoo, and the Museum of Loja.

Of all the attractions we agreed that our favorite was the 25 acre Jipiro Park. We walked through the entire park – much of it tree shaded and cool – all of it beautiful. Throughout the park are scale reproductions of various historic and cultural monuments. There is a wealth of information and photos on the internet about Jipiro Park. We rented a paddle boat and ate snacks on the shore of the lagoon. What particularly impressed me was the huge and elaborate skateboard facility in the park. I would think that this facility would be the dream-come-true of every skateboarder. If Chiclayo had something like that perhaps the monuments and the tiled pathways in parks would not be constantly damaged.

In total Loja offered enough to fill two days for us. If I can digress a bit, mountain towns like Loja and Cuenca also offer something the costal desert cities do not have… clean, cool and wholesome air. Part of that is due to the altitude, but trees and other greenery also play a role. I especially like the trees. My favorite tree in Wisconsin is the white oak. In Peru it’s the ceibo…a tree native to the dryer regions of Ecuador and Peru. It doesn’t grow to great heights but the bright green color and the width of the trunk and lower branches are impressive. There are two of them in the village of Tumàn near Chiclayo with diameters of fifteen feet. What struck me about the ciebos on the stretch of road between Macarà and Loja in Ecuador is their sheer numbers. There are dozens of them clustered together on mountainsides, bringing to mind Tolkein’s army of angry Ents descending on Isengard.  A majestic ceibo in a Loja park bears the sign, “I am your lungs. Do not cut me – do not burn me.” I like that. 

There are two modes of transportation from Loja to Cuenca. You can ride a bus for five hours at a cost of $10, or you can travel in a seven-passenger van for three hours for $12. We chose the van and departed for Cuenca at 9:30am. During this portion of the journey I mulled over the philosophical question of what constitutes being a ‘good driver.’ I decided that, if being in complete control of the vehicle plus being able to react instantly defines a good driver, then our chauffer was a good driver. On the other hand, if you factor in passenger comfort and passenger sense of well-being, then our driver sucked. We were stopped at a police checkpoint about halfway through our trip. The officer knew when the van left Loja so he knew the guy was driving the winding mountain road at breakneck speed. His words to the driver were this…”You are endangering the lives of your passengers. If you cannot be a better driver you will go to jail for three days.” After leaving the checkpoint the driver resumed his petal-to-the-metal driving (several days later as we were returning to Loja from Cuenca in the van of a different company, a woman actually shouted to the driver, “Sir!,..I want to get to Loja alive!).

I doubt if there is anything I could say about Cuenca that hasn’t already been written. It is a popular tourist destination with a huge expat population. In fact the central downtown area is sometimes referred to as ‘gringo land.’ I can understand why gringos would retire to Cuenca. Despite not being much different architecturally from other major cities in South America, it has a definite western look and feel to it, and I think the customs also reflect western practices. The two malls near our hotel opened at 9:00am and closed at 8:00pm, unlike Peru when hours would be something like 10:00am to 11:00pm. We heard no loud, raucous music during our stay (nor barking dogs or crowing chickens) and the streets are clean and most buildings well maintained. We noticed that many restaurants in both Loja and Cuenca closed as early as 9:00pm. We had been told that it was less expensive to live in Ecuador than Peru, but with some few exceptions we found that prices for hotels, restaurants and supermarket items were equal or higher than in Chiclayo. 

We stayed in Cuenca for two days. We visited the Central Bank museum, a church museum across from the principal park (I’ve forgotten the name), and did a lot of walking and looking. We also played mini-golf. Edgar is the owner of the golf course. He and his wife bought the property and constructed the 18 hole course plus driving range about two years ago. Edgar is a good guy. He gave free lessons to Brian and Maribel. And when we were done playing he drove us back to our hotel; a ride of 30 minutes. The ride to his property via taxi cost $10. Distance is one of the problems Edgar is having – that, and he could use a better sign at the highway turn-off leading to his property. If you live in or are visiting Cuenca you might enjoy a few hours at Edgar’s place. His website is:  www.eldescansogolfcenter.com.

One other Cuenca activity we did was a two-hour bus tour. It was well worthwhile and identified places we wanted to return to later. It also pointed out how congested traffic can become. At 3:00pm all of the tour bus passengers got off six blocks from our starting point at the principal park when we realized it would probably take 30 minutes for the bus to reach it.

When it was time to leave Cuenca we discussed where to go next. We considered Guayaquil but decided we were close to burn-out so opted to retrace our route back to Chiclayo. Upon reaching Loja we were unable to get bus tickets to Piura so enjoyed another good meal at Mama Lola’s Restaurant and another night at the Grand Hotel Loja before returning to Chiclayo the following day. 

The Boys of San Vincente De Paul

San Vincente De Paul is located in Chiclayo. It is a home for boys, operated by the Peruvian government. There are many like it throughout Peru. The building is exceptionally clean and well maintained inside and out. It is long and L-shaped, having much more interior room than this photo would indicate.

At present this facility is at maximum capacity with twenty boys ranging from six to twelve years old. Some have been here only two weeks; others over one year. None of the boys entered voluntarily and none remain willingly. They are here because a judge placed them here. Many have been removed from their homes by civil authority because of mental and/or physical abuse. Others have simply been abandoned.

Rosario (left) is the director of Chiclayo’s San Vincente De Paul. She explained that, following placement by a judge, the boys are subjected to an intense three-day physical and psychological evaluation. Of the present twenty boys, twelve were diagnosed as having deep-seated psychological problems, a ratio Rosario said is normal.

The home has a small medical clinic on site, and there is a large public hospital nearby for emergencies. Two blocks from the home is a public school the boys attend daily. On Sundays the boys attend Catholic mass at a church four doors down the block. There is a basketball court/soccer field at the rear of the building, and a male employee who teaches sports to the boys. Three meals per day are provided from government donated food cooked on site. Inside the home the boys have freedom of movement. Outside they are escorted everywhere. According to Rosario they would not return if left alone. I find that hard to understand given everything that’s provided for them.

There are only four ways to leave San Vincente De Paul. A boy can be legally adopted. He can also be placed in a foster home either temporarily or permanently. He can return to his biological parents if a judge has found that the initial cause(s) for his removal have been eliminated. Some boys do have family visiting them twice weekly. The fourth way to leave is have the maximum stay of one and one-half years expire. When that happens the boy is transferred to a much larger facility for older boys located near Pimentel.  

We were at San Vincente De Paul today because one of the boys struck up a conversation with Maribel at church last week and extracted a promise from her to visit him. We took empanadas, chocolate milk, candy, a few balls and some toys with us (the photo was deliberately blurred to mask the kid’s identities).

When we do this sort of thing at a school there is a whole different feel to it than occurred at San Vincente De Paul. At the schools there is excitement and laughter. At San Vincente De Paul it was quiet…a strange, subdued atmosphere. The boys silently sat at tables as we passed out the food. At most (but not all) tables there were softly spoken “thank-you’s”, but neither warmth nor smiles accompanied them. These are street kids…old for their age. Life has thrown too much at them too fast. I think it would take a very special set of adoptive or foster parents to open their homes and take on the responsibility for kids like these. I also think it would be a very long time before these kids would openly and unreservedly show or return affection.

Rosario said what these kids need most is therapy. She has plans to attempt music, art and dancing as therapy. When asked if we could help, she laughingly asked if we had any spare cajon drums and could teach the kids how to play them, or Marinara costumes and could teach dancing. It just so happens that we do know an expert Marinara dancer. We’re working on the rest of it.

Tom  

A little more about Jaèn

In rereading the last post, I think I may have been too hard on Jaèn. I stand by my comment that there is nothing the average tourist would want to see, but that’s not to say a person couldn’t enjoy spending a day or two in the town if  you can take pleasure in exploring the little slices of life around you.  

For example last Sunday Jaèn held a mini festival.  There were kiosks erected in the Principal Park displaying and selling artifacts and food…all of them just a bit different than seen in other regions. Some of the artifacts were made by inmates of the local prison. It’s fun to talk with the vendors, learning about their lifestyles and how they produce whatever it is they’re selling. Later in the early evening there was entertainment, games and dancing.

In a chance discussion with a bakery owner we discovered we had a common interest in collecting unusual rocks.  The next thing we knew we were sitting at her kitchen table looking at her rock collection. What is this thing? She believes it is man-made. She calls it Buddha. I believe it is natural but whatever it is, it is far heavier than it should be for its size. Perhaps a reader knows and can comment on what kind of rock this is. But the point is we spent a very pleasant hour talking with this woman and her family.

Jaèn is very hot during the day but it cools down to a comfortable temperature in the early evening. That is when the populous gravitates to the park. On our last evening in town Maribel and I sat on a park bench for several hours watching the minutia of life unfold before us. We watched the kids tug on the leg of mom or dad as they passed the vendor in the photo, asking for cotton candy or a ball. There was an ice cream vendor nearby, and more than once we heard a parent give the child a choice of ice cream or what this man was selling. A ball or cotton candy cost 35 cents – ice cream is 20 cents. Often the kids opted for ice cream but the man sold enough to probably make his time worthwhile. 

From that same park bench we watched a police officer write tickets and place them on five motorcycles that were illegally parked. It was interesting and entertaining to watch the different reactions as each owner returned to their bike and discovered the ticket. We saw anger, distain and total disregard.

Sitting on a bench doing all that observing is hungry work, so Maribel and I decided to walk across the street and eat dinner at what has to be the most popular restaurant in town; Lactobac. After looking at the menu we agreed we really weren’t that hungry so would have something light. Maribel ordered jello. I changed my mind and pigged out on what the menu called a “Royal banana split.” There was nothing light about it.

All of the above is pretty tame…there’s nothing that would cause you to place a hurried call home to share the excitement. But in my view it is quality time and is rewarding in so many ways. Despite a lack of tourist attractions there is always something of interest to see or do if you can enjoy the simple things in life. We will have fond memories of our visit to Jaèn.

Visiting Zapotal by way of Jaèn

The trip by bus from Chiclayo to Jaèn (pronounced ‘ha-en’) can take anywhere from 5 ½ to 8 hours or more depending on road conditions encountered in the mountains. Jaèn is located in a valley at an altitude of 740 meters and is surrounded by mountains. Delays caused by mud and rock slides are common and are viewed as minor inconveniences by veteran travelers.

During our recent trip we were delayed for about an hour as work crews were still dealing with the aftermath of a major rock slide that occurred two weeks previously. This particular incident involved the partial collapse of segments of two mountains and is still having serious repercussions for communities many miles away. We’ll talk more about that later.

Jaèn has a population of 52,000 and doesn’t look any different than any other mid-size town we’ve visited. The economy is based on rice, coffee and several other standard crops. The principal park is surprisingly plain and colorless for a town this size. There is no tourist information office, probably because there are no attractions the average tourist would be interested in. It’s been our experience that most every town we’ve visited has something – an unusual building, a waterfall, petro glyphs, historic ruins, a scenic overlook…something the town identifies with and points to with pride. Not so in Jaèn. When asked what there is to see or do, locals simply shrug their shoulders. When pressed for suggestions some will mention a museum at the university (Instituto technologic 4 de junio de 1821), but are quick to add “don’t go there at night; it’s not a good area.”  

We went there on a bright, sun shiny morning and were pleasantly surprised. The museum occupies three large rooms and contains photos and displays of original objects from the Pacamoros culture that flourished in the area at about the same time the Moche culture existed to the west on the coast. Our tour took over an hour and our guide was knowledgeable and patient with our many questions. There is no admission fee and the staff refused our offer of a gratuity, but did point to a box at the entrance labeled “For help the museum.” 

From our hotel in Jaèn it is a 15 minute moto ride to the colectivo (private car) station where it will cost $5.75 to buy a seat for the 1 ½ hour ride to Zapotal. Probably a full chapter in a book could be written about this 90 minute trip. I will be much briefer.

Shortly after leaving town we were stopped by police who apparently do this randomly looking for criminals.   Not 200 meters further was a road block manned by Ronderos. This was my second encounter with these guys, who are supposedly quasi-police maintaining law and order. They have no legal authority and as far as I can tell their approach to maintaining law and order is to demand tribute from every passing vehicle. I noticed that every vehicle from each direction would slow down enough to hand money to a rondero before continuing on. This was a tough looking bunch. They were young and fit, wearing skin-tight black t-shirts, black military pants, black boots and black jungle hats. They were all carrying assault rifles. I didn’t take a photo because frankly, I felt intimated. Our driver slowed down, but no one approached the car so we continued on. 

The road quickly changes from asphalt to gravel to not maintained. We forded many small streams before coming to a swollen river I felt sure the driver would not attempt. He stopped the car; opened the hood to let the engine cool down and then put some material over it to “keep it from getting wet.” At its deepest the water covered the tires and the spray washed completely over the car but did not get inside.  The driver told us conditions can change from minute to minute, and there are days when Zapotal cannot be reached. I saw no difference on our return later that afternoon.

The road stops 30 minutes before reaching the village of Zapotal at the Chinchipe River, where two barges transport trucks, cars, motos and people across for a fee. This is an interesting process. There is no electricity available and the barges do not use engines. Instead they are tethered to a thick steel cable spanning the river.  Two cables are attached to the barge. The cable attached to the rear of the barge is lengthened or shortened depending on which side of the river they want to go to. After everything is secure the barge is pushed from shore and the strong river current does the rest. It takes less than 3 minutes to cross.

Zapotal, though isolated and at the mercy of the whims of nature for contact with the outside world is not as primitive as we’d expected. Many of the houses are constructed of concrete or regular brick instead of adobe, and the school and medical clinic are cleaner and better maintained than many we have seen in villages close to Chiclayo. There are only 9 streets and a population not over 300. The town has electricity only from 6:30pm to 10:30pm, which means no television, radio or refrigeration during daylight hours. Computers in the school are powered by solar panels built by town folks.

  

We were in Zapotal because a teacher at the school had invited us to attend a celebration. Promesa Peru was happy to furnish prizes for students who won competitions in math, science, and other subjects. We also donated balls, toys and candy.  As always we were afforded a warm welcome and invited to return anytime.

The town has no sewage system but does have water provided by a series of canals and pipes from mountains far distant. The mountain collapse of two weeks ago that delayed our travel to Jaèn also destroyed large segments of the system providing water to Zapotal and other remote villages. Until repairs are completed villagers are using the Chinchipe River for bathing, washing clothes, cooking and irrigating fields. Every farmer we talked with said they didn’t like using the river for irrigation because “the water is too dirty for growing rice.” I wasn’t able to learn what they meant by that comment.  

Although several families offered the use of their homes for sleeping overnight, it is very hot in Zapotal and by mid afternoon we were ready to return to Jaèn and our air conditioned hotel room with shower. 

Where are the people?

We have a tradition of inviting friends and family to our apartment to look at photos taken during our trips outside of Peru. We show the photos on the television, and provide snacks and beverages to help lessen any boredom (I admit it; I take way too many photos). Most viewers seem to enjoy the photos and there are usually lots of questions and comments.  Last week we showed photos of our recent visit to the US and Canada. The evening pretty much followed the script until the showing was over, when two people asked almost simultaneously…”Where are the people?”  I didn’t understand what they meant at first until they asked to fast-forward through the photos and stopped me at various points. Then the reason for their question became obvious.

This is Main Street in Crivitz Wisconsin. The photo was taken in mid-morning. According to the sign at the edge of town Crivitz has a population of 998 (It had the same number when Maribel and I lived there, so either town authorities have not yet noticed we’re gone or two more residents have arrived). The town’s population is comprised mostly of retirees, so you probably wouldn’t expect to see a whole lot of people on the streets, but still…nobody?

This location is near downtown Sault Ste. Marie Canada at noon.  The city has done a great job of developing their boardwalk area bordering the Saint Mary River. It’s a flourishing city that is tastefully blending the preservation of heritage with renovation and modernization.  With a population of 80,000 it has the feel of a vibrant community, yet it is noon and I am standing in the middle of the street and the only person in the photo is Maribel.

Wells Street is in the heart of downtown Milwaukee. At one time years ago I thought this city of 600,000 was in a death spiral with no hope of salvation.  The mostly blue-collar neighborhoods were deteriorating and the downtown area was a collection of crumbling office and manufacturing buildings. I was wrong. It has rebuilt itself, and every time I return to it I fall in love with it all over again.  The photo was taken shortly after noon. In it are Maribel, a woman behind her and a maintenance worker. Three people…on Wells Street…at noon?

 Almost every other cityscape photo showed the same sparsity of people.

This is the intersection of Balta and Elias Aguire in downtown Chiclayo Peru. It could be any intersection near downtown at any time of the day. Chiclayo’s population is 630,000; almost exactly that of Milwaukee. The difference is that no matter where you are in Chiclayo, it seems as if the entire population is there with you. 

What is the answer to the question “Where are the people?” in the first three photos? Maribel and I struggled when trying to respond. Part of the answer is that there are no money changers, street vendors, shoe shiners or beggars in those photos. Another factor is that commerce – banking, shopping, etc is spread out over a wider area. Another reason is that Chiclayanos are less inclined and have far less opportunity to use the internet for shopping and banking.  Cultural policies also play a part, forcing Chiclayanos to physically visit banks, schools, government and private offices for trivial matters.

The above explains in part why there are so many people in Chiclayo’s streets, but our guests (and ourselves) didn’t feel that we adequately explained the empty streets in the photos.  Hey!...you folks in Crivitz, Sault Ste. Marie and Milwaukee….where are you?