November 20
Location: On the road from Junin to Otavalo
Weather: Overcast
The community of Junin was declared by the U.S. a community of "eco-terrorists" because they fought back against the Ascendant Copper Canadian mining company, burned down their camp, rounded them up, and kicked them out.
We just spent the last few days with them and they were nothing but gracious.
It's an interesting predicament... How do you label a group who has taken drastic measures to protect what is theirs? From what it sounds like, they tried to peacefully remove the company, which was backed by a paramilitary group, but was not successful. This was also documented in the same documentary Carlos was in, "The Curse of Copper."
These people are strong. They have bounced back and begun an eco-tourism "hotel" (a massive tree house-looking building) and hikes. They're still struggling to make money this way but they're kicking butt.
The building looks like it's made from bamboo with an open first floor for group meals and a couple rooms, a second floor with rooms, and an open third floor with hammocks. A few people stayed on the roof but I was lucky enough to get a room with Emily, Lizzie, and Ashley. I like to switch up my roommates every now and then to keep everyone from getting sick of each other. It's been working so far! I keep away from the really high maintenance people and bond with new ones every trip!
The food is a little lacking here... mostly rice and bits of vegetables and rice with roles and juice. I pound it down like I'll never see food again AND dig into my secret stash of energy bars and still feel hungry. Someone who shall remain nameless had the gall to send their plate back to the kitchen when we were served spaghetti with a pinkish ketchup-y sauce on top. They wanted it with butter. I thought I was going to slap them across the room for being so rude. You eat what you can here. You can't be picky and it's SO RUDE to do that. I was really upset about that. Another case of the ugly, spoiled American abroad. These people are doing their very best here. Admittedly, Junin wasn't my favorite place, but it was still a great experience, for which I am thankful.
The hike we participated in was very, very long and steep. Some of the group (about 1/3) had to stay back because of altitude sickness. I've been lucky to have escaped motion and altitude sickness altogether here. The hike was led by a group of guides ranging from age 14 to over 60. Wow! We saw where the Ascendant Copper camp was and ate popcorn sitting around one of the remaining buildings. We saw a massive group of waterfalls (Cascada Velo de Novia, Bride of the Girlfriend Waterfall, literally) and bathed in them. Ice cold water be damned, it was refreshing after a strenuous hike. We goofed around and played in the water until we were cold and wanted to head back.
Again, there are so many new plants and insects around every corner, it's hard to imagine the ecological diversity that is here. It's beautiful. So, so beautiful. How could precious metals even come close to the worth of this land?
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