The next morning, breakfast was at 6:30, a downright decadent affair. Over breakfast, the host explained the next stage of the trail, and we set out around seven. The going is easy, but boring: a dirt road. However, it's a chance to observe the unwritten rules of local driving: they honk before blind turns. The roads are narrow, so if you come across an oncoming car around a bend, you could end up slamming into it. Incidentally, the notion that Peruvian drivers are extremely aggressive on the roads doesn't seem true to me: they simply often drive not according to written rules, but "by convention." But more on that later; we'll have another chance to test this out in practice.
Meanwhile, a family from Spain caught up with us, and we were chatting with them over dinner under the pass. We were exchanging impressions of Peru when we reached the bridge over the river. Here, the route splits: you can continue along the road, or you can turn onto a hiking trail along the other side of the river. We took the trail and didn't regret it.
It would probably be easier to walk along the road: the trail goes up and down all the time. But there are strawberries here. Just ordinary wild strawberries, which don't grow here in Michigan. We hide them as we go, pick a few berries, and pop them into our mouths. That alone made the trail worth it.
There are also streams here, flowing into the river. New metal bridges, painted bright green, span them, sometimes next to older wooden ones. It's clear the trail is being maintained.
We come across beautiful waterfalls. We stop at one of these spots to make coffee. It's a bit of a luxury, of course, but why not treat yourself?
Further on, the trail passes a campsite. The grass is trimmed and there are friendly dogs (they're everywhere here). There's also a kiosk selling freshly squeezed juices and fruit. My Spanish is enough to order a glass of juice, a large mango, and an avocado. We drink the juice right there and take the fruit with us.
Finally, we reach a small town. There's civilization here: a store, restaurants with clothes hanging over tables to dry, and a school with a school orchestra rehearsing in the courtyard.
We cross a suspension bridge and soon reach our overnight stop: a coffee plantation. The electricity is out again (a common occurrence here), but there are hot showers. Also on the agenda today is a tour of the coffee plantation.
Coffee plantation tour.
When we checked in, Freddy, the owner (or manager) of the hotel, said there would be a plantation tour at 4 o'clock.
We had already taken a coffee plantation tour in Hawaii, so I thought I knew roughly what to expect.
However, I was mistaken. Firstly, the difference was in Freddie's personality. A very artistic person, he reminded me of Celentano in the film "The Taming of the Shrew.".
Freddy showed us his coffee trees: he has two varieties, Arabica and Brazilian, and there are also bananas, avocados, and coca. And all of this is not just there for nothing: the bananas and avocados provide the coffee trees with much-needed shade. He didn't say what the coca is for. Probably for the peace of mind.
Then we collected some coffee berries and Freddy tossed them into the bath: they'd need to soak for a few days. He gave us some already soaked ones from previous guests.
Then, using a special mechanical device, we separated the coffee beans from the husks and roasted the beans in a wood-fired oven. Finally, we ground the freshly roasted beans using a hand grinder with an attachment.
The coffee turned out delicious!
