Shortly after this the news in Lima wrongly reported that the strike made no sense as the mine would have no impact on the lake and the people. The struggle continues........
One of the banks to be hit
Justice is served?
Thursday 23 December 2010
The Rising of Huaraz
When we got back to Huaraz we found out that the University in Huaraz had gone on strike in support of Catac and Recuay. The day after we got back Huaraz was effectively shut down in protest and fear. The Mining Minister in Lima came on TV in the evening and played down the strike saying that it was very small. The people of Huaraz did not take too kindly to this and in a show of strength decided to send the Government a message. The images below are of the some of the centre after the protest in the morning. All the fronts of banks and government institutions were smashed up. A couple of people were hurt by tear gas grenades.
Shortly after this the news in Lima wrongly reported that the strike made no sense as the mine would have no impact on the lake and the people. The struggle continues........
One of the banks to be hit
Justice is served?
Shortly after this the news in Lima wrongly reported that the strike made no sense as the mine would have no impact on the lake and the people. The struggle continues........
One of the banks to be hit
Justice is served?
The Strike and Escape from Hatunmachay!
Unbeknown to all of us before we left Huaraz was that a strike by the villages between Huaraz and Lima (the road to Hatunmachay) was planned for the time we were visiting. Originally this was to be just the time period that we were in Hatunmachay but things spiraled out of control.
A bit about the strike…the strike is in protest to plans to build a large mine (for gold, silver etc.) near the lake which supplies a lot of the towns along its banks with water for drinking, livestock and agriculture. The fear is that the mine will contaminate the water supply and so destroy the livelihoods of the towns and people. It is apparently against the law for the mine to be built in the National Park where it is proposed to be built. Corruption and the buying off of locals has meant that the government have given the go ahead for the foreign mine to be built. From everything we have been told this is certainly against the benefit of any of the locals.
The strike meant that the villages between Catac and Recuay had blocked off road access between the towns in order to get the notice of the government. The trouble increased when two people were killed by police in Catac during the protest. The killings happened on the Wednesday and meant there was no way for us to get transport fully back to Huaraz before the end of the week. We only had access to the outside world by walking to the top of one of the hills. Nobody knew what was happening with the strike and when it would end. It was decided that we would leave early on Thursday morning with the hope of reaching Huaraz by the evening. We were about 50km away from Huaraz so transport was needed.
We started out about 8.30am and made it to the road to Catac by 10am. Luckily we didn’t have to wait much more than an hour until we were able to flag down a combi (mini bus) heading to Catac. This was an international affair consisting of 2 English, 2 Canadians, 1 US, 2 Peru, 4 Germans and 2 Swiss citizens. All thirteen of us were able to cram on to this thing and a bus with a capacity of maybe 18 people suddenly had 25. Dotted across the roads were barricades of earth and rock which allowed just enough room for a car to pass. The driver was nervous on the journey and coming around a bend in the road men in balaclavas jumped out from the side of the road and started throwing rocks at the car. The driver had to stop rush out of the vehicle to tell them to stop. Being innocents in this battle they let us drive through and carry on our journey but it was pretty scary!
After a while we reached Catac, the centre of the troubles and we could see why. Lined all along the road were hundreds of trucks and buses that had been prevented from getting through. We got out of the combi and began walking through. Despite the violence the day before the town was quiet and we saw no police presence. After stopping at a restaurant for lunch we continued out of Catac and on to Recuay. Burnt tires and rocks were strewn across the roads for a long way but in the sun and with good humour it was quite a fun walk. After a couple of hours we made it to Recuay and found it to be just as blocked as Catac. We had no option but to carry on.
Past the final blocade
Eventually we came across some vehicles and about 16 people including us clambered in and on a 4x4 truck. In the back of the truck there were about 13 people and the entire luggage. Each person including myself was hanging on for dear life as it drove down the winding road. I do not think I will ever have another journey like it and it would have been great to have had a picture of. The car came across another blockade and we could go no further on it. Luckily this turned out to be one of the final barriers and after another 15 minutes combi’s were driving up the road to greet us. We all bundled in to one relieved that this would take us all the way back to Huaraz.
After 10 hours on the road we made it back to Huaraz tired, but in good spirits around 6pm. To celebrate, everyone arranged to go out in Huaraz in the eve and it turned in to a really good one including giant Jenga in ‘13 Owls’ and dancing in multiple discotheques.
A bit about the strike…the strike is in protest to plans to build a large mine (for gold, silver etc.) near the lake which supplies a lot of the towns along its banks with water for drinking, livestock and agriculture. The fear is that the mine will contaminate the water supply and so destroy the livelihoods of the towns and people. It is apparently against the law for the mine to be built in the National Park where it is proposed to be built. Corruption and the buying off of locals has meant that the government have given the go ahead for the foreign mine to be built. From everything we have been told this is certainly against the benefit of any of the locals.
The strike meant that the villages between Catac and Recuay had blocked off road access between the towns in order to get the notice of the government. The trouble increased when two people were killed by police in Catac during the protest. The killings happened on the Wednesday and meant there was no way for us to get transport fully back to Huaraz before the end of the week. We only had access to the outside world by walking to the top of one of the hills. Nobody knew what was happening with the strike and when it would end. It was decided that we would leave early on Thursday morning with the hope of reaching Huaraz by the evening. We were about 50km away from Huaraz so transport was needed.
We started out about 8.30am and made it to the road to Catac by 10am. Luckily we didn’t have to wait much more than an hour until we were able to flag down a combi (mini bus) heading to Catac. This was an international affair consisting of 2 English, 2 Canadians, 1 US, 2 Peru, 4 Germans and 2 Swiss citizens. All thirteen of us were able to cram on to this thing and a bus with a capacity of maybe 18 people suddenly had 25. Dotted across the roads were barricades of earth and rock which allowed just enough room for a car to pass. The driver was nervous on the journey and coming around a bend in the road men in balaclavas jumped out from the side of the road and started throwing rocks at the car. The driver had to stop rush out of the vehicle to tell them to stop. Being innocents in this battle they let us drive through and carry on our journey but it was pretty scary!
After a while we reached Catac, the centre of the troubles and we could see why. Lined all along the road were hundreds of trucks and buses that had been prevented from getting through. We got out of the combi and began walking through. Despite the violence the day before the town was quiet and we saw no police presence. After stopping at a restaurant for lunch we continued out of Catac and on to Recuay. Burnt tires and rocks were strewn across the roads for a long way but in the sun and with good humour it was quite a fun walk. After a couple of hours we made it to Recuay and found it to be just as blocked as Catac. We had no option but to carry on.
Past the final blocade
Eventually we came across some vehicles and about 16 people including us clambered in and on a 4x4 truck. In the back of the truck there were about 13 people and the entire luggage. Each person including myself was hanging on for dear life as it drove down the winding road. I do not think I will ever have another journey like it and it would have been great to have had a picture of. The car came across another blockade and we could go no further on it. Luckily this turned out to be one of the final barriers and after another 15 minutes combi’s were driving up the road to greet us. We all bundled in to one relieved that this would take us all the way back to Huaraz.
After 10 hours on the road we made it back to Huaraz tired, but in good spirits around 6pm. To celebrate, everyone arranged to go out in Huaraz in the eve and it turned in to a really good one including giant Jenga in ‘13 Owls’ and dancing in multiple discotheques.
Sunday 19 December 2010
Hatunmachay
The four other volunteers and I decided to go away for a couple of days of climbing and trekking to a place called Hatunmachay. David who is one of our friends and runs a trekking company organised the trip and we took off on the Sunday. Hatunmachay is a two hour ride away from Huaraz in to the hills 4,200m up. We shared the ride with a group of Germans who were also staying in the refuge with us. The refuge is set in a beautiful area in the heart of the hills and next to an ancient rock forest which is where the climbing is. We got there in the evening on Sunday and chilled out in the refuge in front of the log fire waiting for the Mondays activities. On the first night the sky was completely clear and was lit up with all the stars and constellations, it was a very pretty site.
On the Monday we got up and headed in to the rock forest for some bouldering. I tried my best but still couldn’t get that far on the boulders. You need to build up a lot of flexibility and finger, arm and leg strength to be good at this. The cloud and rain started coming around two so we headed back to the refuge. Once it had cleared up Andres, the owner of the refuge took us out for a walk into the rock forest to show us the ancient cave drawings and that exist in the area. The first place he showed us was a cave and ritual site where some rituals are still done to this day. Some of the paintings and carvings in the rock were 8-10,000 years old and it was amazing to see them close up without anything protecting them. He told us about a hill you can climb at sunrise to see a view of the mountain ranges around and that’s what a few of us decided to do.
By the fire
Sunset on the first day
On the Monday we got up and headed in to the rock forest for some bouldering. I tried my best but still couldn’t get that far on the boulders. You need to build up a lot of flexibility and finger, arm and leg strength to be good at this. The cloud and rain started coming around two so we headed back to the refuge. Once it had cleared up Andres, the owner of the refuge took us out for a walk into the rock forest to show us the ancient cave drawings and that exist in the area. The first place he showed us was a cave and ritual site where some rituals are still done to this day. Some of the paintings and carvings in the rock were 8-10,000 years old and it was amazing to see them close up without anything protecting them. He told us about a hill you can climb at sunrise to see a view of the mountain ranges around and that’s what a few of us decided to do.
By the fire
The next day my alarm went off at 5am and I woke up Wyatt and Dakota. We were out of the shelter at 5.45am to hike the hills and catch the view. It was a completely day and we took about an hour and a half to scale the hills and reach the top. The crest of the hill had been made in to a circular stone pattern and the stones were laden with a layer of snow. The view from the top was really amazing. The hill looked over both the Cordillera Blanca and Huaywash mountain ranges and everything in between. It was certainly worth an earlier rise to see it. We got back to the refuge around 8am and got ready to head to the rock forest again. I was a little too tired to try any more rock climbing so I chilled out in the sun while the other climbed. Later on Tuesday we were meant to head back to Huaraz was for reasons out of our control this was not to be………
The view from the top
The Cordillera Blanca Mountain Range
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