Most people usually travel during vacations, especially when they happen right after a school term ends. You feel like a trip is exactly what you need to relax after so much studying. Today, I'm going to tell you about a trip I took right after finishing my exams when I had a week off.
THE LAST DAY IN CLASS
I remember it was Friday, and the teacher gave us the news: we would have vacation the following week. When the teacher said that, I started thinking: "Vacation... but it gets so boring just watching TV. I wish I could do something else besides lying on the couch all afternoon."
Back then, cell phones weren't as common as they are now, or at least they weren't like the modern ones, though some models were starting to look similar. After recess, I asked my friends what they were going to do:
ME: "What are you guys doing for vacation?" SAMIR: "I'm going to the mountains (the sierra)." RENZO: "I'm going to play on my console." MAXIMO: "I'm staying home." ME: "Me too, I think I'll just be at home." KEIKO AND CAMILA: "We are going to the jungle!" ME: "What is the jungle?" KEIKO: "It's a place where there are tons of plants." ME: "Wow, that sounds beautiful! I hope to go to the jungle someday; it would be so cool."
School was finally over. I finished copying from the board and headed to the exit. There, I ran into Dina's mother.
DINA'S MOTHER: "Oh, Angelo! You're out already. Where's Dina? Why hasn't she come out yet?" ME: "Oh, it's because she fell behind copying what the teacher wrote on the board, ma'am." DINA'S MOTHER: "I see. Goodbye, Angelo!" ME: "Goodbye, ma'am."
A SURPRISE AT HOME
When I got home, I found my Uncle "Costi" (that's his nickname). ME: "Uncle... give me a tip (propina)." UNCLE: "I knew it. Here, take this and buy whatever you can." (He gave me one sol).
I immediately ran out to buy some cereal, and when I came back in, I saw my cousins Saron and Maty, who were 6 and 4 years old. ME: "Hi Maty! Long time no see!" MATY: "Angelo! Let's play with toys!" SARON: "Ange!" ME: "Hi Saron, how's it going?" SARON: "Everything's good." ME: "That's strange, why are you guys here? Are you staying over?" THEM: "No! We came to take you to Motupe!"
My mother came downstairs and explained the plan: my aunt has a local business there and, since there was going to be a big celebration, we were all going to help at her restaurant. My older brothers complained because they preferred to stay home, but my younger brother was excited.
ON THE ROAD TO MOTUPE
We piled into the cars for a 3 or 4-hour trip. Before arriving, we took a detour to a town famous for its avocados. In the town square, there was a glass box with a taxidermy caiman inside, and behind some fences, we saw two live caimans and six turtles. They were protected by fences so low that any kid could easily jump over and fall right into the pit.
Then we headed to the hill of Motupe, where my aunt's place is located, near the famous Cross of Motupe. The tradition there is to climb the hill via stairs until you reach the top, where there is a cross with a purple flag. On the last day of the week, the townspeople carry the cross down in a procession to the city.
To me, that was nonsense. That cross was just a lifeless wooden object, but the locals carried it around as if it were sacred. They even change the wood every so often so it doesn't rot. But boy, did it work for them—lots of tourists came for the food and the sweets at the fair because of the celebration.
DAY 1 & 2: HARD WORK
We arrived at 6:00 PM at the first location (the small one). We had "quaker" (oatmeal) with bread and cheese for dinner. To get to the second location, we had to climb stairs for 3 minutes since cars can't go up there.
It was a total surprise for my aunt because she doesn't have a cell phone and didn't know we were coming. That night I slept on a straw mattress; it was so hard I couldn't sleep at all. At 5:00 AM, a rooster started crowing just as I was finally drifting off.
At 6:00 AM, my parents opened the shop. Since they are great cooks, the place filled up fast with about 50 people. My brothers and I got to work: one took orders, and the rest of us cleaned and picked up plates. We finished at 7:00 PM, completely exhausted.
DAY 3 & 4: THE CLIMB
On the third day, there weren't many customers, so we were allowed to go out and explore. We even saw a wild pig in the mountains and got out of there fast for safety. We played football, tag, and volleyball with other kids from the area.
On the fourth day, my parents closed the shop so we could climb the hill. There were so many stalls selling food, soap, and even donkeys you could rent to go up the stairs. I was only doing it for fun since I didn't believe in the Cross of Motupe; to me, it was just a piece of wood. It was incredibly sunny, and it took us about 60 to 90 minutes to get near the top. The stairs were damaged from recent rains and were very narrow. When we arrived, the cross was packed with tourists. The landscape was beautiful, full of greenery. We made it back down in 40 minutes and went to eat some ceviche.
DAY 5 & 6: THEY FORGOT ABOUT US
On the fifth day, I helped my grandpa "chatarrear" (collecting bottles for recycling). There was a lot of trash because of the tourists.
The next day, I insisted that my grandpa take us to a nearby river. He agreed to take Maty, my younger brother, Peter, and me. Grandpa dropped us off at the river at 1:00 PM and said: GRANDPA: "Are you guys done swimming so I can take you back?" US: "No, Grandpa! One more hour!" GRANDPA: "Alright, I'm going back to the hill and I'll be back for you."
Time flew by because it was summer. When the sun started to set, we realized Grandpa wasn't coming back. Our clothes were in his car, and we were still wet and shivering from the cold! We walked for about 30 minutes along the road until my dad appeared in the car with Grandpa. It turns out Grandpa's shoulder hurt, he fell asleep, and he totally forgot about us.
THE ENCOUNTER WITH THE SNAKE
The next day, we went to a farm full of fruit trees. We saw iguanas hanging in the trees and ate lots of fruit. While we were walking, my mother screamed: MOTHER: "Ahhh! A snake!" We all jumped onto a fallen log out of fear. My dad and the caretaker tried to kill it with a stick, but the snake crawled into a hole and hid.
Finally, we went back to the city, enjoyed the sweets at the fair, and watched them bring the cross down from the hill. My father told us that for those people, the cross was like an idol, and I agreed. We got back to Chiclayo at 10:00 PM and went straight to sleep from exhaustion.
Thanks for reading the whole chapter! I hope you liked it. I'll try to get the next one out faster. See you next time!