Gocta (the 3rd highest waterfall in the world?)
Trip Start
Oct 20, 2008
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15
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Trip End
Dec 06, 2008
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Chachapoyas,
Peru
Friday, November 7, 2008
sore after three days on our feet, we set off again in search of Gocta the supposed third highest waterfall in the world. The controversy comes from the fact that it is indeed two waterfalls measuring in total about 771meters.
They both measure about 550 meters fall the lower falls and 220 meters for the upper one. The whole thing is amazing so 3rd highest or not it´s worth the visit. Bring your trunks if you want to go up to the edge though.
Wojtek sat this one out, so me and Ewa pushed the limits of our tootsies on this 4th day of walking. It´s about a 2 and half our trek to the falls from the local town, and make sure you book a guide in advanced through a reputable tour agency, unlike ours, who left us stranded without.
You are not allowed to trek there solo, and it took us about an hour to organize one in the form of Miguel. A young farm boy who caught us up no problems after fetching a change of clothes and after we ran out of patience and started out a little ahead of him.
Along for the ride too, was Neta our new trusty Israeli trekker, and the lovely Rosarrio on holiday from Chiclayo. It took me all of five seconds to work out that her eyes weren´t naturally blue. But the contact lenses did look stunning at first glance.
On the way there we crossed over a rope bridge and at one point our guide said what we all thought was ´puma´ and pointed into the bushes by the stream, which had us English speakers captivated for ten minutes, looking for this most elusive of creatures, just to find out that he was talking about the foam on the water.
I´m still confused about this now.
The roar of water got loader as we approached, at some points sounding like thunder cracks or splitting rocks. Me and Neta picked up a friend in the form of a butterfly which refused to leave her hand once he´d landed there.
Eventually we got within 500yards of the falls where you can observe from the path, staying relatively dry.
But that wasn´t enough for me. I wasn´t gonna get close this close to one of the highest waterfalls in the world and not at least get a little bit under it. I changed into my trunks at the side of the path and ran the last 450yards of the path, through the drenching mist and made my way up to the edge of the rocky outcrop, on the edge of the drop pool where I (and some crazy school kids) got blasted by the spray of 500meter falls.
It wasn´t until a few minutes that I heard Rosarrio behind me in jeans and a shirt, she was drenched too.
After a thorough soaking and about 20 photos with the school kids (seems gingers are kinda famous here), we made our way back to the others.
We slid our way back to the taxi, and had a change of clothes and lunch in the local café, and I made a tit out of myself, mocking one of the school girls who had been in the toilet a bit too long.
The boys were all making jokes so I joined in with a few grunting noises thinking it was a bloke in there... more to my embarrassment when she came out and gave us all a filthy look. Oops
In the evening we caught the night bus back to Chiclayo... continued next.
