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A Passion Renewed
By Maria Luisa Figueroa

Is hiking in the mountains like riding a bicycle? That is, once you do it, you can do it again. The question came to my mind recently as I started a two hour hike into the mountains surrounding the outskirts of the little town of La Merced, on the edge of the jungle.

I thought back to my youth when I was part of an enthusiastic group who enjoyed making long and arduous treks challenging any hill around Barranco. We trained three times a week with calisthenics and swimming. Saturday was the great day when, well equipped with food, water and good shoes, we would set out to conquer the dry hills of the Costa Chorrillana.

Now I remember how much I wondered at that time if Jose Olaya, the heroic Peruvian messenger during the War of the Pacific against Chile, would have walked the same dangerous route that we covered in a single file behind our guide. We finished up at the Playa de la Chiva in Villa completely spent, but victorious.Then, after a simple lunch, we went back. This time we followed the highway, and the joy of returning made the journey seem shorter. We almost didn't feel anything by the time we got back to Barranco, our departure point in the morning.

All Day Challenge
It was an all day challenge that now I realize tempered the character of all of us with determination and stamina.

All this was in my mind today. Without warning I found myself in a very similar situation.

Along with another couple, my husband and I decided to take a trip from Lima to the central jungle. Our final destination was La Merced, located 800 meters above sea level, a place where they grow great coffee, where you find many beautiful birds and you can enjoy a wonderful, sunny climate.

Jungle Hike
Tito, the husband of my friend, Elena, had organized our trip. He is a great organizer and had located El Fundo San Jose, an eco lodge, situated on 43 hectares of jungle on a hill with a panoramic view of La Merced and the verdant surrounding mountains. Tito had taken upon himself to inquire from our friendly hosts at the eco-lodge about a hike through the hills that circle the town. He had mentioned it, but I hadn't taken notice until five minutes before the beginning of the adventure.

Immediately after my early morning papaya juice, I heard someone announce the arrival of our guide who would go with us. I got ready by putting on my combat helmet, slipping into my yuppie style tennis shoes, and connecting myself to the marvelous music loaded in my I-POD.

Our guide
Our guide, Roberto, was agile, friendly and hardworking. He directed us to the outskirts of the hotel and headed up the mountain, a climb up to 1000 meters above sea level. It was a difficult start. The path was steep, shadowy and muddy.

My breathing quickened each minute as we walked, and I started to feel the pressure in my chest and on my legs so that it seemed that they could hardly respond. I wanted to remember all that I had learned 30 years ago. I tried to get my brain and my legs to start working together. But this didn't happen, and I was tiring badly. I began to think that I would have to return without reaching the top. The incline sharpened even more, and the mud clung dangerously to my shoes. I was afraid of slipping, and, even worse, bruising my pride.

It comes together
All of a sudden it started coming together, I was breathing rhythmically, inhaling through the nose and exhaling through the mouth.

Little by little I was integrating my memories, my body and the marvelous music I was listening to. I was doing it, I was walking just as many years before, coping with each difficulty, uniting myself with the vital landscape.

The group walked in silence which was broken only by the occasional comment that just added to the enrichment of our companionship.

We arrived at the second lookout, more than an hour into our challenging hike. The view that we had from the heights was of the little town of La Merced, silent, neat and abundantly green.

Walking and life
I felt ready to continue walking for the rest of my life. Now I understood Forest Gump, from the film of the same name, when he said that in walking there is something basic, even primitive.

Perhaps we feel powerful when we are able to overcome the obstacle that the mountain represents. In doing so, we have to learn to accommodate to the mountain. To climb it is to become one with it.

In climbing we are concentrating on getting to the top, we allow no other distraction, or fatigue. Focusing only on the idea of moving ahead-to success.

On the other hand, climbing also teaches us to descend, an activity as important in mountain climbing as it is in real life. We sometimes have to go down , get some air, and try once again , always try again, to go up to conquer our challenges until we reach the top.

This morning has been a motivator for me, refreshing, full of memories. It represents a rebirth of one of my great passions: walking in the mountains.

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