went to the house of a young peasant 3 with six children, who received them very well and gave them a lot of information. During the second conversation, Inti told him that he was the head of the guerrillas and he bought two pigs to make huminta. 4
We stayed in the same place eating corn and pork. We made ponche 5 in the early morning, but left it for the following day.
February 10
Posing as one of Intiâs assistants, I went to talk to the peasant. The performance was not particularly effective because Inti was so shy.
The peasant is true to typeâunable to help us, but also incapable of seeing the harm he can cause us, and for this reason, potentially dangerous. He told us about other peasants, but we could not be entirely confident about his information because he was not very specific.
El Médico [Moro] treated the children who had worms and a mare had kicked one of them; then we headed off.
We spent the afternoon and evening making huminta (it is not very good). At night we gathered everyone together and I made a few observations about the next 10 days. First, I am thinking of a hike of 10 days or more toward Masicuri, so that all the compañeros can actually see the soldiers for themselves; and then we would try to return along the FrÃas to be able to explore another trail.
(The peasantâs name is Rojas.)
February 11
The old manâs birthday: 67. 6
We continued down a clearly marked path along the riverbank, until it became rather difficult to get through, and every now and again we would lose the trail as it seemed nobody had passed through this area in a while. At midday we got to a point where it disappeared completely, next to a large river that suddenly made us doubt again whether it was the Masicuri or not. We stopped at a creek while Marcos and Miguel went upstream to explore. Inti, with Carlos and Pedro, did the same downstream, trying to find the mouth. They found it, and confirmed that it was the Masicuri, whose nearest ford seemed to be farther downstream, where they had seen several peasants loading horses in the distance. They have probably seen our tracks, so from now on we will have to take greater care. We are one or two leagues from Arenales, according to what the peasant told us.
Altitude = 760 meters.
February 12
We walked the two kilometers rapidly on the path made by the vanguard yesterday. From here, the trail took a while to clear. At 4:00 in the afternoon, we hit a main road that seems to be the one we have been looking for. There was a house on the other side of the river, ahead of us, but we decided not to go there, and instead we looked for another house on this side that should belong to Montaño, whom Rojas recommended. Inti and Loro went there but they found no one, although therewere signs that it was the right place.
At 7:30 we set off on a night march that served to show how much there is to learn. At around 10:00, Inti and Loro returned to the house, bringing not so good news: the man was drunk and not very welcoming; he had nothing but corn. He had got drunk at Caballeroâs 7 house on the other side of the river, where the ford is. We decided to sleep in the little patch of trees nearby. I was completely exhausted; the humintas had not agreed with me and I had not eaten anything all day.
February 13
The dawn let loose a downpour that lasted all morning, flooding the river. The news is better: Montaño is the ownerâs sonâabout 16 years old. His father was not there and will be away for a week; he gave us a lot of specific information about the ford, which he says is a league away. A section of the road follows the left bank, but only for a short distance. The only house on this side is that belonging to Pérezâs brother, a small farmer whose daughter is the girlfriend of a member of the army.
We moved on to a new camp, beside the creek and a cornfield. Marcos and Miguel made a shortcut to the main road.
Altitude = 650 meters.
We stayed in the same place eating corn and pork. We made ponche 5 in the early morning, but left it for the following day.
February 10
Posing as one of Intiâs assistants, I went to talk to the peasant. The performance was not particularly effective because Inti was so shy.
The peasant is true to typeâunable to help us, but also incapable of seeing the harm he can cause us, and for this reason, potentially dangerous. He told us about other peasants, but we could not be entirely confident about his information because he was not very specific.
El Médico [Moro] treated the children who had worms and a mare had kicked one of them; then we headed off.
We spent the afternoon and evening making huminta (it is not very good). At night we gathered everyone together and I made a few observations about the next 10 days. First, I am thinking of a hike of 10 days or more toward Masicuri, so that all the compañeros can actually see the soldiers for themselves; and then we would try to return along the FrÃas to be able to explore another trail.
(The peasantâs name is Rojas.)
February 11
The old manâs birthday: 67. 6
We continued down a clearly marked path along the riverbank, until it became rather difficult to get through, and every now and again we would lose the trail as it seemed nobody had passed through this area in a while. At midday we got to a point where it disappeared completely, next to a large river that suddenly made us doubt again whether it was the Masicuri or not. We stopped at a creek while Marcos and Miguel went upstream to explore. Inti, with Carlos and Pedro, did the same downstream, trying to find the mouth. They found it, and confirmed that it was the Masicuri, whose nearest ford seemed to be farther downstream, where they had seen several peasants loading horses in the distance. They have probably seen our tracks, so from now on we will have to take greater care. We are one or two leagues from Arenales, according to what the peasant told us.
Altitude = 760 meters.
February 12
We walked the two kilometers rapidly on the path made by the vanguard yesterday. From here, the trail took a while to clear. At 4:00 in the afternoon, we hit a main road that seems to be the one we have been looking for. There was a house on the other side of the river, ahead of us, but we decided not to go there, and instead we looked for another house on this side that should belong to Montaño, whom Rojas recommended. Inti and Loro went there but they found no one, although therewere signs that it was the right place.
At 7:30 we set off on a night march that served to show how much there is to learn. At around 10:00, Inti and Loro returned to the house, bringing not so good news: the man was drunk and not very welcoming; he had nothing but corn. He had got drunk at Caballeroâs 7 house on the other side of the river, where the ford is. We decided to sleep in the little patch of trees nearby. I was completely exhausted; the humintas had not agreed with me and I had not eaten anything all day.
February 13
The dawn let loose a downpour that lasted all morning, flooding the river. The news is better: Montaño is the ownerâs sonâabout 16 years old. His father was not there and will be away for a week; he gave us a lot of specific information about the ford, which he says is a league away. A section of the road follows the left bank, but only for a short distance. The only house on this side is that belonging to Pérezâs brother, a small farmer whose daughter is the girlfriend of a member of the army.
We moved on to a new camp, beside the creek and a cornfield. Marcos and Miguel made a shortcut to the main road.
Altitude = 650 meters.
Similar Books
