This year we have had a particularly sunny dry season. I have been in Chachapoyas 13 years and don’t remember such a long spell without any rain at all. For me this meant I with a friend could take full advantage to explore new routes in the mountains to the east of Chachapoyas, in an area known for more than 320 wet days per year (see http://jaggedhorizon.com). It was unbelievably beautiful with frosty starry nights.
Whilst out there we witnessed first hand the burning of mountains. A local farmer had come out to check on his animals and set fire to the hills. He does this to spark new plant growth for his cows to eat and bring the rain. Unfortunately the burning is a haphazard affair and may burn a small patch of large bunch grasses or it may burn a whole mountain. We observed him get out his matches and light area after area, one big fire filling the valley with smoke and entering the forest. He said he knew it was wrong because you can be fined now, but he said that burning his patch of forest would be okay because in the next valley there are still thousands of hectares.
That night in our tent we kept watch as fire started to get closer. We had set a point that if the fire reached it then we would move camp. As the dew fell the fire died down. However, we could see the red glow from other fires in the distance that raged throughout the night.
Back in Chachapoyas a permanent blue haze hung in the air and there was niggle in the back of my throat. For the time being at least while there is still vegetation the rains will come and hence the burners will be proved right. It may take a week of burning but eventually the rain has to fall. But what does the future hold?
