On one of our stops, Julio finally inquired about the white tube I’d been carrying the entire trek. Told him it was my fly rod, but since he’d indicated the waters were sacred and reserved for locals I’d not tried to fish along the way. In fact, didn’t even have my flies with me!
Julio’s eyes brightened and his ever-present smile got even wider…”¿pescadore?”
“¡Si!”
Told us he hasn’t fished since he was a boy in the jungle with his father, but that he loved it! A new plan formed in his sharp Quechuan brain…
First, we crossed the Salkantay River in one of the cable cars used by the locals - annual flooding during rainy seasons made bridges an annual reconstruction project, so most villages just set up small cable cars to cross the streams at any flow level.
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| First, retrieve the car from its neutral position over the stream. |
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| Rope tending to prevent hang ups is crucial for a smooth ride and to avoid being stuck midstream! |
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First group loaded and ready!
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Better’n than Disneyland or Universal Studios!
We crossed and bought fresh passion fruit, bananas and coffee from the farmer, then borrowed his cane pole, dug up some worms and dropped into the river to try our luck!
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| Julio and the farmer were more excited than me as they dug for worms! |
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| Salkantay mermaid |
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| Angling recon for future fly selection. Standard routine is to turn over stones, check out the entomology, then try to match the hatch! |
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| Old school. Grew up canepoling in Yorktown, Tx, so why not Peru?! |
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| Fishing is seldom about catching, although that is a blessing. But learning a new river with the next generation and a new friend creates memories and images that’ll last a lifetime…and prolly beyond! |
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| Julio was unfamiliar with polarization, so when I loaned him my Costas, he was amazed! Check out the concentration! Gave him the polarized sunglasses for his future pescatorial adventures! |
It’s said one cannot step into the same river twice, because like Life it’s forever flowing past us, changing, offering new opportunities and challenges.
Sometimes we’re successful, sometimes simply befuddled and humbled, but as long as we’re in the flow, getting our feet wet, we’re living and learning.
To spend time in such a beautiful place with such a good man, to learn and to teach, to enjoy the peace and solitude…not sure there was any part of the entire trip I enjoyed on a deep spiritual level as much as that morning!
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