San Pedro de Alausi

Alausi is a very small town at the bottom of a mountain. The bus driver there deserves a medal. The narrow, winding, steep, untamacced roads made for a 45 minute thrill-seekers joy ride. It was hairy and scary at the same time, with sheer drops less than a foot away from the tyres at times.

The scenery and landscape reminded me of Bududa, Uganda.... And another tragic similarity, Alausi experienced a devastating and fatal landslide 3 months ago. The people are pushing ahead, but there is no vibrancy in the air. A community in mourning. Today was meant to be their annual fiesta but no one wants to party.

I strolled around, went to the San Pedro statue landmark, from there it was easy to see we were in the crater of a volcano, long ago expired. I met friendly, chatty boy called Roger who was determined to help my find the best and most touristy photo, happy to share his knowledge and talk to a foreigner while his Dad tried to figure out how to get his kite to stay up in the air.

I walked past a church with beautiful music pouring outside. I like to visit places of worship in different countries to see how they do things. I sat down at the back of the congregation, with the priest doing stuff up front. I looked around. The music touched my soul. I looked around some more. This was no church service; I was at a man's funeral! I made a quick getaway with only one quizzical look from a mourner.
Church/funeral

The other reason the town was so quiet is that it's main tourist attraction closed in COVID and has not reopened. The Devil's Nose train. A steep, terrifying, zigzagging train that has stunning views for people that don't want to do the 25km hike. The town's economy is decimated and the government has walked away from its responsibility. I bought an overpriced, fake alpaca jumper to contribute to the economy.

And still the people get you and each other on the street, are kind and gentle and helpful. ❤️

No tours were running for all the aforementioned reasons. I wasn't prepared to spend on a private tour, which are always available.Read more