A Deeper Look at Carnachique
By Bryan Alfaro
What a day! After getting a tour of the irrigation system from Julio and Santiago (the kings) yesterday, we decided that the best approach for assessing the system was to separate it into 30-meter sections. At each section, we would take detailed measurements of the canal’s dimensions, and take any other measurement of special points that might have come up, like the flow rate at the source capture. We knew we had a big day ahead, so Arielle and I woke up early to try and get some loaves of bread fresh out of the oven for the team, but unfortunately the bakery closest to us said that we needed to get there at 8 am, and we were there a little early. Instead, we walked around to see what we could get, and eventually found a street vendor that was selling different pastries. We bought some, and after a tasty breakfast, the team was ready for Julio to drive us back to Carnachique.
Team members Scott (left), Daniel (center), and Vivian (right) take measurements of a potential location for a system reservoir.
In Carnachique, we split into two teams: Arielle, Lucy, and Ellen worked to make the 30-meter subdivisions. Along the way, Arielle introduced a community member to Bad Bunny – we’re waiting to hear the Carnachique album review.
The second team, Scott, Vivian, Daniel, and I, took detailed measurements at each section that the first team marked off. We started at a very detailed section that included the source capture, concrete section of the canal, and a little area where excess water from the river could flow during the rainy season. With help from Julio, we took flow rate measurements here with my Nalgene bottle that I will now need to clean with bleach. We continued working our way along each section in this way, taking measurements of anything that we found interesting along the way. At one point I backed up too far while I was taking a picture and may or may not have fallen off a cliff. Thankfully I was fine, and we pushed forward, but we stopped soon after so that Daniel, Vivian, and I can debate about what exactly an overpass is (I promise it’s relevant to the system).
A view of Carnachique.
Eventually, we got to a section that contained a part of the canal that went under the main road, and after taking some measurements, the other team met up with us – they had finished dividing the canal and since it was a little past noon, we decided this was a good time to stop and go to Otuzco for lunch. Julio took us to the same place as yesterday, where we tried some seco de res, which was a beef stew with some rice, potatoes, and salad. While there, Julio was trying to get the coffee machine to work, and after heckling the restaurant employee, he eventually got two cups, which in his words was the best coffee in the world.
Team members Daniel and Lucy take measurement of an existing reservoir in the system.
After lunch, we drove back to Carnachique to continue where we had left off. Since Arielle, Lucy, and Ellen finished making the sections, they joined us as we made detailed measurements of each individual section. This was a great time for them to join us, too, since at this point we came across some reservoirs that we needed to measure, and that was a whole team effort. Daniel was putting his body on the line for some of these measurements, and between that and the fact he carried the water jug all day yesterday makes him the trip’s MVP so far.
Eventually, we came to a section of the canal that had some pipe that hung on the edge of a cliff, and we spent a fair amount of time trying to figure out a way to take some measurements of it. After giving it some thought and funny contributions from Julio, we were able to get what we were looking for and kept moving along.
The team tries to measure a pipe that was on the side of a cliff.
At one point, we came across a point in the canals where the team wanted to look into a potential shortcut that would help us avoid some sharp turns. The only issue was that we needed to take measurements of a gap between different ledges in the canal. I thought I could toss over some measuring tape to do this, but after a very disappointing throw, Julio came to save us and got down into a little valley and used a stick to help get the tape across the gap.
By now it was around 4 PM, and Scott, Arielle, and I had to go back to Otuzco to meet with the Asociacion Marianista de Accion Social (AMAS), to find out about some water quality testing that we could conduct in Carnachique and Pusunchas. After a very fruitful meeting, we were able to schedule some tests for both communities that would compare levels of different contaminants to a health department benchmark. In the meantime, Ellen, Lucy, Vivian, and Daniel continued to work their way towards the end of the system while taking detailed measurements of each subdivision. Along the way, they came across a family from Carnachique that began asking a lot of questions about the project and when we may be starting construction. After our savior Daniel deflected these questions, we eventually finished taking measurements along the entire canal. The team met back up in Otuzco and went out for dinner, where some of our members tried tallarin noodles with chicken, and little kids from the restaurant were chasing each other with brooms.
Our PMs and Scott meet with AMAS to talk about water quality testing in Carnachique and Pusunchas.
Finally, the team went back to the Marianistas house, where they began to sift through all the data they got from today. Overall, it was a very productive day, and it gave us a lot of material to talk about in the meeting with the community on Friday.
Prompt: Favorite meal from the day?
Ellen: instant coffee at breakfast
Scott: instant coffee at breakfast
Arielle: tallarin with chicken
Vivian: pescado frito (but she had the head)
Daniel: pescado frito
Lucy: pescado frito
Bryan: Seco de res