Otanche, an Emerald in the Rough

After the birthday BBQ on the farm; Mario, Emilcen, and I took a bus to their hometown of Otanche. It was a bumpy journey that took almost 4 hours. Once we arrived, Mario and I had a couple of drinks at the bar he owned, right on the corner of the main plaza. On a side note, Otanche is a small town, and Mario literally knows everyone. Throughout my time there, I met so many people daily, and all were extremely friendly. It is also quite difficult to get to, and all the vehicles there are 4 wheel drive, mostly dominated by all models of Toyota Landcruisers.



The following morning (Sunday 9-24-2005) we had a HUGE breakfast of soup, plantain, and largest piece of chicken I have ever seen. We then went to Cosquez, an emerald mine that is the main industry in the area. The drive, and the area in general, was absolutely gorgeous. Very green, steep hills with great views. Once we arrived at the mine, we strolled around and I met a friendly miner that took me into one of the "cortes" which are small holes in the mountain or mines. It was very interesting, and I was extremely dirty in no time, after climbing up ladders in tiny little tunnels deep in the rock.


After my short adventure, we went to the nearby Emerald market, which didn´t look like a market at all, until you inquired about buying emeralds, and were immediately swamped by people selling. Many thousands of dollars are exchanged there daily. It was quite the adventure, and I had my friend Mario do all my negotiating for me, as i really had no idea what a quality emerald looked like.


Once we started back to Otanche, the taxi driver (Cesar) became excited, and wanted to go to some caverns which were pretty much unknown in the region, and definitely never seen by anyone but some local farm boys. After visiting the emerals museum, which was free and owned by a miner who did well, I was convinced to take a bus the next morning, and we were off on our new adventure. This included asking 4 different farmer families for directions, only one even knowing what we were talking about. The directions consisted of looking up at the mountains and say, it is up there where there is rock, more or less. Anyway, after about an hour, we were lost. Me and Cesar´s son Daniel were having a blast, getting all muddy, making our way through dense jungle while Cesar was upset he left his Machete in the car. In any case, we ended up finding the entrance and it was beautiful.


Unfortunately, my small led headlamp and our 2 flashlights were not sufficient, and were using cell phones and my camera screen for extra light. Several pictures did turn out pretty well, since there was so little light we really didn´t know what we saw until we looked at the pictures later. In any case, after that hike, without water or food, we were glad when each farmer offered us a drink. We had milk and various juices before heading back. Then, the negotiation began about how we should have another adventure the next day, and that I should once again postpone my bus. We agreed to meet at 6a.m. for a trip to Pena Blanca, another mine in the area, and another beautiful drive.


That morning, the 4 of us set off again, with Cesar even letting me drive his Landcruiser part of the way to this town that basically consisted of a couple of wooden building housing some miners, owned by the family running the mine. It sort of reminded me of the wild west, with horses hauling things, every male carrying a gun, etc.. The owner gave us a tour of yet another mine, with huge quartz veins and intricate tunnels. One of the pictures is of the owner holding one of the many great formations they find while mining. Many of the miners live there for 20 days, returning to the city to visit their family and then returning. After returning to Otanche, I almost agreed to stay longer. It was an excellent time.