Pictures of our trip to Manu National Reserve

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Welcome to the Jungle

After a tremendous amount of leg work on the part of Lauren and Dave we were ready to venture off to the jungle. The jungle of Manu is supposed to be one of the best preserved in South America as 80% is not even open to the public and within its limits live numerous indigenous tribes and nearly countless exotic species of flora and fauna. Our group was composed of three Dutchies and us three Americans. Our private bus scooped us up all bleary eyed at 5 AM and thus began the adventure. Day one was comprised of ten hours in the bus… a daunting feat if you ask me. The hours in the vehicle weren’t what scared me, I was more alarmed by the treacherous nature of the “road” upon which we were supposed to travel. Like I said, we were in a bus, which generally means massive vehicle, which also generally means you need a road built for something larger that a bicycle. However, this is Peru and the roads aren't always up to par with what we would consider navigable according to standards in the states. However, Carlos our guide, made the venture quite manageable, what with the numerous stops to take in the surrounding beauty of the local flora and fauna.

Day two of eight was comprised of roughly 6 hours in a motorboat. Now, I know that doesn't sound incredibly appealing to most but we had a super comfy sitch, each with his/her own reclining, padded seat and a fashionable life jacket (a massive improvement from the last boating expedition I embarked upon in a developing country). We had also rented mega strong binocs so as to adequately observe the goings on in the jungle from the comfort of our vessel.

After a full day on Madre de Dios we spent one sweaty night in the "town" of Boca Manu where we were afforded the luxury of electricity between the hours of 6 and 9 PM. During this time we were able to recharge batteries and take showers with the benefit of lights. Now, showers were an ordeal of their own, the water is pumped directly from the river and when showering with lights, one is able to tell that the water does, in fact, run clearish from time to time. Unfortunately, lights don't do crap for the temp which never reaches above freezing. I will have you know that these were the fastest showers of my life. I was in, out and clothed again in under four minutes.

As much as I would prefer to avoid the pain of the frigid shower, it rapidly became a necessity given the suffocating heat of the jungle. This is the type of heat that would make you swear that your internal organs were sweating. You drink water in hopes of providing solace to your melting innards but this only produces subsequent problems, for now you need to deal with relieving yourself. Normally, this comes with an easy solution BUT this is the jungle and nothing is normal here. If you choose to pull down your pants and squat you have exposed the precious tender skin of your nether regions, which provides quite a feast for all manor manner of jungle beasts! Option 2 is to hold it until your eyes turn yellow. This is quite a conundrum!

After three days we finally arrived in the Zona Reservada (the furthest point the public can reach in Manu National Park). During our sweltering four days and three nights in the ZR we had nearly limitless opportunities to see numerous types of jungle life including the endangered giant otter. There is a family of five living in the one of the oxbow lakes and we were fortunate enough to see them playing and eating. One curious male eventually took note of us and swam to our dock to give us hell and try to scare us off. Didn´t work. We stayed and stared in silence. Amazed.

The following day we sailed the glassy lake for two hours on a rough catamaran (basically ten pieces of wood nailed together) in hopes of a jaguar siting. While the illustrious cat remained a mystery, we were pleasantly surprised by the reappearance of the otter and the opportunity to watch a cormorant gobble up a snake and then fight to keep it down as she hadn´t bothered killing it before making it her supper.

Day after day we donned our progressively more disgusting clothing and tromped into the wilderness where we were greeted by only about a billion monkeys, exotic birds galore and 17 trillion insects. After the sun set we embarked upon alternative adventures that took us deep into the jungle to experience the nightlife of venomous spiders and poisonous snakes. For me, this was a terrifying endeavour due to the magnitude of beasts roaming around in the darkness. We even made a special trip to beach of the river to see if we could catch (a glimpse) of the numerous cayman who call those shores home. This enterprise proved quite successful, albeit a bit scary. Especially because of the deadly sand vipers who bury themselves in the sand, waiting for passing prey to present itself. I walked with tender care, terrified that my next step could cause my ultimate demise. After nearly an hour of my heart pounding and adrenaline surging through my veins each time I took a step, Dave chose to inform me that those snakes don't exist, at least not in Manu... What a pal... Thanks Dave, like I needed help thinking the jungle was scary...

Pictures of My New Hobby

As I walk through Peruvian city after Peruvian city, I notice one trend that stands out amongst the rest. There is an insane overabundance of absolutely terrifying mannequins in all Peruvian cities I have visited. I have yet to conclude the precise reasoning behind the desire to use these creatures to advertise your wares. Perhaps I am just naive to the allure of it all. Here are a few pictures to give you a taste of the beauties in my neck of the woods.

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Pictures NPHS reunion in Cusco, Peru

By chance several friends from one hundred years ago, from the days of yore back at Newbury Park High School, were able to gather in the lovely Peruvian city of Cusco. Good times were had.

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Pictures of Our Walk to Las Salinas

My Canadian friend Barb and I decided to rock the walk from Las Chullpas to the salt mines one sunny afternoon. The walk/hike took several hours and included a MASSIVE hill or mountain, by any standards. The views were incredible and the salt mines were nothing like I expected. Barbara you were awesome! Proud of you!

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Pictures of Urubamba and the Sacred Valley

I have been living at a bed and breakfast called Las Chullpas owned by Leonie and Chalo. Las Chullpas is in a small town called Urubamba, which is located in the Sacred Valley of Peru. Here are a few photos to give you a little taste of the beauty in which I live.

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Pictures Ausangate Trek

You already know the stories of the trek to Ausangate and now, FINALLY, here are the pictures. Keep in mind I was a tad bit under the weather for a portion of the ordeal so my pictures are limited and those I have posted only give you a tiny sampling of the abundant beauty in the Andes.

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Pictures Back in Cusco for My Birthday and the Inti Raimi Festival

After the jungle we returned to Cusco to celebrate my 27th birthday!! And to take part in the festivities of Inti Raimi. The day after my birthday celebration Dave wasn't feeling like mingling with a few hundred thousand folks who were trying to get a glimpse of the historic procession of Inti Raimi that is known as Cusco's largest celebration of the year so he stayed home. Lauren and I were determined to see the locals dressed up, dancing and reenacting cultural ceremonies so we headed for the mountain around 10:30 AM. We really wanted to get a good spot for when the deal went down at noon. Now, the hot sun is one thing but the hot sun with many hundreds of thousands of tourists including the most obnoxious 19-year old English girls who could only talk about how they "fancied the pants off" this dude or that, well, that is another thing entirely. As if the sun and chatter weren't enough, we eventually found out that we made a drastic miscalculation with timing because the ceremony wasn't scheduled to begin until 2 PM. AND we were in Peru, which means we are on Peruvian time. By the time 2:40 rolled around and the procession began, Lauren and I were exhausted. We were able hang out for about 25 minutes before we gave in and went home where it was cool and quiet. I later was informed (by several reputable sources) that the ceremony included the sacrifice and burning of the heart of a llama. I believe we made a good choice in leaving when we did but think Dave made the best choice of all when he decided to skip Inti Raimi all together. The dances and costumes were quite interesting. Perhaps if our timing were better and I could delete all those who annoyed me then maybe I would be more keen on checking it out again but as for now, 25 minutes was quite enough Inti Raimi for me.

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Major Changes Have Come to Pass

When I initially embarked on this adventure I figured that after a few weeks of natural medicine lessons with Leonie, I would be elbow deep in placenta. Unfortunately, when I arrived and had my first chat with Leonie she said that she misunderstood me and (for some reason unbeknownst to me) she thought that I was fluent in Spanish. I can assure you I am at no point that could possibly be confused with fluency. We agreed that the best course of action would be for me to take lessons from her at a very reasonable rate while I simultaneously took Spanish lessons; from here we would see where things went. This was all well and good for several weeks until one sunny afternoon a very tired Leonie approached me. She explained that she has continued to take on patient after patient and project after project and has reached a point where she is so over worked that she can’t even recall the last time she was able to wash her hair. She has decided in the next few months she will retire from midwifery but in the mean time she must reduce her workload. I can see the stress and how it is negatively affecting her and I completely agree that the best possible option for her is to cut back on the extraneous commitments that don’t immediately effect the health of others. Unfortunately, lessons for me fit in that category. With these changes underfoot, I will soon be leaving this beautiful and sacred valley. Las Chullpas, Leonie and Chalo you have been incredible and thank you for all you have shared with and taught me. Lots of love.

Pictures of Cusco and Pisac con las Janines

This massive grouping of pictures is of my time spent with the Janines in the city of Cusco and exploring the Pisac ruins.

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Pictures are here!

These pictures are from the very beginning of my trip when I was in Miraflores and staying with the Janines.

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¿Donde esta la Home Depot?

In Urubamba, we live at the base of a snow covered mountain, albeit the snow is relatively minimal and quite far but the fact remains that it still exists in relative proximity to my adobe home. During a lesson of natural medicine, I asked Leonie why the color of her finger nails was so different than mine. "Because you're anemic and I'm not," she replied simply. Hummm so that was that. It was something I had suspected but now that Leonie confirmed it, I knew I needed to take action. My first step was obvious, I needed to find some dark green leafy veg & other iron rich vegetarian food sources. Then Leonie informed me that I could easily get iron if I did the following: purchase 3 nails from the hardware store, insert them into a red apple, leave them overnight & then scarf down the apple in the morning. I could reuse the nails for about 5 days before I would have leached all the iron from them. With time, these steps should provide my body with additional iron and as a result, eventually should enable my body to cope with the cold better than it has been. With this in mind I am off to the hardware store. Hopefully, this will be the last you hear of the cold from me!!