The 3 "S" es



During our paddles in the canoe, Raul pointed to various blobs in trees and said to us, "Oh look, I think its a ________." We would look and we would see nothing. He would then hand us the binoculars and guide us. OH! We were completely blind without him. I don't know about you, but my preconceived notions about the jungle included vast quantities of animal life, insect life, and reptile life - so much wildlife that one needs to duck and dodge it at every turn! But no....well, maybe - but you can't see it because they're so well camouflaged. Thanks to Raul we were able to spot the ever-so-slow three toed sloth -  

Spot the wildlife

They don't move much so they look like termite nests up high in the trees. After a rain storm we (by we I mean Raul, of course) saw big iguanas sunning themselves on the tips of the tree tops. The most impressive bit of spotting by Raul was a massive red amazonian boa. Yeah, a big red snake should stand out against green foliage, right? Well, no. It doesn't. We struggled to see this one even with Raul's direction. When we finally did though we were enthralled. This thing was impressive to see, and it was watching us...or so it seemed.  We never felt threatened because we were in the safety of our canoe.

We also sent some time piranha fishing - now, I've told you the story about me and fishing, right? So, you know how I feel about this particular activity but, I decided to give it a go - 'coz piranha are evil creatures that eat people right? No, not really. They're actually quite tiny and helpless when you catch them on a hook. And I did catch one...I quickly took a picture and begged Raul to take it off and put him back in a hurry. I stopped after that. I felt guilty.



That's me in the middle

Later that afternoon I gave them a chance for payback and I went for a swim in the same river...they didn't bite.

One morning, we found a visitor inside the dining room, hangin' out on one of the screen doors. He was a big fella - a tarantula! One of the guests insisted that it be removed, so one of the staff members coaxed it into his hand to put it outside...but offered us a go at holding it first. Uh, yeah...right. As you can see by the picture, I did come round. There was a very tense moment initially when he placed it in my hand...but she had such soft, cotton bud toesies...that it just made me smile! The other guest wasn't as taken by her - you can see her on the other side of the room...

Paddling in the Jungle

The next couple of days we went exploring in the dugout canoe. Raul took us to his village - at first we were a little apprehensive, with visions of "villagers" trying to sell us stuff - but our fears were soon set to rest. This was a real village with real people. It is located on a thin finger of land between two distrubutary rivers and so it is a very long village. The government has recently installed a sidewalk the length of the village to make it easier for the people to get to the village's central space and school.

As we walked down the sidewalk - we had parked the boat in some one's back yard - we saw house after empty house. Everyone was at the village's central space/park. They were playing soccer. Everyone was. The kids on one end and the adults on the other. Raul explained that other villages were invited for tournaments. Its a day long event, and everybody gets to play; kiddies in the morning, then the ladies, then the gents. Its very serious business.

Raul also showed us the jail. This consisted of two long horizontal boxes under a house. Most infractions include jail time...tell lies about your neighbour; 1 day jail. Get drunk and beat your wife; 3 days jail and a hefty fine. Don't show up for your civic duty; 2 days jail, a fine, and 4 times the duties you tried to avoid. Civic duties include cleaning the areas around the sidewalk and cutting the grass in the central space. Now, they don't have lawn mowers, grass cutting is done by machete. Everyone gets a stretch of 2 m, unless you try to skip out, then they give you 8m! All these rules/laws are decided upon by the village during monthly meetings. Oh and the jail times do not include bathroom breaks or meals.

On the way back down the long and winding sidewalk Raul stopped a couple of times - once at a starfruit tree and once at the sugar canes...we were double fisted nom-noming on jungle treats

Welcome to the Jungle

Can't say that I'm a big fan of Iquitos. It is a loud place - like someone turned up the volume and forgot. Cars are a luxury so there's a constant scream of motorcycles and mototaxis, much honking and, to compete with all this is people playing loud music. I kept hearing the voice of the Grinch in my head saying, "Noise, noise, noise"...I like quiet.



Amazon river

So, I quickly arranged to be taken away into the jungle! One day after my arrival I was being whisked down the Itaya river, which then connects to the mighty Amazon. And it is mighty...mighty brown - it looked like chocolate milk. It is huge and quite impressive, yes. The vast expanse of sky above it helps add to the grandeur - I'm glad that there are no skyscrapers to take away from its greatness.

After about 45 minutes, we turned left at at distributary river (it flows away from the main river) Rio Tapira. This river only exists during the wet season. It is here that the lodge that would be our home for the next three days is located. The lodge is a series of buildings on stilts that are connected by covered walkways. The common rooms, the dining and hammock rooms (oh yeah, you need a hammock room!), do not have walls - there is only mosquito netting so that you can look out.

The first thing you notice when the boat engine turns off? The silence. Well, the almost silence...The Bocho Locho bird is a bright yellow bird that makes nests shaped like giant drops of water - but that isn't why I dubbed it the Drop Bird. The male has a distinctive song that sounds like an amplified drop of water dripping into a deep well. Its very hypnotic.

When we arrived we got right down to business - we donned our standard issue rubber boots, in case of snakes...and mud - and went straight into the jungle. As soon as we passed the tree line we were assailed by a mass of mosquitoes. We had put on our 80% DEET insect repellent, but that didn't stop them from buzzing in our ears, that horrible whine that makes all humans flail their arms in panic. It wasn't so bad while we were moving, but Raul, our guide, stopped to tell us about the medicinal uses of many of the plants and when we stood still it seemed like all the mosquitoes of the jungle descended on us. Raul hadn't put any repellent on and he was basically the buffet at this banquet - it was quite frightening to see the back of his tshirt.

We caught sight of some squirrel monkeys, high above us in the trees. They are a small monkey so we were glad that Raul had brought some binoculars so we could get a "closer" look...those trees are TALL. We stood and watched them and they watched us as they passed way above our heads - they're very cute. We also saw some spider monkeys, who have really long arms, but they weren't as curious about us as the squirrel monkeys so they moved on rather quickly. Closer to the ground we saw some industrious leaf cutter ants all in a row with their leaf bits, and some massive army ants. Raul explained to us that the jungle people would use the army ant's very powerful mandibles as sutures...they just had to cut of the venomous segment of it's body first - he even demonstrated.

That night we did it all again; boots into the jungle to see the night creatures...which include mosquitoes. This time, in addition to the insect repellent, I put a scarf around my head so that at least I wouldn't have to listen to that sound. It was very effective, although a wayward moth, attracted to my headlamp, did get caught up in it.

scorpion spider

Raul wanted to find us a nice tarantula - sadly, we didn't see one, but we did have the pleasure of meeting a very big and long legged scorpion spider. Raul even picked it up with his bare hands! Yeech! As we turned around from that encounter, I saw a pair of glowing eyes in the dark...what the heck?? It was a giant bull frog! He didn't care one whit about us as we photographed him - he was huge - came up past my ankle.

Bull frog - That's Raul's foot in the upper left

When I got back to my room that night, I had a visitor attached to my door...it was a tree frog with his big eyes and sucker type toes. Awwwww!

Flying to Iquitos

My plane ticket said Cusco to Iquitos. My boarding pass said Cusco to Iquitos. So you can imagine my surprise when the plane landed in Lima and the pilot said, "Welcome to Lima. Enjoy your stay." Um....

I gathered up my stuff and yes, I should have asked the question BEFORE I disembarked...but I didn´t. I went to the baggage claim place in the airport...there, I asked the question.

The airline person looked in puzzlement at my boarding pass. "There´s no direct flight from Cusco to Iquitos." No shit.  After showing my pass and telling my story to a few people, one lady said, "You shouldn´t have left the plane." No shit. "It´s leaving in 20 minutes!" Oh shit.

I was not permitted to go back the way I came - security. I had to go through the airport proper, go through security, the whole rigmarole. An air hostess who was going that way was recruited to help fast track me - she shoved me through the metal detectors, explaining things quickly to the security folks. We jogged down the line of boarding gates - mine was at the end...of course. She pointed in the direction I needed to go and told me to RUN to gate 9.

I ran. The guy was waiting for me at the gate and ushered me into the corridor leading to the plane. I ran down the corridor, with visions of a plane full of glaring, angry passengers....but no, folks were still settling in.

I found the seat I had occupied just 35 min ago. sigh. FLIGHT TIP: When in doubt, ask BEFORE you get off the plane.

We landed in Iquitos at around 8pm and immediately I could feel the heat and humidity. When I got to the terminal there was a porter there with my name. Ok...didn´t really need a porter...he grabbed my stuff and then escorted me outside - where we were assailed by a barrage of taxi and mototaxi drivers. The porter walked past them all to one in particular, and when we got to his car the porter waited...oh I need to tip you do I? grrrr didn´t need a bloody porter...

Iquitos is the largest city that you have to either fly into or boat into - there are no roads or rails to this place. Cars are a real luxury and are not very common. I was quite scary to watch this taxi guy dodging motorcycles stacked with entire families on them.

We finally arrived at my hostel - in a pitch black street...oh dear. He honked his horn and the door opened. A guy came out to grab my bags. "Welcome to the Flying Dog - we have no power." Great.

The taxi asked for a ridiculous 20 soles for the trip - I had paid 6 in Cusco. Oh....it´s going to be one of those places.

The Story of the Sandals

Back on the Monday before I went on the trail, and Encarna was still with me in Cusco, I found a lovely pair of sandals that I HAD to have...ladies, you all know what I´m talking about. This was in a mini market type place that we had ducked into to avoid the rain. The sellers were in a U shape in a large inner courtyard of an old building.

The lady selling the lovely sandals didn´t have my size in the colour that I wanted (red, of course) but she did say that her husband could whip a pair up for me no problem. I would just have to put down a deposit and come back on Wednesday (the day before the trail). Hmmmm sounds good to me! I paid a deposit of half the negotiated price and she told me she would be there on Wednesday at 9 sharp with my sandals.

Wed 9:00 - no one
Wed 10:00 - no one
Wed 11:45 - "Oh, sorry they´re still not here. Can you come back later please?"
Wed 1:30 - "Oh, when I said later I meant like 3."
Wed 3:30 - "Oh, sorry. Still not here and I´m closing at 4 today...but the lady across the way will be here to take them from the guy when he gets here....for SURE in an hour."
Wed 4:30 - (lady across the way) shakes her head - they still haven´t come.
Wed 5:10 - Still nothing. I left an angry note (I went to use an internet cafe to use google translate).

When I got back to Cusco after the Inca Trail, I was determined to get those bloody sandals!

The morning started much like it did above - no one was there. By my third visit at 11, one of the other sellers asked me to stop and have a look at her stuff. I was so angry by this point I replied, "No comprando nada aqui, la señora de 48 me robaron!"  - I won´t buy anything here the lady in stall 48 has robbed me....and I stomped away.

The woman called me back a few times before I reluctantly turned and walked back. She wanted the story. I explained the thing as best I could - the verb tenses were all over the place...gasp! - and the woman managed to piece it together. By then another vendor, a gentleman, had come over as well. They discussed the situation and then turned to me and said, "We will call them and get you your sandals. If they don´t show up we will reimburse you ourselves." wow...

They called the people from stall 48 and asked me to come back in 40 min...here we go again. But, I went away and came back an hour later for good measure.
 The maker of the sandals was there...with my sandals and a thousand apologies - it was Christmas time...there were many orders...the wife didn´t consult...etc, etc...
Anyway, I finally got my sandals - and I still had an hour to kill before my flight to Iquitos...the jungle.

Aguas Calientes

I had booked a "fancy" hotel in Aguas Calientes - the town at the bottom of Machu Picchu - as a special treat after 4 shower less days of sleeping on the ground and sweating all day. And it sure was a fancy place! So, can you guess what I did after check in?

OHHHH GLORIOUS HOT SHOWER!! My hair was so nasty, it had started moving as one solid mass. Four days of sweat and grime scrubbed away in just a few blissful minutes. AHHHHH!!!

I went to the meet the rest of the trail group at the designated restaurant in town, I was squeaky clean. They were all green with envy at my nice smell and clean appearance.

After a nice lunch, some of us decided to try the hot springs that Aguas Calientes is named for...the downside (if you´ll pardon the pun) was we had to go up more stairs...UGH.

When we finally got there it was a little like stepping back into the 60s. Pink Floyd was being pumped out of the speakers. We walked through a bar area that over looked the open air hot spring tubs like a psychedelic balcony. The bar was full of trippy paintings, dream -catchers, comfy couches and wooden lamps. You can call up to the bar from the springs and they bring you down your drink.

The baths themselves were a grey murky colour, and the bottom was gravelly, and they smelled like, well...pee.There were several baths of varying temperatures - the hottest one was the busiest. There were tourists and locals alike in there - some seemed to be asleep. After 4 days of lugging heavy baggage on one´s back, the heat was fantastic and the tension melted away almost instantly - despite the smell.

There was one fella in the baths who really stood out - he was a rangar (a red head) and he spoke to the locals in Spanish...but that wasn´t what made him stand out. It was when he got out that we really noticed him...he was wearing his tighty-whities in the baths...Oh no you didn´t...
We watched in horrified fascination as he walked towards the showers. That was when we saw the most horrifying thing of all. The skid marks.
DAMN!

...no, we didn´t get out. It was too nice in the baths.

When we finally did emerge with our raisin fingers, we stopped on our way down the hill at one of the many bars that offered happy hour. We had a quick mojito and then I walked the group to the train station to bid them all adieu - I was the only one spending the night.
I slept like a log that night...

Inca Trail - Day 4

Christmas Juan

Our wake up call today was at 4:15. Ugh. We had our breakfast and then hurried to get our place in line - the gate of the final check point opens at 5:30.

The gate is by no means near Machu Picchu - no. This is the final check point for those doing the trail - I guess they want to make sure all those that go in, come out. After the checkpoint its another 5kms to the Sun Gate, one of the four cardinal points of Machu Picchu.

Once past the final checkpoint, we walked. This final 5k was easy compared to what we had endured to date, it was relatively flat and the rented sleeping bag and mat had been taken by the porters back to town - suddenly our packs were 3kg lighter! AHHHHHH!

Juan had called the stairs before reaching the Sun Gate, the monkey stairs because they´re so steep you end  up using your hands to climb up. 45 steps up and we were finally overlooking Machu Picchu....it looked kinda puny...but then we still had about 20 more minutes to walk - we weren´t there yet.

When we finally did arrive (after more administration and a really expensive tea); we were all awed. We had made it....and it was huge.

"Discovered" in 1911 by Hiram Bingham - who claimed he discovered nothing of value...most of the gold had been pilfered by then - Machu Picchu had already been standing for over 460 years; its watering and drainage system was still working, and still works today. Scientists and archaeologists now believe that no more than 1000 people lived there and that it was an important place of learning, research, and religion. The architecture is truly the pièce de résistance though and there is still much speculation on how they managed to fit the stones so perfectly. Only the most important buildings are made with such precision, but even while wandering around the "common" buildings its amazing to think that people without modern lifting equipment or modern tools could have built such things in such a place.

It was drizzling most of the morning, but no one minded - it was Christmas day and we were in Machu Picchu...and the clouds had come to play. Wind currents would swoop them out of the valleys and up into the surrounding mountains, sometimes blowing them coyly over Machu Picchu - playing a game of peek-a-boo with the entire place. Truly magical.






There were a lot of people there - less than I thought there would be - but many nonetheless. Yet, there were times and places that I would wander into and it felt like I had the place to myself. Even the sounds of the crowds would disappear into the mists and I was alone with the builders of this beautiful place.

Inca Trail - Day 3

Day 3 is classified as the long day (Christ, you mean to tell me the other days were somehow short??)

We had an extra 3kms to do; 15kms in all. Up, and down - and the down bit included something called "the gringo killer"...awesome.

We sat down to a hearty breakfast (after the tea in sleeping bag of course); porridge, pancakes, toast, coca tea...apparently we were going to need all the help we could get. I was completely exhausted, I had not slept much that night and my shoulders were so tense from hauling the backpack and having them hunched all night in an effort to stay warm. The backpack had to go back on. I swear that thing put on weight every day.

We started the day with stairs. Oh joy. I was so tired, I don´t think I was conscious for most of that morning. At least the sun had decided to join us that day. By the time I got to the lunch spot I was a mass of sore shoulders, legs and delirium. Ahhhhh soooooouuuuuuuuup. mmmmmmmm. Every meal was a massive 3 course extravaganza - but this day I could only handle the soup. I snuck away and lay down on a rock, overlooking a magnificent valley, surrounded by majestic mountains...and I fell asleep. I had 15 min before the group left - Juan wanted to show us some ruins not far away before we dispersed.

My eyes opened exactly 15 min later - how? I dunno. I was so tired I`m surprised I didn`t wake up at 4! I got up completely refreshed, went to the portaloo with the best view ever, got my pack and I started my second to last segment of the Inca Trail...the gringo killer.

This section was basically all down hill, steep steps - I`m talking as high as my knee. Again, the runners would speed by, skipping along the stones while we lumbered cautiously along. Once you got into a rhythm though it was better - although after about 30 min the knees were making a very convincing protest and the thighs were shaking - the views were spectacular though.

All this downward motion brought us to the cloud forest - its considered part of the jungle - it was quickly getting hotter and hotter. Now, because that morning and the night before had been so cold, I had put on 2 pairs of leggings, my woolen socks, 2 sweaters, and my polar fleece jacket. At one point I had to stop and take some stuff off. I took off my leggings, sweaters and jacket and I should have changed my socks while I was at it - but I didn`t. HIKING TIP: Don`t wear woolen socks when its hot and humid and you`re sweaty.
When I arrived at our campground I had a 5cm rash around my ankles - complete with heat blisters...those things hurt when you accidentally scratch them, you know.

That night there was much feasting. It was Christmas eve. We thanked all our porters and wished them all a Merry Christmas, as the next day after breaking camp, they would be on the next train home. And we would finally set eyes on Machu Picchu.