Jungle! Day 2

Started the day at 7am with Ernesto's yummy omelettes then walked for an hour with Jose, soaking in the beauty and enjoying the moment. We were even fortunate enough to see a species of oriole (how appropriate) and monkeys!

Manuel met us with the car about an hour later then scooted us off to Pilcopata. Along the way we passed some small villages and observed this:

Quite a few tarps laid out with drying coca leaves...before another stop to buy bread in a tucked away little room with a huge wood fired oven, the bread neatly stacked in a 4'x3' wooden flat. 

In Pilcopata the nine of us loaded onto a raft and our guide, Edwin, navigated and coached us down the river. Abby rode at the tip of the bow and didn't seem to mind being barraged with water. There were two points where 6 of us jumped in the water and floated along. Even though we really needed someone to step up as coxswain, we managed to successfully reach our next destination, where we we now loaded, dripping and giggly, onto another boat in order to reach the lodge, which is only accessible by water. 

This sums up the fun we are having:

Ah, but the day was not over! We dropped our gear at the lodge, had another fabulous lunch, a break and then a soccer match on a small island across the river. There were goals already set up made from sticks tied together. Jose, Ernesto and Willie along with CJ and Caroline, took on Abby, Claire, Lee, Chris, Jackie, Annie and Karen. You can probably figure out the victors. 

At dusk, Jose took us on a night hike which, I'm sure you can imagine was as wild as ever. We were hit in the head with low hanging coffee beans, tasted a termite (Jose claims they taste like mint), almost ran into a very creepy group of spiders who had linked their webs together to create a spider city, were introduced to a plant called a walking something or other, with long, exposed roots that resemble a lean-to or tepee, bullett ants and some other huge, creepy spider that doesn't need a web because it's a hunter. Nice. And just outside the lodge is a colony of leaf-cutter ants going about their work.

Jungle! Day 1

Left Cusco about 7:30am.

 

All of our belongings were strapped to the roof of 12 passenger van. Each seat was occupied. Our families in rows 2, 3 and 4. Jose-our guide, Ernesto-our cook, and Manuel-our driver, in the front. This van seems to be about as large as a typical minivan in the US. 

The ride was bumpy out of town but not nearly as bumpy as an hour and a half into the ride nor throughout the duration thereafter. We went from a 2 lane "highway" to a dirt track. For 7 more hours. 7 hours of death defying, spell binding, OMG, we're going off the cliff, roads. The road was dusty, bumpy, full of obstacles. Seriously full of obstacles. 

 

However, the vistas were breathtaking. 

We stopped for a picnic lunch in a small, Spanish colonial town, Paucartambo, in which the local Catholic Church is home to a statue of Mary that was blessed by John Paul. Then on the scary dirt road again until we reached a lower level of the cloud forest, where we stayed the night. 

We walked the last half hour then grabbed our gear and walked a trail to our lodge for the night. 

Ernesto's dinner was fantastic--soup and spaghetti with meat sauce. I assume it was beef but who knows?  

We bought headlamps a few years ago after spending 6 hours bailing out our sump pump during a hurricane. I now understand their true purpose--lighting the way to the toilet in the jungle. 

Now we are tucked into our cabin rooms and falling asleep to the therapeutic sound of a nearby river. Tomorrow brings the chance to see the jungle from a raft then going deeper and lower into the jungle, necessitating the use of Deet and goofy looking outfits. 

 

 

Last day before the JUNGLE!

Ran into another parade in Plaza de Armas after watching Holland romp all over Spain. 

Tomorrow, Saturday, we are headed to the southern part of the Amazon for a 4 day excursion to Manu park. Likely will not post again until Wednesday. 

Lee's alpaca lunch

Yet another parade in Cusco

Saqsayhuaman, another long lunch and more futbol

All hail the queen

Various Cusco--

Koricancha, Santo Domingo and a three and a half hour lunch

With the copious amounts of exercise we engaged in yesterday, we took it easy today and toured a different area of Cusco landing at Koricancha and Santo Domingo. Koricancha was originally built by the Inca to honor the Sun God, adorned with gold and precious stones. The conquistadors stripped the shrine of its glory and then constructed the church and convent of Santo Domingo on top of the site. Little can be seen of the original temple but there are samples of its architecture mixed with the Spanish. 

Inca stonework

Inferior Spanish masonry 

 

Exhausted from reading about so much history, we popped into a very interesting, eclectic spot for lunch, the goal being sustenance, naturally, but also wifi and the Brasil-Croatia match. 

We were a little concerned about what we'd get from a culinary standpoint--the place seems very odd for Peru. However, to our great delight the food was outstanding.  

Chris surmised that the couple at the next table are from Brasil so we engaged them in conversation. We were sure to show our delight when Brasil won the match (despite their bumpy start with an own goal). In Jackie's words: "Awww, they're such a cute little couple."  With food, many beers, dessert, the football match and chit chatting with others, we spent three and a half hours at lunch. The quote for the day, per Annie, is "They're going to need an adding machine for our bill." Surprisingly, the bill totaled 312 sol, roughly $115 for the nine of us. 

Jackie and Caroline bargaining for bracelets 

Marching through the streets of Cusco

Local school