Iquitos

Iquitos is the capital of the Loreto state of Peru, which is the size of California. There are only two ways to get there by boat or plane, and there is only one highway. The Peruvians pride themselves in this because other parts of the amazon such as places in Brazil have roads which cause a spinal effect that destroys the rainforest. When we landed in Iquitos the humidity hit me harder than going from 0 feet above sea level to 12000 in Cuzco. It was 95 degrees with 100% humidity, I was perspirating from every pore on my body, and was in a constant sauna. That was the only flaw to the whole weekend. We drove from the airport to Nauta a river port town, and then took a boat to the confluence of the Ucayali river with the Maranon river with come together to form the great Amazon River. We hadn't even been on the confluence for more than 2 minutes when pink dolphins started cresting the water. The confluence is a rich area of fish so they can usually be spotted here. After gawking at the greenery and dolphins that surrounded us we took off to our bungalow home in the Pacaya Samiri Lodge. The tree that was outside our room was covered with mocking birds that sounded like the monkey abu from Aladin, and the lakes were filled with the giant 500 pound fish that are perch like. We went on a jungle hike trough the hilly terraferma where we saw pygmey marmosets that are 5 inches tall with a lion face. We saw poisonous dart frogs, stick bugs, millipedes, armored centipedes, leaf lizards, and leaf frogs. The bugs were cherping loudly and the mosquitoes were biting. That night we all crashed hard and fell asleep to the sounds of the jungle. The next day we took a boat out to the Pacaya Samiri National Reserve. Our two guides Ray and Uri were experts on the jungle and could find a 3 toes sloth hiding in the trees from a moving boat in the middle of the river. We saw Iguanas, King Fishers, Red Hawks, White Egrets, and about 5 move bird species. The most exciting were the sloths that lazily reached from tree to tree. We learned that their favorite tree had leaves that would make them drunk, and that was part of why they were so lazy. Other animals used this tree to have abortions because it was a poison. After a while we ran across some fisherman who were willing to spear some sardines for us so we could use them for bait later. The lives of the Amazonian's was simple, and learned. the fisherman could spear fish with easy, and he didn't have the stresses that we did in our lives. After he caught about 15 we went deeper into the jungle by boat to were the water is black from the acid of the leaves that fall in it. The water is so black that it is a perfect reflection of the sky and rainforest above. We stopped our boat near a small tributary, and were allowed to swim in the river. I ripped off my clothes and was the first one to dive in. It was blistering hot out, and the water was refreshing. It was the warmest river I have ever been in. Then we all started feeling little nibbles on our back's and toes. We all started asking was that you? No! and then the screaming started. Sardines were confused as to what we were and were starting to taste us. They would jump out of the water, and slap you in the face or cross over your head like they were water in a fountain. After a while you got used to them but I had to get out for a minute to really take in that sardines in the amazon were eating me. I looked across the water as I was catching my breath and 2 pink dolphins swam right behind the group still in the water. I realized not only were we surrounded by sardines but a heard of pink dolphins. My sardine fear ended, and I dove back into the water. As I was swimming back to the group i felt something hard skim across my feet. I closed my eyes and kept swimming not wanting to think of what creatures where below the dark water such as eels, snakes, caymon, snapping turtles, and piranha. I got back to the group and felt the hard surface below my feet again, it swam under me slower, and I could feel the noduals of a turtles shell! I screamed and swam to the boat. After lunch we started to fish for piranha. Of course I caught one, that was called a red bellied piranha. We kept boating after we were done and came to an even blacker part of the river. This tributary was smaller, and the trees and vegetation was straight out of Avatar. The the whole scenery opened up into trees filled with White Egrets. They were soaring all around us and I felt like I was in the Lion King. It was one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. I thought I could die then, but the fun wasn't even close to being over that day. We drove off up the river til the sun set, which the first night was mind-blowing, and turned the river red. When it was dark we turned on our flash lights and went Cayman hunting. I know I've referenced 2 movies, but I felt like the Crocodile Hunter (RIP Steve). We were like on animal planet in the jungle hunting Cayman trying to capture them to get a better look for those at home, and that we did. After about an hour of hunting we found an adolescent sitting in some reeds. Our jungle man guide who is one of 20 left of his tribe that is 6 days by boat up tributaries of the Amazon, was a pro and caught the Cayman and brought it into the boat. My mouth dropped, then I asked to hold it! We kept the little guy until we were about to leave the reserve so the other group could see him. Back at the bungalow we had guests from the next village over preform dances of the Ayawaska ceremony, and the dance of the Anaconda. We all danced together for the last song, and went to bed dripping in sweat. The next morning we woke up to see the sunrise and various types of birds, and later went to the village next to our bungalows. They were drying seeds for making jewelry, and it was Sunday so everyone was out and about or staying cool in their thatched roof houses. We came up to the village bar, and tried some sugar cane rum, and then the bartender pulled out a living 3 toes sloth! We all freaked out and got to take pictures and hold it. Then he showed us his baby capybara, which is the largest rodent in the world. Afterwards we were soaking wet from sweat, that day was for sure the hottest day of my life. We left the village, and went into Iquitos to see the city, all the taxi's are motorcycles, and the town was bustling. It was such an oxymoron to the jungle. They were all tribes people who had adapted to the chaos of city life, but still lived in the jungle with no AC electricity or money. I would have just stayed in the jungle.

Sacred Valley, and Incan explorations

Culture is only important because we give significance to it. For me the Incan culture and traditions has driven my Peruvian experience to spiritual heights that I only could have hoped for. When stepping of the plane in Cuzco you are all out of wack from the 12,000 foot elevation, and the whole trip is a balance of keeping your body protected, while challenging yourself to see the beauty of the Sacred Valley. After driving out of Cuzco we stopped at a place called Chinchero were we hobbled up to a house of a weaver who showed us all the different techniques of how they dye and wash alpaca wool. One of the ways is by mashing small beetles and putting it into a pot of boiling water with lime juice, it makes orange. After feeling the fine fibers of the vacuna, and alpaca we meandered over to terraces of the Incans that followed along one of the many routes of the Incan trail. the next stop was in a small town called Orubumba, where we were able to try a local beer made from corn called chicha. All the way we are traveling deeper into a valley in the beautiful Andes. Our final place that we stopped was Oyantaytambo, the last Incan living town where the old buildings are actually used by native people. The streets are tiny, and the valley walls are as high as the sky, and covered in terraces from Incan Agriculture. The next day we rose before the sun to catch a bus to Machu Picchu. My first though was the ruins look very surf and land owner, but after zooming out my eyes you realize that this mountain jungle is no place for Europeans including the Spanish that never found Machu Picchu. We took the 7am hike up Winupicchu, and sat bedazzeled by the mountains, and craftsmanship that sat below me. butterflies wizzed around me, and I felt like I never wanted to leave. The same happened as I passed through the sun gate into the outer reaches of machu picchu. This door was the passage way from outer lands like to ocean, and the surrounding jungles that transfered ideas, and culture. It was a great juxtaposition to this adventure that I am having.

Peruuuuuuuu

So I am finally over to Peru! After a long day of traveling, I felt like I was finally in Latino America. The cars are honking, and the people are darker. There is no tea time European dream, just Peru. The first day I got here I met my wonderful family Martha, Angel, and Andres who make me feel like Peru is my home. Every morning I wake up to fresh strawberry, pinapple, papaya, mango, or pear juice, and Martha buys me jungle fruit to try. I have eaten Lucuma which is Peruvian, Granadilla which is like an orange and a pomogranite had babies. I have also tried Guyanabana, which is more sour, and cucumber melons. I have eaten cactus fruit, and the avocados are huge! The food is outstanding, and very infused with other native, and Chinese cultures. The second day we got her we went on a city tour, and past the government building the hotel Boliviar, Larco Mar, and Parque Kennedy. While we were taking a bathroom break, there was an earthquake tremor that felt like someone was making this large shopping center bounce just a little. It was like when someone bounces hard on the floor and you can feel it inside your feet. All of the geology and plate tectonics of the Andes and South America is really amazing, I am so happy to be here. After the tremor we went to a Franciscan church that was like walking into Alice and wonderland. Inside the church were caticombs from the 1600's were there were 25,000 bodies found, because it was the first cemetery of Lima. The life of a Limonian is much slower than a Porteno, I think that I could get used to Peru.

Bariloche

The latest adventure was in Bariloche Argentine on Lake Nahuel Huapi. Three other friends and I took a 22 hour bus ride through Argentina. Woke up to the ground starting to rise into mountains, and lakes pouring between them. The first day there was gorgeous, not a cloud in the sky, and the mountains reflected clearly in the lake that sits at the edge of Bariloche. The second day we trekked to Cerro Catedral for some major skiing. We pulled up to a muddy base of a mountain, and ash covered sky. Yet, that day was clear enough to see the endless skyline of the Andes behind the mountain. This was on the top of the ski run Nubes, which means clouds. For in fact we were skiing above the clouds, and we were above the ash that hung in the air from Puyehue the volcano in Chile that has been erupting since December. Although the bottom of the mountain looked like a joke, the top was fabulous, especially after a few days of fresh snow. People said its like riding a chair into heaven there because you go into the clouds on the chair lift to get to the top. All you can see is the chair in front of you fading with every white partical of the cloud that surrounds it. That is how i would see going to heaven, with my skis on ready to ride. One of the days we decided not to go skiing, and to see some glaciers. We rented a car, and drove up to the boarder of Chile to Mount Tronador, and did just that. The real adventure of that day was the four of us parking the car and running off into the forest. We hopped 2 fences, crossed 3 rivers, walked through an iron swamp, walked through a swamp swamp, walked though a corridor of giant cat tails, all to get a closer look at a waterfall. The best part was walking back though all of that to the car. the last day in Bariloche we had about a foot of new snow. The top of the mountain was closed due to wind, but we went anyways. This day there was snow on the bottom of the mountain and the top promised more. We hiked up Nubes, and had first fresh tracks to this powder, and had many many more that day. But they were right about the wind. On the last chair ride up to as far as we could go, the chair stopped and swayed as we sat in it. An Argentine lady sat there perfectly calm, and told us about how last year 6 chair came of the line, and everyone broke there knees and legs. the earth was white with blizzard, and the ground look like an ocean rippling with snow. She said through the wind, "I think that it was this chair that the chair came off of as well." As she said that the wind picked up and the largest gust of the day blew through the mountain, my skis were being forced behind me on the chair there was nothing but white around us, and I had to hold on the the bar just to keep from slipping out of the chair. When we got of the chair we decided to ski down, and call it a fabulous day.

Cordoba- Capilla del Monte (Ongamira)

The Sierras of Cordoba remind me of a more arid spring of the Roaring Fork Valley. The hills roll on with yellow grasses, and more specifically in Capilla del Monte (north of the city) there are untamed horses, cattle, and sheep that roam all through the hills. The first day we went to the estancia and took a hike to see where the land had been divided by the Comechingones. The next day we went out to Las Salinas or the salt flats. The ground was crusted with snow like crystals of salt, and nothing grew here. You could run with your eyes closed for hours and never trip over a plant. The sunset was outrageous, and the stars were extremely bright due to the lack of light pollution. The next day we went to Las Grutas, which are indigenous caves, and we rode horses to the top on the mountain Colchequín. Here it is believed that the condors that glide along the summit, are the soles of the Ayampitín who killed themselves instead of surrendering to the Spanish. The food was fabulous, and I didn't feel like I needed to add Chalula to everything (we didn't even have one meal with jamo'n y queso hooooooray), and I was one of the lucky few who didn't get sick from drinking the water!

Iguazu

Iguazu Falls is by far the most amazing natural beauty that I have seen in a long time. The trip started with a 12 hour bus ride in a semi cama. We awoke in the providence of Missiones and went to the Ruins of San Ignacio. Here we viewed crumbling sandstone and basalt in orderly formation. these ruins were built in the 16 hundreds and were later abandoned after the Spanish revolt. Lizards skuttle across the bricks, and papaya grows wild. There are even arboles borachos (drunk trees) that produce a terrible fruit and look like they are swaying. Later that day we went to La Chacra. A mate and black tea farm. The weather was perfect, and the asado was fantastic as well. Missiones is the only providence that can grow yerba mate in Argentina. The soil is rich in irons, and plants grow as if they were in the rainforest. In fact this region is a subtropical forest.
When I arrived at the national park to electrify my senses, I felt like i was going to the zoo, except this was the real thing. Tucans and Monkeys are common, but the Coati (brasilian ardvark, really the racoon of Iguazu) are the most common. They will attack tourists for any food that they smell in your bag, but mostly they just look like house cats with perfectly striped tails. When we arrived to el Garganta del Diablo ( devils throat) we all over soaked in the Iguazuan Rivers mist. The water falls are never ending. Every place that you walk through there is another outragously gorgeous picture to take. I left there happy and completely drenched from the raging falls.
The next day we cruised through a Guarinian village, and learned about their hunting techniques that they used to you to catch armadillos and Coati. They sang songs to us, and showed off their cultural jewelry. The trip was amazing.

Primera Semana

Currently, I am taking an intensive month of Spanish in the University of Belgrano. Its a vertical university that has elevators that only stop on the floors 5 9 and 17. Its a private school and all the Argentines are very trendy. The city is huge with many places to see and things to do. I went to a park near Palermo this weekend where many people were slack lining. There was a large lake in the middle of the park and people were roller blading 80's style with cones. A parade came through that was practicing for Carnival. We ate helado con dulce de leche.
Its been fairly cold here, which is a change from the warm sunny beautiful weather at home( i miss the sun). I went to a Boliche called Kika and some other local spots for some dancing and night life. Its very fun, but they stay out til 7 in the morning and sleep the whole next day... its my kind of owl life.
I also went to the Feria de Mataderos. It's town where they slaughter cows, but on Sundays people come to dance Folklorico, and sell things. It was kinda like Mountain Fair at home. I tried the local food like Churri Pan (basically brotworst) and Locro a stew that is a little bit spicy. The food here is like the midwest, ketsup is hot sauce. After I went to Havana Chocolates and had a Submarino (hot milk were a bar of chocolate is dropped in.
Can't wait to try more food!