November 13, 2016

Puerto Varas Chile

November 13, 2016

We traveled from Easter Island to Santiago on a late flight traveling through the night. After all of our bus travels we have to admit that bus sleeping is more comfortable than air sleeping. We spent one additional day in Santiago at a hostel with very kind owners who assisted in washing our clothes, trying to get the MacAir fixed (no luck) and letting us stay an extra 8 hours after checkout and finally driving us to the bus stop. Thank you Santiago Hostel Mery

We are now traveling south through Patagonia. We will spend 3 weeks in this region crossing the Argentina border several times. This part of the trip it is all about the outdoors, hiking and exploring some of the most remote and unique landscapes in the world.

Our first stop is the small town of Puerto Varas in the Northern lake region of Patagonia. This is a tourist town surrounded by a large lake and three volcanoes, one active with the last eruption just 2 years ago. They ski here from July to October and it is a summer resort town for water sports, hiking and biking. The town was settled by German immigrants and we can see the influence in the building and the cake shops on every corner. We stayed at a true hostel and for the first time had a shared bathroom and common kitchen.

The view of the lake from the town square

After a discussion with our wonderful host we signed up for an all day excursion up the volcano. Our host assured us that the hike was easy enough and his tours leave late, 11:00 am he chuckled.

We traveled with 7 other lodge mates for two hours until we reached the base of Volcan Osorno where we hiked up to the top. 4 grueling hours. Once again we were the oldest of the group but not the last in the group. It was a great accomplishment and the views were just the reward we needed. On the way down we reached a point of steep snow, I joked with our guild about needed a sled, then without any thought I dropped to my butt and slid down the mountain. The group did follow, our guild was laughing and told me no one had ever done that, what fun.

The view from the drive we hiked beyond the snow line

The way down. Janet is at the bottom sledding

After the mountain we traveled to a bamboo forest for a quick hour hike to a waterfall. The forest was really unique the bamboo is not hollow Iike the Asian variety but looks exactly the same and gives the forest a tranquil feeling. Then we reached the waterfall and it was magnificent, very high and at the waters edge the air was full of the mist, the canyons surrounding it are lush green, this is truly a magical place. It was great day and great way to start hiking Patagonia.

Day 2 – Frank

November 8, 2016, which later became Nov.9th at 3:00 am., a day that will live in infamy.

We planned a light trekking trip in the nearest national park. We took the local bus which embarked just 3 blocks from our hostel. We had ridden these buses before but it was never exactly clear what the fare would be—the sign only said minimum 500 pesos. This time an attendant was loading the buses and said 2000 pesos each, or 4000 pesos, or $6.03 US. I handed the driver the money, but he did not seem to want it. Then we heard voices that instructed to pay driver when you exit. Those voices were from fellow hostel guests. That's when we met Stephanie and Hendrik who lived in Austria, and who Janet recognized. The ladies hit it off and as they talked about certain trips and tour, then the guys started interacting too. One happy group, who were planning the same excursion, albeit in a separate order. But we kept gabbing and decided to check out the park together. We got off the bus and walked to the entrance and up to this beautiful lake. We decided to take a ferry ride around the lake and get some fresh air and photographs. Hendrik had serious equipment and lens filters. It was interesting watching him set up, where I like the point and shoot method using the iPhone. The ride was pleasant and the air fresh and clean. Once docked we decided to trek.

The view of the volcano from the boat, this is the same volcano we hiked but the opposite side

Chilean public workers were on strike again! But, the gate was open so we just went in. Janet and I always bring out trekking poles, so we stay serious and safety conscious. We walked and told stories; you guys know what a good story teller Janet is, especially when she talked about her European excursions and mishaps. Our new European friends seemed to enjoy them too, and reciprocated with lighthearted stories of their own. Both are very educated and at the beginning of their professional careers, not career break professionals like us. Hendrik just completed his Ph.D. in engineering and Stephanie completed her second masters degree. We ate packed lunches on the trail, and we walked back just in time to catch the bus to the waterfalls location.

As the road paralleled next to the raging river, we talked about whitewater rafting in Costa Rica, and that is exactly how that river looked, you know the river where Janet fell out of the raft and was swept so quickly by the current that she had to be picked up by rafts well in front of us. In any event, we entered the second park and walked the river banks until, to my amazement, we saw multiple river falls that were flowing through the rocks with enormous velocity and power. It was beautiful, with various shades of blue and white foam. I hope my point and shoot photos do the site justice. These were the second falls we observed in the Puerto Varas area; different---but each evoked a spiritual appreciation of the nature we were seeing.

Checking the time, we get to the last bus on route back to Pte. Varas. I think we are all satisfied with the excursion. We share chocolates, and play the iPhone quiz game “94”; it's like TV’s Family Feud without the feud or family. They got right into it. We have to thank our UK friends Emma and Hazel for this game.

Back in town, we split up. They to shop and us to prepare dinner and check politics in the USA.

Election:

We prepared dinner in the community kitchen. The dining room was jammed with backpackers from UK, Australia, Germany, and France. We were sitting at the table with our IPad streaming election coverage of the US Presidential race. Everyone had questions about the process, and some were very attuned the backstory of the campaign and also talked about the EU BREXIT comparison of the issues and voters. The question was did these voters really know ramifications of voting a certain way. The host routed CNN into his large TV, which got everyone's attention. We talked about the red states and blue states and the point system

( electoral college) that was used to determine the winner. They were not quite buying into the most votes doesn't always win scenario. Little did I know that would be the outcome today. We went to bed at midnight Chilean time, which is 2 hours ahead of EST. At that time, CNN was analyzing Hillary’s chances to take Virginia. Their discussions of Trump seemed like manufactured hype to keep viewers.

At 3:00 am. Janet woke me up, her computer screen lighting the room: “Trump is going to win” she said. I became alert and started watching, and watched until Trump spoke, hardly believing the outcome. Trump did say he might work 2,3,4 or 8 years as President in that speech. Well, we shall see how life goes. The next day while at a small bus station, there was a Spanish TV station showing a piñata of Trump being smacked with a stick; the clerks reacted with laughter; I must confess it was a pretty good caricature.

Janet Kokenakes

November 7, 2016

Easter Island Chile

Janet Kokenakes

November 7, 2016

GET BACK, Frank and Janet Around the Planet on the remote island of Rapa Nui, 4000 km from Chile or Tahiti, in the middle of the South Pacific Ocean, how good is that!

Rapa Nui aka Easter Island aka Pascua Island is a 5 hour flight from Santiago, Chile. It was named by Dutch Admiral Roddevan who landed there on Easter 1722. It was always called Rapa Nui by the natives. It is a triangle shape about 16 km in length and 117 Sq. Km In area. Average temp. Is between 18 and 23 degrees Celsius. The island was formed by three volcanoes that erupted and filled in the sea, thus the island is triangular in shape. In modern times there is a single airport runway, starting at the cliffs of the ocean at the Aero Puerto. The terminal is like a large Polynesian bungalow, small by airport standard but functional. First things first, before luggage is the purchase line for the National park ticket that allows access to all archeological sites. So virtually every one on the plane is in line, and this was a big plane, Boeing 787 with 9 seats across.

After we picked up our luggage we were greeted by our hostess, “Laura” Tuki Tepano Kaituoi, who transported us to her home on the family homestead, consisting of 4 separate dwellings for herself and son Jehielly, and her sisters and brother. In the museum we found a reference to Tomas, a talented artist and her brother. She calls the homestead “Hare O Ahani”. Hare is home in Polynesian, and Ahani is the nickname everyone on the Island called her father. I can't pronounce his actual name. This was our first “Home Stay” arrangement. We had a large bedroom with private bath, a separate eating area and kitchen privileges, which Janet likes to take advantage of. The home is on a main drive, walkable to the waterfront.

We were also able to rent a car from her. On the island you can have any car you want as long as it is a SUZUKI SUV, with stick shift. Seriously, virtually all the vehicles are some sort of Suzuki, but there is no dealer. The cars are shipped from Valparaiso, Chile and unloaded by cranes on to barges or platforms. Our little SUV has 203,000 Km, and is fun to drive. I guess Janet having that little Fiat 500 with stick made the transition seamless. Having your own car adds to the thrill of finding the Archeological sites on the winding roads of the Island, many good roads but some dirt, pot holed and bumpy.

There is just so much to love about this Island. Breathtaking views of the vast blue of the pacific and the waves crashing into the black volcanic cliffs and shores. At first I'm surprised how calm the surrounding ocean is, but that changed over our time there because it went from brilliant sunshine for 2 days to overcast and torrential rains for 2 days. As a native said, the island is located in a sub tropical location so it rains all the time. The inland portion of the island has rolling hills and in some places rather high mountains, but not jagged. As you move away from the mountains toward the sea, there are sloping valleys interrupted by piercing bare faced black exposed volcanic rock which become monstrous cliffs near the shore. Another surprise, In the valleys, on the roads, near the sites, and just about everywhere you will see free roaming horses, alone or in small herds, also small herds of cows eating on the side of the roads. Apparently these are branded animals owned by someone, but not corralled. Just some beautiful stallions and we saw many babies with mom.

There is only one town on the island called HANGA ROA. The Current total population on the island is 3700. This includes Polynesian ancestors, Europeans and South Americans. We were told about 100,000 tourists visit the island each year. Historically, the island was populated by Polynesians starting about 800 AD to 1200 AD. It is not clear from which location they traveled. According to oral traditions, HOTU MATU, colonized the island and became the first king, aka ARIKI MAU. His six sons originated the the main tribes. There were at least 10 tribes organized into 2 sects at that time, high status on the west side and the lower status on the east side. His grandson, Miru, founded the most important tribe from which most ARIKI MAU came from.

The natives reference these first settlers as the “Short Ears”and there are some carvings of them. Then some years later there was a second influx of Polynesians that sported elongated earlobes, “Long Ears”. This second group merged with but took control of the island and are credited with the “MOAI” phenom, of huge figures, which have really long earlobes. This phase began after 800 AD and ended into the 17th century. These statues are just breathtaking. When completed, the figures wear carved top Knots of a red stone mined inland and also have inset wide open eyes of white stone and black or red stone. Only reconstructed sites have Moai with red top knots, and few have the eyes in place.

These Moai figures are displayed as respect for the leaders of the various tribes and were erected on the site of their villages. The oral history provides that each leader would commission his Moai to be completed prior to his death and upon his death it would then be erected on a platform called AHU. On various sites there are numerous Moai which indicate the longevity of the tribe and tribe leaders at that village. For example, If there was 4 Moai, it would represent that 4 leaders had lead the tribe until their deaths, which might span 200 to 300 years. At first the Moai were smaller and shorter, but eventually were carved into bigger and bigger sizes, probably at the leaders request if we know human nature. Supposedly, each Moai was stylized to reflect the leaders looks, but with erosion and abuse this is hard to see. However, different sized figures are often situated on the same Ahu. Unfortunately, that is only at Ahu at reconstructed sites because most of all the Moai on the Island have been toppled, cracked and broken, but make no mistake they are impressive. The history provides that civil wars arose between tribes and the victors would destroy the site. This situation is not blamed upon Europeans. Of the estimated 877 to 900 Moia on the island very few are standing upright. Apparently, it was French missionaries that first recorded the history of their observations of the toppling of the Moai by competing tribes, thus diminishing the spiritual power believed to be protecting the defeated tribe.. We thought it was interesting when told that the Spanish missionaries gave up and it was the French missionaries that worked to convert the island to “Catolica”.

The various large Moai range in size up to 11 or 12 meters in height and weigh up to 80 tons.

One of the greatest mysteries on the Island is how were the Moia moved from the area of carving to the erection site at the Ahu. This could be a great distance, and really any distance with this weight was probably hard, but especially since there was only a single carving site with the formal name of Rano Rakuku in the center of the island. This spot is affectionately called “the Nursery”and has 397 Moai. This is the locale from where we all first saw photos of those magnificent faces of the Moai which were completed and waiting to be moved upon the death of a leader. Many are partially buried just to display the faces but not the longer body. At the Nursery there are many Moia figures only partially complete and still outlined in the mountain rock, and some just broken during bad transport or war. The biggest prospective Moia can be seen still cut in the rock never to be completed.

There are different theories how the the Moai were moved. There is oral history about walking and also modern testing of hypothetical methods. One theory displays 3 ropes around the neck with 2 on either side pulled alternately to make the Moai walk, with the rear rope for support against falling. Another theory has the Moia rolled on wood logs greased by banana leaves replacing the rear log to the front as it rolls. Some tests have had the Moia on its back, or front , or even standing up, with or without platforms. All seem to work, but each have risks as 92 recorded fallen Moai on route to an Ahu demonstrate.

We are told there may have been as many as 18 Ancient tribes on the island, each with its own leaders and area of residential villages designated and protected by the Moai erected on the Ahu. These Ahu contained the “MANA” or life force protecting the Tribes. These tribes competed for natural resources from the 17th century and eventually conflicts broke out which led to the toppling of the Moai. The victors would install their leader as King, at least for awhile until the next conflict. We observed one of the larger territories on the west side of the Island probably governed by the higher status, starting from the city and extending along way down the coast. Called “ Ahutepeu”, it had many Ahu that signified long term control of the western waterfront. The village had many stone foundations for the housing shaped like a canoe, long, thin, and with spiking ends. The foundations had carved holes for wood posts to construct the walls and roofs of vegetable leaves. There were ceremonial cooking pits called “UMU” created by volcanic rocks walls. The fire charcoal and food would be covered by banana leaves and dirt and then grass sod to create an oven. These canoe shaped homes and food pits, of various sizes, are found at all the village sites.

The politics, religion, and society of the Island gradually changed after the tribes tired of fighting during the period of carving the Moai. The “Birdman Cult” arrived from around the 17th century until 1864, before the missionaries came! The tribes adopted the Creator God of Humanity called “MAKE-MAKE”, who was above all other gods. Similar to the TANE God of Polynesia. They would annually have a completion, like olympics, where each tribe had its designated champion search for and secure the first sea gull egg, called “Manutara “egg, of the spring season from the nearby small island of Motu Nui, which he would deliver to his leader. That leader would be named King or “ Tangata Manu” of the entire Island for 1 year. The Tangata Manu stays at either of 2 places, at the ceremonial village, ORONGO,, at the cliffs of the great inactive volcano crater called “RANO KAU”. Here the houses are all rock tiles but as usual in the shape of canoes. We were there and can say this Crater is magnificent with its own ecosystem of plants and animals, but the wind is really high. He may also stay at the wonderful beach community at ANAKENA, which we also saw enjoying the warm water and reconstructed Ahu with Moai that had top knots and affixed eyeballs. The Tangata Manu is attended only by other holy men. The natives drew many Petrographs in the rocks in deference to this cult, usually referencing Make-Make, Manutara birds and other natural creatures. There were, however, still conflicts between some tribes that did not want to accept the new Tangata Manu, so war did continue at time and harsh reprisals levied. The competition was stopped by 1867.

Eventually, the penetration of the Europeans reduced the native inhabitants to 110. Some had been enslaved and moved elsewhere, others left on there own accord. For many years the natives were congregated within the city boundary while the Island was controlled by Chile as a sheep farm aka “estancia”.

The natives regained full access to the island in 1960’s and are reinvigorating their culture, which includes the annual Tapati Rapa Nui Festival where Polynesian type competitions are pursued. These include triathlons to canoe, run and swim the smaller crater lake at the Nursery, ski or slide down large hills on banana leaves, and dance and singing competitions.

The island now has an active Chamber of Tourism and tourist dollars reach $250 million per year. We are glad we could contribute.

Below are some additional photos to share

Janet Kokenakes

November 5, 2016

Santiago Chile

Janet Kokenakes

November 5, 2016

Our original plan was to stay in Santiago 2 days, just enough to wash our clothes and get to Easter Island. Instead with our computer needed service we rented an Airbnb high rise apartment for 6 days. Most guidebooks do not recommend long stays in this city, well we think they are wrong. We really loved Santiago. It is a large city, 5.8 million. It is surrounded by the Andes. The city has a great subway system, long narrow parks every few blocks and the primary shopping district downtown is pedestrian only, no cars or buses that just honk and keep going like Peru.

Our first full day in the city we hit the local markets and stocked up us frig for a week of good homemade meals. Santiago is famous for its fish market. The fresh salmon was a staple for us. They also have large grocerystores; the first time we have shopped in these since being in South America. The prices are cheap and we able to purchase a six-daysupply of food complete with Chilean wine for $70 (good bottles of wine average $2-$3).

We toured the city with a free walking tour. Our guild was also an actor and he provided an animated 4 hour review of the major sites and a narrative of the political history. Chile has only been a democratic state for 20 years. The current president is a woman who had been jailed under the dictatorship. Our English speaking tour group was large but we were the only people from the US. As before we were ask about the US presidential election and several people offered their opinion of how Trump as president would be a global disaster.

Our plan was to visit the major museums and parks over several days but the governmental employees waged a 3 day strike and most sites were closed. They are in the middle of annual contract negotiations, the government has offered a 4% wage increase and the workers are asking for 7%. Per our guild this is the same pattern each year with a final agreement usually at 5% We did manage to see the pre-Colombian museum that had a great collection and review of the ancient civilizations throughout S. American and the home of Chile's second Nobel laureate poet, Pablo Neruda. He is a national hero not just for his poetry but as a rebel who fought for political change under the long period of dictatorship.

View from Airbnb

Flower Market

Wall Street

One of the parks

City scene

We traveled by bus (short 90 minutes) to the town of Valparaiso. This is a port town and at one time it was the largest port in S. America. We took another free English speaking walking tour and had an enjoyable afternoon going up and down the hills. Typically we would travel on the funiculars but they were also closed due to the strike.

The city is famous for its street art. Most of the murals are commissioned and there is very little tagging on the work.

City art

View from above

View of hills

City art

Our guide

Original buildings

City art

View from above

Janet

Main square

Harbor

Our last day in Santiago was Franks birthday and we were up early to pick up our repaired computer, shopping and finally a trip up the funicular of the largest hill to the statue of Mary. It was a great day, sunny and warm, lots of crowds.

Franks birthday

Subway

City park

Details

Up the hill

We left Santiago early on a Sunday morning for a direct flight to our next stop Easter Island

quick note on our computer.

The Maconline store in Santiago delivered our Mac Air back to us with a new motherboard but 6 days later it shut down again. We have now been advised that we must wait until we get to Brazil and a real Apple Store for further repairs. Needless to say we are very disappointed in this Apple product. But we are now resolved not to have electronics take control over us and we are carrying on with phone and IPad

Janet Kokenakes

November 2, 2016

SAN Pedro de Atacama

Janet Kokenakes

November 2, 2016

We arrived at the bus station at 10 am and after a great cup of coffee we opted to head straight into town to arrange tours for our 3-night stay. San Pedro is strictly a tourist destination. The city has less than 3,000 residents and in the high season hosts over 11,000 tourists per day. It is an oasis in the middle of a desert. The streets are dirt with a paved square; the buildings are adobe style with courtyards. Dogs are everywhere, they jog with us as we walk and then lie in the middle of the streets until a car honks them out of the way. We decided to visit here first to break up our trip to Santiago, it was 12 hours from the Peru border, if we went straight to Santiago it would be a 30 hour bus trip. And second, after reading the reviews about how friendly the people are and how the landscape was like no other in South America we thought we should give it a go. It is also a big splurge for us, we knew that we could not keep to our target daily budget in this very high price town.

The climb to the top

Janet Climbing

After reviewing and negotiating with two tour agencies that have high ratings in Lonely Planet we purchase 4 tours starting with an afternoon tour of an area known as the “Moon Valley”. After a quick sandwich we find our way to our hostel to freshen up and head back out for the tour. We have developed a routine upon arrival in new towns, find a store to purchase bottled water, food and snacks. Go to the local ATM for cash and add money to our mobile phone chip. Depending on the city these tasks can be difficult. In San Pedro all were almost impossible, starting with cash. Although our tour operator clearly had the telltale logos for visa and American Express, when we started to pay for the tour we were told that their card “machine was broken”. Broken credit card readers seems to be an epidemic in South American!! Most of our cash went for the tours so we needed cash to pay for the hostels that advertised cash only on Booking.com. The town had around 6 machines. We went to all of them and they were all broken or empty. No money, no water, no snacks. Thankfully our hostel provided bottled water. We have great hot/cold water bottles from REI but most of the hostels and some of the nicer hotels do not supply water but do advise that the water is NOT safe even for brushing our teeth.

In any event, we depart for the “Moon Valley” with a lively group of European backpackers and others. The backpackers are 2 guys from Sweden and 2 gals from Germany. They were really chatty. I think the Swedes reminded us of our sons, and in fact they had traveled the US as exchange students starting in North Dakota. They could not say enough good things about the States. The site was a short 30 minute drive away. Our first stop is at the base of some very large hills with trails to the top. The trail is steep and at some point turns to deep sand, but surprisingly it was an easy climb for us and Frank and I are one of the first of our group of 30 to reach the top. The view is outstanding. Reddish colored rocks and valleys that have a configuration like the Badlands in the US. For as far as we can see the desert has colorful hills and valleys and a far off dry lake bed. This place is spectacular, it reminds us of the movie “The Martian”; it was not filmed here but NASA does use this area to test the lunar landing equipment and the Rover for the current un-manned mission to Mars.

On the next two stops our guide explains how this area was at one time a mine for copper and salt and now it is a National Preserve. Our last stop is for the sunset viewed from a plateau on the top of a cliff that overlooks a gigantic cavern. To the west we see the sun set and remake the colors of the valley and the sky. We are told this is the best view so this giant area is crowded with all other tourists and locals. It is a great sunset but for a minute Frank and I are homesick for our beloved sunsets on Sanibel, FL.

After the tour we scout out the restaurants for dinner based on the acceptance of credit cards, our selection turns out great, with piano bar, and we sample the local dish of corn pie. This is like a thick stew of meat with olives, raisins and cornmeal, baked. It is delicious, we pair it with our staple avocado salad, this time with lots of hearts of palm, yummy.

Day two

We have a 5:00 am pick up time for today, our larger bus arrives promptly. At our last stop a high energy guide boards the bus and provides lots of information including instructions to go back to sleep without our coat on (so we will not be so cold at the site), we have a 2-hour drive. This time we have just one other English speaker, a wonderful exchange teacher from India. We arrive at the site of the geysers as the sun starts to rise and quickly follow our guide to the first site. It is cold, really cold, around 10 degrees. This area is the third largest geyser area in the world after Yellowstone and New Zealand. It is not a national park and not protected. Several years ago an energy company from Japan attempted to mine the thermal energy and destroyed one of the larger geysers, to repair the hole they ended up filing it in with concrete using the same method of capping used for an offshore oil spill. The geysers are great; none are large like Old Faithful but still it is a wonder of nature to find boiling water shooting from the earth. After touring the site our guild sets up a table complete with table cloth and lays out a breakfast of sandwiches, coffee, cake and chocolate. Frank and I realize that it is Saturday and normally we would be in East Lansing with the same table at a football tailgate, some homesick pangs in the tummy again, but thank you Spartans for the worst season ever, we surly enjoyed geysers in rural Chile over the MSU/Indiana game. Next we are offered a dip in a hot spring or a second geyser site. This hot spring is only around 80 degrees, so really just a “warm” spring; Frank and I opt for the geysers. The next stop is a wet marsh created from the melt off from the mountains. It is a breeding ground for several endangered bird species, see the pictures below. Our final stop is at a small local village to sample their unique empanadas. We thought they were more like a carnival elephant ear with cheese, not a favorite.

We are back by noon and we must move hostels. We were not able to change our original reservation by a day so we pack our things and trug through the dirt streets looking for the new hostel. After an hour in the heat of the day we finally find it, check into our room and crash for naps, showers, down time. We finally have WIFI, but still no computer, so with much difficulty manage some blog work on the IPAD and phone. The hostel has a good kitchen so Janet ventures into town for food; after an hour she resorts to prepaid sandwiches and oranges. In the three days we stayed in this town we never found a food store, just small party type stores selling junk, but then the high priced restaurants were really good. Thankfully we did find a working ATM and withdrew the maximum on both of our card. The money is Peso’s in large denominations, $100,000 pesos is $153. The maximum withdrawal is $200,000; in a cash society the money goes quick. The local people blamed the Bolivians for the money shortage, their claim was the Bolivians come across the border every day and withdraw all the money. We think that 6 ATM’s is not enough for 11,000 tourists. Too bad if we had more bucks, we could all spend more!!

Our last day has an easy 7:00 am pick up but this time we spend an hour in town going from hostel to hostel, we never did find the last hostel and 2 tourists were out of luck this day. We have the liveliest tour operator ever; a rock and roller, a drummer too, he is an engineer by trade who made a life change to spend his days in the desert with us. Our group is small, just 10 of us and we are the only English speakers. We have a very long drive and finally end at two amazing lakes, the water seems to change color depending on the angle you look at, they are surrounded by mountains and volcanos. This is truly a unique paradise. After touring the lake, we are treated again to breakfast, complete with hot coffee and chocolate. Back on the bus our guide and driver keep trying to get music to sync and when they were about to give up, I offer my IPhone and cable and low and behold it works. Our guide starts with one of our rock play lists and before you know it he is dancing in his seat with some heavy guitar and drum air playing. For the rest of the day when we were not at a site we were rock and rolling in rural Chile to our US music. We wonder how the Spanish group feels about Bon Jovi. We stop for a great group lunch and with help of google translate we have a good discussion with our fellow tour mates, they ask us about the US elections and share they opinion of how crazy they think Don Trump is. This has become such a common occurrence. Our last stop is at a vast salt flat, although it is not flat. As far as they eye can see the landscape has chunks of salt around the size of basketballs. There is a deck walkway leading to a large salt marsh full of Flamingos, this is really an odd place, very hot and windy. Why are these Flamingos here in this difficult landscape? There is shallow open water that is filled with micro shrimp on which they feed and pretty much ignore us. There are 3 variety of Flamingo in Chile; 2 types are here.

We end our tour with a short stop in another small town, 300 people live here but a great church, see the picture below

We have another great dinner before our final tour in San Pedro is for star glazing. According to our guide book, this area is the best place to see the stars in all of the Southern Hemisphere. We are picked up at 9:00 pm by bus and transported to a private home of a local Astronomer and his wife. They live outside the town surrounded by the countryside. The tour starts in their backyard with a glass of Chilean wine, chair and blanket (it is cold again) and an explanation of the stars, we break up into English speakers and Spanish speakers. The English speakers are with his wife. She takes us in the house for a full review of the consolations and a short video, we then have hot chocolate and cookies. We go back outside and our Astronomer guides us through 4 high power telescopes, pointing out Mars, Venus, Saturn, each of the brightest stars, nebula, and consolation which coordinates have been programed into the scopes. Then we are back with his wife and using a laser pointer she reviews all of the consolations with their Greek mythology background, ie. Scorpion, Taurus the bull, etc., We need to brush up on our constellations (no Big Dipper here).

Our final morning is back up early for our bus to the Airport, yes, this time we are FLYING to Santiago, we got lucky and found flights for $70 per ticket. The bus is 25 hours, an easy decision to fly.

Good bye desert and small village, next stop Santiago.

Janet Kokenakes

October 27, 2016

Crossing the Border to Chile

Janet Kokenakes

October 27, 2016

We leave our hostel by 6:00 am. Our host helps flag a taxi, one of Arequipa’s tiny cars, the driver puts our big packs on the front seat and off we go, the driver is singing and seat dancing to his Latin music with his bobble head dog and pictures of his wife and kids on the dashboard swaying with him. We take this as a good sign for the day to come.

The bus station is easy and after a short delay we board a new bus line for us, Moquegua, this is more of a local bus but the seats are fine and off we go. We travel 5 hours to the town of Tacna. The agent we purchased all of the tickets from assured us we would be greeted by “Mr. Pablo”. After entering the small dingy bus terminal, Mr. Pablo came up to us and after a nice introduction we were instructed to follow him up to the top floor to the bus company office where Mr. Pablo and another gentleman explained to us that normally we would go to the Chile border by taxi and that same taxi would take us across the border to the next town bus terminal in Arica, BUT, the Chile taxi drivers at the border are on STRIKE and now we would be transported to the border and dropped off!! Mr. Pablo then opened his wallet and handed us 2 $2,000 Chilean Peso bills and told us this would be enough to get the next taxi. Now we go back downstairs with Mr. Pablo and he hails a taxi for us and hands us some forms to fill out on the drive. As we were sitting in his rather old sedan, three more Peruvian men get into the taxi and off we go, three in front, three in back. The ride to the border is around 30 minutes. After the driver parks he jesters us to get out and we get in line on the Peru side. The border officer looks at our paperwork and passports and tells us that our visa was only good for 10 days and we have exceeded that by 14 days. He informs us now we must pay him to exit the country. We had very little Peru Sols on us, by design since we are leaving and now Frank and I are scrambling for every US dollar and Sol we can find. We need $18 and we have $16!! At some point I tell the immigration officer that I have Euro’s, my stash for Europe and he takes us to a back room “cash lady”. She counts and recounts every bill and coin and uses her calculator and low and behold we have enough and she gives our documents some type of official stamp

Out we go, back in the taxi, all the other guys have been waiting all this time!!. We drive about 500 yards, park again and the driver walks with us to a Chilean immigration officer, he stamps our passports and we think we are good. Then the taxi driver points to the very long line in the middle of a car lane and tells us to get in the line and he is gone, we are now on our own. The line is full of Chilean’s who cross the border to shop, the goods are cheaper in Peru. Almost every person is carrying large plastic bags of stuff and several cases of toilet paper. There must have been 500 people in the line, that is over 1,000 cases of toilet paper. After 2.5 hours we make it to the entry of the building to discover the only thing we are waiting for is to put our bags through an airport type X-ray conveyor. Unbelievable.

The back of the line at the Chile Border

The view on the Chile Side of the border

We are greeted by lots of Chilean taxi drivers and one of them quickly takes us down the road to the town of Arica and the bus station. This is really a desert, look at the picture. After 30 minutes we arrive at the bus station and hand him our two bills, he gets visibility upset and without any English explains that this is no where near enough money, he needs $12,000 and we have $4,000. With the help of Google translate we explain that we just need an ATM. He directs us to the next building and get the money. Frank and the luggage must stay with him, I have 5 minutes. So now I am running, in the dark around these building with buses and food stalls, but I find and ATM, get the money and run back. In the end the taxi driver was all smiles. I am sure we got ripped off, but we did get to the station on time for our next bus. FYI, the price was around $18 for a 30 minute ride, too much for South America but cheap in the US.

Finally we board our next bus for the long 14 hours from Arica to San Pedro de Atacama. Our seats were good and we promptly fall asleep. At 5:00 am the agent woke us up, and told us off the bus, get your stuff. So out of a sound sleep we pack our stuff, got our bags and had to go through a security check point, then back on the bus. What a bizarre event, the next day Frank and I both ask, was that a nightmare? Or did it happen?

So finally after 26 hours we roll into San Pedro de Atacama, 75 degrees and sunny and we have our first cup of coffee in 2 days!! What a trip.

Janet Kokenakes

October 26, 2016

Arequipa and Colca Canyon Peru

Janet Kokenakes

October 26, 2016

We arrived in Arequipa Peru by bus from Cusco. Thankfully this bus ride was uneventful and thanks to the easy to use pharmacy we both had motion meds that keep us nausea free and helped with sleeping. Our hostel is a close taxi ride from the station and we negotiate breakfast and an early check in. After cleaning up we opt for the free walking tour of the city at 10, and off we go.

Arequipa is the second largest city in Peru of around 1 million people. It is nicknamed The White City. We were provided two explanations for this. 1. Most of the buildings are made of cut volcanic rock and are chalk white, and 2. When the Spanish conquered Peru this area had a huge influx of Spanish settlers, with their white skin the cities population became white. You can see the Spanish influence throughout the city. The city has great weather, mid 70’s all year and reminded us of San Diego. The architecture is very much Spanish, with open courtyards incorporated into the living spaces and large walls protecting the exterior, not the prettiest from the street but when you peer in it is very nice. The city is surrounded by 3 volcanos El Misti, Chachani and Pichu Pichu. El Misti is active and we can see steam at the top most days.

Our walking tour is small and we move quickly from one side of the city to the next, covering the Plaza de Armas, the major church's, the market and the nice neighborhoods. In most of the cities in South America, the sidewalks are in pretty bad shape, they are uneven, have lots of holes, dog poop and and times end to dirt. We have been careful in our navigation when traveling, which can be tricky because they are always very crowded. In Arequipa, this time Janet was not so lucky. We were moving quickly down a street and she stepped in a hole that was deep, around 8 inches and fell, twisting her ankle in the process. We left the tour and eventually found our way to a McDonalds for ice. Now up to this point we have only seen McDonalds in Lima and Cusco and have avoided them at all costs, but in a county that does not use ice we thought this was our best bet. For no charge they supplied us with several large glasses on ice. After a short rest we found a taxi back to our hostel. Our hosts were great, the best we have had on the trip, they took one look and Janet and promptly told us to use the Coco leafs, the instructions were to chew them into mush and spread around the ankle. All of our hostels in Peru and Ecuador have provided these leafs, in tea or just raw, the locals chew them for all kinds of aliments, for the travelers they are recommended to prevent altitude sickness. So we took their advice and spent the balance of the day with Janet’s leg propped, covered in Coco leafs and ice and watched a really bad MSU football game. That night Frank ordered the famous Peru chicken dinner for us, it is good, cheap and large enough for several meals. See picture below.

Sunday was a slow down day. After our banana pancakes, more like crepes, with the cake wrapped around cut fruit and topped with maple glaze, we set out to the Plaza de Armas, aka Plaza of Weapons, which as you've guessed every Spanish town has. We wanted to purchase bus tickets for our next adventure. We noticed many people walking up the steps of the Cathedral and realized Mass was going to start, so why not, let's go. The Cathedral is gigantic, with the second largest pipe organ in South America and a fantastic wood carved pulpit that has the “devil” contorted and crushed as the foundation. The church does not have the customary cross configuration, just a long rectangle. We walked in and we're herded into a side alcove with temporary chairs and a large tv screen. It turns out that the Archbishop of Peru is performing the Mass. A very stately individual, whom was more easily seen on the TV then he would have been with the naked eye. He had much staff helping with all aspects of the service. It was a very positive and pleasant experience. As we walked out into the morning sun the Plaza square was filled with people. We then walked to 111 San. Carolina St.,which was the location of the tour shop. We had many questions for “Nancy”, because we would be traveling to 3 cities in one day and crossing the border into Chile. First leg was to take a day bus from A to Tacna, 12 hours, then take a collective to Arica on the Peru border, cross the border, and get to the Chilean bus station for another bus, a night bus, to our final destination San Pedro de Atacama. We will talk more about the actual trip later.

We also scheduled a local trip to Colca Canyon, Peru’s Grand Canyon lite, for a couple of days later, but at the hostel. Our original plan was a three day hike into the canyon but with Janet’s ankle we opted for the easy bus ride instead.

We took a break, and had a super duper Club Sandwich at this local restaurant, a quadruple decker. It was great, as is most the food in Peru. The portions here are so large that we always share meals. It's funny because we are walking and hiking so much, but we are actually eating smaller amounts of food and feeling satisfied. We wonder how our eating habits may change back in the USA. We do not need doggie bags.

Monday is our day to walk the city and visit the most acclaimed sites. The first stop is at the Monastery of St. Catalina. This is a city within the city and takes up a full square block. Founded in 1850 by a wealthy Spanish widow, she selected her nuns from wealthy Spanish families in the area, usually the 2nd oldest daughter, and extracted a hefty price for the education and life style. The grounds are spectacular with bath houses, running water, gardens, observation platforms, as well as the customary chapels, saintly oil paintings, and meeting rooms. Unconventionally, these rich nuns could live it up as they were accustomed and bring their servants and certain material effects. Many had separate apartments with private kitchens and servant or teachers quarters. After 300 years, a strict Dominican Mother Superior was assigned by the church to straighten things up, gone went the servants and private homes, in comes dorms and require labor like cooking and emptying their own chamber pots!! It was not until 1970 that the complex was open to the public.

Our second stop is the famous Museum de Santuarios Andinos. Here the frozen Inca Ice maiden known as “Juanita”is the star attraction. This museum is dedicated to the scientific exploration of the Mt. Ampato volcano which towers above the city and which was the site of Inca sacrifices. The back story is fascinating. Over 500 years ago there was an apparent eruption of the volcano. In order to please the various gods in which the Inca believed, for this event and others, they had selected and cultivated a group of children to be sacrificed if needed. This was apparently a high honor for the family giving up their child, girls and boys, because the child would forever live with the deities. In Juanita’s case she walked over 400 miles from Cuzco accompanied with her group of holy men, other offerings, and supplies for the afterworld, similar to the Egyptian tombs. Juanita was sacrificed, placed in a fetal position wrapped with special garments, and buried. Her body was only recently discovered when the volcano acted up and melted the ice at the summit. The scientists found her exposed burial location and that of others. Juanita’s mummified remains are on frozen display. Her hair is in place and face intact. MRI testing in the USA, determined that she suffered a blunt trauma to the back of the head. It is believed she would have imbibed a coca drink as part of the ceremony.

We also viewed the oldest church named Iglesias de la Compania. This is a Jesuit order church which is noted for its ornate main facade which integrates figures of the Peruvian natives.
Unlike the militant Dominican order of Cuzco and most of Peru, the Jesuits built schools, albeit segregated, next to the church and sought to educate the natives to Christianity as well as the Spanish youth. In my opinion, the Jesuits Appeared more respectful of the cultures they sought to assimilate.

We finished the tour day by seeking out a small restaurant, more like a hole in the wall bar, which had good reviews from Trip Advisor. The proprietor, only one we saw, looked like a “Mario Brother” with bushy mustache. He made suggestions in broken English. We went with the flow. We shared trout with Frita, which is like corn grits, and Ceviche, fish marinated in lime juice with cilantro. Of course, we ordered our customary gas water and a beer. You know, in this constant hot climate I am really digging drinking the local brew. I have a renewed pleasure for beer.

We left for our Canyon trip at 8:00 leaving our luggage at the hostel and taking just the basics in our day packs. Our host are so great, when we tried to pay, they said, no, no you return and pay later. Our tour is a more traditional vacation type of tour, something that we have avoided but we want to see the canyon and the price was right. Over the next 4 hours we travel out to a very dry barren countryside. We see and stop for many native animals. There are three primary mammals, Llama and Alpaca, both domesticated and bred for sheering like sheep and then the wild Vicuña which are smaller and have fir rather than hair. See the pictures below of all three. We stop for a group buffet lunch which was ok but overpriced and finally reach our destination of the town of Chivay, Lonely Planet describes this town at a small, dusty transit hub. That is a kind description, it is very poor and rather depressing. Our hostel that we were assured was “good” is the worst we have stayed in, even positive Frank did not shower in the morning, the stall was just to scary, see picture below. After a short rest we change and head out to a volcanic hot spring, the water was hot, hotter and boiling. Typical to South America getting there required traversing over rocks and another plank. In the evening we were offered a traditional dinner with entertainment. It was fun, bad food but our fellow travelers are great and we have a good time. Frank even danced a line dance that is similar Greek dancing, he did not have a hankie in his hand but still looked very much like the Greek guy, not Peruvian.

We depart for the canyon the next day at 5:00 am. It is a 2 hour drive to the canyon and we must make 2 stops for more junkie trinket shops. We arrive at the canyon and the sky is perfect, no clouds, not too hot yet. Frank and I opt to get away from the crowds and travel down to the far lower level. Just as we arrive we look over the canyon and see shadows of Condors, then just like that we have Condors over our heads. It was really spectator, they are huge and just float on the air. Frank has a great video and I will post it once I have my computer back. Our 2 hours goes by quickly and although this trip was not what we planned, seeing the Condors was really great. After being there I am sure I could not have made the 3 day trek, see the pic below of me resting my leg after just 2 hours of hiking, ouch this was a bad fall! The rest of the day is bus time with some great conversations with the other passages. We make it back to our hostel by 5:00 pm, lots of time to get ready to leave Arequipa and Peru.

Janet Kokenakes

October 23, 2016

Amazon jungle

Janet Kokenakes

October 23, 2016

For this leg of the trip we purchased air flight tickets from Star Peru Airlines to fly from Cuzco to Puerto Moldavia in the Amazon. We had decided to negotiate our tour and accommodations once we arrived. We wanted 4 nights and 5 days at a river retreat jungle lodge. Janet did a good job on this negotiation saving us 30%. The transport picked us up within the hour and took us to the dock at the water edge. We had signed up with Carlos Expeditions, with its trip advisor award, and headed downstream to the Monte Amazona Eco Lodge in a 24 foot wooden boat with simple canopy. Our boat group included a Peruvian family with a teenage daughter, Alejandra, who ospoke wonderful English, and the rambucsious 5 year old named "Ricardo". Ricardo became famous right away when the van transport was pulling away and he was walking down the street in the opposite direction. Mama yells out "Ricardo , Ricardo"---we stop and pick him up. The rest of the week Ricardo became a mascot of sorts with his devil may care attitude.

We were again inspired, boating down the Amazon River - who would have thought we would be doing this in our life. The air was fresh, the water was light tan, not green or blue. The Amazon was about 1/2 mile wide in this stretch, but you could observe 10-12 foot cliffs at the shore, indicative of the high water the rainy season would bring in the next few months. If fully flooded the Amazon would expand to 1 mile wide or even wider. All the cabins and the lodge at Monte are on stilts and the walk ways were elevated; our guides said in the rainy season the lodge would close and the water may come over the banks and reach the lodge well inland.

When we arrive at the lodge there are gang blanks leading to stairs up the cliff to a small pavilion. See picture below

Our Eco lodge, like most others is rustic. We have a cabin with private shower and bath. The cabin has screens on 3 sides with pull curtains for privacy and mosquito nets over the bed---but no wifi, no hot water and electric only from 5:30 to 9:30 pm. Our cabin was by the pool which is great since it gets so hot and humid in the jungle. Our first lunch was at a table with Ricardo's family. The teenage sister spoke English well enough and translated between us. She worried about her ability as she did not practice much, but we praised her and thanked her. It was very pleasant. The lunch was good. In fact all the meals were very flavorful. And after a hot day, the cervasa (beer) never tasted better.

We settle in and then meet for our first activity-- feed the monkeys on "Monkey Island"; back on the wood boat again up stream to the beach of the island. Our guide leads us into the bush and then the jungle hacking away with a machete. As we reach a clearing our guide sticks the machete in the ground and our group then could hear monkey howls and jump between trees. While we are looking into the trees, little Ricardo goes for the machete, which is snatched away by. The monkeys quickly arrive and the guild feeds them cut fruit. He assures us that the monkeys do not live off the food from the lodge, but clearly they are use to humans, see the picture below of how close they came to us. As the monkeys came down the trees I gently guided Ricardo's head to the view. He started counting and was mesmerized. The guide directed our attention to this Alpha female that came to him and simply reached into his bag and took the fruit she wanted. At one point she jumped down between us all and strutted down the path on which were standing. We all moved back to clear the way. She did not seem bothered by us. It was pretty amazing.

That first night we got back on the transport boat and went shining for caiman on the shores of the Amazon. The driver floats the boat toward the shore--engine off. The quide shines his powerful light toward the shore looking for sparkling eyes. When we see the eyes we move silently closer. The caiman, look like skinny alligators, and scatter on the beach or duck under the water. Their skin is alternating light and dark bands. We repeated the process several times. It was a nice outing especially in the dark.

Our Second day in the jungle starts early, breakfast at 4:30, good and simple, eggs, fresh rolls with jam and coffee that is so strong we are provided hot water to cut in in half. We are on the boat by 5:00 am and head up river to the Reservea National Tambopata lead by Johan. Our group is large so we split up-- English speakers and Spanish group. Ricardo is with the Spanish group--I wonder if he can keep quiet enough so as not to scare the animals. Our large canoe carries 10 people. We shove off down a narrow channel and meet up with the incoming ranger-- side by side-- the ranger accuses our guide of taking one of his paddles--an argument in Spanish ensues. I'm sure Johan promises to bring it back but finally our guide relents, as he should because he did jump over a couple boats to get a better paddle-- he paddles us backwards, exchanges paddles and off we go to the most tranquil, beautiful and virtually round lake. We move at a very slow pace along the shore. Here we see some wonderful creatures--colorful birds, a tree trunk lined with bats in a straight line, and camin-- both small and large--we have a video of an adult camin swimming in the middle of the lake (once our computer is fixed we will post it & other videos as well). Luckily the sky is hazy, no direct sun, making the 2 hour trip cooler. We return to the dock and stop at the ranger station for a special passport stamp, then walk through the jungle back to our transport boat. This was an especially nice trip both for the nature and because the English speakers started to bond-- not just people on a ride, but now cordially interacting. Janet makes many friends as our little group was composed of 2 women from Australia (formerly from Russia), 2 young women who met in the UK--one Brit and one New Zelander, and a lovely Peruvian from Lima. We took all our future excursions together. As both groups prepared to ship back on the Amazon, our departure was delayed; Ricardo was clinging to drift wood on the beach and would not leave. We started to back the entire boat into the river, but he would not budge. That bit of child psychology failed, so his dad jumped off the boat and swung him over his shoulder without a peep from the dad or Ricardo. Lodge bound and looking forward to a jump in the nice clean pool that was right by our cabin; cold but refreshing.

At dusk we meet our guide and group for a jungle night walk. Our first stop is less than 5 feet from our lodge to watch a huge tarantula on a tree! It was as big as my hand and very hairy. We actually saw 3 types of tarantulas--brown, pink footed, and the giant black--no scientific jargon here.

On day three our group has shrunk to 5 people and we have a new guide. Today is a combo day. We start with kayaking on the Amazon. We the boat and travel up river, Marco our guide offers no suggestions other the "don't lose the paddle or you pay for it". These are plastic two person kayaks that sit in the water, it was easy the current is good and we have a nice trip down. Wow kayaking in the Amazon. We meet up with the boat and Marco our guide back at monkey island for a swim. The water is warm and the current is surprisingly strong.

In the afternoon we meet for zip-lining and canopy walk. The zip is easy and no worries. The first canopy walk was a 2x4 plank suspended with a cable, the board had several places where the wood had rotted and was wrapped with rope, we had to walk hand over hand on this plank about 50 feet in the air, it was scary for some.

In the afternoon we had rest time and we again took advantage of the pool, it was hot over 90 degrees with 90 percent humidity. At 4:00 pm (the top heat of day) a small group of us walked with Marco through the jungle with simple fishing sticks and line until we reached a pond and creek. The bait was cubes of meat. Drop the line and you can see small Paranea nibble and strike at the meat. These fish are not catchable, so we have to be patient-very patient- as we fished for about 2 hours without much luck. I didn't fret-- it was ok--after all I was fishing in the Amazon basin and as the sun set over the creek the reflective view of the dusk was spectacular. As I dreamed on I did get a hard strike and waited to make sure the bait was taken-- I had me a fish! Our initial story to our friends was it was a large Parana, but we confessed it actually it was a catfish. Thankfully our guide caught 2 catfish so at dinner we were treated to the fresh fish as appetizers--so tasty and perfectly spiced -- even with the heads on. We did not eat the electric eel our guide also caught. UGLY-- flat head like a giant worm, light brown with spots, it wiggled and curled up the line. The home trek through the jungle was in the dark, but no problem with out IPhone lights.

Last day in the the jungle

Buzz, buzz, buzz--snooze--buzz, buzz, turn off the alarm 3:45. Get up and dress in the clothes set out the night before--back pack ok-- out the door at 4:00. We walk down to the dock house in the dark using our IPhone lights. We are first to arrive. Then comes Marco-- handsome guide guy--who calls for driver. No answer so he rouses him out of bed. He bangs the boat off another boat and Marco hands us life jackets. Finally we clear the dock and head up stream at high RPMs to watch parrots eat breakfast. We pass the city and go under a mini version of the Machinac bridge. As I look back I see the sunrise. The Amazon twist like a snake, so later the sunrise is to starboard. The wind is high due to our speed--we flip up our hoods and cross our arms for warmth. We both closed our eyes for awhile too. This is the dry season so the banks rise 10 feet and at this point the river is about 50 meters wide says our guide. But these banks and the beaches forecast an immense influx of water in the rainy season that starts in late October/ early November and will widen the river to 1 KM in some places. We are told the entire lodge and camp will be flooded and closed; that is why the buildings are on 5 foot stilts.

We are the first boat to arrive from all the lodges to the special place where parrots and macaws congregate for morning breakfast. We first saw a large macaw --red, yellow tail-- sitting on a nearby fence. With powerful binoculars we watched the tree line for parrots--and saw small green birds--parrots-- jumping from branch to branch. We backed the boat up went downstream to a high red cliff at waters edge, with vines hanging down. Now comes the fun! All of a sudden hundreds of green parrots, some with blue head feathers & some with yellow cheeks, land in the vines. Then in waves they jumped to the red banks and pecked at the salts and minerals in the dirt. These mineral apparently enhance the color of their feathers and make them more attractive for mates. It is like a blanket of parrots. There are a few larger macaws as well-- they have long tail feathers. The feeding frenzie goes on for about 15-20 minutes. What a treat. We had a box breakfast with hot coffee as we watched. It was a great early morning. We got back to the dock at 7:50 am. No more planned activities until late afternoon.

We prepared for a walk in the jungle again; this walk is for vegetation review with Marco, a self proclaimed floral specialist. He lead us, just Janet and me, with a machete through the jungle. At first we were on a path then went into more dense jungle. No scientific terms here. We observed the following:

Hard shell palm tree that is good house for tarantulas; a shedding bark tree; poison mushrooms; thistle tree with spikes that move under your skin; giant Amazon trees, giant red Amazon trees, strangler trees that wrap around and envelope the trunks of other trees, termite nests, red ants nesting inside trees, army ants marching in a long row, large black ants in clusters, monkey fruit with hard shells, beetle fruit with hard shell where beetle drills a hole and and lays egg that grows to larvae, tremendous Tarzan vines hanging from massive trees, and walking trees that have roots that grow out and shift location to move the tree toward sunlight.

I should note that the guide and I split a beetle larvae which tastes like coconut; we cut out about 1 inch of a termite tunnel that was repaired at the end of our trek; crushed termites give off an evergreen oil scent that is a natural bug repellant. We walked back in the dark on an alternate path that was blocked by a fallen tree and had to follow our guide with his machete cutting a new path. Home safely and very instructive. Jumped in the pool to cool down. A great day. Pack for tomorrow's 8:00 am transfer.

in conclusion, Janet and I talked about this jungle lodge. It was a treat. It allowed for us time for reflection and communing with nature. The pace was slow but the activities worthwhile and downtime welcomed. Swimming in the pool, swinging in the hammock-- no suntanning too hot; but writing notes on the porch and absorbing the surroundings--both the sights and sounds. The animals ,insects and birds sounding off at 6:00 ---7:00 am then quiet until dusk when the volume cranks up again , intertwined like a melody. In our wildest dreams we never thought we would travel the Amazon basin of South America. An experience to savor!