South America: Part 2

After the week in Ecuador a flew down to Perú, where I work with Global Explorers every summer. This trip was especially exciting because I was coordinating a group with my friend Todd, who is a teacher at Thornton Creek School in Seattle. We had a group of 12 kids, one awesome parent, teacher Todd, and a biologist Chris Frost who joined us in the Amazon. We spent a week outside of Iquitos, Peru, which is the largest city in the world that can't be reached by road, only by boat or plane. At Global Explorers we organize trips for school groups that go to Explorama (outside of Iquitos) or to Tambopata Reserve (in the south, outside of Puerto Maldonado). At Explorama lodges we go boating to see animals, climb the longest canopy walkway in the world, learn about local music and crafts, and do a community service project in a local Amazonian community. We also visit with an amazing doctor there, Linnea Smith, who opened a clinic next to the lodge for the people in the region. We also spend a day in Iquitos, which is really wild. In the local market they sell all sorts of meats, fruits, and vegetables... including suri (grubs that live in palm trees), tortoises, caiman, and others. We also visit the medicinal herb section where I bought some love potion. For a friend.

Pictures show the girls in the boat with me on the Amazon River (I'm pointing towards the boat), a typical house on the side of the river, and Todd and I playing with mud in the Amazon after fishing for pirana. It's a tough job, but someone has to do it.

After being in the Amazon we flew over to Cusco, which is one of my favorite places. It is all the way up at 11,000 feet which is usually pretty intense for me (and most others). This is when kids start to complain of stomach aches, head aches, everything aches. My answer is just to drink water, and usually that does the trick. Although I gave out record amounts of pepto bismol this time around. Works like a charm. After visiting Inca ruins in and around Cusco, we descended into the Sacred Valley to Ollantaytambo, where there are some really interesting ruins and also a cute town. We stayed there to take the train to Aguas Calientes, which is at the base of Machu Picchu. The picture shows me and Todd looking down onto the Sacred Valley. The first day we were in Aguas Calientes we went on a hike up mountain, per the recommendation of our guide, Richard. Richard is a friend of mine after taking me on the Inca Trail a few years ago and I sort of trusted him, although Inca Trail guides from Cusco are notoriously... crazy. I think it's the lack of Oxygen. So this hike was totally insane and pretty dangerous, but worth it! We got to the top of an amazing mountain looking over at Machu Picchu, a seldom seen view. Pictures below show the "stairs", which in spanish also means "ladders". I thought he meant that they were going to be steep stairs, but we ended up scaling a wall. I guess that's how you get to the top! Andean Style!
Also there's one of me at the top, and then a view of what we climbed from Machu Picchu. Oh yah, and Machu Picchu itself.

I took a red eye back to Mexico and ended exhausted, but having had a wonderful experience with Todd and the Seattle kids. My fourth year working in Peru! What a life.

South America: Part 1

I just returned from a 3 week jaunt to South America. First I spent a week in Ecuador, which I planned with my Peru work that came afterwards. The main purpose of going to Ecuador was to attend my good friend and UCSB officemate Felipe's wedding. But I also got to see some old friends from my time in Ecuador 6 years ago. It was a big deal for me to go back after so long because it seemed like it had never happened, and was just a crazy dream from my past. One of my first days I spent time with my former man-friend and current penpal, Jairo. Back in 2003 I spent a lot of time with him and his family in a little town called Nanegalito, which is around an hour from Quito and sort of between the Andes and the coast, so it's the gateway to the tropics. It was amazing to go back and see how his nieces and nephews had grown and also how the family had expanded. His brother-in-law also bought a property that they use for birders and small groups of people to stay. The pictures show Jairo, his sister Tanya, and her three kids at the ecolodge, Alambi. When I was there they only had one, Johan, who is now the big kid in the family. I also stayed at the house and saw more nieces and nephews, one who was a little girl when I was there and is practically a lady now, Melina. She also has a new brother who was on the way when I was there, and a new sister whose name is... Amy! Yes, Jairo's brother named his daughter after me (in pink jumpsuit sitting next to me). The crazy part is that the little village likes new names so now there's a bunch of little Amys wandering around. When I heard that I think I went into shock for a few days. All the kids in the family piled on me, which was like a whole elementary school, and that was with four missing (see pic). There are 11 grandchildren in total. They definitely have their hands full!

The next day I led a group from the wedding party in the cloud forest where I guided before, Bellavista. It was crazy being back and felt like I never left. The next days after that I spent with the wedding folk going to Saquisili (see potatoes), a town that has a traditional market, and also relaxing in Quito. The wedding was at Felipe's uncle's hacienda, which was beautiful. I sat with some UCSB friends (Micah and Matt) and also with the bridesmaids, all who were very nice.
Overall it was very intense and overwhelming to return to Ecuador but also felt a little bit like coming home. I saw another guide friend of mine, Santiago, who feels like a brother even though we haven't spoken in 5 years. Everyone was so kind to me, which was part of the intensity of it. For something that seems like a dream, that visit made it a true reality.

I will add the Peru section later when I get the pictures...