Oct 7, 2019 - Peruvian Boobies and Pelicans and others

I skipped breakfast and only picked up a banana, a roll, and a juice to take to the meeting at 7. We found out what the day would be like and then boarded a bus to this fishing village. Lima is next to the ocean but is a desert. They only get about 2 inches of rain a year - moisture comes from almost constant humidity and 80% of time in clouds. Boat ride to rocks full of birds, seals, and penguins was fun. An hour to get there, an hour on the boats, and an hour back, Lunch was 4 blocks away from our hotel where they showed us how they make...

Oct 6, 2019 - Cock of the Rock to Villa Carmen

The gravel roads we travel twist & turn and drop down through the Andean Cloud Forest as we progress from The Cock of the Rock, at 1400 meters above sea level, to the Villa Carmen Reserve at 550 masl; and the temperature & humidity rise as we descend. The trees are gaining height and the undergrowth becoming more dense. Unfortunately the number, and hunger, of the insect population has risen along with the temp. Our birding days continue to add new species; ~80 in the past couple days. Binoculars are ever present throughout the day as you...

Oct 6, 2019 - Flights to Lima

It took an hour to get from Saugerties to Albany and only 15 minutes to check my bag, go through Security and find my gate! So glad I got Global Entry which also gives me pre-check. I only had to take my boots off because they have metal eyelets! In Atlanta, I enjoyed a burrito bowl for lunch and sat to write these entries! In an hour, I will board a plane for the six hour flight to Lima! That flight was uneventful but going through customs after midnight with hundreds of others was! I had just told Sara, Pat, & Kathy not to follow me...

Oct 3, 2019 - Wayqecha

Have begun our 11 day birding tour with six other members from the Austin Audubon Society. We begin by driving southeast from Cusco and then turning northeast into the mountains of the Parque Nacional del Manu; 6,600 square miles of Andean Highlands, cloud forest & lowland rain forest/jungle. The park is relatively new, having been created in 1973. The paved road ends a few miles outside of Cusco, and we climb into the Andes on gravel, twisting & turning narrow 'roads' replete with 1,000 ft. drops to the valleys below at the edge of the...

Oct 2, 2019 - Adios Cusco

Hiked up to Sacsayhuaman, the ancient Inca/Inka Fortress, high above Cusco Centro. Compared to Machu Pichu it is quite unassuming; far fewer buildings and less architectural complexity & detail; it was only a fortress, not an inhabited city. The Inka were actually the ruling members of the Quechua peoples. The whole civilization has taken on the name of this ruling class. The views of Cusco lying in the valley below were impressive. And watching the workmen line a mountain stream bed with individually chiseled boulders to form Inca-like...

Sep 28, 2019 - Clean Cusco

It has been a relaxing few days stay in Cusco. Very pleasant weather. Blue skies with puffy white clouds, and temperatures around 75 F during the day and dropping to a great sleeping coolness of 45-50 F at night. After acclimating to the elevation (11,000+ feet above sea level), walking the city center area from our hotel gets the ol' heart pumping, and the lungs gulping as much oxygen as can be found/inhaled. Unfortunately Lidia has been primarily relegated to the hotel, as her foot needs to heal as much as possible in order to better be...

Sep 25, 2019 - Arrival to Cusco

Seven hour flight, 100% full, from Dallas to Lima proceeds without issue. Interesting facet was that the flight route map shown throughout the flight indicates the 'planned' route is from Dallas to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ?! And throughout the flight the map updates to show two arrows proceeding south; one from Dallas, and one from Philadelphia ! The destination and flight map were never corrected, and the two flight path arrows converged/arrived in Lima without incident. The airline and airport staff in Lima were SO different than in...

Mar 5, 2019 - Conoce y disfruta del departamento de Huánuco en Peru

La hermosa región de Huánuco se sitúa en el área norte del centro de Perú. Esta hermosa tierra cuya altitud es de apenas 250 metros sobre el nivel del mar es hogar de inmensos paisajes naturales, valles nevados y cordilleras que le dan un valor natural importante a la región, así como le permite tener condiciones idóneas para atraer a turistas de todo el mundo durante todas las épocas del año. Huánuco posee una parte de la extensión de terreno abarcada por la selva peruana, así como también toma una porción importante de la sierra peruana,...

Feb 26, 2019 - Winding up our Peru Journey

We are coming to the end of our Peru odyssey. Today we pack for the trip to Lima, which will be a quick overnight and then the longer flights to get home to Seattle (which will undoubtedly required more repacking). It has been a trip filled with explorations of the mountains, of the past, of new and different flavors and inspirations. I am still mulling over a few things; such as why purveyors of clothing throughout the Andes all want me to buy an alpaca sweater with alpacas conga dancing across my chest. (Like that is a good look for...

Feb 24, 2019 - Pre-Inca exploration day

Today we were on the go all day escorted by Obar who did not speak a lick of English. We started out at breakfast meeting Marthe and Paul from Montreal. He's Paul "the Greek" and Martha is from this town. We enjoyed a nice meal together and were joined by a kind of surly man (it may have been the time, 9am) who also grew up in Pimental. It turns out that Martha and surly man had family aquantences. Small world. When we asked for a drivwer recommendation a conversation ensued, not only who, but how much. Martha won out and we engaged Obar...

Feb 23, 2019 - In Pimentel, soaking up the sun

Hello to all! Barb and I are spending our last few days here in Peru at the beach, soaking up the Vitamin D before we head home; I hear that there may be more snow on the way?!?!? Actually I am no longer much of a sun bather; I mean when I was growing up in California I used to lay out determinedly in the sun slathered in Cocoa butter; which essentially turned me into a giant fry zone, or we would spray ourselves in baby oil with Iodine mixed in (to attain that attractive orange/brown color). Today I slathered myself in sun block instead,...

Feb 21, 2019 - We go exploring: Machu Picchu and beyond!

Sorry for the delay, we have been having a few busy and physically challenging days, and the thought of gathering thoughts, much less photos, was too daunting... Yesterday we explored Machu Picchu, an Incan Citadel high in the Andes. We left our hotel at 4 am (ugh) in a driving rain ( double ugh) to take a taxi for 1 1/2 hours to take a train for 1 1/2 hours to take a bus for 40 minutes, to finally arrive at Machu Picchu. The ruins are spectacular, to have survived for the past 500 years in this climate is a testament to Incan ingenuity. It...