This is the second part of a post from January 2014 that tells about or adventures in Peru for Christmas and New Years. The previous post was due in large part to Kirk's copious notes. However I don't have those anymore, I have only the notes Sidney and I took which aren't as detailed. We do however have pictures, or at least some of them. We had a computer crash since then as well.
The previous post described our arrival into Lima, our trip to Puno and the floating Islands of Lake Titicaca, our bus ride to Cusco (my favorite town in Peru), our Christmas dinner and travels around the Cusco area.
This post will take you to Machu Picchu and the fresh water lakes of the Amazon. And then home again. The first two days are Kirks notes and after that it's my recollection.
12/27 - As stated before, Kirk was up several times through the night with Montezuma's revenge, or perhaps Tupac Amaru's revenge. By wake-up time, Kirk felt pretty ill and skipped the breakfast. We met David (our guide) in the lobby, then took a bus to the train station for our train ride to Machu Picchu. The train ride was 3 1/2 hours long. It was a nice tourist train and the ride and was very scenic, passing farmland, then through canyons and along a raging river to the town of Aguas Calientes, with is a little town in the shadow of and catering to Machu Picchu and the tourist industry. One unique feature of the train route has to do with the grade the tracks cover in a short distance. The train makes a Z up and down the steep section. The train pulls or backs into a section, then reverses its way up or down several times.
12/28 - Machu Picchu day and Kirk was better but Kimber has been up all night sick. She was under control by morning and could be away from a bathroom, but couldn't eat. She braved it out anyway and after a quick breakfast we headed for an early bus up the mountain. She was not going to miss this day. We were up before dawn to catch the bus so we could see the sunrise at Machu Picchu. It was a little drizzly with quite a bit of fog rising out of the valley, but the temperature was nice. The fog added to the beauty and mystery that surrounds the "lost city of the Incas". By the way, before Hiram Bingham "found" the city in 1911, there had been two other European explorers that visited the city in the 1800's, and when he found it, there were three local families that were still farming some of the terraces surrounding the city. Hiram Bingham was just the first to recognize the significance of the city and do excavations of the main city. The train we ride to and from Cusco has Hiram's name on it.
many temples and important religious buildings at the site. The houses and buildings are uniquely
built and have interesting ways of holding on doors and the thatch roofs that they had.
The technology found in the city was also fascinating. There is one stone which is carved and set so the four points match up with the four points of the compass. There are also several stones carved and set so their profiles match the profiles of the large mountains behind them.
The ability of the Incas to build houses with intricately carved stones for holding doors, roof poles for thatching, and even houses with two stories was also amazing. We saw different qualities of stone carving and setting, depending on the purpose of the building, and David also pointed out areas where significant artifact finds were located. It took thousands of laborers 50 years to build Machu Picchu. It's reason for existence is unknown but it is thought to have been on good travel routes linking many other cities.There were also lots of opportunities to view nature around the city. There were wildflowers and native plant species, several birds, including some kestrel hawks, and insects. Sidney particularly liked the millipedes, which she referred to as gazillipedes.
Kimber, being the driven individual that she is, decided to hike up toward the Sun Gate, which is on the Inca Trail overlooking the city. Kirk knows his limitations and decided to stay back with David and enjoy a cold Cusquenas beer at the entry point while Kimber and Sidney did the hike. After they returned, we opted to hike down the mountain and back to Aguas Calientes instead of taking the bus. The weather was great, and the nature would have been beautiful to look at, except Sidney practically ran down the mountain dragging David and Kimber and Kirk had to work hard to stay within sight of them. It was probably one of the toughest downhill hikes we have done since Norway!
It started to rain just a bit just as we were getting back into town. We stopped into a rail side cafe for lunch, then headed back to the hotel to rest a bit in the lobby before catching the train back to Cusco.
This would be the last time we saw our favorite guide ever, David. Kimber did see him while she was back in Peru this summer.Sidney would like to hike the Inca trail when she is old enough, age 12.
12/29 - Off to the Amazon. We departed Cusco for Porto Maldonado. Porto Maldonado has the smallest airport ever. There aren't even real walls, only tarps for walls except for the wall to the planes which has two glass doors and some other glass. There are two gates and no food. Tiny!
We were picked up by our guide company for the Amazon part of our trip and taken to drop off the luggage we didn't need for the last four days of our Peru adventure. We were prepared for this having read the requirement that you have to carry everything into and out of the lodge we were going to. Others weren't prepared and had to unpack and repack in front of everyone. It was at least funny. We also had to find water proof boots because the trail into the lodge is muddy this time of year as it is the rainy season. We had trouble here for Sidney. We thought we got a pair that fit but we found our quickly they wouldn't stay on and we have to manage some other way. Kimber was left with a too large pair also but took Sidney's when she couldn't wear them and was OK.
It felt like a forced march for the 1.5 miles to the next boat. We were late because another couple in our group couldn't make any of the boots work and we had to drive around looking for a pair for him and the sun goes down early there. Kimber got a boot stuck in mud right up tot he top and almost walked out of her boots a few times. Kirk did fine and we helped Sidney over and around as much
mud as we could since she didn't have boots. She didn't care and had a great time. We just figured we would sacrifice the shoes and trash them.After the forced march we took a canoe to Lake Sandoval Lodge. It is very primitive. There is water all the time but only electricity part of the time. No air conditioning and no ceilings. There is a roof over the whole set of buildings, but no ceiling over each room which means you can hear everything that happens in other rooms nearby. we also slept in mosquito netting.
After getting settled in went for a night hike. We saw pink footed tarantula, chicken spider, wolf spider, frogs, tailless scorpions, tropical house gecko, squirrel monkey, scarlet macaw, gray macaw, leaf cutting ants, yellow headed vulture, and tadpoles. The chicken spider is as big or bigger than a large man's hand.
Dinner was always edible although nothing fancy. Again, everything has to be carried in on foot or in carts pulled on foot, including fuel. Hence the lack of electricity. The water is recycled and isn't drinkable except what is provided from the kitchen. The lodge is in an area that requires conservation.
12/30 - We started with an early boat ride. We were successful almost immediately is seeing what we came to see. The reason to go to Lake Sandoval is giant fresh water otters. They are found only in the fresh water lakes of the Amazon. They are 6 foot long otters who eat 10 pounds of fish per otter each day. A lake can support only one family and the kids hang around for three or more years before beginning the difficult journey across land to find both an unclaimed lake big enough to support a family and a mate.
They are found here because of another mammal, the monkey. The squirrel monkeys race through the forest along the edge of the lake picking fruit and eating only a few bites. Then they toss the fruit. It falls in the water where the abundant fish life devour a hand delivered treat. The level of marine life can then support a family of otters. Since we went in the rainy season, it can be harder to find the family as they use many burrows. During the dry season they use just one borrow. As it happened the burrow they were using was the burrow just below the lodge. So we saw them often by boat and from shore. Lovely creatures.
We saw tons of other animals as well. Long nose bats, black camen babies and their eggs, sun grebe, Anhinga, striated heron, green ibis, Hoatzin (punk chickens seen in the picture), boat billed heron, neotropic cormorant, parrots and macaws of all sizes and shapes, and colors, toucan, white winger swallow, king fisher, red capped cardinal, and wood creeper. The forest is alive with birds, bugs and mammals. 
After breakfast we went for a walk in the jungle. We saw black winged bats, dusky titi monkeys, and tried Quinine (used to treat malaria). It was very bitter and and nasty. We also tried fresh Brazil nuts, which we loved. They fall about 50 feet from the trees. They are difficult to grow because the Brazil nut flower is built such that it takes a strong bee to get in and once it is in, it is often trapped. A tree will produce fruit only every other year. The whole nut is just larger than a baseball. You hack off part of the outer shell and take our the segments. There are 13 to 25 segments per nut. Then you have to use a nut cracker to get in. Fresh Brazil nuts are so amazingly better than what you can get in the states. We also saw cirique birds, the ones that weave the nests. 
We always took a break in the afternoon because it was hot. Then we went on another boat ride. We saw Kara Kara and huge troops of spider monkeys partaking in their wasteful run through the forest eating a few bite here and there and dropping the rest in the lake. We counted 20 mothers with babies on their backs. They were crazy and so much fun to watch. We also saw howler monkeys, clambuse kites, and fish catching bats. We were out right at dusk. And then we saw our friend Camey, a black caiman (named by Sidney of course). The caiman and otters survive peacefully together for the most part. The otters are strictly diurnal and the caiman nocturnal. So they rarely cross paths and full grown they are not threats to each other. Sidney's quote of the day was it is raining monkeys. 
After our busy day we were ready for our simple dinner. The only problem with dinners was it is dark and the lights are on in the lodge. This attracted droves of tiny white gnats. Inevitably we ate lots of them. They would land in drinks and soups. Extra protein.
After dinner we got a unique surprise. We were hanging in the hammocks when we heard someone say Hi Sidney, what are you doing here? It happens that a boy from her school in Katy came to the lodge that night. He and his mom had also been in Peru and came to the lodge. They had a shorter visit but what a small world. He and Sidney are about the same age but different grades. They fought anytime they were together.
12/31 - New Year's Eve - We started this morning with a 5 am boat ride and walk but it was so worth it. We saw more howler monkeys another caiman, cappuccino monkeys, white bellied parrot. Then we got to the surprise. There are several pictures of this. It is an old dead palm tree that attracts all the birds. They come an eat the wood because it contains nutrients they need that aren't found in the fruit they eat. There are hundreds of birds around at anyone time waiting to get their nutrient snack. 
We ate breakfast when we got back to the lodge. There was a possum on the underside of the roof in the kitchen area. There must have been a good sized hole somewhere. After breakfast we went for another walk. We saw and Agudo (the rodent pictured) right behind the lodge. They are dog sized rodent. We also saw a collared forest falcon with a rat and Sidney swung Tarzan like on a vine. She doesn't know who Tarzan is. We ate more Brazil nuts and saw more bugs, moths and butterflies. We ate dinner and went to bed early. Yes it was New Years Eve but there is no power after 10 pm and not TV to Internet so what's the point of staying up. We also had to leave in the morning to head to Lima to catch our flight home so we had 24 hours of travel in front of us.
1/1 - Happy New Year. Today was travel. We took the canoe to the muddy trail. Sidney had wells this time. Then the trail which was far less rushed and more enjoyable to the boat. The boat back to town and then got our stuff and headed to the airport.
Our flight from Lima departed at 11:30 pm so we had a lot of time to kill in the Lima airport. Unfortunately Sidney was getting a really bad cold and was running fever. Everyone was exhausted. Our flight was to Newark and then another flight to Houston so it was going to be a long time till home. When we went to check in though, we got told we could get not he direct flight to Houston. It departed late but still got us home by 7 am, many hours before we would have gotten there the other way. We were in the back of the plane and Sidney was miserable but we were glad to be home. We had piles of the nastiest laundry ever. The clothes from the amazon reeked and we had only washed the rest of the clothes in the sink.
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