Up the Amazon

After an hour long bus ride into the jungle, we headed up the Tambapato River, which is a tributary of the Amazon. Off we went, cameras clicking, heading out to the Tambopato Eco lodge, deep in the heart of the Amazon. There are 20 of us from assorted countries, including England, Scotland, Australia, the U.S., and interestingly, at least 6 other people from the Vancouver area. We Canadians are adventurous folk!
Along the way, we saw unbelievable amounts of butterflies, flying in huge clusters, a cayman, and some macaws. Before boarding, we were instructed to apply copious amounts of mosquito repellent, as this is malaria and yellow fever country, but we haven't seen a mosquito yet!

 

Given that this is the RAIN forest, we were told to expect rain every day. We did have a huge downpour on the boat ride, but fortunately they had large plastic sheets that we were able to drop from the roof of the boat to form walls to keep us dry. And afterward, of course, the most beautiful rainbow!

 



wild guinea pig
 

Home sweet home!



We arrived at the lodge at 5:00, and after being briefed as to safety precautions, were shown to our cabin.   The accomodations are lovely, complete with our own porch, which includes a hammock. Ah, the chance to completely relax.After supper, we went for a night walk in the jungle, where we saw many spiders, sleeping butterflies, a sleeping hummingbird, and a tiny little tree frog.

 

Posted with Blogsy

Puerto Maldonado

We were up at 4:30 to catch our plane to Puerto Maldonado. Sitting in the hotel lobby waiting for our driver, we asked the desk clerk to check to see why he was late. He phoned for us, only to discover that I had misunderstood the time, and he had told me that pickup time was 5:45, not 5:00. We could have slept for another 45 minutes. Sorry, Marianne! One thing about travelling with a friend is that it helps you to develop the traits of tolerance and patience!

Amazing pigeon action outside the church in Lima

We met some interesting people while we were waiting at the airport. Among them were a couple of young women originally from Australia, but now residing in Whistler for the last ten years. One of the women was on her way home after being here for a month, the other had already been here for 3 months, and was intending to stay for a few more months and continue travelling on her own. Courageous people like this never fail to impress and inspire me!

 

Another group that we met were 14 young adults from a Catholic college in Chicago, travelling with one of their professors, Brother Michael. Brother Michael was a source of great knowledge about the area, having studied and travelled here in the past. He disputed the information that our Inca tour guide had shared with us yesterday, regarding the treatment of the bones that we had seen in the catacombs of the San Francisco church. Estimates are that there are between 25,000 and 70,000 people interned in 6 miles of underground tunnels and rooms under the church. As these areas filled up, the church would dig deeper, creating more rooms and tunnels. This resulted in three floors of underground rooms, and the tunnels provided an escape route to the sea in case they ever came under attack. While fascinating to see all these bones, it was also quite shocking to see that they had been sorted into bins according to type, femurs all in one huge area, skulls in another, etc.

While Edwin, our tour guide told us that this was because of a crazy bishop who ordered the priests to dismember the skeletons, Brother Michael claimed that it was not a disrespectful thing to do at all. He explained that the bodies would have originally been covered in lime, then buried in layers of dirt. When these layers were eventually excavated, the bones were all disconnected, and it was impossible to tell which bones went with which body. It was felt that rather than leaving the bones all askew, it would be more respectful to put them into some sort of order. Certainly gives one much pause for thought about the transitory nature of our bodies!

Just one of the many bone repositories in the catacombs.

We head into the Amazon jungle today, where there is no wifi (imagine that!), and electricity is by generator, so will be fun! We are looking forward to seeing lots of fascinating wildlife for the next 4 days and 3 nights!

taxi around Puerto Maldonado

family transportation....who needs a minivan?

Posted with Blogsy

Leaving Lima

Today was a day to explore this remarkable city. A 20 minute walk through the city brought us to the beach, where there were 20 or 30 bodies bobbing in the surf, hoping to catch a wave. We enjoyed walking out on the pier, which was lined by little shops, with a beautiful restaurant at the end.

 

The bright coloured crafts are beautiful to look at!

In the afternoon, we took a tour to downtown Lima, and toured one of the oldest churches. Our Inca guide, Edwin, was a wealth of information about the history of the area. Once Chris Columbus discovered America, it was all over for the aboriginals, as the natural wealth of the area was a highly sought after commodity. Unfortunately, in order to get at the gold and silver, the Spaniards had to wipe out much of the Inca population. According to Edwin and some of the history books that I have been reading, the Incas were naturally friendly, and welcomed the Spanish with gifts and hospitality. This naivety allowed the Spaniards, who numbered around 160 plus a few slaves, to wrest control of Peru from the Incas, who numbered in the millions. Through direct slaughter, along with the help of diseases like smallpox, it is estimated that for every 59 Incas before the arrival of the Spaniards, there was only one left by the end of the Spanish conquisition.

In touring the city today, we learned that in colonial times, only the very rich were allowed to live in the city, and all the buildings, including the train station and the post office had to be palaces. Where did these riches come from, you might ask? Well, from the plunder of gold and silver stolen from the Incas, of course!

The Peru of today is proud to be independent of Spain, and there are signs everywhere of the country coming into its own. It is a very clean city, with not a piece of litter in sight. There is a strong police presence, and our tour guide assured us that Lima is a very safe city. Indeed, we felt very safe as we travelled around. The transit system is clean, cheap and efficient, and they are presently building a subway from the center of the city to the airport.

Tomorrow, we are to be up at 4:30 am (2:30 home time) to catch a flight to Puerto Maldonado, which is east of Lima, very close to Bolivia. We will be staying in the jungle in an eco lodge, exploring the Tambopato River, which is tributary of the mighty Amazon!

Posted with Blogsy

Lovely Lima!

How precious it is to have a buddy who loves to do the same things that I love to do. Marianne and I have been good friends for over twenty years. We have been on several small trips, but this is the first time that we have taken a major trip together.
Our friend Susan is an important member of our adventuresome trio. She and Marianne have been on safari in Africa and travelled to London and Paris together. Twenty-five years ago, Susan and I tackled the West Coast Trail twice, and then the northern section of the Pacific Crest Trail. This trip to Peru was to be our first major trip together. To have friends who enjoy outdoor adventure, and are also fun to be with is such a huge blessing. We share our deepest secrets together, and have been through some our greatest sorrows and joys together. I am grateful to call them both my friends.
We arrived in Lima at midnight, and by the time we collected our bags and got to the hotel, it was 2am. Our driver, Jose, was there to meet us, and drove us through a very poor neighbourhood before arriving at a beautiful stretch of beach. Our hotel is in the Milaflores area of Lima, and although this is considered one of the nicer parts of the city, our room is right on the highway. We were grateful to finally drop into our beds after a full almost 19 hours of travelling, but it was like trying to sleep in the middle of the freeway! Clearly I need to develop the art of sleeping with earplugs!

Leaving Dallas, another plane was flying alongside us. Very cool!

Posted with Blogsy

Machu Pichu, Here We Come!

It's been a year in the planning, but my friend Marianne and I are finally getting ready to head off to Peru to hike the Inca Trail and cruise the mighty Amazon. Our friend Susan was going to be joining us, but has had to cancel because of unforseeable complications. We will miss her, particularly because it was her enthusiasm for this trip that inspired us to go! The blog about our trip will be dedicated to her so that she can virtually travel along with us.
Getting ready for a trip like this has taken hours of researching, planning, meetings, emails and phone calls. We finally decided to go with a tour company, because it was getting overwhelming trying to figure it all out on our own. We decided on www.alpacaexpeditions.com a company that is based in Lima, as we wanted to support the local economy. They had great reviews on Tripadvisor, but time will tell whether we made a good choice. They tailor made a trip just for the three of us, according to what we wanted to see and do. This really is an adventure trip of a lifetime. (Sorry, Susan!)
Each trip I go on, I get a little more determined to travel light. I have found a couple of blogs very helpful in the planning: www.travelfashiongirl.com and www.postcardsandcoasters.blogspot.ca
One tip that I got from Rick Steeves www.ricksteeves.com is to use packing cubes to compress everything. Baggies also serve well, as I sit on them to squeeze out all the air, and everything is nice and compact. This also helps me to be super organized, as all my shirts are in one bag, shorts in another, undies in yet another, etc.

Believe it or not, everything fits into my carry on bag, and there is lots of room for comfort food, magazines and my ipad mini in my small backpack. Homemade granola is an essential when travelling, as it is delicious, nutritious and easy to eat when the local fare is less than appetizing. I think that I am ready to go!

Posted with Blogsy

Dallas Rock and Roll Half Marathon

Tired, but happy to be finished!

It's hard to believe that I started running almost 40 years ago! This amazing sport has allowed me to stay healthy and fit all these years with manageable ease, expense and effort. I have loved that it gets me out of doors in all types of weather, and that it enables me to see parts of the cities that we are staying in that I would not see otherwise.


This weekend marks the first of many half marathons that I intend to do this year. My goal is to complete at least one a month, and sometimes more. Any ordinary person would certainly be justified to ask why I would want to do such a thing. I'm not really sure, except that I like to set goals, and once I do, I am pretty much determined to complete them. So, this year, my goal is to do at least 12 half marathons, and one full marathon. Crazy yes, but at least I'll be fit when they lock me up!

Bryce and I with Mom

I consider myself very fortunate to be able to set such a goal, and even more fortunate to be in a position to complete it! While running today, I reflected on the many people that make such a goal attainable. First, I want to honour my mother, who passed away last month. She was such a great role model for me, living a life of health and fitness based on healthy eating and doing what she loved, swimming and dancing. I felt her running with me this morning, and, as always, I know that she was proud of my accomplishment.

The second person that encourages me in my running lifestyle is my wonderful husband Bryce. Although he is not a runner, he is my greatest fan, and I am grateful that he is here with me this weekend, sharing my passion. We have had lots of fun exploring the city together.

Bryce and his initials!

On every run, I say a little prayer, thanking God that my body is strong and healthy enough to be able to run long distance. I always pray to run for His glory!

There are thousands of volunteers that make a run like this possible, from those at the registration tables, to the people handing out water along the course and those handing out medals and refreshments at the finish line. My favourite is the little guy, about 4 years old, who was handing out Gatorade and the many groups of cheerleaders who came out to yell, scream and clap, making the runners feel like we really were doing something special.

The city of Dallas itself is such a welcoming place, with that down home "Howdy" attitude that makes you feel comfortable. We have enjoyed the different tourist sites, and this afternoon, we plan to visit the Kennedy museum. We have had a terrific trip, and hope to be able to come back soon.

Spot where Kennedy was shot
 (between the white and red car)

Beautiful courthouse museum "Old Red" circa 1890

Trip to Tonala

We are like a couple of kids on Christmas eve every time that we take a trip. Every hour, one of us is up checking the clock, silently asking; “is it time to get up yet?” Finally, at 5:30, we allowed ourselves to tumble out of bed to get ready for our trip to Tonala. “If we get an early start, we will be there early enough in the day to enjoy the city. Tonala is a small town just outside of Guadalajara, about 4 ½ hours drive from Puerto Vallarta. With any luck, once we had our breakfast and got on our way, we would be there around noon.

The bells wake everyone up at 7:00 am sharp!

 

Dressed for the cooler weather!



 

 

The church in the town square



The police getting ready for a day's work.

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Having researched the route the day before, we were confident that we knew our way, but as anyone who has used MapQuest or a GPS knows, these things are not always accurate.

After driving around in circles just north of Puerto Vallarta for an hour and a half, we finally stopped at a gas station and explained that we were trying to find the road that ran directly east to Guadalajara. We showed the map to the attendant, and she just shook her head when we showed her the road we were trying to find; “bad road” she said in her very limited English. She pointed to the highway that ran north, back toward the U.S. for about 2 hours, before turning southeast toward Guadalajara. Why is it that the hardest part of an adventure is figuring out where you are going?

Fortunately, the highway that runs north is a lovely, tree shaded road that passes several lovely beach towns that are frequented by those who want something a little quieter than PV. Once we turned east, we travelled through lovely sugar cane fields, a moonscape-like lava field, and eventually acres of agave farms, leading into the legendary town of Tequila where the famous drink originates.

Rooftop garden

Narrow streets; all one way!



Hmm, which one should I buy?

 Finally, we arrived in Guadalajara, but rather than taking the freeway that we were on all the way to the town of Tonala, we somehow misread the signs, and ended up travelling right through the center of town. We had to stop every 10 minutes or so to ask for directions in our very limited Spanish, and managed to make ourselves understood. The challenge, of course, is trying to figure out what the heck people were telling us when they answered us! After another hour of driving around in circles, we finally found the town, but again had to repeat the entire frustrating process in order to find our hotel! After 7 hours of driving, we were finally at our hotel!

Casa Las Palomas was a delightful little hotel, very clean, quiet and safe, with friendly, helpful staff. At only $40 a night, this was a real bargain, and they happily welcomed Ricky dog!

The town of Tonala is like the Mexico of years past, with few people speaking English, and the prices for everything from food to crafts at a fraction of the price that people are paying in the more popular tourist towns. We had lots of fun trying to converse with the locals, and they were patient, helpful, and kind. We ended up buying more glassware and pottery than we will ever use, and are wondering how we are going to get it back to Arizona, never mind White Rock!

I highly recommend this trip to anyone who has the time while in Puerto Vallarta or any of the other popular tourist towns that are within an easy day’s drive. However, you might want to take a tour, as it will definitely be less stressful!

Bryce wanted to buy the quintuplets, but there was no more room in the jeep!

 

Mama's family wagon!

 

 

 

 

Princess dress, anyone?