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| Waiting for the boat |
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| Kayla on board |
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| Leah and Julie on board |
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| Rich and Kayla on board |
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| The "friendly" Macaw |
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| Still friendly and nibbling Rich's ear |
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| Determined to stay |
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| Jungle School |
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| Just thought it was a normal tree |
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| Looked like scabby bark |
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| Huge Creepy Crawlies |
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| Raul showing us "nut pod from the Brazilian's Nuts tree" |
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| Our bungalow |
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| Tarantula |
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| Capybara munching the verge |
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| Capybara munching the verge 2 |
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| Capybara posing like Joseph Stalin... |
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| Caiman |
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| Early morning in Amazonia |
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| Entrance to the Tambopata Preserve |
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| Macaws |
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| Investigating |
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| How they get stuff into the preserve store |
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| Giant Otter |
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| Giant Otter |
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| 4 Giant Otters |
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| Monkey Island |
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| Madre de Dios River |
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| One of the motorized canoes |
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| The lodge from the river |
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| Being climbed by a Macaw |
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| Ants who build their home of fecal excrement |
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| Parrots |
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| Sloth |
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| Walking Stick bug |
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| Cormorants |
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| Cormorants |
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| Tiger Heron |
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| Turtles |
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| Snake Bird |
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| Snake Bird |
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| Agouti "Peter" |
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| Opossum |
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| Tuqui the Toucan |
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| Opossum |
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| Opossum with babies |
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| Pink Toed Tarantula |
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| Katydid with Raul, the guide |
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| Puerto Maldonado fruit and vegetables market |
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| Tropical doggie |
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| Puerto Maldonado meat market |
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| Puerto Maldonado meat market |
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| The tamale ladies in Puerto Maldonado |
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| Julie and Kayla |
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| Rich and Leah |
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| Julio the Macaw |
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| Leah with Lola |
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| Kayla with Lola |
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| Rich with Lola |
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| Kayla and Leah with natural face paint |
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| Rich and Leah taking a dip in the Rio Madre de Dios |
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| our dip |
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| our dip |
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| our dip |
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| Julie, Raul, Leah and Kayla on the canopy overlook tower |
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| Leah and Julie in Raqchi |
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| Leah and Rich in Raqchi |
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| Leah and Julie in Raqchi |
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| Leah and Rich in Raqchi |
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| Leah in Raqchi, she grew a little since the last picture in this place |
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| Julie and Rich in Raqchi |
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| Raqchi |
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| Artsy Raqchi |
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| Raqchi |
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| Raqchi |
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| Raqchi Granary |
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| Turn off to Q'eswachaka |
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| Turn off to Q'eswachaka |
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| Apurimac River at Q'eswachaka |
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| Q'eswachaka |
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| Apurimac River |
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| Rich crossing Q'eswachaka |
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| Leah crossing Q'eswachaka |
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| Julie crossing Q'eswachaka |
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| Llama who did not cross Q'eswachaka |
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| Campesina near Q'eswachaka |
Friday we flew to Puerto Maldonado for our four days, three night’s jungle adventure. “Puerto” sits at the confluence of the Madre de Dios and Tambopata rivers, two of the 1100 or so tributaries that make up the Amazon River. We traveled by boat about 30 minutes down river to our jungle lodge and had a wonderful time during our stay there. We went on a night ride on the river and saw several capybaras which is the largest rodent in the world and can weigh up to 140 lbs. We also saw lots of caiman that are in the alligator/crocodile family. They grow to about 4 feet.
During the day we hiked to Sandoval Lake and saw a sloth hanging in a tree, monkeys and lots of macaws, parrots, parakeets and the blue morpho butterflies that have a wing span of about 6 inches. At the lake we saw a pair of Hoatzin birds (also called the stink bird, because it digests its food like a cow.) We also saw cormorants, herons, egrets, snake birds, turtles, and fish. We were very lucky to see a family of four giant otters found only in northern South America. They were so much fun to watch, what a treat!
Around the lodge there were many agoutis, (a rodent related to the guinea pig) parrots, macaws, and a toucan that had returned after being away for two months. One night we went looking for tarantulas and saw several pink toed tarantulas. They were big and pretty creepy. On a nature walk we spotted what appeared to be an irregular pattern in a tree’s bark. Upon closer inspection we found that it was a herd?? Of huge moth larvae all bunched together. Even the guide who grew up in these environs was creeped out. Rich and Leah even took a dip in the river, a major tributary to the Amazon. To be fair, Leah had been baptized in the headwaters of the Amazon, so it was not her first “dip,” so-to-speak.
The jungle is an incredibly noisy place. The birds start their singing and calling as the sun comes up and all day the racket continues. Because it is such a vital environment, when there is a moment of silence, you really feel that you can hear the vines and plants growing. As the sun begins to set the birds quiet down and the insects and frogs crescendo and the bats begin to fly. The night predators wake up and you can hear rustlings, breaking twigs, thumps and bumps. Sometimes you have to shout to be heard over all the activity.
Upon returning home we went from 100 degrees and 90% humidity in the jungle, to 66 degrees and 26% humidity in Cusco, all in a 45 minute plane ride. What an adventure! On Wednesday we prepared to travel to Raqchi, but Kayla caught a sniffle and wound up unable to go. We had already arranged a driver so Rich, Julie and Leah went. We visited Raqchi, the largest known Inka temple. Dedicated to Wiracocha, the only anthropomorphic god in the Inka pantheon, legend has it that Wiracocha, the bearded, white god appeared there. We have been often since it was close to Tintaya, where we used to live. It is always a pleasure to return there.
Following our visit to Raqchi, we had the driver take us to Q’eswachaka. This is the only surviving and still in use Inka woven grass Rope Bridge. It spans the Apurimac River and is rewoven and replaced, every year in June. It is an amazing feat of ingenuity. Rich has wanted to cross the bridge since he first heard about it some six or seven years ago. He was like a little kid arriving and actually seeing the bridge, let alone walking across it. It was nerve wracking walking over the gorge with the wind blowing and the bridge swinging, but we survived. You can only walk on the bridge from June until October or until the rainy season begins. The “bridge keeper” there told us that it can hold up to 10 people at a time, but we were satisfied to cross one at a time.
By Friday, Kayla was better and ready to do some touring. With the same driver who drove us to Raqchi, and Q’eswachaka, Leah and Kayla went through the sacred valley. They visited the ruins of Chinchero, Ollyantaytambo and Pisac. Rich and Julie stayed to get some images taken. In spite of all our adventures with the girls, we did manage to take nearly 5000 images and Rich taught his Isaiah and The Book of Mormon classes. We do remember that we are on a mission ;) In the evening, we visited our friends the Agüeros and had Arepas (a really fat corn tortilla from Colombia. Sister Agüero is Colombian) with scrambled eggs, tomatoes and onions on top. They were quite delicious and we washed it all down with wonderful, fresh pineapple juice.
Today, we travel to Espinar, Leah’s first home that she remembers.
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| Artsy worn adobe in Combapata |
