worldtrip

 I have a little free time now, so I thought Id try to post some pictures, and a brief description of what Ive been doing.  Im in Mancora now, on the north coast of Peru.  Its a popular surf town, but unfortunately there is no surf now.  Went kitesurfing the last 2 days at a place called Cabo Blanco.  Its where Hemmingway wrote the Old Man and the Sea, but the hotel where he stayed is abandoned now, and is the only building in the town.  Before coming here I did an 8 day trip to Manu National Park, near Cusco.  We managed to see quite a few animals – see pictures.  Almost saw a jaguar – the guide saw it, but by the time the boat stopped all that remained were the tracks.

After Manu, I did a fairly frightening mt bike ride down from a pass at about 14,ooo ft to about 11,000, then a much more relaxed but still challenging ride nearby.  My partner was an Australian guy who mt bikes every week, while Ive done it once in 3 years.  I managed not to fall, but it was very sketchy in several spots.

After that, I visited a Quechua village called Umabamba, near Cusco.  I thought it might be a typical tourist trip, but it was quite different.  My guide Wilfredo Huallpayunca  arranged it with the president of the town, Lucho.  It turned out I was the first tourist who had come to their village, and they kept referring to me as Patronera, which I think means something like a cross between employer and VIP.  They took me to their fields where we built an earth oven and dug up and roasted 3 types of potatoes and beans, then had a meal with other foods, including Cuy – guinea pig and Quechuan soup.  At the end they had a really sweeet ceremony, where they had constructed an arch covered with flowers and hung a cup from the top.  I was told that I was good luck, and I had to break the cup with a ceremonial hammer after they had poured Coca Cola into it. I really hope it brings them good luck in some way – they were really sweet people and the trip was very interesting.  The family I was visiting also showed me how to spin dye wool yarn – they are called the Association of Artesanos or Felix Puma.  I think anyone who visits Cusco, should do this trip or one like it.  So many people visit the area and leave without learning about how these people – the descendents of the original Incas – live.  It was quite amazing. The guide Wilfredo can be reached at incaswill_04@hotmail.com

Well, for some reason this site did not let me post my last entry – it´s actually quite obtuse, and the fact that that I have to do it on different computers each time, usually with Spanish instructions makes it even more so.  I´ll summarize my last trip:  It was really beautiful, and something I really wanted to do but I basically got talked into doing it much sooner than I should have.  The agency owner assured me that 2 days aclimation was fine, and he had done the trip many times, and that 3 other hikers would be joining us.  On the morning of the trip, 15 minutes before departure, I learned that he had gone on a different trip, and I would be the only hiker.  Furthermore, his replacement was a 23 year old kid who had done the 5 day hike ONCE before!  The hike was quite difficult w/ 3 of the 5 passes over 16,000 ft, and I had a lot of trouble sleeping.  In the end my equilibrium was so bad I had to ride a horse to get back – not fun when you have to ride at night on steep Andean trails, feeling like a punch-drunk cowboy!  Finally I returned to Cusco, and had to spend some time in clinic for altitude sicknesss treatment.

I´ve had similar experiences with tour operators in Africa who just want to get your money, but this was the worst!  Guess I´ll have to spend more time on research next time, but my next trip is to the Amazon in 2 days, and I think I should be OK there – at least all there is to worry about is mosquitos and snakes!