The Jungle in Peru

On May 26th we left Cusco and flew to Puerto Maldonado, which is located in Peru’s southern jungle. The jungle was hot and had about 75% humidity, which was a huge contrast from the cold, mountainous regions we had spent the last few weeks in. We got off the plane, and took a 45 minute bus ride, and then a 45 minute boat ride to reach our Rainforest Lodge, right in the heart of the rainforest and jungle of Peru.

We had to re-pack our luggages into a smaller duffel bag as our big suitcases would not be coming with us to the lodge. While re-packing we had our first taste of the jungle, as we were greeted with a very large spider!

The boat ride to the lodge was a pretty cool experience, as we were able to spot some wildlife along the shores of the river. We rode in a long and narrow traditional boat, similar to ones I had seen while in Asia.

We saw a number of butterflies all seated along the side of the river, and our guide explained to us that they were eating the salt from the rocks.

We also saw a capybara, which is one of the largest rodents in the world, and it kind of looked like an enlarged guinea pig.

And no trip down the jungle river would be complete without seeing a small alligator (I think this one may have been a caiman).

We ate lunch on the boat, and our lunch was a Peruvian dish of rice wrapped in leaves:

The rainforest lodge was an experience all on it’s own! The lobby was located in the heart of the rainforest, had no walls, and had a number of hammocks out front.

We were told that the rooms were “open”, but didn’t know exactly what that meant until we saw them. Each room had no doors, only a small curtain (which meant that anyone, or anything could waltz right into our room at any time). Once inside the bedroom there were only 3 walls, such that where the 4th wall should have been was actually completely open to the jungle. Over each bed we had mosquito nets, so we could sleep within the mosquito-safe enclosure of our bed. On the far side of the room, right next to the open jungle was a hammock.

Even the bathroom had no door (just a small curtain), and was also open to the jungle (but it had a few bamboo sticks blocking the entrance to the jungle, so at least a monkey or other animal couldn’t jump into the bathroom while we were showering!). It was kind of strange taking a shower while looking out at the jungle and wondering what animals were out there! It was also kind of strange because there weren’t really separators between the rooms, except for a thin bamboo wall and a curtain, so we could hear everything from all the other rooms, which was especially awkward while using the toilet.

Walking through the jungle was awesome, the forest was really thick, and it was pretty dark down along the path because of all the layers of vegetation. It was also really cool to look up because the trees were so tall.

I also really enjoyed the cool vegetation.

In order to get a better view of the jungle we climbed up the canopy tower, a 120 foot tower with views above the trees. From the top you can see the rainforest in every direction, and it spans as far as the eye can see!

Later that evening we went caiman spotting in the boat. We saw a few of them along the shores of the river, but unfortunately I could not get a clear photo of any of them. We did however have a great view of the moon while on the boat:

Spending the night in the jungle lodge was a new experience for me. In addition to only having 3 walls, our rooms had no electricity, so once night-time came we only had our flashlights and candles to light up our room! This fact made the night in the jungle that much more scary! Not only were we unprotected from the wildlife of the jungle, we also could not even see the dangers around us. Even using the toilet was a challenge while holding the flashlight (we didn’t even attempt to shower in the dark!). Once inside my mosquito net I felt quite safe. Although I could hear the sounds of the jungle, for some reason the thin mosquito net made me feel protected from them! I slept very soundly that night!

We awoke at 4am the following morning to go piranha fishing on the Tres Chimadas lake! I was a bit weary of this experience as I kept thinking about piranhas I had seen in movies where the fish eat a whole human within minutes! I was assured by our guides that piranhas are actually quite small, and are “usually” vegetarians, so we had nothing to worry about. The water was really peaceful so early in the morning.

Seeing piranhas up close was really cool. Check out how sharp their teeth are!

While fishing for piranhas we also saw some beautiful birds:

The rest of our time in the jungle was spent relaxing. Although our time in the jungle was short, I really enjoyed it. Sleeping in an open room under a mosquito net was a completely new experience, and having no electricity added a little twist to the experience. I would definitely visit the jungle again!

Machu Picchu, Peru

We arrived in Machu Picchu town on the evening of May 23rd full of excitement for the following morning when we would be visiting the famous Machu Picchu. The only way to get to Machu Picchu town is by train, and luggages are not allowed on the train, so we had to repack our belongings into a small duffel bag and leave our luggages in our hotel in Cusco.

Machu Picchu, otherwise known as the “Lost City of the Incas” is an Inca site built around 1450, and was then abandoned during the Spanish Conquest. The area is about 5 square kilometres and consists of over 200 houses, palaces, temples and many other areas. It was also built high in the mountains (at an altitude of 2,430 metres above sea level) in order to defend the city against attack. I wondered how they were able to get the stones so high up the mountain in order to build the city, but it was explained to me by our tour guide that the mountains provided the Incas with a sort of stone quarry, where they were able to use the huge rocks from the mountain to polish, shape and build their city.

Machu Picchu was unknown to the world until it was discovered by Hiram Bingham, a professor at Yale University in 1911, who traveled to Peru to find the lost city of the Incas. He found Machu Picchu covered in vegetation after being guided by a 12 year old local boy. I can’t even imagine how it must have felt to discover such an amazing place! I had always heard so much about Machu Picchu, and seen photos of how amazing it was, so I was really excited to finally see it for myself! I had been waiting my whole trip for this day!

We awoke the following morning at 4:30am to head to Machu Picchu nice and early! To get to the actual site of Machu Picchu you need to take a 30 minute bus ride up the mountain (or you can hike it). We arrived at the entrance to Machu Picchu to find a long line-up! The government has placed restrictions on the number of tourists entering the site, and now they only allow 2,500 tourists per day, and tickets must be purchased in advance. We were told by our tour manager that to protect the site there is a chance that they will place even more restrictions on the site, and maybe restrict the areas tourists can visit so that tourist will only be able to look upon Machu Picchu from afar and not be able to walk around through the ruins. Hopefully that will never happen, so that generations will still be able to enjoy this beautiful site.

When we finally crossed the entrance gates, and after a 10 minute hike we finally saw Machu Picchu, incredible the Lost City of the Incas! We had arrived so early in the morning that the site was still quite dark and covered in clouds, so we (along with hundreds of other tourists) waited as the sun came up and we watched the clouds clear into a beautifully sunny day.

Once we saw Machu Picchu from afar we climbed down and walked around the ruins of the city.

We were also able to see many of the terraces the Incas built in order to grow their crops.

We also saw some nice wildlife while there:

Around the whole area of Machu Picchu llamas run free, and are (sometimes) friendly.

Showing our excitement for being at Machu Picchu!!

It was an incredible and unforgettable day!

Sacred Valley, Peru

We left Cusco on the morning of May 22nd to make our way to the Sacred Valley. On the way there we stopped stopped at the Quesermayo Valley to visit Awanakancha, which is a project to help 14 different communities of native people. This project includes an area with many llamas and alpacas, and the wool from these animals are used by the locals to make traditional Andean weavings. We walked around the project and made friends with some of the llamas and alpacas.

We learned how the wool was dyed with natural ingredients, and then boiled in the dyes to create the coloured wool.

We also some of the traditional ladies working on their weaving.

We continued our drive and stopped to observe a beautiful view of the Sacred Valley:

Out group also grew to 29 people just before leaving Cusco for the Sacred Valley (we had 16 people for Brazil and Argentina, 17 people for Lima and the Colca Canyon in Peru and then we’ll have 29 people for the Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu and Jungle).

We finally arrived in the Sacred Valley of the Incas, which is located in the Cusco region of Peru. The Sacred Valley was an area which was very important in the Inca time for the production of corn. We visited two main areas within the Sacred Valley: Pisac and Ollantaytambo.

We first visited the Inca ruins in Pisac, which were pretty incredible! The first thing we could see were many Incas terraces. Since it was difficult to grow crops along a mountain side, the Incas built terraces in order to make flat areas in the mountainside so they could grow their crops (mainly corn). They used the altitudes to their advantage, where the terraces at the lower altitudes got warmer weather and the terraces with higher altitudes had colder weather, so they grew different types of crops depending on how far up the mountain the terraces were. In the photo below you can see the terraces the Incas built, and you can also see in the background the old Inca town ruins. The living quarters higher up on the mountain housed the high class people, while around the terraces was where the farmers lived.

It was interesting to see the structure of the buildings as we walked around the ruins:

This was also the site of a huge cemetery, but not one that we are used to seeing. The Incas would lay their dead to rest in the side of the mountain, and then cover up the graves. It was hard to see this by looking at the mountain, but there were small holes that indicated this. (unfortunately I don’t have a good photo of it).

From the ruins we also had an incredible view of the area!

We decided to climb up the hill to where the higher class people lived, and explored the ruins up there:

Also in the town of Pisac we visited a local market, where my tour manager’s mother worked as a fruit vendor. We had the chance to try some delicious fresh fruit!

We also visited a local bakery with a traditional oven, where we ate warm empanadas fresh from the oven! I’ve seen a number of traditional ovens and stoves in Peru, it’s pretty cool to see them still in use today!

Just next to the bakery we saw a number of guinea pigs in an enclosure. It broke my heart, these poor little animals were being kept there in preparation for them being eaten as a local Peruvian specialty.

Our next stop in the Sacred Valley was Ollantaytambo, another town and Inca archaeological site, at an altitude of 2,792 metres above sea level. It served during the Inca Empire as the royal estate of Emperor Pachacuti, and later (during the Spanish conquests) it served as a capital for the leader of the Inca resistance against the Spanish.

The site has a number of impressive terraces carved into the mountain, and then the ruins of the town at the top of the mountain.

From the top of the terraces we had a great view of the town and the mountains:

In addition to the terraces and town, the Incas also had storage facilities where they kept supplies of food, but they did not keep them on the terraces or where they were living, they actually kept the storage facilities high up on the opposite mountain. This is because the mountains create a wind tunnel, and so the Incas built their storage facilities in line with the wind tunnel so that their food would stay fresh for longer. You can see the storage facilities half way up the mountain (just above the shadow) in the photo below.

I liked the town of Ollantaytambo! It was really small, and had a nice feel to it. I enjoyed walking around the streets and observing the people. We spent the night in Ollantaytambo and left the following day for Machu Picchu!