animals Archives - Page 2 of 3

Africa Burkina Faso Burkina Faso Trip 2016

Hippos!

I left Bobo Dioulasso at 10:15 am on a Rakeita bus for Banfora. About a 1.5 hour journey. The bus had teeny tiny seats and leg room that made a flight on a budget airline seem luxurious. There was AC, but it wasn’t working. Thankfully i had a seat by an open window and no seatmate. The journey (despite being hot – the temperature on the bus was between 37 and 39) was pleasant. Rural scenery flowed by. Fields tilled by oxen, small villages, cotton fields, women washing clothes and pumping water, children playing with odds and ends. I snapped a few pictures through the window along the way.

We were stopped about 4 times by police road blocks. Police came on the bus and checked everyone’s ID each time, but beyond that it was a smooth journey.

In Bobo, the women who owned the hotel arranged me a guide in Banfora, as the sights here are nature ones and you need a vehicle to visit them. His name was Djubrie and he met me at the bus station. Being the only whole person and only of the only women on the bus, i was easy to find. I had my backpack and i walked with him to his vehicle, which was, as i feared, a motorbike. And of course, no helmets are available. This goes against everything i have been raised to believe. You never ride a two wheeled contraption without a helmet, right? But, there i was and everyone else was doing it, so i hopped on. We zipped through the streets, which were very poor. Only the two main drags were paved. The others were soft, sandy, orange dirt with stones and garbage. More people here walked or rode bicycles than in the previous two cities. More goats and sheep wandering about. But we swerved around it all.

My lodging is a private house from which the owners rent out a couple of rooms.i think i am the only one staying here. The owners are not here now but emailed me a welcome and someone was here to let me in. I have a simple room with a fan and shared bathroom. There is a lovely yard, with seating and a patio, plants, an orange tree, a dog with puppies, a cat with kittens, roosters and chickens.

I settled in and then my guide picked me up (again on the motorbike) and we left Banfora and headed to Tengrela. The countryside was lovely. The corn fields had been harvested, but there were green fields of rice and sesame and the air grew cooler as we zipped along. We left the road and went through the trees, near a village and stopped at a huge baobab tree.

Another man appeared and told me the story of this sacred baobab tree. It was in French, but as best as i could glean the tree is over 500 years old and it has a natural door leading to its hollow interior where a long time ago people from the village hid inside the tree during a war and survived. So now the tree is worshiped and there are sacrifices made there regularly and a festival annually.

Yes, i did go inside the tree and it was very large inside. No cookie making elves spotted.

From there we went to Lake Tengrela. It was late in the day and the lake was golden. A couple of fishermen were out, pulling in their nets.

We walked closer to the edge of the lake and then we hear loud grunting noises and saw a spray of water. Then i saw a hippopotamus leap out of the water. Imagine seeing a dolphin jump out of the water. It was like that, but less graceful and the size of a car. Amazing. There appeared to be three hippos. They mostly stayed underwater, but would poke their noses out of the water periodically and sometimes their whole heads. And periodically two of the hippos would jump out of the water and lunge at each other. From other places in the lake we could hear other hippos grunting and splashing. It was incredible. I didn’t want to stand there staring through my camera and ruin the moment so i just held it up next to my face and snapped pictures every time a hippo popped out of the water. Consequently, i have a lot of photos of water, sky, and blurs. But i did get a few decent pictures. The only thing i can compare it to (because it was totally different from seeing the hyenas in Ethiopia) is: you know the part in Jurassic Park where they first see the dinosaurs? That part always chokes me up. This was like that, but way better.

We then sat at a spot near a house, a bit further back from the lake (there people there have set up tables and chairs and sell water and soda) and watched the lake. Again, we saw a giant hippo jump out of the water. The sun began to set and just before it got dark we set off back for the city.
It was an amazing experience.

In the evening i went with Djubrie for dinner and i had a delicious vegetarian pizza. I didn’t care for riding the motorbike at night with few to no streetlights and off the paved roads, but i figured i would do it that one time. Djubrie does not speak any English at all, but he speaks in French slowly and uses small words so i can understand. I am actually impressed by how much French i am able to recall. I speak slowly and awkwardly, but i know a lot of words and can usually make myself understood. I consider it a success.

A perfect day in Banfora.

Asia Nepal Nepal Trip 2016

Viva Nepal!

I arrived back in Kathmandu from Nagarkot mid-afternoon and felt pretty pleased with myself because while the first time i arrived in Kathmandu it was just a confounding tangle of streets and tributaries, this time i was able to give directions to the taxi driver to find my hotel.

I spent the majority of that day in my hotel, partly due to a thunderstorm but mostly due to the hotel i was staying at. As has become my habit, i booked my last two nights in a fabulous hotel. This time is is the Hotel Dalai La. It is gorgeous. Fancy and with a terrific courtyard restaurant. I felt so sloppy on arrival with my dirty clothes and my dirty self, as i had not showered for six days, but not only were they polite to me, but they upgraded me to a superior room. I spent the evening luxuriating in a needed hot shower and watching movies.

This morning, after breakfast, i taxied to Swayambhunath, aka “The Monkey Temple” a hilltop collection of Buddhist and Hindu temples surrounded by trees and countless, curious monkeys. Arriving at the temple involves climbing up 365 steep stairs, flanked by Buddhas and frequented by those ubiquitous monkeys.

The temples at the top are similar to others i have seen on this trip, but it was splendid how crammed together they all were and how busy they were with pilgrims, people praying, and making offerings.

I walked around for quite some time, watching monkeys steal food from people and visiting craft shops (me, not the monkeys). One man, attempted to open my chakras by hitting a large healing bowl with a mallet and moving it about my head, chest, and back. I felt vaguely uncomfortable, which may or may not be the feeling of open chakras.

I descended the mountain, wandered around a few more stupas, spinning prayer wheels as a went, then taxied back to Thamel.

From there i just walked aimlessly for a few hours, weaving with the traffic, declining offers of of guides, rickshaws, taxis, and pashminas. I walked through an area that sold nothing by dentures, then another that sold only textiles. It is all endlessly fascinating.

But come to an end it must. I am now in the excellent courtyard of my hotel having a cigar and dinner and that will be it for me for Nepal. I fly back to New Delhi in the morning. Nepal has been amazing and i have seen only a sliver of it. The takeaway from this is: selecting vacation destinations based on Eddie Murphy movies is an excellent idea.

Africa Ethiopia Ethiopia Trip 2015

Trekking and Tracking Troops of Baboons

Yesterday morning i awoke at 4am (still in Gondar, Ethiopia) to the sound of rain. That was followed by the slow awakening of a ring of mosques around me, which all began the call to prayer shortly after 4am and which continued their haunting music for about 3 hours.

Yesterday was my day to go trekking in the Semian (aka Simian) Mountains. I and two other girls (French) from the hotel left in a van with a driver and guide. Along the way we picked up two men with old Russian machine guns who would be our muscle – for protection from what i am unsure. We drove for a couple of hours through the countryside. It really is amazing seeing what people carry around in their daily lives, on foot, from village to village. People are walking miles carrying huge jugs of water or oil, massive bundles of firewood, multiple sacks of potatoes and onions, and logs – i saw one women who was well past middle age carrying three logs, each about 15 feet, on her back. Sometimes i feel lazy when i have to carry groceries 4 blocks home. Also seen: people frequently carrying big sticks or crooked walking canes. I presume these are for tending flocks, but when walking most people have them slung over their shoulders; and when they are all dressed in white it reminded me of the droogs from Clockwork Orange.

We drove through several small, rural towns where i saw signs in English and Amharaic advertising that children should go to school and not work. I also saw many kids playing in the street like it was 1940s America: marbles, hopscotch drawn in the dirt, and the very vintage hoop and stick combo (with the hoop generally being an old tire).

Finally we reached the mountains and began hiking. We had ascended rather quickly to a high altitude, which was noticeable, but the hike was not too difficult. The views were beautiful and the paths we walked took us close to the edge and often through patches of eerie moss-covered trees with ravens and vultures circling.

Our machine gun toting companions stayed with us the whole time.

The best part of the hike was seeing hundreds of gelada baboons. They were everywhere in troops ranging from 6 to dozens. They were busy picking and eating grasses, sometimes with babies in tow. We could get within about 10 feet of them before they would move away. They really were quite fascinating and i was delighted to be able to see so many and for such long periods of time. I also saw a small grey monkey with a white, furry face but it was too swift for me to get a photo.

My hiking companions were camping out but i was heading back to Gondar so after some coffee and fresh popcorn made on a fire on a summit, we parted ways.

On the way back to Gondor i stopped at Wolleka, aka Falasha Village, which had once been home to a population of Ethiopian Jews, but since they were moved to Israel in the 1980s, it is a regular Ethiopian village with some remaining, but disused, synagogues and art on the houses.

That was a full day for me. I finished it off with a fabulous platter of Ethiopian fasting food (vegetarian food) at the charming Four Sisters restaurant in Gondar which was probably the best meal I’ve had on this trip and was well worth the walk in the dark on the unlit, unpaved road there and back. Fortunately, i had my flashlight, though i doused it periodically to look at the sky, which was filled with stars – the kind you only see when away electricity.
I slept very soundly.

Africa Ethiopia Ethiopia Trip 2015

Village Life & Camels outside Harar

Today i left behind the charming bustle of Harar and went into the countryside. We drove for about an hour in a taxi. (I don’t think I’ve mentioned the taxis here and they’re great. You have blue tuk tuks and then these gorgeous bright blue and white Peugeots, some with fins. They look like they are from the early 1950s, but they have driver’s side air bags, so obviously not. I really like them though.)

Anyway, we drove for about an hour in this vintage looking Peugeot. It was a beautiful day and i watched the scenery go by, past deserty expanses and villages, as well as many herds of goats, sheep, cows, and camels. There were lots of people outside by the road, selling apples or tending to the livestock. It never fails: everyone we drove by who looked up either shouted, waved, smiled, or stared at me. Mostly the responses were friendly. Often the children will shout “you you you” or “faranji” (foreigner) until you pay attention to them.

Anyway, we drove through the “valley of marvels” where there are unusual rock formations perched on the top of small hills.

We then drove to Babile (a town) and onward to a village. We parked and walked through the village, which was great. It was hot and sunny and we could see people’s homes and, to some degree, how they live.

We crossed a field and then began hiking down the rocky slope into the valley below, past cacti, large flying insects, and then yet more herds of grazing livestock.

The people here, of whom i took few photos, looked and dresed differently than most in Harar. I was sold they were Somali. They spoke Somali and dressed in a slightly more traditional way (actually, for all i know, it is progressive, but it looks traditional). The wore colorful scarves and load of necklaces, and the men wore tartan sarongs.

We walked across the valley past ant hills – really more like towers – some more than 5 feet tall, until we reached the other side, where we started climbing. The climb wasn’t terribly difficult, but it was blazing hot and i, not knowing we were embarking on such an adventure, had left my water in the car. It was all worth it however when we reached the top and found about two dozen camels grazing.

I was so happy to see them just hanging out, not working, or dressed up for riding or show. I love camels, i have always found them to be sweet and peaceful and i love their kind faces.

We rested there for a while before hiking back. When we got back to the village, i took ff my sweat drenched army coat and cardigan (listen, it was cold when i left the hotel and i didn’t know i’d be scrambling over rocks); this attracted a lot of attention from the women who were surprised snd concerned about my tattoos. I covered up as soon as i cooled off. I get enough attention as it is.

Back at the car, we (me, my guide, our driver, and some random guy we picked up) were stopped by two policemen. The conversation sounded angry, but it was in Amharic, so i couldn’t tell. I did hear the word “Canada” twice, which made me nervous. I noticed that the cops were armed only with sturdy wooden sticks, not guns. Anyway, as it turned out, the driver’s cell phone was stolen while we were hiking. This led to a bit of a detour as we drove back to Babile to go to the police station. Now, to me the police station looked like a cafe. It was just a dingy two room building with a porch on which a bunch of guys were drinking coffee.

This suited me just fine. I had several coffees and cigarillos, chatted with a few strangers and just watched life go by. That should be an option that guides offer in addition to taking tourists to noteworthy places – they should just take them along as they run errands. It’s great. You get to see stuff you wouldn’t ordinarily. Just regular every day stuff.

We drove back to Harar, apparently not recovering the phone, and i went to a person’s house for a typical Ethiopian lunch (50 cents). It’s weird in Harar. There are lots of places that call themselves restaurants, but serve only coffee and beer. There are few legit restaurants, but most of the places where you can enjoy a meal is in the yard of someone’s home, where they cook and serve fresh food and coffee to locals and travelers lucky enough to be shown the way.

That was it for me today. I’m exhausted and enjoying a cigar and a parade of tiny coffees with a cigar outside at my hotel, watching lightening in the distance.

Africa Ethiopia Ethiopia Trip 2015

Hyenas in Harar

One of the reasons I wanted to come to Harar was because every night, just after dark, there is a man who feeds raw meat to wild hyenas. He had been doing it for years, as his father did before him, possibly as a way to keep them from eating his livestock. The hyenas live all around Harar and have a close relationship to the city – sometimes coming in to the city at night to scavenge scraps left over from the market. And there are annual rituals where hyenas are fed porridge as a way to secure a good year ahead. But the really cool thing is, you can go and watch the hyena man feeding the hyenas, and for a small donation you can feed them too. This has become a popular tourist activity.

I went, with a guy i paid to show me the way to the hyena man’s house. I was so glad i had him with me because i never would have found it on my own. We left the old city and walked down a dirt road into the countryside. The walk was fairly long and was made difficult by the fact that it was pitch black. No street lights, lights from houses, cars, etc. nothing. Just stars and a rough road to contend with. It felt very unsafe, but was also slightly scary, due to my fear of the dark and the horrible sounds of hyenas in the distance. They really do may horrible noises. Fears aside, it was nice to be outside, hearing all the nature sounds and seeing the stars. Finally we got to the hyena man’s house and there he was, surrounded by hyenas, with more lurking in the shadows, with only their eyes shining out of the darkness. He had a big basket of meat and there were a few other tourists there (who had prudently arrived by van) who were taking turns feeding the hyenas. They each looked so scared as they went that i was sure it would be mildly terrifying.

Finally it was my turn. I kneeled down next to the basket of meat and the hyena man must have held some meat over my head, because while i was distracted by the 2 hyenas near my face, another hyena jumped in my back and stayed there for what seemed like forever. It was heavy, which was not surprising, given that they are fairly large and solid muscle. (Did i mention that they are second only to crocodiles in terms of their jaw strength and that they can pulverize bone with their teeth?)

I then took a small stick and put it between my teeth and the hyena man hung raw meat on it and in moments, a hyena snatched it away, coming inches from my face. Weirdly, it was not intimidating at all. The walk there was far scarier. It was just very cool. And watching them interacting and laughing their horrible hyena laughs was amazing.

The walk back seemed far less scary.

After that, i just went for some lentils and injera, had a cigar and went to bed, reflecting on the adventures of the day.

Peru South America

Final Day in Iquitos

The day we left Peru we did not fly out until the evening, so there was still one final day to enjoy. After luxuriating in our wonderful hotel room and breakfast buffet, i set out to the Pilpintuwasi Butterfly Farm and animal rescue. To get there i took a 4 Sole tuk tuk ride from the hotel to Bella Vista-Nanay, a nearby town along a tributary of the Amazon. It had started to rain, so when i was dropped off at the muddy market along the river, i waited out the rain at a floating cafe and watched the boats depart.

I then found a boat heading to Padre Cocha, the village where my destination was located. I had been told that a boat would cost 20-30 Soles, but the going rate seemed to be 3, which suited me just fine. I got on a simple boat with a thatched roof and run by a rickety motor. I was the only tourist on the boat which was mostly filled with locals and items going to or from market. The trip wasn’t very long, but suddenly seemed to take forever when water began entering the boat and a couple of people had to pitch in, bailing water with buckets. This made me nervous, but we were always swimming distance from shore and i just tried to put giant Amazonian fish out of my mind. No one else seemed too concerned.

We arrived and i landed in the village. There were no signs, but the place wasn’t very big, so i just started walking, figuring that i would find a sign at some point. I walked past the simple houses, which were not on stilts, due to the village being elevated somewhat from the river. It was a pretty, sleepy little place and the few people i asked about the butterfly farm seemed to have no idea what i walk talking about, despite my passable Spanish and excellent butterfly charades.

Finally, i saw a sign, or rather, a series of signs, leading me along an increasingly tropical and beautiful jungle path.

I headed back by boat to Bella Vista-Nanay (this time suffering not a near sinking but an engine that regularly cut out and left us adrift), where i spent sometime at the market, ogling the giant grubs being grilled up for snacks (and being thankful of my vegetarianism).

We flew out that night, from Iquitos to Lima, Lima to Los Angeles, and Los Angeles to Vancouver. We even got upgraded to business class on one leg of the trip. The business class seats were entirely unbooked i guess and in some weird, racist airline policy, the only white people on the flight got bumped up. One couple, with a white woman and her Mexican partner, found that only she was offered an upgrade. I can’t support the policy, but i did not decline the upgrade. I’d never pay for first or business class, but it really is better.
I wish i didn’t know that.

And that was it for Peru. I am happy with the trip. I did everything I wanted to do and didn’t feel rushed. There is always more to see, but i am happy with our choices. I think I am done with South America for a while, but this was a great trip. Home now and time to start daydreaming about the next destination.

Peru South America

The Village in the Peruvian Amazon

Our third and final day at the Tahuayo Lodge in the Amazon was only a half day, as we were scheduled to go back to Iquitos by boat in the afternoon. After breakfast we took a boat downriver to a nearby village, nicknamed Los Chinos, for reasons i couldn’t really determine. The village was simple. Huts with thatched palm roofs and many sitting on stilts were located around a central field along the river and on the edge of the forest. The houses were very simple and were open at the sides. Few had walls, or had only half walls.

One man invited us into his home. It had a single room which served as living room, kitchen, etc. and then a separate area as a bedroom for him and his family. It was very simple and completely open. on the fire freshly caught river fish were grilling.

Most houses did not appear to have electricity, but some central, shared buildings had wires and satellite dishes and there was a public phone outside under a palm shelter on a wooden stand.

We spoke with (through our guide) a woman who was picking tropical fruit which could be used as both a medicine and a pigment.

Then it started to rain, gently at first and i naively said it was not a problem. Then it became a torrential, tropical downpour so heavy that it was blinding. We took shelter under an outdoor but covered area where a couple of women were cooking lunch for the whole school of kids. They had a fire going and were making fish, rice, and spaghetti. We warmed and dried ourselves by the fire (a smell, as it turned out, we would wear for the rest of the trip) and then pitched in helping with lunch. It was a marvelous way to wait out the rain until it was time to head out on the boat.

We said good bye to the lodge and sped back to Iquitos in the rain (this time taking half the time as it had to get there). We returned to the Casa Morey hotel where we found we had been upgraded. Our previous room was huge and more than adequate, but this room was so grand that we simply giggled upon entering. It was easily bigger than the main floor of Betty-Lou’s house and was many times bigger than my apartment. It had three big beds, 20 foot ceilings, and giant french door type windows that opened up with views of the Amazon and the city. There was a sitting room and a giant bathroom with an antique tub, and outside was another sitting area looking down on the pool. The hot shower was the best thing i could have imagined.

Peru South America

The Peruvian Amazon

Day two in the Peruvian Amazon began early – before dawn – so I could go on a bird watching trip. Full disclosure: I hate bird watching. It’s super boring in my opinion, but this was to be from a small boat on the Amazon, which sounded better than my last experience, which was standing in a wooden tower with binoculars.

The boat ride was lovely. The air was wonderful and the scenery was spectacular in the morning light. And yeah, we saw birds. It was a nice trip though I still am not excited by spotting a scarlet tanager, or whatever, high in a tree.

We returned to the lodge for breakfast, followed by a jungle walk that three of us and two guides went on. We walked for a couple hours, sometimes on pseudo paths and sometimes cutting our way through the trees with a machete. In some areas we were sucked into mid-calf-deep mud and in others we walked precariously along slippery logs. It was fun.

We did see some wildlife: a tree rat, some monkeys, a lizard, a millipede, and more frogs.

After our hike we relaxed at the lodge for a couple of hours, which of course meant that i lounged in a chair by the river with a couple of cigars. Then a group of us and several guides went out on a boat in search of the Amazonian pink dolphin. I was huge cynic setting out on this boat ride: sure, what were the chances that we would see the rare pink dolphin? Not bloody likely, but it’s nice to go on the boat. We set out and we saw a sloth high in a tree, a ton more birds, and some sleeping bats. The scenery was pretty. We traveled past some villages where people were visible along the shore, bathing and doing laundry, and the air was pleasant with the breeze from the boat.

And then, we saw them. Unexpectedly, slivers of bright pink started to appear around the boat. At least two and maybe four pink dolphins. It was quite exciting. I have no pictures to prove it because it was impossible to know when and where they would surface and the one picture i have where one is visible is so blurry that it looks like a grainy loch ness monster photo from the 1920s. But we saw them and it was pretty cool.

We opted out of a nighttime activity and Betty-Lou and i stayed in the lodge that night to play some cards before killing a hoard of cockroaches and going to bed. It was a very full day.

Peru South America

Return to the Jungle

We were picked up from our hotel in Iquitos by tuk tuk and taken to a boat dock along the Amazon. This would be my second trip to Amazon, the first having been in 2010 in Ecuador. It was a great experience and one i was happy to repeat, feeling like last time i had conquered my fears of darkness and nuclear-sized spiders.

The boat sped us along the brown river until it got narrower and the vegetation closed in, and then, finally about 4 hours later arriving at the Tahyayo Lodge. It was a welcoming sight, with its thatched roofs peeking out between the trees.

The lodge had common areas: a dining room, a hammock room, and a games room, and the rest was private cabins, some with washrooms and showers and some without. Everything was high on stilts to accommodate the rainy season when the river rises as much as 15 feet. The hammock room was the best, as it had lovely views over the river and a tree full of nests of particularly active and boisterous black and yellow birds.

Our room was cozy and had beds protected by mosquito nets, and a bathroom, which had a few too many cockroaches for my liking. The whole thing was made of jungle trees so it was enclosed, but still allowed in all of the steamy jungle air and wonderful (and at times frightening) sounds.

Everyone or group who was there got their own guide and we had ours: Tito. That first night, after dinner, we went on a nightie walk in the jungle. This is an activity i enjoy immensely, despite finding it terrifying. I’m not afraid of animals, but i hate the dark and the jungle at night is pitch black. Having a flashlight makes it manageable but no less scary. We walked for a while. We didn’t see too much: a tarantula, a couple of large frogs, and a giant leech (like over 12 inches long). The sounds of the nocturnal creatures were eerie. Finally we packed it in when it began to rain. Back at the cabin, Betty-Lou killed the visible cockroaches and we searched our beds by flashlight before tucking our mosquito nets in around us and settling in for a spotty sleep in the heat and humidity.

It’s far from comfortable, but it is an adventure.

Peru South America

Market Day in Pisac

Our final day in Cusco was spent mostly in Pisac. Pisac is a town of about 900 people about 30 kilometers from Cusco. We took a taxi through the scenic countryside, past various Incan ruins. The sacred valley is dotted with such archeological sights that a person could spend days visiting and hiking them all.

We went to picturesque Pisac because it was supposed to be a pretty little town with a renowned crafts market. The market did not disappoint. Rows and rows of stalls selling textiles, knitted goods, jewelry, paintings, and other various odds and ends. Most were simple wooden and tarp stalls but there were also some regular shops and lots of eateries – mostly street side eateries – specializing in Peruvian cuisine. A couple of places had cute guinea pig huts were you could pick your preferred pig (cuy, in Spanish) and have it roasted to perfection for lunch.

We walked and browsed and bought some things – me, haggling for the best price; Betty-Lou paying precisely what was asked or rounding the price up where she felt the item was worth more. (I can’t explain it; it’s just her way.)

The market was crawling with adorable little girls carrying baby llamas in colourful blankets asking for their pictures to be taken for a few coins. Of course we couldn’t resist. Particularly adorable was watching the girls feed the baby llamas from bottles. The llamas were delighted and wagged their tails excitedly, falling over each other to get to the milk.

Pisac has become something of a new age mecca for people interested in yoga and crystals, and there are a number of hippies there (Peruvian and from abroad) selling beaded bracelets, books, and vegan treats.

In the food area of the market we had some empanadas and stuffed peppers at the tables temporarily erected next to outdoor grills. Everything was delicious.

As the market started to wind down we decided to head back to Cusco. We first boarded a bus, but realized quickly that we would have to stand the whole way, which, given the twistiness of the road seemed like a bad idea – even at 3 soles for the ride. We got off the bus and a man and a woman in a car called out “Cusco?” Betty-Lou and i looked at each other, shrugged and got into the car. We paid them 10 soles for the ride. The couple spoke no english, but we offered them chocolate and they offered us bread and all was well. We learned that she was a nurse and he a policeman. We listened to Peruvian music (curse those panpipes!) and clapped along to the peppier tunes. At one point they stopped and pulled the car over at a certain spot and the woman poured out a bottle of Inca Kola (the local soft drink) onto the ground for mother earth (or ‘Pachu Mama’).

They dropped us off at the Plaza de Armas, a few blocks from our hotel.

We went for dinner and packed up our bags, ready for our early morning flight to Iquitos and the next portion of our journey.

Wandering North

Tag: animals

Hippos!

Viva Nepal!

Trekking and Tracking Troops of Baboons

Village Life & Camels outside Harar

Hyenas in Harar

Final Day in Iquitos

The Village in the Peruvian Amazon

The Peruvian Amazon

Return to the Jungle

Market Day in Pisac