Peru: The Jungle and (almost) Machu Picchu, Part 3

What We Did During Our Summer Vacation
June 20 - July 5, 2002
Part Three (of three)

Double-headed deer

Conjoined lambs

Weird Stuff

• Natural History Museum: stuffed animals such as birds and mammals, examples of insects, cats, snakes, sloths, monkeys, turtle shells, sea life, fossils, cow fetus at two months in a jar, a six-legged lamb with two tails and six legs in formaldehyde, several human fetuses in various early stages of development, the double-head of a deear and stuffed lamb-twins joined at the cheek.
• Candiru catfish is small as a toothpick and favors orifices to hide such as swimmer's urethra, vagina or anus. Surgery is required for removal. Don't go swimming in the Amazon! 

Chemicals and Effects

• Mate de coca is a common tea made from dried flat green leaves steeped in hot water. In addition, the leaves are chewed. The medicinal effect includes mood "brightening" and pain relief. Another product of coca leaves is cocaine.
• One of our guides had a personal coca leaf bag made from the skin of a white baby alpaca which died in infancy. The head had been removed and the skin sewed closed at the shoulders; hand-woven fabric trimmed the raw edge of the opening. The bag was folded in half and the tail served as a closure. It was beautiful and soft. It felt very personal.
• Ayahuasca tea report (second hand knowledge): It is reputed that those who consume this drink are bestowed with the ability to commune with spirits, diagnose illness, treat disease and even predict the future. Senses become acute, out of body experiences occur and relationships can be "seen."

Escabeche de Pollo Recipe (Cusco version)
6 pieces of boiled chicken
steamed onion, asparagus, carrots, cauliflower, green beans
broth from boiling chicken
4 T white vinegar
1 T olive oil
1 tsp dry mustard
salt and pepper to taste
Season chicken with salt and pepper
Boil chicken
Remove chicken and reserve broth
To reserved broth, add remainder of dry ingredients; cool
Add cooked chicken and steamed vegetables to broth
Marinate for a minimum of two hours
Serve over a bed of lettuce with hard-boiled egg wedges and black olives
(For the Lima version, add a crushed dried red pepper and substitute chunks of fish that you have fried in flour and seasoned with salt.)

Vacation Scents

• Mildew from the moisture in the air inside our tents and in some clothes
• City car exhaust from poor air quality control
• Sacred Valley corn stalks were burned from the remainder of last season's crops
• A herd of peccaries… Once we smelled these beasts, we can never forget. Even as we sped by on our motor boat, we caught their scent and knew they were nearby.

Phrases, Words And Greetings

• "Buenos dias," "Buenos tardes" and "Buenos noches" (rarely did we hear "Hola")
• "Chao" or "chao-chao" to say goodbye
• Handshake and a kiss on the cheek between men and women
• "No problem"
• Chifa, the name for Asian restaurants, whether it be Chinese, Japanese and/or Korean

Handwoven coca leaf bag

Traditional dolls made from handwoven textiles

Cool Things We Purchased

• Coca leaf bag:  The vendor said it was from the Huari Period (600-1000 AD), but Lauren didn't believe him. Regardless of its vintage, Lauren bought it because it is beautiful and very finely woven.
• Erotic candleholder with very large genitalia
• Necklaces made by the Piro people:  Necklaces are made of fish bones, grey sara-sara seeds, orange/black wairuo seeds with centerpieces of a snail shell or a peccary tooth. The seeds bring good luck and also guard against evil spirits. The Piro people migrate along the banks of the river, wear Western clothing and fish for their food. They salt their fish to preserve for eating.
• Rug for our home hand-woven in brilliant oranges, reds, browns and greens.
• Traditional dolls are used for offerings and then burned in a ceremony. These dolls are made entirely of hand-woven textiles. 

Items We Saw Which Should NOT Be For Sale

• Ocelot or margay skin
• Puma paw made into a small bag

Our Sol Y Luna lodging

Sol Y Luna

This resort had fabulous food, architecture that I really liked, beautiful gardens and flowers, solid wood alongside iron work, clever art worked into the plaster walls, custom wall tiles, daily towel service, but was missing a heart and a soul, and had American prices in South America's poorest country. If leaving with a feeling of warmth, friendliness and a desire to return is important, this place is not for you. 

Livestock

• Cows
• Lambs
• Donkeys or mules
• Pigs
• Chickens and turkeys
• Guinea pigs

Lauren's horse

Peruvian Paso Horses

The horses are smaller, somewhat narrower and have a "sideways gait" which causes the horses to step high and prance -- it's beautiful! There is less bounce for us inexperienced riders.
Sore: Lauren's knees, ankles, tailbone… oh my. Did Lauren mention it rained during our half-day lesson? Riding was great fun, until the pain from the lesson took over during the next full day of riding. In addition, it's not nice to ride after a sleepless night of food poisoning.

Tien, his nurse and his Dr. Batallanos

Dr. D. Cesar Pinto Batallanos and "Señor Efemero"

These kind and caring men provided excellent medical care during Tien's high altitude pneumonia. The doctor had a peaceful demeanor and the nurse smiled easily - we really liked them. They made "house calls" every four to six hours to administer Tien's penicillin via IV, struggled with us when our interpreter/guide named Moises was not available ("Nosotro preocupadamos!"), and they were patient and generous with their time. The US$130 fee included all house calls and medications. The hotel provided the oxygen tank. When I wanted to take this photo, they called us Los Locos Americanos. During their visits, they told us of two other pneumonia patients in their hospital due to the unseasonably cold weather we had, thanks to El Niño. 

Weather

• Lima: dowdy, grey, misty and cool… This is typical and Lima gets about three months of sunshine per year.
• Cusco: sunny, bright, chilly, thin air, colder when the sun goes down. The thick clouds were bright white against the blue sky.
• High jungle in the Cloud Forest: humid, cool, cloudy and bright; chilly at night, toasty by the fireplace
• Low jungle near the Madre de Dios: humid, sunny and warm but not hot, comfortable
• Sacred Valley: bright between high clouds, snow in the highest peaks, rain rain rain along with thunder and lightening, drafty in our room (no insulation around the doors or windows). Very unusual weather, report the locals, especially for this time of year.