Peru,
2008
Late
afternoon sun on Machu Picchu. The peak in the middle ground-right is
Wayna Picchu, and in the center is Huchuy Picchu.
The afternoon shadow
of
Machu Picchu over the Rio Urubamba.
The
residential sector
of Machu Picchu.
Lamas keep the grass trimmed at Machu Picchu.
One of many beautiful flowers around Machu Picchu.
Statue of Pachacuti, the ninth Sapa Inca of the Kingdom of Cuzco.
Machu Picchu was constructed under the direction of Pachacuti, and it
is believed to have been constructed as his estate, not necessarily as
a defensive structure. His statue sits in the Plaza de Armas of
Aquas Calientes (Machupicchu Pueblo), Peru.
Artifact
at the Museo de Pre-Columbian Art in Cuzco
A view of the Andes from the top of Machu Picchu.
Viscacha
in the rocks at Machu Picchu.
Embarking
on our 2 hour trip down the Rio Maranon and up the Rio Ucayali to our
jungle lodge. From left to right: Susan, Suzanne, Mike, Scott in
foreground. We stayed 4 days in a open air lodge on the Rio
Cumaceba.
Looking
upstream on the Rio Maranon, 5 miles from the confluence with the
Ucayali where the Rio Amazonas begins.
On
a jungle walk to see snakes, leaf cutter ants, birds, monkeys, and
really big trees.
Pottery
at a lodge on the banks of the Rio Yarapa.
Our
guides, Gary and Nilton, in the tree canopy tower.
Swimming in the blackwater at the confluence of the Rio Cumaceba and
Rio Yarapa. Pink river dolphins were swimming nearby but I couldn't
hitch a ride.
Subsistence
fishermen plied the river in
dugout canoes. On one of our many trips on the river in our own
dugout, we stopped to ask a fishermen for cut-bait to use for piranha
fishing.
A wooly
monkey on the banks of the Rio Yarapa.
I'm holding a
caimen that Gary caught from the river at night. You can find
them with a flashlight at night by looking for the glow of their eyes,
then
blind them with it, and snatch 'em around the neck. The one I'm
holding is totally frozen (as long as you keep a firm grip around their
neck!).
Our guide
is holding a sloth he picked from a tree near our lodge. I held
him, and surprisingly enough, he didn't smell at all.
On the
horizon is Brazil, about 70 km away. We climbed a tower
built in the rain forest to take a look above the tree canopy.
It's like an ocean of trees as far as the eye can see in every
direction. Stunningly beautiful.
This is the
"floating city" of Belen, built on an old meander bend of the Rio
Amazonas. The photo was taken from on the bank of the old Amazon
river channel in the city of Iquitos (the largest city on earth not
accessible by road). All of the houses, churches, stores, and
schools in Belen are floating, and the whole thing is connected by
floating walkways and a lot of dugout canoes.
The market
in Iquitos is where the residents of Belen come to trade and
shop. You can buy anything from monkeys to hallucinogens there-
pretty much anything to be found in the Amazon rain forest.
I traveled
across the Andes by bus (21 hrs) in order to save a little cash and see
the sights. Breath-taking views of the mountains, rivers, and
desert to the west.
I arrived
at the coast at 4 am and got off at a sketchy bus stop
along the Pan American Highway. I didn't have a clue how to get
out to the beach. Fortunately I ran into a gaggle of women who
worked at the fish factories near Paracas. They took me under
their
wing and got me safely to the beach for a tour of Islas Ballestas.
Guanay
cormorants
and Peruvian Pelicans at Islas Ballestas, several miles off the coast
of Peru.
Sea lions
on the rocks at Islas Ballestas.
Inca terns
at Islas Ballestas.
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