Orotongo Lodge 6.00am Catherine and Moises (our jungle guide) and I went in search of the endangered pygmy marmoset. We didn´t have far to go before we saw 2, the male and female who usually travel together. The jungle term is ¨the little lion¨. Incredibly small and cute with little faces and a large round fine mane all around.

After brekky we set forth for the big Ceiba tree, some of the few remaining in the jungle. It was massive and maybe 200-300 years old. It´s wood is used for boats as it is solid and won´t rot in water for many years.

The flora in the jungle is amazing. Brilliant colours, endless varieties of any species. We happened upon a humming bird´s nes ... Read More »

Orotongo Lodge Can I take one of these chefs home? Actually maybe I should stay here as the ingredients ie the vast array of fresh fruits and different vegetables are bonito and so exotic dahhling. After breakfast was fishing for lunch.
Pirahna fishing to be exact (they were crunchy, not very fleshy and very tasty). A simple piece of bamboo, a bit of line attached and a hook with bait and the Pirahnas were biting. The biggest one was the size of a big outstretched hand. BBQ´d. Lucky no one fell in. The wooden boats needed bailing out often.

I slept after another excellent lunch. Lima beans, rice, Pirahna and some exotics from the jungle – new flavours and textures bombarding our taste buds every day. L ... Read More »

Iquitos - Otorongo Lodge 8am Breakfast at Ari´s Burger on the corner of the Plaza but before then...digital photos need copying onto CD´s, buy supplies for the team at the mini supermarket and more money needs to be got. Will have to return in
4 days to pick up DVD x 6 for girls.

A fast boat this time took 2.5hrs to get to Otorongo Retreat hidden amongst the jungle way down the river. In comparison to yesterday the fast boat would take 20mins to get to monkey island. Otorongo is where you find primary rainforest – just a 1.5km walk from the lodge. The long bamboo thatched roof mosquito proof bungalow was nestled back from the water amongst the palms. There was no electricity so we all had kerosene ... Read More »

Iquitos The others had an early 6.20am breakfast then 7am departure to the black markets. It sounded like an interesting experience to say the least. Not many animals apparently for sale but I was so happy to stay in bed and relax for the morning.

12.45 meeting in the foyer to go to Monkey Island. Motorbike taxi took us to the boat ramp where we boarded a Peki Peki (slow boat) to China. – 2hrs there, 1hr on the island then 3.5hrs back. The trip back included a half way stop for petrol, colliding and being marooned on a sand bank at dusk plus numerous tacks back and forth across the wide river to avoid the naturally faster flow of water around many of the bends in the river. We set off from Iquitos at 1.30pm and got ba ... Read More »

Quisacocha Zoo Breakfast 8am across the road at the Flinstones (a bamboo restaurant). 10am head off to the Zoo where Zoo Peru and Antony work. Great day, beautiful surrounds, heaps of animals in much better condition and enclosures than I had expected. The guys from Zoo Peru are very obviously doing a great job on the ground here against massive odds it sounds like at times. We swam in the fresh spring fed lagoon – anacondas on the opposite bank! Too far away so we´re told. Spent the whole day at the zoo then took a motorbike taki to another set of markets where I bought earrings and some beautiful hand painted material patches.

Iquitos, Butterfly Farm Breakfast at the hotel then supermarket shopping for lunch before getting a motorbike taxi to the boat that would take us up the Ny river to Gudrun at the Butterfly Farm. WOW. Most of the adopted animals were there in the flesh which was really exciting. We played with the monkeys, or more to the point, they played with us. Tony Piranha is a master pick-pocket! All the monkeys had such incredible characters. I spent some time alone with Chica trying to capture a good photo. I have fallen in love with the Ocelot. The boat trip back went to the junction of the Ny and the Amazon – brown river meets white to look for the pink dolphins. Had a quick glimpse of fin and body at a distance. A brief look around the markets at ... Read More »

Huaraz, Lima, Iquitos Left Hotel Chirup at 7.45am in the airport shuttle. We waited 1hr at the airport for the 1hr 19 seater flight to Lima. A 3hr wait at Lima allowed us to catch up on blogs and get wired on 2 very strong coffees. The flight to Iquitos took 1hr 20mins so I did my diary entries and read everyone else´s entries.

As we came out of the clouds for the last seemingly 500m we see trees. A million trees. A lush, green, fertile land – what a contrast to the Andes.
The tropical heat immediately hits us as we step onto the tarmac. 91% humidity and a very pore-opening 31 degrees. We were greeted at the small airport by Gudrun (from the Butterfly Farm and Animal Rescue Centre) and Antony (from Zo ... Read More »

Huaraz Madly shopping, trying to write blogs when the town has communication breakdowns, washing, buying maps, books, traditional plates, pouches for pocket knives, socks, gloves, blankets and pressies galore. Quite an exhausting day. Back in time to do a mad pack for tomorrow and head out for a celebratory dinner with the trekking crew. I had been feeling sick during the day – maybe due to starting Malaria tablets the day before? – so I had half a Pisco Sour and with Catherine went home early, unfortunately mission out on a good night.

Our final days trek. The ¨low´´ road took us high around the edge of a mountain range. A perfect weather day, in fact one of the hottest days we have had. It was t-shirts only weather after a short while of walking and even though we set off at 8am by 9am under the direct sun it was at least in the mid 20´s.

The scenery changed quite remarkably. The valley floor was green and quite densely begetated. On the mountain slopes we passed through bush scrub and the occasional tree that provided some refreshingly contrasting coolness.

As we walked along the quite narrow rocky track, mountain on our right,steep drop0fff on our left, I was reminded to pause and look back to the snow c ... Read More »

Huayhuash / Andes – Huaraz Our final day´s trek. The ¨low¨ road took us high around the edge of the mountain range. A perfect weather day, in fact one of the hottest days we´ve had. It was t-shirt only weather after a short while of walking and even though we set off at 8am by 9am under the direct sun it was at least in the mid 20´s.

The scenery changed quite remarkably The valley floor was green and quite densely vegetated. On the mountain slopes we passed through bush scrub and the occassional tree that provided some refreshingly contrasting coolness.
As we walked along the quite narrow rocky track, mountain on our right, steep drop-off on our left, I was reminded to pause and loo ... Read More »

Our 2nd last day in the Andes. A day of rest and relaxation before our final trek out. What a superb day it turned out to be. The forecast the previous day was for rain but we woke to perfect blue skies all round. The glacier above us is called Hummingbird mountain. A third lake lay beyond the ones we could see and Zac said it was the best one for fishing so in the morning he led an eager team out to catch a feast of trout for dinner.

By 12 noon Zac and Sara, the remaining 2 from the morning´s fishing, had still not returned but the boys from the crew proudly held their bounty of fish for perfect photos against the lake and mountain backdrop. A lazy afternoon soaking up the sun was had by all. Zac and Sara retur ... Read More »

At dinner last night it started snowing and by the time we went to bed there was quite a thick blanket of snow pellets – little balls of snow/ice.
Not much extra fell during the night as we awoke to the same white carpet that hadn´t melted. We have been very lucky with the weather, so far everything has stayed dry. The snow didn´t turn to sludge so walking was easy. In fact it looked like our little campsite was the main place that the snow fell – strange.

We set off at about 8am and once again tackled a very steep up first off.
Just the one big mountain pass – our final one – before a big down of about
2 hrs. On the ledge overlooking the camp you could see to your right 2 la ... Read More »

Huayllapa The hike out of Huayllapa was a killer. 3.5hrs, maybe more of very steep up. We rested 1hr from the top for lunch then finally reached the pinnacle.
2 big lakes were on the other side lying under a long massive mountain range. The sun dipped beneath the range on our left as we decended which dropped the temperature by about 10 degrees. I compensated for this by running / skiing down the final slope into camp. So good at the time, think the knees felt a little worse for wear the next day, oops. I had to really watch my step so as not to twist an ankle. Nothing unusual from the whole trek really. Each step has had to be fairly deliberate as the walking surface has usually been pretty rocky and uneven.

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Huayhuash 6am and the sun is just rising over the mountain to shed light on the opposite mountain. It´s cold but the warm springs beckon. The hike out of camp was a little hard after a day off and made no easier by the fact that it was up. Up and up and around the mountain to expose the closest glacier that I have ever even contemplated being next to. A little dangerous as we climbed on it with overhanging chunks of ice staring down at us but well worth the thrill.

Sara and Kelly were still under the weather and rode the horses and at one point got ahead of us. We had to make a decision as to which way to go – follow the donkeys and horses or touch the glacier. The remaining 5 chose to walk to the edge of the gla ... Read More »

Three sick campers and four others quite happy to decide on a break in proceedings to chill out and recouperate. A perfect spot to either do nothing or do it all. We had options such as ride the horses, climb the nearest mountain and touch the glacier, swim the freezing rapids from the powerful waterfall down past the campsite, or just soak all day in the hot spring pools.

The sun was out all day for the first time since setting off which made for a glorious day - a little windy but once a sheltered spot was found rest was sweet. The only activity that most poeple participated in was a hot soak and washing of clothes. After a mid afternoon snooze we included the crew in a quick game of frizbee and an improvised game ... Read More »

Huayhuash
3 sick campers and 4 others quite happy for a break in proceedings to chill out and recouperate. A perfect spot to either do nothing or do it all. We had options such as ride the horses climb the nearest mountain and touch the glacier, swim the freezing rapids from the powerful waterfall down past the campsite, or soak all day in the hot spring pools. The sun was out all day for the first time since setting off which made for a glorious day – a little windy but once a sheltered spot was found rest was sweet.

The only activity that most people participated in was a hot soak and a clothes wash. After a mid afternoon snooze we included the crew in a quick game of frizbee and an improvised game of han ... Read More »

Huayhuash Happy Birthday Kel...Kelly?...Is anybody there?...Where has Kelly gone?...Kelly not good. A 2hr delay due to Kelly being sick meant that we had a very relaxed start. Thanks mate – loving that! Bit of a shame it happens to be your birthday baby. It was only supposed to be a short day so we took it extra easy. 4.5hrs. A group meeting decided that we keep 3 extra animals, 2 horses and 1 mule, for the rest of the trek. This gave us a back up for riding sore bodies or carrying packs which will certainly come in handy. Marayka is still suffering from headaches and rode a horse all day with Kelly on the other.

Today was some of the most diverse scenery we have come across. An uphill climb started the day then a mi ... Read More »

Huayhuash The group split today. Marayka, Kelly and I went the traditional route and Jade, Sara, Beck and Catherine went the harder trek over the mountain and across the ridge. I chose the easier, shorter way which was still hard. I end the days tired, sore and well and truly ready for bed.

It lightly rained and tried to snow during the walk. Each day has been overcast which has been great for walking. As soon as the sun breaks through it is boiling so it is a blessing that it hasn´t happened much. The group of 4 arrived about an hour after us which was surprising as their trail was supposed to be 3hrs longer. Well done girls.

The B team took a horse with them so we were able to walk day-pa ... Read More »

Huayhuash Yes I slept! Broken once but great. Same routine. Pack tents, donkeys, backpacks. It´s snowing as we set off and visibility is limited. It was fun to be huddled inside good wet weather gear (thanks Kathmandu) knowing you will stay dry and free to enjoy feeling the snow and sleet pelt against your face. Only a 4.5hr day – pretty cruisy. Slow inclines and long traverses brought us out at another magnificent lake with surrounding glaciers.

I was first to brave the icy waters and have a quick splash and wash off.
Brrr, but what a rejuvenating feeling. A bit of fishing, stretching and card games before dinner. The food has been excellent. Big meals plus snacks during the day, very spoilt. We have ... Read More »