31 October 2015 ~ Anaconda #1

Listening to: My Morning Jacket ~ Rocket Man

I watched the World Rugby finals today. The entire series was played near London. The finals was between two well known rivals: Australian Wallabies and New Zealand All Blacks. The All Blacks were victorious and fun match to watch.

During our Amazon adventure, we spent a lot of time in the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve Park.

Our guides were eager to find an anaconda.

Anacondas are the largest snake in the world by weight and the second by length. We had travelers with us from Florida and they explained the danger these snakes are posing there, as people are letting them loose in the wild once they cannot take care of them any longer.

They are known as the common or green anaconda.

Their eyes and nostrils are on the top of their head allowing them to see and breathe while most of their body is under water.

Anacondas are not venomous; they use constriction instead to subdue their prey. Once a target is sighted, it will grab the animal in its jaws, locking it in with its teeth and then squeeze it until it dies of crushing or suffocation. It will then consume the carcass whole. The anaconda can unhinge its jaw to stretch its mouth around the body.

Here is a short video of them letting the snake go.

https://youtu.be/VNx_R6pkH70

This is the video of landing in Lima Peru I couldn't post earlier. It's a bit over 4 minutes...be patient through the cloud descent.

https://youtu.be/l25WgOqvGHk

And of course, Happy Halloween!

26 October 2015 ~ Yanallpa Riparian Forest

Listening to:  Willie Nelson/Lucas Nelson ~ Just Breathe

Another Amazon adventure was strolling through the Yanallpa Riparian Forest. Riparian basically means the area between land and and a river or stream. They are significant because of their role in soil conservation, fauna and aquatic ecosystems.

The area can also be commonly referred to as a "gallery forest," because of its dense vegetation that creates a tunnel of leaves.

This tree has a unique trunk structure.

Vines to swing on or get tangled in.

This root structure is quite large and can be used for shelter if you are lost.

The itinerary stated: "As we explore this type of riparian vegetation, watch above for parrots, macaws, and fluffy monk saki monkeys." I did hear macaws, but all I saw was this ant. I guess I was hoping to run into more crazy creatures as highlighted on the Nature and Discovery channels, such as butterflies, frogs or toucan. Guess not in this forest (although someone in another group did see frogs, or so I was told).

Our local guide used his machete to cut into this tree trunk to see it bleed a white liquid. Shamans know how many of the natural healing properties will help someone. ojé -- for example -- is a tree whose bark produces a milky white latex that combats rheumatism, toothache and snake bite. It is also an effective blood purifier and heath tonic. Decoction of the leaves works against anemia and fever. 

Did I mention how HOT it was in the forest? The temperature was around 96 and what felt like 100% humidity. Luckily, when we got back to the boat, we were greeted with cold beers.

¡Salud!

25 October 2015 ~ Squirrel Monkeys & Iquana

Listening to:  Bright Eyes ~ First Day of My Life

Our first day out on the Amazon was let by our guide Maximo. His grandfather is a shaman and he told us all about his experiences with ayahuasca tea and how there are so many fake teas and retreats popping up.

Our scout Robert found squirrel monkeys in the treetops.

They are equipped with a long and hairy tail, flat nail and pointed claws. The tail is used as a balancing and as a tool rather than for climbing.

We kept confusing bromeliads with animals.

Maximo noticed this iquana. Can you find it on the tree branch?

24 October 2014 ~ Aqua Amazon

Listening to: Electric Light Orchestra ~ When I was a Boy (Alone in the Universe)

After the brief tour of Inquitos and lunch, we drove to the city of Nauta, where we would embark on the river cruise boat Aqua Amazon.

The sunset on the drive was beautiful.

This cloud shape reminded me of an elf drinking a cocktail.

This is the Aqua Amazon. There were 20 guests onboard.

The cabin.

Of course, we headed to the bar for camu camu sours. These are an off-shoot of pisco sours but made with the camu camu juice). More on pisco sours in a future post.

17 October 2015 ~ Fire and Ice

Listening to:  George Harrison ~ I'd Have You Anytime (All Things Must Pass)

Lunch was provided on this floating hotel, Fire and Ice.

The menu.

Everyone enjoyed the fruit juices, especially Camu Camu. The taste is comparable to a mixture of a sour cherry and a lime, and is extraordinarily high in vitamin C.

Lots of great dishes on the menu. Ceviche.

Steamed fish.

Roasted meat platter.

15 October 2015 ~ Iquitos

Listening to: Freddie King ~ Sugar Sweet


I didn't spend any time in Lima except to sleep. The day after arriving, we headed immediately to Iquitos, to embark on a 4 night Amazon boat trip.

The Iquitos airport.

We had a brief tour of the city. It was surprising to see so many Tuk Tuk's, the typical transportation of Thailand. However, Iquitos is only accessible via river or airplane, so obviously no need for cars.

This building was designed by someone famous, but now I cannot remember the architect. For some reason I think it's the same person as who designed the Statue of Liberty, but I might be mixing up my trips at this point.

Selling beverages and snacks.

13 October 2013 ~ Flying into Lima

Listening to: Ken Booth ~ Puppet on a String

I went to Peru last month. I rarely have a window seat, as I've mentioned previously, but this time I was happy to have a window seat. It offered my first glimpse of the Andes Mountain Range, the longest continental range in the world, about 4300 miles.

According to Wikipedia: "The etymology of the word Andes has been debated. The majority consensus is that it derives from the Quechua word anti (east)...one of the four regions of the Inca Empire.

The Andes mountains host large ore and salt deposits and some of its eastern fold and thrust belt act as traps for commercially exploitable amounts of hydrocarbons. Peru is the second largest exporter of copper in the world (after Chile).

The climate i the Andes varies greatly depending on the latitude, altitude, and proximity to the sea. Lima is virtually bathed in fog. I took a 4 minute video, but it's too large to post here. I'll see if I can get it trimmed for future posting.