Day 7: Acclimating to Cusco

We finally get to sleep in -- woohoo!! Granted, it was only until 8am, but still. Due to the extra sleep, there was no time to grab breakfast at the hotel, so instead we ate at the Lima airport. Again. Thank god the food court had multiple options, all of which were decent.

A quick bite and then we were boarding a plane to Cusco. The city is located high in Andes (almost 11,000 feet above sea level) and is the usual stopping place before tourists head out to Machu Picchu. Since the high altitude can wreak havoc on people not used to it, we decided to spend an extra day in Cusco to help our bodies acclimate before the Inca Trail hike. We also took meds for possible altitude sickness and were advised to drink copious amounts of coca tea.

Landing in Cusco is craziness. Pilots actually have to be specially trained to land there due to the high altitude and circular landing pattern. Kinda nuts, really. I didn't think I'd notice much of a difference right off the plane, but I was wrong. My chest felt a bit tight and trying to take a deep breath was, um, interesting. I'm sure it's much the same feeling you get when you go to Mammoth, but seeing as how I haven't been there, I can only speculate.

A representative from our hotel met us at the airport and arranged a taxi for us. She had the driver set the rate and then informed us of reasonable taxi fares in and around Cucso if we chose to use them during our stay. Quite sweet of her.

Cusco is a really cool-looking city and completely different from Lima. After spending several days "roughing it" in the jungle, we opted for a nicer hotel for our time in Cusco -- Hotel Libertador. A beautiful hotel centrally located in the heart of downtown Cusco, the lobby alone blew us away.

While checking in, we had our first cup of coca tea, served complimentary 24/7 in the hotel lobby. It's reminiscent of green tea, so it was very pleasant to drink.

Our rooms were equally as pleasant, especially in light of where we'd spent the last week.

The hotel staff were so friendly and helpful, from the doormen and the front desk staff, to the waiters and cleaning crews. We felt very well taken care there. The rates to do laundry at the hotel were steep, but the staff gladly recommended a local shop just a 5 minute walk from the hotel for us to drop-off our clothes that afternoon with pick-up the next day.

Once we got our clothes were taken care of, we set off in search of a snack. Jim had scoped our a local cafe in the main square, Plaza de Armas, that afforded good views of the area and yummy food to boot. Off we went!

The Plaza de Armas is quite beautiful and T-dogg and I were all over taking pics while the boys figured out where the cafe was located.

We finally got our bearings and it was time for some food! While there were many items on the menu that looked delicious, I think we all missed having dessert in the jungle so we opted for sugar... and lots of it. Apple Pie a la mode, chocolate filled wontons and lots of lattes to wash it all down.

We also used our prime seating overlooking the Plaza to snap some more pics.

And how were the desserts we ordered? See for yourself:

With our bellies full of sugar, we took off to explore more of Cusco before dinner. We spent about an hour wandering around and then headed back to the hotel to get ready for dinner.

Again, after our jungle adventure, we felt like splurging a bit on dinner, so we opted for MAP Cafe, located in the Museum of Pre-Columbian Art. The museum and restaurant both stay open late, so we decided to wander through the art galleries before our dinner reservation.

Our first stop was the gold and silver rooms which were very purtty.

We also saw all sorts of cool vessels, masks and other assorted works of art. While the museum was pretty small, their collection of exhibits was extensive. Jim couldn't stop shaking his head though at the "narratives" below each piece of art. Instead of factual, they were much more editorial, basically telling you why you should like the art. Very strange.

The MAP cafe is located in a glass box in the middle of the museum courtyard. Very modern and sleek.

The menu reflects traditional peruvian dishes, with a nod to more modern "foodie" notions. Dinner itself is prix fixe and includes an appetizer, entree, dessert and glass of wine.

But first, an amuse buche - a small piece of bread topped with tomato, olive and cheese. So good!

Appetizers:

Scallop salad - The scallops were only meh. The rest of the salad was really good though.

Alpaca roast beef - Tastes almost identical to roast beef from a cow.

Trio of soups - T-dogg said these were excellent.

Entrees:

Confit of Cuy (aka guinea pig) - MoP had this and said it was good, but "tastes like chicken."

Chicken with potatoes and olive sauce - Jim loved this and pretty much cleaned his plate.

Beef Tenderloin with red wine quinoa - The beef was good, but the quinoa was excellent. Different from anything I've tasted, but a nice compliment to the beef.

For some reason we neglected to photograph dessert, oops. Overall, the meal was really good. I should note that as soon as we sat down for this meal, I started feeling sick to my stomach. :/ So, while I enjoyed dinner, I didn't love it, but I think most of that stems from how I was feeling and not due to the quality of the food.

We closed the down the restaurant and the staff looked relieved when we finally left. Everyone was exhausted and after high-tailing it back to the hotel, we were all asleep soon after our heads hit the pillows.

Day 6: Goodbye Amazon

Our last day in the jungle had finally arrived. Sad! We had time for one more early excursion and then it would be time to finish packing, eat a quick bite and make the 3 hour boat ride back to Iquitos.

And what did we choose for our last excursion?

Why, swimming in the Amazon, of course!! :D

Okay, okay, it was actually the Tahuayo river, not the actual Amazon, but close enough. We boarded a motorboat, went about 15 minutes up the river and dropped anchor. That was then our "swimming pool." Wheee!

I'm sure many of you are wondering whether that was safe, as the Amazon is known for some pretty icky creatures that hang out in the water. When we asked about piranhas, our guide said "Sure, they're there, but don't worry. They don't like tourists!" Hmmm.... The boys were also very nervous about the Candiru fish (aka, "penis fish" featured on Grey's Anatomy). This led MoP to wear special swim trunks under his board shorts and for Jim to actually use masking tape to close off the legs of his shorts. When the guides found out what he was doing and why, they laughed hysterically and then informed the boys that the fish is only found in the Amazon river, not in its tributaries. Another possible crisis averted!

I had already been very clear that I was not going in first. So, the boys made poor T-dogg jump in. And then proceeded to just stand there and watch to see if anything happened to her before them joined her. Men!

MoP and Jim soon followed and then I slowly made my way down the ladder and into the water.

As strange as it was to be swimming in brown jungle water, it was also really peaceful and relaxing. The water was cool, but not cold and the current slowly moved us down the river without us having to think about it. After treading water for a bit, we each grabbed lifevests and sat on them so we could just float around. Aaaah!

Towards the end of our time there, our guide motioned to us to look behind us, and there we saw more cresting river dolphins. We guessed they probably swam right underneath us without us every knowing they were there. So cool!

Our time in the river went by far too quickly, and before we knew it, we were headed back to the lodge. Before lunch, the four of us thanked Anselmo for his time and expertise and tipped him to show our gratitude. A short while later, he came back to the boys and thanked them profusely for the gratuity and said how he would not only be able to help his family with the money, but that he was sharing it with the other guides and that everyone was grateful. It was nice to see that such a small sum of extra cash had such a large impact. We guess that the guides themselves (who actually do all the work) see very little of the money that the lodge receives from each guest, so any extra tips really help. We also had time to sneak in one last group pic.

Once we were back at the office in Iquitos, we had about an hour to kill before the van would take us to the airport. While some of the group ventured out to the market again, I wasn't feeling great, so Jim and I stayed in and chatted with the other guests that opted to hang out in the air-conditioned office with us.

The flight to Lima was uneventful (always a good thing) and we were back to the Sheraton around 8pm. For dinner, we met up with a friend of MoP. He had met and married a woman from Peru and they happened to be visiting that week. They met us in the Miraflores section of Lima, a much more touristy and well-kept area of the city, for dinner, drinks and conversation. They are such a sweet couple and I was instantly drawn to how nice and welcoming they were to all of us. We left the ordering to them, which lead to a parade of tasty dishes that we ate family-style. Sadly, no pictures as we were all exhausted and it took what little energy we had left to eat and make conversation.

I think we were all bummed that we hadn't planned to spend more time in Lima, as we were off again the next morning for the mountains. It's definitely a place that I'd like to visit again, though this time with more than 2 short nights to experience the city.


A few final thoughts about the Amazon:

The Tahuayo lodge was a great place to stay; our guide was wonderful, the staff bent over backwards to make the experience enjoyable and our fellow travelers were an interesting and friendly bunch. Even though the majority of the staff only speak spanish, they go above and beyond to try and communicate with the guests. Using my rusty spanish, which at times was more "spanglish" ilicited a smile and a warm, appreciative response. Obviously, it isn't for someone who doesn't like getting dirty or is totally skeeved out about bugs and wildlife, but otherwise, it is an amazing place to visit. Since the lodge is so removed from civilization and there is no internet, television or phone for distraction, you're really able to unwind and relax in a way that is near impossible even at upscale luxury resorts. The excursions were all fantastic, but even just reading in the hammock room or playing cards in the dining hall was memorable and gave the whole trip a laid back feel.

I can't believe how much I learned while I was there. There were times when it almost didn't feel real and during a few of the canoe rides it felt like we were on the jungle cruise at Disneyland, it was that perfect and pristine. The Amazon is a place that I didn't think I'd ever visit, but am so glad I had the opportunity to experience it. There isn't anything about our trip that I'd change and I'd highly recommend the Tahuayo lodge, if you're considering a trip there yourself.

Day 5: Pretty things, hanging out in the trees and "jungle juice"

Monday dawned and it was the first time we had rain during the daytime hours. :( All through breakfast we thought it'd let up, but it never did. It wasn't a total downpour, but the rain was consistent enough that it forced our guide to postpone our morning excursion until the afternoon. Hmph.

Instead, another activity had been scheduled for us - local arts and crafts. I was excited, I think T-dogg was neutral and the boys... well, it was all they could do to keep from rolling their eyes. :/ However, by the end of the morning, Jim remarked what a great time he had and how much different it was than what he had expected.

A young woman from Chino Village was sent to us to serve as our instructor. Like most of the villagers, she spoke no English, but Anselmo was there the whole time to help translate for us. Several other lodge guests joined us in the hammock room for the morning, where we overtook a section of the space for our craft lesson.

The lady brought a huge bag of supplies that included various bags of beads and seeds from the jungle as well as multiple bundles of palm fibers that had been dried and dyed different colors. She put out a selection of necklaces and bracelets as examples and we were asked to choose a design that we'd like to copy and make for ourselves. I opted a simple bracelet, while T-dogg chose to replicate a beaded necklace. The boys primarily hung out in the rocking chairs and served as our "helpers."

To start the bracelet, our instructor first had to roll the fibers into thread that would be used to form the other section of the project. I wish I had taken video of this, as it was really cool. She basically rolled the fibers on her thigh in a certain way, so they became intertwined - the resulting thread was deceptively strong. This looked pretty painful, but we were told that women build up tolerance to it and become very quick at the practice. After starting the bracelet, she then showed me how to weave the beads into the pre-determined design. Between our hand signals and my limited spanish, communication was easy. Shortly thereafter T-dogg was started on her necklace.

The boys were eventually given jobs themselves. They helped us make holes in the beads and seeds so we could use them in the jewelry. Seeing the boys try to use the machine to accomplish this task was pure comedy!

While we were completing the projects, Anselmo talked to us more about the local culture and what life is like for the people that live in the jungle. The short version is that life is hard. But, his long descriptions were very interesting and I felt like we all learned a lot.

Our completed projects turned out well, but obviously not as well as the examples. We tipped our instructor to thank her for her time and materials and in return, we each received another bracelet or necklace from her collection of examples.

After lunch, the rain finally let up and we were back on-track for our zipline excurion. The course was behind the lodge, only a 10-15 minute canoe ride away. What we didn't know ahead of time was how bad the mosquito infestation was behind the lodge. OMG, it was awful! Easily the worst area (in terms of biting critters) of the trip. We basically spent the entire canoe ride out slapping away mosquitos. Blah!

We finally made it to the start of the course. After getting our gear on, Anselmo used the ascendors to climb the 80 feet to the platform and wait for the rest of us. For some reason, I was nominated to be the first to be pulled to the top. Yay? Actually, it wasn't that bad, almost fun, even though I'm usually nervous of heights. It probably wasn't great for the guy having to hoist me to the top though. Poor thing :/

We had a total of 6 people that needed to get to the top of the first platform, so I had a lot of time to wait around and look at the canopy. Oh, and lots of time to take pictures of everyone as they made it to the top.

Once you reached the top, you were connected to a rope attached to the tree. We kinda felt like animals all tied up there together. Ha!

One lady in the group was terrified of heights (why she chose to accompany us is beyond me) and about had a panic attack when she reached the first platform. And she stayed on the verge of completely flipping out the entire time. I was annoyed with her almost immediately.

There were only 2 ziplines we were able to use (the 3rd had a wasp's nest right next to it, so it was out of commission) and they were pretty short, so most of our time was spent on the platforms enjoying the view.

Jim is convinced that this was actually the dumbest activity that we participated in while in the jungle. None of us were completely sure how safe and sturdy everything was, even with assurances that the lines and platforms are inspected every year by a third party. Yeah, it probably wasn't our smartest move....

To get back to the ground, we had to rappel down. Yes, there was a safety rope that the guide could use to slow us down if we lost control, but it is still an interesting experience slide off a platform and just have your hands on a rope to keep you steady. The panick attack lady was really ready to lose it when she realized this. She even asked one of the guides if she could go down with him. He looked at her like she was crazy and just said "no, solo uno." Love him! ;)

I was a bit nervous to rappel down, but I kept my cool and just took my time getting down to the others. Being the last to go, I didn't realize just how slow I actually was. MoP videotaped everyone rappeling down and it easily took me 3-4x times as long as everyone else. We had the best laugh watching it later.
Since that was our last night at the lodge, no evening activity was scheduled so we would have time to pack and get ready to leave. When we got back to the lodge, I jumped in the shower, while Jim headed off to make sure we had lots of pictures of the lodge itself.

Right after I got out, I heard Jim outside telling me he had a surprise for me. You see, the lodge has a resident wild parrot, whom they call "Pedro" that usually hangs out around the kitchen area, eating fruit and nuts they hand-feed him. While Jim was walking around taking pictures, he stumbled upon him, got him on his shoulder and brought him over for me. I'm definitely my mother's daughter and picked up my love of birds from her, so I was ecstatic to finally meet Pedro.

We let him hang out on Jim for a bit and then when I extended my arm to him, he walked up and sat on my shoulder. While we were laughing at how funny he was, he actually laughed back at us! Ah, he is so cute!!

Before we knew it, it was time for our last dinner. To say thank you, the kitchen prepared a special cake for us, which we shared with the rest of the lodge guests, the guides and kitchen staff.

Since we didn't have an evening excursion, the 4 of us hung out in the dining hall after everyone left to play cards and relax before bed. Jim and MoP also used this opportunity to try "siete raises" (aka, seven root), a local beverage that is a mix of juice and a type of moonshine. Our favorite kitchen helper, who always seemed very amused by the boys and their antics, poured it out for them and wished them luck.

It actually smells much stronger than it tastes (both of us girls tried a sip), but later that night, Jim said that it packs much more of a punch than the taste implied. I think he was pretty tipsy by the time we went to bed. Ha!