Flora and Fauna of the Bolivian Rain Forest

Those Elusive Macaw Photographs !

Black Caiman, Bolivian Rain Forest

Serere, Bolivian Rain Forest

The last four days have been the best highlight of our trip so far, with an awesome time at the privately owned Serere reserve in a floodplain of the rain forest. The lodge, accommodation and food was very good, and the guiding was excellent. It is said that the rain forest is the biggest pharmacy in the world, and we continue to learn some of the plants and trees, and their uses. The birding was great, and the macaws continue to be a great challenge to photograph up in the high canopy of the forest. The monkeys, of which we saw five species, (squirrel, capuchin, yellow, nocturnal and howler), are even more challenging to photograph. The forest has numerous dangers including the caiman, freshwater sting rays, fire ants and many others. To Heathers dismay and terror, we had a night walk spotting spiders, but were fortunate to see a very large tarantula on a day walk. During our time at the lodge, we met the owner, Rosa Maria Ruiz, and on returning to Rurrenebaque, had dinner with her, followed by some additional time chatting the next morning. Rosa Maria was fundamental in the identification and declaration of the Madidi National Park, and is a conservationist on the front line who at times has had her life threatened because of her activism for wildlife and indigenous peoples rights. What a privelege to meet, and spend time talking to her. Our minds continue to mull over ways to continue to stay involved, even remotely from Canada. Serere is a little piece of paradise, with so much good work being done in and around the reserve.

La Paz to Rurrenebaque

What a change to the high Andean mountains we have been in for so many weeks - we are currently in Rurrenebaque for a couple of days in the rain forest portion of Bolivia. Not unusual for this time of year, the weather is overcast, and when travelling at some speed on the rivers, it can get quite cold. We travelled to Rurrenebaque over three days predominantly on the river, with two overnight stops camping on the river banks. The trip was mainly outside of any conservation area, but on the last day we travelled through the Madidi National Park. Along much of the river outside of the park, gold panning continues, although we are told at a reduced level to about fifty years ago during a major gold rush. The trip also included a couple of walks into the forest, both night and day. Spectacular trees and plants, with very unusual growth forms. On one walk we encountered a large herd of wild pig that were very inquisitive, and on the river we saw a single capybara, (largest rodent in the world), dive into the river next to the boat. There are many birds, but very difficult to see clearly in the thick forest. We have seen many macaws at a distance, at least one flock of over 40 birds. As the birds turn in the sunlight, we caught sight of their brightly coloured plumage.

La Paz, Bolivia

Today, Heather and I travelled by bus from the quaint quiet little village of Copacabana, to the bustle of La Paz. The trip was uneventful, but we did get to appreciate the size of Lake Titicaca, as well as a barge crossing at a narrow part of the lake. La Paz is no different to any big sprawling city with a lot of`poverty, although spectacularly located with the city centre down in the valley, the houses crammed against each other on the slopes above the city, and what seems to be the obligatory high andean peak as a background to many south american cities. We walked a bit this afternoon, including past what is called the witches market with street-side vendors selling many unusual items, including dessicated llama fetuses that are supposed to be a good luck charm. We are both pleased that we only have one night here as we both prefer the wide outdoors to the cities here. We are excited as we head off on a three day trip early tomorrow mostly by boat to Rurrenebaque, passing through the Madidi Reserve with a biodiversity unequalled by most other protected areas in the world. We have also booked a subsequent four day stay in a private protected area called Serere, part of the Madidi Mosaic. After a number of weeks in the mountains and high altitudes, we will soon get to see the Amazon jungle, and adjoining pampas - we can´t wait. The camera batteries are charged, and we are hoping to capture some good pictures of the flora and fauna !

Sunset over Lake Titicaca

Copacabana, Lake Titicaca, Bolivia

A chance to sit back and relax and take a break from buses for a while, we have arrived in the beautiful little town of Copacabana in Bolivia, on the shores of Lake Titicaca. We made the decision to pass through the Peruvian shores of Lake Titicaca, and head straight for Bolivia, with a nine hour bus ride from Arequipa. Having spent six and a half weeks in Peru, we are ready now for a new country on our adventure, and also heading for the low jungle after substantial time in the Andean mountains. We have found a great hotel in town that is extremely cheap (room with ensuite bathroom, hot shower and breakfast, for just $6 each per night). Yesterday we went sailing out on the lake for three hours, the owner allowing us to set off on our own to a small set of islands. The breeze was slight and we had a great few hours out on the highest commercially navigable lake in the world at 3 812m. The boat was hopeless at sailing upwind, and our cruise started with a 30 minute row out of the bay. The photo shows our lesson before the cruise, learning how to rig the sail.

Condors !!!

Our trip to Cruz del Condor was very successful. The view point gives a commanding view of Colca Canyon, and the steep mountainsides across the valley. In addition, in 2 1/2 hrs, we had six sightings of condors - very impressive birds ! For the first half hour, the place was packed with tour buses and their occupants, but due to their strict itineraries, they soon left just a handful of us admiring the scenery and waiting for our next sighting. It is remarkable that the large scavenging birds continue to survive in an area with quite a high population of people, living in a number of villages along the length of the canyon.

Chivay

Just three hours from Arequipa, we stayed one night in the charming little village of Chivay. The goal was to get up early the next morning and travel to, and spend most of the morning at a place called Cruz del Condor. This is supposed to be the best place in South America to see Andean Condors. The trip to Chivay was unexpectedly spectacular. The Peruvians really do have a tough challenge with few national resources, a large amount of poverty, and a country dissected by a massive mountain range. Every road seems to require a big engineering effort and associated cost, traversing very steep mountain slopes. We had some unusual travellers on the bus with us for part of the way, comprising a few young girls and two young alpacas, one being fed with a bottle. The village was great. We spent the early evening relaxing in a hot spring pool 3km from the village. It seemed like every other gringo in the vicinity , and some locals, were there as well.

Chachani Peak (View from Arequipa)

Arequipa

This post is being sent from the southern Peruvian town of Arequipa. We have done some of the tourist stuff including a visit to the museum where the Inca ice maiden (child sacrifice) is displayed! She is a five hundred year old frozen body of an Inca girl maybe 12 to 14 years old, and was discovered nearby close to the top of one of the high peaks. One of the described adventure acitivities Heather and I read about before arriving in Arequipa, was the possibilty of climbing one of the easiest 6080m (19950ft) peaks certainly in South America in two days - little did we know what we were getting ourselves into. The peak, Chachani, is one of several that can be seen as a backdrop to the city of Arequipa. The plan for the trek was as follows - leave Arequipa at 08h00 at an altitude of 2300m, and drive to the drop off spot at 5000m; climb up to the base camp at 5400m where tents were set up; an early supper at 17h00 with a wake up at 02h30 the next morning for breakfast and an attempt on the summit. Neither Heather or I had a minutes sleep up until 02h30, the wind was blowing hard and it was extremely cold. During that time, I developed a pounding headache and started to vomit repeatedly. Heather was still okay. By about 23h00, we had decided there was no way I was going up further and we stayed in camp together. Numerous other people turned back, and judging by the comments of those who did the return summit journey of at least 12 hours, we weren´t too upset to have stayed back. Needless to say, our desire to climb a 6000m peak has waned a bit. Maybe, at least for us, transitioning from 2300m to over 6000m in less than a day is a bit ambitious.

Peruvian Parades and Festivals

Since we arrived in Peru, at times and in various towns, we have been fortunate to experience fantastic parades. The costumes are delightful and colourful, and the people definitely in a friendly and festival mood. What a different cultural aspect in comparison to Heathers´Canadian and my southern African backgrounds. The day we left Cusco, and as we made our way back to the hostel to collect our backpacks for the overnight trip to Arequipa, we lingered at the main plaza to watch another parade. The photos speak for themselves! The weather turned rainy for the first time in maybe 15 days. We have been fortunate to have had clear weather for both of our treks out of Cusco.

Cusco

Cusco has been our base before, in between and after our two treks for a total of seven nights. Tonight we head off again on an overnight bus to Arequipa, the second biggest city in Peru. Cuscos´centre around the main plazas is a tourist hub with a dizzying selection of adventure/trekking companies, restaurants and market stalls. A single small doorway to the cobbled street often leads to a maze of stalls and shops selling traditional craft. The original Cusco city layout at the time of the Inca empire was shaped in the form of a puma. Even today some of the buildings around the city centre incoporate some of the original inca stone walls into their structures. A few blocks away from the clean city centre, the suburbs revert to a massive sprawl that clearly displays the poverty of the country. The railway line, roads and rivers are strewn with litter which is a depressing sight. We hear the argument that for people barely making a living from day to day, litter is not high on the priority list. I am convinced otherwise as the bulk of the rural population is completely dependent on the ground and water supply, and the litter contaminates these and is a risk to the domestic livestock, and can not be assisting with the massive tourist potential. It is a dilemma how to solve the issue, and I guess easy for us to judge coming from a first world country.

Ausangate Trek Photos

Ausangate Trek

The trek itself started last Thursday morning and in many ways was so different from the Choquequirao Trek. The trek was run by local farm people instead of full time guides from Cusco. The route climbed up through high Andean hills, up to and passed the base of Ausangate (At 6384m, the highest peak in southern Peru). The high hills were filled with alpaca and llama in high densities that are hard to believe. They obviously thrive in those conditions and on the low vegetation. With little adherence to contour paths, our guides led us straight up and over steep hills, and it was tough walking at the higher altitudes. The trek also went at the pace of the horses, and our guides had little patience if either of us fell behind, encouraging us to ride almost immediately. The experience though was exceptional and they took good care of us. On the third night they set up nets in a couple of the high altitiude lagoons and streams. Early the next morning the excited guides woke us to show us their catch, a number of small fish and a larger probably ten pound trout - they were very proud of themselves. We shared the fish later in the day for lunch. The views were just awesome (I have to use that word again), and at times, it felt like we were on top of the world, with views of hundreds of kilometres. Our campsites had spectacular locations. By sunset, the temperatures dropped considerably, and we escaped to our tent to snuggle into our sleeping bags.

Ausangate Mountains

Tinqui, South of Cusco

For the Choquequirao Trek, we took a four hour bus ride from Cusco to Cachora (north of Cusco), where the trek started and finished. Likewise for our second trek, we had a four hour bus ride to the small village of Tinqui south of Cusco at the end of the bus route. In the evening our two guides took us to a local eatery for dinner. The place was packed with road construction workers and a table was set up for us in what turned out to be the pantry or larder. Yes, that is a pig carcass behind Heather on the shelf in the photo ! What the photo does not show is that there was a female dog nursing her pups on the floor below the carcass. The food was okay but our appetites vanished. We are just not used to the rough and simple lifestyles of these rural people. We slept that night in a sparse second floor room on camping mats. The room had a great view of the local soccer pitch and the snow covered mountains in the background, and earlier in the evening we had watched the games. When the young men and boys took a break from their game, the women and girls took over the pitch. It was an unusual sight to see them playing in their full traditional skirts.

Choquequirao Trek, Cusco, Peru

Awesome ! We have just returned from a very tough 5 day, 4 night trek to the Inca archaeological site of Choquequirao. A round trip of about 75 km in total, and the first 10km unrepresentative of the rest of the terrain, the hike was mostly extremely tough up and down steep mountain sides. One morning was straight up a zigzag path for six km with a significant gain in altitude. The site itself, although not as expansive as the more famous Machu Picchu, is very impressive and the Inca people had chosen one of the steepest and least accessible mountainsides to build their houses and agricultural terraces. The trek itself was great with just Heather and I supported by a team of a cook, horseman, assistant guide and two horses with an accompanying young foal. The horses and mules are extremely tough having to carry heavy loads. Our main guide who spoke some english, and we met two days before the trek, called in sick the morning we left. We were challenged for the rest of the trip trying to communicate effectively in spanish. The team of three looked after us incredibly well. What a pleasure to arrive at a campsite and have the tents set up, and meal cooked (The food was excellent). The site of Choquequirao is also spectacular because it is surrounded by high jungle, and the bird and insect life suddenly increases when you enter the area. We saw a flock of parrots, their emerald green plumage shining in the sunlight, but are still trying to identify the species. We were fortunate as well to see our first Andean condor fly past us and down into the valley below. The Andean condor is the biggest flying bird in the western hemisphere and can live up to 50 years.