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Machu Picchu...Where Incas Once Walked

2011-04-19T22:16:00.000-04:00

“The trail is the thing, not the end of the trail. Travel too fast and you miss all you are traveling for.” And so, as my time in Peru was coming to its end, I reminded myself of this very thing. Machu Picchu was the end of the trail for me, the final big moment of my entire adventure. But hadn’t the whole journey and everything that I’d seen and done been just as spectacular as Machu Picchu was sure to be?

I pondered these thoughts as I stood in the bus line for Machu Picchu. It was 5:00 a.m., the rain fell steadily, and I tried to reconcile my excitement for the approaching Machu Picchu experience with the rest of the trip. I also worked to temper a growing rise of despair. After a week in the rainforest where we saw virtually no rain, I now faced a rainy and cloudy day. There was no alternative to the plan. I had only one day left to see Machu Picchu, and it was today. If this weather didn’t cooperate, I would head back to Ohio without the final jewel in the crown of this trip…Machu Picchu.

The bus ride up the mountain found us on a switchback road where every turn nearly brought us into a head-on collision with another bus. The drop from the side of the road was a sheer plummet down the side of the mountain. One wrong turn would bring certain death, but I pushed that thought as far out of my mind as I could. My focus was on the ancient city of the Incas, which had been hidden in the mountains for hundreds of years. An amazing feature of Machu Picchu is that it cannot be seen from lower elevations. The Incas positioned it to be perfectly hidden. In fact, the site was unknown to the Spanish who invaded in the 1500s, even though they had taken over and plundered many other Inca cities nearby. I was filled with anticipation as we made our way up the mountainside, and I felt impatient that there wasn’t anything to be seen as we traveled.

Finally, the moment arrived. And, the moment was shrouded by rain and clouds. I was disappointed. I had hoped to enter the city and see the beautiful vista that is always shown in pictures. With the cloud cover and rain, I couldn’t see anything but the structures in close proximity to us. I felt let down, but I kept reminding myself that the day wasn’t over yet. It was still early.

Our tour guide led us around to the major sights. He spoke English, but his accent was quite thick, so I found it difficult to understand what he said. I sympathized with some of the other people in our group for whom English was their second language. I wondered how much of the information they were getting. I tried to absorb as much as I could about the Incas and this city they had built. It has stood the test of time, but much of its purpose can still only be speculated.

As the tour wound down, I felt encouraged as I realized that the cloud cover was lifting and the rain had stopped. I now realized that I might actually get to see the city as a whole. While waiting, I explored more of the city and watched as the skies started to show more and more blue sky.

Finally, I got to see this breathtaking view of Machu Picchu!

Finally, the clouds were practically gone, the sun was out, and the sky was blue. There it was…this majestic city of the Incas laid out in front of us, and what a magnificent site it was to behold. I kept climbing up higher and higher until I stood at one of the highest peaks of the mountain. I looked down across the city, the surrounding valleys, and all the mountains adjacent to this one. A bird soared high above the summits, and I could clearly see why the Incas chose this site of splendor for their city. It truly was as if we were closer to God in this place, a place that brushed the heavens.

With the sun on my skin and the wind in my hair, I felt like I never wanted to leave. I sat down on the ground and just tried to absorb the beauty and the power that this place held. Like a scene from another world, it seemed to have a life all its own. This, my end of the trail, could not have been better. The journey, with all its trials and difficulties, was worth it. It was worth every step, every drop of sweat, and every tear. It was a journey that changed me irrevocably, and because of that, I knew I had seen everything for which I had traveled.

The Road to Machu Picchu is Long

2011-04-17T15:10:00.000-04:00

After a week in the rain forest, the official college class portion of my Peruvian trip had ended. I could have gone home, but that would have been way too boring and not nearly complicated enough. I decided to stay and take an extra trip to Machu Picchu, the site of an ancient Inca city and the number one tourist destination in South America. I felt that it would be pointless to go all the way to Peru and not visit Machu Picchu. Several of my classmates had the same idea, so a group of us headed off to Cusco, the main city used for a sojourn to Machu Picchu.

Getting to Cusco from Puerto Maldonado was no problem. It's a simple plane ride between cities. Surprise! It was only 60 degrees in Cusco which sits at an elevation of 10,000 feet. What a shock to the system after spending a week in the humid rain forest. Thankfully, I had a sweatshirt with me. I wore it the entire time I was in Cusco and Machu Picchu. I also bought a hat and gloves made from Alpaca fur to keep me warm because it was so cold.

Touring the Sacred Valley on the way to Machu Picchu

The next day we headed out for the trek to Machu Picchu. It started with a tour of the Sacred Valley, a collection of ancient Inca sights full of history. This part of Peru is mountainous, so these ancient cities are built into the sides of cliffs, hills, and mountains which meant there was plenty of walking and climbing. But, what a variety of breathtaking splendor awaited those who ventured out. I was amazed by the structures the Incas built with their own bare hands. Our tour guide provided us with a wealth of information, and by mid-afternoon when we hit the town of Ollantaytambo, my head swam with facts and new knowledge.

My head was also swimming in Ollantaytambo because we found ourselves waiting to catch a bus which would take us to catch a train to Aguas Calientes, the small town at the base of Machu Picchu. Normally, travelers could take a train all the way from Cusco to Aguas Calientes, but a landside just four months earlier left the train system partially inaccessible. We felt confused during this wait because we didn't speak Spanish, and we were at the mercy of anyone who could translate for us and explain the situation. We weren’t with the tour group anymore, so this part of the adventure left us to find our own way.

After what seemed like an eternity, we boarded buses and took off for the train station. The bus ride had us on a one-way road where we sat in a traffic jam for part of the trip. Once we got moving, we flew! High speeds, hair-pin turns, and narrow roads left me white-knuckled and gripping my seat. The river was on the left side of the road, and it was a decent drop-off from the road down to the river. One wrong move, and we would've been dead! This journey was not for the faint of heart, for sure.

When we finally got to the train station, we had to wait some more. It was fun, but in an awkward kind of way. Again, we had the confusion of not understanding the situation. The representatives from Peru Rail were bilingual, and so we kept asking for assistance. A few times we just followed the crowd and hoped we were headed in the right direction. This was how we got down to the train platform. Then, we stood there and watched as they put the train together right there on the tracks at the station. No one seemed to be in a hurry, so we just watched and waited because there wasn’t anything else we could do.

After all this waiting, we finally got on the train bound for Aguas Calientes. This was the "Backpacker Express" train, and it was filled with young people and families. We sat across from a young Spanish man and an American missionary. This was a slow train, so we had plenty of time to talk, sleep, read, and take in the general atmosphere. Unfortunately, it was dark outside, so we didn't get to see any scenery. I was disappointed in that because I wanted to see the mountains.

When we arrived in Aguas Calientes, it was midnight. We hadn't had dinner, and we were starved. We stayed at a hostel, and they had food ready for us when we got there. It was delicious and exactly what we needed. The rooms at the hostel were basic, but clean. We hit the showers and then the beds to catch some shut eye for our exciting day at Machu Picchu. The wake up call would be coming at 4:00 a.m. Ay, yi, yi!

How to be a Rain Forest Explorer

2011-04-06T22:16:00.000-04:00

Want to travel to the Peruvian Amazon rain forest? Here are some tips and tricks to consider before you head out on your trip.

1. Don’t touch anything. That is, don’t touch anything without looking first. Animals lurk where you least expect them. So, shake your shoes before you put them on. Check the floor before you put your feet down in the morning, and pull back the bed covers before you climb in. Keep your suitcases shut, and don’t grab trees and plants in the forest. Never, ever walk barefoot.

2. Knee-high rubber boots are your friends and also your enemies. While hiking in the rain forest, knee-high rubber boots keep your legs and ankles safe from mud, animals, and plants. However, if you wear them in the boat and your boat tips over, those suckers will fill up with water and drag you to the bottom of the river.

3. Forget all those sacred cows in your life. Electricity, running water, air conditioning, hot water, washing machines, Internet access, long showers, cell phone coverage…these things do not exist in the rain forest. Amazingly, your life will go on without them.

4. It doesn’t always rain in the rain forest. The rain forest has a dry season and a wet season. In the dry season, it doesn’t rain much. Despite this, you’d better be ready for rain because it could rain at any moment.

Waiting along the river in the Peruvian rain forest

5. Rain forest animals do not come out to play. Finding animals in the rain forest is difficult. You have to know what to look for and how to listen carefully. Also, you have to be quiet or you definitely won’t see anything. If you plan to take pictures, then bring a zoom lens and a memory card with lots of space. Animals don’t pose for pictures or say, “Cheese.” They are hard to photograph.

6. There’s no sleeping in during a visit to the rain forest. Early morning is the best time to see animals. So, plan on a hike before breakfast and before the sun rises. Don’t worry, you’ll go to bed early because there won’t be much to do in the evenings. No electricity, remember?

7. Be ready for close encounters. You’ll have some freaky animal encounters. For example, bats flew past my legs so fast that I felt wind on my calves. I had a large cockroach on my shirt. There was a frog in my bathroom, and a vicious bullet ant crawling up my arm (their bite hurts for days). Bats woke me up while they fed during the night. A guy in my group found an extremely large spider in his bed. Toughen up before you leave home. You won’t regret it.

8. You will sweat. The humidity is high and there’s no breeze. Air conditioning doesn’t exist, and you’ll need to wear long pants over your legs. You might even need to wear long sleeves. Oh, and on some hikes you’ll need to wear those knee-high rubber boots. You can bring all the moisture-wicking clothes you want, but you will not be cool or comfortable. You will be hot, sticky, sweaty, and stinky. Don’t worry, though. Everyone else will be, too.

9. Picky eaters had better bring snacks. Granola bars work particularly well. Rain forest food will be native food, including lots of locally grown fruits. If you want a cold drink, then you’d best search for a lodge that caters to tourists. The more rustic accommodations will not serve anything cold. Caffeine addiction? Bring your own or hope for coffee.

10. There’s no time for beauty. Leave your make up, hair dryer, curling iron, and other beautification items at home. For one thing, there’s no electricity to power all those appliances. Make up is pointless because of the heat and humidity. Make sure you can put your hair in a ponytail and then throw a hat on your head. Everyone else will look equally plain, so you’ll fit right in with the crowd.

11. You will not blend in with the locals. No matter how hard you try, everyone you meet will know you’re a foreigner. Your Spanish won’t be authentic enough, and your clothes will be too American. If you’re taller than about 5 feet, 5 inches, your height will give you away. Blonds and redheads don’t have a chance of passing as native Peruvians. People will stare at you, and you will not be able to avoid it.

12. Get ready for awesome. If you can handle all these tips, then you’re ready for an awesome, mind-blowing experience as you journey into the wild. You’ll learn, see, feel, and think. It will change you beyond your wildest expectations, and it will leave you thirsting for more. So pack your bags, buy your plane ticket, and get ready for the journey of a lifetime to the Amazon rain forest. You will not come home the same.

A Bird in the Hand is Worth Two in the Mist Net

2011-04-03T15:40:00.000-04:00

I am not a “bird nerd.” So, why in the world would I go on an educational trip to the Amazon rain forest where one of the study topics was birds? That’s a question I often asked myself as I tromped through the forest looking for birds. The answer? Well, I like adventure. I like to learn new things. I needed college credit hours, and so all those things brought me to the forest to study birds. I learned a lot about birds in just a week...more than I ever thought I could.

On the first day of the trip, my group and I dove right into our learning activities, and one of the first things we did was to set up mist nets. A mist net is a long net that is used to catch birds in the wild. The birds can't see the nets, so they fly right into them. It doesn't hurt the birds to be in mist nets, but the person removing the birds has to be careful. Only our professors, Ursula and Jose removed birds from the nets.

Once the nets were set up, we checked them about every 45 minutes. Once a bird was caught in a net, it was removed and placed into a special bag. Ursula assured us that the bags did not harm the birds and that being in the bags helped to calm them. We then took the birds back up to the main lodge to be tagged.

The tagging process involved several tasks because one of our goals was to identify the types of birds we caught. So, all the birds were weighed and measured. Measuring involved the length of the beaks, legs, and wings. The colors and markings of the birds were also observed. Sometimes it was difficult to identify the birds because many of them looked similar. Ursula and Jose identified quite a few of the birds, but the rest of us typically had to look them up in a book, such as The Birds of Peru. After all the observations were made and noted, tags were placed on the bird's legs. The tags were tiny because birds don't weigh much. To place heavy tags on birds would greatly interfere with their ability perform needed tasks.

I'm in my gear and watching birds!

After the tags were on, the birds were ready to be released. The birds were held in such a way that they could simply fly away when they were ready. We were told not to give the birds a toss or a push because the ones who had been struggling during the tagging process might be weakened. If we tossed them, they could fall to the ground and be injured. Most of the birds we tagged were happy to get away from us, though.

Another learning activity during the trip was listening to birds and identifying them by their calls. I would like to say that I got really good at doing it, but that would be an exaggeration. By the end of the trip I could pick out about five birds every time by their calls. At the start of the trip, I couldn't do any, so I felt successful in this venture.

Up until I went on this trip, I thought being an animal researcher was all excitement and danger. In some cases, I’m sure it is. However, I also learned that it can be mundane. This became evident on the day my group sat at the bird researcher’s station at the clay lick.

The clay lick is where birds come to eat clay, which helps aid in their digestion. Our task was to spend three hours watching the clay lick and making notes about the activity we saw there. Well, as our luck would have it, just about the time that we took over the duties, there weren’t any birds at the clay lick. For three hours we sat and waited, but we didn’t see anything. Then the bugs descended on us and decided we were good for a snack. It got so bad at one point that we all resorted to wearing mosquito net hats. We looked ridiculous and had a great laugh about it. However, it didn’t change the fact that we had no birds to observe. On occasion, we studied birds in nearby trees. We saw some excellent blue and gold macaws, but they didn’t go back to the clay lick.

I was relieved when the regular researchers returned, and we got to relinquish our bird researching duties. I concluded that patience is one of the key attributes of a good bird watcher. Patience and a lot of bug spray.

A Little Touch of Paradise

2011-03-23T22:19:00.000-04:00

A silvery moon shone high in the sky. The leaves of tall rain forest trees gently whispered and rustled. The frogs chirped brightly, calling out through the night air. The forest pulsed and hummed as millions of insects conducted their business. Birds and other animals used the forest’s highways and byways to travel and search for sustenance. And thrust into the middle of it all, was one American teacher very far from home.

As I stood in the Peruvian rain forest, it struck me…I was in the midst of true, pristine nature. This place, virtually unspoiled, was about as far removed from Ohio as the moon. Now that my group and I had arrived in a place that wasn’t close to any civilized location, I truly felt that I had come to an exotic paradise, a place where humans were the visitors and nature was at its most virulent.

It was just me and the moon alone on this walkway at night.

And yet, Refugio Amazonas, a travel lodge two-hours by boat from the closest civilized location, was our oasis in the midst of this vast wilderness. Unseen from the river, it was a ten-minute hike through the woods to reach this slice of heaven. As we hiked, the humidity of the forest once again enveloped us like a thick blanket. Even though I only had my field pack, my arrival at the lodge found me dripping with sweat. Fortunately, we did not have to carry our larger suitcases because I’m sure I would have been soaked to the bone on the walk from the river to the lodge. The staff at Refugio (as we called it for short) took them to the lodge for us.

When we finally emerged from the forest, the lodge rose up in front of us. As we entered, each one of us was handed a washcloth that was cool and wet because it had been kept in the refrigerator. I laid the whole thing across my face and just let it lay there for a few minutes. I'm not sure if I've ever felt anything so refreshing and wonderful in my life. It felt like air conditioning for my face. There was also cold juice for us to drink. Delightful!

I couldn’t help but marvel at this place. Refugio was a big, beautiful lodge dropped in the middle of an already spectacular setting. There were even creature comforts, something we had sorely missed at our last location, CECCOT. Our rooms at Refugio were enormous. One whole wall was open to the forest, and it was peaceful and serene. We had a bathroom with running water, a flushing toilet, and an actual shower with big towels to go along with it. The water was cold, but after being so hot and sweaty all the time, it felt refreshing. The beds had the requisite mosquito netting, which the staff came and set up while we were at dinner. This was definitely my style of life.

Of course, as much as I wanted to lounge in the lap of luxury, we still had tasks to accomplish and things to learn. One evening’s activity was a caiman search. Caimans are relatives of alligators, and they like to come out at night. So, we all hiked back down to the riverbank, got into the boats, and cruised up and down the shore looking for caimans. The guides shone lights along the riverbank trying to get reflections from the eyes of any caimans that were out there. We only saw one, but it was fun to search.

When we got back to shore, some of us stayed on the beach for awhile. We sat and listened to the sounds of the forest. The moon was full, and it was a bright orb hanging in the sky, keeping us company and lighting our way. After awhile, I laid back on the sand to watch the moon and stars and listen to all the animals. I saw constellations that were new to me, and as I listened to the frogs calling in the trees, I was in awe of the beauty and splendor of the forest around me. The symphony of the forest were so soothing, I could have stayed on that beach all night.

Several nights later, I walked back to my room alone. Most other people in the lodge were already asleep, so it was just me and the jungle. Just as before, the moon was brightly shining, casting its silvery light all over me. There was something eerie and beautiful about that light. The forest seemed to glow with it, and yet, I couldn’t see into the forest’s depths. I stopped and stood on the walkway by myself, taking it in. It was just me, the forest, and the moon. I felt very small in a big world, but so happy to be standing in the middle of paradise.

Riding on the Rain Forest River

2011-03-14T23:02:00.000-04:00

The best way to cover large distances while traveling in the Amazon rain forest is by river. There are few roads that traverse the forest, so the river is a major transportation source for anyone who wants to enter its depths.

On this trip, the boats my group and I traveled in were long and low to the water, and they were powered by outboard motors. While on the river, our group was accompanied by tour guides, the boat drivers, and other guides who rode in the front. Any time we came upon something in the water, such as a rock or large piece of wood, the guides used long sticks to push us away from it. Since June is part of the dry season, there were plenty of items in the water that had to be addressed.

This was one of the boats we used to travel the river.

We had rules to follow when we traveled in the boats. For instance, we had to wear lifejackets while in the boats, no exceptions. We also had to sit so that our weight was evenly distributed, and we weren’t supposed to stand or walk while the boats were in motion. We didn’t want to capsize the boats by disturbing the balance of weight. We also were instructed to remove our knee-high rubber boots. The boots would fill with water and drag us to the bottom if we fell in the river. I was careful to follow all these rules because I did not want to end up at the bottom of the river.

We had several trips on the river, but the long boat journeys were the ones that I enjoyed the most. Our longest span on the river was a five hour journey to the Tambopata Research Center (TRC). Five hours on the boat meant we had a lot of time to take in the scenery, catch up on journal writing, and relax. It also meant that we had to eat lunch on the boat. Our lunch was simple: chicken and rice. The most unique part of the lunch was that it was wrapped in large banana leaves. We ate the food as we rode along in the boat, and when we were finished, we just tossed the leaves and any leftovers into the water. Everything was biodegradable, so there weren’t any worries about pollution. I loved the novelty of eating my lunch from a leaf. They were like nature’s own zipper-top bags!

Another thing I enjoyed was the speed of the boat because we had a cool breeze blowing on us. The rain forest was so hot and humid, we never had any relief. The breeze on the boats made it a cool and pleasant experience, one that we all desperately needed. We got to see some animals from the boats, too. I saw my first capybara while on the boat, an animal I’d never seen. We also saw turtles, caiman, and birds during our boat journeys. We kept our eyes open for interesting animals as we traveled.

Because we were on the river for long amounts of time, there were restroom issues. It’s not like we could just pull over at the nearest gas station or fast food restaurant. Fortunately, the longest journeys included stops at river checkpoints for stretching our legs and using the restroom. Peruvian restrooms are basic, and toilet paper is NOT included. Hand washing opportunities are not always available, either. We learned to come prepared with our own supplies, and that just became another one of the many cultural experiences we faced.

It rained on us for the first time while we were on the boat to TRC. The boat had some roll-down plastic for the sides, so as the rain got more intense, we had to help roll it down. This was a challenge because we had to keep the weight balanced in the boat. It’s a miracle that we didn’t flip the boat as we struggled to get the sides into place. About ten minutes after we finally got the sides down, it stopped raining and the sun returned. So then we had to roll the sides back up again without tipping the boat.

While on the river, I realized what a lifeline it is for many animals and people in the rain forest. There are people who make their livings either on the river or beside it. We saw gold miners who risk their lives to retrieve that precious mineral from the river’s bottom. We saw farms along the river’s edge, and numerous families who call the riverbank their homes. The quality of the river directly affects the quality of the people and animals who depend on it for their livelihood. This hadn’t occurred to me until I saw it in action. If the river suffers, the people and animals suffer. There is a symbiotic relationship there, one that I witnessed during the entire trip. The Amazon rain forest cannot exist without its rivers.

On the Road Again...In a Motortaxi

2011-03-07T22:46:00.000-05:00

My transportation adventures in Peru were unique. In the two weeks that I spent there, I experienced planes, trains, busses, automobiles, taxis, boats, my own two feet, and motortaxis. Yes, that last one was, “motortaxis.” Allow me to explain.

It is expensive to own and fuel a car in Peru. Since roughly 36% of the population lives in poverty, alternative modes of transportation are often seen. I didn’t notice this too much in Lima, the capital, but when I got to Puerto Maldonado, I saw it in full force.

I'm ready to ride in the motortaxi!

Puerto Maldonado is a growing city on the edge of the rain forest in southeastern Peru, and this was the meeting place for the teachers in my group. Motorcycles were the most popular mode of transportation there, and all the taxis in town were either motorcycles or motortaxis.

A motortaxi is like a motorcycle and a rickshaw combined. It seats two comfortably and three uncomfortably. When my group traveled by motortaxi, of course we always had three people wedged in the seat, which was the rickshaw part. Any luggage or other large bags were bungee-corded to the back, and the driver rode on the motorcycle part.

The native people of Peru are short, with the average height being about 5 feet, 1.5 inches. So, clearly, three Peruvian people in a motortaxi was quite different from three American people in a motortaxi. Riding three to a seat was survivable when the three people were all women or were the smaller people of the group. It got interesting when the bigger men were factored into the equation. All of the people in our group were physically fit, but we did have some men who were bigger…taller, huskier, and more muscular. I found myself in a motortaxi with those guys on a few occasions, and those close quarters made the entire motortaxi experience even more memorable.

Roads in Puerto Maldonado were paved in some areas, but a lot of them were just dirt roads. When we drove on the dirt roads, the dirt flew all over us and we choked on it. It was a 25-minute motortaxi ride to get from CECCOT, the place where we stayed, into Puerto Maldonado. The roads for that entire journey were dirt and gravel. So, by the time we got to town, we had been bumped around, hip to hip in the back of a motortaxi, for 25 minutes straight.

On our last day at CECCOT, we needed to leave there and travel by bus to get to the river dock. At that point we were going to board boats that would take us to Refugio Amazonas, our next stop on the trip. The road that ran by CECCOT was a basic road, so the bus could not come down to retrieve us. Motortaxis were organized to take us to a place where we could meet the bus.

I was in a motortaxi with another gal and one of the larger men from the group, Brian. Our luggage was strapped to the back, and we were headed on our way to the rendezvous point. All was well until we came to a hill. The motortaxi groaned and strained under the combined weight of us, our luggage, and the motortaxi driver. The driver urged the motortaxi on, but to no avail. So finally, Brian got out and started running alongside the motortaxi and pushing it to help it get up the hill. We girls stayed in the seat yelling encouragement to Brian, and trying not to laugh. Brian huffed and puffed as he ran alongside the motortaxi, which was still struggling to conquer the hill. When we finally got to the top of the hill, the motortaxi took off with a burst of speed and poor Brian got left in the dust. The driver stopped and waited while Brian jogged to catch up with us. Panting and out of breath, he was not as amused by the ordeal as we were. We packed him back into the seat with us, and we were off, making the rest of the trip without incident. The whole situation was strangely hilarious to me, and I couldn’t stop giggling to myself for the rest of the journey.

Other people in the group also had interesting moments in the motortaxis. One group’s motortaxi broke down. Another person got hit in the leg by a large piece of rock that flew up from the road. One group’s driver made a wrong turn, and they were lost for awhile. As a non-Spanish speaker, I’m glad I wasn’t in the motortaxi that got lost. All of these mishaps aside, it was a novel thing to ride around in a motortaxi, and I actually looked forward to it each time. Maybe this will be the next big motor trend for the United States. Motortaxis for everyone!

This is NOT the Discovery Channel!

2011-03-02T23:25:00.000-05:00

My group hiked extensively in the Peruvian rain forest. We observed plants and the structure of the forest, but we mainly searched for animals. One thing I learned is that although there are lots of animals in the rain forest, they don't come right out to say hello. They are hard to find. Before the trip, I expected something like I've seen on the Discovery Channel. On those shows, all the animals are right there in living color, up close and personal. In reality, they're well-hidden, and we had to be quiet and observant if we wanted to see anything.

Hiking through the rain forest was a unique experience. Our hiking apparel included long pants, knee-high rubber boots, long sleeved shirts, and hats. All of this was to keep insects off our skin and poisonous plants off our legs. We needed the boots because in some areas we trudged through mud. I always coated myself with bug spray, and I never went hiking without my hat because I didn’t want bugs falling into my hair. All of this gear was hot, even though I had the kind of clothing that was moisture-wicking. The humidity was so intense, the entire day was spent sweating, no matter what type of clothing was worn. Even with those challenges, I made myself ready to head out and find those animals.

We had guides who took us into the forest when we hiked, and we were not allowed to hike alone. These guides could identify lots of animals by sound, and they saw animals that were perfectly camouflaged. Sometimes we didn't see animals, but we saw the tracks, nests, or holes that they left behind. In the areas where we hiked, paths had been cut. This didn't mean that there weren't things to step over or around, it just meant that we had a clear trail to follow.

We mostly saw insects. The rain forest was literally crawling with them, and some of them sting and bite more painfully than any Ohio insect ever could. I always imagined that the big animals would be the most worrisome, but those animals never came out to reveal themselves. Bugs were everywhere, and if their territory was invaded, they would definitely fight back. Hiker, beware! The next most common animals we saw were birds. In fact, birds were one of our main studies of the entire trip, and we saw plenty. My favorites were the large macaws. I enjoyed watching these majestic birds soar across the sky in a flash of color. They were a sight to behold.

A squirrel monkey at the Tambopata Research Center

My most exciting animal moment was the first time I saw a monkey. Our group had stopped along the river at one of the few checkpoints. As we were waiting, we heard chattering in the trees nearby. I had my camera with me, so I started snapping pictures right away. They were little squirrel monkeys, and they were having a great time swinging through the trees. I was thrilled to see them! Now I felt that I was really in the rain forest. Later, when I scrolled back through my pictures, I had another reality check…photographing wildlife was as difficult as finding it. Those monkeys didn’t want to sit still and pose for pictures. I had a lot of pictures, but only a few that were quality. How do they get such great pictures of animals on the Discovery Channel?

My goal over the next few days was to take quality pictures of the animals I saw. Sometimes I was successful, but many times I was not. Those animals had no interest in participating in any human endeavors whatsoever. I was disappointed that we never saw any big animals, either, like jaguars or sloths. The guides told us that it’s rare to see a jaguar. Oh sure, they’re out there, but they have no interest in revealing themselves. I did see some animals that were new to me, like capybaras, which are the world’s biggest rodents. I also saw caimans along the river. They’re related to alligators. One day while several of us just happened to be standing outside the Tambopata Research Center, an agouti, relative of the guinea pig, decided to come strolling out of the forest. I started snapping pictures, and after awhile, it just turned and walked back into the forest like it didn’t have a care in the world.

These days, when I watch the Discovery Channel, I have great respect for the wildlife photographers who take those pictures. I understand how patient they have to be to get just the right shot because as soon as a human sets foot in the rain forest, every animal knows he or she is there. However, that doesn’t mean they have to come out and play, as I definitely learned the hard way.

This Clay Lick's for the Birds!

2011-02-15T23:10:00.000-05:00

Traveling to the Peruvian Amazon rain forest meant I saw many new things each and every day. One of those new things was a clay lick. Before this trip, I had no idea what a clay lick was or why birds would visit it. By the end of the trip, my knowledge of tropical birds had grown, and I was fortunate enough to make two trips to a clay lick. What I saw amazed me.

My group’s sojourn into the rain forest took us to the Tambopata Research Center (TRC). While providing tourists with ecological opportunities and adventures, it also functions as a working research facility where the main focus is macaws. TRC is located close to a sizeable clay lick. The most basic description of a clay lick is that it’s a cliff of clay where birds, such as macaws and parrots, come to eat. Researchers think the birds do this because the clay helps neutralize the toxins from other foods they eat, such as berries. However, the research on clay licks is still being conducted in the field.

Going to the clay lick involved an early wake-up call because we left TRC at 5:00 a.m. We needed to be in place at the clay lick observation area before the birds arrived. The clay lick was not accessible from TRC by foot, so we took boats to the viewing area. The boat ride was just a short ten minute jaunt down the river. Our journey to TRC had been a total of eight hours on the boats, so ten minutes seemed miniscule in comparison.

The first morning we went to the clay lick, it was still dark. The sun had just started to peek over the horizon, and the color of the sky against the outline of the forest was like a scene from a painting. We loaded into the boats and headed for the clay lick. I wore my knee-high rubber boots, but I took them off for the boat ride. The guides told us that if we happened to end up in the river, the boots would fill with water and drag us to the bottom. So, I always took them off when I was in the boat.

The river was shallow in places, and as we maneuvered to the clay lick, we hit a set of rapids. I thought for sure we were going to capsize as the boat rocked from one side to the other. I grabbed hold of the sides and held on for dear life. All I could think about was what I would do if I ended up in the water. I was glad I had taken off my boots! The boat driver and our guide in the front, whose job was to push us off protrusions in the river, handled the situation with ease, but I was glad when we reached shore. It was the only time in all of our boat rides that I felt afraid.

Once we were ashore, we had to walk for five minutes to get to the viewing area for the clay lick. We each had to carry a little aluminum folding chair as well as our own backpacks. The viewing area was across from the clay lick with an inlet from the river in between. We set up the chairs, and then we waited.

Mealy parrots and blue headed parrots at the clay lick

There wasn't anything to do at this point except wait for the birds to arrive. We could hear birds and monkeys in the forest, and occasionally we would see birds fly in the sky. At one point the howler monkeys started to make noise, and they sounded like a freight train. The other birds and monkeys joined in until they all made the most awful din. And then...it started to rain. I was shocked by this because it seemed as if the animals knew the rain was coming, and so they called out their warnings to the surrounding area. I don't know if the animals’ calls were a coincidence or not, but it was a surreal moment for all of us. The rain didn't last long, but it was heavy enough that I was glad to have my raincoat and umbrella with me.

Finally, the birds showed up at the clay lick, and they all came at the same time. They swooped in and out to eat the clay. We saw about five different types of parrots and three different types of macaws. The guides had brought along a telescope, and through it we could see the birds well. When they were done at the clay lick, some of them perched in nearby trees, so we studied them even more. After awhile, all the birds flew away, and we wondered what had triggered their departure. The entire spectacle left me with the impression that the birds were purposed and coordinated in their visit to the clay lick. We humans were the ones who wanted to try and understand the meaning behind it.

Bats....Why Did It Have to be Bats?

2011-02-08T21:39:00.000-05:00

Of all the things in this world that I am afraid of, bats are close to the top of my list. So, I should have known that I would have some bat encounters on my trip deep into the Peruvian Amazon rain forest. I didn’t want to have to face my fear, but once I got to the rain forest, I realized there would be no escape. There were bats, lots of them.

One of the many bats in the rain forest.

The first place our group stayed, CECCOT, was rustic. It didn’t have running water, electricity, or flushing toilets. The cabins were all open air. This would not have bothered me too much except for the bats. They roosted in every cabin, including mine. When I realized this, I knew that these three days were going to be long ones.

The first time I walked into the cabin and saw bats flying, I turned right around and ran out as fast as I could. It was daytime! Bats are nocturnal. I could not believe they were active during the day. I guess we must have disturbed the sleeping bats, and so they decided that flying around in the cabin would be a good thing. Thank goodness for my cabin-mates, Julie and Sue. I called them my "bat buddies." They helped shield me from bats as best they could. I don't think I would have survived without them.

The bats didn't just fly around at the ceiling. Oh, no. They liked to fly back and forth under our beds, too. I would often stand by my bed only to feel the wind on my legs that was created by their wings as they flew back and forth. That was nearly enough to send me into a panic attack. When we brushed our teeth each morning, we all stood by the side of the cabin wall, brushed, and then spit the toothpaste over the wall onto the ground. I got “buzzed” by a bat every time I brushed my teeth. By the second day, I learned to keep my eyes closed while brushing so I wouldn’t see the bats flying around my head.

If I had to go back to the cabin by myself, I felt some trepidation because of the bats. I would stand at the door and open it slowly to peek in and see if any bats were on the move. If they weren't flying, then I could enter the cabin with confidence. If they were flying, then I had to make a decision. How badly did I need to go into that cabin? Sometimes I ran in, grabbed my things, and scooted right back out the door. There were a few times that I didn't go in at all. I decided that whatever I needed wasn’t important. There was more than one occasion when I didn't think the bats were around, and I went into the cabin. They started to fly, and I ran right back out the door. I’m sure my jumping around and shouting outside the cabin was a funny sight to anyone who might have been watching.

The best time to be in the cabin was right after night had fallen because the bats weren't in the cabin at that time. We liked to say, "They were out for dinner." During that time, I would take a shower (in traditional camp shower-type fashion) or do anything that needed done in the cabin because I knew it was a "bat free" time. That's not to say I never ran into them after dark. I could hear them flying around during the night as they ate insects. I am thankful that we slept under mosquito nets. The safety of the net, plus the fact that I wore earplugs while I slept, helped me get a good night's sleep.

The last two places we stayed on this trip, Refugio Amazonas and the Tambopata Research Center, did not have as many bats. They had netting in the ceilings that kept the bats from roosting up there, so I only came in contact with bats when they flew around at night. After CECCOT, I felt that I could handle the nighttime flying and feeding. There was one night, however, that I woke up at 3:00 a.m. to loud screeching. It was the bats. I even heard them while wearing my earplugs. Talk about the stuff of nightmares (at least for me). I knew I couldn’t do anything about them, though, so I put the pillow over my head and went back to sleep. That's when I knew, that while I still wasn't fond of bats, I had come a long way in just a few short days. I was way out of my comfort zone, but I was surviving.

Rules of the Rainforest

2011-01-31T20:57:00.000-05:00

After I arrived in Puerto Maldonado, Peru, and met up with the rest of my group for our week-long sojourn into the Amazon rain forest, our leaders gave us a few rules to follow. These rules were imperative for keeping us safe, happy, and healthy while experiencing nature at its most volatile. The rules were:

#1: Always look before you put your hands on anything. This included rocks, trees, and vines out in the forest, as well as any piece of furniture or item in our cabins. Touching the wrong type of insect or plant could be very painful, and in a few cases, fatal. We were specifically warned to be on the lookout for bullet ants. The bullet ant’s sting is said to be as painful as being shot, and the intense throbbing and pain lasts for at least twenty-four hours. These words rang in my mind later that week when I had a bullet ant crawling up my arm. I didn’t hesitate to brush it to the ground and stomp on it.

#2: Before putting on your shoes, shake them out to make sure nothing has crawled inside. I definitely didn’t want to put my foot on something that would bite or sting. And, bigger animals than bugs can find their way inside a shoe. I made sure to shake my shoes out every single time, no exceptions.

#3: Always sleep under a mosquito net. This was one rule that was taken very seriously in the rain forest. The mosquitoes were most active at night and could carry a variety of diseases, so mosquito nets were essential. We were also told to check the nets every night to make sure they didn’t have any holes. When one of my nets did have a hole in it, it was replaced immediately. I also appreciated the mosquito nets because they kept away more than just mosquitoes. Bats, spiders, and all manner of critters moved around at night. I felt much safer inside the confines of my net.

#4: Don’t leave your toothbrush out or uncovered. At first I thought this was unusual, but then I learned why it was so important. Cockroaches love toothpaste. Leaving toothpaste and a toothbrush out in the open was a great way to attract them. Later in the trip when I had a two-inch cockroach on my shirt, I was really glad it wasn’t my toothbrush.

This is a large ficus tree. Yes, I did look before I touched it.

#5: Before you get out of bed in the morning, check the floor to make sure it’s safe to put your feet down. This rule is similar to rules one and two. Putting feet down on a creature that could bite, sting, or pinch would be an unfortunate and painful mistake. So, the floor had to be checked every morning. I expanded this rule into an entire morning routine. Before I got up, I would shine my flashlight all around inside my mosquito net. I always slept with my flashlight inside the net because it was my only light source at night since we didn’t have any electricity. Anyway, then I would sit up and shine the light all around on the floor. I had flip flops right next to my bed, so once I was sure the coast was clear, I would come out of my mosquito net and put on my flip flops. I never once walked barefoot during the trip. I always had shoes on.

#6: Keep luggage zipped and closed at all times. This rule was important unless you didn’t mind sharing suitcase space with a snake, spider, or bat. I have to admit, I struggled the most with this rule because living out of a suitcase was hard enough without having to keep it closed all the time. I guess I was lucky that a small creature didn’t find my luggage too attractive.

#7: Keep your field pack fully stocked for every hike. This meant that we had to carry drinking water, our rain gear, and our journals. I also included my camera equipment, granola bars, and bug spray. I faithfully carried my rain gear on every hike, but we only needed it two times. My journal was completely waterproof, and that included the paper, too. The whole thing could get wet over and over again without ruining the pages or the writing. It was an amazing little notebook, but unfortunately, I never got to put it to the test because we hardly had any rain.

When I look back on these rules now, they seem very obvious, and they make sense. At the time, however, they were just another part of my learning curve for surviving in the rain forest. At home I never had to worry about a cockroach on my toothbrush, but clearly, I wasn’t at home any longer.

Journey to the Amazon

2011-01-25T22:19:00.000-05:00

The Amazon rain forest. Those simple words conjure up a variety of pictures in the mind. When I hear those words, I envision tall trees, animals everywhere, lush green foliage and a world far away from the one I experience everyday in west central Ohio. I see a place that is still an unexplored frontier. It’s a place where humans can visit, but never truly own. With all of these visions in my mind, I did not hesitate to seize an opportunity to visit this vast wonderland. Going to the Amazon rain forest would be my chance to experience a corner of the world not often traveled by the masses. It is a place that most people only dream of visiting.

This Amazon opportunity presented itself in the form of a program called Earth Expeditions. Earth Expeditions is part of a larger program called Project Dragonfly, run by Miami University in conjunction with the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens. It offers educators the chance to travel to a natural habitat in remote corners of the world. Those locations include ones in Asia, Africa, Central and South America. Other aspects of the program include learning about conservation, community-based collaboration, and inquiry-based learning. More than just a trip, this program is an actual college course. There was work to be completed both before and after the trip. The final culminating project was an inquiry-based project that educators conducted in their own learning environments. The participants communicate with each other via a web-based learning community where all coursework is posted and discussed. While the group I was part of was comprised of Americans, the program is open to educators from around the world.

My departure for the Amazon was in June 2010. I flew into Lima, Peru, and from there I headed to the eastern side of the country. My group, 19 other educators with whom I’d interacted on-line but never met, congregated in a small town called Puerto Maldonado, on the edge of the rain forest. The participants in this Amazon group came from Ohio, New York, California, Washington, Hawaii, and Idaho. We spanned a variety of ages, the youngest being 26 and the oldest being 55. Some of us were classroom teachers, while others worked at the university level.

Before leaving, I have to admit that I was nervous. I was getting ready to head into the rain forest with 19 other people that I didn't know. Traveling across the globe to meet up with complete strangers and then trek into the wild is a situation that's fairly unusual. I certainly felt it would test my ability to adapt and make friends quickly. Would I have the mettle? Fortunately, as I realized later, most of the people in the group were in the same exact situation. We all needed to make friends quickly. We all had to adapt. We all had to step out of our comfort zones. It helped that we were all educators, so we had that in common. Once I got to know my group members, I realized that these fears were all baseless.

As my plane circled Puerto Maldonado, I looked out the window. All I could see was a blanket of green…the rain forest. It was stretching out beneath me like a green carpet, just waiting to be explored. The excitement on the plane from the foreigners was palpable. We couldn’t wait to get out there.

The airport in Puerto Maldonado on the edge of the rain forest.

My first new sensation when I stepped off the plane was the humidity. It was like a smack in the face with a wet blanket. I was instantly sweating. Right away I was glad that I’d made an effort to pack clothes that were moisture-wicking. I knew I was going to need them. And, even though I thought convertible pants with zip off legs looked ridiculous, I could see that they were going to be very practical on this trip.

I quickly found out that air conditioning in this part of the world was a rare and exceptional treat. The airport was not air conditioned. In fact, it was fairly open-air. Inside the airport we already saw a few tropical birds flying around. The airport offered few creature comforts, but there was a place to buy a cold drink. Coca-Cola was my choice since I knew it might awhile before I consumed anything cold and caffeinated.

My group members were starting to assemble in the airport, and while we were waiting for everyone to arrive, I had the realization that I was on the threshold of the most unusual and unique experience I was likely to ever have in my life. It would be a week of new encounters, high adventure, and a journey into a place that most people will never see. It's the Amazon rain forest, and this was surely going to be my most thrilling experience yet.

The Road to Machu Picchu is an Adventurous One, Part 1

2010-10-16T15:15:00.000-04:00

After about a week in the rain forest, the official class portion of the trip was over. However, I had decided a long time ago that I was going to stay and take an extra trip to Machu Picchu. Machu Picchu is the number one tourist destination in South America. I felt that it would be pointless to go all the way to Peru and not visit Machu Picchu. So, early on I had made the plans to travel to Cusco and then to Machu Picchu. Originally, I thought I was going to be doing this alone, but a few of the other gals from the group also decided to go to Machu Picchu, so I had some company. This was fine with me, and it definitely made my husband feel better since he knew I wouldn't be by myself.

The airport in Puerto Maldonado is pretty basic.
No Starbucks here!

Most travelers to Machu Picchu go to the city of Cusco first. From there, it is a train ride to the town of Aguas Calientes, which sits at the base of the mountain Machu Picchu. This trip seemed so easy and simple, but back in February 2010 there had been a landslide that took out part of the train tracks to Machu Picchu. Even though it was July, that landslide still affected our entire trip to Machu Picchu, and made it much more of an adventure than I originally thought it would be.

Getting to Cusco from Puerto Maldonado was no problem. It's a simple plane ride from one city to the next. Surprise! It was only 60 degrees in Cusco. What a shock to the system after spending a week in the humid rain forest. Thankfully, I had a sweatshirt with me. I wore it the entire time I was in Cusco and Machu Picchu. I also bought a hat and gloves made from Alpaca fur.

It was a welcome relief to get to the hotel in Cusco...Hotel Marqueses. I had a suitcase full of stinky rain forest clothes, and I felt grimy from a week of rain forest sweat. I definitely wanted some creature comforts. The hotel was able to wash my dirty clothes with just a few hours' turn around time, and the hot shower was a blessing. A nice meal with entertainment and a warm bed topped off that wonderful first day. Ah, it's the little things in life that make such a difference.

Waiting for the bus to take us to the train.

The next day we were off on the trek to Machu Picchu. We were booked on a tour of the Sacred Valley first (which I will describe in more detail on a future post). By mid-afternoon we were in the town of Ollantaytambo waiting to catch the train to Aguas Calientes. Because of the interruption in train service, we actually were waiting on a bus that took us to the train. We felt confused during this wait because we didn't speak Spanish, and we were at the mercy of anyone who could translate for us.

The bus ride to the train station was interesting. It was on a one-way road, and we spent part of the trip sitting in a traffic jam. Finally, we got moving, and then we were flying! It's a miracle that we weren't in a wreck. The river was on the left side of the road, and it was a pretty good drop-off from the road down to the river. One wrong move, and we would've been dead! This was not for the faint of heart, for sure.

Waiting for the train

When we finally got to the train station, there was more waiting. It was fun, but in an awkward kind of way. Again, we had the confusion of not knowing what was going on. The representatives from Peru Rail mostly seemed to be bilingual, and so we kept asking and asking where we were supposed to be and what was going on. A few times we just followed the crowd and hoped we were headed in the right direction. This was how we got down to the train platform. Then, we stood there and watched as they put the train together right there on the tracks at the station. Peruvian efficiency?

After all this waiting, we got on the train to Aguas Calientes. This was the "Backpacker Express" train, and it was the cheaper train. It was filled with young people and some families. We were seated across from a young man from Spain who was doing some traveling before heading to a new job in New York City, and an American missionary from Belize whose family was on a vacation to Machu Picchu. His wife and daughters were across the aisle. We chatted with them a little bit. This was a pretty slow moving train, so we had plenty of time to talk, sleep, read, and take in the general atmosphere. Unfortunately, it was dark outside, so we didn't get to see any scenery.

Finally! Here comes the train. Oh wait, they have to put it together.

When we arrived in Aguas Calientes, it was midnight. We hadn't had dinner, and we were starving! We were staying at a hostel, and they had food ready for us when we got there. It was delicious and exactly what we needed. The rooms at the hostel were basic, but clean. We hit the showers and then the beds to rest up for our exciting day at Machu Picchu. The wake up call was coming at 4:00 a.m. Ay, yi, yi!

The Great Kapok Tree

2010-09-19T23:44:00.000-04:00

Standing at the base of a Kapok tree

Just like in the famous children's book The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry, I was able to see an actual Kapok tree in the rain forest. It was huge! Here I am standing next to it. It reaches so high into the sky, the top of it can barely be seen from down on the ground. It was an amazing tree..

Not Just Animals in the Rain Forest

2010-09-15T22:41:00.000-04:00

The Amazon 2010 Group and friends at CECCOT

Before I left home for this rain forest adventure, I was a little nervous. I was getting ready to head into the jungle with 19 other people that I didn't know. Traveling across the globe to meet up with complete strangers and then trek into the wild is a situation that's fairly unusual. I certainly felt it would test my ability to adapt and make friends quickly. Would I have the mettle? Even as an adult, I always have the fear that no one will like me and no one will want to be my friend. It's amazing how some of those schoolyard insecurities hang around. Fortunately, on this trip, they were fears that were completely unfounded because most of the people in the group found ourselves in the same exact situation. We all needed to make friends quickly. We all had to adapt. We all had to step out of our comfort zones a little bit. It helped that we were all educators, so we at least had one thing in common. I think this was a good exercise for me. It stretched me, made me grow.

What's interesting about teachers is that we tend to be slightly obnoxious at times. Most teachers are take-charge kind of people. We're used to being in control and giving orders. We like to talk. It can be hard for a group of teachers to acquiesce to another authority. However, in this group, we did, and it worked amazingly well. We got along great, we got along well with our leaders, and everyone seemed focused on the common goals of learning and growing. As a group, we were a well-oiled machine, and that's saying something.

I am grateful to the people on this trip who spent time with me, got to know me, and even tolerated some of my quirks (like my fear of bats). I never would've survived without my "bat buddies" who shielded me from the winged beasties. I enjoyed the conversations we all had about school, life, and the awesomeness of the experience we were having. Traveling is great, seeing the world is awesome, but it's even better when surrounded by people who make it memorable. The people on this trip helped to make it memorable for me, and for that, I am truly thankful.

A Bird in the Hand is Worth Two in the Bush, or in This Case, a Mist Net

2010-07-26T23:28:00.000-04:00

One of the focuses of our work in the Amazon was birds. I will readily admit, I am not very knowledgeable about birds. I like to observe them, but not necessarily touch them. However, on this trip I had an open mind and was ready to learn. I learned a lot about birds in just a week...more than I ever thought I could.

We were fortunate to have Ursula as one of our professors, and I was amazed at the amount of knowledge she had about birds. With a PhD in Ornithology, she should know a lot, but I enjoyed how the information just seemed to roll right off of her. She was excited about birds and it genuinely showed. I don't think she succeed in turning me into a "bird nerd," but I did learn a lot from her.

One of the first things we did on this trip was to set up some mist nets. A mist net is a long net that is used to catch birds. The birds can't see the net, so they fly right into it and get caught. It doesn't hurt the bird, but the person removing the bird does have to be careful. Only Ursula, Jose (our other professor), and Raoul (one of the workers at CECCOT) removed the birds from the nets. The rest of us just watched.

We did get to help set up the nets, though, and then about every 45 minutes we went to check them. Amazingly, we did catch a few birds (and a bat...see my earlier post about bats). Once a bird was caught in the net, a knowledgeable person would remove it and place it in a special bag. Ursula assured us that the birds were fine in the bags and that being in the bags actually helped to calm the birds down. We then took the birds back up to the main lodge to be tagged.

The tagging process actually entailed several things. It was more than just tagging. The bird was weighed and measured. Measuring involved the length of the beak, the legs, and the wings. The colors and markings of the bird were also observed. The eventual goal was to be able to identify the type of bird. Ursula knew many of the birds, but the rest of us typically had to look them up in a book. The Birds of Peru was the book we used to try and identify the birds. Sometimes it was very difficult because many of the birds looked very similar with just slight differences in appearance. After all the observations were made and noted, tags were placed on the bird's legs. The tags were very tiny. They had to be because birds don't weigh very much. To place heavy tags on the birds would greatly interfere with their ability to do what they need to do in order to survive.

After the tags were on, the bird was ready to be released. The bird was held in such a way that it could simply fly away when it was ready. We were told not to give the bird a toss or a push because some of the birds who had been struggling during the tagging process might be weakened. If we tossed them, they could fall to the ground and be injured. Most of the birds we tagged were happy to get away from us. No injured birds during these tagging sessions!

Another thing we did was to listen to birds and try to identify them by their calls. I would like to say that I got really good at doing it, but that would be an exaggeration. By the end of the trip I could pick out about five birds every time by their calls. At the start of the trip, I couldn't do any, so I would consider this some success. Some of the birds I could identify by call at the end of the trip were the oropendola and the macaws. The oropendola also does a really cool "show." (Watch for a video that I will post later.) The macaws are very loud, and I thought their calls were quite easy to identify.

All in all, I do not think I will ever be a bird expert, or a "bird nerd," as Ursula liked to say. However, I feel pretty pleased with the amount of knowledge I now possess about the birds of Peru. Like a good student, I learned something! It's amazing how much there still is to know about this wonderful world.

Refugio Amazonas...A Little Slice of Paradise

2010-07-21T21:56:00.000-04:00

One of the places we stayed in the rainforest was Refugio Amazonas. I would best describe this as a "jungle lodge," and even though it was in the middle of the rainforest and there wasn't electricity for most of the day, it was a great place to stay. I think it probably felt especially nice because we had just come from three days of no running water, flushing toilets, or electricity of any kind.

We had to take boats to get to Refugio, and it was about a two hour boat ride. I loved the time we spent in the boat. The sun was shining and we were moving quickly enough that there was a great breeze which kept us all cool. It was very refreshing. When we got to Refugio, we had to walk the trail for about ten minutes to get to the lodge. Fortunately, we did not have to carry our own suitcases because the staff took them to the lodge for us. At first I thought they carried them by hand, but later I saw that they had carts and a pulley system. Very sneaky!

When we came out of the forest, there was the lodge rising up in front of us. It was two stories tall and it looked like a little slice of Heaven to me. As we came in the front, they handed us each a washcloth that was cool and wet because it had been kept in the refrigerator. I laid the whole thing across my face and just left it there for a few minutes. I'm not sure if I've ever felt anything so refreshing and wonderful in my whole life. It was almost as good as air conditioning. They also had juice for us to drink. Delightful!

Our rooms were big and beautiful. One whole wall was open to the forest, but it just seemed so peaceful and serene. I was happy to have some creature comforts...a bathroom with running water and a flushing toilet. An actual shower with nice big towels to go along with it. The water was cold, but after being so hot all the time, it felt really refreshing. The beds were comfortable and had the requisite mosquito netting. The staff came and set up the netting while we were at dinner. This was definitely my style of life.

One night we went out on a caiman search. This was fun. We got back into the boats and cruised up and down the shore looking for caiman. (I've included a picture of a caiman that I took during the day so that you can see what they look like. I couldn't really take good pictures like that at night.) The guides would shine lights along the riverbank trying to get reflections from their eyes. We really only saw one, but it was still fun to look.

When we got back to shore, some of us stayed on the beach for awhile. We just sat and listened to the sounds of the forest. I thought that this was one of the best moments of the trip. We could hear frogs and insects, and it was very peaceful . The moon was full, so even though the rest of the forest was very dark, we had a lot of light. The night sky looks different in the southern hemisphere than it does in the northern hemisphere. The view of the moon is not the same...there's no "man in the moon," and there are other constellations that what we're used to seeing in the north. After awhile, I laid back on the sand and just watched the moon and stars and listened to all the animals. The sounds of the forest were so soothing, I could have stayed there all night.

Several nights later I was walking back to my room. Most other people were already asleep, so it was very quiet. Again, the moon was bright, and it was a surreal moment to stand on the walkway in the moonlight with nothing else but the sounds of the forest. I felt very small in a big world

that night.

Bats...Why Did It Have to be Bats?

2010-07-17T23:37:00.000-04:00

Of all the things in this world that I am afraid of, bats are pretty close to the top of the list. So, I should have known that I would have some bat encounters on this trip. I think in the back of my mind, I knew that I would have to deal with this bat fear of mine. I guess I was hoping that wouldn't be the case. Wrong!

The first place we stayed, CECCOT, was fairly rustic. There was no running water, no electricity, no flushing toilets, and the cabins were all open air. This would not have bothered me too much except for the bats. There were bats roosting in just about every cabin. They were definitely roosting in mine, and when I realized this, I knew it was going to be a long three days.

When I first went into the cabin and saw bats flying around, I turned right around and ran back out. It was daytime! Why were there bats flying around during the day? Bats are nocturnal. I guess we must have disturbed these sleeping bats, and now they decided that flying around in the cabin would be a good thing. They seemed to really like hanging out in the bathroom part of the cabin, so I took the bed farthest from the bathroom. Thank goodness for my cabin-mates, Julie and Sue. I called them my "bat buddies." They helped shield me from bats as best they could. Bless them. I don't know if I would have survived without them.

So, anyway, I was particularly annoyed by these bats because they didn't just fly around at the ceiling. Oh, no. They liked to fly back and forth under our beds, too. There were several times that I was standing by my bed, and I could feel the wind on my legs that was created by their wings as they flew back and forth. That was nearly enough to send me into a panic attack. Wind on my legs from bat wings ...are you kidding me??

If I had to go back to the cabin by myself, I usually felt some trepidation about that because of the bats. So, I would stand at the door and slowly open it to peek in and see if any bats were on the move. If they weren't flying, then I felt okay to go in. If they were flying, then it was a toss up. Sometimes I just ran in, grabbed my things, and ran out. There were a few times that I just didn't go in at all. I decided that whatever it was that I needed, I wasn't that desperate for it after all. I will admit that there was more than one occasion when I didn't think the bats were around, I went into the cabin, they started to fly, and I went running right back out the door. I don't think anyone ever saw me do that, but if they had, I'm sure they would have gotten a pretty good laugh over it.

Speaking of laughing, I really didn't admit this fear to the entire group until the end of the trip. My bat buddies knew, of course, and there were several other people to whom I confessed my fear, but overall I tried not to broadcast it. I didn't want people to laugh at me or think I was a wimp. It's amazing how peer pressure works, even for adults. By the end of the trip, we had to share with the group what one of our challenges had been, and mine was the bats. I'm sure some of people thought it was ridiculous, but for me it was a big deal. It's still a big deal to me, but it was a fear I had to deal with. I couldn't ignore it on this trip.

The best time to be in the cabin was right after night had fallen because the bats weren't in the cabin at that time. We liked to say, "They were out for dinner." It was great, though. That was when I would take a shower or do anything I needed to do in the cabin because I knew it was a "bat free" time. That's not to say I never ran into them after dark. I could hear them flying around during the night as they were eating insects. I am very thankful that we slept under mosquito nets. The safety of the net, plus the fact that I slept with earplugs in, helped me get a good night's sleep. The earplugs served really two purposes: one, I couldn't hear the bats as well, and two, I couldn't hear other people who snored. Since every cabin was open-air, there was virtually no privacy in terms of sound. I could hear snoring from other cabins, so the earplugs were a lifesaver in more ways than one.

The last two places we stayed, Refugio Amazonas and the Tambopata Research Center, were not quite as bad in terms of bats. They had a type of netting in the ceilings that kept the bats from roosting up there, so the only time I came in contact with bats was if they were flying around at night. After CECCOT, I felt that I could handle the nighttime flying and feeding. There was one night, though, that I woke up at about 3:00 a.m. to loud screeching...it was the bats. I even heard them with my earplugs in. Talk about the stuff of nightmares (at least for me). What could I do, though? Nothing. I put the pillow over my head and went back to sleep. That's when I knew that, while I still wasn't fond of bats, I had come a long way in just a few short days. I was way out of my comfort zone, but I was surviving.

(Thanks to my friend Dave for sharing the picture of the bats roosting on the ceiling!)

Hanging Out at the Clay Lick...Again (Day #2)

2010-07-16T22:10:00.000-04:00

After the first great visit to the clay lick, we got set to do it all over again on the next day. This time, though, my group would get to stay longer and help the researchers count birds. I was all for this because it meant avoiding another long hike. By long hike I mean, four hours. This was how long we hiked after the first day at the clay luck, and frankly, it was a bit much for me. I started calling that experience the "Four Hour Death March." That's what it felt like after waking up at 4:00 a.m., watching birds at the clay lick, and then hiking for four hours in those rubber boots. I was spent!

Anyway, so I was looking forward to extra time at the clay lick since it meant that I wouldn't have to take another four hour hike. I was also laughing with some mean-spirited glee at my friends who missed the four hour hike on the previous day, but would probably have to take it today. I know, that wasn't nice, but sometimes misery loves company.

Since we were assisting the researchers, we got to go to a different viewing place than the rest of our colleagues. We also got "breakfast on the go," which basically consisted of scrambled eggs in a plastic container. That is exactly why I always travel with a stash of granola bars. They've saved the day more than once! We had our little aluminum folding chairs and we hunkered down again to wait for the birds.

The birds decided to go to a different part of the clay lick than where they had been on the previous day. This worked out really well for us because they were closer to where we were sitting. We got some pretty good views of them, and we could see them really well with the telescope. As they did on the previous day, it seemed like they all just left at once. Some were still perching in nearby trees, but they weren't at the clay lick anymore.

It was about that time that the researchers left and gave us the job of counting birds. Every five minutes we were supposed to write down how many birds were at the lick. It was our job to do this for about the next three hours. We also were to make some other observations of the birds that were perched in the trees and describe what exactly they were doing.

So, once we had the directions and the researchers were gone, we were ready to do our jobs. There was only one problem...there weren't any more birds at the clay lick. For three hours there weren't any more birds at the clay lick! Wow, talk about boring. If the birds would've been there, it would've been great. But it was like a graveyard. So, we sat. And we watched. And we waited. And that was about it.

To make matters worse, the bugs were trying to munch on us like crazy. We even resorted to wearing mosquito net hats for a little while. I don't think I have ever worn a more ridiculous outfit in my life: convertible pants, knee-high rubber boots, long sleeved shirt, and a mosquito net hat. I'm sure that my students would have rolled with laughter if they'd seen me. It doesn't get much funnier than that! Just look at the picture and you'll see what I mean.

While we were waiting for the birds and swatting away mosquitoes, I took the opportunity to get caught up on my journal. We did get to make some observations of the birds in the trees by using the telescope. For one minute we watched a bird and reported on its behavior. There was a checklist to mark with information about what the bird was doing. We took turns observing the birds this way, and it also helped to pass the time.

Finally, it was time to head back to TRC. We hiked back down to the river, but the boat wasn't there yet to pick us up. I suggested that we wade in the river for a few minutes to cool down. What a great idea this turned out to be! It felt so good to dunk my feet in the water. I could've stayed there all day. In fact, I was really sad when the boat came and we had to put our boots back on. I actually took off the lower parts of my convertible pants and wore the boots with them as shorts. It looked funny, but it felt much cooler.

I learned something very important during our extended time at the clay lick....being an animal researcher can be extremely boring at times. (Oh, and my friends didn't have to take a four hour hike, so I guess I shouldn't have been looking forward to their pain and agony. Serves me right.)

Hanging Out at the Clay Lick, Day #1

2010-07-15T22:33:00.000-04:00

While we stayed at the Tambopata Research Center (TRC), we got the visit a nearby clay lick. This is a cliff of clay where birds, such as macaws and parrots, come to eat the clay. Researchers think that they do this because the clay helps neutralize the toxins from other things they eat, such as berries.

Going to the clay lick involves an early wake-up call. And by early I mean around 4:15 a.m. Those of you who know me well are probably laughing because you know that I do not like to get up early. However, you would have been proud of me...I got up on time every morning that we had to do this. And, sometimes I even got up early! Anyway, we'd leave TRC at 5:00 a.m. so that we could be in place at the clay lick before the birds came. We took boats over to the clay lick, but that boat ride was only about ten minutes long.

The first morning we went to the clay lick, it was still pretty dark. The sun had just started to peek over the horizon. It was beautiful! We loaded into the boats and headed out. I was wearing my knee-high rubber boots, and I took them off for the boat ride. The guides told us that if we happened to end up in the river, the boots would fill with water and drag us to the bottom. So, I always took them off when I was in the boat.

The river was shallow in places, and as we were heading to the clay lick that morning, we hit a set of rapids. Now, I'm not usually afraid of boating or water, but I thought for sure we were going to capsize. We boat rocked from one side and then back to the other. I grabbed a hold of the sides and held on for dear life. It was the only time in all our of boat rides that I was afraid. The boat driver and our guide in the front (who's job was to push us off protrusions in the river) maneuvered the situation with ease, but I was really glad when we reached shore.

To get to the viewing area for the clay lick, we had to walk for about five minutes. We each had a little aluminum folding chair (and I use that word lightly) to carry as well as our own backpacks. The viewing area was across from the clay lick with an inlet from the river in between. We set up the chairs, and then we waited. There really wasn't anything to do at this point except wait for the birds to show up. We could hear birds and monkeys in the forest, and occasionally we would see birds fly in the sky. At one point the howler monkeys started to make noise. It sounded like a freight train! Then other birds and monkeys started in until it was the most awful din. And then...it started to rain. Amazing! It was like the animals knew the rain was coming and starting calling out a warning. I don't know if it was just a coincidence or not, but it was a surreal moment. The rain didn't last very long, but it was heavy enough that I was really glad to have my raincoat and umbrella with me.

Finally, the birds showed up at the clay lick, and it was an amazing sight. They would swoop in and out to eat the clay. We saw about five different types of parrots and three different types of macaws. When they were done at the clay lick, some of them would perch in nearby trees, so we were able to watch them. The guides had brought along a telescope, and through it we could see the birds really well. After awhile, all the birds left. Why did they all come when they did and then leave at the same time? Who can know, but it was a sight to behold.

Hiking the Trails in the Rainforest

2010-07-14T22:58:00.000-04:00

We did a lot of hiking in the rainforest. We were in search of animals. What I very quickly learned is that although there are lots of animals out in there in the rainforest, they don't just come right on out to say hello. For the most part, they are pretty hard to find. I think in my mind, I expected something like I've seen on TV. I've watched those shows on the Discovery Channel or on National Geographic, and all the animals are right there in living color, up close and personal. Well, in reality, they're pretty well hidden, and you've got to be quiet and observant if you want to see anything.

Thank goodness for the guides that we had during the trip from Rainforest Expeditions. Vico, Rodolfo, and Ruben were awesome. They found animals that I never would have seen on my own. They knew just where to look and what to listen for. They could identify lots of animals by sound, and they would also see animals that took me a few minutes to pick out even after the guides were pointing them right out to me.

As we walked through the forest, we had to keep our eyes open and our mouths closed. In all the areas where we were, paths had been cut. This didn't mean that there weren't things to step over or around, it just meant that we had a clear trail to follow. One of the things they taught us was to always look before we put our hands anywhere. When hiking, people tend to reach out with their hands and touch trees or rocks. Well, in the rainforest that could be a big mistake. There are lots of animals that bite and sting (like bullet ants), so we learned quickly to look before we touched.

We were always hiking with a guide. They really didn't want us to wander off alone. I was okay with that. Even with the trails, it would have been easy to get lost. As we walked, the guides would stop periodically to point out interesting plants and animals. Sometimes we didn't see the animals, but we would see tracks, nests, or holes that they had left behind. I used my little waterproof journal to make notes as we hiked.
When we were hiking in the rainforest, we all usually wore long pants. This was to keep off the bugs mostly. I didn't like plants brushing against my legs, so long pants were good for that, too. Most of us had those convertible pants that zipped off into shorts. I think they look ridiculous, but they were the best pants for this trip. Sometimes we wore knee-high rubber boots. I hated those things. They were not comfortable for long hikes, like the four hour hike we took one day, and they were really hot. I only wore them if I had to. I much preferred my hiking shoes, so if I thought I could get away with wearing just those, I did. On some hikes we really had to wear those rubber boots, though. They were good for walking through mud and tall grasses. For shirts, sometimes I wore a long-sleeved shirt and sometimes I just wore a regular t-shirt. Again, the long sleeves were hot, so during the day I tried to go with short sleeves. I had a few shirts where the sleeves rolled up, so those weren't too bad. I always had on bug spray, too. I usually wore my hat (unless I just got too hot). I felt braver with it on, and I didn't have to worry about bugs falling into my hair.

We hiked a lot on this trip, but I didn't mind it too much. It was the only way to experience the rainforest...we had to get out in it.

Sleeping in the Rainforest

2010-07-13T23:20:00.000-04:00

So, you may be asking yourself, "Where does one sleep when one goes to the rainforest?" Well, I'm sure the answer to that question can vary, but for me, the answer was, in a bed! For my trip, we stayed in either cabins or in tourist lodges. In all of these places, we had regular beds. However, these places were all open-air, which meant there were no screens on the windows. Bugs, bats, and critters could come in and out, and they often did. Because of that, we always had mosquito nets over our beds. I had never slept under a mosquito net until this trip.

Here's how a mosquito net works. The net itself it suspended from the ceiling. The ones I slept under all had a wooden frame at the top and the net was attached to the frame at the four corners. To use it, I simply let the net down from the frame to cover the bed. When I got into bed at night, I'd have the check inside the net to make sure there weren't any bugs or other creatures hanging out in there. If there were, I'd just shoo them out. Or, if there was a really big spider on the bed (like one person in the group had), I'd use something to scoop it up and toss it out. Once the net was bug free and I was inside, I'd tuck it under the edge of the mattress. This was not always as easy as it might seem, and I was more than a little paranoid at times thinking that I wouldn't get it tucked in very well, and I'd wake up with a big nasty insect on me. Thankfully, that never happened. Anyway, if the net did its job, then I wouldn't get eaten alive by mosquitoes as I slept. I also enjoyed an added benefit of the net...it kept the bats away from me. I will elaborate more on bats in a future post because I have a lot to say about them.

I always slept with my flashlight inside the net with me. This was really important because the places we stayed didn't have electricity in the rooms. If I wanted to see anything during the night, I had to have the flashlight. We had to get up many times before dawn to get ready for the day, so I also needed it in the mornings. When I woke up in the mornings, the first thing I always did was turn on my flashlight and shine it all around inside my net. Then, I would shine it outside the net onto the floor. This was vital. We were told on the first day to never step out of bed without checking the floor first. You never knew what was going to be down there waiting for you.

So, my nightly routine was to get ready for bed, check the mosquito net, and get into bed. Before I tucked in the net, I always put my flashlight and alarm clock in there with me right next to my pillow. After I was sure I had everything I needed, then I would tuck in the net. It was very hot, and the worst thing about the mosquito net was that it allowed very little air circulation. Not that any air was circualting anyway...we had no fans (no electricity), and there typically wasn't a breeze. So, I would just lie there and sweat away in my little safety mosquito net in the middle of the rainforest and try to sleep. Ah, the joys of high adventure in the Amazon rainforest! It was all part of the experience.

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles...and More!

2010-07-12T22:18:00.000-04:00

Transportation while in Peru was very interesting, for sure. My two weeks there included all these types of transportation: planes, trains, busses, automobiles, taxis, boats, my own two feet, and motortaxis. "What is a motortaxi?" you might be wondering. Allow me to elaborate!

Puerto Maldonado is a growing city on the edge of the rainforest in southeastern Peru. This was the place I had to fly into the meet the other people who were traveling in my group. Motorcycles are the most popular mode of transportation there. I saw families of four to five people all riding on one motorcycle: the dad driving, the mom sitting behind, one child in front of Dad, and the other child wedged in between the parents. Interestingly enough, the local law says that only the driver has to wear a helmet. So, the other three people on the bike (including children) were helmetless. And we worry about childseats...

Anyway, to get around town, you could catch a motortaxi. This is kind of like a motorcycle and a rickshaw combined. It seats two comfortably and three uncomfortably. So, guess how many of us were usually in a motortaxi? Yup, three. Nothing like experiencing the local culture firsthand, I always say. I didn't mind the motortaxis too much. The biggest downside (in my opinion, at least) was when we were on dirt roads. The dirt would fly up and we'd be choking it down. Many of the roads were dirt, so this was a pretty common experience for us. Otherwise, it was kind of fun to ride around in a motortaxi.

When we were ready to head deeper into the rainforest, we traveled on the river by boat. These boats were long and narrow. They were pretty low to the water, too. They were powered by a motor at the back, and the ride was actually pretty good. Because we were moving so fast, there was a great breeze, and this provided some needed relief from the heat and humidity. Our first ride was about 2.5 hours to Refugio Amazonas, one of the places we stayed. From there, the next ride was about 5 hours down to the Tambopata Research Center, our final destination. On that leg of the journey, one of the guides' job was to ride in the front of the boat and push us away from protrusions in the water with a big stick. We laughed and said that it would have been like the Jungle Cruise at Disney World except we didn't have a guide telling really bad jokes. I really liked all the boat rides. I thought they were relaxing and the scenery was great.

On the Machu Picchu part of my trip, I had some train travel. Travelers can't go all the way to Machu Picchu by train due to the landslide that happened back in February. Parts of the tracks are still not repaired. So, the train company, Peru Rail, sent us part of the way by train and part by bus. I took the VistaDome train, which had windows in the top. I was able to look out and see more of the Andes Mountains as the train traveled along. The views were spectacular! The train was as slow as molasses, but better for sightseeing, I guess. The bus ride back to Cusco was harrowing. Let's just say, driving in the USA is much more orderly than in Peru. I was grateful for my nerves of steel!!

Two links of Interest

2010-06-01T23:54:00.001-04:00

Here are links to some of the places I will be while in Peru:

The Center for Science Conservation and Education: http://www.ceccot.org/index.php

Refugio Amazonas and Tambopata Research Center (Rainforest Expeditions): http://www.perunature.com/

Rainforest Hat

2010-05-25T23:06:00.000-04:00

I purchased my hat for the Peru trip. I feel goofy when I wear it, but I know it's the kind of hat I need. It's got a wide brim which will keep the sun and the rain off my face. The brim will also be good for deflecting the insects that might fall out of the trees onto me. I don't quite want to think about that, but I'm sure it will happen.

I also got the rest of my vaccinations for the trip. One of them was for typhoid. I have to say, I never expected to get that vaccination during my lifetime. I feel better knowing that I've got one level of defense against some of the diseases I might encounter while I'm in Peru. Better safe than sorry, I always say.

Planning for Peru

2010-05-19T21:36:00.000-04:00

I'm spending a lot of time planning for my upcoming Peru trip. I've had to buy some new gear, like hiking shoes and a backpack for my day trips into the rainforest. I also had to buy waterproof notebooks. Last night I decided to test out the waterproofness (if that's a word) of this paper to see if it really would hold up. I held it under the faucet and totally soaked it. Guess what? It actually worked!! No tearing, smudging, ripping or anything. Amazing! Now I'd like to know exactly how this paper can be waterproof. Truly, it is a wonder of engineering.

Next week I have to get another round of immunizations. I got my Yellow Fever vaccine about a month ago, along with a few others. I think I have about four more to get. I also have a prescription for malaria medication which I will take while I'm on the trip. I do not want to get sick!