Manu Jungle Tour

I am heading into the Jungle tomorrow, April 11 (happy birthday, Dad!) – the Manu Reserved Zone - with Pantiacolla tours and am quite excited and nervous. The tour is 9 days and we will travel first by 4 wheel drive for 1 full day and a few hours the next and will then travel by boat on the Alto Madre de Dios River and the Manu River, overnighting in "lodges" – which seem to be pretty basic camps.
What and where is the Manu Reserved Zone?
From http://www.pantiacolla.com/:

About Manu, Amazon rainforest Peru ... a perspective

Manu National Park, in the Amazon rainforest of Peru, was established in 1977 and in recognition of its uniqueness it was included in UNESCO´s "World Heritage Site" list ten years later. Manu is internationally acclaimed as one of the most bio diverse areas on Earth. Access to Manu is by road or air from Cusco, Peru.

Approximately half the area of Switzerland, the Manu Biosphere is a complete ecosystem with protected watershed embracing Andean montane cloud forest, tropical lowland forest and the Alto Madre de Dios and Manu river drainage systems. The biosphere itself is subdivided into national park and two adjacent zones, one for tourism and the other for cultural subsistence. It is home to over 1000 species of birds, 15,000 species of plants, over 200 species of mammals, and untold numbers of insects, and within its heart remain yet uncontacted peoples.

Manu retains healthy populations of jaguar, tapir, anteater, black caiman, giant otter, and among the 13 species of monkey we find the unique pigmy marmoset, the smallest monkey in the world, and the nocturnal night monkey. Because of Manu's low human population and their continued use of traditional hunting techniques, the animals in the park show little fear of man and are more readily approachable than in many other rainforest locations. Manu, therefore, offers unparalleled animal watching opportunities.

Wildlife aside, however, the journey into the park itself is amazingly spectacular and not to be missed. Access to Manu is normally by road from Cusco, Peru. The two day trip from Cusco to the entrance of the Manu Reserved Zone carries you over the Peruvian Andes mountains to an elevation of 4000 m, past pre-inca ruins and down through the cloud forest on the eastern side of the Andes, and finally into lush, lowland rainforest. Roads remain largely unpaved and wind their way precariously past cascading waterfalls, deep gorges, and precipices. Manu is truly a complete experience.

Here is a good page to read about some of the animals I hope to see: http://www.pbs.org/edens/manu/mammals.htm
And the birds: http://www.pbs.org/edens/manu/birds.htm
And the reptiles: http://www.pbs.org/edens/manu/reptiles.htm
Whichever of these animals I see, I hope that I am close enough for pictures, and far enough away for safety!
There is a lot more information about the Manu area on line, including on wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man%C3%BA_National_Park
 and more is easily found with a Google search if you are interested.
Here is my itinerary:
DAY 1: Cusco-Cloud Forest
Leaving Cusco early in the morning, we begin an 8-hour journey over the Andes by bus, stopping for a coffee at the beautiful colonial village of Paucartambo. Continuing, we climb to the highpoint of the Manu Biosphere at about 3,530 m before descending to the cloud forest. In these mysterious surroundings we take a hike to the lek of the incredible cock-of-the-rock, to see the 'performance' of the males right under our eyes. We spend our first night in the rustic lodge Posada San Pedro (appr. 1,600 m).
DAY 2: Cloud Forest-Atalaya-Manu River
At daybreak we continue by bus to tropical lowland rainforest. Here at the small village Atalaya at 650 m, we change into a motorized canoe to navigate some 5 hours down the turbulent Alto Madre de Dios River to Boca Manu. As night falls we stay in a basic lodge, or camp next to that lodge, depending on availability.
DAY 3 & 4: Lake Salvador and Lake Otorongo
On the morning of the third day we turn up the Manu River for a 6 hour ride into the heart of Manu's Reserved Zone. From this vantage point we will have great views of riverside birds, sunbathing caiman, and the enormous aquatic guinea pig, the capybara. We reach our camping huts deep inside Manu in the afternoon. This will be our base for the next two days. During this time, we will hike through virgin forest and explore one of the most beautiful lakes of the Manu basin, Lake Salvador, by catamaran. There is a chance to see a huge variety of colourful birds, numerous species of monkey and with luck, a family of giant otters. There is another hike in this habitat-rich forest, that will end in Lake Otorongo and a 20 metre-high observation platform overlooking the lake. At night we can explore the forest by torchlight or go moonlight caiman-spotting on the lake.
DAY 5: Lake Salvador - Macaw Lick
After a final walk through the forest surrounding Lake Salvador (flight schedule of 5-day travelers permitting), we return back down the Manu River. Joining the Madre de Dios River we arrive at Blanquillo, near the claylick for macaws, where we spend the night in the jungle lodge Tambo Blanquillo.
DAY 6: Macaw Lick
At first light we head to the macaw lick to watch the dazzling spectacle of hundreds of parakeets, parrots and macaws eating clay. In the afternoon we visit another beautiful oxbow lake, Cocha Blanco. Going back up the river we stay in a basic lodge, or camp next to that basic lodge, depending on availability.
DAY 7: Boca Manu - Pantiacolla Lodge
We carry on up the Alto Madre de Dios River for about 5 hours. Here we get great views of the Andes. For the next two nights we stay at the Pantiacolla lodge, right at the foot of the Pantiacolla Mountains.
DAY 8: Pantiacolla Mountains
This day we hike through a very special rainforest: this is where the Andes and the lowland tropical rainforest meet, providing the visitor with a chance to see a good selection of birds, insects and flora from both zones as well as many endemics.
DAY 9: Atalaya-Cloud forest- Cusco
Back on the boat early in the morning, we head upstream to Atalaya where our bus is waiting to take us back over the Andes to Cusco.


And here are some questions I asked and the answers provided:

Is this the first trip of the year?
This isn´t the first trip of the year, but it is our first trip into the Reserved Zone this year. We offer tours from January till December. Our tours in the low season (Cultural Zone) are from January till the mid of April and our tours in the high season are from mid April till December (Cultural and Reserved Zone).

How has the wet season effected the locations we will visit, ie, will there be adjustments do to continued high water on the river, or flooded areas? Will we be the first group of the year at some of these lodges?
The wet season has effected a part of the Manu road, but this has been repaired last week. Our lodges are all undamaged. There has been and still is high water, however, not unusual for the time of the year. Some of our lodges have been in use during the rainy season as well, the others have been prepared for this first group into the Reserved Zone. So, overall, there is no need to make special changes or adjustments to our tours.

Who is the guide for this tour? And what is their experience with this tour --- have they lead this tour in the past?
The tour of April 11 will be guided by Darwin Moscoso, he is 43 years old. He himself was born in Manu, so he knows a lot about flora and fauna in Manu. He is the brother of the owner of Pantiacolla, one of 6 brothers all born in Manu, and the only one who has succeeded in learning good English, to pass the information to our visitors. He is also an expert in expeditions to find the last lost city of the Inkas, El Paititi. He has been leading this tour for the last 20 years.

How many persons are currently booked on the tour?
We currently have two inscriptions for this tour, a father and a daughter from Holland, respectively 53 and 22 years old.

What type of bus is used for the driving portions?
We own a 4-wheel drive mini van for a maximum of 4 passengers and a bus for a maximum of 18 passengers. Both vehicles have been adapted for the unpaved Manu road. For the April 11th departure we will be using the mini van, unless there will be more than 4 inscriptions.

At this time of year, have your tours had success in seeing other animals in addition to the birds?
Manu is an excellent place for monkey observations, at any time of the year. You will also see capybaras, caymans and turtles and other rarer animals, however it is hard to tell which ones. It´s also a very good time of the year to see jaguars. You never know what you will see!

 
So that's that.  All you wanted to know and more! I will be back in touch once I return to Arequipa around the 20th of April. 

Cusco to Ollantaytambo

Got a late start out of the hostal this morning, but it turned out fine as I took a mini-bus instead of a big bus to Ollantaytambo. I reconfirmed with the hostal the location of the bus terminal and the lady told me to go around the corner and there would be taxis that wait for 2-3 people and they split the cost -- and would still be cheap.  Well, as I walked down the street there was a mini-bus sitting there half full and they said the cost was 10 soles - about $3.50...more expensive than the bus, but faster and more comfortable.  It cracks me up here; the people on the mini-bus were getting impatient when there were just a few seats left, and they started yelling "vamos".  This happened on the bus to Puno a few weeks ago, too.  And then, on this bus, when the driver swerved, someone yelled, "loco" from the back!  He was driving pretty fast....

I got to Ollantaytambo a little after one and had a great afternoon exploring the ruins and taking pictures.  It's just so huge and amazing.  The same as Pisac: it's not just the ruins themselves, but where they are built and the views surrounding them. I stayed in a nice hostal, one of maybe two rooms occupied and had fantastic views out my two windows:

The first picture is of the terraces and are the primary ruins, and the second picture is of a "colca" - a food storage building.  I didn't have time, (and my knees probably couldn't have taken it), to hike up to the colcas.

For dinner I headed to a recommended cafe, Heart's Cafe, from which the proceeds support a number of local social, charity efforts.  When I arrived, I was seated with two gals from France as there were no open tables.  They had been traveling for some time and were headed to Machu Picchu also, but not via train, rather a bus and a 5 hour hike.  When they left, another 4 gals came in and were seated with me.  One of them had come to SA on some kind of a project she was doing related to community work she was doing in Nepal, and has ended up here for 8 months. The other 3 gals were volunteering and helping her with her project.  Didn't really get the whole thing, but two of them had helped plant alfalfa that day and 2 of them had helped harvest corn.  My quick dinner and early to bed (to the sound of a creek right outside the window), turned into a two-plus hour meal and interesting conversation before a much later than planned bedtime!

Here's a link to my online album; unedited of course:  http://picasaweb.google.com/margie510/Ollantaytambo#

Tuesday in Cusco

I had a pretty laid-back day exploring Cusco yesterday.  I visited two art museums; the first didn't do anything for me, but the second was outstanding. It was the Museum of Popular Art and it had a wonderful collection of dioramas and figures made from various materials, including wood, plaster of paris, corn husks, old silver ware, pounded tin, terra cotta, ceramics, copper, bread dough and burlap. Unfortunately, no photos were allowed.  Apparently, there is an annual competition and many of the items displayed are the winners from these annual contests. The figures ranged in size from about an inch tall to over a foot tall and were of everything from religious scenes of the nativity, adorations, the last supper, etc., to local people and events including compositos (people from the countryside/mountains), workshops, musicians, vendors, etc.  One diorama was made froma  dresser drawer turned on it's end (the inside end), with a religious scene made out of plaster of paris in it.  The front of the drawer was only connected at the back, and was lifted upright, with a heaven scene painted and sculpted on the inside of it, above the rest of the drawer.  (Can you follow that?)  Anyway, obviously, I really enjoyed it.

Another museum I stopped at was the Inca museum in the old Admiral's Mansion.  I ended up  not going into the exhibits, as it was additional money beyond the expensive "all-in-one-card" that I bought, and I spoke to a woman who just came out who said it was ok, but not labeled very well, so a bit difficult to follow. But in the courtyard in the center were a number of women weaving and knitting with their handwork for sale. Expensive, but direct to them---but I decided to hold off -- I have bought so much lately.

I made arrangements for my trip back from Machu Picchu to Cusco and then had a fantastic salad at a place in the San Blas district.  (First veggies I've had insome time.) From there I headed up hill even higher to the plaza de San Blas and the church there.  I paid the extra to go into this church, as I had read about the alter and the pulpit.  The pulpit is an exquisitely carved work of art, beyond any of the balconies I have seen here, and the alter back piece is gold leaf from floor to ceiling - beautiful.  What was so different about this church is that it is a simple, small adobe sturcture, very unimposing from the outside.  Inside, besides these two well-known pieces, the other art was in poorer shape, but it gave the whole church a very welcoming, local feeling.  One of the crucifixes was an old piece of wood and had Jesus painted on it. One of the cross pieces of wood looked like it had broken off at some point and was reconnected, but it was on an angle.  There was another crucifix that was hung by a rope and pully system - probably to allow it to be taken down to be used for processions. 

I sat in the plaza for awhile, watching a man and a very young boy kicking around a soccer ball, and a girl with a dog (a Bodie kind) that would run and jump over a low fence. It was just a real peaceful part of town. Also in the plaza I found the workshop/museum of one of the artists who had a number of pieces of work displayed at the museum!  Cool place and I enjoyed walking through it.  Just found photos online of some of his work: http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&rlz=1T4ACAW_enUS340US340&resnum=0&q=hilario+mendivil&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=ZY28S6-IJYjy9QTNgeXsBw&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CBcQsAQwAA

That will give you an idea of all the works on display in the museum as well...

As I headed back downhill to the main plaza, walking through the alley with the famous 12-sided Inca stone used in the wall, I ran into two of the gals from GVI who are on their travel weeks between the Peru and Ecuador project.  I joined them while they had lunch and we compared our stories: they had just come back from Machu Picchu and a 4 day hike that included many obstacles, but not quite as dramatic as the other gals who tried to do it in two days.

We met up for dinner later at a cool restaurant just off the main square where I had Thai Chicken with noodles: oh, sooo good!  We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, talking about the projects and their anticipation of the Ecuador project. (Sure would like to see my kids there again!)

Easter Sunday - Sacred Valley

Started the day by running from one church to the other to catch the Easter Sunday mass.  Beautiful calla lilies in all the churches, one church had white cloth draped over the whole alter area, and the cathedral outdid all the others with fantastic organ music and a choir. When I left the cathedral, all the different branches of the military were parading around the plaza and hung the flags.  I ran back to the hostal to meet up with the others to go to the Sacred Valley.  As I entered the hostal, a couple was leaving, both dressed in white with flowers and native American type adornments...they were heading into the Sacred Valley to get married! 

Here is info on the Sacred Valley-including a map:  http://www.andeantravelweb.com/peru/destinations/cusco/sacredvalley.html

We left Cusco going to the east and stopped in Chinchero first for the market and the ruins.  I backed out on the ruins after enjoying a demonstration on the weaving, and ended up doing some shopping at the little market there.  Most of the market was produce for the locals, but around the outside there were a lot of crafts as well. 

From Chinchero we headed to Urabamba for lunch and then on to Pisac for the market and the ruins. I did a little shopping and then headed to the ruins with Janine and her Aunt Pat.  I was so totally blown-away by the beauty of the place.  So high up and dramatic peaks and valleys to look at.  We had the late afternoon sun and it was stunning - unfortuanately, the camera did not capture the colors. 

We had a crazy fast drive back in the dark on the busy winding roads so we could make it to the bus terminal in time for the evening bus back to Arequipa for some of the gals.  Kind of scary, but I also had some confidence in the driver: I was glad we were in a nice minivan and not on a public bus!

For more pics, here is my album: http://picasaweb.google.com/margie510/SacredValleyEaster#

Traveling alone

One of the things I like most about traveling alone is meeting new people.  Although I am not alone right now in Cusco, I did change hostals to the one next door to where everyone else is staying so I could have internet access.  This morning I sat at a large table by myself on the patio, and a Peruvian couple joined me.  We enjoyed each other's company  for about 15 minutes, with Ricardo and Flora speaking in broken English and me speaking in broken Spanish!  They wanted to make sure I was enjoying their country and would see many things. Flora was from Arequipa, but they now live in Lima.  They are on their way today to visit her dad in Ollyatatambo, one of the places I will be visiting today with my friends.  I would not have had this experience if I was sitting at the table with one or two other people I was traveling with.  Great way to start the day.