I´m not going to write a lot tonight. I returned a little awhile ago from Machu Picchu after ten hours of exploring the site and my legs are exhausted. I left about 6:30 in the morning and caught a bus up the mountain to the entrance. I heard some folks talk about climbing the moutain Wayna Picchu for the beautiful views high above MP. Like an idiot, I said, why not? I guess it is one of those things that you just can´t pass up if you have the opportunity, but it was incredibly difficult, thought the reward when reaching the [View Full Entry]

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It’s Tuesday night and I’m in Aguas Calientes, the tiny pueblo which serves as the base for Machu Picchu activities. Pretty much everything here revolves around the ruins. And it really is tiny. I’ve walked from one end to the other several times. Because Inti Raymi and tomorrow’s strike has pretty much isolated the village, it is very dead today. I think there are only a handful of tourists in this hostal, Hostal El Tumi (which isn’t very nice by the way). In fact, there are relatively few tourists here in Aguas Calientes at all. I found out that the strike [View Full Entry]

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The last couple of days have seen some interesting ups and downs which, I suppose will make the trip more interesting when I look back on my time in Cusco. Fortunately, my cold has just about subsided and the pain in my calf has also become bearable - something I’m a little surprised about considering how much walking I’ve done up and down Cusco’s really steep hills. I’ve dealt with over fears about strikes keeping me stuck in Cusco or Aguas Calientes past the time I need to return to Lima to catch my flight home. After watching the protests and [View Full Entry]

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This is going to be a short day time-wise. It’s 6:30 in the evening and I hope to be asleep within an hour. Unfortunately, this cold is really beating me down. The congestion really makes it hard to breathe when you’re at 11,000 ft! I didn’t get much sleep last night - that sure didn’t help my cold - because I left for the airport at about 3:15 in the morning. The flight was again without problems. It was about 2/3 full of Japanese tourists including the two ladies who sat next to me. They spoke a little English and were [View Full Entry]

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I'm back in the airport. It's 4:22 and I've been up for about two hours now. Needless to say I didn't get much sleep, but in about three hours I'll be in the Inca capital of Cusco. I have been extremely lazt the last couple of days and last night discovered why. I've come down with a pretty nasty little cold -- sore throat, congestion and some sneezy, and feeling really tired. I'm a little better after drinking some orange juice here in the airport Starbucks, but I need to sleep and get some rest to be ready for the next [View Full Entry]

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I’m back in Lima. Actually it’s Miraflores, an upscale suburb of Lima that is very popular with tourists, very safe, and is very much like any U.S. city. I got to the hotel about noon and immediately went to KFC for lunch. I know that’s sad, but I had to have some American food for a change. I'm pretty spoiled after having internet access last week. My hotel here (Hotel las Palmas) is comfortable and convenient, but it doesn't have wi-fi so I have to hike over to a nearby Starbucks to access the internet. The last couple of days haven’t [View Full Entry]

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Just have time for some quick notes about yesterday’s excursions. I had a great time visiting the local villages - especially Segundo’s home on the other side of the river. I felt like the Pied Pier of Hamlin. Once they got over their intial shyness, kids in both villages followed me around and had a great time seeing themselves on videotape. I spent several hours playing with them. Today we’ll visit a local school in the morning, return for lunch, then catch a boat back to Iquitos. Hopefully, I’ll be at the hotel by late afternoon and can get a nice, [View Full Entry]

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It’s early Sunday morning in the rainforest. It’s about 6:50 in the morning as I write and it looks like a beautiful day ahead. The last two have been pretty overcast and a little wet, but that has also kept us cloaked in unseasonably cool temperatures. Sleeping has been easy the last 2 nights. I’m curious to see what today will bring, though I can take a little discomfort for another day and a half. I’m awfully curious to see how the video will come out. It’s frustrating not to be able to do some editing or even look at it [View Full Entry]

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Day 2 in the jungle is coming to a close and I hope to write a little more than yesterday. After a great night’s sleep in unseasonably cool weather and a decent breakfast, I headed down river to do some piranha fishing off the Rio Napo. We found a quiet little spot in the middle of a grassy area growing to the side of the river. Fishing for piranha is pretty simple - put some cut meat on a hook then dangle it from a strong on a sturdy tree branch. When you feel a nubble, just yank and hope you [View Full Entry]

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Well, this rainforest adventure has begun and I’m making this latest report from 50 miles downriver from Iquitos about a mile back in the jungle from the Amazon River. I got up early after finally sleeping five hours following 43 hours without a wink of sleep. Explorama arrived about 15 minutes early - unheard of in Peru - and it turned out that my guide is Segundo, the same man that I was with four years ago. The trip down the Amazon was faster than I remembered which was good because I kept trying to nap all the way here. Did [View Full Entry]

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