from MANU.....to...... PICCHU

YES...
the "mean Dutch"

were well worth their salt,
they came bearing gifts of wine...rum, cigarettes, music and most of all great
company....I soon forgot about moving to the lodge up the river,
I realized it's people that count and not creature comforts...apart from the ones I just mentioned!


Well AFTER 3 DAYS of cooking over a wood fire i could no longer stand the smell of me...it was

time for a wash

It felt so good wonder why I had held onto my dirt for so long......
That day was spent briefly at the top "camp site"...on the way there Oliver showed us evidence(paw prints and snake trails) of animals roaming close to our camp site... I guess they avoid humans for their own safety

later we were busy preparing dinner for a now larger group....

We enjoyed the evening...interspersed with some rain....and sipped wine then rum late into the night as we listened to Bob Marley tunes....

It was truly memorable...and then we all agreed that that we had enjoyed the experience...the Dutch were sad that we were leaving the following morning and panicked as to how they would cope...they thought we were just so organized....LOL...but we knew they would cope and have fun just as we had.....

The morning of our departure...we left early 6.00am

to watch some special event where certain birds come to particular part of the river bank to eat necessary minerals....

We got to the spot and found many other enthusiasts waiting patiently.... in silence and hope...

At first I wondered what we were actually doing..then I realized we were waiting for the mist to clear so we could see the birds....

The limit time to be at the spot is 7.15am....we waited in vain....but the early boat ride was lovely and well worth it.

Soon after we packed up and headed for Attalaya port, our first contact with "life as we know it"

You can guess what our first stop was.....no, not the bar...but the bathroom...this time we did not try to negotiate the extortionist price...

Next,we got to Pilcopata

a back of beyond town....

(it has internet and all comforts that non jungle people "need")

I wondered if I would ever return this far in the bowels of the Earth...and where the children stared called me "moreno"...colored one..but I really felt this was a once in a life time experience...glad and grateful that I was able to do it

We had to wait for 5 hours for our treacherous ride back at 5.30pm...this time in the dark....

I figured it was better to wait around for 5 hours than walk for 7....then I prayed for journey mercies...

God is great, we had survived the jungle...we got back to Cusco at 5.00am and 4 hours later from MANU Jungle we were off to the awesome Machu PICCHU