Journey to the Peruvian Rainforest: Crossing the Andes to Manu

August 2011

Peru--the land of golden treasures, mighty kingdoms, tangled jungles, mystic mountains, floating islands, and unexplained lines in the desert.  This  mysterious land has always intrigued me, so after being inspired by a Peruvian friend and the reports of other friends who have traveled there, several of us decided we would make the journey this summer.   My friend, Teddie, worked with our Peruvian friend in the US (in English) who communicated with her patient travel agent in Peru (in Spanish) as we made numerous and complicated changes to an ever-expanding  itinerary, changing a 10 day journey into 3 weeks.

In the end, there were three of us for the entire journey, joined by a couple we knew for two of the weeks.  Fortunately, one of them spoke Spanish better than I did despite my tapes and mini-courses.
We traveled individually to Lima--meeting the first night at the Ramada Costa del Sol Hotel in Lima across the street from the Jorges Chavez Airport terminal.  As Lima is a sprawling city with terrible traffic, it was worth the added cost to stay by the airport because we had a flight the next morning to Cuzco, the ancient capital of the Incas.  We were early to the airport, but ended up with an extra hour delay.  However, we became quick friends with a Japanese family, using gestures and Japanese-Spanish and Spanish-English dictionaries.  One of them gave us each neck and back massages while the little girl made and shared origami birds.  We were almost sad when the plane arrived.  Imagine our surprise when we all ended up at the same out-of-the-way (but very good) restaurant later that afternoon in Cuzco.

We took time to adjust to the altitude by wandering around Cuzco that afternoon.  Cuzco is 10,800 ft or 3,300 m in altitude, and I live at sea level.   That raised the question --to medicate or not?  I had decided with my physician to bring Diamox (acetazolamide) to prevent altitude sickness (she had needed it on her trip to Peru).  Those in our group who regularly lived in the mountains were ok without it, but we all drank lots of water and the cocoa tea that was available at all the restaurants and hotels.  It is a weak non-narcotic drink made from the leaves of the cocoa plant (which is an ingredient in producing cocaine) to prevent altitude sickness.  It seemed to help, and we never had any "strange" effects.  However, you are warned not to try to take any of the leaves or products back to the US.  I was huffing and puffing when we later got to 13,000 ft., but was never sick from the altitude.

That evening we met with our guides from Manu Adventures and signed a release, not fully appreciating what lay before us.  Very early the next morning, their van pulled up and the three of us joined 6 other adventurous spirits headed to the rain forest.  As would be true for most of our journeys, our world-wide companions were young, vigorous, interesting, and kind.  Spending hours in the van going over bumpy and treacherous roads, we quickly bonded, and they were helpful and patient when some of us older folk needed a hand or extra time.

The Andes mountain range is the world's largest continental range, stretching 7,000 km (14,300 miles) from Venezuela to  Tierra del Fuego on the tip of South America.  It goes through 7 countries with an average height of 4,000 meters (13,000 feet).  It was (and is still being) formed by action on the Pacific Ring of Fire with the sliding continental plates causing volcanic eruptions and frequent earthquakes, especially in Peru and Chile.  We were fortunate not to have any while we were there, but  2 days after we returned home, there was a 7. 0 quake in northern Peru.   The highland Andes in Peru separate the large eastern rain forest basin from the arid coastal desert.  Our flight from Lima to Cuzco took us more than halfway across the Andes, but it was still a full day's journey to our camp.  With the planned stops and walks, it actually took us a day and a half to get there, but only one day to return.

Leaving Cuzco, we traveled on a well- paved and spacious highway past towns just starting to awake at the foot of forested and terraced mountains.  We stopped in the small town where some ate  breakfast.  Walking, bikes, and hand-pulled carts seemed their preferred in-town transportation.  The Incan origins and connections were strong, with ancient terraces on the hills and an Incan warrior watching over their river.

We then climbed through misty, foggy mountain peaks with rocky crags and little vegetation, looking for elusive chinchillas that sadly stayed hidden.  The paved road turned to dirt and gravel and narrowed as we found ourselves on twisting "roads" with no safety rails or  protective shoulders.  It was customary to honk as you rounded a blind corner, but there were numerous times when we would unexpectedly find ourselves confronting a pedestrian, a herd of sheep, a stray cow, or a speeding truck that had not bothered to honk back.  This was a concern, as the roads were barely wide enough for one vehicle, and the alternative was a long drop into a mountain ravine.  Teddie looked up the mortality rates for  accidents in Peru when we got home and was not surprised to find out that in 2009, there were over 3,500 deaths and 50,000 injuries, many of which happened on mountain roads.  Peru has the 3rd highest death rate for traffic accidents in the world, behind Venezuela (1st) and Mexico (2nd).  The History Channel is doing a tv series on the world's deadliest roads, and I understand driving in the Andes will be featured.  However, we did return unharmed with no accidents.

At the time, though, we were too busy enjoying the beautiful play of sunshine and clouds over mountains and trying to get photos of llama and sheep farms while bumping up and down to think much about our danger.   We did, however, stop for a wounded Andean snipe (bird) to allow it to walk safely to the shrubs.

After several hours, we arrived in the charming town of Paucartambo, nestled on the banks of a sparkling river.  It was a quiet town with a small street market and women visiting in their colorful skirts and bright wraps.  However, for three days in July (15-17), thousands come to watch and participate in the Festival of the Virgin of Carmen held in the town.  We were told the festival begins with the entrance of dance groups called comparsas, who are "magnificently masked and costumed."  After festivities,  the crowds climb the hills to Tres Cruces where they watch the sun rise on the distant, green Amazon rain forest.

 The next day, the statue of the Virgin is paraded through the town, after which there are  more festivities.  They say it is a mix of Christian and ancient Incan celebrations with the Virgin, triangulated ( an Incan symbol) by her veil, representing not only the Mother of Christ, but also the more ancient Pachamama or Mother Earth.  In the main town square, we saw bronze statues that are frozen in time in their dancing, and further on, we entered the quiet church to view their revered Virgin.

A little longer on the road and we reached the entrance to Manu National Park and began our descent through the Bosque Nublado  or Cloud Forest to the Amazon Basin.  But that will be the story of my next post with monkeys and eagles and cascading waterfalls.

Click below for slideshow:
Crossing the Andes

Music:  Inca Son, Mi Cambio, Peru: A Musical Journey
Additional Information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andes
http://archive.livinginperu.com/blogs/travel/283  (Paucartambo)