by Christy
I'm glad we are back. Friends from work threw me a going away party, though I will only be working down the street. The food tasted so incredibly delicious. We have gone blueberry picking twice and out to eat at two of our favorite places. I worked in the yard. I keep getting tearful when people ask about the trip. I didn't reach my goal of speaking Spanish really well. I told Corvallis Clinic they can't write that I speak English and Spanish on my portfolio. Yet. I am going to keep working. I am reading Harry Potter in Spanish and am hoping to take a conversational Spanish class this fall. I will speak to my patients in Spanish, I just don't think I'm fluent enough to call it a second language. Not even close. And that frustrates me.
But the kids needed me while we were in Peru. They need me here too, but with all of the cultural differences and the lack of playgrounds where they could run off energy, they needed attention more than ever. And the cold was emotionally draining. So I am trying to let that go. Other goals were met. Both kids want to enroll in a bilingual school. We have put their names on the waiting list at Garfield and hope they can continue the work they started. That is such a big deal to me. Changing schools is a life alterning event that they WANT to do. This is because we opened doors for them. And that is really what I wanted- to show them that there is a really huge world out there. Language was the biggest barrier for them to enjoy it. They want to get rid of that barrier and I'm proud of them for it. I didn't have that goal until I went to medical school. And it is so much harder for me to learn.
Someday I would like to do another grand adventure like this one. But I think the next vacation might need to be something a bit more relaxing, a bit warmer, and for a bit shorter time. Until then, I start a new life challenge on the 18th when I switch jobs.
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
Tahuayo Lodge, Amazone Jungle
by Christy
We finished this trip in a pretty amazing way. We flew to Iquitos and then took a 3 hour boat ride up the Amazon River and then into one of the tributaries to the Amazon- the Tahuayo River. Here we stayed for 5 nights. We had electricity in our room- in the form of a single light in the bedroom and one in the bathroom. We could charge batteries during only 4 hours of the day. They said they had internet but it didn't work very well. The lodge was rustic. Very basic. But the service was incredible. Each family or group had their own personal guide, ours was Orlando. He grew up in the local village, a 5 minute boat ride away. He went to the Univeristy in Iquitos to study tourism 20 years ago. Now he speaks fluent English and knows the jungle better than most. We felt very lucky to have him.
Despite soaking our clothes in permethrin and using DEET spray very liberally, we were eaten alive by mosquitoes. We took malaria prophylaxis and had yellow fever vaccines but that doesn't help with the itching. The temperature was in the 80s each day, but with 85% humidity so we were always hot. We reminded ourselves of just how cold we were in Cusco and it made it seem not so bad at all. The evenings cooled off and we had a mosquito net around our beds, so we were comfortable while sleeping.
Each day we had 2 activities, essentially. Something in the morning, something in the afternoon, the option for a night hike or a boat ride with a larger group. Anna LOVED the night hikes, Cole loved early morning fishing. We all went fishing for piranha once. I caught a barracuda, Cole caught a few piranha and Anna caught a Paco, a commonly eaten fish there. The boys went fishing two other mornings. One of those mornings Anna and I went for a hike to look for monkeys, the other we slept in after a late night hike the evening before. During that hike, a snake fell out of a tree at her feet. The guide swept her up off the ground so fast, she didn't know what was happening. It turned out not to be poisonous but it made me jumpy none-the-less. We saw a pink river dolphin one afternoon. We went on a 2 hour hike to see poison dart frogs and to collect the pieces required to make a blow gun. On the way back we fed some semi-wild monkeys. They were rescued from the black market and trained how to live in the wild. So they are extremely friendly around humans but know how to hunt their own food. This was a highlight. We did the zipline- Anna went first every time, Cole says he will never do it again. On our last day, we went to the village where our guide was raised and played with the children. First we went down a precarious mud slide into the river. I prayed as I watched my children fly throught the air to land on and under other children in the water below. The laughter and the fact that this was an activity our guide did 30 years ago prevented me from stopping it. Our kids played soccer with the local kids and then swam in the river again to wash off all the mud they got from the soccer field. It was a great last day to a pretty good vacation.
We finished this trip in a pretty amazing way. We flew to Iquitos and then took a 3 hour boat ride up the Amazon River and then into one of the tributaries to the Amazon- the Tahuayo River. Here we stayed for 5 nights. We had electricity in our room- in the form of a single light in the bedroom and one in the bathroom. We could charge batteries during only 4 hours of the day. They said they had internet but it didn't work very well. The lodge was rustic. Very basic. But the service was incredible. Each family or group had their own personal guide, ours was Orlando. He grew up in the local village, a 5 minute boat ride away. He went to the Univeristy in Iquitos to study tourism 20 years ago. Now he speaks fluent English and knows the jungle better than most. We felt very lucky to have him.
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| Our family and Orlando. |
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| This was our room. Mesh at the top and around the sides. Not a lot of privacy and not very quiet. But we were happy, none-the-less. |
Despite soaking our clothes in permethrin and using DEET spray very liberally, we were eaten alive by mosquitoes. We took malaria prophylaxis and had yellow fever vaccines but that doesn't help with the itching. The temperature was in the 80s each day, but with 85% humidity so we were always hot. We reminded ourselves of just how cold we were in Cusco and it made it seem not so bad at all. The evenings cooled off and we had a mosquito net around our beds, so we were comfortable while sleeping.
Each day we had 2 activities, essentially. Something in the morning, something in the afternoon, the option for a night hike or a boat ride with a larger group. Anna LOVED the night hikes, Cole loved early morning fishing. We all went fishing for piranha once. I caught a barracuda, Cole caught a few piranha and Anna caught a Paco, a commonly eaten fish there. The boys went fishing two other mornings. One of those mornings Anna and I went for a hike to look for monkeys, the other we slept in after a late night hike the evening before. During that hike, a snake fell out of a tree at her feet. The guide swept her up off the ground so fast, she didn't know what was happening. It turned out not to be poisonous but it made me jumpy none-the-less. We saw a pink river dolphin one afternoon. We went on a 2 hour hike to see poison dart frogs and to collect the pieces required to make a blow gun. On the way back we fed some semi-wild monkeys. They were rescued from the black market and trained how to live in the wild. So they are extremely friendly around humans but know how to hunt their own food. This was a highlight. We did the zipline- Anna went first every time, Cole says he will never do it again. On our last day, we went to the village where our guide was raised and played with the children. First we went down a precarious mud slide into the river. I prayed as I watched my children fly throught the air to land on and under other children in the water below. The laughter and the fact that this was an activity our guide did 30 years ago prevented me from stopping it. Our kids played soccer with the local kids and then swam in the river again to wash off all the mud they got from the soccer field. It was a great last day to a pretty good vacation.
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| Early morning fishing trip on the last day in the jungle. They caught peacock bass. |
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| Collecting some rubber from the rubber tree. A rubber boom is what originally put Iquitos on the map. |
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| The Rivers Family plus our friend Chipa. |
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| Making the blow guns. First you collect all the pieces. Then you hollow out the middle and tie it back together to dry with the palm fibers from a special plant. Tar is applied and then ash rubbed into the tar so it isn't sticky. A "lucky bean" and a pirahna jaw are tied to the top. The bean is the sight and the jaw sharpens the darts. All in all, a pretty amazing souvenir. |
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| After the mud soccer. |
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| Anna loved to go for jungle walks. |
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| Night walk. Where you see tarantulas, snakes, and other creepy crawlies. |
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| View from the top of the zip line. |
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| Anna was always the first to go! |
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| Our haul after the first fishing expedition. |
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| My favorite is that Cole is holding hands with these boys and could speak a bit to them in Spanish. |
Sunday, July 27, 2014
Adventures in Colca Canyon
by Anna:
We went to Colca Canyon. It was a LOOONNGGG car ride from our hotel. There were condors and we had to hike to them so we weren't looking at the condors with all of the crowds of people. On the way to Colca Canyon we saw alpacas and vecuñas. We also went swimming in the hot springs. But it was a swimming pool with natural water coming in. Mom as disappointed because she wanted it like in the nature. I liked the swimming pool. It was really fun. It was really hard to get out because it was warmer in the pool than outside.
In Arequipa, we went to a convent. It is a place where nuns live. There are lots of old beds with candles near them (before people invented the lights and nun beds.) The way that nuns washed their clothes: they have a stream and you put a dam with your hand to make the water go into kind of like a beaver dam and then it falls into a half pot which you put your clothes in to wash them.
We also went to a swimming pool. I didn't stay in very long because the water was FREEZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The slides, most of them, didn't have any water trickling down so you needed to dump water onto them and go. But once you dumped water onto them, they were really fast! We had to buy a swim hat because that's the rule (and they are loco!). Dad looked super cute in his swim hat. Whenever dad and Cole went down the slide, when they went into the water, their heads went under the surface. It was like they were being dunked. After, my lips turned blue because I was so FREEZING!!!!!!!!!!
We went to Colca Canyon. It was a LOOONNGGG car ride from our hotel. There were condors and we had to hike to them so we weren't looking at the condors with all of the crowds of people. On the way to Colca Canyon we saw alpacas and vecuñas. We also went swimming in the hot springs. But it was a swimming pool with natural water coming in. Mom as disappointed because she wanted it like in the nature. I liked the swimming pool. It was really fun. It was really hard to get out because it was warmer in the pool than outside.
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| The black and white condors are adults. Their wing span is up to 3m wide. They live up to 50 years in the wild. |
In Arequipa, we went to a convent. It is a place where nuns live. There are lots of old beds with candles near them (before people invented the lights and nun beds.) The way that nuns washed their clothes: they have a stream and you put a dam with your hand to make the water go into kind of like a beaver dam and then it falls into a half pot which you put your clothes in to wash them.
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| This is one of the more wealthy nun's room. Anna chose it becuase there were curtains to surround the bed. |
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| This is Anna demonstrating how the nuns did their laundry. The kids played in the "laundry room" for quite awhile. |
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| The streets are named after streets in Spain because they reminded them of beautiful streets in Spain. |
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| There was an indoor bath where the nuns would get clean. Anna is demonstrating what she would do if there were water inside. |
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| In case you wondered: Anna is Jesus dying on the cross and Cole is somebody throwing stones... |
We also went to a swimming pool. I didn't stay in very long because the water was FREEZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The slides, most of them, didn't have any water trickling down so you needed to dump water onto them and go. But once you dumped water onto them, they were really fast! We had to buy a swim hat because that's the rule (and they are loco!). Dad looked super cute in his swim hat. Whenever dad and Cole went down the slide, when they went into the water, their heads went under the surface. It was like they were being dunked. After, my lips turned blue because I was so FREEZING!!!!!!!!!!
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
Our Big Lake Titicaca Adventure
Anna:
We went to the floating islands. They are made out of reeds and reed roots. Their taxis are boats. The children ride in them to their school. Their boats are also made out of reeds. The reeds are bouncy. On most of the islands, they have a big tower made out of reeds that you can stand on and look out over all the little islands. It's like a big city except with a lot of tiny islands. There are usually up to 5 families on each island and something around 20 people on each island. Each island has a president. Then we went to another island. This one wasn't made of reeds. We did a hike and it was a storm while we hiked. There was lightening but luckily no rain and no lightening hit anybody. We stayed with a family. They have soups for dinner and lunch. Then cooked dough with sugar on top for breakfast. The cooked dough with sugar is AWESOME!!! Then we went to another island and did another hike. We had lunch there. We went to a restaurant. I had trout with, it said a salad but it was really a tiny, tiny bit of vegetables. No lettuce. The trout was from the highest navigable lake in the world! Lake Titicaca! Then we went back to Puno.
There are 70 artificial floating islands in Lake Titicaca.
Cole tried the base of the reeds. It is very mild tasting and is known as the banana of the islands.
These boats are called the "Mercedes-Benz" of the islands.
Anna helped row the boat.
Anna hiked with some local girls on the island.
Our our way to the top of Papamancha.
Anna and Christy at the top of the island. We had to use headlamps on the way down due to the darkness.
Our boat for our tour of Lake Titicaca. It was a three hour ride from the nearest city (Puno) to the islands.
Anna and her trout.
We went to the floating islands. They are made out of reeds and reed roots. Their taxis are boats. The children ride in them to their school. Their boats are also made out of reeds. The reeds are bouncy. On most of the islands, they have a big tower made out of reeds that you can stand on and look out over all the little islands. It's like a big city except with a lot of tiny islands. There are usually up to 5 families on each island and something around 20 people on each island. Each island has a president. Then we went to another island. This one wasn't made of reeds. We did a hike and it was a storm while we hiked. There was lightening but luckily no rain and no lightening hit anybody. We stayed with a family. They have soups for dinner and lunch. Then cooked dough with sugar on top for breakfast. The cooked dough with sugar is AWESOME!!! Then we went to another island and did another hike. We had lunch there. We went to a restaurant. I had trout with, it said a salad but it was really a tiny, tiny bit of vegetables. No lettuce. The trout was from the highest navigable lake in the world! Lake Titicaca! Then we went back to Puno.
Our boat for our tour of Lake Titicaca. It was a three hour ride from the nearest city (Puno) to the islands.
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
Machu Picchu
Last weekend we went to Machu Picchu. We left school early and took a taxi to Ollantaytambo, where we caught the train to Aguas Calientas (the village at the base of Machu Picchu). The name of the village translates as "hot water." The fact that you need to name it after hot water raises expectations for the hotel. Perhaps there's a village in Peru named "Cars who stop for pedestrians."
Here is Christy and the kids before we boarded the train. It was an hour and a half train ride along a beautiful river.
We had a very fancy dinner in Aguas Calientas (barbecued alpaca chased with Pisco sours for me) and even had the long-awaited hot showers. We woke up at 5 in the morning to board the buses to get up Machu Picchu as early as possible. We were rewarded with a beautiful day:
We are trying to enjoy our last week in Cusco and visit all the sights. Cole started the week by taking a "field trip" to his Spanish teacher's house to play video games (in Spanish, of course).
By Christy:
Seeing Machu Picchu was a dream of mine. I always wanted to hike the Inca Trail but that part of the dream would have been a misery with two young children. Instead, we took the train. I've been in one similarly stunning train- from Oslo to Bergen, Norway. Otherwise, this ride was unparalleled for its beauty. The train had windows in the roof so we were enveloped by the Andes as we traveled along the rushing river. Amazing.
The only disappointment at Machu Picchu was that there wasn't any fog. I always imagined getting there before sunrise, which we did, and watching the fog lift. But with how cold we've been lately, this was probably God's gift to us. The weather was perfect so really there was nothing to complain about. We walked through the ruins with our guide then went on a separate hike to an ancient Inca bridge. The most incredible thing about this was that we were following a trail, arrived at the bridge, could see the bridge and a few meters of trail past the bridge, then the trail just gets swallowed by the jungle. It's interesting to think how many places still have ruins that are just completely covered by nature.
It was hard to leave. Despite being there for 6 hours, we didn't feel done. It isn't exactly the ruins themselves but the magestic setting. Towering mountains, some of them snow capped, surround the ruins. I think this is what makes it so special. The 3 things that made it easier to leave were #1 the increasing heat (but I wasn't complaining), #2 the masses of tourists that arrived while we were on our hike to the Inca bridge, #3 knowing we had the same amazing train ride back!
Cole ling in the King's bed.
The Inca Bridge. What you can't get from this picture is the sense of vertigo created by the long, sheer drop below. I don't understand why they left a bridge when they filled in all the other parts of the wall. We all wonder how many people died creating this, since they were likely standing on the steps you see in order to build the rest...
Friday, July 11, 2014
Stuffed Animal Universe/ The Amazing Church
by Cole:
We went to a stuffed animal universe (a museum). There were real dead animals that were stuffed. There were tiny tigers, big crocodiles, leopards, a lot of different kinds of birds, one guinea pig, a sheep, and a puma. There were two guinea pigs that shared one heart, an 8 legged sheep, a two headed deer, and a 5 legged pig. There were two bodies of a goat and one head. It was very amazing.
We went to a church that had 3 parts. Everything that looked like gold was a thin sheet of gold! There was one room of pure silver that was really cool. There were a lot of paintings. There was a painting of the last supper and they had cuy on the middle of the table!
We went to a stuffed animal universe (a museum). There were real dead animals that were stuffed. There were tiny tigers, big crocodiles, leopards, a lot of different kinds of birds, one guinea pig, a sheep, and a puma. There were two guinea pigs that shared one heart, an 8 legged sheep, a two headed deer, and a 5 legged pig. There were two bodies of a goat and one head. It was very amazing.
We went to a church that had 3 parts. Everything that looked like gold was a thin sheet of gold! There was one room of pure silver that was really cool. There were a lot of paintings. There was a painting of the last supper and they had cuy on the middle of the table!
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