ecl@mtgzz.UUCP (e.c.leeper) (02/08/86)
Three Weeks in the Wilds of South America
A travelogue by Evelyn C. Leeper
Week 1 of 3: Incan Ruins
December 23, 1985: Well, it's taken me a while to get started but now
I'm sitting on the beach in Montego Bay, Jamaica. "Jamaica?" you say. "I
thought you were going to Peru!" You see, it's like this... Our 8AM
(Sunday) flight had already been delayed to 10:30AM by the time we got to
the airport (6AM). We boarded at 10:30, only to deplane, still at JFK, at
1:30PM, at which point they projected an 11PM departure! This wrecked havoc
with our 3:30PM Aero Peru connection, but there was nothing else to do but
wait. Air Jamaica put us in "day rooms" at a nearby hotel. We had dinner
at 6, and napped/watched TV until 11, when they called our room to tell us
the bus was there. When we got downstairs, it turned out to be a false
alarm. We slept until 1AM (Monday) when they finally *did* take us back to
the plane and we took off at 3:15AM! The 80 passengers whose cruise ship
sailed at 8PM weren't too happy--or mellow--but arrangements were made to
fly them to the ship's next port. It looks like we'll miss the half-day
tour of Lima, but should make our flight to Cuzco. (There are 14 of us
"Peruvians" on the plane; the rest were "cruisers" or "Jamaicans.") There
is a Japanese couple, Katsu and Kuniko, who are also taking the Peruvian
Explorer package, so we'll get to the hotel with them if we can't Telex
ahead for ground transportation. Ah, life's little adventures.
But the beach? Well, when we landed at 6:30AM (gorgeous sunrise, by
the way, from the plane), Air Jamaice had us taken to a beach hotel for
breakfast and a few hours rest on the beach. Too bad Aero Peru has our
suitcases. I can't wait to change clothes!
December 24, 1985: We took off from Montego Bay, but not without
problems. In spite of Air Jamaica telling us we had confirmed seats on the
flight, and in spite of the Kimuras' travel agent verifying this, we still
ended up on standby. I suspect we got the seats for Monday's Air Jamaica
transfers, because they were 4 hours late and missed the flight.
One problem with resorts, I realized in Montego Bay, is their sameness.
The hotel in Jamaica looked just like the hotel in Cozumel. There must be
some way to go for a relaxing vacation and still know where you are.
Immigration and Customs were much faster in Lima than in Jamaica, and
when we got through, we found the representative from the local tour company
(Receptour Peru) waiting for us. This was a surprise, since we hadn't been
able to Telex him our new flight information. Apparently he had met the
flight the night before and picked up people who were supposed to get in the
night before *that* and figured we would arrive a day late also. Jamaica was
nice, but don't fly Air Jamaica to get there.
Admittedly you don't see the best part of a city driving from the
airport to the downtown area. Still, I was less than impressed with Lima.
It looks old--not quaint old or historic old, but used old. There don't
seem to be many tall buildings (because of the danger of earthquakes) and
almost all of the buildings are old, with peeling paint, etc. The Hotel
Crillon is a fancy (older) hotel.
Oh, true to form, we did have one problem at the airport. Angelo (our
host) apologized for having to park the van outside the airport, but he said
a car had "exploded" at the other terminal and the road was blocked. I
don't know if he meant "caught fir" or "exploded." At any rate, he talked
to us on the way to the hotel and told a little about Lima and its problems.
One major problem is the influx of people from the countryside. Lima now
has seven million people, and while the government is trying to encourage
development elsewhere in the country, the city is already over-populated.
Mexico City also has this problem, as do many cities in undeveloped
countries. One book described it as "In the countryside, they can scratch
out a subsistence living. They come to the city for TV and end up with
nothing." THE EMERALD FOREST shows this also.
Angelo also talked a little about terrorism (mostly in the northern
part of the country, though there have been incidents of bombing of
electrical towers in the cities) and crime (not much violent crime because
of strict gun control, but a lot of theft).
In the hotel, we went over our itinerary. Without our even mentioning
it, Angelo said it would probably be possible to get our half-day city tour
of Lima at the end of the trip (it was supposed to be Monday, which we
passed on the beach). Our flight to Cuzco is at 6:30AM, so pickup was set
at 5AM. We didn't get much sleep, but at least we knew when we had to get
up.
We are now waiting to take off. It looks like the Kimuras are the only
other people who signed up for the package. I assume we'll combine with
other groups on some of the tours.
(I realize I haven't written much yet, but we haven't seen much yet.)
It's now 7:40AM. We should be arriving in Cuzco soon. We've seen some
mountains poking through the clouds, but now we're flying too high (we're
probably at 30,000+ feet; Cuzco is at 11,000 feet and it's high in the
mountains, though La Paz is higher).
9:15 and we are in the Hotel Libertador in Cuzco. The view when the
plane comes down through the clouds and you see the Andes for the first time
is magnificent! Snow-capped peaks in the distance, green ranges closer by,
with fantastic gorges and valleys. *This* is what we came to South America
for. The air did seem thinner, but they may be the power of suggestion.
Mark took out a bag of corn chips he got in New York and it was all puffed
out. We opened all our unsealed bottles and it was the same with each one.
(That, by the way, is why my purse smelled of vanilla for about three months
after our Mexico trip--the bottle of vanilla leaked in the lower cabin
pressure of the flight. Plastic bottles can puff out; glass leaks out the
lid.) We are not rushing out, because there is a two-hour rest period for
all incoming tourists to adjust to the altitude. Also a cup of coca tea
(mate)--not narcotic, mind you. We put some SPF8 on our faces just in case
the sun is strong. The temperature is about 10 degrees Celsius (48 degrees
Fahrenheit) so suntan lotion may seem silly, but there's a lot less
atmospheric sunscreen here. We are at 3400 meters (11,000'). I was
wondering what altitude most airlines pressurize their cabins to. My pulse
is about 90--I think it's usually about 75, but I'll check back in Lima.
I suspect the Kimuras may have some language difficulty, since they
don't appear to know Spanish. Most people we have dealt with speak some
English, but even a little Spanish is helpful. Of course, it's always the
important word that you don't know. At the hotel in Lima, there was some
confusion when they couldn't find the bill. I wanted to say that we had
paid yesterday by voucher, but my Spanish doesn't include "voucher."
Coffin, I know, is ataud, but voucher they never taught.
After our nap, we went to an alpaca factory. Factory is a word used
all over the world with different meanings everywhere. In the U.S., it
means a place of manufacture. In China, it's a place of manufacture with a
store for tourists attached. In Latin America, they eliminate the noise and
pollution of the manufacture and have only the store. And the store sells
everything, not just alpaca products. It's the equivalent of a Chinese
Friendship Store, but privately-owned, not governmental.
Unfortunately for the owner, we had all come to see Peru, not to buy
alpaca sweaters. Why is it that gringos are known as buyers everywhere?
And every guide book include copious shopping tips. I admit I enjoy buying
chatchkas--small knickknacks, a hat, a T-shirt (how American!). But I don't
travel to buy jade, or silk, or alpaca, or anything else. Why do I travel?
Good question, glad you asked. :-)
(By the way, :-) is a smiley-face and means that the statement
preceding it was tongue-in-cheek.)
I travel to learn. Reading about someplace or something, or even
seeing a film of it, isn't the same as being there. But I do that also
before a trip, so I guess I learn to travel too. Everywhere we've gone has
been different than what I expected, and in totally unpredictable ways. But
I can't explain how--it's more a feeling a place gives you.
One of the things I've learned from this trip (and the studying for it)
is that when the Spanish decided to loot South and Central America instead
of settle it, they impoverished first Latin America and then themselves.
Let's hope we've learned since then.
Well, enough philosophy--back to the travelogue. We returned to the
hotel from the "factory" via taxi. It took a long time for the shop owner
to flag one down and then he and the driver had a dispute over what the fare
should be (paid by the shop, I should add). I suspect the other taxis would
rather pick up rich tourists who don't know what the fare should be.
We then went to the bank to change money, but it was closed, whether
for lunch hour or Christmas Eve, we couldn't tell. Yes, it's Christmas Eve
and the plazas are packed. La Plaza de Armas has been closed to vehicles
and is apparently a street fair, but we're really not up for that. Anyway,
we ended up changing money at a money exchange. We got 16,800 soles to the
dollar. Since we change $100, we're millionaires!
We had a light lunch at the hotel. I had cream of asparagus soup,
flan, and mate. Mark had a cheese sandwich, flan, and a chocolate
milkshake.
Our afternoon tour of Cuzco--again, just the four of us--started with a
somewhat hair-raising drive to Saqsayhuaman. They don't believe in guard
rails for cliffs here. Saqsayhuaman (it means "grey hawk") was an Incan
fortress. We got to see the stonework up close. The stones are fitted
together without cement, and not just rectilinear lines either. This makes
the construction earthquake-proof because the walls can give rather than
break. Where some stones had been removed you could see that the inside
edges were not as precise. There were also women in traditional dress who
would pose for your pictures (for a fee, of course). And lots of people
selling souvenirs.
Then we drove even higher, to Tambomachay, where there is a mountain
spring that the Incans built a tambo (inn) around. There was also a temple
of part of the inn.
More exciting roads and more ruins, but just seen from the road. From
that height you also get a magnificent view of all of Cuzco with its red
tile roofs (required by law).
A couple of side topics now--those who don't want to wait to hear what
we did next can skip this and the next paragraph. Soroche is the Qechua
word for altitude sickness. (Qechua is the primary Indian language of Peru,
and as common here as Spanish is in New York.) Most people get the
shortness of breath that comes with the altitude. Some get headaches (lower
pressure on the head), dryness of the throat, etc. So far we've been lucky,
with shortness of breath only when climbing stairs or hills. A short sit-
down and you're fine again. We'll see what happens tomorrow.
Other topic--research. My research for this trip included Prescott's
THE CONQUEST OF PERU, Darwin's THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE (excerpts on Peru
and Ecuador), Melville's "Las Encantadas," and the films THE EMERALD FOREST,
ROYAL HUNT OF THE SUN, and SECRET OF THE INCAS. (Also several guidebooks
and newspaper clippings.)
Back to the plot--we then returned to Cuzco where we saw the Monastery
of Santo Domingo, which used to be the Temple of the Sun. One thing about
the Incan ruins we've seen so far--there are no decorations or statuary.
Aztec, Toltec, Mayan ruins all have elaborate decorative motifs, but the
Incans seem to have concentrated on just making a very well-constructed
building.
We got done a little early because a couple of churches we would have
visited were closed because of Christmas Eve. We may get to them on Friday
(our day at leisure in Cuzco).
At 6:30 we went to a folk dance show, which lasted about 90 minutes.
There were about seven or eight dances, some simple, some complex. In
between (during costume changes) the band played folk songs and at the end
they played some traditional songs on traditional instruments. In spite of
the Christmas Eve traffic noises intruding, we enjoyed it a lot.
Afterwards we had dinner at the hotel with the Kimuras and a couple
from Denver that we met. The Denver couple was a lot of fun--he told us
about his 70-year-old aunt who smuggled 500 yarmulkes into the Soviet Union,
and all sorts of other stories. Service was very slow because the
restaurant was crowded. I had sea bass with hearts of palm au gratin.
December 25, 1985: Well, we thought we'd finally get a good night's
sleep because our bus wasn't until 9AM, but the hotel mistakenly called us
at 5:20 along with all the people who had a 7AM pick-up. I did get back to
sleep, but it wasn't the same.
Breakfast was buffet--I had fruit, a danish, and mate.
Oh, I forgot to mention all the noise from firecrackers and fireworks
for Christmas. This went on through most of the night.
We began with a ride past Pukapukara, near Tambomachay, and then over
the mountains into the Urubamba Valley. This is without a doubt the most
beautiful scenery I have ever seen. I can't even begin to describe the
mountains and valleys, the terraced slopes, the gorges...you have to see it
for yourself. We stopped to take pictures a couple of times and the quiet
was amazing. You could hear the river and the birds in the valley and
nothing else. In spite of the steepness of the slopes, many were farmed
using terraces, and many other had animals (cows, sheep, llamas, burros,
pigs, even horses) grazing on them. The people we see here in traditional
dress are *not* doing it for the tourists. We stopped in Pisaq and saw part
of what I believe is called the March of the Mayors. These are parades,
about 15 minutes apart, across the square (in Mexico it would be called a
zocalo, here it's a plaza) to the church. I can't tell if this is done
mostly for the tourists or not. The streets are very narrow (as they are in
most towns here) and have drainage channels down the center or sides. At
one point, the street was so narrow that the bus couldn't pass until the
store owner took down her sign! We see a lot of dogs here (unlike in
China), but they're all fairly mangy-looking.
We dropped off three women in one of the small towns we passed through
(apparently we were doubling as bus service because it was Christmas) and
proceeded to Ollantaytambo, one of the great Incan fortresses. Built to
cover the side of a mountain (well, a small mountain), it consists of dozens
of terraces leading up to barracks, work areas, temples, and other
buildings. When we first looked at it we all thought, "We're going to climb
*that*?" but it was easier than we thought, with several rest stops, of
course. Ollantaytambo is lower than Cuzco and it is easier to breathe.
(Also we're becoming acclimated.) From the top you can look across the
valley and see Incan ruins on the mountainside there. The top has a wall
consisting of six huge rocks, brought from the other side of the Urubamba
River, many miles away. Each weighs several tons. Although it was warm at
the base, it was windy and chilly at the top, making me wish I hadn't left
my sweater in the bus. And it also started to rain (just a light sprinkle,
though, and my hat was sufficient protection). I asked the guide about the
lack of decoration and was told that was traditional Incan design--very
somber and solid.
We then went to Yucay and our hotel for the night, the Alhambra. Lunch
was very strange. It started with an appetizer of two small pieces of pork
(very tough), a small fried potato (some variety that tasted like it already
had the butter in it), and a marinated onion slice and mint leaf salad.
Then came soup (cabbage, we think) and the main course, which could best be
described as a chicken fruit cake. It was a cold chicken loaf with bits of
fruit in it; along with it were whipped potatoes (sweet tasting) and some
fruit. For dessert, there was a cake with an orange gel filling with a
layer of chocolate pudding. All in all, a strange meal. We were finished
by 2PM, but had nothing scheduled until the next day. Yucay not being one
of your major metropolises, we weren't sure how to spend the afternoon. We
rested a while to let our lunch settle, then went out walking with the
Kimuras. When we got to the main road, we found ourselves following a
Procession of the Virgin (I think). We followed that for a while, then came
back to a park where families were all picnicking and enjoying the holiday.
We went back to the hotel (the Kimuras walked on). As we were writing
our logs a herd of bulls wandered by our window. Gradually people started
picnicking on the lawn and other animals wandered by too. This is
definitely rural!
Dinner (at 7:30) was much better than lunch (yes, I admit I wasn't fond
of the lunch). There was cream of asparagus soup, followed by broiled fish
in a mustard sauce with capers, beets, and potato. Dessert was a crepe.
Even if you ask for tea at the beginning of the meal, it doesn't arrive
until the end.
After dinner we went walking with some other Americans (one was even
from East Brunswick!). They had seen Machu Picchu and were going river
rafting next. Walking down the street we got pulled into a Peruvian hora.
Even though we couldn't communicate very well, we had a good time.
December 26, 1985: We woke up to donkeys braying right outside our
window. Breakfast was two pieces of monk's bread, orange juice, and tea
(Mark had coffee). We then went to the Ollanta train station--about a 40-
minute ride from Yucay--to catch the train to Machu Picchu. The train
station was full of people selling things, from ears of corn with kernels
the size of marbles to wall hangings. A lot of the vendors are children,
making us wonder what provisions, if any, have been made for their
education. Luckily, we found our guide on the train--or rather, he found
us, "the four Japanese" as he called us. The train ride was magnificent,
just like the drive the day before. We saw some distant snow-covered
mountains, but as we descended the climate became tropical. The Urubamba
River, which we followed, is the color of chocolate soda, probably from
stirring up the riverbed with its force. We got to the Machu Picchu train
station about 10AM and boarded the mini-bus for the 20-minute ride to the
top. This ride is definitely not for the faint of heart, since it is
nothing but hairpin turns and sheer drops on one side of the road.
What can one say about Machu Picchu? Even on a flat plain it would be
impressive, but perched up on top of an enormous, almost impossible to climb
mountain, it staggers the imagination. We spent three hours walking through
it and merely scratched the surface of what there was to see. Now that they
have the hotel there (not in the ruins, but just below them), one really
should stay the night to have time to really see it (the train for Cuzco
leaves at 3PM, meaning you have to take a bus down by 2:30PM). We both got
slight sunburns, even wearing hats and long sleeves (I think Mark rolled up
his sleeves, but I got burned on the backs of my hands). Our guide, Oscar,
knew Hiram Bingham, the "discoverer" of Machu Picchu, and had worked on
several movies filmed there.
After three hours, we were quite tired out, and willing to go back to
the Machu PIcchu hotel for lunch--vegetable soup, fish or beef with rice,
and a fruit cup. And sodas--three hours of walking had left us very
thirsty.
(Since entire books have been written about Machu Picchu, I will not
attempt to describe it in detail--you can look at our pictures, or better
yet, go yourself.)
By the time we took the mini-bus back down to the train station, it
(the station) had become a marketplace with vendors selling books,
postcards, T-shirts, jewelry, wall hangings, etc. We almost missed our
train because we were looking for the "b" train and it was hidden behind the
vendors. We did get ourselves loaded on, though, and had a three and a half
hour ride back. The first hour was scenery we had seen, then we passed
Ollanta (where a couple of girls in the station were playing jacks with
pebbles instead of jacks) and proceeded through new country (actually we had
driven through it the day before, but the train followed a slightly
different path). We climbed back from the 8000' of Machu Picchu to the
11000' of Cuzco (including a switch-back descent into Cuzco itself).
By the way, the festival on Christmas in Yucay has been written up in
tour books, so that could be why we stopped there. They should have told us
ahead of time, though.
Dinner at the hotel was less than thrilling. It took several requests
to get our sodas, and my aji de gallina consisted mostly of chicken scraps.
The causa limena wasn't bad, though--whipped yellow potato with meat,
shrimp, avocado, and spicy onion topping. Except for my error in eating
what I thought was a slice of green pepper; it wasn't. I quickly gulped
down a quarter of a tomato to quench the fire and everything was fine again.
December 27, 1985: We spent the morning seeing Cuzco with Kuniko
(Katsu wasn't feeling well). We walked to the Plaza de Armas to see the
Cathedral (which didn't open until 10AM) so we went to the Regional Museum
instead. This contained one small room of poorly displayed Incan objects
(which were mostly reproductions) and many rooms of art from the Colonial
period, interesting for its mixture of European (Christian) and Incan
symbols. Pictures of saints would often show Inca-style dress and snakes or
pumas. The Indian interpretation of the Trinity is also unusual--three
figures with the identical face. Often the Father is shown holding an orb,
the Son is shown with His wounds, and the Holy Ghost is shown appearing to
Mary. There was also a painting portraying Jews flogging Jesus. The guide
asked us if we knew the word "judios" and was somewhat embarrassed by the
painting when we said we were Jewish.
The Archaeology Museum was very similar to Egyptian museums, even down
to mummies, though Incan mummies are in a fetal position. It was a fair-
sized museum of Incan (and a few pre-Incan) artifacts.
We then went back to the Cathedral. It was very ornate and (one might
almost say) garish). We did get to see the painting of the Last Supper
showing the Apostles eating guinea pig (which was the meat for ceremonial
meals for the Incas). There was also a Crucifixion by Van Dyck and many
more paintings, too numerous to describe.
We had picked up a guide at the first museum and there was some
confusion/awkwardness when the time came to pay him because we (foolishly)
had not determined the rate beforehand. There appeared to be a fixed rate
of $2 per person per museum, which was more than we expected, though not
unreasonable by U.S. standards) and a bit unfair to Kuniko, who probably
didn't understand a lot of what was said. Oh, well, such is travel. We
bought some souvenirs from the vendors outside the Cathedral, including a
women belt from a woman who seemed ready to follow us back to our hotel to
make a sale. I gave her a ripped, stapled 10,000-sol note as part of the
payment, which she didn't want to take, but when we started to take the
money back and return the belt, she decided it was good enough.
For lunch I had Arroz a la Cubana--rice with two fried eggs on top, a
(thick) slice of bacon, a piece of ham and a fried banana. Also tea--it
takes a long time to get beverages here. The second time I asked, I got the
teabag, but it was another ten minutes before the hot water arrived.
After lunch Kuniko came out to say that she and Katsu weren't going to
Pikillacta. Our guide showed up late and could only speak a little English.
So off the three of us went, in a beat-up Datsun taxi with a broken
speedometer. We first saw Andahuaylillas, known for its church, wherein is
95% of the town's wealth. It was difficult to understand our guide and
often I think I got the gist of what he was saying, but couldn't translate.
Pikillacta is a pre-Incan ruin (c. 1100 AD) accessible only via a dirt
road which had turned to mud in several places because of the rain. The
ruins are quite extensive and worth the trip, showing a different type of
architecture, multi-storied, with mortar, and entrances on the second floor.
I think the guide could tell we were tired, because we started back rather
abruptly.
Have you ever spent a night in a Peruvian jail? Well, neither have we,
but it was close. We were stopped at a police checkpoint and our papers
were not, as they say, in order. In fact, they were in the safe deposit box
where the guide had said to put them. The driver's papers weren't in order
either, but he did have the necessary papers--two 10,000-sol notes.
By this point, Mark and I both decided that between my cold and the
overall strangeness of the afternoon, we were not up to going to a chicheria
for cuy (guinea pig) and chicha (corn beer). In fact, we skipped dinner
altogether.
(End of Week 1)
Evelyn C. Leeper
...ihnp4!mtgzz!ecl
(or ihnp4!mtgzy!ecl)ecl@mtgzz.UUCP (e.c.leeper) (02/08/86)
Three Weeks in the Wilds of South America
A travelogue by Evelyn C. Leeper
Week 2 of 3: The Amazon and Lima
December 28, 1985: Our flight from Cuzco to Lima left 3-1/2 hours late
(no surprise, right?). Luckily, we had a six-hour gap in Lima before the
flight to Iquitos. Mark bought a couple of table chatchkas at the airport
in Cuzco. I went to the bathroom at the Lima airport--toilet paper and
towels are not provided, but can be bought from the attendant for a tip.
Our flight for Iquitos actually left on time. And they say the age of
miracles is past! It was somewhat bumpy--any flight over the mountains
would be--and got in to Iquitos at 6:30PM. On the way we could see rivers
snaking through the jungle, but it was too dark by the time we landed to see
Iquitos.
Iquitos is hot. It looks like a Wild West town crossed with the Lower
East Side. The Turistas Iquitos may be the city's luxury hotel. In our
first room the toilet wouldn't work so we went to the desk to complain--in
Spanish, no one speaks English. They sent someone up to look at it and he
decided it was broken, so we changed rooms. He went into the (new) bathroom
to check the toilet. When he came out he said (in Spanish, of course),
"There was a cockroach in there, but I killed it." He went and got some
Black Flag and a dustpan and killed another one also (each about 2" long).
After he left, we saw a lizard run up the door. At least it eats some of
the bugs. The hotel room itself is on the level of a YWCA room.
(I forgot to mention earlier that I also read AMAZON by two men whose
names escape me, and will be reading THE LOST CITY OF THE INCAS by Hiram
Bingham which I bought, appropriately enough, at Machu Picchu.)
Mark had a large fish platter for dinner (~$1.30); I have asparagus and
his hearts of palm salad. Total (with beverage, tax, and tip) about $4.70.
December 29, 1985: We had a continental breakfast with papaya juice
(included in the $12/night room charge) and walked around a little, but
nothing was open. We saw a strange Nativity scene with Indians and jungle
animals in the manger and, of course, THE AMAZON! At about 9:30AM we
boarded our ship, the MARGARITA It's larger than THE AFRICAN QUEEN. Our
cabin is two bunk beds, about two feet of space next to them, a shelf, and a
chair. The toilets and showers are aft, two each. The sinks are just
outside the toilets with one faucet apiece. So far the boat doesn't seem to
rock much and the breeze makes it quite comfortable. (Is it a ship or a
boat? Who knows?)
We sailed (well, we don't have sails, but that's what it's called) at
10:30, right after the seaplane landed. (Lots of interesting goings-on
here.) At first we saw lots of houses, etc., along the river (the Nanay at
first, then the Amazon) but as we got further from Iquitos they thinned out
considerably. We did see a lot of smoke from "slash-and-burn" fires where
people are clearing the jungle. The Nanay is dark, and there is a distinct
line where it joins the Amazon, which is brown from all the sand churned up
by the current. With the boat moving, there's a nice breeze and it doesn't
feel like the 90 degrees that it is. You see lots of houseboats (thatched)
and shallow canoes.
Lunch was fish in a spicy sauce, rice, tomatoes, cucumbers, and
papaya--delicious! I pigged out and had three helpings.
The afternoon was pretty much the same as the morning. We passed the
YACU WAYO, a Peruvian ocean-going ship. I was able to identify it with my
small Zeiss 8x20's before the captain with his armored 7x51's. I love these
binoculars! Mark and I sat in the bow, while most of the other people (a
family of six and the Kimuras) relaxed astern. Along the Amazon, the jungle
doesn't look all that different from regular forest and the river is about a
half-mile wide. Even with binoculars we haven't seen any animal life
(except for a few birds) yet, but the captain says we will. About 5:30 we
turned up a tributary, the Apayacu, which we will be exploring. Sunset was
about 6:30 and it got very dark with no background lights. Even though the
sky was partially overcast, we could see many more stars than at home. (The
Southern Cross was too low behind the trees to see.) We anchored (tied up)
and had dinner in semi-darkness with only a couple of dim bulbs burning.
Dinner was a beef stew, rice, tamales, cold sliced beets, and a cabbage and
onion slaw. Children in shallow canoes gathered around the boat and the
captain gave them each candy. At one point one canoe swamped and all the
children quickly transferred to another, then swung the swamped one back and
forth (the long way) to clear it of enough water to use. They obviously
learn how to swim and canoe very early.
About 7:30 we all went to bed--not much else to do.
December 30, 1985: We woke at about 5:30AM to the sunrise and the
sounds of birds. In the Amazon, no one needs an alarm clock. Breakfast was
fried eggs (greasy), smoked meat (species indeterminate), a fried potato
(Peruvian hash browns), and tacona juice.
At 8 we left in motor boats (small outboard types) for our ride up the
Apayacu River. This looks more the way people picture the Amazon--about 60'
wide (sometimes narrower) with overhanging trees and vines. At last, we
began to see animal life--blue and green butterflies flitting across the
river, black and yellow orioles with their hanging nests, brightly colored
macaws, blue kingfishers with their long beaks, blue birds, white
birds,...even alligators. Gradually the reeds made the channel narrower
until one spot we actually had to get out and push. In between, the river
would widen into a small lake and we could pick up speed. The reeds gave
way to fallen trees and tree limbs. These were more of a problem than the
reeds and our progress was slowed by them. We finally arrived at the camp
about 11:30. Disembarking was quite an experience--if you couldn't balance
on the log, you got to slog through ankle-deep mud. Except for the part
with the oil slick from an earlier boat, and the fact that if you didn't
move fast you kept sinking, it wasn't much worse than a typical day at work.
We walked to the hut (actually a floor six feet off the ground and a
thatched roof above that--no walls), which took about 15 minutes. After a
rest, the guide asked us how long a jungle walk we wanted. The consensus
was one hour, which seemed short at the time. So off we went.
Walking through the jungle is hard work. You have to constantly watch
your step. The ground is often soggy and there are lots of mud flats and
streams to cross. (Since we were on a trail, logs had been placed across
them. Unless you have very good balance, a walking stick is pretty much a
necessity.) I reached out to grab hold of a tree to steady myself while
crossing one of these logs and found my hand covered with red ants--the kind
that bite! We also had them crawling up our legs if we stood still too long
in one spot. My socks weren't long enough to tuck my pant legs into, and
even Muskol didn't seem to deter them. Luckily, Mark and I did have our
mosquito net hats, so our faces weren't bothered. We saw no animals
(besides the red ants) though we did hear many birds, and we saw termite
nests, wasps' nests, and anthills (6" clay ones). We saw rubber trees,
"blood" trees (with red sap), banana trees (with green fruit), balsa trees,
etc. Halfway through the guide cut walking sticks for those who wanted them
and that helped a lot. After what seemed like hours, we finished our one-
hour jungle walk and returned to the hut, where we had lunch. It must have
been catered by Aero Peru--it was ham and cheese sandwiches. There was also
some salad and boiled eggs, and papaya for dessert.
We rested a while, enjoying the breeze, and started back about 2:30.
Getting back to the boats was easier with the walking stick, and the guides
were always there with a helping hand if you needed one. The boat ride back
was faster, since we were traveling downriver. We saw many more birds,
including an entire flock of "locredo" which flew across our path and more
alligators (or crocodiles, but they call them alligators). Most of the time
all we saw was the splash as the alligator hit the water upon hearing our
approach. And in an outboard, we were pretty loud. But I did spot a couple
in the waters hiding under some overhanging branches. And I saw a lizard
sunning itself on a patch of sand.
I just checked; here's the scoop on alligators and crocodiles. In the
Old World are crocodiles. In North Amercia are alligators and the American
crocodile, found from southern Florida to northern South America. There is
also the Orinoco crocodile, found only in the Orinoco river system. Most of
what we are seeing (maybe all) are caimans, of which there are seven
species; they are closer to alligators than to crocodiles.
We got back to the boat about 4:30 and hit the showers (one temperature
only--river temperature). When everyone was back, the captain made us pisco
sours (pisco and lime juice--he didn't have the bitters--and I think he put
an egg white in). Not bad. I had mine and Mark's; Mark had limeade from
the rest of the lime juice. Dinner was chicken in a spicy sauce, rice,
mashed potatoes, and a cauliflower dish seasoned with some orange herb that
most people didn't like. Dessert was a fruit cocktail of banana, pineapple,
and papaya (topped with rum if you wanted it). Then to bed about 7:30.
December 31, 1985: Up at 6. Breakfast was scrambled eggs, fried
potatoes, bacon, and juice made from the leftover fruit cocktail from last
night. At 8 we went out to pick up dinner--piranha. We went back upstream
for about an hour, then fished for an hour and a half using raw beef as
bait. The rods were branches with a length of fishing line attached. I
hooked a piranha fairly easily, but it got away, as did one later on.
That's okay, though, because I landed six piranha in the meantime, better
than any of the other tourists (I think some of the guides got more). Mark
got one piranha and one something else that he claims is much better than a
piranha, but I call a "wimpy-fish."
Eventually our bait ran out and we returned to the MARGARITA. Most of
the bait was nibbled off the hooks be piranha too smart to bite directly
onto the hook. We were the last ones back (at about 11AM). Lunch at noon
was a peppery steak, rice, avocado shell with a salad in it, and tomatoes.
It started to rain while we were eating, then stopped.
After lunch we hit a real squall. Most people went into their cabins,;
I stayed in the hammock astern. They put down tarpaulins on the sides of
the boat to keep the water from blowing in. There was thunder and lightning
and we could see a lot of flotsam (or is it jetsam?) floating in the water.
Then the storm passed, but it remained cloudy and cool (about 80 degrees
Fahrenheit with a brisk breeze).
We turned up the Ampiyacu River (I think) and docked at Pevas, the
provincial capital. We walked around a little, but there isn't much to see
in a jungle outpost besides pigs and chickens wandering the streets. It did
have street lights, surprisingly enough, and a well-built school. There
were some old political posters up of someone promising to "provide jobs and
lower the cost of living." Some things are the same everywhere. Then
further upriver to Pocaurquillo, an Indian village shared by the Bora
Indians and the Huitoto Indians. When we anchored, the children came
running down to the boat, and the captain threw them candy and cheap plastic
toys. Then we walked up to the village where the captain negotiated for
them to dance for us. We walked around for a while. Even though the two
tribes live in separate halves of the village, they go to the same school.
Soccer is very popular.
Dinner was fried fish (though not the fish we had caught earlier),
yucca, rice, and hearts of palm. Dessert was pineapple. We also had
Atacama red wine in honor of New Year's Eve. At 8PM we went back up to the
village (it's on a high embankment overlooking the river) and went to the
main meeting hut (maloka). This was about 50' on a side and had a roof that
sloped down almost to the ground. We went inside, along with most of the
village, and sat on split logs. The "natives" did about five dances, which
seemed very similar. For the last two they pulled in most of us gringos
also. This is more on the level of the folk dances in Cuzco than anything
else, but it was still a most unusual way to spend New Year's Eve.
Mark had quite a following of children who kept calling him "Marco" and
"Aldo"; I don't know where the latter came from.
We returned to the ship at 9 and somehow it didn't seem worth it to
stay up until midnight, so we didn't.
January 1, 1986: Happy New Year! To celebrate, the Indians started
dancing and singing about 5AM, so I got up then. Breakfast was at 7--fried
eggs, salt pork, fried potato, and orange juice. At eight some people from
the village came to sell some handicrafts. I got a couple of necklaces and
Mark got a designer rattle (with the maker's name on it). Total
expenditure--40,000 soles or about $2.50.
At 9 we left for another canoe ride. We stopped at a small village of
Ocaino Indians. The villages are in general cleaner than the towns like
Pevas. We then proceeded up the Ampiyacu for another 2 hours. The ride was
not as interesting as on the Apayacu River because there was less animal
life. The river sides were eroded (and you could see the boat's wake
eroding them even more), and you could see alternating layers of leaves and
dirt, dozens of them, like a piece of mica. After about an hour the river
started getting shallower and more obstructed by branches. Navigating
through all this slowed us down considerably. By the time we got to Villa
Nuevo we were all tired of sitting in the boat. Not to mention that the
river basically ended there--since the water was so low, there was a long
stretch of dry river bed with only a trickle about a foot wide through it.
We beached the canoes (intentionally this time) and disembarked.
As soon as we got to the maloka, I asked about the W.C. It turns out
that even though all the books say that "W.C." should be used instead of
"bano," people use "bano" anyway among themselves. In any case, it was a
small hut with half-height and logs over a pit. All things considered, I've
seen worse in campgrounds in the U.S.
Lunch was the Peruvian national dish, ham and cheese sandwiches. After
lunch we walked through the village (over some shaky bridges) to the
sawmill, a small gasoline engine and a blade. Forget the picturesque
waterwheel--this is the Amazon! We passed a house that was being built
(rather foolishly, I thought) with full wooden walls and windows instead of
open-air style.
We then had another jungle walk, this one 45 minutes through urma or
"cultivated" jungle instead of the virgin jungle of two days earlier. This
walk was on a well-used trail leading to some fields. (It must be used; I
saw scraps of paper with Spanish on them at a couple of points.) We saw
more plants--birds of paradise, pineapple, etc. We rested a bit after we
got back to the maloka and then loaded ourselves back into the boat for the
long ride back.
Now things get rather complicated. Boat A had John and Allison; boat B
had Don, Goody, and Eric; boat C has Lynn and us; boat D had the Kimuras.
We left in the order A, B, C, and D. By the time we had all cleared the
shallows, we started to hear strange noises from the motor, sort of like it
was running out of gas. We (C) caught up with B and flagged down D. Guess
what? We were all really low on gas except B. Since we (C) were the
lowest, B gave C some gasoline (in a picnic cooler!). Then we started up
again: B, C, D. A was still ahead somewhere. D pulled ahead of us but
basically stayed in sight. We (C) ran out of gas, so we paddled a bit, the
D towed us while the guide fiddled with the engine so it would take the
little we had left. When it finally caught we untied and D went on.
Meanwhile Mark, Lynn, and I were lying in the bottom of the boat to lower
our wind resistance. Also meanwhile, storm clouds were gathering. Mark put
it best: "It's times like this, when I'm stranded on the Ampiyacu River in
the middle of the Amazon jungle, with no gasoline, in the rain, that I ask
myself, 'How came I to be in this position?'" We (C) caught up with A
drifting and towed A until we ran out. Then we both paddled while we tried
to guess how far from the MARGARITA we were, if any of the boats had made it
back, and just what it would be like in a small canoe in a big storm. It
had, in fact, started to rain, but so far it was just a light sprinkle.
After being there about 10-15 minutes, we saw another canoe. Saved! It was
someone from the boat with more gasoline. When we got started, it was ten
minutes full speed to get back to the boat, so figure we were only three to
five miles upstream when we finally ran dry. What a way to start the new
year!
Dinner was beef stew, rice, chicken salad, and green beans. Dessert
was pineapple. After dinner a woman from the village came with purses to
sell. After she had sold her stock, she and the captain had a long
conversation, mostly consisting of her asking for things (more candy for the
children, tobacco, medicine) and the captain telling her how much he had
given already. He did give her some of what she asked for and promised to
have some antibiotics sent down from Pevas. To the villagers, he and all of
us must seem incredibly wealthy, and I suppose we are. But the solution
isn't just handing her tobacco and toys. I'm not sure what it is.
My mosquito bites were really getting to me, so I was up late enough to
hear the dolphins around the boat, though it was too dark to see them.
Fresh-water dolphins are apparently shyer than salt-water ones.
January 2, 1986: Around 4AM, a real storm hit us--pouring rain and
all. I got back to sleep a little but the rain made it difficult. I
finally got up about 6. The village was quieter this morning than the day
before.
Breakfast was scrambled eggs, etc. We were under way before we
finished, heading back down the Ampiyacu to rejoin the Amazon. We stopped
at Pevas to buy sugar and continued back upriver. We had one final jungle
walk, through a banana plantation and then through the sort of jungle people
picture when you say "jungle"--lots of rotting vegetation on the ground,
vines to trip over, someone in front hacking out a path with a machete. We
were going to see a lupula tree. It was about 70' tall and the base would
fill a good-sized living room. The wood is soft and is used for plywood.
The ants were less of a problem on this walk because I had my pant legs
tucked into my socks.
Lunch was pork lo mein (!), peppers stuffed with a meat salad, rice,
and cucumbers. The pork is all very salty--probably to preserve it.
Dessert was bananas.
The afternoon was uneventful, more chugging upriver until dark.
Nothing here seems to have changed in the last hundred, or even the last
thousand, years. Oh, the few people we see are wearing T-shirts and shorts,
but their canoes are still dugout canoes. All the things the Amazon has are
too scattered to make exploitation possible. We saw a rubber tree on one
walk, but only one. For all its lushness, the jungle can only provide
subsistence living for those in it. At some point pollution of the river
may become a problem, though at present there aren't enough people here to
make a dent. Whether man should exploit the Amazon or not is one of the
important questions in this area. Partly it's the question "Is man part of
nature?" If he is, then what he does is also "natural" and the ecologists'
protestations of man destroying nature are meaningless. Of course, man must
also accept the results of what he does. In either case, it is difficult to
accept all the restrictions that the rich countries suggest when you're a
poor country like Peru or Brazil and the Amazon is your major resource.
We tied up at sunset and had dinner--salted pork chops, beet salad, and
rice and beans (yum!). Dessert was a spice cake in honor of our last night
aboard. My mosquito bites had calmed down, but Mark picked up a lot, all
around his ankles. The cabin was a little cooler, but still had that sour
smell of wet clothes.
January 3, 1986: The crew started up early today; they want the
afternoon off in Iquitos. We had been under way for two hours by breakfast
at 7. We started seeing more and more people and villages as the morning
went on and sailed up the Nanay about 11:30. Our last lunch aboard was pork
with ginger, rice, potatoes in a yellow sauce, and cucumber salad. Dessert
was canned peaches, a real luxury item in Peru. We docked about 12:30, but
it took almost an hour for the captain to settle all the official paperwork
and get the bus to the dock to pick us up. Then back to the lovely Turistas
Iquitos Hotel. Everyone else went on to the airport for their flight to
Lima, but we did all exchange addresses so we may be in touch again.
(Actually, that last part turned out not to be true. After I wrote it,
we went down to the lobby of the hotel and found everyone sitting there.
They had convinced the driver or whomever to let them stay in the hotel
lobby instead of at the airport, since they had several hours.)
We walked around Iquitos for a while. It's sort of like a giant flea
market. We didn't find anything interesting (though we could have seen
RAMBO II for 36 cents) so we came back to the hotel. The Kimuras hadn't
left yet so we talked to them for a while and walked over to a couple of
souvenir stores. It was then that we noticed that the clock said 6 while
our watches said 5. Apparently they went to Daylight Savings Time or
something while we were on the Amazon. It's always nice to know these
things.
We had dinner at The Maloka, a restaurant across from the hotel and
overlooking the Amazon. It was there we finally saw some monkeys--they had
some tame ones running around the tables. At least I *think* they were tame.
I had ceviche and paiche with fried rice and fried bananas. We also had
"lemonade," actually limeade--they don't seem to have lemons as we know them
here.
January 4, 1986: Our 9AM flight left at 10--apparently Faucett is no
different than Aero Peru (except they serve luncheon meat instead of ham).
We arrived at 11:30, got our luggage (what chaos!), and proceeded to the
Hotel Crillon. Since our city tour (for which we had to pay another $10)
started at 2, we skipped lunch and showered (oh, it's wonderful to be clean
again!), washed out some clothes, and walked around for a while. There are
a lot of bookstores in Lima and each one has a large section of esoterica--
flying saucers, mysticism, etc. We've also seen romance novels, so it looks
like all the bad habits of the U.S. are here also.
Our city tour was complicated by the fact that the other four people
spoke Spanish, so our guide had to give descriptions in both languages (that
must be why the extra $10). First we rode through the old section of Lima,
where all the buildings are painted pink. It was once the fancy section,
but it's come down in the world. There are a lot of government buildings in
this section. Throughout Peru there is a strong governmental--or perhaps I
should say military--presence. Everywhere you see soldiers with machine
guns in about the same numbers we see police and security guards.
Our first stop was at the Cathedral (Lima has *many* churches, but this
is the main one on the Plaza de Armas). We spent about a half hour here,
seeing Pizarro's casket and a lot of religious art (why do so many Nativity
scenes have a cross in them?!). There are apparently three Peruvian saints;
Santa Rosa of Lima, San Martin (something), and someone else. Then we went
to Miraflores, the high-rent suburb. People were on the beaches, although
the weather seemed rather chilly. We saw "the famous street vendors of
Lima" (like "the famous street vendors of Chinatown") and "the famous flower
market of Lima" (do I detect a trend here?). We also saw the bull ring, the
stadium, and the race track (three different structures), all from the
outside.
Our final stop was the Gold Museum. This is a distance out of the city
and a whole day wouldn't be enough to see it all. The basement (really an
enormous vault) contains an unbelievable amount of Incan and pre-Incan work,
not only in gold, but in silver, stone, wood, feathers, pottery, bronze....
The quantity was overwhelming and it all belongs to one man (when he dies it
will be given to the country). The ground floor is an arms and armaments
collection, with case after case of guns, swords, daggers.... There were at
least a half-dozen suits of Japanese armor and another half-dozen of
Crusader armor (well, they couldn't very well be the same half-dozen, could
they?). Like I say, there was just too much. Part of the collection was
being packed to tour Mexico and the United States, so you all can see it
too.
We had dinner at a restaurant we picked at random--Las Papas Fritas. I
had avocado with shrimp salad and corvina (fish) in a tomato and onion sauce
(also a glass of the house wine, which tasted just slightly resinated).
(End of Week 2)
Evelyn C. Leeper
...ihnp4!mtgzz!ecl
(or ihnp4!mtgzy!ecl)ecl@mtgzz.UUCP (e.c.leeper) (02/08/86)
Three Weeks in the Wilds of South America
A travelogue by Evelyn C. Leeper
Week 3 of 3: Ecuador and The Galapagos
January 5, 1986: Up at 5AM for our 6:15 pickup. Our flight is at 8
instead of the originally scheduled 7--it probably has something to do with
the time change. Strangely enough, it left on time--but then, it's Air
Panama, not Aero Peru. Breakfast was very good, with more food than I could
eat. The view from the plane was of mountains coming through the clouds; I
imagine we'll see more like this on our way to Quito.
Guayaquil is a big city; it looks pretty much like any big city. The
Grand Hotel is much like a Hilton or a Sheraton--it even has a pool. Since
we arrived Sunday morning, everything was closed so we did the rest of our
laundry. At 11 we went out walking. Things seemed to be waking up; many
small shops and street vendors were open and we browsed through a few
bookstores as well as all the other stands. I got a T-shirt in a store not
unlike a Woolworth's called TIA, and Mark got a belt from a stand. "The
famous street vendors of Lima" seem to have expanded their range!
It was very hot so we returned to the hotel and lounged by the pool for
a while (how touristy!). then we watched TV for a while. This is the first
hotel that has had TV. So what did we watch? The Three Stooges and Woody
Woodpecker--in Spanish, of course. When we recovered from all that
excitement, we went walking in a different direction. Here we passed
several interesting-looking government buildings and eventually ended up by
the Guayas River (I think). There was a promenade along the river so we
walked along it. Almost immediately we saw something interesting--two
iguanas sunning themselves on an old piling. They were so still, at first I
thought they were fake. You don't have to go to the Galapagos for all the
wildlife, I guess. Their skins looked all shrunken, as if someone had
sucked the excess air out of them. We watched them for a while, then walked
a short ways to where people were watching the sand below. We looked. It
was practically covered with tiny crabs--one every couple of inches at
least. The larger ones were only an inch or two across the body but had an
enormously developed claw (sometimes the left, sometimes the right). They
were most active where the sand was damp but not wet.
Further along we saw La Rotonda (a colonnade commemorating the meeting
of Bolivar and San Martin in Guayaquil on August 9, 1822). There was also a
bronze statue of a wild boar further on. Still, Guayaquil on a Sunday is
only slightly livelier than Haifa on a Saturday, so we returned to the
hotel. We ate in the coffee shop, where due to the limited selection, I had
spaghetti. (We did share a ceviche appetizer.) Then to bed about 8.
January 6, 1986: We left the hotel at 9:30 for our 11AM flight to
Baltra. At the airport we met some of the other passengers for the cruise.
None of them seem to speak or understand Spanish, so naturally the
announcements on the plane were only in Spanish. The woman in front of me
asked for more water and didn't understand that "No tenemos mas" meant "We
don't have any more," so I had to translate. Most items in the airport were
priced in dollars. Our flight was un eventful. We needed to go through
something like immigration on Baltra, which took a long time. This island
does look like Melville's description: "Take five-and-twenty heaps of
cinders...."
Lunch was good. (Oops, I forgot--we went by bus to the pangas, or
small boats, which took us to the SANTA CRUZ, a 200-foot ship. There *is*
room to swing a cat in the cabin, which is about 6'x8' plus bunk, closet,
and bathroom space. It is air-conditioned, has hot and cold running water
all day, and has two chairs, a desk, and a table. It is well-lit also.
Bottled water is provided. There is a lounge and a dining room also.)
Our first landing was on North Seymour. It was a dry landing, meaning
that we took pangas to a natural pier of lava rocks and clambered ashore.
The rocks were black here, with many multi-colored crabs on them.
Immediately we started seeing birds of all sorts--brown noddies on the
water, a red-billed tropicbird overhead, some swallow-tailed gulls with
their red eye-rings. Film began to be used at a fast and furious pace.
When we had all gotten ashore and collected ourselves into groups (there are
90 passengers, so there are four groups; some are bi-lingual) we proceeded
along the beach. The black rocks gave way to brown (all guano-spattered
since it never rains) and then a beach of shell fragments and purple sea
urchin spines. We saw some small lava lizards and a few marine iguanas (and
their trails in the sand), but it was the sea lions that got the most
attention (and the persistent horse flies, the only species in the Galapagos
that you're free to kill). The sea lions would waddle up the beach to pose
for us, or so it seemed. Their fur was dark when wet, but dried to a golden
brown tinged with green. They barked occasionally but didn't seem to feel
we were a threat. (We also saw some sea lion turds, light grey in color. I
refrained from photographing *them*.) The guide pointed out several other
islands as we walked as well as describing the local geology and ecology.
The plant life on North Seymour consists mostly of Palo Santo trees
(bare-looking), Palo Verde trees (green thorny branches with long, frondlike
leaves--also green--and small yellow flowers), prickly-pear cactus, and
leather-leaf cactus (whose leaves are all vertical). There were also some
spreading succulents, but that was about it for plants. The main
inhabitants of this island are blue-footed boobies and frigatebirds.
Blue-footed boobies do indeed have bright (light) blue feet and nest on
the ground, often right on the trail. They surround their nests with a ring
of guano for territoriality. The females are larger than the males and have
a darker pupil--yes, you can get *that* close. The chicks are white and
fluffy-looking; they get grey as they get older. We saw several pairs
"dancing," lifting first one foot and then the other repeatedly and reaching
for the sky with their beaks in a mating ritual, also picking up and
dropping sticks as symbolic of nest-building. The females honk; the males
whistle.
The other major tenant is the frigatebird (both the magnificent
frigatebird and the great frigatebird, which differ slightly in coloration).
They weigh only about three pounds, but have an eight-foot wingspan. The
male has a red pouch on his chin that he inflates as a courtship ritual.
The two species nest together; we saw two mixed colonies. (We also saw a
couple of Galapagos mockingbirds.) Our trail eventually brought us back to
the landing point, where we boarded the pangas. The landing may have been
dry, but the front three people or so had a wet ride.
Dinner was unexceptional, except for the dessert, which was figs in a
sugar syrup with cheese. Odd, and a little too sweet for my tastes. Our
table was basically a Span ish-speaking one, with a couple of other people
who spoke some English, including a lawyer from Quito that we had a
conversation (of sorts) with. After the briefing for the next day's trips,
to bed about 10.
January 7, 1986: I slept well my first time at sea, although I awoke
at 1AM when they started the engines (we had to travel 42 miles to the next
island). I got up about 5. (It was too cloudy the night before for comet
sighting, by the way.) Breakfast was at 6:45.
Our morning trip (at 7:30) was to Tower (or Genovesa) Island. We had
anchored in Darwin Bay, formed of the crater of a partially sunken volcano.
(The landing was "wet"--the pangas pulled up to the sandy (coral) beach and
you climbed over the sides into knee-deep water. The beach had many
beautiful, multi-colored shells.
There was not the enormous variety of wildlife here as on North
Seymour, or at least not the numbers. We saw more frigatebirds on the
cliffs. Along the beach we saw the Galapagos mockingbird as well as lava
gulls, grey birds with white eye-rings. Crabs (black mostly) scampered on
the lava rocks. We saw a sea lion pup skull, looking very out of place
somehow.
In the trees were many young red-footed boobies. Their feet had not
yet gotten their pigmentation. We saw few adults (they were apparently
searching for food), but we did see a couple, and we also got to see the
white form which comprises only 5% of the total red-footed booby population.
We also saw some masked boobies, the largest of the boobies. Our path took
us past some tidal pools, where we saw many fish and more crabs, now bright
red with blue bellies or black with a white stripe across the back. Marine
iguanas (a smaller variety) were the other animal life visible, though we
saw one yellow-crowned night heron and one Galapagos dove with its turquoise
eye-ring. The path ended up crossing some interesting but barren lava
formations. WE returned to the beach for snorkeling (which Mark did, so
I'll let him describe it). Our return to the boat was delayed since they
were using the pangas to retrieve a lost anchor (not ours!).
Lunch was roast beef, artichokes, and salad, with passion fruit for
dessert (do you eat the pulp or the seeds?). After lunch I napped for about
40 minutes--the combination of little sleep and much activity got to me.
Although the day had started out overcast, the sun had been very strong
towards the end of our excursion also.
Oh, I forgot two items of note. When we left Darwin Bay, a flock of
brown noddies followed us a ways, swooping around the boat and sometimes
even lighting on the masts. There were also some smaller birds that I
couldn't identify (about mockingbird size). The other event was the
lifeboat drill--everyone puts on their lifejackets and goes to their
lifeboats.
Our afternoon visit was to Bartholome', where we were once again
greeted by a sea lion (I think the guides have hired them to shill for the
islands ;-) ). The rocks were covered with the red crabs. They are called
Sally-lightfoot crabs because their legs are hollow, making them buoyant
enough to walk on the water. The walk was of geological interest, there
being no animal life to speak of away from the shore, and the plant life
consisting mainly of a spreading succulent (currently grey) interspersed
with an occasional prickly-pear or lava cactus. (Actually the prickly-pear
cacti are mostly on the isthmus of the island along with other less hardy
plants.) We were here to see the lava channels and craters. The lava here
is old, having oxidized over the millenia to reddish and yellowish tinges.
There is a lot of loose grey sand created by the erosion of the lava. The
first part of the climb was through loose, shifting sand, so upward progress
was difficult. Then we reached a more level area where we could see
"moonscape" vistas of craters and lava. Only the sea in the background
marred the "lunarity." The remainder of the climb was up a log staircase
placed there to slow the erosion of the slope from walking. (Our guide said
that this island was going to be closed soon to prevent further erosion.
Already we could see where sections of lava shelf had been broken away.)
The volcano was 300' high and from the top was an excellent view of the
isthmus, Pinnacle Rock, and the spatter-cones on nearby James Island.
Bartholome' itself is very bleak-looking, sort of "end-of-the-world" in
aspect.
After our descent (much easier than our ascent), we rode the pangas to
the beach. On the way we saw Galapagos penguins (the second smallest
penguins) and brown pelicans. It was really too dark for snorkeling, so we
crossed the isthmus to another beach where we saw sea turtle nests
(covered-over pits in the sand) and even a sea turtle swimming along the
shore, as well as more pelicans.
In case you're wondering at this point, we will *not* be seeing any
Galapagos tortoises. There are only about 15.000 left of eleven subspecies
on eight islands. However, some of those islands are closed to tourists and
on the others the tortoises have retreated to the interior which is closed
to tourists. Only on Isabela are tourists allowed to see them in their
natural state and that is a six-hour hike, overnight stay, and a six-hour
hie back. They can be seen at the Charles Darwin Research Center on Santa
Cruz, but we don't go there. At any rate, that is still "in captivity," if
only temporarily, and we have seen them at the San Diego Zoo. Programs to
increase the population of tortoises include eradicating the predators
introduced by man (dogs, rats, goats), sheltering the young until they can
fend for themselves, and general breeding programs.
(The sea turtle had apparently just laid her eggs, a once-a-year
occurrence.)
After dinner (chicken), I got involved in a conversation with someone
who wanted to know how compilers worked. This went on until 11PM, when I
went back to the cabin and read half of GALAPAGOS by Vonnegut (which the
person interested in compilers had lent me). I was up until midnight. (Oh,
we went looking for Halley's Comet at dusk, but although we could locate the
constellation it was in, the ship's lights made sighting impossible.) me).
January 8, 1986: Up at 6:45. I slept very well, although the ship was
quite noisy all night--we had a lot of distance to cover. We had anchored
in Tagus Cove off Isabela Island, the largest island of the archipelago (the
official name of the Galapagos is "El Archipelago de Colon"). We saw
nothing of the large fire damage from last year's fire, that being at the
southern part of island. Due to the extreme dryness, smoking is now
prohibited on the islands themselves, however.
We had a double excursion this morning. First a dry landing--no sea
lions here, but a couple of flightless cormorants and a pelican did wave
hello. We saw where sailors from 1803 on had left their names carved in the
rocks, then up a steep slope to a path overlooking the salt-water lake in
Volcano Darwin, which he visited on September 29, 1835. We heard some
Darwin's finches and even glimpsed a couple from a distance, though not
close enough to identify the species. There was also a Galapagos
mockingbird and those of us with binoculars could see about seven pin-tailed
ducks in the lake. The most notable animal life were the large horsehead
flies as big as the end of your thumb. (It was still really too dry to
support large numbers of finches.)
We climbed to the highest point on Volcano Darwin (4350') from which we
could see Volcanoes Wolf and Ecuador, as well as Rock Redondo, which
Melville described in such detail. We toasted this event with a bottle of
mineral water that I had brought (we were told it would be a hard climb).
We opened the bottle with my belt buckle. We talked with the guide about
the conservation methods, whether killing the feral population to protect
the tortoises was "natural." All species will eventually become extinct;
should we try to stop this? Will we do more harm than good in extending a
species' lifespan?
Regarding the specialization of finches, there seem to be four answers.
One, evolution. Two, the mysterious work of God. Three, their creation by
Satan to mislead man (but this implies Manichaeism (sp?)). Four, their
creation by God to test man's faith. Take your pick.
We returned over the same trail and returned to the ship for a short
break before the second half, a panga ride along the cliffs which form this
cove. (Oh, yes, we also saw lava lizards.) At first from the panga we saw
flightless cormorants and brown pelicans, along with frigatebirds in the
sky. These gave way to blue-footed boobies nesting on the cliffs (a large
colony). A small cave revealed brown noddy terns and another yellow-crowned
night heron pecking at the crabs. A few Galapagos penguins were visible,
including one swimming. Marine iguanas were common, usually sunning
themselves, although one was in the water. A few sea lions had found warm
spots also. Along one beach we saw a "playita" (I don't know the English),
or beach bird. there was so much to see and cameras were going like crazy.
Eventually, I think, most people O.D.'ed on the variety and we returned to
the ship at noon.
Lunch was fish, squid fried rice, and the usual cold salads.
Our afternoon excursion (and last landing) was at Punta Espinoza on
Fernandina. We landed upon a promontory of black lava, much different (and
younger) than the red and yellow oxidized lava of Bartholome'. There are
two basic lava formations in evidence here: pahoehoe (ropy) lava which had
cooled slowly, and aa-aa (jagged) lava which cooled quickly. Behind the
Point was an area of mangrove trees, under which sea lions rested. Along
the shore we saw sea lions (and some Galapagos penguins) swimming.
Traveling inland we saw dozens of marine iguanas summing themselves,
courting, fighting (by butting their heads), spitting (as a temperature
regulator--the algae they eat cooks in their stomaches and they spit out the
hot water). You had to be very careful where you walked since what at first
glance looked like lava could easily be an iguana (or a lava lizard). This
part of the island with its volcanic origins evident and its proliferation
of dominant reptiles, looks genuinely prehistoric. We walked further
inland, to better see the lava formations as well as the mangroves and lava
cactus which have forced their way through cracks in the lava. From there
we returned back towards the water and a sea lion pool. Although the guide
had said there was a chance of seeing some sea turtles here, we didn't see
any, but we did see some penguins, which the guide said he had never seen at
this location before. On the way back from the sea lion pond, we saw a land
iguana, unusual this close to shore since they tend to stay in the
highlands. This one was mottled orange and brown, in almost a camouflage
pattern (which of course it really was), while the marine iguanas were
grayish-black. Its tail was rounded, not flattened laterally, and curved up
rather than sideways.
We walked further out to another sea lion area, this one populated more
by marine iguanas than sea lions, though there was a large bull there who
eventually chased us off. On the way over, we saw a Galapagos hawk perched
on a Palo Santo tree. We finally returned to the ship, the shores of
Galapagos behind us. Though we had seen a lot, there was much more we
hadn't seen: tortoises, flamingoes, albatrosses,.... I don't know about
Mark, but I'd like to go back! (Oops, I forgot to mention flightless
cormorants, brown pelicans, and a colony of blue-footed boobies on
Fernandina.)
Dinner was filet mignon. The dessert was tree tomatoes in a sugar
syrup. It was too cloudy in the west to look for Halley's Comet and there
was also a volcano in the way.
January 9, 1986: This morning we sailed around the Daphne Islands
(Daphne Major and Daphne Minor). In particular, we circled Daphne Minor, an
older island which erosion has reduced from a cone to a cylindrical cliff.
It's about 800' long and slightly oval. Used as a "stepping-stone" from one
island to another, it harbors many species. At the top of the cliffs were
frigatebirds. Lower down were masked boobies and red-billed tropicbirds.
Finches can be found here, and brown pelicans. Along the small beach at one
end, sea lions rested. It was overcast, and the obvious impossibility of
any landing on the Daphnes made us forgive them for only circling them.
At noon we transferred to Baltra. We flew first to Guayaquil and then
on to Quito, arriving about 5PM. Baltra remains one of the less interesting
islands, its indigenous wildlife limited mostly to small groups of marine
birds along the shore.
Quito is 9000' up in the Andes. Situated in a bowl like Cuzco, it does
not present the uniform appearance that the red tile roofs of Cuzco do. It
does look very clean and modern, with many wide streets (in Cuzco to widen
the streets would mean tearing down ancient Incan walls, but Quito is only
401 years old). We got to our hotel and went out walking. Just about the
time we were ready to go back to the hotel for dinner, we met another couple
from the SANTA CRUZ, so we ate with them. We had ceviche, cream of mushroom
and asparagus soup, and paella. I tried to order sangria for one, but ended
up with a liter (counting the fruit, about 1.5 liters) at a much inflated
price. The fruits used here were strawberries, bananas, and pineapple.
After dinner, back to the hotel and an early bedtime.
January 10, 1986: This morning was our city tour of Quito. Our guide
was an architecture student at the University, so he should know his stuff.
We first saw the colonial district, which has been declared a "legacy for
mankind" (loose translation) by UNESCO. The city requires that all
buildings maintain the white and blue facades, the iron grillwork, and the
red tile roofs of the colonial period. We spent a while driving around this
area while our driver looked for on-street parking. Eventually we parked in
a parking garage and walked through a street market to the central plaza,
which was surrounded by government buildings. In the center of the plaza
was a monument to "the first cry of independence" in 1809. We saw the
entrance to the President's Palace, but the current president has closed the
interior to the public for security reasons. (Ecuador, by the way, has
elections every four years--the same years as the U.S.--and citizens are
required to vote.) Then we walked to La Compania, a Jesuit church whose
interior is completely covered in gold. Well, not completely, but all the
walls and the ceiling have decorative patterns in which the dominant
external material is gold. It is thought to be the richest Jesuit church in
South America. Another church, La Merced, copied the interior design and
decoration but without using all the gold. La Merced had a statue of the
Virgin near the entrance and on her dress was embroidered a Star of David--
interesting! We also saw a third church, the name of which escapes me
(Santo Domingo, maybe?). Then we drove up to La Panecillo for a panoramic
view of Quito. (Oh, at the beginning of the trip we saw a monument to
Orellana overlooking Gualpa and the mountains to the east where Orellana
discovered the Amazon. He was looking for El Dorado and since much of
Ecuador's wealth comes from Amazon oil, some might claim he had found it.
We also saw the congressional building with a bas-relief mural on the front
depicting the country's history. One more interesting note--the river in
the country's emblem used to depict the Amazon, but since they lost most of
the Amazon to Peru in 1941, it now represents the Guayas River in
Guayaquil.)
For lunch we went to an Indian (Asian) restaurant near the hotel. Mark
had beef curry and I had chicken curry. Unlike in the U.S., where it's
usually a la carte, these came with rice, nan, raita, chutney, peanuts, and
banana slices. We also had lassi--all very Ecuadorian. :-)
After lunch we were going to go to the Archaeological Museum of the
Central Bank, but I was just too zonked (from the trip and the altitude, I
suspect), so we stayed at the hotel; I rested (slept) and Mark read. About
5PM we went out walking to see what the town looked like. We went into a
lot of bookstores and eventually went back to the hotel about 7. At 8:30 we
went down to dinner at the hotel restaurant, which is supposed to be one of
the best steak places in town. Mark had onion soup and a T-bone steak; I
had avocado vinaigrette and cebiche (if the spelling of cebiche/ceviche
varies in this log, it's because it does on menus also). We got to watch
the waiter flambe' some strawberries for another table and next to us they
ordered escargot and fondue--pretty fancy restaurant. Our dinner, with tax
and tip, came to 1779 sucres, or $14.83.
I soaked in a hot tub (not all hotels have tubs here, by the way, even
fancy ones), had a glass of sangria and went to sleep about 11. At about
3:45 I woke up to the sound of a dog barking; he didn't stop until about 6.
Quito is a nice city, but it has very noisy dogs.
January 11, 1986: Our Air France flight was about 45 minutes. The
food was excellent--pate', cheese, fruit, I could even have had champagne!
When we got to Lima, no one was there from Receptour Peru, but there
happened to be a bus from the Hotel Crillon, so we took that. It turned out
that Ladatco hadn't telexed our last stay in Lima to them. We finally got
it straightened out. Our room is a whole suite, complete with balcony,
refrigerator, TV, two sinks, a tub *and* a separate shower--real posh. (They
must have been out of regular rooms when we showed up with our pre-paid
voucher.
We took a taxi to Pueblo Libre (a suburb of Lima). This was a large
fancy taxi from in front of the hotel and it cost us about $4.80 for the
ride (about 7 miles? I'm guessing). Our first visit was to the museum of
Anthropology and Archaeology (entrance fee 30 cents each). Except for the
fact that the exhibits are labeled only in Spanish, I would say this is a
must for anyone interested in pre-Incan art. Actually, I'll say it anyway.
The section on Nazca ceramics is excellent and I could translate most of the
signs. We spent about an hour to an hour and a half here, then walked to
the Larco Herrera Museum (about a mile away--we had been told seven blocks).
The first part of this museum is an exhibit of ceramics. Well, exhibit is
the wrong word--warehouse is more like it. There are rows and rows of
cabinets 30' long and eight shelves high, filled with ceramics. It
demonstrates its owner's acquisitiveness more than the ceramics themselves.
(The collection, like the Museo de Oro, is privately owned but will go to
the state on its owner's death.) The rest of the museum was better arranged
and included a surprisingly unpretentious exhibit of work in gold, silver,
and precious and semi-precious stones. What it is most known for, though,
is its collection of erotic ceramics. One book describes them as
"disarmingly exuberant." be that as it may, none of the figures looked like
they were really enjoying themselves; maybe the pre-Incans were weak on
facial expressions in ceramics. After this we stopped at a small market for
sodas and then got a small taxi back to the hotel. (You don't have to hail
one; if you look like a tourist, they stop and ask *you*.) This cost $1.80.
Moral--stick to the small cruising cabs.
Then we went out walking along a street with a lot of used book stands.
As best I recall what happened then was this: Mark was distracted by a
vendor whose confederate then grabbed Mark's wallet out of his front pocket.
Mark grabbed the pickpocket and tackled him to the ground. I turned around,
saw the struggle and ran over, also grabbed the guy and started yelling at
him. At some point (whether before or after I arrived I don't know), he
decided that he had made a mistake and threw back the wallet, saying
something in Spanish like "I give it back." I grabbed the wallet and told
Mark to let go (the police would never do anything even if we could find a
policeman). The guy ran off, we retrieved Mark's glasses (which didn't even
get broken), and returned to the hotel. I suspect as soon as the pickpocket
realized he wasn't going to make a clean getaway (about the time Mark landed
him face down in the gutter), he decided to cut his losses and return the
wallet.
Apparently recovering one's wallet from a pickpocket is unusual.
People were kind of staring at Mark, and people we talked to later found it
unusual too.
We went back to the hotel and had dinner there.
January 12, 1986: We took off a half hour late from Lima to Montego
Bay, then an hour late from Montego Bay on a Rich International plane on
loan to Air Jamaica. (We almost missed that flight since we could barely
hear the announcements in the airport.) In Miami, we cleared Customs and
waited for our Eastern flight. It was 3 hours late and had three gate
changes (and not adjoining gates either). People kept talking about all the
Eastern flights that had been canceled and how the rest had all been over-
booked. I had packed all our souvenirs in my suitcase and carried it on to
the return flights, figuring if I was going to get stuck in Jamaica, I at
least wanted my suitcase. As I hauled this 25-lb suitcase (and 10-lb
backpack) around, I found myself asking, "Why didn't I check this?" When we
got to Newark (midnight) and the luggage finished coming out (1:30AM) I
found out. They had lost Mark's suitcase.
(Happy postscript: They found it and delivered it to us in two days.
Apparently when you check your luggage at the "Connecting Flights Check-in"
just outside Customs in Miami, there's a very good chance that it will get
side-tracked just long enough to miss your flight.)
(End of Week 3)
T H E E N D
Evelyn C. Leeper
...ihnp4!mtgzz!ecl
(or ihnp4!mtgzy!ecl)