Our Amazon Adventure

Going on an adventure in the Amazon Rainforest was something on the top of our list. Where to visit the Amazon Rainforest was something we had trouble deciding for a while. We new that we wanted to see animals and go fishing. But where would we have the best experience without spending all of our savings? After some research, we opted to take a trip into the Amazon Basin out of Puerto Maldonado.

From Cusco, we took a night bus to Puerto Maldonado. We booked through Cruz Del Sul, and I have never seen a more luxurious bus! We had blankets and pillows and the large leather chairs reclined to about 140 degrees. We had our own individual screens to watch movies or play games like on an airplane. We were served a light meal and drink. Wow, it was impressive! I was even impressed with the security. They screened each passenger by checking their passport, taking a photo and scanning for metal. It was very thorough.

Travelling through the night is never easy, even on a luxury Cruz Del Sur bus, and so, for only the second time on our trip so far (other than our arrival to Lima), we opted to get a taxi to the city centre. The first thing we were able to hail was a three wheeler tuktuk. Honestly, I didn’t think the driver would really stop to pick up a four person family with two large hiking backpacks and small daypacks but he did and we all fit with all of our luggage! When our driver dropped us off in the town centre (centre for the tourists anyways), we realized that he had dropped us off right in front of probably one of the more expensive hotels in the area and, under the spell of the incredibly humid heat of the morning (and hearing that the hotel had a pool), we splurged and booked a room right then and there and headed to the pool! Since it was an expensive night we were encouraged to go find a tour into the Amazon quickly and we did. We booked a tour leaving the very next day.

Overall, the trip was a lot of fun. It was three days and two nights filled with interesting and somewhat laid back fun. We went to an animal refuge the first day where Adeline and Charlie were in their heaven. Our guide probably thought our children have never seen animals before as they were oohing and ahhing at every single animal they saw, from the caged puma to the wild butterflies fluttering in the mud puddles on the path as we walked through. We had a few hours to rest and relax back at our lodge, but Adeline and Charlie found the cooks son to play with, which was great. The parents sat back in the hammocks and relaxed while the kids were busy chasing chickens and climbing trees. That evening we went on a night walk, which started at one of the trees Charlie and Adeline were climbing, and what did we see? Tarantulas!! Ha! If they only knew that there was a tarantula nest in the tree they were throwing sticks at and climbing! They didn’t play there the next day.

The second day, we went on a trip to Lago Sandoval (an oxbow lake), where we were told we were going to see lots of wildlife including the Giant River Otter! At the beginning of our hike, we were greeted by some Howler Monkeys. They must have been pretty sleepy because they just sat and watched us as we invaded their space and took pictures. We were arriving pretty early, which was lucky because there was lots of activity with birds and lizards. We were pretty excited to see Leaf Cutter Ants for the first time! Finally we arrived to the lake and David and our guide paddled us around the lake and finally we saw the “Giant” River Otters...hmm...I’m not so sure how they got the name “Giant” River Otters, but they were cute all the same.

Later in the day we went to Monkey Island, where monkeys from the animal refuge are released and many tourists go to this island to feed the monkeys and get their monkey fix. It didn’t seem very authentic, but it was exciting for the kids all the same. Unfortunately, by the time we arrived, there were several tourist boats already there, so by the time we hiked in, there weren’t many monkeys interested in a snack, but luckily, right before our guide gave up on the monkeys, one decided to make an appearance. But it was the aggressive and lazy monkey that we had to throw food up to while it sat for its meal up in the tree, and it was picky too!

The next day we went to visit a “Native Village” where we were shown some typical songs, dances, and games of the people that used to live in the Amazon Basin years before. Unfortunately the person who usually leads this tour had a machete accident and had to go to the hospital in Puerto Maldonado. So an older man substituted for him. He was pretty good at singing and dancing!

We also had a chance to go fishing on our last day. All we had was a stick with line attached to the end, a hook and some chicken as bait. David was the first to catch a fish, and our driver was pretty excited (I think that he was going to get to eat it later). Charlie was the next to catch a fish. It looked like a baby shark, but it wasn’t, it was a fish that you aren’t allowed to touch (we didn’t even get to take a picture with it) because it has some sort of parasite that is easily transmitted. And then Charlie caught another, bigger version of the same fish, but luckily it jumped off by itself. Sadly we did not catch a piranha.

That was the end of our trip into the Amazon Basin. There were definitely some highs and lows, but we had a great guide and there was great food, the kids had a great time, the bugs were not as bad as we thought, and nobody was bit by a tarantula, so it was a win in our books!

Rainbow Mountain

One of our biggest challenges so far has been hiking up Rainbow Mountain. It seems like the most exciting adventures all begin very early in the morning. This adventure was no different as we were picked up at 4:00 in the morning. It was a 3 hour drive to Rainbow Mountain from Cusco and most of the ride was up up up. Cusco sits at 3399 metres (11,150 feet) above sea level, which is high, and many people feel the affects of the thinner air at that elevation, and now we were going to be going even higher. We were going to be hiking up to approximately 5100 metres (16,732 feet) above sea level. So how the kids were going to handle the hike was definitely on the back of our minds.

The drive to Rainbow Mountain was another nail biter! The narrow dirt roads were barely wide enough for our minibus, never mind the locals and their donkeys that needed to pass! And one time, there was construction and a deep hole in the middle of the road. I am not sure how we got around them as I just closed my eyes and let the driver do his magic! There was one time that it seemed uncertain as to whether we would get to our trail head because the minibus was giving out on the uphill. It took about four tries of rolling back and gunning it up the hill. Luckily we made it!

At the trail head there was a corral with many horses for rent. Since it was a challenge for Adeline to get from the minibus to the trail head, we decided to splurge and rent her a horse for the hike. She was a champ as she hopped onto “Ponchito Blanco”, and her horse was led by a guide who made the ascent seem like a breeze as he walked, sometimes jogged up the path. Since Adeline was on a horse, she was going at a good pace and she would definitely beat our tour group. We didn’t want her to have to wait by herself, so we felt the urge to try and keep up with Adeline and her horse. David and Charlie did a great job until there was a real uphill, but to our surprise, the horse ride was mostly for the flat parts anyways. Adeline was going to have to climb the steepest part of the hike.

So there we were, taking five or six steps, stopping, gasping for breath, taking a few more steps. At least we were in a better situation than others. Some needed to sit and breathe in some oxygen that the guides brought along in their packs. Others got to the point of losing their breakfasts. Others needed to use a special herbal concoction that they would pour onto their hands and sniff to help them with their altitude sickness. I think what helped Adeline get to the top the most, was the sight of animals at the top! Wherever we go, there are vendors and ladies in traditional dress with their llamas, asking for you to take pictures with them. We also found some dogs that were happy to let Adeline and Charlie cuddle in the sun with them.

We were told to bring layers and warm clothes on our hike, and up until we arrived at the top, we didn’t really need any warm clothes as we were working up quite the sweat getting to the top, but once we were there, we understood the warning. The wind was quite strong and it was very very cold. I am glad we had our tuques, mittens and raincoats.

The hike was well worth the effort. The colours of Rainbow Mountain were beautiful, but the whole landscape surrounding the mountain was absolutely gorgeous too. Rainbow Mountain on one side, mountains with glaciers on the other side, and a valley of picturesque ponds and farming fields and llamas in the middle.

If you haven’t seen our pictures of the hike yet, you can take a look on our Instagram Accounts:
@greatbigfamilyadventure and @vida_sabatica

The Magnificent Machu Picchu

When we told our friends that we would be going to Peru, most people asked if we would be going to Machu Picchu. David has already been there, and knowing that it was going to be very expensive,  I questioned whether or not we really needed to go. Especially since the kids are not very interested in hiking up to ruins. But in the end we decided to go. We ended up staying in the small town of Ollantaytambo which is a cute little town where we could catch the train to Machu Picchu the following day. This may have been our favourite town so far with the old cobbled stone steets and narrow walkways about two and a half metres wide. Our hotel, Rumi Sonqo (which was about $25 a night on hotels.com and was one of the most comfortable rooms and cleanest bathrooms we have had so far!), had a picturesque water canal just outside the doors that kept the children occupied for hours!

The actual trip up Machu Picchu included a train to Aguas Calientes (a very expensive tourist town), and a bus ride up the mountain. I was having flashbacks of her car ride up Mount Washington (a very narrow road with steep drops - absolutely no room for error). There were hundreds of people constantly being transported up and down the mountain, and when we got to the top, it was like being herded like animals into tour groups. It is a requirement of entry to Machu Picchu to have a guide. There are two times to enter Machu Picchu, so when it was time to enter, there were literally hundreds, perhaps even a thousand people that were all entering at the same time. All people were in a tour group, but each tour group wanted to stop in the same places for the same photos, so it was very crowded. The first part of the tour was climbing up the side of Machu Picchu to the Caretaker’s House (probably the highest structure in the area). It was a decent hike, but a bit tiring on Adeline. The best part was when we got to the top, not because it was the top, but because there were llamas and you could pet them and take you picture with them.

After some llama love, we headed down into the ruins. The architecture was very impressive, especially being so high up in the mountains. I can’t imagine how much work had to be put into creating the community of Machu Picchu. I think what impressed me the most about the architecture was the connection with the sun. I know that the people that lived in Machu Picchu celebrated the sun and the moon, but the way that the windows were designed to use the light of the sun perfectly is something that I admire.

While the architecture was very interesting, I was amazed by the swallows! There were so many on top of the mountain, and they are such crazy birds! Their agility as they fly is amazing! And they are not shy of people! There were times that two people would be standing about 2 feet apart and zoom! A swallow would fly right between them! While it made a few people jump, I am sure many people were grateful that they were eating the bugs. We were even able to find a nest in a tiny crack behind some rocks in one of the walls. They truly are remarkable birds!

When we finished our tour, we found out that it was a one way loop and we were only allowed to go around the site once, which was a bit disappointing because the kids really wanted to see the llamas again, so when we exited the site we went and asked if we could go in just to go see the llamas once more. While the attendants at the gate were pretty clear that the entrance fee was for one tour only, I think they did us a favour for the kids, and they let us in once more. We were really lucky because this time, most of the tours had all finished and the only people on the site were people finishing the Inca Trail. When we made it up to the llamas again, we pretty much had them to ourselves. The kids took the time to draw some of the llamas, but didn’t finish the pictures because the llamas came to us to hang out. Instead of the kids having to cautiously follow the llamas to hopefully get a nice photo up close, it was like they wanted a little more attention or someone to pet them and tell them how wonderful they were. And how can you refuse a chance to get a selfie with a llama? The kids were in heaven! That will be an experience none of us will ever forget!

If you haven’t had a chance to see our photos from Machu Picchu, you can check out our Instagram pictures at:
@greatbigfamilyadventure or @vida_sabatica

Uros Floating Islands

If you have been following our Instagram posts, you would have seen a post about the Uros Floating Islands. From Puno, we met our host at Lake Titicaca in his motor boat. He took us through a labyrinth of reeds until the water opened up to what seemed like a small town made of reeds. I read somewhere that there are about 200 floating islands. When we arrived on our host’s island, he gave us a small presentation about how the islands were made. From what I understand (the presentation was all in Spanish so we didn’t understand everything), the island is made up of totora reeds (that grow in the lake) and dense roots called khili. The island is anchored by ropes attached to sticks and stuck into the ground of the lake. The island was only about about 30 metres wide, but housed about 3 indigenous families, had a few guest houses, an eating area and a few gathering spots.

Our accommodations on the island were fantastic! For easier maintenance (I assume), the cottage we stayed in had a simple wooden structure, but was completely covered in reeds. Traditionally wood would not have been used I am sure. Attached to our cottage was the bathroom with a dry composting toilet, and a fully functional sink. I hear that the reeds underneath absorb a lot of the waste from the toilet. Our cottage was so comfortable. Since Lake Titicaca sits 3810 meters above sea level, it gets very cold at night, but we had so many extra blankets, we were very cozy! Our room was decorated with traditional tapestries and artwork made by our hosts.

After our presentation from our host, we had an option to go fishing. Charlie loves fishing, so it was an easy decision. Of course we would go! Another family from the island took us on a small tour where we saw the local school and some of the other islands, but once we got behind the island we were staying at, we set out a net that would stay out for the night. It was a long net that we attached to some reeds, but it also had stones tied to it to make it sink down to the bottom of the lake. When we got back to the island, one of the ladies was fishing from a hole in the middle of the island. David, Charlie and Adeline all gave it a try. It was a lot like ice fishing, but you don’t have a rod, you just hold the line in your hands. When we arrived, one of the ladies had already started to fish and had caught about 6 “killifish”. When we arrived, she brought the line in, and we saw that the line had about 5 or 6 hooks on the bottom. They needed to be baited again, so she cut up one of her fish she caught and used the meat on the hooks. David and Adeline each caught a fish, and one of the families fried it up for us for dinner that night!

The next morning, David and Charlie went with one of the families to bring in the fishing net. They caught about a dozen fish! They were pretty small fish, but it was exciting all the same. Actually the native fish in Lake Titicaca are all very small (most of Charlie’s catches were between 3-8 inches long), but apparently you can also find some North American Lake Trout in Lake Titicaca. According to smithsonianmag.com, in the 1930’s the Peruvian and Bolivian (both countries border the lake) governments asked for assisitance from the United States to help increase the economic opportunity of the lake. The United States sent someone to study the lake and, in the end, suggested stocking the lake with North American Trout. Apparently the effort didn’t really pay off, but now the trout are considered one of the most invasive species in southern Peru. We didn’t catch any trout, but Adeline enjoyed the eating the small fish very much!

Our time was very short on the reed islands as we left the next morning, but it was a fun adventure and I highly recommend to anyone travelling to the area to go stay on an island for a night. We stayed with Uros Lupaka Lodge Hotel, and we booked through Booking.com. The time we spent with this local family will be something we will never forget.

Arequipa and the Colca Canyon

Our next stop was Arequipa, known as “the white city” because many of the buildings have been made with white volcanic rock. For a big city, it was pretty nice. There are small corridors and lots of cobblestone in the historical centre (where we were staying). The streets seemed even more narrow because the sidewalks were very narrow and the buildings all had tall walls with their doors shut most of the time. When we first arrived, it seemed as though everything was in very tight quarters, but when people opened their doors (beautiful old doors full of character), there would be courtyards and plenty of space. It seemed like there were secret fortresses everywhere!

This is the city where Adeline and Charlie got to play with some other kids for the first time. When we went on a walk, we found a park to play in (which are far and few between, at least in the city centres were we have been staying). After a bit of a play, we continued on our walk to see a nice viewpoint of the city and the three volcanoes standing tall near the city (not exactly very exciting for the kids, but you never know what you will find - and we found lots of old Volkswagen Beetles, and we taught the kids the old Punch Buggy game - and we saw little parks surrounded by hedges and llamas munching away on the grass inside - perhaps natural lawn mowers).

As we headed home, we saw a school group playing in the same park we played in earlier, so we went back to see what they were up to. There was a large group of boys playing soccer - awesome - and most of the girls were playing on the slides and swings - that’s okay too. So we watched for a bit and the kids were careful observers. Charlie and Adeline definitely wanted to play, but, being from a different country and not speaking the same language, it is hard to invite yourself into a game. Charlie noticed that the ball frequently went out of bounds and all the boys would run after it and kick it in, so he stood in behind one of the nets and gave the ball a good boot a couple of times. Once the boys saw his interest, they invited Charlie to play goal. He had absolutely no idea what the boys were saying, and was being a bit shy, but the boys were gesturing him for where to stand and how to block with his hands, and he quickly figured out what they were trying to tell him. Adeline was also standing on the side and kicking the ball back into the game when it came near her. After a few kicks, one of the boys came over and gave her a high five. A little bit later, a group of girls invited her to come play some volleyball. With a little bit of encouragement she went and played with the girls. Adeline hasn’t had a lot of experience with volleyball, but she figured it out well enough and the girls were patient with her. When it was time for the kids to leave, they all exchanged an ‘adios’ and we headed back to our hostel feeling pretty good with ourselves. There is nothing better than making connections with some new friends, even if you don’t speak the same language.

Many people use Arequipa as a gateway to the Colca Canyon, we decided to go on a 3 day trek as we were eager to get away from city and into the countryside again. Colca Canyon is known to be one of the deepest canyons in the world and is home to the Andean Condor (the largest flying bird in the world) and several small and remote traditional villages. The hardest part about this trip was that we had to catch our bus around 3:00 am. It is very hard to motivate children to wake up that early to go hiking! But they did it! What troopers! Our fist stop was at Cruz del Condor (a viewing area where you are likely to see condors). To be completely honest, we didn’t see much. A single condor made an appearance and performed for the crowds of people that made the trip to see the famous bird, but I think the most valuable part of the experience was getting a first glimpse into what it is like moving around at a high altitude. I was wondering how it would affect the children. Would they throw up? Would they get dizzy? Would it slow them down? Nope not our kids! Their parents, yes. It slowed us down... The next stop was at the entrance of the canyon trail. It was a long bumpy, and sometimes sketchy zigzagging trail down to the river. It took about 4 hours going down the extremely steep side of the canyon. It was also extremely hot as there is no cover on that side of the canyon. At the bottom, near the river, a very smart local built a pool to charge hikers to cool down after the difficult decent.

We had a quick little jaunt up the other side of the canyon to a village where we would stay our first night. The accommodation was very simple. We were in a small cottage made of clay with a straw roof, with many holes (good thing it doesn’t rain much here). Water comes from inside the mountain and the locals have built an aqueduct system that runs through the villages, and the kids had a great time dunking their heads and filling their caps and having a water fight with the relatively pristine water (pristine as long as the neighbours above haven’t dirtied the waters). We ate dinner by candle light that night with the view of our hiking trail across the canyon from us. It was very impressive to see what we had done already that day! Adeline and Charlie especially loved this village because there were many farm animals to follow and play around. Adeline’s favourite animal was the rooster because it would follow her around and come right into the dining room to look for scraps!

The second day was the easiest elevation-wise,  but certainly wasn’t easy physically as we were all hurting from the damage we put our bodies through climbing down the canyon the previous day. But the goal was to get to an oasis with a swimming pool. Just the thought of soaking in the mountain water was motivation enough for us to keep moving our aching bodies. The only thing that kept Adeline going was an exciting tip our guide gave us about the parasitic insects that live on the cacti that you could find along the trail. On the cacti, you can see white powdery growths, which are bugs eating the  plant. If you pull the bugs off of the cacti and squish them, their violet coloured blood can be smeared easily and it looks like paint. Kind of gross that it is blood, but a surprising and fun discovery. It kept Adeline engaged for hours! She painted her whole hand and a rock. We had to be careful not to let her squish too many bugs because the locals harvest these bugs and sell them to people in  the cities and it seems like any source of revenue makes a big difference to them!

Arriving  at the Oasis was heavenly! We arrived at our accommodation around lunch time, which was perfect being the hottest part of the day. The water in our pool came straight from the mountain and the temperature was not regulated by a heater at all, so we had our swim early and dried off before it became too cold, and it gets very cold in the canyon at night (we had to wear toques and sweaters and slept under heavy wool blankets).

The last day was probably the hardest day of them all. We started our hike in the dark at 4:00 am. Again, waking your children to hike (and hike very steeply) that early was not an easy task, but they did! What troopers! And we didn’t even get to eat until we were at the top (an estimated 4 hours later)! Charlie was a power house and we  hardly saw him the whole hike! He stayed by the front the whole time.  Amanda slowly kept falling back, going more and more slowly. The elevation and exertion of the hike was hard! David was a superhero and carried Adeline most of the way, along with the water for our group. Some people rented mules to carry them up the trail. This could have been a great option for Adeline, but as we climbed, it was a really challenging trail at times with many opportunities to fall to your death (perhaps an exaggeration but it felt that way at the time), so putting your trust in a mule seemed like a crazy idea. But many people did it! We completed the hike in 3 hours (yay!) and sat down for a well deserved breakfast in the local village. The long bus ride back to Arequipa was rather uneventful. The kids were exhausted and I think that for the first time ever, Adeline just sat and looked out the window. We passed lots of fields with llamas, alpacas and sheep. That never gets old!