Hola familia y amigos 🙂 Once again it is Megan blogging from Cusco. HAPPY THANKSGIVING! It’s crazy this will all be over in two weeks. I hope my family is ready to deal with some sucio laundry and backpack que huele malo.
Good news: we survived the selva! Volunteering with Robin at Camino Verde was awesome. Our days consisted of waking up at 5:40am, eating breakfast at 6am, taking a boat downriver to Robin’s and starting our hike to the trail by about 7:20am. Though we smelled very very mal, we had a lot of fun. Many new jungle-themed That’s What She Said jokes were discovered and included in our Thank You card to Robin and Briann (the Jane to his Tarzan). As Fun and Inspiration for the week, I discovered my passion for singing Disney songs (favorites include “Colors of the Wind” and “A Whole New World”). There is one for every occassion, I promise.
Our task was to clear a 2km part of a trail that surrounds a protected reserve. The trail will be used to patrol the area to make sure nobody is coming in and logging illegally. Most of us used machettes and we had two axe-rs who were in charge of removing large logs from the middle of the trail. I think we all really enjoyed the work. While nobody enjoyed being constantly wet, the rain provided relief from the caliente and humid jungle climate. I probably haven’t sweated that much in my life and I never thought it was possible for my body to smell like that…
Other highlights of our time with Robin and Briann:
- swimming in the Tambopata River
- making sour kraut (!)
- eating jungle popcorn
- eating surprisingly delicious rice and beans for lunch every day
- the staff at El Gato, our hostel
- seeing capybera on the shore
- seeing monkies
- getting eaten alive by bugs bugs bugs
- I found a new talent for falling, including falling through the outhouse floor (though not into the human compost, thankfully)
- siestas!
- many many more eventos especiales
On Sunday we came back from Robin’s to stay the night in Puerto Maldonado. Monday morning we took a boat with our guide Gerson to Lake Sandoval. After a 2km hike, we took a canoe ride on a stream and ended up on the lake which was so beautiful but so so hot! Highlights from our time at Lake Sandoval include:
- seeing caymans! and many of us held one
- fishing for piranhas (and Maleea ate one for a post-dinner treat)
- seeing howler monkies
- a spider monkey that followed us during our entire 1.5 hour hike (cool but also very sad because it has been rejected by other monkey packs after being reintroduced)
- tarantulas in our rooms… ew.
- seeing giant river otters!
- the most beautiful sunset of the trip
- the most beautiful stars of the trip
- Gerson, our awesome guide
- swimming in the lake (so as not to be sweating constantly)
- more more more cositas
Enjoy the photos!
I love and miss everybody and cannot wait to see you all in two weeks!! Next up, some hiking in the Sacred Valley, our Yoga retreat and Machu Picchu!!!!!! I hope Thanksgiving is full of thanks and giving for everybody. We will be celebrating on Saturday thanks to the kindness of John for lending us Fairplay’s kitchen.
Love to my family and Happy Birthday, Dad!! And Saturday, I will be with you even though I’m here 🙂
Megan