Monday travels

After a good nights sleep we were up at 5:30am for our 6:15 departure to the bus depot. We had a quick buffet breakfast at the hotel and then Sarah was there to pick us up and head to the bus. We arrived to a very busy bus station- so many people about! Thank heaves Sarah was there and directed us to the baggage drop and then the waiting area. In no time the bus was there and we were loading up. A super comfy bus ride this was going to be. We had luxurious reclining seats- each with their own TV and blankets, pillows- nice. we settled in for the 4 hour ride and we were off. The scenery changed from city to coast pretty quickly, and then desert- so dry the southern area of Peru. Arriving in Paracas it was so hot and dry. We were greeted by our Anywhere crew and take to the hotel Emancipador- lucky us we were able to do an early check in. The girls were ready to chill and Frank and I went for a walk in town in search of a good coffee. The town is a fishing village really, with pelicans and fishing boats on one side and rows of cafes not he other side. A coffee and snack in the sun was delightful. Back to the hotel and into bathing suits we spent the afternoon chilling at the pool- it was so nice after all the days of craziness we had just had. We had to apply the sunscreen a few times as it was super hot. After a few hours we went back to the room and searched number one places for dinner in this tiny town. Turned out there was a clear winner in Puka Soncco because it was at the very top of the Trip Advisor list. This tiny "hole in the wall" was also an art gallery- such awesome art.  The chef himslef came out to serve us and take orders- we all had something different and delicious- my Loma Soltado was excellent.  After dinner and a stroll to find ice cream we headed back and turned in for the night.  A lovely relaxing day.

Goodbye to the jungle.

Sunday morning we were up and packing as we had to leave at 8:30am.  Our last jungle breakfast did not disappoint. We left our gum boots on the rack and we were off to the boat for the 2 hour journey back to Puerto Moldinado. The river ride was beautiful and peaceful and then we were in Inferno (hell as the locals call it) and back on the bus, for the bumpy 1 hour ride.  At the office in town, we checked out and then Victor drove us to the airport.  Checking in we were early, so we had time for a nice hot coffee in the local coffee spot.  At the departure gate we ran in to the 2 couples we had met back on our Sacred Valley tour- they had been in the jungle for 3 days and were going back to Cusco. Chatting away the time flew and then we were boarding and on our way.  The plane flew the 45 minutes to Cusco and landed, let some people off and some on and then back up in the air and off to Lima.  Arriving in Lima we were created by Sara from Anywhere Peru, she had been my main contact through all the planning so it was lovely to meet her.  Rafael drove us the 1 hour to the hotel in Miraflores (the traffic in this city is INSANE).  We found out that the severe flooding going on in the country has affected the people of Lima as most of them don't have water.  In the hotels we are pretty sheltered from that so not as aware as we should be- it's pretty bad.
Our hotel- El Tambo- was in Miraflores, a pretty neighbourhood and seemingly safe.  We checked in, freshened up and then took a walk down to Larcomar, an impressive mall, built into the side of the cliffs that fortify Lima from the ocean.  The mall is huge and very modern, quite stunning.  Hunger was our motivational goal- and we headed for Tanta, apparently one of the top eats in Lima.  The chef is Gaston Acurio- a famous Peruvian chef; the menu was difficult to read as there in no English (or limited English).  But we chose a couple of appies and one of them was ceviche, which was truly delicious.  After our lunch/dinner, we walked along the walk that hugs the top of the cliffs and caught the fiery sunset, that Lima is famous for.  We ended up at Love Park and it seemed the entire city was there  enjoying the last suns rays melting away.  Back at Larcomar, we cruised around and realised that the stores were over the top expensive, we found some ice cream and then were ready to head to the hotel for the night.

Clay licks!

We were up early- for a 5:30 departure. We left the lodge and went up river fifteen minutes in order to observe the activity of the macaws, parrots and parakeets feeding on the earth. La Torre Clay Lick is a mud bank about four meters high and twenty meters wide criss crossed with veins of mineral rich clay essential to the diet of these birds.

On site we were in a hideout at a distance of  about thirty meters which keeps us hidden while at the same time allowing us an unobstructed view of the display in front of us.
We watched a lot of birds fly over but none of them went down to the lick.  After about an hour we gave up and went back to the lodge for breakfast. We had mini pancakes, eggs and fruit- good jungle food.  A few hours later Victor told us it was time to go back as the Macaws should be at the lick now- they are late eaters.  We left the girls at the lodge as they wanted to chill and we headed back up to the lick- we sat across from the lick this time and saw pairs of Macaws begin to appear- they mate for life and stay together for everything.  We watched for a while from across the river and then got up quite close, it was pretty amazing to see these stunning birds in the wild.

Back a the lodge we got to relax and read a book in the sunshine, then it was lunch.  We had a rice, with egg and chicken in it, all wrapped in a leaf.  After lunch we got ready for a visit to the local farm.  We took the boat and were there in no time.  The local farms don't have a regular field of one or other type of produce, but rather it's all grown together.  We tried bananas, limes, lemons that tasted like oranges.  There were so many plants to see it was amazing.  We even tried a cocoa pod bean- the pods are orange when ripe and when broken open there are slimy seeds inside, trying one we were so surprised they tasted like chocolate. 

By the time we got back it is was dinner - another delicious meal was had.  After our bellies were stuffed, we all trudged down to the boat after that in search or camen.  There was a huge light in the boat as we cruised on the river and all we could see were red eyes- yikes.  Next thing we knew our guide had wrangled a baby camen into the boat, we got to touch him and then it was back to the water.  After a while we turned off all the light and watched the fireflies dance against the milky way- pretty magical sites to see.