Peru_2003

Page created: 19-10-03, Updated 26/03/2020 05/04/2020

Old this webpage; http://ww1.andrew-lohmann.me.uk/photographs/peru_2003/

WiP

Ancient city of Chan-Chan, The Andes and a fortress at 3 KM, The Amazons, and Swimming with Pink Dolphins

Peru with VegiVentures tour 2 Amaru 19 days during September 2003.

Thank you to Alison and David for some of there pictures at the bottom of this page.

The stay in the wonderful old colonel hotel in Lima was most enjoyable. 

Unfortunately the weather was uncharacteristically poor. The mirror of our uncharacteristic heat in Europe, put down to climate change. Apparently people, who generally don't have heating are dying of cold in Cusco. + Market in Huanchaco.

Moche Moon temple until the 1950's                                    Michael showing us the Moche Sun Temple

contained 10 tons of gold

 Touched up section of wall. 

Back outside - Humming Bird

More better pictures from  http://www.peru.org.pe

City of chan-chan (unfortunately my photos did not come out very well)

Dig down and spring water surfaces   The wall is earthquake proof having trapezoid shape mud bricks with the short side on top. - The things that look like loudspeakers amplify naturally when faced and spoken at.

Trujillo - Spanish influence

4) The city of Chan-Chan is a mixture of old and modern with people living in mud brick or fired brick houses has temple with gold painted walls and natural sound amplification Michael's Peruvian wife was so well informed amateur archaeologist. Michael previously talked us around the Sun & Moon Temples, these temples have layers of painted walls, I took more photos those days.

Crossing the Andes, lots of rice grown, on the way to Chachapoyas

On the way to Kuelap - Paddy fields - Fortress at 3 KM above sea level 

Crossing the Andes with all the patterns in the rocks chunky in stile like Peruvian art, was wonderful (I think Oda thought this connection a silly idea). Kuelap at 3 KM, an almost invulnerable fortress, but for its Achilles heal just sit around outside until there food and water runs out. At Chachapoyas seeing fair skinned Peruvians was interesting - it is possible that these people are ancestors of Vikings? remember Konteki. The journey was as we could see was through bandit country.

The actual white water rafting thanks to Alison for taking these photos..

Hospitality  (from the hammock) - Food - Taxi service

Amazon from outside The Real Hotel Iquitos

 Buses & Taxis in Iquitos

 Texan Bar (there is a good story here) Bar waiter & waitress - Moto "Don't mess with a Texan"

 Isn't it big - the Amazon - Rowing the bananas 70 miles to Iquitos - Down stream fishing on the Amazon

 Muyuna is participating in the World Travel Mart on November 10-13rd, 2003.  You can find us in the LA 1035 booth, with or without appointment. Phone:  (51-65) 24-2858, 163 Putumayo St., Main floor, Iquitos, Perú, www.muyuna.com

7) The Amazons, 70-80 miles from Iquitos the People are still living in a place like Eden where they wake play and work from 5:30AM to 6:30PM, have medicine for everything. It seemed that we should not have gone there bring are poorer western ways with us.

Muyuna Lodge -  Trees all around - last picture of Victor at the Lodge taken by David.

The lads at http://www.muyuna.com/ Lodge looked after us well, the wildlife was astonishing, birds, spiders, monkeys, leaf cutter ants.

Its said that Radio has better pictures but Peruvians have ayahuasca and these pictures can be vivid 3D patterns trees with moving colour dots on them become green patterned snakes sliding over each other, become orange ants moving in horizontally and vertically, side by side in opposite directions. The snakes slid horizontally. The pictures return to patterns joined by fine straight filaments starting at the corners of the image square with an imaginary origin at the centre of the picture. The choice of white ayahuasca administered by Amelia Oda's friend made the environment safe. Amelia stayed with us for meals until mid day or so the next day. DOS Program Patterns Alternatively Try this

 Swimming in the Amazon with Pink Dolphins photos taken by Alison. 

David's tattoos were popular with the local children.

Iquitos Muyuna Lodge lads chaperoned us through a market in a poorer district, and a floating raft on a river. This was good and made best use of the time available before our flight to Lima, unfortunately flights to Iquitos had been messed up by the airline but Oda was able to negotiate the best for us.

During the evening in Lima Oda provided an opportunity for us to analyse the holiday. This was a good opportunity to feedback consequently my comment form would just say - do the holiday again.

Alison & Oda around the pool, picture of Oda & Amelia by Alison, Back home Autumn tints were very good this year

Here is an except of the email I received 5 weeks before the holiday from Nigel Walker telling me about:-

The following tour, led by VegiVentures' tour manager and anthropologist Oda Seedhouse:

Tour 2 'Amaru', 13 September - 1 October 2003

Lima - Trujillo - Chan Chan - Chachapoyas - Kuelap - Tarapoto - Iquitos - The Amazon.

A journey well off the beaten track, to northern Peru and the Amazon basin. From Lima we fly to

Trujillo, Peru's northern capital, and stay for 3 nights in the beautiful beach resort of Huanchaco. There is time to relax by the sea, and visit the largest adobe pyramids in the Americas, sacred sites of the Mochica culture. And we visit Chan Chan, capital of the Chimu Empire, one of the most impressive archaeological complexes of Pre-Inkan civilisation, well preserved by the dry desert climate. Our drive from Trujillo to Chachapoyas is one of the most scenic in Peru, leading us through mountains covered with carob trees, lush rice fields and deep canyons. Here we visit the dramatic ancient ruins of Kuelap, fortress city of the Chachapoyas, the 'warriors of the clouds'. Then on to Tarapoto, where we stay at the friendly, family run Hostal El Mirador, with beautiful views over Tarapoto and the jungle covered mountains, our base for 4 nights. Here we have the opportunity to rest, acclimatise to the jungle, and experience shamanic jungle medicine at the Takiwasi Centre. From Tarapoto we take a flight to Iquitos, the largest and most exciting of Peru's jungle towns. This is our departure point for a 3-night jungle experience, staying in thatched dwellings at Muyuna Lodge, on the Yanayacu River 120km to the south-west. Here we explore the rainforest, observe the wildlife, swim from sandy beaches and visit an indigenous village. We return to Iquitos for one night, before our flight back to Lima.

And a snippet of my immediate reply:-

I'm interested but will have to check with work doctor for inoculations

etc. Please advise air line it's price etc., visa's? I have a US

indefinite on an old passport. I will also need cash do I get that

before I go or better bought in Peru?

Pictures Thanks to Alison 

I remain changed by this holiday and this is what I wrote in 2009

EMAIL CORRESPONDENCE WITH A FRIEND - read in reverse order.

Andrew that's dead cool

Drew

Andrew H Lohmann <andrew.h.lohmann@btinternet.com> wrote:

Hi Drew,

Veggie seems impossible, in Peru particularly where I was off the tourist track. We had a wonderful group leader Oda, she is Peruvian by intent and paperwork, but actually she is a tall blond aristocratic German, and my newly adopted twin sister. Oda left home and became a brummy for a while before getting a job with Vegi Ventures. Anyway to cut a long story short, if agreements she makes are not kept she's very firm, persistent, and snaps her fingers and it is done. Therefore anything is possible.

Picture below is of a Village 70 miles down the Amazon from Iquitos near where I stayed. The women are sitting on a floating log, so how do they manage not to fall in the water? No beads for sale they just liked visitors.