The zoo and jungle all in one week

This didn't quite go as planned this week.

I was supposed to be picked up at 4:30 on monday morning to head to the jungle to volunteer there for the week, but the company didn't show up to pick me up. I ended up calling my volunteer coordinator at 9:00 am and they arranged for me to go to the jungle on the wednesday to friday instead.

I decided to volunteer on the tuesday at the zoo in the university. I met Ricardo tuesday morning and he took me to the zoo. When I was there I got to help feed the birds, monkeys, pigs, ostrich, deer and coatis some bread to tide them over until their food was ready for them. Then I cleaned out the deer pen of deer poop and old hay. After that I helped prepare the food for the non carnivorus birds and animals. I then helped catch the deer so that they could be given some medicines. After that I helped feed the animals and birds their  fruits and vegetables. Free time was now mine and I spent some time looking around at the different birds and animals. I had never seen before a lot of the animals and birds that were there. That was kind of cool!

Breakfast is served

 Me helping in the deer pen

 An ocelot

 A spectacle bear

 An Andean Condor

 A toucan

The animals cages were quite small to some of the zoos that I have been to. Apparently, the zoo will be moving in a month or two to a new location which is quite a bit bigger than this one. That will be good for the animals as long as their cage size increases and the habitat found in the cages is close to that which would be found in the wild.

Wednesday morning I was picked up at 4:30 and began my journey to the jungle. I went in a tourist bus which was a 15 -20 passenger van. It was very comfortable and the scenery was amazing. Part of the way was on gravel roads and some were under construction - as in just being built. The roads were very narrow and seemed to hang from the side of the mountains.

The introduction to the eco jungle where I was staying was a steel cable with a platform or basket suspended from it. This was used to cross the river. You climbed on board and then someone pulled the rope from the other side. If there was no one to pull you pulled yourself from on the platform.

 

The eating/recreation area was a building on stilts with walls approximately 3 1/2 feet tall and a metal roof. There were about 7 tables of various sizes which we put together so that we could all eat at the same table. Gloria was in charge of the kitchen and she is a real sweetheart. She is 52 yrs old and has 6 children. She is in charge of making lunch and supper for the volunteers and any paying guests that happen to be there. She lives in the next town, which is a 15 minute walk away.

Gloria in her kitchen

The sleeping area

One of the bedrooms

Me and my friend Chico

I got aquainted with the other volunteers and the two resident monkeys on my first day. On the second day I walked a couple of the trails with Ashley, a volunteer who had been there for 3 weeks. We saw some grey wooley monkeys on one of the trails. I showered in the waterfall and then after lunch went into town and helped teach the school kids numbers in spanish and english. As there is no electricity out there evenings are very short and bedtime comes quite early.

One of the wooley monkeys we saw

An afternoon shower

The next day I helped make some recycle bins out of bamboo. After lunch I took a shower again at the waterfall and then went to the bird blind to view the national bird of Peru. It is called Gallito de las Rocas or Cock of the Rocks. It has a vibrant red head and it's neck is kind of funny looking which in turn makes it's head kind of funny looking. I took some photos but as the birds were in the trees and a bit far away the photos don't do them justice.

Chico taking a nap on my lap 

A giant frog we saw one night.

One of the bamboo recycle bins we made

The bus ride back to Cusco was on a regular peruvian bus and I think people pay more for a seat. Some people were sitting in the aisle and up near the bus driver. The bus ride home took 10 hours. We were stopped for about 25 min in the jungle as a car up ahead had some problem and the road was not wide enough to pass. We also were stopped by 3 separate police road blocks - I think they were looking for people taking too much coca leaves with them.

Back home at 6:30 saturday morning and boy did my bed here ever feel good. It was good to go and see but it was good to be home here in Cusco as well.

This weekend will find me laying low and taking it a bit easy. I have nothing much planned aside from going to church on either saturday night or sunday morning. I am really looking forward to that as I have been doing so many tours on weekends that I haven't had the opportunity to go.

Please pray for the Advent season. That people who have not had the opportunity to really get to know God through His son Jesus Christ may come to know Him in a very and personal way.

For families all over the world, that God gives us the tools to help form and forge stronger families. That people come to realize that every part of the family is a vital part, whether it is the father, mother, children, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. All parts are vital to the foundation of the family.

Even though I am in Peru, God has placed Cambodia and child trafficking for the sex trade on my heart. Please pray for God's guidance in my life with regards to this. That I find clear direction in how He wants to use me with regards to this issue.

Arequipa and the Colca Canyon

Peru is an amazing country.

I had the opportunity to go to the second largest city in Peru called Arequipa. It is near the Colca Canyon, which the peruvians boast is the deepest canyon in the world. I don´t know if this is correct or not, but I got to go and see the canyon for myself.

Arequipa is known as the white city. This is because the stones used to build it are white. It is an oasis in the desert. The peruvians also claim that the most arid desert is in the south of Peru and the north of Chile. Arequipa is in the midst of it. They say that when the Incas arrived in Arequipa they said in their language of Quechua ari which means here and quipa which means we stay.

A church in Arequipa

There are 3 volcanoes around Arequipa, and when they were active during the time of the Inca´s children were sacrificed to the mountains. One such child, discovered in 1995 and named Juanita after to finder, was found on the top of a volcanic mountain in very, very good condition. The best condition a mummy had ever been found. Her hair, skin, fingernails, all intact and in immaculate condition. The people believe that she was of great beauty, a virgin and very intelligent. She was approximately 12 -14 yrs old when she died from a blow to the temple. The temperatures were such on the top of the mountain that she froze almost immediately and that is why she was so well preserved. They have a small museum here that is dedicated to her and some other child sacrifices. As I was touring the museum all that I could think was ¨how sad. How very, very sad for those children and those people.¨

The volcano Misty

I also visited a monastary while I was in Arequipa. The monastary was built by the spanish in the mid 1500´s and only the second daughter´s born to wealthy families would become nuns. I don´t think the 2nd daughter´s had a choice. The parents had to pay a lot of money for the first 4 yrs of the girls service (novice) and when they became nuns the parents had to pay the girls dowry to the monastary for her upkeep. The girls would bring their slaves with them to the monastary as well as a few personal treasures. They had their own bedrooms, which were actually quite large. They could talk with their families on certain days but only through wooden screens attached to both sides of the wall. They never saw their families with their eyes again and vice versa. They took a bath once a month in like a small, not very deep swimming pool. This was done while they were fully dressed. The slaves also had a place to bathe and again this was once a month, while fully dressed. The richer the girl the less work she had to do.

The side of the wall where the nuns visited with their families. The spoke through the wooden slats

There was one nun who may or may not be considered for sainthood that was at this monastary. The nun began attending school there when she was 3. She became a nun at age 16 or 17 and was for a time the Mother Superior. She died at age 92 blind and I think they said paralysed as well. Apparently, to become a Saint you need to perform 3 legitimate miracles. The first miracle was when she was exhumed. She had been buried for almost a year and when she was exhumed there was absolutely no decaying of her body, whatsoever. The second miracle was when a woman with cancer ate some soil from her grave and her cancer was cured. A medical doctor attested to the fact that the woman had and then didn´t have cancer.

 A typical nun's room

Some of a nun's things on display

The old communal kitchen - not used anymore

This stone was the water filtration system. They would fill the bowl up in the morning and in the evening and the water would drip through the stone and be purified.

The visit to the monastary was very interesting. Apparently, there are still about 20 nuns who live there.

I took a tour around the city of Arequipa and saw a water mill, as well as other interesting things.

Inside the water mill

The stone crushing the corn

Under the water mill. The water powering the stone that is crushing the corn.

The trip to the Colca Canyon was very interesting as well. There was 6 of us that went. One couple from Argentina, one couple from Austria, one girl from Switzerland and myself.

We spent the night in the town of Chavey. I stayed at a different place than the others because we had booked with different agencies. We did have our meals together, though.

The valley that the town of Chavey is in also has a lot of terraced land that the people work. Apparently there is 30 000 people in the valley and they farm 40% of the terraced land. The women dress in long skirts with fancy embroidered shirts and vests from the time of the spanish. Even their hats are embroidered. Very beautiful. The homes are mainly made out of adobe bricks. That is mud and straw bricks dried in the sun. Some of the roofs are corregated metal and some are thatched with straw.

The town of Chavey

A woman and child in typical dress

Some fancy ladies hats. These are worn on a daily basis, just a part of their regular clothes.

Some of the produce grown in the valley. Corn, wheat, barley, quinoa, lima beans, etc.

 The landscape in the valley with some terraced lands

Another lady in her every day clothes.

Another view of the valley

The Colca Canyon itself was pretty cool. I have never seen 1st hand the Grand Canyon but from what I understand the Colca Canyon is not as impressive as the Grand Canyon. The Colca Canyon is over 4000m deep and 110 km long. The Andean Condor calls this place home.

The Andean Condor is the largest bird of flight in the world. It has a wing span of 3m and stands approx 1m and can weigh about 15kg. The guide said that this was not a good time to see the Condors as it is mating season and they don´t usually fly. She said that we would be lucky to see one. When we got to the viewing place we saw one flying. We jumped out of the van and started taking pictures. In all we saw three that day. Some people arrived at the sight 20-30 min after we did and they never got to see one.

The Colca Canyon looking away from the valley

 A condor in flight

 The Colca Canyon looking towards the valley

Trying to look down into the Colca Canyon

The Inca people would mummify their dead and place them in a stone tomb. Here is a picture of some of the tombs that had been opened by scientists from today's times. They are just under the overhand and appear to be small holes.

Another opened tomb. The tomb was built using stones and mud and cactus juice as a cement. This tomb is a bit red in colour.

This is a picture of 6 unopened tombs, just under the ridge.

The highest point in altitude of our trip was the summit at just over 5000m. It was like being on the top of the world.

God has created an amazing and quite diverse place here in Peru. The desert, the Andean mountains, the jungle, the seaside. All quite different, but equally beautiful in their own ways. God must have had such a good time creating all of creation. The heavens, the earth, the seas, the skies, the galaxies, the universe. What a job that must have been!!

I am off to the jungle tomorrow to do some volunteering there. I think I will be doing some reforestation of native species along with removal of some bamboo. I am looking forward to this part but I also understand that one of God´s little creatures (the mosquito) has a voracious appetite. I hope they don´t like me too much.

Please keep my family in your prayers.

Also, please pray for the people of Peru. They claim to follow the Catholic religion, but they also worship the Mother Earth and the mountains, sun, water, etc.. like their ancestors do. I don´t think a lot of them really know the Good News of Jesus Christ. Pray that God will be in this place and that an awakening to the Truth be seen in this place.

Please pray for the other volunteers. A lot of them are living for self and their lives seem quite empty because of it. Let me be a beacon for them as to a good life. A life in Christ.

Machu Picchu and me

Machu Picchu! We have heard so much about it. Discovered in the early 1900s, pretty much intact, a lost civilization of the Inca's.

The first sight of Machu Picchu from the Sun Gate was incredible, let me tell you. The beauty of the place, the arrangement of the site, the terraces, the dwelling places, the temples, not really ruins at all. It seemed like the only thing missing was the thatched roofs on the buildings. Everything else was intact - granted there is a bit of lichen, moss and flora growing on the stones, but still, after over 500 years that is amazing.

The place is very well kept, the grass on the terraces is a verdant green, there are llamas roaming around the buildings and the terraces. Even with all the tourists this is a very tranquil spot.

The construction of the buildings themselves was something to see. The Inca's did 3 different kinds of stonework. One for the most important places - the temples and king's home, the second was for the priests and the other dwellings and the third was for the terraces. All different, but done by the same peoples. In some places they built around the existing mountain as seen here.

A couple of different techniques easily seen here in this photo.

I was also fortunate enough to be one of the 400 who got to climb Wayna Picchu. Wayna Picchu is the taller looking mountain directly behind or beside Machu Picchu. There are also temples and buildings on top of it as well. How these people did all this work is beyond me.

This is the view from the top of Wayna Picchu showing the switchback road up to Machu Picchu.

The day was a fabulously sunny day. Blues skies, gentle breezes and the warmth (okay the heat) of the sun combined to make a most beautiful day to explore some ruins.

There were stairs to go up and stairs to go down. I don't think I have ever done as many stairs in my life as I did in the last 4 days.

They had a replica of what a house would have looked like with the second storey for produce and supplies and the thatched roof tied to the house with vines or strips of alpaca or llama hide. The roof is not equal on both sides, one side is definitely longer than the other.

Climbing Wayna Picchu was hard also. The trail was narrow and there were so many stairs. In some places people were climbing down backwards due to the steepness. There was also cables attached to the mountain to be used as a handrail in the most steep and difficult places.

Praise and prayers:

Praise be to God! A baby boy was born yesterday to Mike and Chelsea. They have yet to decide on a name but baby and mother are both doing well.

Please pray for my daughter Tammy as she is experiencing some difficulties in her life right now. Please pray that God will be ever present and that her eyes and her heart be opened to the beauty of life.