Round 7 Mancora- part 2

The Playa Bonita had a GREAT restaurant and we had our own waiter/butler named Vincent or Vincente. We ate several meals on the sundeck with our friends Becca and Jeff for basically pennies compared to food at home. We were also spoiled because a massage therapist came to our hotel on two occasions and gave us all cheap 1 hour massages. My first one was on the beach under the warm sun. It was incredible!
Heather gave me this cute card on my birthday with a little 'perfect' growing man. You know, one of those 'for the handsome man of your dreams - just add water'. We made an activity of it and after I gave him a little good luck kiss, I threw him into the pool.
Unfortunately, it was a slow growth process and I will have to wait patiently. I don't know how much patience I have left.

Becca and Jeff playing in the surf. So this was my first time surfing without a wetsuit. It was great, but I guess I understand why rashguards are useful if you aren't using a wetsuit. I had, and actually still have, a rash on my stomach. After spending hours out in the surf, I found a new use for my chapstick. Sounds strange, but it felt so good! I'm still fishing pieces of sand out of that particular chapstick. he he. Heather got some serious boogie boarding in! I figure a sunset picture is the best way to wrap up Mancora. There really are no words for how relaxed I was able to get being there. It was hard to leave, but I was so glad I went. Till next time....

Round 6 Mancora- part 1

We left our Amazon Jungle and flew to Piura, Peru. From Piura we knew we had to take a taxi to Mancora. The bus situation was also an option, but would take a few hours longer and the comfort level would be questionable. We were mostly in a hurry to get to the sandy beaches so we could start the, "I'm thinking and doing absolutely nothing since I'm laying on the beach" phase of our trip. Serendipitously, there was this nice young man in the airport who looked very American. I asked him if he was going to Mancora and to my delight he said "yes!". We ended up sharing a two hour taxi ride with him and his girlfriend, Becca. This meant our 400 Sole ($120) ride would be divided into four. Great!! So we rode in a newer economy Toyota, which felt like a limo, and definitely doesn't corner on rails. Our Driver was a bit scary, but we survived. He recommended a place for us to stay. This is always shady because they get a cut for directing us to certain places. We went along with it, telling him we wanted a ride into the city if we weren't satisfied. Well. We got there and bargained down to $25 per person per night. Heather and I knew that we would be staying here at least one night and then heading into town closer to the action. These pics are from our first night in Playa Bonita. It was heaven.
We were greeted with Pisco Sours (the famous Peruvian drink) and started immediately relaxing and enjoying our surroundings.

Sunset that evening, the first of many.

The next morning, Heather and I were eager to head to the center of town. We decided to pack up and check out a few of the recommended hotels from our Lonely Planet that were right in front of the surf break and near all the restaurants and bars. We walked around with our packs and were eager to check-in somewhere and get in the water. After all, it was at least 85 degrees and we were hot!

Turns out our time in Playa Bonita set us up for real disappointment. We ended up staying one night in the following room. This was the only open room in the area and we weren't happy about it, but determined to make the best of it. We dropped our stuff and went to the beach for surfing and sunning.


As you can see in the picture above, this place was icky! Under different circumstances or in other cities, this would have been more acceptable. BUT- We were paying $20 per night per person to say in this s-hole! This was only $5 less than our beloved Playa Bonita. Before dinner we were resting in our beds and I kind of found a ton of ants in bed with me. I know I'm laughing now, but at the time it was not a good situation. We ended up getting new sheets and burning an insect coil to hopefully ward off any visiting critters. We went to bed (I didn't really sleep) with the agreement that we were headed right back to Playa Bonita with the hopes that they would give us the same cheap deal. They did and we started our vacation. again....

We still mototaxied into town for activity, but spent a lot of time with our new friends Becca and Jeff. They were from Manhattan and South Carolina and were on their own Peruvian excursion. They were very happy to have English speaking company, as were we.



We had a fishing adventure one day. It was a bit of a mess, but we eventually ended up on a fishing boat where we caught all kinds of sea creatures. Wasn't exactly the deep-sea fishing we thought would produce our dinner, but was a fun adventure anyways.
My Big Catch!

Back to Mancora via Mototaxi!
Too much for one post. More soon on Mancora.

Milestones

Today was a big day. My defense day.

I passed! It still doesn't feel real. Kind of like a dream.

I won't be officially done with OSU until I make a few corrections and turn it in to the library.

Still adjusting to the fact that this chapter of my life will soon be history. Time to start moving on.

Pictures from my day-

Rick, my chair

Patricia, committee member who mentored me through the hardest time of my academic life. I am oh so ever thankful for the advice she gave me 2 years ago!

Heather came down to Corvallis with me and Erin was there for support. We had appetizers and drinks at a new restaurant in Corvallis. Let's celebrate!I just want to thank EVERYONE who has supported me over the last 4 years. I could have never done it without those of you who have listened to my every gripe, given me a shoulder to cry on, listened to my countless soapboxes about dementia and just been THERE for me. Thank You.

Round 5- Amazon part 2

The day we went fishing it was very hot. We had no luck, but managed to watch a boat full of men pulling nets. They were working so hard and were jumping in with all their clothes on to cool off. Heather and I decided that we wanted to swim. I love the following pic of Heather preparing to jump.

It was my turn. Louis almost got all of me.
Afterwards we were up to our usual antics. We tried to get Willie (I think that was his name) to be silly too, but he clearly couldn't match our nuttiness. I can't look at this picture without laughing.

More Amazon life..... little monkey Heather and the anaconda
The Toucan The walking stick insect

girl alone in a dark jungle (Heather and I found ourselves out one night without our guide. ooohh.. scary!)

I love this pic. Spending time on the water was a highlight of the trip.
Breathtaking sunsetThis was our last pic before leaving.

I loved the Amazon! Hope to go back someday.

Round 4 - Amazon part 1

The Amazon Jungle was probably the most surprising part of our trip. We knew that Machu Pichu would be amazing and we knew the beach would feel great, but I don't think we were prepared for the life we would see in the Amazon Jungle. The minute we stepped off the plane we knew we were in a very unique place. It was humid and refreshing at the same time. We spent our first night in Iquitos, which was this lively town full of Mototaxi's and people. As we were driving into town, a downpour soaked our bags and our bodies and I loved every minute of it. We stayed in a backpacker hostel for one night and also celebrated my 30th in Iquitos. We found good company in a french guy who had been travelling for several months. Good drink, food and live music. Good stuff.

The next morning, our guide picked us up at our hostel. We ended up riding up river about 45 minutes to a refuge. Our time their would include lodging, food, nature walks, etc. Below is a picture of our mosquito free hut with a toilet(no door though)!


As soon as we put our bags down, we ate and were on our way to our first nature walk. There was so much to see. I warned our guide that the one thing that I was afraid of was tarantula's. On our first walk out, he stops and says, "I don't want to you to worry..... Don't look over there." After he said, don't worry, I thought for sure the the tarantula was on my back. It wasn't. It was over on a tree and I actually got pretty close to take a picture. It had a friend about 4 feet lower on the same tree. One picture was enough for me.It seemed like everywhere we went, there was something amazing and picture worthy. I found myself thinking about how we were in such a small area and how huge the the Amazon Basin really is. Just in a few square feet there were several types of life and to think about all the life that was existing(and still is existing) in the entire Amazon Basin was just overwhelming.

Louis (our guide in the picture below) took us to the Yagua Village. Most of these folks spoke very little Spanish and had their own language. There have been articles about undiscovered tribes and I can confidently say that this indigenous tribe was not one of those. They seemed to have a relationship with our jungle lodge and had charms and crafts ready for us to purchase. They were so nice, especially the males. The Second male in charge said that if Heather and I moved to the village that we would be "well-nourished". He was very flirtatious. We later learned that polygamy was common in the villages. I have some other photos of the women in this village. I wish I could say that they seemed as happy as the males, but their faces told a different story.

When we weren't eating or trekking, we passed time with card playing. The locals taught Heather a new game and we played that for the rest of the trip. Even more entertaining was a puppy called fastidio. This is translated as 'annoying'. This little puppy was a bit of a whiner, but we never saw any of that. Probably because anytime he came near us, we spoiled him by holding him and kissing him. He was SO SWEET!!
Jungle lodge by Candlelight. There was no power.

When people ask me what my favorite part of the trip was, I think it was probably when I held the three toed sloth. It was so heavy... and slow... and noisy in a cute kind of way..... I couldn't get enough of this guy. They put him down and he made a run for it. It took him about 4 minutes to get 7 feet. I wish I had video of him, and maybe I'll find some online. He was great.

Sophisticated fishing techniques. You have to tap the surface to attract the fish our guide said. Then, pull really fast when you feel a bite. Our captain nearly caught one, but for the most part we were completely unsuccessful. I enjoyed it anyways.
The following video clip was from one of our canoe excursions. Actually it was our first excursion and Heather and I were really excited to be there.

The clouds were amazing.

Too much for one blog. More to come.

Round 3- Machu Pichu

Our journey to Machu Pichu started at the local bus station. (see the bus bathroom in the picture below). We rode the bus for about an hour to another city where we shared a taxi with a few people to Olytantambo. We hung out there for a while until our train left for Aquas Caliente. We stayed their for two nights. From this town, Machu Pichu is a 20 minute bus ride away.

Picture from the back of the bus window.

Heather being funny in Olytantambo. I love that girl!
We left for Machu Pichu at 5:30 and were literally the the 6th and 7th person to enter the grounds. We pretty much raced to the base of Wayna Pichu because we knew we wanted to have a view from the top of that peak. My friend Tina had just travelled to the region and said it was a must. When we got there we understood why. The following video clip is from atop Wayna Pichu. It was a grueling hike, but well worth it.

We returned back to the center and yet the views continued to be breathtaking.
We also took a trail to view a bridge that the Incans constructed. We came across a friend along the way and couldn't leave without a picture.Yep. We are goofy and completely travel compatible.We had drinks with two UK girls that night in Aquas Caliente.

We scheduled Machu Pichu first because we wanted to ensure we would get there while in Peru. It was amazing and I'm still scratching my head over how they built such a magnificent city so long ago with no wheels or pulleys. Just nuts. We took a train back to Cuzco and prepared for the next leg of our trip. Luckily, a few guys we had met recommended we stay at a certain jungle lodge near Iquitos. Their recommendation was great and I have the pics to prove it!

a break from the rounds

I figured out how to free space on my computer and was able to successfully download all 1400 pics that Heather and I took! Started blogging, but have been slowed by the most amazing bug. The minute I stepped off the plane I started sneezing and had a runny nose. I assumed this was allergies since Cottonwood and Scotchbroom are in peak bloom right now. I was wrong. My body is so sick right now that I have been in bed, on my back since I got home on Friday night. Made an attempt to hit the Milwaukie Saturday market today and lasted just long enough to get my three fresh mini-donuts. Dizziness, coughing, runny nose and body fatigue forced me right back to bed. The reason this 'bug' is so amazing is because it has progressed so fast and I'm hoping this will continue until it is gone! I was sick last fall for a whole month and this bug is at the chest cough stage after 3 days! I took an expectorant and started to cough up stuff about 7 minutes later! It's nuts. I think it is a testament to how comprimised my immune system is from pushing it to the limit this last 3 or so months. I have tomorrow off, so I'm hoping it will work it's way through my body before I head back on Tuesday.

Just an FYI, I added a photo page link on this blog. It is in the right hand column and is entitled, 'as I see it'. I guess you could say it is my own little picture page.