A Whale of a Day

Posted on August 4, 2013 by msuerupley

Another post that is a bit overdue though still definitely something we wanted to share.

A few weeks ago Chris and I got the opportunity to travel down to the Ecuadorian coast to the little town of Puerto Lopez. This tiny coastal fishing town is best known as one of the best places in the world to see the migrating Humpback Whales. We had read lots of reviews that said the town was basically nothing so we were incredibly surprised to find a charming and relaxing location where we had a wonderful few days.

A bit about Humpback Whales:
Humpback Whales grow to be between 40 and 52 feet and can weigh up to 79,000 pounds! They migrate about 16,000 miles every year, in this case migrating from the cold waters of Antarctica to the warm waters off Ecuador. Due to whaling, in the years up till 1966 it is estimated that their population dropped by about 90%. Today the population is growing with 80,000 Humpbacks worldwide though many populations are still in danger as noise pollution and entanglement in fishing nets continues to be a problem.

After taking an overnight bus from Quito, we arrived in the pre-dawn hours, with the sun just peaking out. It’s always a bit nerve racking arriving in a new town at the bus stop but can be especially so when it’s dark and you’re exhausted. However, this time we found a sleepy little town complete with the nicest people. A young man who was opening up his shop gave us directions (in English!) to our hotel where the front desk lady graciously opened up our room and left us to sleep.

My favorite model posing on the beach.

Over the next few days Chris and I would have some of the most relaxing days of our trip. We took long walks on the beach, ate amazing Seafood Paella, and spent time reading in a café. During our walk on the beach we discovered thousands of tracks in the sand. At first we thought they must be from some bird or something but then we discovered they were actually thousands of Sand Dollars that were buried in the sand!

What a cool site. I had no idea that this is what Sand Dollars do, burrowing in low-tide sandy areas and eating larvae and algae buried there.

We also visited the small Manta indigenous community, Agua Blanca, located a bit north of Puerto Lopez. This community of about 300 hundred is one of the oldest continually inhabited communities in Ecuador and is one of the few who survived without being conquered by the Incas. They have a tiny, though fascinating, archeology museum where they display a number of artifacts from their history. The pottery skills were impressive, there were intricate animal statues as well as urns and chairs, and I was amazed to see buttons and knitting needles that were fancy versions of exactly what we use today.

Yummy, jarred snakes and tarantulas!

Ancient burial pots, complete with bones. Don’t know how respectful this is but it’s pretty cool.

Of course the highlight of the trip was the whale watching, well that and the Paella. These gentle giants are magnificent and so beautiful. (Maybe not so gentle if you take a look at this video, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ut7wK9l9mk). They come to the Ecuador coast to enjoy the warm shallow waters, mate, and have their babies. They were everywhere and every ten minutes or so we got to see a new one jumping and playing in the sparkling water. Unfortunately we only saw one from far away completely breach the water but we were okay as it was pretty amazing what we did see. We even got to hear them singing to one another and a couple of them swimming in synchronization.

What a fabulous site!

Plus, on my second trip out (Chris wasn’t quite as obsessed with the whales as me) our boat got completely surrounded by hundreds of dolphins. It was incredible! The captain all of a sudden stopped the boat and told us to look over towards the left. In the distance we could only see ripples in the water and I had absolutely no idea what was coming towards us. Then all of a sudden there they were, completely surrounding us, swimming and jumping on all sides. I’ve never experienced anything like it I couldn’t stop laughing (well giggling) at their playful antics.

The Guide: Here they come!
Me: What, what is coming?
The Guide: Hold on to your fish!

Incredible, just incredible.

While we were in the Galapagos we had had an eye opening experience in seeing what actually exists under the sea and seeing these whales and animals brought it all back to us. It continues to amaze me over and over again that there are all these different worlds within our world and that we have so little awareness and direct interaction with them. It’s ecosystems and cultures, languages and foods, peoples and animals. There is just so much diversity out there and every time we get exposed to a new piece of it, I am amazed all over again at the discovery.

Unfortunately, the more we travel the more realize how many of these pieces are in jeopardy, whether it’s indigenous communities in the Amazon being destroyed by oil or whale populations diminishing due to lack of food. It’s easy to see here in developing countries where people can’t pay to be removed from the destruction and it’s incredibly overwhelming when you get smacked in the face with all the problems facing our world.

But in the end that’s why we are traveling. To learn about our world, make ourselves uncomfortable, and to expand our horizons, ultimately raising our awareness about both the world and ourselves. Well that and because, you got to admit, spending a day whale watching in Ecuador is way more fun that sitting in an office.

Posted in Excursion Log | Tagged animals, ecuador, South America, whale | 3 Comments

An Inca Trek

Posted on August 3, 2013 by msuerupley

Thanks Kye for this awesome photo of the whole group!

So this one is a bit late in coming but we had such an amazing time on the Inca Trek, we definitely wanted to share it.

The map of the route.

The Inca Trek is a 26.3 mile long path that the Incas followed on their pilgrimages from Cusco to Machu Picchu. It’s an incredibly beautiful journey that passes through gorgeous mountain valleys, along sparkling rivers, and over souring mountain passes. The Incas worshiped the Sun and the Earth, including mountains and rivers, and as such their route was not planned with ease in mind but rather to take in these beautiful sights. It is a truly fabulous hike that allows its trekkers to immerse themselves in the beauty and history of Peru. As an added bonus 4 of our closest friends from San Francisco had come down to join us for the hike, making this a truly special week for us.

We are going on an adventure!

The Inca Trek starts just outside of the ancient Inca town of Ollatambo. After getting our passports stamped we crossed a bridge and began a short climb up. As we turned the first corner our breaths caught in our throat as we encountered the first of many beautiful vistas.

The first day was an easy 10-mile hike up and down rolling hills. We actually climbed a fair bit but it was fairly gentle and was a great warm-up for our lungs and legs. It also gave us the opportunity to start bonding with our fellow trekkers who all turned out to be pretty awesome.

Lindsay and I catching up (and accidentally dressing as twins) after 3 months separation!

Before coming on the Trek I had heard horror stories from past Inca Trekkers about how incredibly crowded the trail was and that they spent most of their time staring at the rear-end of the person in front of them. Thanks to the fact we booked with LlamaPath and they use a different timetable (meaning we got up at 3-3:30am the first and last morning) as well as the smaller campsites, we barely ever ran into other groups of hikers. However, during the first day we did have some interesting encounters with locals, who live along the Path, and their animals. We almost got trampled a few times from Alpacas on the run as well as some donkeys that were being led by a kid who was texting!

Joe: Alpacas coming through!

Mindy: Joe, that’s a dog.

Mindy: Oh my bad.

I told Chris to pose with this cow. Yeah, he didn’t like that.

After getting to camp that night we had our first 3-hour dinner. The food was incredible! Who knew that a chef could do a 3-course gourmet meal, complete with a flaming dessert, with only items carried up by porters and at 9,000 feet. I have to say I felt really bad for the porter who had to carry a Pineapple up the mountain only to find out it was just for decoration!

Pineapple turtle with shish kabob wings!

After what felt like barely any sleep (I had some seriously cold feet issues) we were up again before sunrise for the longest day of hiking as well as the most fantastic. We immediately started a steep climb that continued through multiple shifts in scenery. We started out in a rainforest, climbed up to the cloud forest, and kept on going to the high mountain area, eventually leaving behind all but the most hearty of bushes.

After a short break to take a zillion photos of the Alpacas, we begin the final part of the first ascent. As Chris and I were both fighting the beginning of colds, we definitely took our time going up this part. Breathing deeply, with Chris blowing his nose every 10 feet, we reached the top, 13,779 feet, and the spectacular view of valleys and snow-capped mountains. It was such a group effort with everyone cheering each other on and the feeling of accomplishment and camaraderie was fabulous.

The whole gang on top of Dead Woman’s Pass.

Then began the downhill journey and the steps. The Incas had destroyed the beginning part of the trail up till the first pass in an effort to block out the Spanish and while the Peruvian government had reconstructed some of the steps for the first part, it wasn’t till after the Pass that we got a true taste of the Incas’ masonry skills. The Incas don’t mess around and they had built about 9,000 steps going up and down these mountains. They were crazy and exhausting and incredibly steep at parts. They even went through tunnels that the Incas had built into the rocks. You kind of always felt like you were about to pitch down the mountain and we definitely exasperated this by spending most of our time turnt around chatting back and forth with one another.

Some old and new friends.

The rest of the day went pretty much the same. After a few fake-outs of thinking we had reached the 2^nd pass as well as a bit of rain, we reached the top and quickly began our descent down even more stairs.

A tad bit wet but still having a blast.

The highlight of the day came for me when we reached the Sayaqmarka Ruins. Built on the side of a steep mountain, these beautiful ruins were completed encapsulated in clouds and fog. As we explored them it was like we were in some ancient, mystical world, completely cut-off from everything. I began to understand why the Incas worshipped the Earth and mountains and began to truly appreciate how much ingenuity they had put into honoring these sacred places.

The 3^rd day was fairly uneventful though no less spectacular. It involved a shorter hike of almost all downhill, lots of beautiful scenery, as well as some more spectacular ruins.

That night as we sat at dinner and discussed our 3am wake-up call (because if you are not the first ones into Machu Picchu, you are the last!) I began contemplating what had made the last few days so special. As I sat there laughing and recollecting with everyone, I realized how rarely you have the opportunity to do something so unique. Here we were, eating amazing food, chatting with not only some of our closest old friends but some awesome new ones, and after days spent hiking a trail incredibly rich in history and beauty. I felt a bit in awe of what we got to take part in and incredibly sad that it was almost over. Everything on this trip has been a rare once in a lifetime experience and it’s a bit overwhelming when you sit back and think about everything we have gotten to do.

My favorite picture of Chris and I from the trek.

Early the next morning, i.e. 3am, we made our way to the gate that begins the final hour trail to Machu Picchu. Thank goodness after our early morning wake-up call we were first in line. It definitely would have been a bit devastating after all that not to be. It was a cold, rough morning of waiting for the gates to open at 5am and was exasperated as Chris and my colds started taking turns for the worse. After the gates opened, there was a mad dash to the Sun Gate (we saw the elusive Speckled Andean Bear!), as everyone wants to be the first group. This hour was a bit overwhelming as other groups were pushing us forward and people got lost in the shuffle. I even lost Chris though found him again about 20 feet before the Gate and we finished the hike together.

The first view of Machu Picchu!

However, when you reach the Sun Gate, and the valley with Machu Picchu is laid out before you, it is instantly worth it. Its beauty surrounds you and for me I felt a wonderful sense of peace as I stared out over everything. Machu Picchu is something that a lot of us had dreamed of seeing and most of us had seen thousands of photos of, but then all of a sudden you are there and it is so much more than you ever could have imagined.

Our first photo with Machu Picchu. Well the first one that doesn’t seem ridiculous because of red noses and eyes.

The rest of the morning is a bit of a blur. Chris and I were completely under the weather by that point and we wouldn’t really get to enjoy the site till the following day after a long overdue nap. What we found was a beautiful and miraculous place that is every bit as special as we expected.

Ah, starting to feel better!

It was an incredible week and we are so thankful that we got to take part in this adventure and even more so that we got to share it with such amazing friends.

The San Francisco Gang

Posted in Excursion Log | Tagged Inca, Machu Picchu, peru, trekking | 1 Comment

Ruins of the Forgotten Inca Civilization

Posted on July 23, 2013 by crupley

Written by Chris

Ruins, llamas llove ’em!

After spending a bit of time learning about the Incas in South America, I think it is typical for most people to arrive at the same conclusion; the Spanish were dicks. By most measures, the Incas had a very advanced civilization and had accumulated a great deal of knowledge. However, over the course of a generation in the 1500’s, the Spanish conquistadors brought their superior weapons and diseases, killed well over half of the Inca population, and forcibly replaced their culture and language with that of the Spanish. Since the Incas had no written language, the majority of their accomplishments were lost. We have only been able to reconstruct what they may have known by studying the ruins that they have left behind.

Archeological Sites

Don’t call it a ruin, it’s an “archeological site”. I guess the guides don’t like the implication something that something the Incas built could become “ruined” in some way. Peru is awash with them. You see ancient terraces while driving along the highway, some still used for farming today. There are stone buildings on hilltops overlooking valleys, remnants of the old stone roads here and there, and, of course, the several major stone cities that are still mostly intact. Most people know the grandaddy of all these sites, Machu Picchu, but we had the opportunity to see many other impressive examples of Inca works during our hike on the Inca Trail and during our stay in Peru.

Sacsahuaman – The city of Cusco was the capital of the Inca Empire and they designed it to resemble a puma, one of their three sacred animals, when viewed from above. Sacsahuaman is a large structure built where the head of the puma would be. Within, it had a large and intricate series of reflecting pools used for astronomical observation which were in the shape of a circle and represented the eye of the puma. There were also some of the more formidable walls we saw and some had a jagged pattern to represent the teeth of the puma. Unfortunately, many of the walls were dismantled by the Spanish to be used in rebuilding Cusco after they conquered it. You can still find some unusually impressive sections of wall within the city that were built from transplanted walls from the temple.

Imposing walls (and imposing inhabitants) at Sacsahuaman

Koricancha – Sacsahuaman was the eye of the puma that is Cusco and Koricancha was located at the navel. The Incas thought of the navel as the core of a being; in the way we think of the heart today. In their time, Cusco was the navel of the empire (and of the world), and Koricancha was the navel of Cusco. This gives us reason to believe that this was their most important temple. Unfortunately, since the Incas thought this site to be so holy, the Spanish thought it should be for them as well, and they plopped a Spanish church right on top of the Inca buildings. Inside, one can see the interesting juxtaposition of some fantastically crafted stone Inca buildings completely surrounded by a 16th century Spanish church.

Koricancha, what a great example of neo Inco-spanish architecture

“The Fortress” in Ollantaytambo – This site has the claim to fame of being one of the few Inca strongholds to repel the Spanish invasion. It is built stretching far up a large hillside, in the typical Inca fashion, with a series of terraces for crops, and a collection of holy buildings and shelters higher up. When the Spanish came to invade, the Incas diverted a nearby river and flooded the entire valley floor, forcing the Spanish to abandon their bogged down horses. The Spanish then had to attempt the climb the narrow stairs on foot while the Incas rolled large logs and boulders down on top of them. This failure by the Spanish was overcome some time later when they returned with a force 5x bigger and eventually conquered the area. Fortunately, the Spanish did leave most of the site intact except for chipping off some of the non-Christian symbols from the walls of the stone temples.

Ollantaytambo’s Fortress, rock and water beats steel and horses

This site boasted some more impressive displays of Inca craftsmanship. There was a well-built (and still functional) canal system bringing water through the structures, well-crafted walls, a temple area framed with some truly massive stones, and some seats where they kept some of their holiest mummies. Interestingly, this site was still under construction when the empire fell so we got to see some great examples of their construction methods: There were rocks that were in transit from their quarry (up a cliff on the opposite side of the valley), giant stones propped up on platforms so they could be shaped before being placed, and rocks in the wall with “handles” for putting them into place which would be carved off later.

Moray – This is another site and it consists of only terraces and no buildings. It is unique in that in contains concentric terraces that were apparently dug downwards into a pit whereas all other terrace structures in the area were cut to run parallel up the side of a slope. It is thought that this was a site for agricultural experimentation where each level had a slightly different climate and the perfect growing conditions could be found.

Moray; made by aliens? Nope, they’re not this smart.

Other sites along the Inka Trail – During our hike along the Inka Trail, we came upon many more sites of varying complexity. Most of these were used as rest stops for travelers along the trail. They typically had shelters and terraces where they grew food to resupply the travelers. Most sites also had a few other structures used for worship or research.

Wayllabamba; The Incas loved that Ritchie Valens song, but they never got to see the movie

Sayaqmarka from above.

Intipata had a giant stone altar with a suspiciously man-shaped cradle in it…

Machu Picchu – Machu Picchu is the reason why millions of visitors come to Peru and it certainly did not disappoint us. It is located on a smaller peak in the middle of a mountain valley and this allows for some breathtaking views from the surrounding peaks as well as astounding views from the site itself.

Could not have asked for better friends to share this with

Machu Picchu was (re)discovered by Yale professor Hiram Bingham in 1911. At that time, it had been completely reclaimed by forrest growth and was not visible. It turned out to be a massive find as we started removing all the growth to expose everything underneath. The sheer scale of the site is impressive in itself but just as impressive are all of the speciality buildings that were found there. We are still guessing at the functions of them, but there is a “condor temple” where sacrifices are made and the dead are honored, a “sun temple” made of meticulously shaped and curved stones, and many interesting astrological devices.

Machu Picchu as viewed from the nearby peak, Huayna Picchu

The condor temple; bacaaaw! I can fly!

The sun temple; perfectly rounded stone walls and windows that face the rising sun at the solstices

The main reason that Machu Picchu is so impressive is that it was left untouched for so long. The Spanish never found it and it seems that the Incas abandoned it for unknown reasons some time after. I just loved staring out over the large green courtyards and my imagination was running wild with all the things that could have happened here. It was some of the most impressive and inspiring construction I have seen and it was placed in a location of incredible beauty. Incas know what’s up.

I could graze this all day long!

Divine

So maybe the Spanish were dicks for bringing an end to such an advanced civilization, but the whole reason the Incas became so powerful in the first place is that they went across South America and conquered all of the tribes they found and imposed their culture on all of them. It is probably the same story that mankind has been repeating during our entire history right up until today. There was one important creation of the Incas, however, that survived the Spanish conquest:

Inka Cola, the taste of an old generation

I have recovered the last relic of the Incas, and it was delicious!

Posted in Excursion Log | Tagged Inca, Machu Picchu, peru | 1 Comment

Chris vs. the Volcano

Posted on July 18, 2013 by crupley

Written by Chris

I recently wrote that we were in the town of Banos in Ecuador and that is is surrounded by volcanoes. Volcanoes that are still sometimes active. Well, three days ago, this happened:

The beginning of the end of mankind? Nope, just another volcano in Ecuador

It looks as though the Tungurahua Volcano blew its top on the morning of July 15th. No one has been reported injured and about 200 were evacuated from the nearby villages. I’m kind of bummed because we almost went on a bus tour of the crater a few weeks ago. If the tour company hadn’t been closed on the day we were free, we probably would have seen some interesting pre-explosion activity. Ah well, c’est la vie.

Posted in Reflections on Travel | Tagged banos | Leave a comment

Machu Picchu Photos Are Up!

Posted on July 17, 2013 by msuerupley

Our Inca Trail and Machu Picchu photos are up! Check them out here!

UPDATE: Inca Trek gallery is also available on flickr.com.

Posted in Nuts and Bolts | Tagged Inca, Machu Picchu | Leave a comment

Town to Town Across South America

Posted on July 10, 2013 by crupley

Written by Chris

In the time since our last update, we have been on the move quite a bit, sampling some different locales and finding little time to get any serious typing done. On our last update, we had just finished a stay in the Amazon jungle and much has happened since then. Fear not, here is a bit of a summary of our recent city visits.

Banos

From the jungle, we caught a regional bus ride to the town of Banos in Ecuador. It is a big jumping-off point for an array of adventure sports (mountain biking, rafting, zip lining, rock climbing) and the steady stream of visitors seeking these things brings a lot of character (and characters) into the town.

Banos from above

The town of Banos is named for the hot spring baths (banos) on the outskirts of the city. The springs are powered by several still-active volcanoes that tower over the city and, every few hundred years or so, they erupt and destroy the city or parts of it, events which are all graphically recorded in murals inside the city cathedral.

During our time in Banos, we first did a bit of relaxing in the hot mineral springs. They left us very rosy and with very soft skin, but the crowds made it difficult to stay for too long. We also rented some bikes and cruised out of town on a long scenic downhill road through a river valley where we saw a wealth of waterfalls, terrifying suspension bridges, and all the zip lining you could handle. Unfortunately, some rain caught up with us halfway through, but the empanadas at the finish made up for it.

Some places are still safe from volcanic eruptions

But the highlight of Banos, for me, was the food. A month straight of traditional Ecuadorian food was starting to get old and we pigged out on some Mexican nachos, Indian curry, and the coup de gras was an honest-to-goodness brewpub. The Stray Dog Tavern was such a welcome sight after having access to only a single type of beer in Ecuador for over a month. The place is owned by an expat biker from California and the five beers on tap and super tasty fried pub food were a very welcome slice of home for us.

Huacachina

After we split Banos, it was time for the Peru leg of our trip. After landing in Lima, we caught a bus down to the coastal desert oasis town of Huacachina. The town consists of a single ring of building surrounding a natural oasis in the middle of some towering sand dunes. There’s not much there besides hotels and restaurants, but its a great place to catch a tour of some of the area’s sights or to enjoy the sand. You can take a tour to nearby Pisco and sample the national booze of the same name, usually consumed in the form of a Pisco Sour or you can book a plane to fly you over some ancient terrestrial artwork called the Nazca Lines. We, however, opted for the Dune Buggy.

Feet over Huacachina

So a guy takes an old truck, strips off everything but the engine and frame, and welds on a roll cage and a bunch of seats and he calls it a dune buggy. About 12 of us piled in beside a driver with a death wish and we launched across the dunes with reckless abandon. It was a lot like a roller coaster but without the safety, but we still had a great time. We even periodically stopped for some sand boarding. You strap a piece of wood on your feet or lay down on it and sled down the sand dune. You could get some surprising speed and the best part is you don’t have to worry about getting snow down your back. I would definitely have another go, but I think I’ll wait until they put the chair lift in.

Sandboarding champions

Lima

We headed back to Lima to meet up with our first visitors of the trip; a group of friends in from San Francisco. We checked out a few sights there. First was the Magic Water Fountains, which legitimately impressed me with its 100-foot-high jet of water, changing water maze, and water tunnel. It didn’t even bother me that the centerpiece laser fountain show was under construction. And we checked out the Lima Cathedral and associated Catacombs where we saw skulls with hair on them, the femurs of thousands of Peruvians, and even some other non-creepy stuff as well. However, we spent the majority of our time doing what people come to Lima to do; eat.

Magic fountain in Lima

We first checked out one of Peru’s national specialities; ceviche. It is typically made from some fresh, raw seafood that is tossed with some onions in some lemon juice with a bit of spice added. It is really simple in concept, but when made well, was really incredible. We hit up a restaurant called Panchita where we got some great Peruvian stews in addition to the most famous dish in Peru, Cuy. For those who don’t know, you can eat Guinea pig and Peruvians do and they call it cuy. It wasn’t bad, similar to rabbit, but it seemed to be way too much work for the amount of meat on those things. We also hit up another fantastic restaurant call Amaz. It is themed with traditional food from the Amazon like fried bananas, pirhanna, and chicha, a fermented corn beer. The highlight though, was eating the giant snail with a shell the size of my fist. Good stuff.

Cusco

After a quick flight from Lima, we ended up in Cusco. Cusco was the capital of the ancient Incan empire and is now the starting point for anyone hiking the Incan trail and going to Machu Picchu and, interesting factoid, it was named after the emperor in The Emperor’s New Groove. It is a high-altitude town located over 10,000 ft. and is loaded with history, from epic Incan ruins to Spanish churches. There are tons of outdoor outfitters and tour companies to help you explore the many surrounding treks and ancient ruins and a large variety of restaurants to cater to all the visitors. We spent several days here getting acclimated to the altitude and stocking up on souvenirs made from genuine baby alpaca (wool, presumably). And we had some more tasty food; alpaca burger, more cuy, McDonald’s, and loads of quinoa soup and Peruvian stews.

Old town Cusco

And if you did’t love llamas already:

She’s sad she didn’t get to hold the baby

I’m a llama

Posted in Status Update | Tagged banos, cusco, huacachina, lima, peru | 1 Comment

Feliz Cumpleaños Abuela!

Posted on July 1, 2013 by msuerupley

My favorite photo of my Grandmother and me.

Today is my loving Grandma’s Birthday. For my entire life she has been a constant source of support and understanding and I am deeply grateful for all the special gifts she has given me. Her passion for travel and adventure spurred my own, and without her encouragement, I don’t know if I would have had the nerve to set out of this trek around the world.

A wild orchid in the Cloud Forest in Ecuador. Orchids are one of my Grandmother’s favorite flowers and it was amazing to see them growing in the wild.

Something else that I definitely inherited from her is her love of plants and flowers. My grandmother can make anything grow and I have loved the times we spent walking through gardens and parks, with her telling me about all the different plants. These have been incredibly special times to me, talking and laughing, and I only hope that when I get back to the States and have a garden of my own, her knowledge will have rubbed off on me. (Or at least she’ll be by the phone ready to answer my millions of questions!)

These beautiful flowers will slowly grow wonderful and delicious fruits from their centers. Unfortunately, I couldn’t quite grasp their names well enough to try to spell them!

During this trip we have seen some incredible and exotic flowers. There were wild orchids in the Ecuadorian Cloud Forest, gorgeous hibiscuses in the Galapagos, and crazy and wacky plastic looking flowers in the Amazon. Flowers are everywhere and their beauty is universal, allowing me to often bond with locals as they tell me a bit about their gardens.

Some of my favorite flowers from the jungle. The bottom one especially was incredible and about the craziest flower I have ever seen.

So this post is dedicated to you, Grandma, thank you for everything you have given us. We love and miss you so much and while we can’t be there today, know that we are definitely thinking of you. Have an amazing Birthday and a wonderful year til we see you again!

Some wildflowers in Ecuador.

These exotic flowers grew all over the jungle and had the loveliest perfumes.

Just a few more of the wacky flowers from the jungle.

This gorgeous tree was in bloom all over the Galapagos. It often seemed like it was snowing delicate, orange petals as you were walking around in the town.

Happy Birthday Grandma! Love, Chris and Mindy

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments

A Visit to the Sani Community in the Amazon Rainforest

Posted on June 24, 2013 by crupley

Home sweet home at the Sani Lodge

Written by Chris

Sani Village outside of Coca, Ecuador – After a three-hour boat and canoe ride into the Amazon, we met with our indigenous guide for our five-day tour there:

Me: “Did you just see that?”
Expert Guide: “What? That white bat?”
Me: “Yeah, what was that?”
Expert Guide: “I don’t know; never seen that before.”

Uh oh. I came all the way out here and our “Expert Guide” couldn’t even identify the very first thing we saw. I was a bit concerned at first, but I soon realized that this episode spoke not to the experience of our guide but rather to the enormous amount of biodiversity found here in the Amazon. Our guide, Fredy, was born and raised in the Amazon jungle as a part of the indigenous Kichwa Tribe in the Sani Community and he was indeed an expert on the vast majority of the plants and animals found there. And he is still finding out new things.

Mindy and I arrived at the Sani Lodge for our guided stay earlier this week. The lodge is run by the Sani Community, a native tribe that has settled along the Napo River in the Amazon Jungle in Eastern Ecuador. They are one of many tribes struggling to exist here in the modern world, and this lodge has been an excellent way for them to support themselves without overly exploiting the rich natural resources that they oversee.

Welcome to the tribe

We opted for the camping stay rather than the private lodges and we were very pleased. We ended up as part of a group with about 6 other visitors (4 from USA and 2 from Canada) and we all had a great time getting to know each other over the course of the week. Facilities were basic, but they were luxurious by camping standards; running water, flush toilets, and tents with mattresses up on covered platforms. We had several guided excursions each day over land and water. Meals and snacks were provided by the lodge’s excellent kitchen staff and our guide joined us at meals to share stories and experiences from his life in the community. We could not have been more pleased with our stay and the service provided by the staff there.

A bit of spear practice

Followed by a crack at the poison dart blowgun

Most of our days followed a similar format. We woke at 5 am for our canoe ride to the lodge where we were served breakfast. Afterwards, we would go out for an excursion to catch some early-morning happenings, we would have a boxed lunch on the trail, and follow it with some more activities in the afternoon. We then would head back to the lodge for a bit of a siesta before dinner and on a few of the evenings we would head out after dark to see all the strange things that come out at night.

Hiking with our guides was a fantastic experience. We were constantly happening upon new plants and animals, and they were excellent at explaining everything. They pointed out all the plants the uses they have for them; types of wood for construction, palms for basket weaving and thatched roofs, fruits and nuts and roots for food, and, my favorite, the medicinal plants. We saw the plants they used to heal burns and cuts and broken bones, to kill insect parasites, stop upset stomach and diarrhea, cure malaria, make a muscle-relaxant for their poison darts, and to remove warts (which I was able to use with great success on a finger wart of my own). They were great at spotting all the nearby animals and insects, they could imitate the calls and cries to lure them closer, and they could locate and identify the far-off ones by picking out their sounds from among the noises of the jungle. But our favorite by far, was when the guides would stop and listen for a bit and the urgently wave us forward while whispering, “monkey, monkey, monkey!“.

A squirrel monkey just as fascinated with us as we are with him

Shortly after the start of our first hike, our guides started shushing us and running off into the forest where we watched as a troop (yes, that’s a group of monkeys) of Wooly monkeys crashed through the canopy above us followed by several more graceful Howler monkeys. The next day, we were paddling canoes down a quiet channel and watched some more Howler monkeys scamper through the trees across the water. One, agitated by our presence, stared at us and took a nice dump into the water right in front of our canoe. And on our last day, as we were canoeing down another channel, we were overtaken by over 100 Squirrel monkeys racing past us through the trees on both sides with a few Capuchin monkeys (like Marcel from Friends) thrown in for good measure. We saw a total of seven different types of monkeys over the course of the week: Wooly monkey, Howler monkey, Tamarin monkey, Night monkey, Pygmy Marmoset monkey, Squirrel monkey, and Capuchin monkey.

This canopy tower, built on a 50m tall kapok tree, gave a thrilling view of the vast jungle and the amazing wildlife at the top

One day, after we were all monkeyed out, we took a hike to a canopy tower that the tribe had set up. It consisted of a platform installed on top of a 50m (164 ft.) high Kapok tree that we reached via a metal scaffolding. After checking out the top of the forest we headed over to the Sani Village where we were able to meet many people from the tribe. They cooked us an excellent traditional lunch consisting of fish grilled in banana leaf, grilled bananas, jungle potatoes, and a local beverage called Chicha which is made from yuca (a potato-like tuber) which is boiled and fermented with saliva (though our guide assured us that the batch made for us was not made in the traditional saliva-y way). The grand finale was a large beetle grub for desert. I was coaxed into eating one grilled first (amazingly delicious, tasted like grilled ham) but then, in a temporary lapse of sanity, I went on to chow down on a pulsating, pincer-chomping, live larvae. Stay tuned for some video of that stomach-churning mess.

A delicious lunch spread courtesy of the Sani Tribe

Grubs on the grill. Delicious if you manage to avoid the pincers

The insects in the rain forest did not disappoint, either. It was a lot of fun watching the leaf cutter ants toting their spoils along the superhighways they forged, but not so fun constantly batting away the mosquitos and flys that were constantly after any patch of skin they could find. Every giant spider web we saw along the trail seemed to have a different spiky, colorful, humongous type of spider in the center of it. I discovered early on to be more vigilant for these guys after I whipped my poncho out of my bag, threw it on, and looked down at a big hairy spider about 3 inches across sitting on my chest. After a few seconds, I unfroze from the shock and batted it to the ground. Despite my best efforts, Mindy got a glimpse of the crippled beast on the ground and let out a scream so that the whole group ran over and got a good look at the thing. But that night, I found out that this was just a warm-up.

This hairy guy was tagging along for a free ride

We headed out for a night hike and, in the Amazon, this is where all the creatures from your worst nightmares are brought to life. Every few steps or so we would find some new horror to marvel at. Every creature out there was a humongous version of what you’re normally used to, so I’ll consider that particular descriptor implied from here forward. There were spiky grasshoppers, centipedes/millipedes, toads that can eat a rat, and all possible manner of spider: tarantulas the size of your fist, scorpion spiders with huge folded arms, jumping wolf spiders, social spiders with thousands working together on a dog-sized web nest, and many very colorful probably very poisonous miscellaneous spiders.

And away we go

“You will never sleep with the lights off again”

When dawn finally came again, there was so much more to see. We visited a spot on the riverbank where close to 50 parrots were packed together eating clay to cleanse their systems. We saw a 3 meter boa constrictor in a tree waiting for prey, but we missed out on the giant anacondas that roam around. There were more birds everywhere than we could shake a camera at: Harpie eagle, parrots, toucan, “stinky turkeys” (looks like one but locals won’t eat them), “car alarm bird” (sounds like one), “cooking bird” (sounds like boiling water), raptors that eat the heads off snakes, and a “water drop” bird that made an amazing sound. Unfortunately, the guide gave us the native names for a lot of these and so I had to make up an English version.

It was a great week in the jungle and I would certainly do it again. The group that we shared it with were all fascinating people and made the trip much more fun. I was actually shocked with the amount of things we were able to see in such a short time, and I am glad that the Sani Tribe is working so hard to preserve things in the forest the way that they are. The one thing that disappointed me about the trip was that I didn’t get to see a jaguar and anaconda fight to the death like I had hoped. I guess there’s always next time…

Posted in Excursion Log | Tagged amazon, sani | 4 Comments

Amazon Photos

Posted on June 24, 2013 by msuerupley

Our Amazon photos are up! Check them out here! Also, we fixed the broken link in the Galapagos photos so you should be able to enlarge them now. Happy Monday!

UPDATE: An Amazon Trek album is also available on flickr.com.

Posted in Nuts and Bolts | Tagged amazon | 2 Comments

Travel Map is Now Live

Posted on June 22, 2013 by crupley

Written by Chris

We have just added a travel map to the site. The idea is to update it as we go with the places we have been and links to the associated posts. The map can be accessed from the menu bar at the top of the site. It’s an easy way to get the big picture of what we’ve been up to so head over and check it out!

Posted in Nuts and Bolts | Leave a comment

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