Hey, these boots are not real leather from Italy!

We are now in Cuzco, trying to decide whether or not to walk around town for short while before dark or to stay at the hotel and adjust to the altitude. We have opted not to take the pills, Hans ensures us that drinking coco tea and taking it easy will do the trick for our stay. The tea does not taste good but I seem to be doing ok so far (aside from feeling like I am on a boat that is lightly swaying).

The jungle was amazing. The boat ride to the camp was pretty uneventful and I thought the jungle would look different. A lot of climbing up rickety stairs and through mud and muck to get to camp but well worth it. The place is like summer camp on steroids. Very nice, clean place despite where we were. Yes, the rooms are open to the jungle and yes there was no electricity in the rooms...only candlelight....and only cold showers. It was fantastic! The first day there we hiked for 20 minutes into the jungle and then climbed 120 feet up a canapy tower to see over the jungle. Awesome view of the Tambalya River (spelling probably wrong) at sunset. Only eight people at a time could be on the observation deck and all four of us witnessed two macaws pass right by us...almost close enough to touch. Beautiful birds, they travel as partners and both are equally as bright in color. Our guide, Sally, said they did this just for us that they don´t normally fly so close.

The hikes.....must wear knee high boots, deet, sunscreen, a have a positive attitude about mud. A lot of walking, mostly level ground, deep into the jungle. Saw monkeys, different kinds of birds and on one trip a pig happened upon us on the trail. The guides were quite surprised and told us all to stay still. The pig, a girl, had to put her face between most of the girls´ legs (by our calves) I guess to mark us. She stunk and then we did too. Turned out she was most likely a domestic pig that had wondered off. Some of us that were violated are seeking counseling during our stay.

Yesterday we took a trip up river to visit a local shaman who taught us about the
native plants and how they are used. He let us sample some of his remedies, including one that is supposed to increase your sexual prowess......

Cuzco is a wonderfully quaint city, with rich architecture and culture. Have already seen llamas on the street and some buildings have Inca stones for their foundation. Looking forward to seeing more tomorrow.ç

Our tour guide is great. His first name is Hans and he is Peruvian. His mother is German. Our tour group consists of folks from UK, Canada, California and Switzerland. We have met other nice folks from all over the world. Our jungle tour guides, Sally and Geraldine who are also from Peru, were awesome as well. Really good tour so far.

So off for now! Hope all is well in the states!!