Valle Sagrado

Another full day of walking and visiting ruins. When we left Cusco it was raining and as we started driving past the ruins from yesterday (from the city tour) it was gorgeous! But, as we entered the Sacred Valley (Valle Sagrado) the clouds came in again and by the time we reached Pisac, the first ruins, it was rainy, windy, and cold! So, the ruins weren´t that enjoyable although they did look mysterious in the clouds and rain which was cool. We spent some time in the colonial town below the ruins in the market before driving another hour to reach Urubamba, the town where we stopped for lunch. The lunch buffet at the restaurants there was was specifically for tourists and so incredibley expensive. Vivi and I had brought sandwiches and snacks with us so we saved some money and then had ice cream for dessert, yum! Finally, as we were finishing lunch the sun came out. It was just in time because the next ruins, Ollantaytambo, were incredible and my favorite of any ruins I have seen so far in South America. The ruins were huge terraces that we had to climb up and then there used to be a solar temple at the top but it was destroyed by the Spaniards and all that is left of it is a wall made out of 5 huge stones (52 kg each.) The village is in a valley below the ruins and then across the valley is another mountain with ruins of storage buildings as well as a huge face carved into the rock. The Incas called it a god and it is an image of a white man with a beard who supposedly arrived in Peru before the Spaniards, akthough it can´t be proved, so it is just a legend.

Another hour drive away we stopped in a town called Chinchero which also has ruins but it famous for its textiles. We had a short demonstration of how the dyes are made, the wool is spun, and eventually how it is woven, which was very interesting. We were a bit behind schedule so I just checked out the ruins quick and then there was no time to shop before we had to get back on the bus, oh well. Back in Cusco (6:45 pm) we just had dinner and went to sleep exhausted after our second long day. It feels like we hardly had a weekend and tomorrow is back to work!

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Up in the Clouds

From a hot sticky Amazon, we were transferred by fast boat, small plane and 4WD to a mountainous area outside of Quito called the Cloud Forest. This mystical place serves both as an ornithologist's paradise and a get-away-from-it-all location. A mad Englishman came here in 1992, bought a valley and a couple of mountains that had been turned from native forest to agriculture and set them back to the way they were. Just like that!

In 19 years the forest has regrown and now there are an amazing number of bird species living there. A once thought extinct brown speckled bear has also re-established himself.

After a night sleeping in a treehouse, Sarah and I went for a walk with a guide and a bloke from Tasmania. Now Tasmanians are not usually the first people you would select to spend a morning with but Brad turned out to be a really nice guy. Ok, so he did have a funny ponytail, he was a biologist who studied sea birds and had spent the last 12 months on a remote island off the coast of Australia Ll by himself, but he seemed to be able to converse really well and not once mentioned incest or killing lots of people.

Walking through dense mountain rainforest enveloped in mist was a strange experience. Made stranger by the fact we we actually walking very slowly, whispering and looking for small birds in trees. At one stage I had to pinch myself when Sarah got all excited about spotting a woodpecker. I could have related to it if it had been deer we were seeking and the cameras we carried had been lethal weapons, but small birds and cameras? What would anyone back home think of this?

But time flew past and we had soon passed our two and a half hour time frame. We wanted more! The forest was simply stunning. The moss hung down like cobwebs in a scary movie and views across the valley at times were stunning.

We saw quite a few birds, some of which were apparently rare, making our guide very excited and causing him to exclaim that this was the best September outing ever.

Sarah and I came away from Cloud Forest with a calmness about us. Feeling like our souls had been somehow cleansed and that we had spent a day or so in another world entirely. It turns out the the Cloud Forest is one of the most important places on earth for something in the bird world and is protected. I discovered that, although I like taking pictures of birds, I am not and never will be a true 'birder'. I prefer the non feathered variety.

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Weeks 68 The Places I've Bounced To and Fro

After living with Chris & Christine, I spent some time with my friends Tina & Todd. I found this to be another fun experience in very different ways. Tina and Todd have a very busy household. Two boys (ages 17 & 11), three cats, one dog, and various other creatures that consist of hermit crabs, an ant farm, and caterpillars galore. With all of the energy, bouncing around the house, there was no time for being bored.

Being a teacher and not having children of my own, I’ve often wondered how teachers with children were able to go home and have enough energy to give to their own kids. I know that when I walk out of school in the afternoons, I am absolutely drained, and for the life of me, couldn’t imagine having to go home to take care of more kids. I found the answer to this question when living with Tina & Todd. I realized that after I got out of school, I was actually looking forward to getting back to their house...Mitch was away for the week, but Cole was home. We had a lot of fun together...hunting for caterpillars, eggs & cocoons; taking walks to

Indian Brook; playing board games & video games; or simply chatting about the days events. There was a lot of laughter heard throughout the house. Yes, there was the day to day mundane stuff that needed to get done, but when it was cushioned with the fun stuff, there was no time for being tired.

The mornings were quiet...I had to get up earlier than Tina and Todd did. I’d take about 15 mins each morning to sit out on their back deck sipping away at my coffee. During that time I enjoyed watching the sun’s rays bouncing off the flowers in the flower/vegetable garden while also listening to the chatter of the birds greeting one another. I also found solitude in the late afternoon early evening in their back yard. I’d take my camera outside, capturing the beauty of the gardens through the lens. Again, this was another way for me to have some alone time, even when the house was full of happy, fun, energy.

Towards the end of week six, I moved my stuff over to Shannon and Benjamin’s place. They were going out of town for a week, so I house and dog sat.

This was the first time that I really had as much alone time as I did when I had my own place...It was rather interesting to say the least.

It took a few days to adjust to not sharing a house with anyone. It didn't help that the weather wasn't the best...it was pretty gloomy. Then to top it off, it was my first week of vacation. I needed to create a new routine for myself. When I had my own place, it was pretty easy. There was always something around the condo that needed to be done...some project I wanted to start or finish. When you don't own your own place, all of those projects go away. I decided to take 2 days off...just chill out and be spontaneous. After that I began to fill my days with various activities. I still needed to clean all of my personal stuff out of my classroom, so that filled a good chunk of time. Before I knew it, my entire week was packed with "Things To Do". I had my daily walks with Stella (the dog), bike rides; a hike with Mike; a trip to Shelburne Museum; dinners with friends;

and the icing on the cake was going to the Grand Points North Festival that Grace Potter put on.

I ended my time at Shannon and Benjamin's, transitioning back to Tina and Todd's. I went from one house & dog sitting gig to another. It was a good time at Tina and Todd's...Ryder wasn't that fond of me walking him...so I didn't. Instead we played a lot outside, and took a lot of car rides, visiting friends. The rest of my time was planning and prepping for a trip to Maine...That'll be my next blog entry.

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