So this is Christmas

I was a little apprehensive about staying in Peru for the holidays, this year, but it really worked out as I was lucky enough to be able to celebrate Christmas in both the Peruvian and the American way.

Here in Peru, the Christmas celebrations occur at midnight on Christmas Eve, December 24th.  I was very honored to be invited to celebrate with my friend Katty's family-especially when I learned what a close family affair these celebrations usually are.  Typically you wouldn't celebrate Christmas with even your significant other (girlfriend/boyfriend) unless you were engaged, married, or had children together.  So, I felt very fortunate to be invited to celebrate with them.

The celebrations commence with a countdown to midnight, exploding into a cacophony of hugging, kissing and toasting with firecrackers exploding in the background.  (More like our New Year's celebrations!)  Baby Jesus is uncovered (or replaced) in the manger scenes, presents are exchanged and everyone sits down to feast on Christmas dinner.  At Katty's family's house, we had chicken, rice, arroz árabe [which literally translates to arabic rice, though, interestingly enough, it's made with bacon], potato salad, and macaroni salad.  The potato & macaroni salad made me think of the 4th of July and summer picnics...which is maybe weird when you think of Christmas...but not so weird when you remember that it is summer here.

After some time spent socializing, everyone heads home to sleep late into Christmas day.  I, on the other hand, had to wake up on the early side to make myself presentable to celebrate Christmas Day American-style.  My new friend (and fellow Kiski alum) Katie invited me to Christmas dinner with several of her teacher friends.  It was great to meet new people and be able to really catch up with her sister Sarah (a Kiski alum from my graduating class!).  And, of course, I must rave about the food.  There were all the fixins' -ham, turkey, sweet potato casserole (with marshmallows!) and, best of all,  CHERRY PIE!

It was an amazing holiday and I felt very blessed to be surrounded by my adopted family!

Zorritos

When Shannon came this time, I wanted her to experience a new part of Peru, so I decided to take her to the North Coast.  Since I've already seen Piura, Vichayito and El Ñuro, I decided we should head further north-to Zorritos Beach.  We decided to be adventurous and stay in an eco-hotel, and it turned out to be a great decision.  It was rustic, yet idyllic-pristine beach, comfortable accommodations that take you back to your days at summer camp, and lots of hammocks inviting you to lay about.

The owner also breeds Peruvian hairless dogs, so there was a bunch of them running around all the time.

One of the things to do in Zorritos is to visit the hervideros, or mud baths.  After a long, rough ride in a mototaxi, we finally arrived at the site.  The three pools are each reputed to have healing properties-one for stress relief, one for the skin, and one for the blood circulation.  We took a dip in each to take full advantage of the curative effects.

This is the one for the skin.  You put it all over and then let it dry.

The pool for stress relief

Relaxing the stress away: this one was warm (in spots!)

One thing that everyone said we must do was visit the manglares (mangroves) in Tumbes.  Eagerly we took a tour from our hotel...only to have one of the most boring travel experiences ever!  The manglares are unique in that they grow spending half the time covered by water and half the time dry.  When we arrived in Puerto Pizarro, the channel was dry, so we had lunch and waited for it to fill up enough to head out on the boats for a tour of the islands.

The dry channel

Here you can see the water line on the manglares-it's not quite full yet

Our tour also took us to a crocodile farm, where we saw crocodiles in various life stages.

By the time we had done our circuit of the islands, the water level had risen noticeably.

One of the main reasons I wanted to go to the North Coast was to see the humpback whales.  Unfortunately, our hotel wasn't able to arrange a whale-watching tour this late in the season.  Instead, I took Shannon to swim with the turtles.  (Also hoping she would forgive me for the disappointing manglares tour!)  This time the waves were much rougher, but there were more turtles swimming with us.

Chanchamayo

The jungle....finally!  Well, okay, Chanchamayo may not be the first place you think of when you think 'jungle'.  It's not Iquitos or Tarapoto, near the Amazon, but rather the transition between the mountains and the Amazon jungle.  People here refer to it as the central jungle or the highland jungle.  But at least it's a start for me!

This is the beginning of the jungle.  The vegetation became much more verdant and the weather was much warmer than the places we had seen around Tarma the previous day.

This point marks the geographical center (north-south) of Peru.

Not oranges, but grenadillas-a relative of passion fruit

We saw several waterfalls on our trip.  First was la catarata del diablo, which we viewed from a distance.

Can you see the profile of the sleeping man on the left?

We also met Katusha at our lunch spot.  I was thrilled, but Juan was not quite as excited!



Next was Catarata Bayoz, where were able to swim in the pool under the falls...

...closely followed by Catarata Velo de la Novia (Bridal Veil Waterfall).

We took a boat ride on the Rio Chanchamayo...on a boat named El Titanic.  But, at least it was too warm for icebergs!

Then we visited a native Asháninka village where we got the full immersion experience-being dressed up to be part of tribe and dancing with them around the fire.  I even got to hold another snake (although I didn't learn his/her name).

Our tour ended with a coffee tasting.  Unfortunately, we weren't able to try the Cafe Misha-the most expensive coffee in the world (you may or may not want to know why it's so expensive)-but I bought a few varieties that I'm hoping I will enjoy!

All in all, I can say that the first trip to the jungle was fantastic and I can't wait to explore deeper into its depths.

Tarma

I was so excited to make my first foray into the jungle!  The trip started out by meeting my friend Juan in Tarma.  To get there, you take a 6+ hour bus ride over one of the highest peaks in Peru, el Ticlio.  I thought I would be okay since I would be sleeping on the overnight bus; however, I awoke in the middle of the night to several uncomfortable sensations-sweating, chills, and feeling like everything I had eaten wanted desperately to evacuate my body-all at the same time.  I felt like I was going to die....but, then we headed down the other side and, happily, the symptoms dissipated.
 

Juan first arranged for us to take a tour of the area around Tarma.  Tarma is nicknamed la perla de los Andes, the pearl of the Andes, and is known for the flower farms that surround the area.  The peak seasons come later in the month for the the festival of el Señor de los Milagros (Lord of the Miracles) and for Semana Santa (Holy Week), so we didn't see the fields in all their glory, but it was still beautiful and green.

On the way to our next stop on the tour, we drove through the reserva, where we saw wild vicuñas ranging across the landscape. The penalty for trespassing on the reserve, however, is to be shot on sight, so we opted to take pictures from inside the van.

 We were able to get out of the van at Cachi pozo, two pools that date to pre-Incan times.  Legend has it that they were formed from two two lovers who ran away together after being forbidden to see each other.  Despite the murky looking pools, the water is actually clear when it is scooped out, probably due to the high salt content of each pool-one measures 80% salinity and the other 97%.  As you might imagine, the water in the 80% pool tastes very salty and the 97% tastes as if you are eating pure salt.

After a stop at an artisenal shop to see some weaving, we were off to la Gruta de Huagapo, a cave filled with stalactites and stalagmites.

And, it wouldn't be a tour in Peru without a stop at a religious site or two.  First up was el Rostro de Cristo, the face of Christ, in the rock.

The second was el Santuario del Señor de Muruhuay, a sanctuary that was built around this image of Christ that is said to have appeared one day on the rock face.

It was a great tour and I took the opportunity to enjoy being a tourist and take this uncomfortable picture: