Returning to Peru I discovered the rainy season has certainly arrived. Floods, tens of missing people and a handful of dead were reported as heavy rains from the Amazon slammed into the Andes. This regular event, known in some parts as the Bolivian Winter, happens each year and brings the high Andes its only source of rain. Further down however towns and their people are washed away in mudslides and floods as rivers break there banks. Bridges and roads, that took the entire year to rebuild from the same disaster the year before are again destroyed.
February 9, 2007 | News
We went to see Catarata Tirol on our last evening in San Ramon.
The first pictures are of the little river running through the valley coming from the waterfall, where we had to walk to reach the waterfall.
It had been raining beforehand and was starting to rain a little more when we arrived. Due to this additional water the catarata was extremely powerful.
August 30, 2006 | Junin & Selva Central Guide
We took many photos of the local wildlife. You’ve already seen the giant ants at Bayoz. Most of the other insects were so unusual for me that I forgot to take photos – 4cm beatles, flying grasshopper things and spiders the size of your hand we among some of the sights. I also saw a couple of fireflies – again a first for me.
The pictures here are of a place we visited, a small privately owned reserve where you can see alot of the local animal life. It was difficult to get a picture of the flocks of parrots flying above the trees and completely impossible to get a shot of the hummingbirds, so I have just included some of my favourite photos, including the pet monkey that lived in the cafe nearby.
August 29, 2006 | Nature
The town of La Merced is the gateway to the eastern part of Junin. If you wanted a place to buy fresh fruit then this is it – plentiful and cheap – you could buy a crate of fresh fruits for under $3.
La Merced, although poor and only been accessible for a decade or so, is still very beautiful. There is something about the climate here, the greenery and smells, that makes everything seem more pleasant.
August 29, 2006 | Junin & Selva Central Guide
After Velo de la Novia we hiked the opposite direction to take a swim in to pool under the catarata de Bayoz. This was a waterfall that lead to another and another, all providing a good place to bathe.
August 27, 2006 | Junin & Selva Central Guide
Near the city of La Merced are two amazingly beautiful waterfalls.
The first we visited involved descending down a dangerous path clinging to the side of a cliff with a drop as high as the waterfall.
August 26, 2006 | Junin & Selva Central Guide
We stopped to take pictures on the way to Pichanaki – this was the route where we first caught site of the new climate we were in on our first day. It is quite a shock to decend from the barren mountains into the green and lush forests.
August 25, 2006 | Junin & Selva Central Guide
The Asháninkas are the indigenous people of the central rainforest. Their native land spans from San Ramon, where the start of the Amazon rainforest clings to the edge of the Andes, eastward to Brasil. Here though, they make up the minority of the population (20-30%) because people from the sierra descended on towns like La Merced to flee terrorism in the 80′s and early 90′s and because numerous colonialists from various parts of Peru arrived to exploit the rainforest.
August 24, 2006 | Modern Peru
The base at San Ramon is a quiet place, mostly due to the fact that they don’t host many aeroplanes.
The night is a different story, when the wildlife tries its hardest to keep you awake.
August 22, 2006 | Junin & Selva Central Guide
We have embarked on a trip to the central rainforest of Peru, which will take us up over the Andes from Lima into areas formally controlled by the Shining Path terrorists and rebels and into the rainforest.
The journey, by car, takes us up over 5000 metres above sea level on a winding mountain road, with spectacular scenery.
August 22, 2006 | Junin & Selva Central Guide
The Cats of Parque Kennedy
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