It was day three of my rainforest adventure in the Peruvian Amazon. At about 6:00AM in the morning, our tour guide marched us down to the river to a grassy hut to watch the frenetic activity at the nearby clay lick. Peering through my binoculars through one of the small holes of the grassy hut, I could see the many parrots feeding on the clay lick located about 50 yards further downstream. I am guessing that at least 100 more birds had congregated at the lick early this morning, with about 6-7 different species represented. They were a noisy bunch as they flew back and forth from a nearby stand of trees to feed at the lick. Not only does the clay contain highly concentrated, hard to find minerals essential to the parrot’s diet, the clay appears to counteract the poisons in their diet from eating various seeds found in the rainforest.

I was staying at Posadas Amazonas, a medium sized eco-resort located about 1 hour downstream from Puerto Maldonado. One of the tour guides from our lodge informed our small tour group that the mixed flock of parrots feed on the clay lick in the morning, while later in the day 3-4 species of Macaws (large colorful parrots), commandeer the site. Apparently at this lick at least, the smaller parrot species and the macaws have different activity cycles, and they congregate in mutually exclusive groups - the smaller parrots stay together and the macaws stay together.

Looking around me in the small grassy hut, I noticed a middle-aged couple who were following the activity intently at the clay lick armed with huge telephoto lens attached to their cameras. Talking to them later at the lodge, I learned that these folk were from Virginia and they had made numerous forays into the tropics to watch parrots and their kin. They were not the so-called classical birdwatchers per se, but parrot enthusiasts. They had absolutely no interest in other species of birds. The lady pointed out to me that the parrots different from most other birds in that they have a zygodactylous toe arrangement - two forward pointing toes and two backward pointing toes. All other birds have three toes pointing forward and one backward. This configuration of feet gives the parrot a better ability to grasp objects. In fact, the lady made it clear that in her opinion, parrots were not really birds at all but deserved a higher and separate classification. She went on to explain to me that the African Gray parrot, which is considered to be “most intelligent” of all the parrots, is capable of thinking and has the intelligence level of a 3 year old child. Furthermore, these unique parrots could not only talk, but could carry on a conversation, albeit very simple, with their human handlers. Interesting…

It happened while Papa Mono was at Posada Amazonas, an all-inclusive jungle lodge not far from Puerto Maldonado located in Peru’s Amazonian basin. It could have happened anywhere in the world, but it happened here - in Papa Mono’s stomping grounds. Papa Mono went to the public lounge to hook up his laptop to the lodge’s telephone line in order to access the Internet. Sitting down the couch, I asked the tourist who was fiddling on his palm pilot whether he was using the line - the answer was no. I was taken aback when this tourist starts nosing into my business whereupon he asked me, “Unless you’re monitoring your stock portfolio, why can’t you wait until you get home for the Internet. What could be so important anyway?” Well, I was about to tell to this intrusive character - that it is his none of his business, why doesn’t he chill and eat a banana or two, but political correctness and diplomacy got the better of me so I answered him very civilly - “Papa Mono needs to make an entry into his travel blog”. Apparently satisfied with my answer, this boorish lout (double entendre) with palm pilot in hand proceeded to call out to some young preadolescent girls trying to recruit them as playmates for his daughters. Papa Mono reckons that he must have been from British Columbia, Canada. No American would have acted as boorishly as this!

It happened while boarding an early morning flight on American airlines on 9/11 from Quito to Miami. As I walked thru the first class compartment of the aircraft, I happened to overhear a somewhat unusual request from a middle-aged American passenger who was sitting with his wife - Calling the stewardess over, the bloke asked her “When you have some time, could you please bring us a glass of champagne”. The time was about 8:00AM - I guess “Mr. Big Shot” had to wait awhile for his champagne, as the flight was delayed an hour or so because of a problem with the jet’s fuel pump. Oh well…

It’s not Rome, Florence or Milan. No, it’s not New York, Chicago or even San Francisco. Surprise - my nomination is Aguas Calientes, a small town in the Peruvian Andes which has the distinction of being the closest settlement to the famous archaeological site of Machu Picchu. Most visitors to this fabled Incan city will either pass thru the small, hilly town of Aguas Calientes as an afterthought while others (like myself) end up staying a maximum of one night before moving on. Walking around town, the sheer volume of restaurants and cafes in Aguas Calientes overwhelmed me; most of them were virtually empty. What was even more astounding was the number of restaurants featuring pizza - wood oven pizza, deep-dish pizza, and thin crust pizza - pizza was all around me.

For the life of me, I do not understand how restaurants in this small tourist town can survive in the long run, as on any given night, there just aren’t enough tourists to go around. The competition for the tourist dollar must be very fierce - many restaurants feature a very liberal happy hour or some other gimmick, like sexy gals in skimpy attire, in an attempt to lure new customers. I should also mention that on the average, restaurant prices for a meal and drinks are higher in this town than anywhere else in Peru, save Miraflores - the upscale tourist zone of Lima. In fact, to prove a point how hungry these restaurants are for business, I was easily able to negotiate 30% discount on my dinner at a small restaurant on my only night in town. The following day, while celebrating my reign as “King of the World”, I was able to demand (and receive) a 20% discount off my order of a small vegetarian pizza.

Aguas Calientes has some redeeming attractions other than its close proximity to the ruins - the Plaza de Armas (the main square) which features an impressive monument of the former Incan King and the nearby thermal hot springs are a wonderful place to soothe those aching muscles after a long hike, even though the temperature of the bath waters could be several degrees higher.

Have you ever been on top of the world? Well, yours truly - Papa Mono - has scaled these exalted heights when he hiked to the top of Wayna Picchu, the rugged mastiff which towers over the famous Inca ruins of Machu Picchu. What made the climb “to the top of the world” so memorable was the bonding which took place between Papa Mono and the two young Peruvian gentlemen - Edward and Armando - who accompanied him on the rather arduous hike.

After completing a 3 hour early morning walking tour of Machu Picchu, I lulled around the cafe located near the entrance of the archaeological park trying to see if I could recruit somebody from the tour group to join me on the hike to the top of Wayna Picchu. I was disappointed that I couldn’t find any takers, and as I wasn’t really gung-ho about hiking by myself, I was resigned to forgo the hike. Fortuitously I ran into Edward and Armando, two young Peruvian guys in their early 30’s that I met at the night before at the thermal hot springs complex in nearby Aguas Calientes. Upon learning that they were going on the hike to the top of Wayna Picchu, I asked if I could join them. No Problema, they both said in unison. So “the three amigos” set out to conquer the mountain - we followed a footpath that was carved into the mountainside by the Incas. Much of the trail consisted of very steep and narrow steps.

During the ascent up the mountain, we sang some songs, cracked jokes and “shot the shit” stopping periodically to take photographs of the magnificent panoramas. About 2 hours later, we finally made it to the very top. The views of the archaeological park, Urubamba River Valley and the winding highway which snakes its way up the mountainside to the ruins located some 1000 feet below were absolutely breathtaking. After resting a bit and marveling at the scenic views, we assumed our Andean condor poses with our wings (arms) outstretched and proclaiming loudly to everybody far and wide that we were the Kings of the World. Our voices echoed and reverberated against the canyon walls.

After an hour at the top, we began the long descent down to the archaeological park. Papa Mono was a little apprehensive about the return trip because the rather steep steps might play havoc with his arthritic right hip, but he managed the return journey without too much discomfort. After completing this momentous hike, we joked among ourselves that the hike was “a piece of cake” or a walk in the park on a lazy Sunday afternoon. Was the hike difficult? To be honest with you - it wasn’t that difficult and it wasn’t that easy - I would rate it as being of medium difficulty. Then again, I would not have been able to complete the hike without my Peruvian amigos - Edward and Armando - pulling me along.

Factoid: The Three Kings of the World-Papa Mono, Armando and Edward-were later seen later that afternoon at a small restaurant in the village of Aguas Calientes, downing several pitchers of beers to the accompaniment of a large pizza pie.

Visiting Machu Picchu, the famous archeological site of the Incas, was definitely one of the highlights of my recent to trip Peru and Ecuador. You can look at all the glossy pictures in the many travel brochures or online, but nothing can match the experience of the visiting this otherworldly site in person. Nestled on a mountain ridge, about 7800 feet high in the Andes, the setting is majestic and the ruins are absolutely incredible. Viewing the site from in its entirety from one of the many lookout points, I kept on shaking my head in disbelief - Machu Picchu did not look like something of this planet earth, but of an ancient city on another planet. Maybe extraterrestrials visited the Incas, whose empire in the South American highlands lasted a mere 100 years before being trashed by Spanish conquistadors. Who knows?

Accompanied by two young Peruvian guys that I befriended in the nearby town of Aguas Calientes, my hike to the top Wayna Picchu, the rugged mastiff that towers over the archaeological site, was the stuff of legends. Papa Mono rates this hike as his all-time high peak experience! I was the King of the World ! Stayed tuned…

Matte de Coca? Porque no? If you’re traveling to the South American Andes, there are several cities that are above 9000 feet in elevation, and you have to be wary of the possibility that your body may not readily adapt to the high altitude. Some people develop socorro (altitude sickness). The symptoms are dizziness, shortness of breath, nausea, headaches and vomiting. If you go to your doctor or travel immunization clinic, most likely they will prescribe a drug call dianox to combat the effects of socorro.

In Peru and Bolivia , the traditional way of dealing of combating altitude sickness is by drinking coca tea (matte de coca) or chewing the coca leaves (ojas de coca).In particular in the Peruvian and Bolivian Andes, drinking coca tea or chewing the leaves among the indigenous people (mostly Quechua) is an everyday thing and is part of their culture. Chewing the leaves or drinking several cups of the tea will energize you for the those long hikes to the various Incan ruins located in the highlands If you chew enough coca, your gums and teeth will get a good numb. Traditionally, the natives chew the leaves between the gums and cheek on one side of the mouth and a small piece of charcoal substance called llyca (a quechuan word pronounced yeeca) is placed between the gums and the cheek on the other side of the mouth, and then from time to time, the materials -the coca leaves and the llyca - are swapped by transferring with the tongue. Sounds like fun, huh?

Most of the hotels and guesthouses in Cusco, Peru - the gateway to Macchu Piccu - will readily offer it to you upon arrival; it has a rather pleasant taste. Cusco is over 2 miles high, to be exact about 3300 meters or 11,400 feet above sea level. While I was in Cusco, I met a number of travelers, both young and old, who succumbed to socorro including a young guy from Vancouver, Canada. All of these affected travelers recovered after a couple of days; during the recovery period they started drinking several cups of the matte de coca daily. As far as yours truly, I really didn’t have much of a problem with the altitude, other than feeling a little disoriented (and a little sort of breath) in the first couple of hours after arriving in Cusco, which I attribute more to the stress of the rush-rush travel arrangements than the high altitude, but after drinking several of cups of matte de coca and resting a couple of hours, I was later seen dancing the merengue in the wee hours of the morning at the local disco.

Factoid: Cocaine is made in part by extracting certain chemicals from the coca leaves. Of course to produce the final product, copious amounts of coca leaves are used in the process.

Tourists are a peculiar breed. When having breakfast at their hotel in their new destination, many of them can be seen perusing their favorite travel guidebook whether it be a Lonely Planet, Fodor’s, Let’s Go Travel or any number of popular travel books on the market. I got a real kick watching two young gringas engaged in this activity while having their breakfast at Ninos Hotel in Cusco, Peru. These gals were so immersed into their books, it looked as if they were studying for their final exams.

Foto, senor? Solamente un sol, senor.

While hanging around the marketplace in the small town of Pisac, a small town located in Cusco’s Sacred Valley, I was approached by many young children and woman colorfully dressed in their traditional Quechuan garb who boldly asked me if I wanted to take a picture of them for one sol (a Peruvian dollar). Usually, they would be carrying a young alpaca or two in their arms in a small shoulder bag. Let’s face it, most of the indigenous populations of the Andean highlands are very poor; and in the tourist areas, in an effort to supplement their meager income, the parents recruit their children to solicit the tourists. I guess you could say that posing for tourists is their occupation.

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The joker that I am, I had a lot of fun with these children by turning the tables on them - In response to their solicitation, I would often reply “Le gustaria tomar algunos fotos de Papa Mono? Dos fotos, solamente veinte centimos.” Translation - I asked them if they would like two pictures of me, Papa Mono? Only 20 cents. Then I would proceed to point the camera at myself and depress the camera shutter. The kids often laughed at my antics and shook their heads, answering, Si, I want pictures of Papa Mono!

Factoid: Papa Mono, my nickname in Peru, means Papa Monkey (or Big Monkey). I come from deep in the heart of the Amazonian Rainforest.

While shopping for some semi-dressy black shoes in Ripley’s department store in Miraflores, an upscale neighborhood in Lima, I was sort of amused when the sales person showed me a pair of leather shoes that were in made in Thailand. Shaking my head (and barely be unable to contain my laughter), he proceeded to show me a pair of shoes made in India and China. It was then that I told the young man, that I preferred to buy some shoes that were made in South America, preferably Peru or Colombia.

Bottom line, I ended up buying a relatively comfortable pair of shoes made in Peru, I don’t know if I got deal or not, but the shoes cost me all of 219 soles (or about $68 USD). Oh well…

On my first day in Lima, I went to the nearest bank to change some American Express traveler checks. While walking to the bank, I was stunned by all people on the street approaching me for changing money. Many of them were congregating on the street corners and near the banks. Can you believe that? It was only later that that I found out that people are licensed to change monies on the streets in Peru. It is completely legit! The yellow and black vest that they all wear identifies them as licensed moneychangers. Believe it or not, they can also change traveler’s checks and exchange rates are comparable to the bank. Of course, they check your passport first. Exercise caution when exchanging monies on the street though - make sure you get the proper exchange and count your monies, and by all means make sure you get your passport back.