Rio Sagrado Hotel Urubamba

... a minor surgery to a man’s forehead in a lounge chair. Most people though, are just in need of worm medication or basic vitamins.

Now it’s Saturday afternoon and everyone is getting ready for the river journey on Monday. The ladies have been busy organizing medication and figuring out what is needed before we head into the jungle. All of the supplies need to be purchased today because on Sundays most businesses in Pucallpa are closed ...

... with their children under the age of 12. We spent two days at one church and today we have moved to a new place. At this new church there seems to be more men coming to be examined.

Rob and Leslee have taken on the children’s ministry that takes place alongside the clinic. They have also worked alongside local women here in their feed the children program. This program runs four times a week and for many they have come to rely on it ...

... much runs on time down here. When you are on vacation, who cares. Part of this is probably due to the fact that almost no one has a car of their own. Everyone either takes taxis or cambias, which are little mini-buses that pack about 25 people in them before they depart. Everywhere you go on the roads down here you see people with their thumbs out trying to hitch a ride. Our hotel has a driver/guide that we have hired the last couple of days so we haven't had any problems.

So ...

... weight. It is relaxing-Eric and I will have managed to back-log our blog an entire month over the span of 3 days. Plus all three of us have knocked off a bunch of pages in the books that, until now, we have just been carrying around. The walls are open to air during the day. This simultaneously airs the boat out and it doesn’t smell like 150 people have been sleeping on it for days on end, and it also provides ...

... 300. Every seat had it's own vidoe screen saw star trek again. I hope they make another one soon. One more movie for Leonard Nimoy? Thanks to American Airlines, I`m dropping 30 strokes off my golf handicap. Had some time to do some extra reading, and in one magazine they tell you how to correct your slice and as if that were not enough David Leadbetter ...

... Aguas Calientes was an ugly city. Well visually it is amazing. Yeah there are people bothering you right and left. Please buy this, please eat here. But beyond that, the city has a gorgeous location, nestled deep in the valleys, shear rock rises high on either side and clear waters run through the center of the main street. The weather was perfect, not too humid or warm or cold. After getting something to eat, we ...

... dejarlas afuera por la noche para que se congelen (the original freeze-drying technique!). Terminan con unas papitas tipo piedra, que después remojan un rato en agua para que se reconstituyan. Caminamos también por el pueblito, por todas partes hay vendedores de artesanías, y gente vestida con sus coloridas ropas típicas. Si querés sacarles una foto, hay que pagarles unas monedas. Entramos a una vivienda particular para ver la estructura y ...

... found a place overlooking the Rio Urubamba, and promptly hibernated through the sheer exhaustion we felt for the remainder of that afternoon. We'd chosen to stay in Aguas Calientes rather than head straight back to Cusco, as it had particularly good thermal baths (Aguas Calientes = hot water), so we checked them out in the evening, and weren't disappointed. It was the perfect way to loosen all those joints!

We took the train the next ...

... foot slipped of the accelerator and the bus came to a dead stop on the road); and a taxi driver who took all of 2 minutes to drive us into a ditch - then got us to help him lift it out again. At 50-75 cents AU for a taxi fare, I guess you have to expect things like this to happen. Being in the northern tropics of South America, the wet season is descending upon us and I am seeing a lush and green Andes mountain range for the fist time in my ...

Before I do this blog I would like to do a plug for Jose: Jose is going to do a slideshow presentation at the River Valley Church when he returns to the US it will be pictures and stories from the festivals. He takes great pitures and is very interesting to listen to. We would recommend anyone interested to attend. I´m sure they will announce when it will take place at River Valley. I think last time he did it after Sunday morning ...