leymebamba, peru

hola from leymebamba, northern peru
david, marie and russ arrived safely the other day i think that was on thursday but it seems like weeks ago as we have been constantly traveling since then.  they were over 6 hours late getting in but arrived safely and then we hopped into the van and drove for 5.5 hours without breaks or lunch.  there were some snacks to eat in the van though.  we were glad to arrive at Laguna Seca for the night.  This place was lovely, it was a thermal bath waters resort and we had a fabulous dinner there and retired for the night.  The next morning Johns suitcases got packed in someone elses van but luckily he retrieved them before this other van left.  That would have been a disaster.  We packed up and left after breakfast for our next days destination, Celendin.

We bird along the road so that means lots of stop, start, look for birds, etc etc.  I was feeling quite car sick by the end of the day.  We are driving over mountain passes and going up and down in elevation, I think we were over 10000 feet a few times.  It is colder up high and really warm depending on where you are in the valleys.   We drove to Celendin for the night but the hostel was very basic, very small rooms.  The dinner at the local restaurant was very interesting as Ramiro, our guide, ordered Cuy, which is deep fried guinea pig which is a local delicacy.  He ordered us an extra plate but the only one brave enough to try some was of course, you guessed it, John.  He said it tasted like the dark meat in chicken.  We then retired in our tiny rooms for the night.

Yesterday we drove to Leymebamba and left at 6 a.m. and had breakfast on the side of the road when our driver Baldo set it up around 8 a.m. In the valley at noon, it was over 90F and very desert like with lots of cactus.  Then we climbed up over the pass which was over 10000 feet.  Sometimes I get the gps working in my camera but sometimes cant get a reading when we are too blocked in by the mountains.

We had a long day yesterday in the van and arrived at 6 p.m. at the Casa de Leymebamba hotel.  It is lovely and the room is nice and it has hummingbird feeders in their enclosed garden.  There are horses tied up in front of the hotel.  Northern Peru is really really really off the beaten track.

We had dinner here last night and then retired and slept very well.  I opted this morning to stay in the hotel as I felt I needed a good break from the van and being tossed around and being bumped up and down all day.  The others went off at 7 after breakfast and will return at noon for lunch and then they are going to watch NFL this afternoon while Ramiro, John and I go to look at hummingbirds at a private residence.

Tomorrow we go to Abra Patricia Lodge for 5 nights.  No internet there.  APatricia is located 1 hour from Florida in Northern Peru, really in the middle of nowhere.  It is in the high cloud forest and probably will be cold there.

I will post again probably from Tarapoto which is in the Amazon basin.  We have seen lots of birds already and are having a great time.

Chao,
Lynn