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 At one stop (to see some local fauna), a spider monkey attacked one of the group members, creating consternation. Note the blue line which can be used to restrain the primate. A small example of the world's largest (heaviest) snake. Largely aquatic, anacondas may grow up to over 25 feet long and weigh up to several hundred pounds. Girth may exceed 40 inches. Nonvenomous, they kill by constricting prey.  Another, smaller boa. A relative, the reticulated python of Asia, may grow to 33' in length, and is the world's longest snake.  Gudrun Sperrer and Roblar Moreno (not pictured) run an animal sanctuary, including a butterfly farm, off an Amazon tributary. She teaches in Iquitos to support a jaguar (pictured at website, below). Website information: CLICK HERE  Another rescued animal = a tapir. Of the horse family, some tapirs can be dangerous (true tale in "Bring 'Em Back Alive," by Frank Buck).  An example of some Amazon River traffic.  Our quest for dolphin sighting was, unfortunately, unsuccessful. It rained briskly in Iquitos before our flight to Lima.  Returning 1/24/05 to Lima, we had a short night at a reasonably nice hotel in Miraflores, one of the toniest areas of Lima. One peculiarity of the rooms is that the bathrooms had an on-off valve for cold water. Until that was discovered, showers were very hot.  Cuzco Airport, on 1/25/05. At 11,500 feet elevation, Cuzco, the southern capital of the Inca empire. The 3 days we spent there were not too long.  Some group members at Sacsayhuaman (probable translation = City of Stone), a formerly massive military complex 1 mile north of Cuzco. Considered by some to be the most important Inca monument after Machu Picchu. Construction began in the 1440s, and was typified by achieving a perfect fit without mortar. The largest stone block weighs 361 tons. Only 20% of the original complex remains. PREVIOUS | NEXT Back to Photos Page Site Map |