Quillabamba to Iquitos part 6

Remember to see www.tikatrek.com

I finally make it to Pucallpa jump off the boat and into a moto taxi to Yarina Cocha, its a fast drive thats for sure. The plan is to make it to San Francisco a Shipibo town and with luck there are 2 ladies from the town at the port.

They invite me to stay in their house which is a large room with 4 beds and a corrugated iron roof, and to the side a thatched hut as a kitchen.

First a visit to Uncle Leonardo a Ayahuasca master to make an appointment for the next night. A quiet night just chilling and a wee visit to give a young girl some eye drops.

I wake up the following morning and its hot so hot. I get up and have breakfast with Miriam and her family, always involves bananas, they do wonderful things with them. Juiced, boiled, fried, in soup and mashed.

I have a shower, this involved standing half naked with a few metal panels protecting me from the outside world and a small basin. Its so refreshing.

The heat is so suppressing, so its time to get into the warm lake and play ball with the local kids, bit scary really as I imagine there are anacondas and caiman in the water.

When I return to Miriam’s house there are many people about, brother and sisters all teachers. We make bracelets with seeds as they do a lot of that here. Actually when you walk about little kids come up and put bracelets on you and hold your hands, guess they don’t get a lot of milky white people here.

Oh its time to go, I am a little nervous and want to get started as soon as possible. 

Quillabamba to Iquitos Part 5

Remember to check out www.tikatrek.com

Had one last nights sleep on the cow boat and it turns out we are only an hour away from Atalaya our destination to get the next boat. Be glad to get off this one thats for sure.
Upon arrival to Atalaya get a small hostal near the port and settle in here until the next boat to Pucallpa, see how long it takes.
It a quiet town and I am loving the food after the scary cow boat food, there is loads of chinese and juanes typical food from the jungle, what I am struggling with is the fact that the only coffee I can get is nescafe.
A lot of time in this village is spent watching movies in the funniest little private rooms where each TV is competing for the sound and a lot of time playing Nintendo for 2 soles per hour. Excellent vacations.
Also went to a place to swim in the river simple called el Pozo where I had the opportunity to see 5 different hummingbirds, a very pleasant little town for chilling out.
After a few days here its on to the next boat the Atlas II about the same size as the last one but not full of cows, only 6 to be exact.
The boat has people on hammocks all the way up the middle and the usual mix of pigs and chickens and this time the cargo is people , fish, bananas, pigs and chickens. It is quite amazing the fish is collected and wrapped in ice that they have in massive blocks in the jungle. They keep the ice wrapped in rice peel and this way it keeps for 20 days, impressive in 30 degree heat.
All the produce is pulled and heaved onto the boat by guys that are working to pay their passage. They bring on massive fish, full hands of bananas. Really is amazing.
I sleep well until about 4am when people start moving about and the cocks start crowing getting to the toilet is going to be a nightmare so I just hang in my hammock until 6. I spend the day watching the river, the towns the people. I see an enormous raft about the size of 2 football pitches being taken to port with wood extracted from the rain forest. There are 2 tents on top of the raft, must be spectacular to travel on.
People on the boat are restless as they want to get to Pucallpa.

The Wedding was a Christening in the Sacred Valley

After getting to the town of Huayllabamba Carmen and I took a combi out to the 5 star hotel where we asked about the wedding of Don Benito, we were quickly told to walk back to the town as that is where

the christening is, okay wasnt expecting a christening. 

The walk is easy enough its only about a mile along a dusty road with lots of molle trees and pumpkin  plants. Its also corn season so lots of that too. 

We get back to the town and have a look in the priests house and nobody home and take a walk around the back of the church see if there is anyone there. Th christening was meant to start 5 minutes ago. 

As we come back to the front they are there, just getting out of a car. Don Benito, Doña Melchora, Selestina, Ricardo and the child to be christened Irisita. She is all dressed in white, so different from her usual dress. 

Its also been a long time since I saw Selestina she is 15 now and speaks some Spanish. 

The priest arrives and they quickly sign some papers before heading into the church for the very short ceremony of baptism. 

Selestina

Here are photos of the ceremony. 

After that home to Cusco, a lovely Friday spent. 

Chontachaka, in the cloud forest of Peru

The place I visited last week has a volunteer programme where you can help catalog birds, butterflies, plant trees, work on the farm. Please contact us at info@tikatrek.com for more info.

4.30am alarm goes off and its time to get up and go to the cloud forest. The other people are a little late and we finally set off at 5.30am towards Pisac where we have breakfast and head towards the town of Paucartambo where they have a major religious festival every year in July.
We stop for a moment and visit the main square and the church before arriving to the entrance of the Manu national park.
The journey is pretty rough, but this is what helps the rainforest, access is not so easy. We finally arrive at 5pm, and cross the river on the oroya (a basket on a rope), after dinner I head straight to bed.

As I lie in my bed there is a massive storm, heavy rain, thunder and lightning. I really enjoy these kind of storms.
Not too early in the morning we have breakfast before heading off to check on all the different types of butterflies that we can see.
The walk is really nice about 2.5 hours up through the cloud forest and even though it has been raining it is not too muddy.

After the walk a nice wash in the river, with my lovely Tika biodegradable soap.

A nice free afternoon and in the evening an Angel ceremony on the banks of the river with a lady from DC, it was very interesting and people seemed to enjoy it. I slipped off and into bed.

I had a wonderful day today heading off to the small waterfall, it really is delightful with a small pool that you can swim in, delicious.

In the afternoon I spoke to the administrator, Alvaro who is a forestry engineer from Spain, he gives me all sorts of information about the place, its at 960ms and is 190 hectares in size, they have managed so far to reforest about 6000 trees and they have approx 15kms of trails, they are always looking for volunteers to help count birds, plant trees (this takes more work than it sounds), help with farming to feed the volunteers among other things.

The following day I spent going to the small village which is only about a 15min walk and talking to Gloria in the kitchen, in the evening onto the local bus which takes me back to Cusco. twas a bumpy cold ride but I arrived back safely.

If you would like to visit this place please contact us at  info@tikatrek.com and remember to buy your soap at info@tikasoapperu.com

Quillabamba to Iquitos Part 4

I am on the river Sepahua, where there are Piros and Machiguengas living and there is a boat Jiban which will be departing to Atalaya. Okay so that looks like it could be the next boat. I go out to explore the town of Sepahua its quite big and really in the middle of nowhere, there are many families that live along the river, fishermen and farmers. 

I spend a few days here in this strange town that has the chicken places and Chinese food. It is also home to a lodge which I travel across the airstrip on a mototaxi to get to, its all closed up but it may be the time of year. 

I go and check out the local football match, now thats a weird one as you look at the trees and there are lots of sheets hung up, turns out they are actually babies hanging in the trees. 

In the evening I watch a bit of TV turns out it is the priests choice as he controls the cable tv for the entire town. 

The music starts at 5.30am again, I get up about 6.30 for my next boat trip theory says I should be in Atalaya in a day. El Jiban is boat of choice its like a barge that is loaded up with 8 cows, this should be interesting. 

So basically this is a boat that collects animals and takes them to slaughter, these poor animals they are pulled down the high sand banks with 10 men and ropes and put on the boat they go past all the small farms picking up 2 or 3 cows at each, it takes ages I can see that this trip may take longer than expected. 

I am on day 2 of collecting cows and this boat is disgusting, it smells bad can you imagine a floating herd of cows, pigs and chickens, I have to get a pig removed from the bathroom to be able to use it, wow this is all a bit crazy. 

As we continue travelling we hit the penal de Sepa, until 1991 was a prison in the jungle. It was basically open as they flew the worst prisoners in from Lima and dropped them in the jungle, 2 sides are river and 2 sides thick jungle, not much escaping going on there then, there is talk of possibly reopening but with the costs involved maybe not. 

We now have 40 cows on this boat you can just imagine, or maybe better not to, one more nights sleep on the floating farm. 

Time in Puerto and then luxury in Inkaterra

We arrived back into Puerto Maldonado for St Patricks day due to be collect on Sunday at 9am. This gives us time to look for Brazil nut oil (none until May), go to the Municapal swimming pool, which is excellent, very clean, and eat cake as that’s what people do a lot of in Puerto. 

The following morning we get up go for breakfast and then board the Inkaterra bus to the local port where we have a 45min transfer by motorized canoe to the lodge. 

On arrival to the lodge the first thing we see in a little creek is a baby capybara sitting in the water, we disembark and head up to the main restaurant where we are given a delicious fruit juice while we fill in the paperwork. 

We are then shown to our bungalow which is absolutely gorgeous, really stunning. We have a kingsize bed with a mosquito net over it, feels very princess like. We have 2 hammocks, a little sitting room and a lovely bathroom with hot water, almost unheard of in the jungle. 

We unpack, get settled in and then got for a short walk in the forest, in the afternoon we visit there 33 meter high canopy walk which also has a VIP tree house (33ms up) that you can spend the night in, how exciting does that sound. 

I sleep incredibly well in my 4 poster bed. 

The following day we decide to go on the Gamitana tour, you can pick whatever you want to do. Our guide Noemi takes us into the farm and shows us all the different types of fruit they have available. As we depart the farm through the jungle we meet a family of Tamarind monkeys, even a very bold little baby. 

Here we have a canoe down the creek for 40 mins and we are very lucky to see a Coati, a very inquisitive looking creature. We try our hand at fishing and head on to the newest in addition to the By Inkaterra range the Hacienda Concepcion. We are here to check it out for clients. Looks like it is for a younger crowd and in the first 10 mins saw monkeys which is good. Be interesting to see it when it is up and running. 

The food is all inclusive at the lodge with some interesting jungle produce, fish that is farmed close by, fruit and special chilies. In the evening fines wines, white table clothes and a wonderful ambience. 

The following day after a wonderful buffet breakfast we have sometime to lounge about before heading back to the port in Puerto Maldonado. We spend the afternoon there watching the world go by before the 9 hour bus back to Cusco and reality. 

Thank you  to Inkaterra for their hospitality. 

If you are interested in this or any other tour please contact me at fiona@tikatrek.com 

Tambopata Jungle

For more info about booking this journey please see http://www.tikatrek.com/en/program/120/tambopata-national-reserve    I did the 4 days 3 nights programme.

I will return to write about my adventures to the Amazon but while I have it clear in my head I would like to write about my latest visit to the jungle of Peru. 

After an apprehensive start to the day we are finally sitting on a BAE 146 on our way to Puerto Maldonado and beyond. We fly over the Andes and down into the jungle over the massive river. I am really excited. 

We are going to stay at 2 different lodges as part of our ever increasing efforts to search out the best vacations in Peru. 

The first is the Explorers Inn in the Tambpata/Candamo reserve it has about 50kms of trails and a wealth of monkeys, birds and all sorts of flora and fauna. 

Upon arrival to the airport we are taken on a small van for the 45 mins to the jungle port of Infierno (literally hell) and onto our motorized canoe for the one and half hour journey through the rain forest to the Explorers Inn. 

The EI (Explorers Inn) is the oldest lodge in the area and they are the custodians of the park, there are around 1200 types of butterfly and 103 mammals, quite impressive i say. 

Upon arrival you are given a bit of time to relax and visit their medicinal garden or just hang out and watch the bird and animal life in the main garden before trekking approx 1 km to the 43metre high view tower that was built by a local University for research purposes. It took 15 men 5 months to bring all the material from the river to the erection site. 

The view is spectacular with the mountains of Puno in the background.  On the way back to the lodge a bit of night time wildlife spotting, lots of spiders, toads and frogs. 

Also the best site we had was a porcupine which was under one of the huts. Here you go to bed really early due to the 4.30am start. 

Just as well I was sleeping at 8.30pm as it is 4.40am and time to get organized, its breakfast and out the door by 5.30am for our 11km walk to the lake and back. 

The path is pretty muddy due to the it being the end of the rainy season but all is forgiven as we see a family of Tamarind monkeys playing in the trees. 

About 5 mins after arriving to the lake the resident family of giant otters makes a fleeting appearance, there is meant to be a healthy family of 8 living at the lake. 

We head back without the guide and the other clients through the forest along the main trail with all its very fun mud. 

I spend the afternoon listening to the sound of the jungle, there is nothing quite like it. 

In the evening we are out and about for some caiman searching in the canoe along the banks of the river. Saw a couple of big ones. 

The following day a lie in for our 5 am start to the parrot clay lick. This is quite a site to see, so much noise many different parrots and also toucans until a Manco comes out of the bushes and scares them all away. 

Later in the day we head off to a local farm, we see Tapir footprints apart from any different types of fruit and vegetable that are grown in the jungle. In the afternoon not a lot as it is ridiculously hot. Another early night for our departure tomorrow morning. 

I would like to thank the owner and staff of Explorers Inn for the fantastic time that we had at the lodge and hope to be back again in the not so distant future. 

www.tikatrek.com   

Kirigeti, Quillabamba to Iquitos Part 3

I wake in the middle of the night in the village of Kirigeti. Its dark out but I have my torch as I need to be on the lookout for snakes, spiders and any other creepy crawlies that may be about. Life here begins about 5am, I can hear the kids running outside the tent. 4 young boys and a month old baby called Rebecca all with mum and dad. 

They are extremely curious as you can imagine they don’t see a whole lot of white people down here, we are a long way form any central place and probably 2 days from the closest police station, hospital or anything similar. 

The family close by is staying in the communal room, it is a small hut, with a mattress or maybe an old metal bed that is available from any travellers of the same tribes, on occasion you are allowed to stay in them as a foreign traveller, they are available in most communities. 

They are watching as I make food, they watch the camping stove and chatter away in their own language, laughing the whole time. I offered them some hot chocolate and bread and they devour it, a big hit. 

I go for a walk and come to the control post of where they measure the speed of the boats that are going up and down the river, the have speed limits.  The reason that a child has been killed on the banks of the river when a speed boat went past, there is quite a flow of traffic due to the gas plant that is in the area.

During the day the Ashaninkas become braver coming to touch my things and see what they do,  I get all packed up and get a lift on the local tractor to the beach.

I sit on the bank of the river waiting for a boat to come even though the locals say no its too late. A boat finally arrives that is going to Sepahua, next destination, its different to the canoes I am used to its more a little speedboat. 

Quillabamba to Iquitos part 2

day 4
Got up and packed, had coffee egg sandwich and coffee and go and find a boat, luckily there is one departing in 30 mins. Funny boat Evangelists stopping all over the place to organise their meeting for the night in Bajo Pongo. Stopped at schools, houses, town.
We passed the Pongo in high waters, highest I have ever seen. The Evangelists (yes there were some interesting conversations) dropped me off on a beach to wait for the next boat that was coming past.
As I get on the next boat I realise everyone is very drunk, they are a group from the ministry of health that come to do 2 month health camoaigns in the jungle, there are 2 docs, 1 gyne and a lab technician. With them I pass the Machuiguenga village of Timpia and Las Malvinas (the town where they extract the Camisea gas) and end up in the village if Camisea. The village is about 20 metres above the river which is a nightmare with luggage but we all settle into the school for the night.

Day 5.
Got up ridiculously early, not sure why as the docs seem to take forever, so I used it as an opportunity to take photos before jumping back on our 20 metre canoe to the town of Kirigeti a small Machuiguenga community.
Quickly dumped stuff before heading to the village of Nueva Luz where there isa a reasonable size shop to stock up.
When I get back to Kirigeti I take advantage of the small river to do some washing and freshen up as the heat is infernal.
Walk about and meet another boatman as I am leaving the doctors and heading further north to Nuevo Mundo, also the first time I get to try masato the fermented mandioc drink, interesting.
Tomorrow further north.

Quillabamba to Iquitos Part 1

This time in my wee blog I thought it might be nice to start writing down stuff from the diary I made in October 2004 (I think) of a crazy trip I took into the jungle for a month living on cow and pirate boats. People have often asked me about the trip so time to get it written down.

Sun 17th October

After an interesting bus trip with women of all ages selling gaseosas and choclo con queso and me under the influence of a valium I slept until I arrived in Quillabamba. A quick taxi ride with my 5 million (only actually 5 but feels like 5 million) bags until I get to the good old Alto Urubamba hostal. I fall into bed as it is 4am and doze in the humid airless room until 9am.
I have a quick shower, cold but refreshing, it is a shock to the system but you do get used to it. After a quickie breakfast I hit the swimming pool at Sambaray, a pretty sports complex on the banks of the Urubamba river. A quiet afternoon and an early night in the stiffling heat.

Mon 18th October
Last minute shopping, packing, bus tickets to be bought and a couple of beers before starting on this crazy trip about 2500kms throught the jungle and past the old penal colony of Peru. A moment of fear realising that I am heading off into the unknown. Yikey.
Got on the chicken bus which took forever and also stopped at a party in a small village where the driver got out for a couple of hours, doesn't really install much confidence does it.

Tue 19th October
Its my birthday and well I woke with a shock. The bus had arrived but not to the door, a long bridge had to be crossed, so I stood beside the bus and organised my things ready to cross the bridge however as I am waiting I hear a rumbling noise move a little to the side and a tree comes crashing down the hill, thank goodness I moved or I would be well not here I reckon, the bus roof was caved in and the windows broken and I was covered in leaves. Happy birthday Fiona.

I finally make it to the village and dump all my stuff at the hostel while I wait for a boat going to bajo Pongo. Boats are not daily and you just have to wait so while I waited I went off to the pool in the river to cool off and also to get out of town. Ivochote is the weirdest little town has one street going up the middle with 4 sad looking little shops and hotels

Tomorrow I will continue on my journey, I get on the Evangelists boat.

Machu Picchu

One of my favourite places in the entire world, all my friends think I am mad but honestly anytime I get the opportunity I am off. I dont do Huayna Picchu anymore (got a touch of vertigo) but I have walked the length and breadth of Machu Picchu more than once and still love doing it.

Many people that come to see Machu Picchu do a bog standard tour of about 3 hours, which seems ridiculous to me as you have to travel 8 hours (total) from Cusco to get to it. So here at Tika Trek we like to offer our clients a different tour of Machu Picchu, either arrive at night so you have a whole day to visit or come for 2 days, there is really enough to see and do to spend the 2 days. I personally enjoy sitting in the Industrial Zone with my shoes off looking out over the Urubamba river. (nobody really goes to this area so you feel completely on your own).

I also enjoy a short walk to the Inca bridge which is well worth a visit just to see the amazing engineering feat of a bridge and walkway carved into the mountain, not sure I would want to walk along it though.

You can also take off upto the Sun Gate or for the more adventurous a trip to Machu Picchu mountain, how about a visit in March as the orchids are out in full force.

So remember when you want to visit the citadel of Machu Picchu, we at Tika Trek are ready to assist.

www.tikatrek.com   www.tikasoapperu.com

Azul Wasi boys home

As always on the search for new things to do, see and experience in Cusco we went off to see the Blue House (Azul Wasi) in Oropesa. A few friends had recommended it to me so we jumped on a bus and headed south to  the bread town (they are famous for their bread) and into the country to the 3000ms2 area that is Azul Wasi. 

The home is quite unlike many others as for a start it doesnt have walls which is great means the guys are not forced to live there. There are 15 boys between the ages of 8 and 15 that live in the house andt hey have been sent here either via the court system or a family member has brought them. They have a variety of reasons for being there and are all happy with the treatment they recieve. 

The house was set up about 5 years ago by an x policeman as a safe refuge for boys from all over the South of Peru. The are schooled, fed and looked after but this can sometimes be a struggle as it costs approximately $1300US per month to look after the boys. 

They have a greenhouse and gardens to help with the feeding but this is sometimes not enough, how would you like to come and volunteer here. If there are only one or two of you there is room available, if there are more you can bring (or rent) your tent or set up camp in the TV room, and you can share meal times with the boys. 

Maybe you would like to do an event at home so that they can do some more building, their office is pretty much falling down. or what about just coming for a visit and getting to know the boys and using your time in Peru doing something a bit different. 

Peru Scotland.

Lesser known sites in Cusco

Good morning world, thought it might be nice to blog about some lesser known sites in Cusco as I wait for the arrival of our coconut oil from the jungle.

One of my personal favourites (apart from Machu Picchu) is the delightful water temple of Tipon. Situated approximately 23 kms from Cusco at a height of 3500ms .

At present to arrive at the site you must take a 5km drive up a very bumpy road.  This is being rectified and will be a proper road in June 2012 which should assist tourism to the area.

Upon arrival you can begin to enter the park by the stairs passing small waterfalls until you enter the site which is a remarkable engineering feat with a myriad of water fountains and 12 terraces.  It is thought that the water that runs through the entire park comes from an underground lake.  A true delight to visit.

There is also the possibility of walking up an original Inca trail which is located on the north side of the site. This is a little harder but well worth it.

Another interesting thing about Tipon is the village which is on the main highway. Known as the place to eat guinea pig (locally known as CUY) the village is full of small family run restaurants that dedicate their time to preparing the Peruvian delicacy. It’s a very popular place for local people at the weekend and probably the best place to try authentic guinea pig.

For the opportunity to visit Tipon and some other sites in the Southern Valley have a look at http://www.tikatrek.com/en/program/96/southern-valley-1-day-tour  

And remember to get some soap www.tikasoapperu.com

you say potato and I say papa

Since I seem to have been on a food thing over the last few weeks thought it might be time to look at the humble potato and its 4000 types just in Peru. In 1976 they found potatoes that were 8000 years old south of Lima adn they are now one of the most important foods in the world.

Being from Scotland I am quite the lover of potatoes which is a good thing as here in Peru you generally get either rice (not a fan, actually don't eat atall except in rice pudding) or potatoes.

When you go to the market it is not a case of picking up a bag of tatties you are given a whole choice, normally at least 15 different varieties. Now I am a great believer in just normal white potatoes as you can do everything with them, boil, fry, roast and make mash, however here in Peru they believe that each potato has a purpose, if you want to make mash you must use yellow potatoes, you want boiled you use canchan, you want chips white potato.

However I have discovered some wonderful purple potatoes that make great fries and are also really good boiled.

How can you not want to eat these?

One of my other favourite potatoes is from the town of Cocha Moco in Q'eros where they have tiny little potatoes that are eaten for breakfast lunch and dinner and that they also make bread out of. One of my preffered things is sitting in their town eating these boiled potatoes with salt and cheese. 

I guess thats enough news about potatoes as I have to run out of the door and buy some, but I must say I still miss my Ayrshire new potatoes. 

For more info about tatties contact www.tikatrek.com and www.tikasoapperu.com 

Corn, maize or choclo

Today I went for a walk with some friends around and after feeling a wee bit hungry decided to get some choclo con queso (corn and cheese) at the market. Most of the year I dont bother but as they are in season they are delicious. I though it might be interesting to have a look at some of the history of maize in Peru.

Maize can be found up to 10000 years ago in history and has been fundamental in both the Inca and Aztec history currently in Peru it is grown in 550,000 heactares and is one of the largest produced crops in Peru.

Corn of which there are approximately 50 different varieties in Peru alone,  is used in everything here, cake, salads, on its own, soups, ceviche and one of my favourites in chicha morada a cordial not unsimliar to vimto.

There is another well known corn in Cusco which is the GIANT CORN, which the farming method has been named a cultural heritage, this is also partly due to the fact that it is only grown in a 70km long valley by only 5000 farmers. 

So if you want to learn a bit more about corn visit us at www.tikatrek.com and www.tikasoapperu.com come eat some Peruvian corn. 

Trekking and stuff

Good afternoon everyone, its been an interesting week so far here at Tika Trek and Tika Soap. I have been applying for a government grant which needs a lot of back up paperwork, so thats been high on the list of priorities and I have also been trying to organise a 6 day trek which everyone should be able to see here

http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0Dm9IA7tRdXCMNDGgh6sqklEGFNqqjBZH

Now I personally am very excited by this as it will give exact coordinates every 10 mins, our lovely client from Bolder has organised this, I guess so his family and friends can see what he is upto, so yes I am blown away by the technology.

However getting this trip organised is a bit challenging, horseman is driving me nuts and the trip hasn't even begun. Its another one of those cases of being a gringa in Cusco whereby they try to charge you more. I call it the blue eye tax, so thinking that maybe in the future will not be doing that route again, ahhh c'est la vie. Fortunately everything else is coming together, got entrance tickets, train tickets, guide, cook and food.

Another little thing that has happened in the last 3 weeks is that I have been doing some time keeping and have realised that in not even 3 weeks I have lost close to 16 hours of work because of lateness and well whatever excuse. Not made me the happiest of bunnies, but getting over it.

In amongst all this work I actually had an afternoon of fun yesterday as my godson was on his own so we went shopping so we could have mince and tatties and bought some glittery glue to do some painting. Perfect way to spend the afternoon.

On the soap front still waiting for coco oil, the rains are making it hard to harvest and process but here is hoping that they send it out to us tomorrow. Good news is that we have passed some samples to be tested so that they might be used in flavoured water, lemon grass, wild mint, lets see what happens, as that would be a fun thing to happen.

Think that all my news for today, tune in soon for some more fun with www.tikatrek.com and www.tikasoapperu.com

A Lovely Day

Today we have had quite a productive day, up early in the morning to sort out my partners pension as he had been signed up to the governmebt one which is apparently a bit naff, so we went and signed him up with one of the private companies, which was nice and easy.

I also went and bought a belated Christmas present for Sebastian one of my god kids, although I have had godkid No 1´s gift here since Xmas eve, woops. I got Sebastian a drawing pad, paints, crayons and good old plasticine. I hope he likes it. No 1 god son is getting fireworks, just small ones, sparklers and crackers and the like.

I also managed to make it to the South American Explorers where I am on the board of directors to return some books to their fabulous book exchange, I managed to get all this done, buy some yummy blue cheese and bread and be home (back in the office) for 11am. Not bad for a mornings work I think.

Upon return we have been doing our inventory as we need to give this to the tax department as part of our end of year balance, how much soap and stuff do we have. The other good news is that we got another new client today called Aysana Organics, you can find them in Pisac close to the main square.


We have also been in discussions today to supply the flavour to a new flavoured water we just have to wait and see what happens.

If all this is not enough we got a visit from our dear friend Benito Machaca from the village of Cocha Moco always a pleasure to see him.

 

Benito

If that is not enough for one day also seem to be having internet issues so ,lets see when that all works out. 

Hope everyone is having a great day from www.tikatrek.com and www.tikasoapperu.com

January

Good afternoon to everyone, I have been out of the office for a few days. My dear friend from the US was here so was hanging out with him and of course Miguels widow, had a few different things to do with them, and he will be back to visit in July where we will go with him adn his wife to do a trek from HUancacalle to Machu Picchu which I am really looking forward to.

Then it is the normal catch up on all the emails that back up when you take time away from the computer.

As it is the season we have been eating a lot of Kapchi de Zetas a yummy veggie dish that people make at this time of year. I have taken this recipe from Taste of Peru website.

INGREDIENTS:

For seasoning: ½ Tablespoon Peruvian yellow aji chilies paste ½ Tablespoon Aji Panca paste 1/3 cup vegetable oil 1 tablespoon garlic paste 1 bunch black mint 1 bunch lemon grass 1 big red onion Peruvian hot pepper Salt & pepper to taste 1 ¾ 2.2 ¾ 0.55 2 cup fresh andean mushrooms cup green lima beans lb. potatoes cup evaporated milk lb. fresh cheese eggs

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In a large frying pan, add the onion, pepper, salt, garlic paste, "aji panca" and chilies. Then add the mushrooms previously washed, the black mint, lemon grass and the Peruvian hot chili and cook for 15 minutes. Add a cup of water, the milk, eggs and finally the shredded cheese. When ready, add the green lima beans and the potatoes, which have to be boiled in advance. Finally boil all this mix for 10 minutes more. It can be served with rice or "waro" bread (Cusquenian typical bread).

In addition we have had a few problems with our soap production as our coco oil has not arrived apparently due to torrential rain in San Martin, hopefully by Friday as our coffee and chocolate soaps have become really popular, so we need to keep on top of that.

It is also holiday time of year so we are taking it in turns to have our 2 weeks off, I get mine last in March when I will be running off to the jungle to stay in the lodge that Mick Jagger stayed in.

Thats all for today lovelies, hope everyone is well and happy. Remember we are always here at www.tikatrek.com and www.tikasoapperu.com