We have been experiencing highs in the 90’s with humidity at about 95%.  Evenings temps have usually dropped to the mid-70’s.  We are staying in a beautiful cabin with many screened windows – no glass.  There is no heat or air conditioning and, with no electricity at night, no fans.  This made for some warm nights but last night we experienced a wicked thunderstorm when temperatures plummeted about 40 degrees.  For several hours, the skies opened and rain pounded the roof, winds whipped through trees and windows, angry bolts of lightning were immediately accompanied by booming thunder. Not much sleep.

Today we are scheduled to leave by boat at 8:00 am and I just prayed through the night that the storm would pass through so we didn’t have to experience riding in a canoe up river back to Puerto Maldonado.  My prayers were answered.  While it was a cold ride, it was dry.  We were dropped off at Puerto Maldonado airport which, when we arrived, was a rather sleepy place with little activity.  That wasn’t the case this morning as the airport was jammed with travelers seeking to fly either to Lima or Cusco.

Before leaving Puerto Maldonado, I have to talk about the scrumptious food served in ample quantity throughout this stay at Amazon Planet Lodge. Every meal included local dishes, homemade juices with fruits picked on the property, desserts made with local fruit or chocolate.  Service was superb–all in all a very enjoyable experience.

I also forgot to mention the incredible sight of the star-filled sky the night of the caiman search.  With so little ambient light in the Amazon rainforest, the sky is so clear and yet so bright.  For those who have never seen a truly dark sky, a true discovery awaits. You can actually see varying hues in the night sky.  It is magical.  I happen to know that you do not have to travel to the Amazon rainforest (although I recommend it to everyone) for dark sky gazing.  The International Dark-Sky Association has a page where you can enter our zip code to find the closest spot to you:  Dark Sky Finder.  I actually visited the Natural Bridges National Monument in Utah at night–it was the first international dark sky park certified by this organization.

Me in Misters Inkas lobby

So, back to the trip:  We flew to Cusco without event and arrived at Misters Inkas Palace Hotel.  Temperatures here are quite a bit lower than in the jungle.  It is probably in the upper 60’s.  I know I mentioned before that Cusco is high in the Andes with an elevation of almost 11,200 feet.  Cusco is bustling with energy with cars, taxis, buses, motorcycles all vying for the right of way making it difficult for pedestrians but we found that the traffic police are SO nice.  We even had one stop traffic in the middle of a block to let us cross!

Anyway, we were on a mission.  I broke my glasses last night.  Not fixable.  I have a week to go and I do not see well without them.  I was told they don’t sell readers at pharmacies like they do in the US but rather at optometry shops and the desk at Misters Inkas told me there was an optometrist shop nearby so we set off to find it.

I had figured that I could buy readers since my distance visual impairment shouldn’t affect my walking around.   As we found so far throughout Peru, very few people actually speak English but thank God for Google Translate.  Through this app, I told the doctor what I needed and he disagreed.  He found a frame on his wall and said he could remove my actual lenses and put them in new frames within an hour!  Total cost 140 soles which translates to about $40.  We left, ate dinner (arroz con pollo which was excellent), went back and they fit perfectly!  What a godsend.

We retired early as in the morning we are off to our tour of Machu Picchu–LATER!