Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Puerto Maldonado, Peru


It is doubtful that many in Puerto Maldonado have ever seen snow. Jeff added a slide in his lecture to show them how much snow we had in Rexburg a couple of years ago. 
We went for a little walk down to the river. On the way we discovered some cool things. Hidden up in a tree was a Sloth. I thought Sloth was just a name you gave your teenagers when they did not clean their rooms. But there he is looking cool as can be. Then I discovered that he was a she when this cute baby sloth peeked out from Mommy's arms. The Sloth's blended perfectly into the tree. In fact you can click on the picture to see this cute baby's face better. 
Just a few feet away we saw this beautiful bird in a tree. It was very big and colorful. 

Jeff checking out the jungle medicine. 
 Puerto Maldonado does not get high scores for cleanliness. We drove down this road when we arrived and I thought, surely this is just a short cut to our Hotel. Nope, this is the view from the front door of our Hotel. The rooms were fine, the surroundings dismal. 
 This man is across the street from our Hotel. He is trimming the grass in front of his home with a machete. My pictures in town do not depict jungle but trust me this is jungle. The town is sort of scratched out of the trees and is a hot humid dusty sometimes muddy place. It is surrounded by nothing but trees. Flying in all you can see forever are trees. No roads, clearings or anything else in sight.

 Arriving back in Lima on our journey home we went to this place on the ocean for dinner. These are the two Doctors who traveled with us. They were great travel companions, friends and instructors. 
 Jeff can never find hats to fit his largish head. This one was perfect and we should have bought it for him. The souvenir I brought home is in my belly. Dang it anyway! Some sort of tropical disease. 

1 comment:

Beth said...

You give us all an amazing view of the world that many of us will never see on our own. That restaurant on the ocean is in such contrast to the view from your hotel. Thanks for sharing.
Good thing there's a doctor in the house to help you take care of that souvenir you brought back.
Luv ya