Kyle Rasmussen - BRIT/Andes to Amazon
Week 6&7 - Final Report

The final week of my internship has come, but the final week of my adventure had not. The final week had gone off with a bang, with new adventures and new experiences that I would be able to take with me the rest of my life. The Amazon is a place of my dreams. Every day that I have been here I would discover and explore something new. I had been learning so much about everything around me from plants and animals in the jungle, to the Spanish language. Despite the bug bites and all of hot humid weather, this whole experience has been worth it.

I woke up at six for a usual morning to watch the sunrise and eat breakfast. It was very relaxing in the mornings because of the sereneness of the forest. The few clouds painted the sky with a bright red on a blue canvass. And the river, at the bottom of the valley, gave life to every morning. Titi monkeys were my alarm almost every morning. Their call sounds as if somebody with severe asthma is gasping for air. They did this at about six-o-clock on the dot every morning to wake the whole village of Cicra, the research station. At about this time also, everybody would go to breakfast in the dining hall for the usual rice that was served for every meal, and maybe an egg.

For the first morning of the second week, Andy Waltke, one of my mentors here at Peru, took me out with him into the field. I helped with various activities such as carrying the telescopic scissors and sometimes just observing the beauty of the forest. Andy is very knowledgeable about the forest. He knows a lot about how to classify a plant such as the plant family Myrsticacae had branches that grow at a ninety degree angel from the trunk of the tree for just one small example. It was interesting to be able to learn and then apply that knowledge to other trees that you see around you. I would ask questions constantly like a small child learning how to talk. I would ask about the behavior of ants, about certain plants in the forest and what their family name is. I learned a lot that day just being with Andy. One of the most eventful moments of this day is when we came to three trees. Two strangler figs on either side of a Sapotacae tree, coiled around the Sapotacae as if the two strangler figs were actually strangling it. The fig trees were actually stealing food and nutrients from the Sapotacae. Eventually they will take over the enormous Sapotacae, killing it. The most amazing thing about this was the size of the trees. They were so big that the buttresses of the tree extended high over my head. The top of the trees could not be seen from the forest floor.

As soon as this small trip ended, we headed back to the Cicra Research Station to take a cold shower and rid of the sweat and bugs that had accumulated during the hike. Almost all of the afternoons were spent relaxing and getting caught up on work aside from field work.

Dawson and I decided to go out into the field together to do a bit of exploring. We had made plans to go a small lake called Cocho Lobo, meaning Otter Lake. I made sure that I had everything I needed including battery power for my camera.

The walk to Cocho Lobo was slow, but it gave us a chance to see more than we would if we were rushing. We came across wildlife like, squirrel monkeys and huge multicolored caterpillars. We also ventured off of the trail a little bit to see the Los Amigos River and take some pics. Just shortly after we arrived at Cocho Lobo. It was even more beautiful than Pozo don Pedro, the lake that I went to on my own. It was definitely much larger than Pozo don Pedro too. Its oxbow shape made it very unique from any other lake that I had been too. There were also all sorts of birds such as tree swallows, macaws and emerald king fishers. The hour that we spent out on the small boat on the lake was silent. We observed everything that our eyes could spot. When our hunger took us over, we slowly paddled back to the dock and walked back to Cicra. That dinner I had a conversation with a few people. Their names are Harald, Abby, Javiar, and Jen. I had become very dear friends with these people by just having simple dinner conversations with them. Harold explained mentioned that there is a tower somewhere that people can climb. My attention was drawn immediately. I had to climb the tower.

That is what Dawson and I spent the next day doing. We walked on a trail that was named Aerodromo. That got us to a small airstrip that rested in the middle of the forest. Just beyond the airstrip was the tower. When we approached it, I could not see the top with all of the trees in the way. It was painted red and white in sections all the way up. As soon as I could see the top I started to react with shaking from my fear of heights. Dawson instantly started the climb to the top. Me on the other hand, I stayed down for a while arguing weather I should climb it. I tried two times to climb but only completed a small fraction of it. I knew that I could not do it without any thing to help me feel safe. I yelled to Dawson that I was off to get a harness.

When I got back to the tower, I noticed clouds were building up and threatening the top. I started to climb again, only this time I had the harness as tight as it could go around my waist. The steps seemed to go on forever. One by one the top came closer. After a few rests and a lot of sweating I finally reached the top. My adrenaline was running like a race horse and when I saw what Dawson was seeing all this time, my jaw dropped. You could see for miles over the top of the canopy. All kinds of birds swarmed the tops of the trees like the sweat bees were doing to me. I could see the Madre de Dios River in the far distance and some buildings what looked to be Boch Amigos. I remained at the top for about an hour watching and studying everything that could be seen including the storm front that was marching through the sky like the Spartan army.

The climb down was not as near as hectic and tiring as the climb up. Gravity was my best friend at the time. When we reached the bottom we called it a day and headed back to Cicra. That night I watched the sunset from a Mirador (lookout) with Abby, Jen, and Javier and they offered if I would like to climb the tower again with them the next day.

This day is when I really became good friends with these four people. They were very easy to talk to and they made things very fun. My second climb to the tower was just as beautiful as the first.

The rest of my final week at Cicra was spent just exploring the jungle, looking for the anaconda that was supposed to be at Pozo don Pedro, and climbing the tower once more. This time of climbing the tower was special. Dawson, Andy, and I all woke at four in the morning when there was no light to be seen. We all walked on Aerodromo with only lights and a bag full of harnesses. When we were all at the top of the tower, the view was as exciting as watching the ball drop in New York City on New Years Eve. The sun slowly peaked up above the foliage-covered horizon like a timid cat looking for its prey. The sky turned from a pale purple to a florescent orange and yellow in a matter of seconds. It was as if the whole jungle silenced just for this moment in time. Chills of amazement crawled down my spine. I could not believe what I was seeing. It was as if the best artists were painting a motion picture second by second. Mist from the trees sensed the suns heat and began to wake as every other animal was in the forest. The mist mapped where the snaking river laid in the forest. The sun reached a point in the sky that ended the climax. All of our hunger called us back to Cicra yet again. This day was my last day in Cicra and it was Cicra’s birthday also. There were a large number of people who gathered at Cicra for partying and watching the annual soccer and volleyball tournament.

When I woke the next day, ate, said goodbye and walked down the never-ending steps that led to the boats on the river, I felt sad. I was sad because it had just hit me that this would be my final moment at Cicra for a long time. Abby, Jen, Javier, and Harald, were also on the boat with me because they too, had to continue their lives aside from Cicra. Goodbyes were exchanged, as were tears and hugs.

The boat ride to Laberito was about three hours. My nerves began to play with me by making me think that I left something behind. I was also nervous about exactly what I would be doing when I reached Laberito. Luckily, Abby and my other three Cicra friends were headed to the same place that I was: Puerto Maldonado. We all pitched in for the taxi ride back. I managed to find my way from Puerto with a little help. I arrived at John Janovec’s house. This is where I stayed last time I was in Puerto Maldonado two weeks ago. The air was cold, the wind was getting stronger. This was a sign of rain. When I entered John’s house, I met Andrew Lutz. He said that he was the one who would be going with me to Machu Picchu. Jason Wells was also there.

That night, after the torrential rain stopped, Andrew and I flagged a taxi to take us to the Plaza in Puerto Maldonado. Andrew had not yet bought his plane ticket into Cuzco. We spent most of our time doing that. We also went to a small cafe called Cafe Nustro. I also attempted to find Abby and the gang to see if they wanted to go get a bite to eat with me. I failed to find them.

I flew to Cuzco the next day. Jason gave Andrew and I directions on where we would to once we reached Cuzco. Andrew had a different flight than I did. When I got to the airport in Puerto Maldonado, I saw Abby, Jen, Javier, and Harold once more. I was happy to see them one last time though so that I could say good-bye and get their e-mails.

I arrived in Cuzco and went to find Andrew. He had already found a taxi to take us to where we needed to be. The taxi ride was interesting. Unlike the small motorbike taxis like Puerto Maldonado had, there were actually cars! The roads of Cuzco were very organized and confusing with it’s winding roads and unmarked streets. Luckily the taxi knew where we were going to. The hotel that we were staying at was called Hospedaje Ayahyasca. The owners name is Manuela. She is the one who was supposed to help us organize our trip to Machu Picchu. We arrived at what we guessed was Hotel Ayahyasca. The description that we were given matched the building though there was no sign of Manuela. A lady saw us with our confused and frustrated looks and she approached us and said that she was friends with Manuela in Spanish. She took us to her place until Manuela was found. She said to us that she was Jason Wells’ girlfriend and her baby was Jason’s child. She helped us mostly with our arrangements. It was hard to communicate with her though because she spoke only little English and we spoke only little Spanish. Slowly, we worked out our rough plans.

We arrived at Hotel Ayahyasca. Manuela was there. She also helped with some of the arrangements. I was nervous about how accurate these plans were because sometimes Andrew and I were just guessing what they were saying. At times Andrew and I were totally confused. A task that only should have taken about thirty minutes lasted about two hours.

After we worked out our plans with Manuela as much as we could, Andrew and I decided to go to Plaza de Armas in downtown Cuzco. The plaza is one of the famous places in Cuzco with its many shops, restaurants, alpaca salespeople. The plaza is also the home to an old large cathedral that towers above the plaza. We spent time eating and walking around the many different shops. When we had had enough of the plaza we flagged a taxi back to the hotel, and went to bed so that we would have enough energy for the adventure ahead of us tomorrow.

The adventure started as soon as we finished breakfast the next morning. Manuela, Andrew and I all taxied to a place where taxis were that would take us to a town called Ollantaytambo. Manuela left us once we were in our taxi. The taxi ride was very hectic. Half the time our driver was on the other side of the road and heading for another car. Everybody in the taxi was closing their eyes as if they were praying that we make it to Ollantaytambo safely. We did make it to our destination safely. Our driver took us directly to the train station in Ollantaytambo where we were supposed to buy our ticket. As we approached the ticket counter, we noticed a long line. It took about ten minutes to get through. We asked the man behind the window if we could get a ticket for the 9:30 train. He responded saying that that train is only for Peruvians. Frustrated, we asked if there was any other train. There was but it was at 12:30. We figured that this was our only option. We were also to buy a one-way ticket because a round trip ticket would only work for that day. He said that when we arrived at Aguas Callientes, the town below Machu Picchu, that we were to buy our ticket back for the day after. I was getting worried because this was a time that many tourists were visiting Machu Picchu. I was worried that there may not be a ticket back to Ollantaytambo. When we went to pay the man behind the counter, he handed the Peruvian money back that we handed to him and said that they only accept dollars. This is when Andrew lost it. “This is Peru! You can’t tell me that you use only dollars in Peru!” The man stood his ground and still refused to take the money of his country. We both left the line and found a money exchange store. When we asked to exchange from soles to dollars, everybody looked at us like we had lost our minds. Who knows, at this point, I might as well have lost my mind. With our “American” money, we were successful this time. The man oddly took the American money in exchange for two one way tickets to Aguas Callientes.

We boarded the train a couple hours after we purchased the ticket. The train was actually very empty. I had expected there to be a full load in every car. The train made a loud howl, signaling the departure to Aguas Callientes.

The train ride was interesting. Everybody on the train had at least two seats on either side of the car to themselves to observe the various ruins including the Incan Trail. Even though I live in the mountains in Colorado, the Andes did not fail to awe me. The jutted up from flat ground as if they were pushed up by a giant thumb from below. All of the mountains were granite. The start of the trip, the mountains were very dry and naked of any foliage. But, as we came closer to our destination, the mountains became covered in foliage like frosting on a cake. The train howled again, except this time signaling our arrival.

Aguas Callientes was surrounded by beautiful mountains. When you looked up, it felt as if the mountains were going to fall on the town at any moment. The first area that we walked into was the Plaza. In the center of the plaza was a tall statue that resembled an Incan Indian dressed in beautiful golden robes from head to toe.

Andrew and I knew that our first priority was to buy our train tickets back. We walked around the plaza asking people where the train station was. After we found it we approached the ticket counter. There was a man there. He said to come back in thirty minutes. In the mean time we attempted to buy our tickets to Machu Picchu. The person behind the counter said the same thing. Our frustration came to the surface again.

When thirty minutes had passed we tried to buy our train tickets again. This time there was a lady behind the counter. We told her that we needed a train ticket to Olltantambo for Saturday (tomorrow). We could tell by the look on her face what she was going to say. There were no tickets back for Saturday. I started to panic internally because my plane left on Sunday at 1:00 in the afternoon. I was worried that I would not make it in time to catch my plane. I asked the lady calmly if there were any tickets back early morning on Sunday that I would be able to catch. I also showed her my itinerary to explain why I needed to be back ASAP. I told her that I would be willing to stand on the train. She started to type on her computer as I crossed my fingers for good luck. Luckily there were two tickets for the 8:00 am train. We purchased those tickets which were about six dollars more that the regular tickets because they were “vistadome” tickets. All these were is pretty much first class for a train. After our tickets for the train were purchased we continued to buy our Machu Picchu tickets and this purchase was thankfully successful.

Andrew and I figured that we would go up to Machu Picchu today and the day after. We were told at the Machu Picchu ticket office that we had to go to the bus station and buy tickets for the bus ride up to Machu Picchu unless we decided to hike up. The tickets were only about six American dollars. We caught a train just in time. The only people on the train was a small boy dressed in colorful robes that looked like something the native Incans would wear, the bus driver, and Andrew and I. It was odd to have such a small number of people on the bus considering how many tourists were in the town. I enjoyed the ride to the top and took advantage of all the space that I had on the bus. Like on the train, I was able to switch to either side of the bus and look out either window. The road was very windy and was up hill the whole time so it required that I switch windows and take pictures of the amazing clouded terrain. Occasionally, the bus would have to stop literally on a dime so that it would not ram another bus coming the other direction. The road was only one lane with pullover stops here and there. Every time that we encountered another bus, we had to either reverse or wait for the other bus to reverse so that the two buses could pass each other. The ride to the top took approximately thirty minutes.

I heard that there were hotels that were at the top. We saw one, “The Sanctuary Lodge”. We both walked into the lodge and knew that the place was not worth a rusty penny. We asked the man at the front desk, who was in a tuxedo, how much one night was. He gave us an odd look of which I did not know why and then handed us a pamphlet. Our jaws almost literally hit the floor when we saw the price. One night was $800 per night. We had to look twice and unfortunately, the price stayed at the debt making $800.

Just above the hotel was the Machu Picchu entrance. All I could think to myself was, “I’m here, you made it.” That was not the case though when I saw the sign posted next to a security guard. It said, “Due to the amount of people already in Machu Picchu, the park is closed.” My feeling changed after reading the sign. The only thing that we could do is ride back down in to Aguas Callientes. This also explained why the bus ride up was so empty. But, looking at the glass half full, at least I had the chance to see what I saw on the way up.The rest of the evening was spent walking around Aguas Callientes and shopping in the market for souvenirs for family and friends, finding a cheap hotel room, and eating guinea pig pizza.

The next morning we were determined to get into Machu Picchu successfully. We woke early the next morning. The hotel that we chose gave bed and breakfast of pancakes with no syrup. We caught the earliest train that we could get on and rode the steep mountain back to the top. This ride was less relaxing because of the many people and the crazy bus driver that we had. I also just realized how steep the drop off really was at the edge of the road.

We reached the top. My heart began to pound in excitement again like it did the day before. The gates were more inviting this time when the guard and the sign were not blocking our way. We handed our tickets to the ticket master at the gates. When we had the okay to continue, I started walking like a small kid would into a candy store. The Machu Picchu ruins rose over the hill that was blocking the view as if they were being reconstructed. There was mist rising from the deep canyon. It was as if I had entered another world. The mist also shrouded out most of the ruins. For as far as I could see through the thick fog there were ruins that ran with the shape of the mountain. Andrew and I walked and took our time observing everything that was around us. The city was bigger than we thought. It seemed that every turn you took led to a choice of at least three more turns. It was a rewarding feeling to be able to actually touch the stones that the many walls were constructed with. Every stone fit perfectly like a jigsaw puzzle. It   was an amazing feat for the Incan civilization. I took many pictures of the ruins to try and capture a small fragment of what it was like to be there. A small fragment is all that I could get. Machu Picchu is a place that not even the best author could put in words. It was also interesting to hear all of the different languages from the tour guides. At times there were tour guides speaking English on my right, German behind me and three different languages on my left. I also noticed that many people stopped to take naps on the grassy terraces, where the natives used to plant their crops. I figured why not take a nap here. It was the perfect place to take one with two condors flying above, and the cool Andes breeze whispering into your ear like a lullaby. I found myself sitting down in places where nobody was to just look out over the land and tall mountains. The whole time I was in Machu Picchu made me feel like the weight of the world had just rolled off of my shoulders.

When about five hours had gone by, Andrew and I left Machu Picchu. As I exited, I looked back one last time as if saying good bye to a good friend. There were many busses gathering tourists as usual near the main entrance. The sign that said there were too any people in Machu Picchu was hanging again with the guard standing nest to it. The bus ride down was pretty interesting. Every time that the bus came across a switchback, a small boy dressed in colorful native clothing was there saying goodbye in three different languages: Ketchwa, English, and Spanish. At the bottom of the mountain, the bus stopped and picked up the child.

I spent the rest of the night walking around the plaza and the market. This was my last night here so I figured that I would make the best of it by walking around for as long as I could. I also took advantage of our hotel which had hot water. This was a treat considering that almost everywhere in Peru had only cold water. I set my alarm to get up early to catch the bus the nest morning, hoping that I would make in to my plane on time.

The next morning I checked and double checked that I had all of my things. We then headed off to catch the train after we got a bite to eat. We thankfully made it to the train in time and boarded. We were in the very back. When the train started its departure to Olltantambo, there was a Peruvian dance demonstration and an alpaca fashion show. They also served drinks. I thought that it was worth paying the extra money for the vistadome ticket even thought we had no choice.

The train arrived in Olltantambo. Andrew and I made a mad dash off of the train so that we could catch a taxi. We found a taxi. We tried to explain to the taxi driver that we were in a hurry. He took his time and said that he needed more people. He wasted about thirty minutes trying to find three more people. I finally demanded that we leave now. I did not want to get angry but I had no choice. My plane left at 1:00 and it was 11:15. I was supposed to be at the airport at 12:00. The driver seemed to understand us the second time and we departed for Cuzco. The taxi ride seemed to take forever. I kept looking at my watch as if it would get us there faster. We arrived in Cuzco at 12:00 sharp. I knew that I was going to be a little late because we still had to go to hotel Ayahyasca to pick up our luggage and pay Manuela for our stay. We arrived at the airport at 12:30. I was late. I began to panic because I had more connecting flights that I would also be late for. Luckily, the lady at the check-in counter understood my problem and moved me to a plane a little later. I was going to make it home! On the other hand, Andrew was not so fortunate. He also missed his flight, which was back to Puerto Maldonado, and the only available flight was the next day. I did feel bad for him, but I had no time to help him. I had to get to my gate because my plane was leaving soon. I arrived at my gate just in time for boarding.

My long flight back to the states began. From Cuzco I flew to Lima, where I had an eight hour layover. During that time I got a relaxing massage to burn an hour and relax my muscles for the long flight that I had ahead of me. I boarded my plane to Mexico City after the long layover. After I went through customs, I went to check in where I was told that my flight was cancelled because the plane did not ever arrive. My only option was to fly to Monterey, MX and then to Dallas/ Ft. Worth. At this point I was very frustrated. I had not gotten a lot of sleep and I was tired of airports and barely getting by. While I was in line, I met a lady that had the same problem. I ended up becoming good friends with her. We small talked together through the rest of our journey to Ft. Worth.

When I finally arrived in Ft. Worth, I said goodbye to the lady. I met Bea, at the airport. Bea, is Roz Rosenthal’s housekeeper and nurse. Roz is the person who let me stay at her house while I was in Texas (see previous journals). I was extremely happy to see Bea. I had really missed her and Roz while I was gone.

When we arrived at Roz’s house, there were three other people there who were playing Mahjong with Roz. Again, when I saw Roz, she gave me a big hug like I gave to Bea when I saw her at the airport. I had once met the Mahjong girls once before. I talked to them for a while along with Roz until I was too tired to stay up any longer.

The next day we just spent time going to a movie and relaxing. I had jet lag so I did not feel like doing too much. The day after that was basically the same except for the party that Roz was throwing for me. I have to admit that the party was somewhat emotional. There were people from BRIT there, and some other friends that I had made for the time that I was in Ft. Worth. Drinks were being served and everything. I could not believe that all of this was meant for my going away party. After we ate dinner, I showed pictures of my trip to everybody on a projector screen on the lower level of the house. My two days that I spent in Ft. Worth flew by. It was not time for me to go home, my real home.

My flight to Denver was the next day. I was sad and glad at the same time. Sad, because I did not want to say goodbye to Roz, Bea, and Kathy, another one of Roz’s housekeepers. Glad, because I was excited to see my family and throw my arms around them. When it was time to leave, I gathered all of my things and we hit the road for the airport. When I arrived at the airport, they said that I was late and that I had overweight on my luggage which was a fifty dollar charge. Luckily, there was another plane that left for Denver later in the day. For the time that I had left, I spent with Roz and Bea in Dallas until we had to return to the airport. When we arrived I said my final goodbyes. I got kind of choked up saying goodbyes but I promised to them that I would return to Ft. Worth to see them. I boarded my plane to Denver and when I arrived in Denver, I boarded my plane to Grand Junction where my parents were going to be. I arrived in Grand Junction. I met my parents in the airport, threw my arms around them and told them how much I loved them. We then left the airport for the start of another adventure back at home. This marked the end of my trip. The end of a life-changing experience. Memories were made, connections, and most importantly, friendships. There are so many people that I would like to thank that could not be put into just a simple list. I also do not know how I could thank everybody for helping me reach my goals. So thank you to all who have supported me and helped me in every step that I have made to the top. If it were not for any of these people I would have never experienced what I experienced.