Blogs sponsored by Piotr Chmielinski Canoandes.org “An end is only a beginning in disguise” ~Lounsbourgh Well here it is, the last blog of the expedition – of my Amazon odyssey. I have reached the Pacific, a destination that at times during my trek I wasn’t sure I would ever see. I dreamed about this … Read more »
Blogs sponsored by Piotr Chmielinski Canoandes.org Music “Doina de La Visna” by Gheorghe Zamifir. Available here. This will be the last blog before I hit the Pacific Ocean, hopefully just a few days from now. Landscapes A very eventful last few weeks since I climbed Mismi and left Chivay, and all the details … Read more »
Blogs sponsored by Piotr Chmielinski Canoandes.org The summit After crossing the winding, treeless, cold and barren valley from the small mining town of Caylloma, and staying a few days with the hardy local inhabitants, one of whom walked with me for a few hours, I followed the last part of the Apurimac river … Read more »
Blogs sponsored by Piotr Chmielinski Canoandes.org I borrowed my title from John Hemming’s wonderful, definitive book Tree of Rivers. If you look at the diagram of the Amazon Basin below, it is not difficult to distinguish his “tree” of rivers that appears to grow west from the Atlantic. The tree trunk is the main Amazon River, and the … Read more »
Blogs sponsored by Piotr Chmielinski Canoandes.org As the famous writer and author of War And Peace, Leo Tolstoy, once wrote “The two most powerful warriors are patience and time.” It has become something of a mantra for me, after losing many weeks walking due to getting sick in Cusco with Covid. After being ill, I really struggled physically, … Read more »
Blogs sponsored by Piotr Chmielinski Canoandes.org Cusco was the physical, political, and spiritual center of the Inka universe. Every aspect of the city reflected its cosmic significance. The Quechua word “Qosqo”, comes from an indigenous word meaning “navel of the world” or “center of the universe”. The historic city, with its mind-boggling Inca engineering, sits 3400m above … Read more »
Blogs sponsored by Piotr Chmielinski Canoandes.org The word Pachamama translates to Mother Earth from the ancient Quechua language – pacha meaning universe, world, or earth, and mama meaning mother. In the many mountain villages I passed or stayed at, the people who live there spend most of their days working the land by hand in the various … Read more »
Blogs sponsored by Piotr Chmielinski Canoandes.org The life and soul – the heart – of the local Peruvian towns seems to be recovering now, post-Covid. Having spent some time in the surprisingly pleasant and picturesque Pichari, I’ve seen a definite surge of socializing. Every night of the week the streets and central plazas are … Read more »
Blogs sponsored by Piotr Chmielinski Canoandes.org “The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.” — Joseph Campbell. I can honestly say that I was fearful of entering this section of the expedition – especially the lower Rio Ene. I had been warned many many times not to walk along the riverbank, … Read more »
Blogs sponsored by Piotr Chmielinski Canoandes.org Verano (Summer) It’s summer here now (verano), and dry season. I haven’t seen rain for at least three weeks. The night skies have been crystal clear as have the small streams and rivers flowing down from the mountains. At some of the Ashaninka villages that we stayed at … Read more »
