Welcome to the Jungle! -Axl Rose

First of all, sorry for the poor spelling/typing...I cannot figure out how to get English spell-check to work on this computer. **while adding hyper links, I fixed the spelling errors...me thinks**

After the much needed day of rest we set off for the Manu. The four of us got into a large van with our two drivers Ruben and Abram, then our guide Marco and cook Roberto, who we just called chef. We completed the 10 hour trip in over 11 hours because we had to help move some large semis that were stuck in the mud and clear some fresh landslides in the jungle. All in all a success because Ruben didn´t kill us.

We arrived by boat to our lodge which was pretty nice, every bed came complete with a mosquito net and we had a great view of the Madre de Dios River. There chef cooked some amazing meals and we slept pretty well. The next day we spend tromping through the jungle looking for plants and animals. We got to swing from jungle vines (Vinnie nearly broke her back when she fell of one and landed on a large root). After lunch we took the boat across the river to an old oxbow lake, which in the jungle is just a swamp. Here we saw spider monkeys and a capybara, the world´s largest guinea pig, and we saw a baby one too!

Here is a sidebar about our guide Marco, he is 24 and grew up in the Peruvian jungle. His family constantly had to run from the army because they grew coca leaves as their cash crop. He had been shot at multiple times before age 14. On our night walk back to the river bank, he spotted a caiman in a stream. He told us to shine a light on it and tell him if it moves...he then stripped to his undies and walked into the river. With water higher than his head and a very weak flashlight he snuck up on the caiman and grabbed it. He didn´t know how big it was or if it was alone, then be brought it to us to play with. Vinnie said, "You just got naked and jumped in a river to catch an alligator, do you normally do that?" He said, "No, it just sounded like fun." That definitely was considered when tipping.

After taking the boat back to camp in the light of a nearly full moon we had a nice dinner and started to drink some very cheap boxed wine. A Canadian girl yelled at us around 9:00 because we were too loud so we continued down at the river bank. Lucky for us, she was getting up at 5:00 the next morning, but slept in. Her guide was yelling at her to hurry up, after being woken by that we should have told him to just leave here there. After another hour of sleep we packed up and headed back to Cuzco, a nice nine hour drive thanks to Ruben´s stellar speeding skills and dry jungle roads.

The nurses put me on the BRAT diet when we were in the jungle, guaranteed to make me regular. It consists of Bananas, Rice, Apple sauce and Toast. I didn´t get to eat cuy in Peru, or anything at all tasty in the past few days, but I feel much better. After one more night in our lovely party hostel, in a dorm called "Crazy Bitch" we worked on our exit strategy to Santiago, Chile. We would bus to Tacna, Peru, cross the border to Arica and fly to Santiago. Flying direct to Santiago is expensive in its own right, plus the $131 entry fee for US citizens, so land crossing was our best choice.

We found flights for $110 from Arica to Santiago and decided to book the next day after getting our bus ticket. Bad idea! We booked the bus in the morning then tried to book the plane online, no go. We called and the ticket price jumped to over $350 per person! So we tried to book a plane the next day that did not work because you have to arrange the ticket over the phone, then go to a bank, pay an account and email the receipt to the airline so they can issue the ticket. Sadly, it was a holiday weekend so no banks were open...we decided to get to the airport and figure it out.

Here is where tensions started to run high. With an hour left before we had to catch our bus to Tacna Josh and I split to run some errands agreeing to meet at 2:30 to catch a taxi to the bus terminal where we had to be at 2:50 for our 3:00 bus. After getting another memory card, stamps and a few things to eat for the 15 hour bus ride I made it back just in time. Josh didn´t show until 2:50, after waiting for his food to be ready at a restaurant. In any case, we paid the taxi driver extra to go fast and we made it to the terminal just to watch the bus leave. The ticket agent yelled at us then called the bus driver, but he didn´t answer. We got in a taxi and chased it down and we both stepped on the bus as it was moving away from a local stop...literally driving away as we stepped onboard. It was a nice ride even though it was 15 hours, but I hope Josh´s food tasted amazing.

We arrived in Tacna and took a taxi to the main bus terminal to catch a collectivo across the border. Here they did our paperwork and crammed 6 people into a 1993 Ford Taurus and we set out for the frontera. We got our exit stamps from Peru and entry stamps from Chile with ease. In the collectivo I did some math in my head and figured that a 30 hour bus ride to Santiago might not be so bad considering the alternatives of not having a plane ticket. After talking to Josh about the costs of a bus ticket versus a plane ticket, the scenery we would see, the discomfort we would have and then talking with every ticket agent in Arica we decided to split again. Josh is going to try and catch a flight to Santiago tomorrow morning and I am taking a 30 hour trip to Santiago via bus in about three hours. I have a front row view on the top floor and all meals included.

Here is the biggest downside to Chile so far. After trying my two different ATM cards in two different banks I still can´t access my funds. I will have to call tomorrow, but unlike Peru, Google Voice works in Chile so I can actually use a phone for free!

I hope all is well at home, I want snow too!