Dolphin Spotting and Piranha Fishing - Explorama
Gretchen was afraid that Peru would be like Jurassic Park (with animals that wouldn't appear). In truth, it has been just the opposite, with too many animals to see and remember.
We saw over two dozen birds and about 7-8 river dolphin. Three were a Mama/Daddy/Baby pod...Armando tells me that they help the local fisherpeople in several ways.
The piranha like noise and movement. It attracts them. So we smacked the water with our poles and then plopped our bait in. Mostly we gave them lunch.
Just when I thought we had seen what the Amazon had to offer, we went on our night cruise. A full moon lit the river as we floated with the current, listening to the sounds from the riverbanks...No picture, no movie, no description can describe the pure beauty of this moment...Another quote from Evie, "It's like living another life."
Visiting Our First Village/Soccer Match - Explorama
We visited the village of San Antonio. The children followed Armando like every other creature does. They seemed so happy. The men were building a fence for their medicinal herb garden.
The people of San Antonio were very kind in showing us around. The school teacher showed us all the different herbs that they were growing in their garden and told us of their medicinal uses. The village must create this garden every year during the dry season (during the wet season, the field is underwater). They are also growing yucca, corn and bananas as well as having chickens and ducks.
I really enjoyed the soccer and friendship. At half-time of one of the games, the water buffalo took the field to graze. They had a hard time shooing them away. We barely got home before darkness fell. After dinner, we went to hear Armando play percussion in the staff band, the Green Frogs. (Click Here for a Sample, 833 kb .mp3)
