Weaving Hope and Prosperity One Basket at a Time in the Artesanal Market of Chino

Of all the many excursions available to visitors of Tahuayo lodge, there is one that has a deeper more meaningful history behind it......the Artesanal Market.  Here you can buy handmade crafts from the women of Chino village. During my stay at Tahuayo there was a journalist there who went to the village with Dolly Beaver interviewing these women and getting their stories.

In order to launch the artesan market these women had to learn how to make crafts and take lessons.  They would return late to their homes after taking these classes and their husbands thought they must be prostituting themselves and would beat their wives, not believing that she was simply taking a class.  Many of these women would show up at classes with bruises and strikes on their bodies.

It is also important to understand that in this culture women did not have alot of opportunity career wise. I found out that it wasn't uncommon in previous generations for girls to become pregnant at 13 yrs old simply because there was no other life for her other than to have babies. My heart breathed a sigh of relief when i looked into the faces of my students and none of them had signs of pregnancy.

So for these women, selling their crafts was the first kind of financial freedom they have ever had. Pretty soon as they began making money from their crafts their husbands would ask for money to drink to which they said NO.  Finally they were able to take control of things and draw a line in the sand with just a little bit of economic prosperity.

Perhaps the most enduring symbol of womens empowerment is the Artesan Centre that stands in Chino village. On my first trip at my visit to the market it was housed in an old run down house made of wooden planks. However when i returned as a volunteer the Artesan Centre had been launched. They now had a beautiful housing just for the market for tourist to come buy handicrafts.

From what i was told Angels of the Amazon donated some money and each of the women contributed abit from their earnings and now the women have a place of their own where they can sell their handicrafts with pride. Basket by basket they began weaving hope and prosperity for their families.

Each one of these women were born to a generation where women were only good for making babies.  They endured beatings, bruising, and jeering from their husbands to break a cultural stronghold and belief that women had no power. And in the end they became the breadwinners and set an example to the next generation of what being a woman meant. These are the thoughts that echo through my mind as everytime i gently caress the image of a toucan that has been handcrafted with love onto a gourd bought from one of these amazing women of Chino village.....

A Rendez-vous with Dorilla Plus Two

Dorilla and baby

Whilst on the way to go searching for poison dart frogs during my first trip, I was introduced to a Woolly Monkey named Dorilla. Guides always used to stop when they came to the spot where Dorilla was and she would come right out onto the boat and we'd have the absolute pleasure of feeding her fruit along with her friend Chippa. Now 3 yrs later I find myself having an upclose and personal encounter with not only this amazing monkey but her baby as well.

For those of you who don't know Dorilla or Chippas story, I'll summarize it right here. Dorilla was rescued off the black market and brought under the care of Angels of the Amazon and the people of Tahuayo Lodge. They released Dorilla into the forest thinking she would find another tribe to join but she never did. Instead she chose to stay around and enjoy attention and free fruit.

Chippa (whom they believe she may be pregnant at the time of this writing) was being kept as a pet in someones home. She was being fed rice and not given the proper care needed by her species. Dolly Beaver convinced the woman to hand Chippa to her and the woman finally did.

Chippa

Due to conflicts with the village nearby between the monkeys and the people, Dorilla and Chippa were relocated to the Amazon Research Center to avoid further trouble. Unfortunately Coby (the father of Dorillas baby) did not cooperate with the relocation and is currently still in the orignal location close to where I first met Dorilla while going to look for frogs. But they will continue with efforts to relocate him and bring him here to reunite him with his family.


For now it was me who had the joyous reunion with Dorilla.  I was overjoyed to see the monkeys and they were overjoyed at the sight of fruit. Both of them would come running down the limbs of the tree, snatch the fruit out of our hands and then find a limb where they could perch on to enjoy this succulent treat. The monkeys tore into the fruit with such a voracious appetite that the juice of the fruit would rain down on me from high above the branches. With such a healthy appetite I don't think that it will take much to convince me that Chippa just might be eating for two.....

Canopy Ziplining My Way Thru Culture Shock

full disclaimer: this pic of me and the monkeys are from my visit to "isla de los monos". Not from any excursions from Tahuayo lodge

"I'm sorry but we have to ask you not to use the hairdryer. It takes up alot of electrical current." That was the approximate translation of one of the staffs gentle reminder to me when I had turned on my hairdryer to dry my hair following a cold shower. Yes, you heard me right, a cold shower. In the Amazon jungle if water is heated to 33 degrees it becomes a soup for bacteria, leading to upper respiratory diseases. I was reminded of this fact he first day I landed back in the lodge and found there was only one option for the shower temperature.....COLD.

But back to the story about the hairdryer, I had completely forgotten that here at lodge there are only certain times in the day that devices can be plugged into the wall to conserve energy. The lodge is powered by solar power that converts it into electrical energy. Devices can be plugged in between 1-3 and then 6-8. Of course no one is going to punish you if you plug in your device any other time but it is the principal of respect for the lodge and the limited natural resources. I courteously apologized to the staff member after she reminded me.





Then I proceeded to pack my hairdryer into my suitcase because if I leave it out there is no doubt in my mind that when I get up in the morning my first instinct would be to grab it to dry my hair.  That incident opened my eyes again to how scarce our resources can be that even the use of my hairdryer was using up electricity that the staff badly needed to keep for themselves in order to prepare breakfast for the guests early in the morning. 

Tahuayo Lodge has a 40 meter high canopy zipline that runs through the jungle. They have such a good standing with the Peruvian government that they are in fact the only lodge in the jungle that is allowed to have one. Visitors always come back from having been on the zipline beaming and gushing endlessly about how thrilling the experience was.  Day to day life in jungle lodge and amongst the people of the village made me feel like I was on a canopy zipline of a different sort. Canopy ziplining my way thru culture shock.

As some of you know, I came to Tahuayo Lodge for 4 nights in July 2013. And like many visitors, once they get a taste of this place they fall in love and want to keep coming back. Who wouldn't want to come back to a lodge where you are greeted with love and hospitality the moment you get off the boat? In addition to that being paired up with a guide who takes you on fun excursions like: canopy ziplining, searching for poison dart frogs, looking for caiman, fishing for piranhas etc. My guides were wonderful and caring to me when I actually got bit by a piranha on my first trip. Make a note to oneself.....if your guides catch a piranha and show you its teeth the fish is NOT dead. Please do not reach your finger out to touch its teeth.

For the full recount of that incident you can click on the link below:

Pecked by a Peeved Piranha

I couldn't get Tahuayo out of my mind so I came back as a volunteer english teacher, teaching english at a local village named Chino. Stepping into the classrooms of Chino as a teacher and not as a visitor was an invaluable lesson in itself. The moment me and my guide entered the uniformed children would rise to greet me with a "Buenas Dias." And the funny thing was that no matter what age or classroom I went to, whether it would be primary or secondary school the kids would do it automatically on cue. There was no arguing, bad attitude, moodiness, or whining. These kids knew exactly how to treat visitors or authority figures.

On the theme of culture shock, a vastly unsettling sight that was completely normal to these people was the sight of children of all ages running around with machetes. Here in the jungle a machete is an essential tool for day to day life. Kids learn the proper use of a machete right from young from watching their parents and also being shown by the others in the village.  It makes me breathe a deep sigh of a relief that these children are so well schooled; the last thing I would ever want is to come face to face with an army of unruly misbehaving children skilled with machetes.

Trudging down the muddy hill one day, having finished a session in the village, I silently thought.....

"It really does take a village to raise a child."

 

A New Building and a New Beginning: Inauguration Ceremony of School Wing

As I tenderly caressed each of the beautiful beads from the necklace, emotions within my heart welled up and burst within like the nightly fireworks that light up the skies of Disneyland every single night. The atmosphere had been ripe with the sounds of laughter, chatter, music, dancing, speeches. There even an impromptu gift of hand made gift of hand crafted beads to the volunteers who had spent 6 days building the new wing of the school; I was caught off guard when one of the village women also placed a necklace on me. That necklace would serve forever after as a reminder of the villagers gratitude to not only the volunteers who built the new classroom but me as well who came to teach english to them.

Of all the excursions I've done whether it would be canopy ziplining; piranha fishing; searching for poison dart frogs etc. I would have to say that my favorite excursion was one that Tahuayo Lodge doesn't offer on a regular basis. And that was my excursion to the inaugaration ceremony of the new wing of the school that had been completed by Be The Change Volunteers.







In 2013 when I first arrived here there was only one building that housed the school. There was only one teacher for all the grades who would have to go to one side of the room and teach primary school and cross to the other side of the school to teach secondary. In 2014 for first time ever, Be The Change Volunteers began getting involved with the people of Chino village and built their very first classroom of what is now the secondary school. The same organization would return the very next year to build another classroom. And this year in 2016 they returned to build a third classroom. So as you can imagine what a surprise for me to return 3 yrs after my first trip and find that Chino had gone from one building with one teacher to having a seperate building for primary and secondary and now had a principal and seperate teachers for all the grade levels.

 I arrived at the village on Inauguration day with a boat filled with volunteers who were putting the finishing touches on the construction work that they had been working on for the last 5 days. Upon reaching the secondary school, all words in both english and spanish left me. Where one week ago there was nothing but a cement foundation, there were now walls and a roof and a fully fledged classroom that was almost ready to go. It is important to note that the foundation had actually be laid by an earlier group from the same organization who did the ground work so that this second group could come and finalize the construction work.

Crazy Cuisines: Giant Snails Ahoy.....

Lima has no end to bountiful and creative restaurants with crazy cuisines. One of the most interesting concept restaurantsI came across was Amaz, a restaurant inspired by food people eat in the Amazon jungle. After reading various reviews on trip advisor and finding out about an entree of giant snails, I knew I had to go get my exotic food fix.

 

 

I don't know about you but I can't think of a better way to spend a first date with someone than over a plate of giant snails. Why wait until the third date when they see your place for the first time and get greeted by 23 cats?  Giant snails are a great way to show your lunacy right from the very moment they sit down at the table

 

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My Timeless Multi-City Money Saving Tradition: Hitting the Grocery Store

No matter what country's soil I find myself standing on, there has always been one tradition that spans every border crossing and not only saves me a ton of money but helps me get to know the culture a little bit. The moment I get settled into my accomodation there is always one 5 word question that never fails to pop out.....

"Where is the grocery store?"

This seemingly insignificant question is in fact one of the most important money saving questions any traveller can have. The first benefit of visiting the local grocery store is that you start to learn what other people are eating, drinking and the ingredients they are using. It serves as a great cultural lesson.

Another benefit of hitting the grocery store when you land is that it gives you the chance to stock up on goodies. Having things you can stuff in your mouth prevents you from spending money going out to eat when in reality all you wanted in that moment was something to grab. That way you end up spending money when you are truly in the mood to go out.

One of the most interesting places to stroll around the grocery store is in the country of Peru.  Due to it's geographical location and diverse climate, Peru has an endless amount of unique local produce. The country alone produces more than 3000 types of potatoes. In reality when entering into a Peruvian supermarket, you never know when the gigantic catch of the day might catch your eye.

p.s your curiousity must be burning by now so I'll answer question. This monstrous sea creature staring back at you is called "Congrio", a species of eel *GULP*

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Sailing Thru a Sea of Erotic Artifacts

While in Peru I visited the Larcos Museum, a private collection of pre-columbian artifacts. I was trying to broaden my mind to new worlds that I knew nothing about. I ended up getting alot more than I bargined for when I stumbled upon the collection of erotic artifacts.  Most of you out there couldn't care less the story behind the artifacts, the discovery or the ancient civilizations. Instead I anticipate that many of you will just end up giggling and blushing and hitting the "share" button....

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The Gigantic Guinea Pig Debate: Christmas Present or Christmas Dinner?

It's that time of the year again where turkeys are being fattened up and parents everywhere are running around to pet stores everywhere seeing if perhaps a guinea pig would make a great Christmas gift.

But let's imagine a world where things are a little bit backwards (or maybe WE are the ones that are backwards for insisting on spending half our wages on an overpriced hormone induced Turkey just because its tradition) and where guinea pigs aren't so much the X-mas present as they are the X-mas dinner.

If you can imagine that world, you are more than halfway to being prepared to have Christmas dinner with a family from Peru, Ecuador, Bolivian or any of the Andean regions where Cuy has been enjoyed for thousands of years.

Kids from North America who play with kids from the Andes regions,  might end up having a row because one kids parents have taught them that guinea pigs are pets and the other kids parents have taught them that guinea pigs are an after school snack. 

Grubs, Guinea Pigs, Goats and Sexy Cerviche

Lima is no doubt one of the gastronomic capitals of the world.  In my embracement of all life had to offer, I knew that I would be kicking myself the rest of my life if I didn't take at least one cooking class.  A great plus is that you can have a cooking class combined with a market tour and I wasn't about to pass up that opportunity. So I signed up for both and soon found myself in the middle of Surquillo Market in Lima.

Coca Leaves, Canyons and Condors

In July I found myself on a journey deep into the amazon jungle.  But little did I know that 2 months later I would find myself on another journey, this time deep into one of the largest canyons in the world, the Colca Canyon.  Along the way we stumbled across packs of Alpacas feeding together.

Not to mention sucking on candies laced with coca , drinking tea made with coca leaves and the height of it all chewing on coca leaves themselves to deal with altitude sickness

But every minute of that long bumpy ride up and down winding roads was well worth it when we finally reached Colca Lodge. In this stunning photo of the Canyon if you look carefully off to the side and see a red building nestled in the Canyon, that is the hotel.

 

 

 

When you book a tour you have the opportunity to book the type of accomodation you would like. Colca Lodge is the most upscale of all of them but there are things that you cannot put a price on. It is the only one of the accomodations that are located in the Canyon itself. It has private thermal spas made from all natural hot springs free of charge for guests.  In addition to that at the lodge you experience the sun rising and setting and witness the Canyon coming to life. 

After one unforgetable night at the Lodge, my tour operator picked me up bright and early around 7am to do more touring of the Canyon. There were many breathtaking sights and pictures that I took but the climax of it all was watching soaring condors. 

There is so much more than I saw that I cannot possibly fit into one blog so here are links to my album  for the city of Arequipa   Arequipa Album

as well here is the link to my album of my 2 day one nite stay in Colca Canyon. Colca Canyon Album

Peruvian Comfort Food: Chupe de Camerones

During the first wk of september I paid a visit to a city in Southern Peru called Arequipa. I know that when the average person thinks of Peru they think of Macchu Picchu. But Arequipa with its eternal sun, rich gastronomic scene, horseback riding and river rafting is one of Peru's premier destinations as well.

Being one of the country's gastronomic capitals, I simply could not resist instagraming my food findings. Most people wouldn't know what to expect since Arequipa is not highly marketed as a destination. So it was interesting to see the reactions I got from people over different pics of foods.

Out of all the food pics I took this one got the most reaction on all my social networks fb twitter instagram. Since so much interested seems to be generated in it I've decided to highlight this dish known as "Chupe de Camerones" literally translated "To Suck Shrimp"

Featured Photo: Can You Spot the Bats in the Tree?

Can you spot the bats in the tree?





No? Look again



   



hint: Those funny looking bumps on the tree aren't really bumps.....

Hunting for the Elusive Poison Dart Frogs

All my life I have heard about the amazing diversity of the amazon jungle but nothing on this earth could have prepared me for the level of diversity within the forest jungles. There are many excursions you can go on depending on your needs and preferences, likes or goals. Among the millions of options available, one of the excursions is to go searching for Poison Dart Frogs. Up until now I had only seen them on the discovery channel.

Cold Showers and Pink Dolphins

Dolphin-red, the pink dolphin - Boto-vermelho, Boto Cor de Rosa (Photo credit: josé hilton)

The world of travel is incredibly diverse and there are a million places to go and a ton of things to do in each and everyone of them. In addition to that, you'll hear hundreds of opinions on where you should go and what people consider "fun". And the really great part is that nobody is actually wrong in what they think is a good place to go and their idea of fun. But the most important thing is to know who YOU are and what fits with your mind, body, soul, likes, and budget. That can get ultra challenging when you are reading glowing reviews about 100 different places and what a great time someone else had.

Then there is what I call "traveler's intuition". It happens once in awhile when I hear or read about a place and something jumps within me and I just know I'm meant to be there and have that experience. On this particular occasion I was reading up on places to go in Peru. I was browsing through a list of popular cities and things to do in each one of them. Then I came to a place called Iquitos, right in the middle of the Peruvian rainforest.  A city filled with amazon river tours and jungle lodges that serve as accomodation.