Peru - Amazon to the Andes

This post is nothing more than a test as I received an iPad mini for Xmas and it has taken me all this time to get use to the ways of Apple being solely a windows kind of girl. However having managed to download some images it occurred to me that these images of Peru escaped the original post so I could practise with them!

More on Peru

As previously mentioned  last October we spent some time in Peru.  There were many highlights to this trip but for me I loved our time spent in the Amazon - we stayed at Tambopata Research Centre where in 5 days we saw 211 species of bird including 13 species of parrot at the clay lick.  Wayne loved the high altitude birding of the Andes and the scenery at Colca Canyon was truly spectacular made even more special by the 6 Andean Condors cruising down the canyon.  Our vist to Paracas on the coast and trip to the Ballestas Island gave me a long awaited dream bird the Inca Tern.  On the boat to the Ballestas Islands you have magnificent views of the geoglyph Candelabra which some connect to the Nazca Lines but in truth no one knows the origin.
 On previous birding trips around the world we very rarely do any 'touristy' things but we could not go to Peru without a visit to the lost city of the Incas - Machu Pichu.  The day of our visit started with the 5.30 Peru-rail train from Ollantaytambo which takes you to Aguas Calientes.  This journey is magnificent in itself but nothing compared to the bus ride from Aquas Calientes to Machu Pichu and then your first view of the ruins is just mind blowing.

Sword-Billed Hummer, Machu Pichu & Condor

A couple of months ago Wayne and I went on a birding trip to Peru.  It met all our high expectations and we saw 430 species with Wayne hitting is 4000th species on the trip.  We spent a week in the high Andes including a trip to Machu Pichu , a week on the coast and a week in the Amazon.  It was a trip made independantly and surprisingly we had no hic-cups even though we knew very little spanish.