We have finally found time to put something on our blog, so here ya go.

After a few long days in Lima trying to locate our bags, we finally hopped on a bus to the mountains. The pass we went over most definitely gives Wilkerson Pass a run for its money for the title of Orgasm Pass, ‘cause man, it was sooo beautiful.

We have spent the last three days roaming around to different streams all around Lake Junín. The first day we asked a taxi driver to drive to Condorvado, he kind of chuckled and asked why do you want to go there? When we arrived we realized why he asked us that, the place consisted of a family’s home and a broken down bridge. A great sampling site on the mighty Mantaro River nonetheless. There was no shortage of beautiful rockwalls, old adobe houses and sheep. On the way home, we picked a shepherd who needed a ride to the neighboring maca (a turnip like root) fields. She needed to stop at home to say hi to her husband and insisted that we take pictures with her horse. We both got to hop on it and it was Daniel’s first time ever on a horse (that he can remember)!!!

That night, we stumbled upon some delicious hot beverages that the locals said would “abrigarse,” or warm you up…

The next day, we took a bus to Carhuamayo, a small town on the east side of Lake Junín (Chinchaycocha). On the bus, we met a peruvian documentary film maker who was on his way home to visit his family. He lives in Georgia, he said, but was traveling in Perú for five months. When we got off the bus, he took us on a tour of his hometown, pointing out the places where he and his friends played as kids. We got to go to the reservoir that serves as the town’s drinking water, and then take a little stroll on the pipe that drains the reservoir.

Then we took a three-wheeled Moto-Taxi up the dry streambed that leads out of town until we saw water in it. We weren’t sure if it could support our weight plus that of our bags filled with plastic bottles, but it stood up to the challenge. We then hiked back to town, playing in the stream as we went (and taking some samples, I guess).

We arrived back home to Junín to find a huge hailstorm had hit town and the streets were lined with little white balls of ice. After which, we spent several hours in our hotel room looking at bugs, twisting a syringe vice to death and playing with filters and a vacuum.

Today, we were sampling machines. We made it to eight different sites, each more beautiful than the next. We drove through the Bosque de Piedra (Stone Forest) just northeast of Lake Chinchaycocha. According to the Lonely Planet Guide for Perú, it is the “world’s largest and highest stone forest.” Neither of us were aware that Stone Forests are commonplace, but apparently this one is unique. There are rocks shaped like elephants and turtles, which we have yet to see. We finally arrive in the town of Huayllay. And here we are… With lots of sampling ahead of us!