And… I’m back! To all of you who have been breathlessly awaiting my return from the Peruvian corner of the Amazon, get ready to feast your eyes on some new South American adventures. And, for those of you who didn’t notice the absence of my obnoxiously long emails from your inbox, well, feel free to ignore this post as well (just don’t tell me, that way I can continue to feel important). Thanks to some preparation and the presence of five cameras between the six of us, there are plenty of photos to illustrate the stories that will be following in the next couple of weeks (what, you thought I could go on an Amazon adventure and only write one post about it?)
The fun began with an overnight bus ride to Cajamarca, which was already one of my favorite cities in Peru thanks to its dedication do the festivities of Carnival. However, it was merely serving as the rendezvous point for the characters of this crazy plot.
There were six of us, and a funnier bunch of gringos cannot be found and therefore deserve some recognition. First, there is the Ancash Tripod – Jake, Vish, and Frank (from left to right). These boys are legendary in their department of Ancash, and were successful in spreading their fame even further during this journey. While generally sought out for their intelligence and wit, it was their amazing 
disco abilities that earned them immortality in the hearts of the Amazonians. I know of at least one village that will never view gringos the same again, which is usually how you know that the Tripod has been in town. Further adding to the comedic foundation established by the aforementioned trio is Wes and Cass, who were kind enough to give us a tour of their site before we all 
headed out into the vast Peruvian wilderness. Not only that, but Cass cooked, which was definitely a treat for us rice-stuffed volunteers. And then, rounding out the group, was your favorite narrator of all things coming out of Peace Corps Peru, me.
The overnight bus ride to Cajamarca is a rough one, so we spent a little time wandering around Wes and Cass´s site before heading out again. Here are a couple shots from that day:
From there, we loaded ourselves onto a bus for the mountainous journey from Celedin to Chachapoyas, and let me tell you, for this desert-bound volunteer, the views along this road were a feast for the eyes. I’d describe it, but words just don’t do it justice. Luckily, they were working on the road, which naturally meant that our bus got stranded for about an hour at one point, and we were able to get out and snap a few pictures of the scenery. This is the last I’m going to say/show on this post, but as you look at these pictures remember one thing – we haven’t even arrived at any of the destinations yet. This is barely even the beginning of the trip…
