Teotzlcoatl Posted June 22, 2010 (edited) So I went to Peru with the Botanical Preservation Corps... It was THE most amazing experience of my life! A group (10 people aged 20 to 40) of us spent about 15 days in and around the Sacred Valley region near Cusco hiking, exploring, collecting plants and learning about the culture. ***This is exactly what my notebook from the trip says... give me some time to put it into order and such... I will edit this frequently. Names changed for anonymity.*** ~~~Localities in Chronological Order~~~ 1)Cusco 2)Pisac 3)??? & Machu Picchu 4)Ollantaytambo 5)Trek over ??? pass to Lares hot springs 6)Chinchero )Cusco (Returned) ~~~The Group~~~ "BK"- Ethnobotanist "NL"- Sustainable agriculture "MM"- Expert on shamanism and the religion of the Andes "AN"- Ethnomusicologist, studied the Icaros in the jungles on the Amazon "SH"- Me/Myself/I "SM"- My partner ***Day 1*** My partner ("SM") and I ("SH") pack up and head to the airport. Got sick on the flight to Miami... We left the U.S.A. from the Miami Dade airport.... Watched Avatar on 2nd flight from Miami to Lima, it's around 3am... can't sleep, feeling sick, don't like planes! Transferred onto another plane in Lima, Peru for our flight to Cusco. It's 6am coming into Cusco, the city looks large and impoverished from the air... and a bit intimidating, but I was excited for the adventure that was to come... We walk out of the Cusco airport and have our first view of Peru that wasn't from inside a plane or airport. The air seems thin and I'm a bit lightheaded... and very tried. We have been up for 48 hours straight. "SO" and "NL" picked us up at the Cusco airport, they are such awesome people! Me ("SH"), "SM", "SO", "NL" then headed back to the hotel, dropped off our stuff and then proceeded to the Cusco "San Pedro" market. My first order of business.... COCA LEAFS! "NL" and I walk around the market talking to different vendors and asking for "Coca especial", high quality Coca leafs. "NL" carefully smells and tastes each batch searching for the freshest, most potent leafs. Eventually we find our Coca leaf and purchase a sandwich sized bag for about 3 soles or $1 U.S. dollar. Took the bus to the town of Pisac, explored the Pisac street market. Ate dinner with the group. Singing/music at the hotel, can't sleep. Bed. ***Day 2*** Woke up in Pisac hotel ate breakfast and briefly explored the market. Took a cab to the Pisac ruins. "BK" and "MM" present a discussion on Coca: The Holy Plant of the Andes! Hiked up to Pisac ruins. Met "AN" (our guide to Machupicchu) at the hotel that evening Tea time near dusk- anise tea and board games ***Day 3*** Left inn at Pisac. Rode bus to orphanage. Rode through city of Urubamba Collect Prosopis on the roadside. Visited the Moray agricultural center. Purchased salt at the terraced salt farms. Rode into Ollantaytambo and seperated from main group, took bus to train station for the town below machu rode train to the town below ??>? Ate alpacha, drank beer (cusquena) Roomed with "AN", he's a sleep-talker ***Day 4*** Woke up at 530am to see ruin of Machu Rode bus up to the ruins through cloud forest made coca offering in the early morning hours at machu hiked to inca bridge saw the main ruins found cave with offerings deep in the ruins "AN" talks up sexy Peruvian ladies ;) Rode bus back to town, internet cafe and food Rode inca rail back to Ollantaytambo and met back up with the rest of the group. ***Day 5*** Rode bus up to Pumamarca ruins hiked back down Excellent food at the "K-B" (pronounced Kaay-Bei)inn in Ollantaytambo. Visited market, more coca and llipta. ***Day 6*** Ate French toast at the “K-B” inn Left Ollantaytambo by bus for Patacancha Road was blocked by a truck which was stuck in the road, so we had to start our trek miles earlier Trekked to trout lake Altitude sickness… o fuck Camped that night, freezing cold J got sick ***Day 7*** Woke up at 5am Hiked ALL day Interesting high altitude plants Reached the pass of ?”?? at 14,700+ feet above sea level Fell off horse Lares hot springs Rode bus 3-4 hours back to Cusco, everyone is extremely tired. Sleeep. ***Day 8*** Woke up at 8:30am Rode bus to Chinchero to the weaving co-op Demo on dyes and plant medicines Hair wash with san pedro Plant pressing demo by "NL" and "BK" ***Day 9*** Tour with Omar our excellent guide MM does cleaning ceremony at tunnel ruins Wet rock slide, OUCH! Puma ruins, large wall? Vegan rest, talked with "BK's" family ***Day 10*** Went to obscure ruins “Despacho” ceremony Bee and plane Lunch at café Textiles with jose, some over 200 years old Shopped in market, almost got ripped off Ate some excellent pizza with SO and NL ***Day 11*** Seed cleaning demo with BK Discussing transporting seeds and the plight of the modern ethnobotanist Walked around Cusco, festival Ate at café (again) Went to book store SM ate at organic green restaurant Dinner with ??? ate airport, got kinda drunk ***Day 12*** Flying home was such a bitch.... Walked through a meadow… I MISS PERU AND ALL YOU WONDERFUL PEOPLE! _________________________________________________________________________________________________ Andean Field CourseThe next ethnoecology field course is scheduled for April 22 to May 1, 2010. For the trip schedule , registration, and photos from previous expeditions see - www.bpcfieldcourses.com More to come... I promise, but I just moved and I'm very busy. www.bpcfieldcourses.com I encourage everyone to buy the following from Sacred Succulents- Andean Collections and Photos 2010- CD/DVD with 300+ photos from our Spring travels in Cusco, Peru, and Cochabamba, Bolivia. List of our seed collections with ethnobotanical notes and cultivation suggestions. Available by mid July. Pre-order now. $10 postage paid, foreign orders add $2. Click the link for the Sacred Succulents travelogue- http://lists.sonic.net/pipermail/sacredsucculents/2010-June.txt Edited July 29, 2010 by Teotzlcoatl 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Evil Genius Posted June 22, 2010 You got to be kidding me, Teotz. Thats awesome! Collected some Trich seeds? bye Eg Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PD. Posted June 22, 2010 Ya couldnt help yourself could ya teotz, ya just had to go find a 100%, unmolested, red spined, true blue peruvianus Good stuff teotz, i hope you got lotsa pics to share Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yeti101 Posted June 23, 2010 If you don't post cool photos & shit I'll be very disappointed! Can't wait to see. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
paradox Posted June 23, 2010 good on ya teotz, sounds like you're living the dream Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Alice Posted June 23, 2010 Wow that sounds like a fantastic experience, can't wait to see some pictures Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Teotzlcoatl Posted June 23, 2010 (edited) I have tons of pics and I'll be posting them soon. Thanks for the warm reception after a long break of not posting. I'm sorry I'm so busy and don't have more time to write a full report at the moment, but I will get to it as soon as possible! I did not collect any Trichocereus, I was in and around Cusco, so most of the Trichocereus were Trichocereus cuscoensis (and none had fruit/seed), however members of the Botanical Preservation Corps continued on to Bolivia when I left to return to the U.S. and they collected Trichocereus seed, if anyone is interesting in obtaining some of these seeds than please PM me. I personally collected some Salvia species seeds, they have sprouted Edited June 25, 2010 by Teotzlcoatl Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Teotzlcoatl Posted June 26, 2010 (edited) Most of the info is now posted... I just need to do a lot of editing. Edited June 29, 2010 by Teotzlcoatl Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mutant Posted July 5, 2010 Interesting, share some photos mate! looks like an interesting way of seeing some things without doing everything yourself... how much did the tour/guide cost? Was it a package thing, guide+hotels and everything? good to see you after some time Teotz... ;) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sapito Posted July 5, 2010 keen for pics also. aswell as prices, I dare say its cheaper to do it alone if you know some spanglish, but would love to know how much it set you back?? well done teotz, south america rocks the socks Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Teotzlcoatl Posted July 6, 2010 It was $2000 flat for about 13 days in Peru, excluding the travel cost of getting to Cusco, Peru everything was paid for. This included all of our food, hotel rooms, a personal bus with driver (Edgar), porters to carry our gear while hiking, entrance to ruins, etc. It was an amazing experience and I encourage others to go to South America! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Teotzlcoatl Posted December 7, 2010 http://www.bpcfieldcourses.com/Itinerary_1.html Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tripsis Posted December 8, 2010 Where are these promised pics?? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Teotzlcoatl Posted December 27, 2010 I don't have any pics online... but I got a video one of the members of the expedition made Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Teotzlcoatl Posted January 18, 2011 PM me for pics/video, but only if you know I trust you.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mutant Posted January 18, 2011 are these 'naughty' videos? do you trust me? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Teotzlcoatl Posted January 19, 2011 (edited) 1) Maybe. 2) No I don't trust you. ;) Edited January 19, 2011 by Teotzlcoatl Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Coja Posted January 19, 2011 Ha, I was coincidentally staying at the same little hostel in Cusco that the BPC group stayed at this spring. Had I known you were among those present I would have thrown one of those hard pieces of toast from the freebie breakfast at your head for all the annoyance you've caused on various entheogen related boards I read over the last couple years. There was much more than just T. cuscoensis about in the sacred valley and around, though I didn't see any Tricho. sp. in flower or fruit at the time either. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Teotzlcoatl Posted January 19, 2011 You were in the hotel in Cusco with 3 stories near the road construction? That's awesome! Did you speak with the B.P.C. group? PM me your name, I may have even talked to you! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Coja Posted January 19, 2011 Lol, wouldn't think twice about sharing personal information with ya teotz. Did speak with a handful of the folks in the BPC/SS group though on a few mornings at breakfast and brief periods in the late afternoon when we intersected. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Teotzlcoatl Posted January 19, 2011 I bet we saw each other, you'd like me much better in person ;) That's amazing, what a coincidence! I only wanna know your first name! How do you know you didn't talk to me? You don't know which member of the B.P.C. group I was... but perhaps you know which one's I wasn't.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Teotzlcoatl Posted January 19, 2011 (edited) Eh, you can have 2 photos... http://www.shaman-australis.com/forum/index.php?app=gallery&module=images§ion=viewimage&img=3525 http://www.shaman-australis.com/forum/index.php?app=gallery&module=images§ion=viewimage&img=3526 Edited January 19, 2011 by Teotzlcoatl Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
