Chestnut-eared aracari (toucans), near Madre de Dios River, Peru

Monkey species spotted in Peru

Roughly in order coolness:

• Woolly monkey (Lagothrix lagothricha)
• Squirrel monkey (Saimiri sciureus)
• Red howler monkey (Alouatta seniculus)
• Night monkey (Aotus trivirgatus)
• Black spider monkey (Ateles paniscus)
• Brown (Tufted) capuchin monkey (Cebus apella)
• Saddleback tamarin (Saguinus fuscicollis)
• White-fronted capuchin monkey (Cebus albifrons)
• Dusky titi monkey (Callicebus moloch)

Misses: Emperor tamarin, Goeldi's monkey, Monk saki

Untitled, Palo Alto, CA

Birding in the USA

Aromatic hike near the local water reclamation facility today yielded the following beauties...

• Burrowing owl
• Peregrine falcon
• Cinnamon teal
• Blue-winged teal
• Ruddy duck
• Great blue heron
• Black-necked stilt

After seeing one of world's great birding areas in Peru, it's nice to come home and find treasures in the backyard.

Machu Picchu, Peru

Playlist review, Sept. 2004

Highlight: reading 3 novels set in Peru while on vacation there. Absolutely magical to read about the rainforest (Mario Vargas Llosa: The Storyteller) as I was surrounded by the sounds, smells, life, and humidity of pristine jungle. The same goes for Thornton Wilder: The Bridge of San Luis Rey while at Machu Picchu, and the masterful combination of historical context and suspense from Nicholas Shakespeare: The Dancer Upstairs during the flight into Lima.

Runner-up: Sibley Field Guide to Birds, Western USA. Bird-watching is a hoot.

Lowlights: Ian McEwan's Amsterdam. Highly contrived, and the common theme in his work seems to be "let's jerk the reader around, especially at the end". Disappointed that on at least 3 separate instances we followed the Footprint Peru Handbook (2003 edition) to places that no longer existed; otherwise a great guide though.

Complete Sept. 2004 playlist
Thornton Wilder: The Bridge of San Luis Rey (book)
Mario Vargas Llosa: The Storyteller (book)
Nicholas Shakespeare: The Dancer Upstairs (book)
Footprint Peru Handbook (book)
Vladamir Horowitz: The Celebrated Scarlatti Recordings (music)
The Hours (dvd)
Belle & Sebastian: Dear Catastrophe Waitress (music)
Artur Rubenstein: Chopin Mazurkas (music)
Angela Hewitt: Bach Transciptions (music)
Elliott Smith: XO (music)
Yo-Yo Ma: Appalachian Journey (music)
Triplets of Belleville (dvd)
Sibley Field Guide, Western USA (book)

Best food experiences in Peru

1. Ceviche norteño at La Rosa Nautica. Sole, black scallops and flounder in a big sea scallop from Mancora with deep-fried corn, limo chili pepper and fried yuca. You can find a few ceviche recipes at Epicurious.com.

2. Fresh fruit juices and fruit. Freshly squeezed neapple, papaya, orange, banana, mixto. Every meal, every day. Fresh passionfruit and papaya fruit was quite nice, too.

3. Roasted guinea pig. Wouldn't eat it again, but makes for a great story.

4. Many potato varietals and papas fritas.

5. Sea bass at La Rosa Nautica. Mine: cooked in a Pernod sauce, served with sea scallops andcrayfish on a bed of yellow peruvian potatoes and topped with puff pastry. Kim's: with lemon sauce, steamed and wrapped in spinach, with mashed potatoes in olive oil and sheets of sweet carrots.

6. Fresh trout in the Andes.

7. Lomo saltado. Like a Andean beef stew served over rice.

8. Pisco sour. Peru's national cocktail.

Also sampled the following: alpaca, chicha morada (fermented corn drink) gelato, criolla soup, Inca Kola, Peruvian-style Chinese food, Peruvian-style pizza, lots of corn varietals, tiratidos with lime & chile pepper sorbet, coca-leaf tea.

Blue-headed parrots, near Madre de Dios River, Peru

Orchid, Aguas Calientes, Peru

Cocha Otorongo, Manu Biosphere Reserve, Peru