| We spent a day crossing the jalca, the grasslands of Peru. As we followed the narrow path out, the landscape suddenly changed. We rode about a hundred feet and were enveloped by a jungle. All around us were huge, lush plants, enormous trees with vines hanging on their branches, and a river pouring over moss-covered boulders. I was astonished! The cloud forest was one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been. |
The jungles of Peru are so muddy and dense that it’s difficult to get anywhere fast. We’d spend a whole day hacking through the jungle and barely walk a mile. The plants were worse. They were so slick that our horses slipped right off them. I spent the whole trip wearing the same pair of rubber boots, which were, of course, plastered with mud.
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I’m not much of an equestrian. As we rode horses on the second evening, a dense fog was beginning to gather in the valleys. The scene was perfect, so I set the reins down on my horse’s neck and started to shoot. Suddenly the rope dropped, and my horse panicked and started bucking. I hung on for dear life! It must have been funny because my companions were just howling. I may have missed that picture, but at least I didn’t fall off the horse. And most important, I didn’t drop my camera. |
