Peru

Skipping from Peak to Peak
- Peru 2007 -

"One of the greatest expeditions of the 20th century was Canoandes '79, a three-year voyage of students from Krakow's Academy of Mining and Metallurgy, which resulted in the navigation of 23 mountain rivers (including 12 first descents) in South America, covering in the process 120 thousand kilometers by cars and nearly 1,800 km in kayaks and rafts. The kayakers from Krakow (Jacek Bogucki, Marek Byliński, Zbigniew Bzdak, Piotr Chmieliński, Stanisław Grodecki, Włodzimierz Herma, Tomasz Jaroszewski, Jan Kasprzyk, Jerzy Majcherczyk, Andrzej Piętowski, Józef Woch) began their adventure in 1979 by navigating fiver rivers in Mexico: Rio Amacuzac, Rio Mixteco, Rio Balsas, Rio Atoyac, Rio Pescados (Antigua). During the next year, they explored more rivers in Mexico, navigating Rio Montezuma and the five canyons of Rio Santa Maria, all with the highest degree of difficulty. Some participants returned to Poland after that, but Jacek Bogucki, Zbigniew Bzdak, Piotr Chmieliński, Jerzy Majcherczyk and Andrzej Piętowski stayed in South America; they navigated Rio Grande de Santiago, the Aguapa River in Guatemala and Rio Grande de Matagalpa in Nicaragua, featuring class V rapids. In Costa Rica, the kayakers ran Rio Reventazón together with a group of American athletes, and then they conquered the mountain section of Rio Pacuare. Rio Aguarico was their next target, their first river in South America, flowing parallel to the equator. After that they navigated Rio Napo, reaching its sources at the height of over 4,500 m above sea level. In Peru, they decided to run several rivers during the rainy season. Running the 160 km (100 miles) of Rio Maranon in three days became widespread news in Lima. The Peruvian press wrote about the Polish achievement, which helped the kayakers prepare an expedition to the deepest canyon in the world on the Colca River. After fighting through 100 km of this wild river in 33 days, the Poles became world-famous. In March of 2001 in Krakow, the Canoandes '79 expedition was granted the Colossus award, given for most outstanding Polish exploratory achievement."
____________________________ Before you CLICK all files are movies up to 32 min - 60MB, you need to have fast connection to Internet because... ___________________________________________________________
Journey to... - how it started -
"Yurek - is a kayaker and an explorer, travel agent and a reporter, organizer of numerous expeditions to the farthest corners of South America and Siberia. Fellow member of the prestigious The Explorers Club in New York City. In 1994, Yurek was elected as one of the *20 Legends of Paddling* by the editorial staff of the prestigious PADDLER magazine".
1. Journey (15.51min - 24,40MB) 2. Just Tourists (4.49min - 7,70MB) 3. June 17th (3.58min - 6,60MB)	4. Ladies and Gentlemen (6.30min - 8,40MB) 5. Faces (6.7min - 8,40MB) 6. St. Catalina (8.41min - 13MB)
Inti Raymi - the Party of Sun -
"The Sun the main god of the Inca Civilization was considered like the creator of all existed. He presided over destiny of human beings and of the Universe. The Inti Raymi, the most luxurious feast was devoted to the Sun. In order for it not to abandon the earth and it's children. And mountain it's orbit offering people warmth and happiness".
1. Stroll with a Guide (8.34min - 14MB) 2. Inti Raymi 1 (14,37min - 24MB) 3. Inti Raymi 2 (9,10min - 15,30MB) 4. Inti Raymi 3a (26.46min - 44MB)	5. Inti Raymi 3b (32.35min - 60MB) 6. Inti Raymi 4 (8.25min - 13,72MB) 7. Cusco by Night (24.43min - 36MB)
Inca's Story - Machu Picche -
"Machu Picchu (in Quechua "Old Peak") is a preColumbian Inca city located at 2,430 m (7,970 ft) altitude on a mountain ridge above the Urubamba Valley in Peru, about 70 km (44 mi) northwest of Cusco, capitol of Inca Empire. About 1,200 people lived in and around Machu Picchu, most of them women, children, and priests. The buildings are thought to have been planned and built under the supervision of professional Inca architects. Most of the structures are built of granite blocks cut with bronze or stone tools, and smoothed with sand. The blocks fit together perfectly without mortar, although none of the blocks are the same size and have many faces; some have as many as 30 corners. The joints are so tight that even the thinnest of knife blades can't be forced between the stones. Another unique thing about Machu Picchu is the integration of the architecture into the landscape. Existing stone formations were used in the construction of structures, sculptures are carved into the rock, water flows through cisterns and stone channels, and temples hang on steep precipices. Machu Picchu is probably the most familiar symbol of the Inca Empire. It is often referred to as "The Lost City of the Incas". The site was designated as a World Heritige Site in 1983 when it was described as "an absolute masterpiece of architecture and a unique testimony to the Inca civilization".
1. Cusco - Machu Picchu (9.58min - 16MB) 2. As Carlos says 1 (17.39min - 28MB) 3. As Carlos Says 2 (11.32min - 19MB)	4. I'm a King of Machu Picchu (8,48min - 13,6MB) 5. The Astronomy (4,36min - 7MB) 6. This Place (1.59min - 3,20MB)
Canyon Colca - Yurek - Jerzy Majcherczyk -
"At 14,339 feet deep, the gorge has been recognized as the deepest canyon on earth by both Guinness and National Geographic. Six people were on the trip, two in single, fiberglass kayaks and four in a tub-floored raft, captained by Jerzy "Yurek" Majcherczyk. It took the group five days to find sufficient water depth and over the following 11 days, it advanced only 26 miles, running what they could while portaging 21 times around Class VI rapids. On day four they lost one of the kayaks and flipped the raft, barely managing to retain their scant provisions. On the eleventh day, hungry, dead-tired and disheveled, they arrived in the oasis Indian Village of Canco, where they stayed briefly to recover before moving on to Arequipa. The sorry shape of the team and equipment by this time required 10 days of recovery before resuming their odyssey. Seven days later, they reached the end of the canyon at Andamayo. During this final, 56-km segment they were forced to do only three portages. As original explorers, the group was able to name several places within the canyon, including the first of the largest rapids, which they named Rapidos Shippee and Johnson, to commemorate the two American pilots who first flew over the Colca Valley in 1929. The tallest waterfall near Canco was named John Paul II Falls to after the group's connections to the Polish Pope. On June 13, 1981, the group emerged from the canyon's depths, 33 days after they started.
1. I had a Dream (6.34min - 11MB) 2. Down and Up (27.20min - 45,60MB) 3. The Strike (12.36min - 20,39MB) 4. Dancing and Skylarking 1 (2.32min - 4, 28MB)	5. Dancing and Skylarking 2 (5.20min - 8,77MB) 6. Dancing and Skylarking 3 (1.37min - 2,67MB) 7. Dancing and Skylarking 4 (7.46min - 12,60MB) 8. Dancing and Skylarking 5 (11.19min - 18,40MB)
Far Away - Lake Titicaca -
"The Uros is the name of a group of pre-Incan people who live on 42 self-fashioned floating man-made-isles located in Lake Tiicaca off Puno, Peru. The Uros use the totora plant to make boats (balsas mats) of bundled dried reeds as well as to make the islands themselves. Around 3,000 descendants of the Uros are alive today, although only a few hundred still live on and maintain the islands; most have moved to the mainland. The Uros also bury their dead on the mainland in special cemeteries. The purpose of the island settlements was originally defensive, and if a threat arose they could with difficulty be moved. The largest island retains a watchtower almost entirely constructed of reeds".
1. Captain Carlos Alberto (3.39min - 5,99MB) 2. Mother Tourists are Coming (11.10min - 18MB)	3. Simple Pleasure (9.11min - 15,39MB) 4. The House of the Rising Sun (4.43min - 7,67MB)
3 X Bolivia
1. LaPaz (7.15min - 8,54MB) 2. Moon's Valley (7.46min - 3,63MB)	3. Satisfaction (2.40 min - 5,76MB)
Good By... - skipping from Peak to Peak -
1. The Last Dinner (7.15min - 8,54MB)	2. Bon Appetite (2.40 min - 5,76MB)
In June 2007 I took a part in Peru's expedition organized by CLASSIC-TRAVEL, tel: 1(800) 774-6996 Yurek, a kayaker and an explorer, travel agent, was a leader of this expedition.