Chivay area day 4-5
Wednesday morning, I went to the local high school to talk to the Science teacher about the plants I was seeing. I thought that my photos might be of interest to the school and I might find out some of the names and families. There were a wide variety of interesting house plants showing the variety of plant types and various adaptations but no native plants and besides the llareta, cactus, and lupine he was not familiar with them either. The lab was nicely arranged, with tiled stations each with a sink. Among the teaching aids was a pre Incan mummy of a 7 or 8 year old child in fetal pose from a local tomb. There was no shroud and I would guess the tomb had been looted before the school acquired him or her. As the Science teacher had no English and my Spanish is very basic, there was a lot we couldn’t communicate, although scientific names were universal, if pronounced differently. He offered me the chance to return the next day when the English teacher would be back.

I got a bus ride 1/2 an hour towards Pata Pampa to a wetland area called Japo, only 2 houses. My main reason for going there was to see  a bofedal close up. These wet areas occur in many places in the Andes on gentle slopes where springs supply a steady source of water. They are important grazing areas for the alpacas, llamas, and in wilder areas Vicuñas and Guanacos. The main plant is a kind of sedge about an inch high with stiff leaves in a line (comb sedge) which builds low mounds a yard or so wide and 6-8" high, the plants themselves only 1/2 inch. These mounds are very resilient, the tips of the leaves topped with a tough callus and one can walk on them without getting wet. Amidst the sedge (probably Oreobolus species) are other minute plants I am still seeking to identify. There were a couple of the standard adobe houses at the edge of the road and a couple with a toddler, were watching their herd of llamas and alpacas grazing in the sun. I followed the flow of water until it became a stream at which point a path led to a short section of well made stone paved road 6´wide and 60´long, although the 2´stone wall on the low side ran for a couple hundred feet. I felt sure it was the remains of an Incan road no longer used except for the llamas and their herders. The walk back to town was interesting. Most of the time, I found shortcuts between the long zigzags of the highway. Several species of cactus from mat forming to 6´tall were scattered along the mountainside. In one place some creature had made a soccer ball sized nest of branched thorns. What ever it was must have scavenged a large area as the only plant with such thorns was widely scattered. That night was the night I returned to the hot spring with my armed guard. We spent 3 hours in the 30 x 50´ main pool outside. There were people from around the world as well as Peruvians there. I managed to surprise everyone including myself by swimming the length of the pool underwater. Maybe the weight of the water counteracted the low oxygen pressure, at any rate, I felt thoroughly refreshed.