April 24 - The Amazon

From the world´s coldest continent, to the world´s driest desert, to the biggest salt lake.

And then, across the Andes, to the largest rainforest.

The last 300km of the road from Cuzco drops 13,000 feet into the jungle.

It´s one of the world´s most abrupt climactic transitions.

At the top you can hardly breathe and it snows.

2 hours later it´s so hot and humid you´re practically drinking the air.

How they built a road through those mountains is pretty awesome.  The road must make thousands of turns until it straightens out.

And at the bottom, welcome to a different world.

Two months ago there was nothing green on the horizon...

...but not anymore.

Here we go.  

High up on a ridge, you can see the mountain range that borders the Sacred Valley.  Cuzco is somewhere in the 3rd valley.

Up and up... to the snowline.  Am I in Patagonia again?  God it´s cold.

Highest point, about 4,500 meters.  

Starting towards the Amazon... and over the continental divide.  All this water drains to the Amazon, and the Atlantic.

Starting the descent... cloud forest in front.

Getting green an impossibly twisty.

Beware the waterfall hazards!

More and more lush... and that stream 100km back is already looking pretty serious.

Jungle gas station / horoscope center.

Starting to feel jungly.  Just like TV.

Hello, Amazon Basin.

Stopping for supplies.

The road to Brazil, still under construction.

The last link to Brazil... 

Overlooking Puerto Maldonado and the rainforest.

Welcome to Puerto Maldonado - carved out of the jungle and a frontier town of sorts.  But you can´t help but get the feeling that nature is creeping back just about everywhere.

A good spot to catch up with friends.

And this is home for a few nights.  The dining lodge.  Hungry?

If it looks like it might be hard to find the hut during the day, just imagine what happens when it gets dark.