A cloud forest is like a rainforest except it is in higher elevations and it is colder than the tropical rainforest. It has different species of animals like spectacled bear and spatule-tailed hummingbird. It is similar to the tropical rainforest because it rains a lot.

Can we see some pics of the Ecolodge you’re staying in?

We will put some on our photo gallery.

How do you get around mostly (walking, or chicken bus)?

We ride a van from the Ecolodge. Segundo is our driver and he drives us where we want. We also took a boat taxi across a lake and we walk a lot.

The reforestation process sounds very cool. How long does it take for a reforested area to reach maturity?

About 35 years for the trees to get big enough to put your arms around them. On Tuesday we saw a few trees that were only 3 years old but 12 feet tall. The trees were called Aliso.

Can people buying food in the United States support the forest by choosing native Peruvian Vanilla? How can we find it?

Farmers along the Rio Mayo haven’t started growing vanilla under the trees of the forest yet, as far as I know. Farmers in this area do grow coffee underneath the trees, so if you want to support the rainforests, you can buy shade grown Peruvian coffee.

Any funny anecdotes?

A man who was running a hummingbird reserve was named “Bill Clinton”. Also, when we went from classroom to classroom in the school in Progreso, Bella kept on asking what everyone’s favorite animal was. She would say that hers’ was a chicken. When they asked her what they could do to preserve the forest, she said “Don’t kill chickens.” In Cajamarca,  CRuz got his hair pulled by a monkey!

Certainly interesting seeing hairless dogs. Were they friendly?

Yes they were. We pet them.

Did you see a lot of poverty in Lima? Do the people seem to be pretty happy?

A kid in yellow shoes kept on asking us if we would buy some of his chocolates. Most of the people lived in apartments. Some people were living on the streets. Most of the time the people seemed happy. Now we are in the northern mountains. People live in little wooden shacks with outhouses. Sometimes they don’t have doors or windows. A town nearby our lodge has power lines but they don’t have electricity.

We were wondering what the water truck was doing (in the Lima video) – was is watering the grass because there are no automatic sprinklers there?

Yes, the truck was watering the plants. Lima hasn’t had rain for years. In the mornings they do have lots of fog. Lots of things get covered in mist. Lots of people do jobs in Lima that machines do in the U.S. like people in masks sweep the streets.