Biology 98 and 250 Natural History of Peru Trip Information and Itinerary

Biology 98 and 250
Natural History of Peru
Trip Information and Itinerary

Victor Valley College is pleased to offer The Natural History of Peru, a course that includes four informative class sessions at VVC, followed by an 11-day trip to Peru. This course can be taken as Biology 98 (recommended for students who wish to take course on a non-credit basis) or Biology 250 (recommended for biology students who wish to earn three transferable units). Pam MacKay, a specialist in botany and ecology, is the official VVC instructor for this course. Dr. Lisa Harvey, a human physiology expert and biology department chair at VVC, will also participate. Holbrook Educational Travel (our agent) recognizes other biologists as instructors, including ornithologist Steve Myers, botanist Tim Thomas, and herpetologist Mike Wilcox; all have taught as adjunct instructors at VVC. David Pereksta, biologist/ornithologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will also instruct. Each instructor is offering optional short research and learning projects in their specialty areas. Students who are taking the course for credit must participate in the research projects, while those taking the course for non-credit may participate if they wish.

Peru Trip Itinerary

Day	City	Hotel	Meals	Description
1 6/17	Lima	Jose Antonio		Upon arrival meet the guide and transfer to hotel
2 6/18	Cusco	Cusco Plaza I	BLD	Transfer to the airport for flight to Cusco. Check into hotel. After lunch enjoy a guided city tour and a visit to surrounding ruins.
3 6/19	Machu Picchu	Presidente Hostal or similar	BLD	Travel by train and bus to Machu Picchu. Guided tour of the ruins.
4 6/20	Cusco	Cusco Plaza I	BLD	Spend morning at the ruins of Machu Picchu. After lunch take train back to Cusco. Spend the rest of the day at leisure.
5 6/21	Puerto Maldonado	Maldonado Heath River Wildlife Center (triple rooms here – sorry)	BLD	Flight to Puerto Maldonado. Transfer to Tambopata River port. Board motorized canoes and travel downriver to Madre De Dios (5 hrs) to Heath River. Lodge is on Bolivian side, so passports are required. After dinner explore the forest, including a visit to small mammal clay lick.
6 6/22	Puerto	Maldonado Heath River Wildlife Center (triple rooms here – sorry)	BLD	Rise early to board a motorized canoe for the 10 minute journey up the Heath River to the macaw and parrot clay lick. Return to the lodge and enjoy an ethnobotanical walk through the forest. After lunch hike through the rainforest to the Pampas Del Heath, the largest remaining undisturbed savanna in the Amazon.
7 6/23	Cusco	Maldonado Heath River Wildlife Center (triple rooms here – sorry)	BLD	Breakfast in the floating blind at the macaw and parrot clay lick for last round of photos. Explore trails after lunch and visit the Ese’eja native community of Sonene, where there will be an opportunity to interact with the community and purchase local handicrafts or explore the trails. After dinner explore the forest by flashlight, including a visit to a small mammal clay lick.
8 6/24	Lima	Jose Antonio	BLD	Transfer to the airport for flight to Lima. Afternoon you may enjoy a guided city tour, then dinner at the hotel.
9 6/25	Paracas	Hotel Paracas	BLD	Tranfer to Paracas located at the edge of the Paracas National Reserve, a refuge for a plethora of wildlife. Visit the Mirador De Lobos National Reserve and the bay in the afternoon.
10 6/26	Lima	Jose Antonio	BLD	Take an early morning excursion to the Ballestas Islands to observe the bird (penguins and others) and sea lion colonies. It takes ½ hr to reach the islands, then cruise around them for an hour’s exploration (people are not allowed to land). After a late breakfast, visit the Julio C. Tello Museum, which exhibits relics from ancient cultures. Return to Lima, stopping en route at Pucasana Beach for birding.
11 6/27	Lima			Transfer to the airport for flight home.