Elizabeth Rose is the author of 31 contemporary,
paranormal and historical novels, including her medieval series, Daughters of
the Dagger and Legacy of the Blade. Some of her works have appeared on Wild
Chicago as well as the History Channel. Learn more about Elizabeth and her
books at her website.
Traveling to Peru
I’ve always been impulsive,
and one day many, many years ago, my husband and I decided to just up and go to
Peru. I was always interested in anything to do with the jungle, and when we
heard an advertisement on the radio about a group of astronomers going down to
Peru to view Halley’s Comet, we decided to go with them.
Well, Lima wasn’t much
different than Chicago – my neck of the woods, so that did nothing for me. Of
course, they had Martial law at the time and soldiers standing around with
machine guns. We almost made the mistake of going outside after 11 p.m. and
getting shot.
But beside that, Cusco and
Arequipa were both beautiful and more rural. We took a switchback train up the
mountain to Machu Picchu and it was breathtaking. We stayed at a hotel up
there, the only one I believe, and had two sunny days, which was very rare. It
did rain a little and we saw a double rainbow – below us because we were so
high up.
Then we hiked to the peak of
Huayna Picchu, seeing ruins of temples along the way. And what is up there at
the top of that 1,000-foot mountain, you ask? Just flies. You can see in the
photo we are on the top of the peak and the switchback road is below us.
We also visited the jungles
of Iquitos, and that is where I set my novel, Curse of the Condor. The trees were filled with colorful Macaws,
and we hiked into the jungle to trade with the native tribe. My husband was
blowing up balloons and giving them to the kids, (not an easy task at that
elevation) and we got left behind. No group or tour guide, just us and topless
natives wearing grass skirts, and tattooed men with blowguns. And with a dozen
paths out of the native camp we had no idea which one to take. Speaking a
different language, the tribe couldn’t even tell us. Finally one pointed to the
right path and we finally caught up with our group who hadn’t even noticed we
were missing.
We also sat out in the
desert all night – let me repeat ALL NIGHT – while the crazy astronomers
watched the stars come up and finally go back down. And there were no toilets
or refreshments anywhere. Just us, a very black sky, probably a bunch of
scorpions, and a whole lot of sand.
Curse
of the Condor
Jetta Fitzgerald comes to the jungles of Peru
searching for her missionary brother. She hires Conrado Nievez to take her into
the jungle when she realizes he is a friend of her brother's.
Conrado has been raised by a native tribe in the
jungle after the death of his parents. He is a loner and has no need for a city
girl tagging along. He is known to the tribe as the boy from the prophecy
involving a cave of treasure and a condor.
Conrado can't bring himself to tell Jetta that
her brother is dead and it was the dart of his blowgun that killed him. But the
longer he stalls, the more they start having feelings for each other. And when
a dangerous situation occurs, it has them fearing for their lives. The jungle
is a dangerous place for two lost souls in more way than one.
Adventure and intrigue are abundant as Jetta and
Conrado set out on a journey that will change both of their lives forever.
Curse of the Condor is available as an ebook and only at Amazon. (No pun intended about the
Amazon part.) It’s free on Amazon from May 22-26. Click here for your free
copy.
