Cluck and Whistle

This is one of my favourite travel tails. I was at the famed Machu Pichhu in Peru and had hiked up to the Sun Gate which has a magnificent view over the ruined city. It was a long walk up there, and after taking in the view for some time, I started my descent. I was about half way down when something jumped out of the bushes on my left and raced across the track in front of me. Something red, something with a fluffy tail and a long nose. At first I thought it was a fox. Then I thought perhaps I shouldn't stand around in case it jumped out and bit me, as a course of rabies treatment wasn't an attractive prospect.

Then I heard a sound - a sort of clucking then whistling. I imitated it, feeling pretty sure that foxes don't cluck and whistle. I waited. And waited some more. And then...a little head poked out between two stems of bamboo. It was the most precious little face, with a long nose and big eyes that were looking right at me. In a split second, it jumped out just as the first one had and ran across the track. I got a better look at its body - red and brown on the face and body, with the same colours in a stripey, bushy tail, about the size of a normal to small house cat. I settled down on a nearby rock to wait for more, and I was rewarded for my patience. There must have been another five who came out nervously, stopped to look me over, then jumped the trail.

Eventually, I continued down the track - going down almost as hard as going up - and when I reached the bottom and looked out over the city again, I spotted a lonely tour guide. I showed him the photo and asked him what it was. He said the name in Spanish too quickly for me to catch, but said it was a native raccoon-type animal. He also said that I was very lucky to see one, and couldn't believe it when I said I'd seen seven. After much internet searching, it turned out that it was actually a type of coati (though I'm sure that's not what the guide had called it), a creature I would meet again in Argentina for another memorable travel tail. For a long time I thought it was something completely different, but the power of Google has proven it so.

Those minutes that I spent perched on a rock waiting for more critters to appear, were some of the happiest I had in Peru.