Cool product for backcountry or travellers

[Ben Brewcat]

I just returned from two weeks in Peru, where I tried a newfangled water purifier called a SteriPen. It's basically a UV bulb that you stir clear water with to sanititze it. 90 seconds for a quart does the job. The UV rays disrupt the DNA of pathogens making them nonharmful. We used it all the time rather than buy bottled water and it worked great (no tourista). We did avoid salads and uncookable/unpeelable foods. But we drank untold quarts of water hiking about, especially exploring Machu Picchu which was virtually abandoned due to a rail strike. We were very lucky to get into the area just before the strike (and before the strikers blocked the roads by dump-trucking boulders to block the roads); M.P. hasn't seen an open day with that few people since it was opened! And we got to spend the whole day exploring it pretty much all by ourselves. BTW, those Incas were some seriously smart fellers.

Anyway, now I'm excited to use in instead of my filter for the backcountry. It's less than half the size easily and very lightweight, and our backcountry water here is crystal-clear. It's also VERY easy to use. I suspect if you're using turbid water you'd need to let it settle first since it needs the light to penetrate all the water. Of course, have a backup (which you have in your first aid kit anyways right?).

Anyway, free unaffiliated review. We liked it.

[dragonfly]

We used it all the time rather than buy bottled water and it worked great (no tourista). We did avoid salads and uncookable/unpeelable foods.

We went diving in Mexico a few years back, and I had an attack of "tourista" while diving at 80 feet. That was NOT a fun dive.

Thanks for the info on the water purifier. It will probably come in handy.

[iddee]

DF, In Mexico, I think it is called Montezuma's revenge.

Ben, where can we buy it?

[dragonfly]

DF, In Mexico, I think it is called Montezuma's revenge.

Ohhhh. I thought Montezuma's revenge was only from the tequila.

[purvisgs]

Price has really dropped on these - about 2 years ago (when they first came out?) I looked into one and they cost like $200. Now I believe you can get one (here in the pnw ) at rei for $80 or so. Still don't have one myself but I would suggest you get one that takes ordinary (aaa/ aa ) batteries not camera batteries

any high end/ yuppie hiking type store should carry one or try online

[Swobee]

Jeez, Ben... when you said you were 'out of the country for a while', I guess you really meant it! I'm envious. I read a couple years back that Equador & Peru were really after US tourists and couldn't believe how affordable the stays were once you got past the air fare. My wife was completely against the idea.

Sounds like a trip of a lifetime - I might just have to leave her home and go down there myself.

I have a friend who's daughter got married in Uraguay. She married someone who works for the US Consulate down there. She went on and on about how beautiful the country was. I've never ventured farther south than Mexico with a church group one summer.

[Ben Brewcat]

It was a great trip. Beautiful place, interesting people, rich history. Got to practice my much-neglected Spanish and do some fantastic birdwatching and wildlife down on the Amazon tributaries. Saw a family of giant otters playing, a black caiman up close (both endangered), several monkey species, more birds and bugs than you can shake a permethrin-treated boot at, and tasted quinine right off the tree. Plus replaced my aging serape with a heavy-weave alpaca and vicuna one that'll give me another 10 years at least (I have disturbingly high standards for my serapes, my wife tells me). Took me the whole trip to find a "working" one rather than the usual low-quality weaves for tourist sale.

Also got to see that mummy recently melted out of a glacier by a nearby volcano, the best-preserved mummy discovered to date. A young girl sacrificed 500 years ago in a ritual at 22,000 feet by people in sandals without oxygen. Her museum in Arequipa was really something.

AND: got to taste authentic Peruvian chicha, a corn-based indiginous beer (I'm a terminal beer geek). That one was one for the lifelist as well. Refreshing, lightly sparkling, lightly sour from brettanomyces and lactobacillus contributions, with an interesting body that a barley-based beer wouldn't be able to touch. Ate guinea pig and alpaca too .

I'd definitely recommend Peru for the moderately to enthusiastically off-track explorer. It's not really for folks looking for a resort style experience. The urban areas have some serious issues with crime and you have to know what you're about to be safe, and the transportation is pretty typical for Latin America (at times reliability, service and schedules require you be be able to roll with the punches and keep your blood pressure down). Speak pretty decent Spanish if you're not on a guided tour, which we never are. Locals appreciate it a lot, and when your rail tickets are sabotaged by an "I'm on strike tomorrow" worker with a point to make, some finessing with the clerk is in order and Ugly American behavior deosn't get you many sympathy points . But many places in the larger cities (that are aggressively courting tourists) did have English-speaking staff. The international language is broken English, since most international travelers also speak English. Which helped a lot when we met Poles/Turks/Irish/Japanese etc. Every one of which, I might add, felt that I was a great opportunity to get the "american" perspective on the election. JUST what I wanted to talk about on my vacation... kinda felt like Tailgater followed me down there . The whole world is on pins and needles about the election, and every person we met (EVERY one) was hoping for the same candidate.


Overall I found the country to be cleaner than I expected, though auto exhaust was brutal in the cities. You did have to seek out the more "local" places in towns like Cusco, Lima and Arequipa to escape the over-cultivated tourist areas.

The doodad I think we got at REI, a largeish national outdoor supply place. They do kinda bug me for the yuppie factor... an "outdoor" store with nothing for anglers or hunters, but affordable to upper-medium gear for hiking, rock climbing, cycling and backpacking etc.

Dragonfly, thanks for the visual. I think . That's rough!

[dragonfly]

Dragonfly, thanks for the visual. I think . That's rough!

Nah, you wouldn't have wanted to see it. I probably had a mixed look of misery and restraint on my face under the mask. It was rough.

[alpha6]

Hey Ben,

Did you make it to Pulcapa or Iquitos for the jungle portion of the trip? I would also recommend Pisco which is south of Lima and is close to the Nasca lines. They have an amazing National Park that is on the coast with dunes, beautiful beaches (not the polluted ones found near Lima) and if you go to the right areas tons of fossils laying around. You really can't beat Cusco, Arequipa and Machu Picchu. The Incas were incredible builders and irrigated areas that modern day Peruvians can't match.

Did you get to hike any of the Inca trail? Thats also a neat thing to do if you have the time though a little primitive.

[Sundance]

Does it do anything to Giardia? I was under the
impression that you had to have a filter for that??

Sounds like a great trip Ben........

[Ben Brewcat]

It's effective against giardiasis too; that's one of our boogeymen out here. Unfortunately we didn't have time to do some of the other beauties like the Colca canyon, Nasca lines or a lot of others. Our jungle trip was limited to the national reserve near Puerto Maldonado. We had considered doing the backpack but we backpack in the mountains here all the time, and then one of our co-travellers turned out to be pregnant .

Someday it'll be a return trip for sure. But there's lots of other destinations that beckon, just need to rob a few more banks .