Iquitos

If there is anyone out there who is still following my blog then I must apologize for the three month gap between this and my last post.

Last week was the Peru YAV´s week of vacation in May so fellow YAV Leslie Mcknelley and I decided it would be fun to check out the Amazon Jungle. On Monday we flew from Lima to Iquitos, a city that can only be reached by boat or plane (and by boat it usually takes about a week). Stepping out of the plane felt like stepping into a sauna, a sauna surrounded by incredible green vegetation (the kind of vegetation that isn´t very common in Lima). The city of Iquitos has a very relaxing atmosphere. There were almost no cars on the roads, instead most people drove either motorcycles or mototaxis and we assumed that this was because it is much more efficient to transport several hundred motos versus a few cars on a boat. The people in Iquitos were very friendly and showed this by smiling and waving quite often. Many Iquiteñas wanting to practice their English would say "Hello" or "How are you?" as we wandered around the main square. Since winter is quickly approaching in Lima, I took advantage of this last opportunity to have my fill of ice cream everyday (okay it was more like every hour) in Iquitos. One flavor that I particularily enjoyed is called Aguaje and comes from the Aguaje fruit (a small round orange fruit covered in a dark maroon colored skin that flakes away easily). The fruit itself is not that tasty in my opinion but when used to make ice cream it is delicious. We didn´t spend too much time in Iquitos before heading out to an Eco Lodge where we had reservations for a three day tour (we liked it so much we decided to make it a four day tour) of the jungle. The lodge was about a four hour boat ride from Iquitos up the Amazon river. I knew as soon as we´d arrived that it would be an amazing experience. The lodge is built, like most structures in the Amozonas, up high on stilts so that it isn´t affected when the river is flooded (as was the case when were there). May is the month when the rainy season is ending and the dry season is beginning in the Amazon and this year was particularly rainy. We took the boat right up to a wooden dock walkway (which during the dry season you would simply walk up to). Being at the lodge in the middle of the Amazonas was incredible. The lodge does not use electricity (instead they use oil lamps) and the atmosphere of the bungalows combined with the surrounding environment is very relaxing. In fact, it was so relaxing that I just had to check out the hammock first thing when we got to the room. After being assured by Leslie that the hammock was sturdy, I got comfortably situated in it right before it snapped on one end sending me hard to the ground. We both had a good laugh at that. Our guide, Raphael, took us out on several tours during our stay and we were lucky enough to see many bird species (ask Leslie about that as I was too busy admiring their colors and ways of flying to remember most of their names, though on was prehistoric and looked very cool), three different species of monkeys, several brightly colored green iguanas, several sloths (one of which was hanging upside down and scratching itself), pink river dolphins, too many insects, a few serpents, a few pirañas, and a baby caiman. Of the serpents we caught a baby tree boa (which bit one Austrailian man several times), a whip sanke (I wasn´t actually present for that one), and an aquatic fer-de-lance (only the seventh deadliest snake in the world I was told after being within a couple of feet of it). For me one of the coolest parts of the trip was when we toured a nearby village. The homes are built similar to the lodge over the water and we learned that the main activity of villagers is fishing. We did some fishing ourselves and caught a few pirañas. The villagers, although somewhat timid, were almost all very friendly and inviting. Another incredible part of the trip were the nighttime boat rides as we hunted for caiman. Looking up at the night sky I knew I had never seen so many stars at once in all my life. Words cannot describe it. In general the boat rides were a lot of fun for me. Even if we didn´t happen to spot anything when we went out it was still fun just to be out on the water travelling around by boat. The first day we when out and came to a lagoon where we saw several pink dolphins swimming around and playing with each other. It was amazing to see them emerge from the water and to see the pink and gray of their bodies. We swam in the lagonn for a little while which was also a lot of fun. Another great part of our overall experience was that we met so many very cool people during our travels. Almost everyone staying at the lodge was friendly and we all got along very well making jokes and having a generally good time. It was a memorable trip that I would definitely recommend and myself would like to take again someday.

I will try to get some pictures posted as soon as possible.