Amazon Adventure

Classes for the semester finished up last week, so we all had a little over a week of free time here in Peru. Earlier this week six of my friends and I went to an isolated city in the northeast part of Peru named Iquitos. It has a population of over 400,000 people, but is inaccessible by road. So on Monday we boarded our plane and took off for the rainforest.

We had actually made very few plans for the trip before we flew there. We had looked at a few hostels online and a few river tour options, but we decided just to wait until we got there before we booked anything. We had been warned that some online hostels don't actually exist and they just steal your credit card information. The trip at the beginning was a shot in the dark more or less, but we hit the bullseye.

Emily with her rolling luggage. Hilarious.

When we got out of the airport we were swarmed by taxi drivers. We ended up going with one driver who had two cars for us. This man was the nicest driver I have had in Peru. As a matter of fact, the people of Iquitos as a whole were extremely kind. As we made our way to central plaza of the city, our driver explained to us that most tourists just go strait to the jungle. There isn't really much to see in the city. It is a very poor place, but at the same time it held a happy atmosphere. Our driver took us to a few jungle tour places. Within two hours of arriving in Iquitos and after a couple short presentations on what they had to offer, we decided to go to a lodge about an hour downstream. We grabbed our bags and left right away.

Iquitos is currently experiencing high floods. The Amazon River there is the highest that it has been in forty years. To get to the dock we had to walk along 100 yards of floating planks. Once at the dock, we boarded a little boat and headed down the river.

To get to the lodge our boat driver had to wind his way through many trees and it was impressive to watch him work. The lodge was nice. Everything had palm roofs and mosquito screens. All the meals were included and didn't taste bad at all. There was running water, beds, hammocks and from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. we had electricity.








The first afternoon we got back into the boat and headed to a place where there were a lot of monkeys and parrots. The monkeys and parrots aren't technically pets or in captivity, but they are very used to people. When we first got there, we struggled to get some good views of them and take some pictures. However, when we got to the trees our guide broke out some bananas, and the monkeys were in our boat, climbing over everything and everyone looking for food. They were extremely cute. A man brought us a parrot and a snake as well. Most of us held the boa and bird.

Nicki freaking out.

As the sun went down we chilled on the boat and watched a beautiful sunset. Before it got dark we went back to the lodge and ate supper. That night we went out with our rubber boots, flashlights and bug spray, and explored the jungle in the dark. The trees were enormous and the vegetation was overwhelming. Our guide led us with his machete and we saw tons of different bugs, frogs, and even a little snake. The army ants were impressive to watch. The spiders were very interesting and we even saw a couple of tarantulas. The night hike was a blast.

Little snake at night. She's less freaked out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mean looking poisonous Demon Spider

Tarantula at the lodge.

The second day we went out to see some indigenous jungle people of the Yahua tribe. The little camp they had set up was as far as they let tourists go into their territory. These people seemed much more indigenous to me than the people I met in La Merced. The women didn't wear any tops, the children were naked, and the men wore grass skirts and feather hats. They spoke very little Spanish. After introducing themselves and telling their story, first in Yahua then in broken Spanish, they showed us their blowguns. These were actually very accurate and the could stick a wooden needle over an eighth of an inch into a wooden doll. They let us all take a few shots with the guns. They were so accurate that even we were able to hit the doll dead center from over twenty feet away. After that we danced a few dances and the we bought some things that they had made themselves. With that money they can buy things such as soap and medicine. It was an enjoyable and interesting part of the trip.

 After lunch we went out in the boat and looked for more wildlife. We spotted a few iguanas and birds. We even saw a famous pink dolphin of the amazon. The dolphin swam around the boat at a distance and would pop up every once in a while to breath.

That night we went into the jungle with our flashlights again. After that we lounged around in the hammocks, listened to the rain, and played cards.

The third and final day we went fishing for piranha. We went to a spot where they are known to swim. We baited our little hooks and put them in the water. We immediately felt something biting at our bait, but when we pulled up the hook was stripped clean without any piranha. We fished for about an hour and only accomplished feeding the piranha. It was a little disappointing because whatever we caught we were going to take back and cook. I really wanted to eat some piranha. Even though we returned empty handed, it was still fun.

After lunch we went to a place where alligators, piranha, and giant catfish are held in reservoirs. When we threw the food into the piranha pond the water would exploded in their feeding frenzy. The alligators in the amazon are smaller than in Florida, but still fun to see none the less. Some giant catfish swam in a pond with enormous lily pads more than 5 feet in diameter. The fish themselves were huge, six feet long and 180 lbs. of solid meat. The wildlife in the Amazon is amazing.        

After that we returned to Iquitos, got a hotel, and walked around the tourist part of town. After seeing some shops and a good meal, we were all tired and headed for bed. The next morning everyone else headed out early, but I stayed in town because I had a later flight back to Lima. So I walked down a street that followed the river. I found a little floating bar and enjoyed an Inca Cola and a Pisco sour on the Amazon. That afternoon I caught a taxi to the airport and flew back to Lima. This may have been the best trip that I have taken in my time here. Iquitos and Cuzco are neck for the tittle of best trip. At any rate, my time in the jungle was amazing and I will never forget it.

Beaches!

One part about this trip that I have loved and am sure to miss is the ocean. Going to the beach has been one of my favorite activities.

The beaches in Lima aren't the best for relaxing days at the beach. There isn't a lot of sand; it's mostly rocks. To get to nice sandy beaches we have to go a little ways down south of Lima. This is usually a simple task of walking to the freeway and getting on a bus to take us there. In fact, one time a Peruvian friend of ours flagged down an empty city bus and we paid it off to take the whole group to a beach. This was illegal but evidently is not that uncommon. I've gotten familiar with the ride to a few different beeches such as Puerto Fiel, Punta Roca, and Punta Hermosa.

The bus we paid off.

Once we get to the beach we do a variety of things like swimming in the waves, lounging about taking in the sun, or volleyball. We've also had some nice games of ultimate frisbee in the sand. On three separate occasions we started a little campfire with both Peruvian and American friends. We just spent all night making smores and talking. When we got tired we just laid under the stars and slept right there with the ocean coming up and down less than fifty yards away. Even though we would wake up sandy and sore, these were some of my best times here in Perú. I really enjoyed getting to know everyone else in the group.

The sunsets are great.

I have gotten a couple of opportunities to try my hand at surfing. The waves here are fantastic, and Lima is ranked in the top ten places to surf in the world. There are little places that rent surfboards and wet suits less than half an our from my home. It's a pretty sweet gig. I just pay them about 8 dollars and they let me use their gear until I'm tired. Which is about two hours. Paddling over waves and keeping balance on a board is tough work. I have gotten my butt kicked a few times by some waves. Every once in a while a big one came along and swallowed me up. When you get taken under by a wave, you get tossed around and don't know which way is up. My strategy was to just hold my breath, close my eyes and kick. Once the wave passed I had to hurry up and get on my board before the next one came. I am by no means an expert surfer now, but I can get waves to pick me up on my board. Starting on my stomach, this feels a lot like sledding back home. The waves get going pretty fast. I have only successfully stood up once, but I plan on going one more time before I leave, so hopefully the third time I will do better.

Toño and I in our wetsuits for surfing.

 

Jose not quite thinking throug the whole hand stand thing.

 
The ocean has been one of the best parts of the trip. The sand, waves, and sunsets have been beautiful. I know that I will miss it when I get back to Nebraska.

With a little imagination (well, lots of imagination) you can see the word "Peru."

La Merced

A couple of weeks ago, I got the chance to travel with my host brother to the city of La Merced in the Chanchamayo province of Peru. This city is the beginning of the Amazon rainforest and was an awesome experience.

The trip started with me taking a bus to the city of Huancayo on a Wednesday at 11:45 p.m. My host brother was already in Huancayo so I had to make the trip solo. I packed my bags, flagged down a taxi and arrived at the bus station on time. The bus ride went smoothly. It was dark and I could hardly see anything but I could feel us taking sharp turns up mountainsides, climbing higher and higher. At the highest point of the ride we were above 15,000 feet in elevation. However, I was able to sleep through it and didn't feel any elevation sickness. I arrived in Huancayo safely around 7:00 a.m. on Thursday. I spent the day seeing places around Huancayo with my host family.

The next day my host brother, his girlfriend, and I took off for La Merced in the family pickup. The drive through the mountains was insane. For starters, the sights were unbelievable. We went from one grassy valley to another, winding up and down mountains. In nearly every direction we could see huge snow capped mountains. For a while we drove on a high plateau where the grass didn't get very tall. After living in a city in the middle of a dessert for over two months, the fields of short grass reminded me of home. Up there herds of sheep would graze freely. There were no fences. Instead, people would would sit and shepherd them; no vehicle, house, or corrals in sight. They just lead their herds around the plateau.

Along with the many sights, were the crazy twisting roads and my host brother sped through them like a formula one racer. Every time we went around a tight corner he would take the inside lane whether it was his or not. The tires would begin to squeal as we whipped around the turn. I sat with my seat belt fastened, squeezing the handle above the door, praying that there wasn't an on coming car. In the event that there was an oncoming car he would slam the breaks and get over just before we collided. I asked him to slow down a few times but he told me not to worry and that he had done this before. This was of little comfort to me. I can't wait to be on American roads. Anyway, as we went further we started to see more and more vegetation. When got out of the mountains and started to follow the Chanchamayo river. There was green everywhere. We had made it to the beginnings of the jungle.

All of the winding roads reminded me of an article and a discussion we had in our Indigenous cultures class. A big challenge for Peru is to be able to distribute goods and develop the country outside of the coast and Lima. The harsh landscapes of the Andes mountains and Amazon jungle make it a near impossible task to set up a good infrastructure. As the crow flies Huancayo to La Merced is maybe 80 miles or so. However, it took us about three hours to drive there.  

We arrived at La Merced and got a pretty nice hotel for a reasonable price. We went out to eat in the main square of the city. The food was really good. The best part was the exotic fruit juices that we ordered to drink. We walked around the city for a little while. There were many shops with handcrafts and nicknacks. The bugs are enormous in the jungle and there were many framed giant butterflies and tarantulas in the shops. As night came around we found and hired a guide to ride around with us and show us all there was to see in the area.

After a night of pounding rain we rose early to meet up with three more friends and begin our tour. We first stopped at an old suspension bridge that was first built about a hundred years ago. It has been remodeled a lot since then but is still in the same place. It was long and narrow, but was strong enough for cars to drive across. We walked to the other side of the river to a cliff and the guide told us the significance of the bridge for the first non-native explorers of the forest. There was a spot cliff face next to the bridge where one could climb the vines and get a good view of the river. When we climbed down and started walking back to our car, a man with a boa constrictor let us take a picture holding his pet. The snake was shiny and I expected it to be slimy, but it felt dry and scaly.

Our next stop was an Indigenous village of the Ashaninka people. The people wore simple clothes and no shoes. The village wasn't too isolated and we were able to drive there. The people there embraced the role of tourist attractions. I think all of them spoke Spanish but when they talked to each other it was their native tongue. They dressed us up and painted our faces. I felt a little awkward but I went along with it. The chief came and told us some of his peoples story. He had his face painted and had some bright colored parrot feathers on his headdress. Then they started playing flutes and drums and dancing with us. I felt really awkward at this point, but it was over soon enough. After that we decided to do the zip line that they had set up at the village. We got all the gear and trekked up the hill to the start of the zip line cable. One by one we clamped in and soared down the line over the village. It was exhilarating! The line and the break at the bottom that consisted of bungee straps staked into the ground probably weren't up to U.S. safety codes, but we risked it and everybody made it just fine.

Riding the Zip Line

After the village we drove to some trails that led to some beautiful waterfalls. When we completed the short hike to a waterfall we were able to take a dip in the pool that it created. The amount of water that came crashing down was impressive and captivating. We walked down a different trail to another even bigger waterfall. Our guide told us that waterfalls like this are all over the forest. It's amazing how much water comes running down into the rivers in that area, but after driving through the mountains and hearing the rain all night it was easy to understand where it all comes from.

Once we were done seeing the waterfalls we made our way back to La Merced and visited a big coffee/fruit company there. They gave out free samples of their fruit and coffee, both of which tasted amazing. The rain forest climate is a perfect place to raise coffee and once I had a sample I had to buy some. So I got three bags.

After the day of tours we ate and relaxed in our hotel. Our friends that we had met up with wanted to go home that evening, but a landslide had actually covered about a hundred yards of the only road out of the city. This was another example of the difficulty Peru has of developing a good infrastructure. So since we couldn't go home, we decided to go out to a night club. The club we went to was actually really cool. It had two levels of people dancing. The lighting and the DJ made a very enjoyable atmosphere. In true Peruvian fashion we stayed out until the early morning before going and crashing in the hotel.

The next day the road had been cleared and we were free to go home. The trip back was no less exhilarating than the trip there. Toño still drove like a mad man and I still held on for dear life. The two days I spent in La Merced were a lot of fun and it was very nice to see a new part of Perú.