Hola amigos, I am in Iquitos Peru again. I apologize for not posting again on TravelBlog sooner. I have been attempting a lot, and some things had to be set aside. Now I want to write about what we have been working on. Dawn on the Amazon I is getting a face lift. We built in a 100 gallon gas tank in the bow. Made the boat wider to improve stability, and longer to increase capacity. The improvements make Dawn on the Amazon I the number one riverboat in Iquitos Peru of her size. My son Mateo, went with me on [View Full Entry]

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Let me tell you this story about our Amazon cruise from Iquitos Peru to Leticia Columbia. I was hired for seven days to guide a family from Poland down the Amazon River as far as the border. My clients were having a real adventure that started in the Andes at one of the so called sources of the Amazon River. To finish their adventure they were to flush out into the Atlantic Ocean nearly 4,000 miles from where they started. They called their adventure [url=http://dawnontheamazon.com/blog/2008/02/08/an-amazon-cruise-to-determine-the-longest-river-in-the-world/] The Amazon Challenge and th [View Full Entry]

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You can not compare the Great Amazon River Raft Race with any other competition in the world. Over 118 miles on balsa logs tied together with jungle vines, on a primitive raft you build yourself, on the largest river, surrounded by the largest rainforest. It could only be possible in Iquitos, Peru, the most isolated, remote, jungle town. Imagine yourself and three friends working as a team on a small cork, bobbing downstream, dodging snags, maneuvering around filters, trying to find the strongest current, dense impenetrable rainforest shimmering with a thousand shades of green on both side [View Full Entry]

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Digital art by my son Matt Grimes. [View Full Entry]

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I am going to take you behind the scenes of the Amazon Animal Orphanage and Pilpintuwasi Butterfly Farm in Iquitos Peru. Most people know a little bit about the Butterfly Farm. I have earned my insights studying and photographing at the Butterfly farm. First, let me introduce you to the cast of characters: Tony Piraña thinks she is the star of the show at the Butterfly Farm. Tony is a White-fronted Capuchin Monkey, raised by street children in Iquitos Peru. Capuchins are considered to be the smartest monkeys in Central and South America, with many documented cases of habitual tool use. [View Full Entry]

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Iquitos, Peru, is surrounded by grand rivers and lush rainforest. This charming city has been my home port for adventure cruises on the magnificent Amazon River for three years. Please allow me to share my love for this frontier town with you. Your first impression is the warm, oxygen rich, moist air. It feels good and is easy to breathe. Your second impression is there are thousands of motorcycles and three wheel rickshaws called moto-kars whizzing around. Be careful. The biggest adventure most travelers experience in Iquitos is racing through the streets perched on the edge of their seat [View Full Entry]

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“Es él muerto?” I jump out of my seat and gape at a Peruano man standing in his canoe in the rain. I brush mosquitoes from my face. I thought mine was the only boat around for miles, but here’s this man in a canoe pointing to the front of my boat. “Es él muerto?” he says again. He looks worried. He’s standing in the rain in his canoe, pointing. It&r [View Full Entry]

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This data for Iquitos Peru is from the NASA Langley Atmospheric Science Data Research Center. Latitude: Minus 3.75 degrees south of the equator. The altitude above sea level is approximately 350 feet. The Coordinated Universal Time of Peru is UTC-5, the same as Florida and New York, Eastern Standard Time. The time difference between the longest day and the shortest day is only 18 minutes. The temperature measured by ° F averaged from 22 years of data per month: (Jan. 82.09) (Feb. 81.86) (Mar. 82.60) (Apr. 82.06) (May 82.42) (June 82.20) (July 82.04) (Aug 83.55) (Sept. 85.7 [View Full Entry]

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This is an account of my interaction with a character I worked with years ago. I hope to develop more stories about Jose and some of what he taught me as I explored the upper Nanay River over 300 kilometers from Iquitos Peru. Jose “Pescado fresco?” Jose brings his fingers to his mouth in the age-old sign of eating. “Comer?” He keeps his canoe steady with a one-handed swirl of his paddle, easy as breathing. He wants to know if we keep the fish we catch today or throw them back. He does not understand catch and release or the crazy [View Full Entry]

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This series of posts should help answer some of the questions I get asked all the time. What is the exchange rate? How much for a gallon of gas in Iquitos Peru? How much does it cost to outfit a major Amazon expedition? How long does it take to get organized? How do you know how much pure water to stock? How much food? How much does your insurance cost? How much would it cost to build a boat like Dawn on the Amazon? This post is about the price of gas and the exchange rate. On October 18th 2007, the [View Full Entry]

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