just north of Tingo Maria

Heart of Darkness

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July 31st 2006
I got a room at El Rey hotel in La Merced, a small jungle city in the eastern foothills of the Andes mountains. At 3:30am, after a quick nap under a slow moving ceiling fan followed by a refreshingly cold shower, I grabbed my backpack and hopped on a motor-taxi to the truck stop by the river. Maybe I should have been nervous about traveling alone, especially as a young American female now surround ... read more

South America » Peru » Amazonas

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Ancient Peru was the seat of several prominent Andean civilizations, most notably that of the Incas whose empire was captured by the Spanish conquistadors in 1533. Peruvian independence was declared in 1821, and remaining Spanish forces defeated in 1... ... read more