Iquitos

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I love the people of Iquitos! They are full of warmth and generosity. I was walking home from dinner in Iquitos one night and a little boy, no more than 9 years old, came running up to me and hugged me so tightly! He looked up at me and said (in Spanish), “You are from India but you live in the United States, right?” I was so surprised and I responded “Yes.” And then he said, “You were here last year, right?” He had mistaken me for another Indian girl from the States but he was so happy that I couldn’t bear to break his heart. Whoever she was, she must have made quite an impression on this young man. I replied that I was and I was so happy that he remembered me. We chatted for a bit then he hugged me again and kissed me on the cheek and said we would meet again the next day. He works in the streets selling jewelry - it’s a difficult job and tourists walk on pretending not to see him but he knows and he remembers. Over the next 2 days, every time he would see me in the main square, he would come up and give me a hug and kiss and then go back to work!

Earlier that same night, I had made four other friends - all boys about the same age. Gustavo is 11 years old, Nico is 12, and Olando is 11. Another boy joined us later but I didn’t get his name. They work as shoe-shine boys in the Plaza de Armas; the main square in Iquitos. I was sitting outside finishing dinner and I couldn’t eat all of it so they asked if they could have some. I agreed and they promptly sat down as my dinner companions. The first few minutes they were so famished they didn’t look up from the plate. Then I asked them their names and how old they were and they started to feel more comfortable. By the end of the night, I couldn’t get them to stop talking - all four of them clamoring over each other trying to be heard! They were adorable! They even gave me a bracelet as a present to remember them. It was the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen!

They gave me the gossip on all the waiters in the restaurant and the local artisans. They are quite knowledge beyond their years. Part of working on the streets - it ages the soul quickly. We made a date for the next day to play soccer in the local field but I didn’t see them again.

The past week I’ve been connecting more with the locals than the tourists, which is exactly how I like to travel. The tourists are mostly from Europe and a few from the States. I’ve met a couple of tourists who I really liked but for the most part they don’t want to interact with the locals and that seems absurd to me. I’ve become friends with the local waiters, artisans, taxi drivers, and even a local fortune teller. They are genuine, smart, funny, honorable, and make my trip so much more worthwhile. Most of the people I talk with have large families from six to 13 children and haven’t seen the world beyond a couple hundred miles from their hometown. It makes me appreciate how much of a luxury it truly is to be able to travel to all these wonderful countries.

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Photos

Iglesia de Iquitos
A church in Iquitos

Comments

[AJ]

Hurray Jen...!
Go Jen, Gooo!

[g-)]

awww
the boys sounds adorable. :-) Nice entry. Thanks, g-)