Encounters & eating things you normally wouldn't..

Jane is heading to the jungle!! That means first long a busride, towards Tarapoto with my new travelpartner Dan, who will soon show, he wasn't the best pick..., but I must say a bit of my own fault, was being a bit egoistic(really didnt want to go alone) Bit of bussing we arrived in this important town in the high jungle, after a good half night of sleep in a bed instead of a busseat, we left towards Yurimaguas. luckily our driver wasn't drunk: you couldn't say that about the other driving with whom we were more or less driving 'together', as far as you can call it that way in 2 diferent verhicles. It was an interesting ride, on a road where they are working on a lot because of slides and so on. Besides this the view (after sunrise) was impressive, going from high jungle in to low-jungle, which is as flat as my own country. There we bought ourselves a hammock and some rope, a breakfast, and some snacks for on the boat...in case the food would suck. We were going to be on that boat for 2 nights for sure. In the harbour people running towards us, pulling our arms while shouting in our faces. Dan was already on my nerves, by not speaking a word Spanish, being huge and just dorky. And I was noticing my role was already shitfing from translator towards his mum holding his hand, but were not there yet. On the boat some more tourist we talked and did -of course- some card games. The food wasnt that bad at all. The views were cool, the river is huge. We had some stops at little villages, and seen some diferent boats, and even full rafts for transportation. We had also the decision the night for arriving in Iquitos to get of at Nauta and take a bus there, all this because of a robbery last week. We decided not to and as precaution I put my memory card from my camera in my bra, mutiple use: money, bankcards, memorycards...oh and yes boobs!
Iquitos thé city only reachable by boat or air, happy we were their a lot of things going on: embarking boats & disembarking boats, people shouting for cabs etc..but nowhere to be seen was our Guide, who I have called to make an appointment. I saw a horrifying thing when we got of the boat and were walking towards the entrance of the harbour. I already heard it: squealing pigs and cows in pain. I almost tripped over it: a dead pig, another one pushing his nose against it and a third who couldnt stand on its back legs because of ropes tied to tight around it for days, so cut of the blood stream. Men around them were pushing the pigs to get them to walk but they couldnt, then they just lifted it up at ears and tail and threw it further in the direction the wanted them to walk...this afwul sight combined with the sounds are now, unfortunately, a vivid memory. I cried and I almost panicked; I wanted to get away from here, but there so many people, so I only could move slow.. Finally at the entrance we didnt hear of see the poor animals anymore, but I felt nausea. And of course, mister Initiative Dan, started whining which I couldnt deal with at that moment.

Our guide showed up, we went to our hostal and he explained te plan for the next 3 days, after a welcome shower though!! Sounds great and even after we paid, a couple (belgium/argentinean) joined us and we got a big refund back. We left the next morning, bussing and then with a pekepeke (little boat) towards the village were our guide is originally from. Here we met his sweet family, encountered the most alive toilet ever--> an eco-toilet full of maggots! Dead birds(parrots) hanging in nets, dead spiders, we ate delicious fish the caught and prepaired for us, except Dan because it had a head, ashamed as I was because the effort the family made, I ate it. We've seen a sloth, highout though, and in the nighttrip we were attacked by mosquitos, jumped on by grasshoppers in all sorts of colours, we caught little alligators, hold them, then a bird called a tukituki because of its sound. This birds has actually a yellow ´thorn´ on its wing as protection. This night trip we first had so many millions of stars above us, was absolutely beautiful, and when the clouds came in for a storm it looked like the sky fell down..all glowing insects on the riverplants, undescribible!! When we just arrived in our tents (inside the house) the rain started combined with thunder, awesome!
The day after Dan wanted to go home, because this was not his place..duhhh he's afraid of everything what flies and moves. Sorry to say but I was actually really happy w/ this message, would be better for everyone...But, unfortunately, there is no transportation, so mission impossible.. We went in to the jungle with all our gear to camp out, we saw already 2 diferent kinds of monkeys, tiny ones, and then in an other spot a whole family (other) tiny monkeys, really cute and really curious. At our ´campside´ I played with a tarantula, tasted juice from a tree(for stopping internal and/or external bleeding), encountered a tree with a lot of ants, which apparently have painful bites: they used to tie up women there when they were unfaithful, painful! And then, one of the things I was looking forward to: some protein food: larvas. They live inside a coconut and because of that, taste like coconut..seriously true!! I actually ate 2 alive (photo first one failed) and one fried, al good... you justshouldnt really think about it;). They also showed a palmtree with roots, to make tea against backpains and the palm tree where palm hearts are coming from, even though it sais it literally, I never understood you have to chop down a palmtree and get into the top, then chop till the inner part of the trunk to get it..do I really sound stupid now?
After all these goodies we went to do some piraña fishing, me not so exited, because it will be my 3rd time already(spoiled?) It was a stunningly serene place though, so pretty with water like mirors,reflecting these amazing clouds& trees. I was the only catching fish (punishment), and they died a terrible choking death, even after trying to prevent this. And we didnt even eat them in the end.. After trying to smoke myself out, in my fught against the mosquitos we were told to rest: always perfect. But that changed pretty soon. Dan's hammock has wholes in it, and him already not wanting to be there & already having a lot of bites, he didnt want to sleep in there, so asked me of I wanted to share my tiny tent w/ him..NOOOO!!! But said -yes-.. So here I am in a tiny tent where it's hard not to touch each other because there is a lot of me and certainly a lot of him., like 2 giants in a doll house, one doesnt like the other and the other smells. Anyways, after a nap which was longer then I expected it to be, we were woken up by our guide, already dark, they found a bullfrog! Those are huge I can tell you, the couple didnt wake up, so the mosquitos were all attacking us. Seriously so many if you would just grab a fistfull of air, you would have your fist full of mosquitos. Really odd was the no dinner that night, and they were not going to make or give us anything. I asked for some hot water and bread, what happened next was hilarious & embarrassing. Three guys were waving wind and slapping me w/ their t shirts while I was eating to try to get the mosquitos off me. I felt bad, was like women who wave wind w/ leaves when it's hot and feed you grapes..slightly diferent;)
The next day we did some jungle related swings and headed back, followed for a bit by grey river dolphins.

Iquitos, was again nice to be back: we had some serious rain, met up some interesting people, ate alligotor, waited around for a boat to leave to get back to Yurimaguas, surpirsed afriend with a phone call, and another bothered by the bad connection, visited the market Belen which is afwul and impressing, and the amazing refuge & butterfly garden Pilpintuwasi:
Belen A market, so huge, with everywhere areas for certain stuff: fake cigarets made, meat street even w/turtle(protected!) heads and feet(disgusting), streets with baby animals like sloth and monkeys tied up, medicinal drinks drugs and plants(even cures against cancer) etc etc. It was inpressive in it's size and certainly also its diversity, but I can not deal with the turtle heads and baby animals. I even said to an old guy selling the animal babies that he's is an evil person, but that wont change a thing..
pilpintuwasi I loveee animals. This is a place first of all for butterflies, breeding and studying them and explaining to people it works. Amazing, so we've seen from tiny tiny egg, to tiny caterpillar, up to beautiful colourful & hairy caterpillars up to butterflies. Even the huge bright blue Morpho, my favorite.. Besides this the owner started an animal refuge, so they have orphans and animals which were sick or used for selling. Now they had two little monkeys which are the cutest but also the best pickpockets! One of them became my stalker slash backpack;) I've been feeding a tapir, which are dorky, being again amazed by the sound produced by howlermonkeys, seeing a jaguar, anteater etc. All walking around(exept jaguar of course) and in my case jumped at so many times by especially Junior!

Before we left Iquitos after waiting for a few days I told Dan I can not and wil not travel with him anymore. I said it in the nicest possible way; that I needed me-time..We still were together for 3 days on a boat then the ride back to Tarapoto were I left him after a day, for heading towards Ecuador..were I am right now!
Sorry for the long story, and so many picture, but its just all so impressive!





Myth 1: alligators when the are adults can become 8 meters, they live then only on the bottom of the river eating mud, because it doesnt really move anymore, trees can grow over them!!
Myth 2: veins from trees(lianas) grow out of the legs of a spider or butterfly which died on a branch

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