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Published: August 13th 2008
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Day 2 … Friday, 6/6/8
We arrived at Iquitos after a beautiful sunrise flight.
We disembarked down stair-steps in the style of 1950’s movie stars and noticed first-off the two old, huge, crashed jetliners sitting at the end of the runway rusting in place (maybe the birds took them down?) and in front of those a lineup of military-looking helicopters. Amanda summed up the aura when she said the place reminded her of all of the Vietnam movies they had been watching in their history classes recently.
There was no luggage to claim so we headed out the front of the humble, open-air terminal. We were greeted by a local news crew who talked with our guide Arie and a couple of the students about our visit. We were the first school trip of the season and so we were news.
From here we took two busses through the town of Iquitos to where we were met our boat. Our guide, Juan joined us on the bus Julia and I took, and Julio was on the other. The busses took us for a tour of
the town which was thick with morning traffic. Throngs of motorcycles, motorcycle-fashioned into rickshaw-type taxies, and other busses raced the streets. It was common for one motorcycle to be carrying a full family of four. A three-wheeled taxi to be carrying five plus the driver.
Kids were walking to school with neat cloths and tidy backpacks, a stark contrast against the backdrop of a city that looked like at one time it had really been something, but that that time was long ago. Small shops were opening and women at card tables were selling breakfasts of interesting wraps and breads. Dogs roamed about, scratching and biting themselves.
As we toured the river-front of the downtown, we could see evidence of the early 1900’s rubber boom Juan told us about. The buildings were worn, but still beautiful, rubber-baron town homes covered in Italian tile and decorated in intricate freeze trim. Many were being carefully restored, but some seemed too far gone. On the right was the river, separated from the downtown by rows and rows of thatch-roofed homes. Most were up on stilts in a tall village that housed many of the town’s workers.
We drove through the
open-air market last - we’ll be visiting another of the city’s markets on foot at the end of our trip - and arrived to the dock.
Here we boarded the Amazon Queen, a triple-decker boat that took us on a three-and-a-half-hour river ride to our main camp.]/b]
The ride down the Amazon in the big lumbering boat was a welcome respite. The students took it all in, riding at the front railing with the wind blowing their hair about and lifting the ear flaps of Ian’s new hat. We snacked on the first local fruits - bananas and tangerines - and some cookies. We all took lots of pictures, played cards and explored the boat. More Inca cola and some good local coffee consumed as well.
Arriving at Explorama lodge we came to a dock that was on the property of a local family. We figured they were a farming family because, although we did not see any actual cow-like creatures, giant cow pies and hoof prints were all over the place. Days later we saw the water buffalo.
As we walked the trail past their home the feel of the group seemed to shift just a little. This is an actual family that lives and works and raises children here in the rainforest on the Amazon. Cool. Very cool. We are so lucky to be here.
The walking path lead across an open field with slices of trees laid out like a string of beads to keep our feet out of the mud. Somewhere in the middle of this field we noticed markings for a soccer field, the lines shaved out of the crabgrass surface in perfect right angles with a perfect circle in the center.
Entering Explorama for the first time was awe-inspiring. The place had the feeling of an established camp that has grown strong roots and flourished to the point of throwing out tendrils to sturdy itself. At once both invasive and indigenous. Not a rural and rugged as I had expected but, hard-working and utilitarian none-the-less. More time spent there reveals the evolution of the place including new rooms built to include a flush toilet and shower in each. I wanted to be disappointed about this fact that we had showers and toilets but was not.
Lunch that first day was fish, breads, beans, rice and a cabbage salad.
Yum. All fresh.
We split into our two groups - the Tapers and the Spider Monkeys - and had series of activities around the camp on that Friday afternoon. We learned about the products that the local people make with sugar cane - a sweet drink, a watery molasses, and the best rum I have ever sampled. We all got to taste a slice of sugarcane.
A man from the Yanamono village near the lodge showed us how to weave palm frawns onto long sticks which were later layered on the rooftops to build the traditional water-tight thatched roofs. The blow dart demonstration came next and John got a bull’s eye on his second shot.
A cook from the camp also created samples of several of the traditional foods, we learned some traditional music and dance steps, saw some weaving demonstrations and how some basic pottery was made.
Dinner was beef and mushrooms in a brown sauce, salad, rolls, fried cauliflower, beans and rice.
That evening we went on an awesome night float down the small tributary next to the camp. We saw various tiny frogs in the branches along the shore and one big Kane Toad. Also an owl butterfly that looked like a giant moth to me.
The ride was very quiet. The stars, when we could see them through the trees, were brilliant and clear. It had rained off and on during the day and we got a few sprinkles on the ride. The students drank it all in. Most even managed not to yelp when pelted by moths or bugs that swarmed their flashlights.
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