I am Jungle Princess!

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After spending 5 days in the Amazon Basin which included the city of Iquitos and the Heliconia Jungle Lodge on the Amazon River all I can say is AMAZING! This experience was probably one of my highlights of my Peru trip!

However, we did not get off to the greatest of starts when we found out that our airline had changed our flight times which meant we would not be arriving till late afternoon in Iquitos (which in reality turned into evening) - which meant we could not get to the Lodge that day. Fortunately our agency was very understanding and gave us accomodation and meals for that night and next morning - quite a luxury I must add!

As a side note for those of you thinking of heading to Peru - I would seriously reconsider ever booking with the airline Star Peru for internal flights. We had three flights with this airline and everyone of them changed departure time. On our way to Iquitos we even had an unscheduled stop and refueling in Tarapota due to a rain storm in Pullcalpa - ah such is the amazon. However, we heard that the other (better) airline LAN rarely ever experiences these changes and disturbances. I guess this is what I get for buying discount tickets!

Anyway, once we were finally arrived and were back on track with our tour, we had a such a great experience. On our first night and last night we stayed in the city of Iquitos which is situated in the Amazon Basin in the north of Peru at the beginning of the Amazon River. The Amazon river is the largest in South America and flows from Peru through Brazil where it ends at the Atlantic Ocean. Iquitos is the largest city in the world that is not accessible by road - which means you have to fly in or take a boat. Therefore it is much more remote than other Amazonian towns in Peru which is probably why I saw so few tourists. Kristina and I booked a four day three night stay at the Heliconia Jungle Lodge which is situated about 80km down the Amazon River. We had full accomodations, meals, guide, and excursions for a very reasonable price. I would definitely recommend this to anyone planning on heading to the Jungle.

With our tour we were able to visit two Amazonian villages. Since these villages are so close to Iquitos they are not really all that remote. Therefore they do not live or dress as they may have traditionally. Most of the children are able to attend schools in their communities or even attend school in Iquitos. For tourism they will dress up and basically "put on a show" of what it is like in a traditional Amazonian tribe. Therefore, I had the opportunity to participate in some traditional dances and even learned how to shoot a blow dart! What was almost more interesting was when we went to the actually village that one of these tribes lived in - not just put on a show in. They live in wooden houses that sit on stilts and have thatched rooves. Everything is out in the open. Their main form of transport is the canoe which they can use to get around. When walking through the village it was mid afternoon and the high school students (about 20 in total for the ENTIRE school) were all practicing outside their classroom for a traditional dance competition that was going to be held in Iquitos in May. Here was another unique opportunity to witness (even if just a snapshot) a different education system. I also took a peak in the primary school classroom which was very much reminiscent of what I saw when I was in Ghana. However, the primary students had already been let out for the day. Visiting both the "traditional" and current villages in Amazon, I was able to witness another way of life that is so foreign to my own. It is interesting to note that while these villages are not remote and have easy access to the city there are still tribes deep in the Amazon that not really connected to the outside world. I hope that tourism and money making schemes will actually stay away and let these people live the way that they choose to.

Of course it goes without saying that when in the Amazon I was able to experience some of the most unique and interesting flora and fauna on the face of this earth. And that does not even include the Lodge pets of a parrot, osscillot (baby jungle cat), and capaberra (large rodent). Through our jungle excursions with our guide (Victor) we did a variety of walks in the jungle (both day and night), boat rides, fishing trips, bird watching, and swimming.

On our jungle walks we saw some amazing wildlife which included many different kinds of monkeys, sloths, insects (MANY MANY insects), spiders - YES - even a tarantula in the night, SO MANY birds, and so on. Looking at the vegetation was like stepping right inside a National Geographic photograph. Every flower was such a vivid colour and the trees were enormous. And there really were vines everywhere - especially ones that Tarzan could swing off of! We even got to have the opportunity to swing on a vine. Victor's advice - pull a Tarzan, and not a George. Well, if it was going to be anyone, it was going to be me. I was the first one to try out the vine and wasn't paying attention and did not kick off from the right spot. So my first experience swinging from a vine concluded in slamming into a tree and Victor running after me to try and help. Not to worry - no lasting injuries. And on my second and third swings I was a true jungle woman! Victor felt bad about the initial crash that he made me a "jungle crown" from a palm tree and crowned me the "Jungle Princess" of our group for the rest of the trip.

One of the best excursions we had was a boat ride down the Amazon River that included pink dolphin watching and pirranha fishing. On our way down the river we were able to see pink dolphins swimming in the water. Unlike those of the ocean, these fresh water dolphins do not jump out of the water (or very rarely will), but you can see their vivid colour when they come up for air. Unfortunatley, my camera taking skills were not advanced enough to capture a good shot of these creatures. After our dolphin watching success we heading to a lagoon on an island in the river to go fishing. I have never been the most patient one for fishing - nor do I possess any skill really. But I was atually able to catch both a piranha and catfish. The piranha has amazingly sharp teeth - I didn't get my fingers too close. My piranha fish was actually large enough to eat (the only one in the group!) and so we brought it back and fried it up for lunch for me! Not bad tasting at all. On the way back to the lodge there were some of us who were adventurous enough (and had on our bathing suits) to jump into the river and go for a swim! It was only after the fact that Victor told us of how he was stung by a sting ray (not one that kills) and took ten weeks to heal and walk again. I will admit, Peru has never been the best at safety regulations. (Case in point - I didn't have to sign one safety waiver once on our trip which included white water rafting, trekking at high altitudes, and excursions into the jungle and along the Amazon.)

And finally, this blog would not be complete without mentioning the amazing lodge we stayed at and the amazing food we had each meal. I will definitely say that I like jungle food much better than andean food which includes staples such as plantain, cassava, fried fish, and many tropical fruits. Delicious! Once again, I would definitely recommend this Lodge for anyone planning a jungle trip in Peru.

Anyway, this is where I will end my tales of my jungle experience. I only highlighted a few of some of the amazing experiences I had while in the Amazon (there are too many to tell!) . It is definitely one of the places in the world that I plan to return to at some point!

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Photos

Jungle Walk
Hamming it up for the picture!

"Walking Palm" Tree
These are the roots that you are seeing

Comments

[anonymous]

this is awesome