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Published: December 6th 2006
First things first, I wont lie when I say I was a tad bit homesick the first few days in Lima. The city was pretty eh, and we were ready to get out and see what Peru had to offer. At the airport on the way to Iquitos, we sit down and the guy next to us asks me where I'm from. I tell him Birmingham, Alabama. He looks at me sort of funny and then smiles and says, "me too". In the Lima airport waiting for a flight to Iquitos, at 4 am on a random Friday night, I sit next to a group of missionaries from the great state. The best part was this guy was an avid golfer, so we yapped about every course in Birmingham. Nothing could have cured me quicker. But then he told me he had even played Pine Tree (the course we belong to), and knew so much to say that he hits his ball right and into the water every time on hole #3. Of course I have the tendency to find the water my self on that hole, so we really had a lot to talk about. I hate that hole.
Anyways, the past few days have been rather interesting. We arrived in Iquitos early Saturday morning where we were picked up by our guide. We went directly to his office to check in and then headed down to the dock to board a 20 ft piece of plywood equipped w/ outboard motor, which was referred to as a "boat". We "cruised" for about an hour down the Amazon river, turning down a bunch of back canals. Finally we arrived at the lodge, which was literally on the riverbank. The lodge was actually very nice, we had our own room and bathroom, and the food was great (even though it was the exact same thing all three days). Obviously there was no electricity (rather kerosene lanterns), and there certainly was no clean water. The water was pumped directly out of the river into this big tank where the sediment was allowed to settle, before being pumped into the baño. Nothing says fun like sweating in the 5,000 degree jungle and then showering in water comparable to the nasty stuff residing between the subway tracks.
Aside from the heat and humidity, mosquitoes, and nasty water, the experience was very cool. We hiked around the jungle, saw monkies, canoed on some remote/beautiful lake, and saw several villages. I kept asking the guide to find us an anaconda, even though deep down I didn´t really want to see one. Luckily we never saw one. The villages in the Amazon were unreal. Everyone lived in there own shack, that was nothing more than a bunch of boards on stilts, and maybe a picture or two on the wall. There were lots of chickens running around that I assumed were soon to be someones dinner. Poverty in our country is nothing compared to how these people live. Our guide said that most of these people earn the equivalent of around $200 US annually, if anything. Comparatively, the folks in Iquitos (the city) reportedly earn about $1,000 US annually. Now granted, I'm not sure what the going rate is for a shack on the side of the river, but these folks live in poverty...real poverty. Every person we met was nice as they could be, and loved saying hi to the gringos (i.e. white folks). It really was incredible to see people happily living in these villages.
Iquitos as a city was also pretty cool, even though we were actually only in the city for less than 24 hours. Enough time for us to rent motorbikes and drive all around seeing as much as we could (everyone in Iquitos drives some form of motorbikes. There are very few cars). We went to the local outdoor market to check things out at one point. This was like no market I had ever seen really. Take Canal Street, lose all the stores, put everyone on wooden tables and cover the entire thing in blue tarps. There were dead chickens, fish, I guess beef, and about every fruit and vegetable imaginable, all crammed into a huge market. Of course I'm still taller than 99% of the Peruvians, so I had to walk around hunched over to see everything. After touring around we sat down to an awful dinner that the Lonely Planet (guide book) suggested. The place was called The Yellow Rose of Texas. All the waitresses wore University of Texas cheerleader outfits, which normally I would find to be great, but these women were rather healthy and the outfits were about as skin tight as they could have possibly been. In addition to the lovely wait staff, the food was gd awful and I´ll just leave it at that. Word to the wise, if you´re ever in Iquitos, you can scratch this place of your list of local hot spots. But all in all, it was a really great few days up in Iquitos and the Amazon.
Today we arrived in Cuzco, where we will spend about 5 days, before hiking the 4 day Incan Trail to see Machu Piccu. So far this city seems to have the most character of any of the Peruvian cities we have visited. I know Jill Ceitlin lived here and loved it and I can see why. Apparently crime is pretty bad, and the altitude (over 11,000 ft compared to Denver which is a little over 5,000 ft) is taking some getting used to. Im a little light-headed as I type this, but thanks to the good folks at the UAB Travel Center, I have altitude sickness pills to take. Anyways, hope all is well in the motherland.
Ill update again after we get a better feel for Cuzco.
Until then...Adios!
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Josh
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You would have altitude sickness pills to take marcus. First of all, I want a count as to how many times on the trip you've said "wow, this is so cool." Second, only you would meet missionaries from Bama. Did you ask them if they hunt and whether or not they use a shotgun or just stick to the aux naturelle bow and arrow??? Or perhaps you inquired as to their favorite prayers during morning, noon, and night??? Third, the Saints will win the Superbowl Fourth, it sounds like you are having fun, but I'm having more fun studying for exams. Fifth, when I lived in Peru, the Yellow Rose of Texas was a strip joint where only the locals went...guess times have changed.