The Greatest River In The World

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We fly 4 hours north to Lima, the capital of Peru, than 2 hours more to Iquitos.

The weather has changed dramatically. It is 30 degrees with 90 % humidity.

Abreast the Amazon River, lying just below the Equator, Iquitos is surrounded by The Amazonian Rainforest. Only 120 meters above sea level.

The largest city in the world only accessible by boat or plane; it has a population of 450,000 hot blooded locals. With a mix of Columbian, Brazilian and of course Peruvian backgrounds.

Tuk Tuks dominate the streets, with fewer cars and the odd bus which have to be seen to be believed. The traffic is best described as Asian; speed, skill and prayer necessary to negotiate the streets. The smiling, laughing people spill from every house, shop and bar, adding colourful life to this heaving city.

We are met at the Airport by our English speaking guide, Paulo and are whisked off to our apartment where we will spend the night before heading off on our adventure up the Amazon tomorrow.

At daybreak we are picked up by car and travel 2 hours to the port of Nautas. There we board our long tail boat which takes us 2 more hours, upstream, to the village of Buenos Arias, situated on a tributary of the Amazon River in the Pacaya Samira National Reserve,. which covers 20,000 square kilometers of virgin forest. Some still unexplored.

Wow! What can I say? Whatever words I write cannot do this justice.

Our captain is a smiling 18 year old named Angelo, his English and his boating skill little but compensated by his bubbling demeanor.

It is dry season yet the rivers span must be 1 to 4 kilometers wide. The brown, swirling water is an unbelievable sight. Its journey

unstoppable till it flows 4000 kilometers, through the jungle to the Atlantic Ocean.

Arriving at our small village of 27 families, we disembark our ship and move into our ‘lodge’. A steep ladder carries us up into our abode. A one room affair of 5 beds adorned with mosquito nets. The windows are nonexistent but the thatched roof luckily has only a few rays of light streaming through it. The toilet is out the back as is the jungle.

Our cook Leyla and our local guide Justo live in the village and have now joined our group. After a hearty lunch, of fish and rice,

we switch to a canoe and cruise the river for fauna and flora spotting.

Floating along on this glorious river; the birds fish, the fish jump, the dolphins play all to the sounds of the monkeys playing in the trees above. Justo has eyes like a hawk and points out the wildlife to us which is then translated by Paulo. Their enthusiasm and pride adding to the experience. This is not a boring day job; these guys love this place and are passionate about its worth. Yet they are practical as well- realizing man and nature must co-exist to survive.

Gliding through a side stream the water opens up into a beautiful lake, covered in water lilies, birds galore; vultures, hawks, kingfishers, finches, parrots- a virtual bird lovers dream. A storm is brewing and the dark clouds roll in across the sky, a magnificent rainbow arches across the lake and the rain droplets break the perfect calm of the water. A scene no photo can capture.

On our way back to the village, Keith and I decide to have a swim with the bufoe Colorado (pink dolphin) in the Amazon. What an awesome experience. I don’t like to use this adjective but this time it is necessary.

Back at the village we distribute the usual whistles to the children, always a great success, and the smiles are better than any other experience imaginable. The innocence of youth cannot compare to any other emotion.

It has been raining all night and everyone is little apprehensive about our future plans. Today we are exploring further up the Rio Yanayacu and bush camping the night deep in the Forest. Paulo laughs and says no trip up the Amazon is complete unless you are wet. Before breakfast we venture back to the lake, it is first light and everything is just waking up. A wave of white Egrets explodes off the lake as we arrive, flying off into the trees to watch as we cruise on by.

We go ashore and begin a trek through the jungle and swamp searching for the Yanshoo, a prehistoric bird rare to find. After passing poisonous bushes, swinging on Tarzan vines, stepping on alligator vomit and being constantly attacked by mosquitoes we arrive at a swamp, luckily not full of alligators but the trees covered in Yanshoo. Paulo and Justo are beside themselves with excitement.

Returning to the village we pack our belongings back in to the long tail boat, tie our canoe to the back and the 8 of us, Angelo, Justo, Paulo, Leyla, Miss Sue, Miss Kate, Mister Keith and Mister James venture deeper in to the Amazon Forest.

2 hours later we make camp on the banks of the river and head off in the canoe for some Piranha fishing. One thing about piranhas is they like to bite and our sticks with line and hook soon reel in plenty.

That afternoon we go for a stroll through the jungle. Stroll! The jungle is extremely dense and our track hardly definable. For three hours we trudge through the mud being educated by Justo all the way. The medicine which can be procured from the different plants and trees is absolutely amazing. Headaches, hernias, period pain, malaria, cancer, old age, snake bite and everything necessary for lovemaking possible. Finally reaching a Cayman invested swamp we relax on a log not that enthusiastic at finding too many.

Night has fallen and we must retrace our steps back to camp. With torches on our heads and rubber boots on our feet, we trudge our way back through the mud, water and undergrowth to our camp. How Justo knows where to go is beyond me. Stuff " the journey is the goal"- all I want is the destination.

After dinner - guess what? We are going Cayman and snake hunting in the river. Miss Sue and Miss Kate have declined the offer but Keith and I soldier on. Spot lighting the river in our canoe at night is amazing, surrounded by the sounds of the forest is indescribable. Luckily we only catch one small alligator, which everyone has to hold for that great photo.

Late that night we return to our thin pieces of foam laid out under our mosquito nets and are lulled to sleep by the buzzing of mosquitoes and the screeching of Howler Monkeys. Trips to the loo during the night are made with great haste and little modesty.

Day 3 we rise at 5.30 am and do some monkey spotting on the canoe before the other boat catches up. 3 different species are viewed and we are very proud of ourselves.

Back to the village and then on to Nauta and finally back to Iquitos arriving about 5 pm.

What an experience. We are inspired. Invigorated, elated and most of all buggered. A hot shower and a cold Cerveza.

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Comments

[Tarsh]

WOW
wow. that is all.