| Submitted by: Evelyn C. Leeper United States |
| Submission Date: 15 February 2005 |
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We had picked up a guide at the first museum and there was some confusion/awkwardness when the time came to pay him because we (foolishly) had not determined the rate beforehand. There appeared to be a fixed rate of $2 per person per museum, which was more than we expected, though not unreasonable by U.S. standards) and a bit unfair to Kuniko, who probably didn't understand a lot of what was said. Oh, well, such is travel. We bought some souvenirs from the vendors outside the Cathedral, including a women belt from a woman who seemed ready to follow us back to our hotel to make a sale. I gave her a ripped, stapled 10,000-sol note as part of the payment, which she didn't want to take, but when we started to take the money back and return the belt, she decided it was good enough.
For lunch I had Arroz a la Cubana--rice with two fried eggs on top, a (thick) slice of bacon, a piece of ham and a fried banana. Also tea--it takes a long time to get beverages here. The second time I asked, I got the teabag, but it was another ten minutes before the hot water arrived.
After lunch Kuniko came out to say that she and Katsu weren't going to Pikillacta. Our guide showed up late and could only speak a little English. So off the three of us went, in a beat-up Datsun taxi with a broken speedometer. We first saw Andahuaylillas, known for its church, wherein is 95% of the town's wealth. It was difficult to understand our guide and often I think I got the gist of what he was saying, but couldn't translate.
Pikillacta is a pre-Incan ruin (c. 1100 AD) accessible only via a dirt road which had turned to mud in several places because of the rain. The ruins are quite extensive and worth the trip, showing a different type of architecture, multi-storied, with mortar, and entrances on the second floor. I think the guide could tell we were tired, because we started back rather abruptly.
Have you ever spent a night in a Peruvian jail? Well, neither have we, but it was close. We were stopped at a police checkpoint and our papers were not, as they say, in order. In fact, they were in the safe deposit box where the guide had said to put them. The driver's papers weren't in order either, but he did have the necessary papers--two 10,000-sol notes.
By this point, Mark and I both decided that between my cold and the overall strangeness of the afternoon, we were not up to going to a chicheria for cuy (guinea pig) and chicha (corn beer). In fact, we skipped dinner altogether.
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Our flight from Cuzco to Lima left 3-1/2 hours late (no surprise, right?). Luckily, we had a six-hour gap in Lima before the flight to Iquitos. Mark bought a couple of table chatchkas at the airport in Cuzco. I went to the bathroom at the Lima airport--toilet paper and towels are not provided, but can be bought from the attendant for a tip.
Our flight for Iquitos actually left on time. And they say the age of miracles is past! It was somewhat bumpy--any flight over the mountains would be--and got in to Iquitos at 6:30PM. On the way we could see rivers snaking through the jungle, but it was too dark by the time we landed to see Iquitos.
Iquitos is hot. It looks like a Wild West town crossed with the Lower East Side. The Turistas Iquitos may be the city's luxury hotel. In our first room the toilet wouldn't work so we went to the desk to complain--in Spanish, no one speaks English. They sent someone up to look at it and he decided it was broken, so we changed rooms. He went into the (new) bathroom to check the toilet. When he came out he said (in Spanish, of course), 'There was a cockroach in there, but I killed it.' He went and got some Black Flag and a dustpan and killed another one also (each about 2' long). After he left, we saw a lizard run up the door. At least it eats some of the bugs. The hotel room itself is on the level of a YWCA room.
(I forgot to mention earlier that I also read AMAZON by two men whose names escape me, and will be reading THE LOST CITY OF THE INCAS by Hiram Bingham which I bought, appropriately enough, at Machu Picchu.)
Mark had a large fish platter for dinner (~$1.30); I have asparagus and his hearts of palm salad. Total (with beverage, tax, and tip) about $4.70.
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We had a continental breakfast with papaya juice (included in the $12/night room charge) and walked around a little, but nothing was open. We saw a strange Nativity scene with Indians and jungle animals in the manger and, of course, THE AMAZON! At about 9:30AM we boarded our ship, the Margarita. It's larger than the 'African Queen.' Our cabin is two bunk beds, about two feet of space next to them, a shelf, and a chair. The toilets and showers are aft, two each. The sinks are just outside the toilets with one faucet apiece. So far the boat doesn't seem to rock much and the breeze makes it quite comfortable. (Is it a ship or a boat? Who knows?)
We sailed (well, we don't have sails, but that's what it's called) at 10:30, right after the seaplane landed. (Lots of interesting goings-on here.) At first we saw lots of houses, etc., along the river (the Nanay at first, then the Amazon) but as we got further from Iquitos they thinned out considerably. We did see a lot of smoke from 'slash-and-burn' fires where people are clearing the jungle. The Nanay is dark, and there is a distinct line where it joins the Amazon, which is brown from all the sand churned up by the current. With the boat moving, there's a nice breeze and it doesn't feel like the 90 degrees that it is. You see lots of houseboats (thatched) and shallow canoes.
Lunch was fish in a spicy sauce, rice, tomatoes, cucumbers, and papaya--delicious! I pigged out and had three helpings.
The afternoon was pretty much the same as the morning. We passed the Yacu Wayo, a Peruvian ocean-going ship. I was able to identify it with my small Zeiss 8x20's before the captain with his armored 7x51's. I love these binoculars! Mark and I sat in the bow, while most of the other people (a family of six and the Kimuras) relaxed astern. Along the Amazon, the jungle doesn't look all that different from regular forest and the river is about a half-mile wide. Even with binoculars we haven't seen any animal life (except for a few birds) yet, but the captain says we will. About 5:30 we turned up a tributary, the Apayacu, which we will be exploring. Sunset was about 6:30 and it got very dark with no background lights. Even though the sky was partially overcast, we could see many more stars than at home. (The Southern Cross was too low behind the trees to see.) We anchored (tied up) and had dinner in semi-darkness with only a couple of dim bulbs burning. Dinner was a beef stew, rice, tamales, cold sliced beets, and a cabbage and onion slaw. Children in shallow canoes gathered around the boat and the captain gave them each candy. At one point one canoe swamped and all the children quickly transferred to another, then swung the swamped one back and forth (the long way) to clear it of enough water to use. They obviously learn how to swim and canoe very early.
About 7:30 we all went to bed--not much else to do.
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We woke at about 5:30AM to the sunrise and the sounds of birds. In the Amazon, no one needs an alarm clock. Breakfast was fried eggs (greasy), smoked meat (species indeterminate), a fried potato (Peruvian hash browns), and tacona juice.
At 8 we left in motor boats (small outboard types) for our ride up the Apayacu River. This looks more the way people picture the Amazon--about 60' wide (sometimes narrower) with overhanging trees and vines. At last, we began to see animal life--blue and green butterflies flitting across the river, black and yellow orioles with their hanging nests, brightly colored macaws, blue kingfishers with their long beaks, blue birds, white birds,...even alligators. Gradually the reeds made the channel narrower until one spot we actually had to get out and push. In between, the river would widen into a small lake and we could pick up speed. The reeds gave way to fallen trees and tree limbs. These were more of a problem than the reeds and our progress was slowed by them. We finally arrived at the camp about 11:30. Disembarking was quite an experience--if you couldn't balance on the log, you got to slog through ankle-deep mud. Except for the part with the oil slick from an earlier boat, and the fact that if you didn't move fast you kept sinking, it wasn't much worse than a typical day at work. We walked to the hut (actually a floor six feet off the ground and a thatched roof above that--no walls), which took about 15 minutes. After a rest, the guide asked us how long a jungle walk we wanted. The consensus was one hour, which seemed short at the time. So off we went.
Walking through the jungle is hard work. You have to constantly watch your step. The ground is often soggy and there are lots of mud flats and streams to cross. (Since we were on a trail, logs had been placed across them. Unless you have very good balance, a walking stick is pretty much a necessity.) I reached out to grab hold of a tree to steady myself while crossing one of these logs and found my hand covered with red ants--the kind that bite! We also had them crawling up our legs if we stood still too long in one spot. My socks weren't long enough to tuck my pant legs into, and even Muskol didn't seem to deter them. Luckily, Mark and I did have our mosquito net hats, so our faces weren't bothered. We saw no animals (besides the red ants) though we did hear many birds, and we saw termite nests, wasps' nests, and anthills (6' clay ones). We saw rubber trees, 'blood' trees (with red sap), banana trees (with green fruit), balsa trees, etc. Halfway through the guide cut walking sticks for those who wanted them and that helped a lot. After what seemed like hours, we finished our one-hour jungle walk and returned to the hut, where we had lunch. It must have been catered by Aero Peru--it was ham and cheese sandwiches. There was also some salad and boiled eggs, and papaya for dessert.
We rested a while, enjoying the breeze, and started back about 2:30. Getting back to the boats was easier with the walking stick, and the guides were always there with a helping hand if you needed one. The boat ride back was faster, since we were traveling downriver. We saw many more birds, including an entire flock of 'locredo' which flew across our path and more alligators (or crocodiles, but they call them alligators). Most of the time all we saw was the splash as the alligator hit the water upon hearing our approach. And in an outboard, we were pretty loud. But I did spot a couple in the waters hiding under some overhanging branches. And I saw a lizard sunning itself on a patch of sand.
I just checked; here's the scoop on alligators and crocodiles. In the Old World are crocodiles. In North Amercia are alligators and the American crocodile, found from southern Florida to northern South America. There is also the Orinoco crocodile, found only in the Orinoco river system. |
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