Amazon 2015: Iquitos

Saturday, April 11, 2015

Day 9 Iquitos, Manatees, Home

Woke up just after 2am again; so got up and blogged. Showered and went topside for 5am coffee.

Unsure what life back home will feel like… now that I have seen and done these things this week.

Still teary eyed...

Packed, showered and had breakfast at 7:30am. Disembarked in Iquitos (Peru) at 8:30am.

* * * * *

Given driving tour of Iquitos through the rain. Still grateful that this trip had so little rain. When it did rain, it was at unusually convenient (to us) times!

Iquitos' claim to fame is it is our world's largest city (by population) inaccessible by roads.

Political Posters - Mayor

One of two pigs/peccary loaded onto Tuk-Tuk

Tuk Tuks sporting rain shields

Saw many short 'man doors' inside larger doors

Iquitos has cars - even though the city is accessible only by plane/boat

Gassing up Tuk Tuks

Dirt roads are common in Iquitos

Manatee Rescue Center

On the way to the airport we stopped at ACOBIA-DWAzoo Amazonian Manatee Rescue Center in Iquitos and fed manatees. Manatees are known also known as sea cows and measure up to 13 feet and 1,300 lbs. All three species of manatee are listed by the World Conservation Union as vulnerable to extinction.

Logan of Suffolk, VA - feeding Manatees

Logan of Suffolk, VA - feeding manatees

Flights Home: 26 hours / 3 planes

Sat 4/11: 11am checkin for flight. 12:30pm - 2:30pm Iquitos to Lima (630 miles over Andes Mountains, all in Peru).

At Iquitos' airport, we checked luggage and cleared security. Again we were able to take though Security: any liquids, bottled water and boxed lunches. And we did not need to undress or send laptops through separately.
As we enjoyed our boxed lunches as the gate, our expedition leader, collected food items we did not eat. I saw the bag of our uneaten food given to the airport janitorial staff.
4pm-10pm: 6 hours in hotel to shower/eat/nap - use free wi-fi (!) for first time in a week!

10pm checkin for flight. Sun 4/12: 2am - 9:30 am Lima to Atlanta (6.5 hrs, with time change)
Sun 4/12: 12:15 pm - 1:40 pm Atlanta to Norfolk

Inspiration (and validation for my craving) to travel: http://quoteslauraloves.blogspot.com/2014/10/travel.html

Link to trip's photos: https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/116319833256517272396/albums/6079311244192080433

Saturday, April 4, 2015

Day 2 Tour Lima, Flyover Andes, Board Boat

Breakfast buffet at hotel

8:30 a.m. meeting with Expedition Leader (Renzo) and 19 expedition mates from 3 countries (USA, UK and Canada). Introduced to our Lima tour guide: Sonia - our guide, for morning drive and walking tour of Lima.

Lima has no street drains, because it almost never rains. Their lush vegetation does not get their water from rain; but from the glaciers.

Lima has 700 gambling houses - predominantly owned by Chinese and Korean.

Government

Peru has 25 regions (like the US' states) and the province of Lima. Each region, including Lima, has an elected representative. Lima has 43 districts with 43 mayors and one ‘big’ mayor.

Casa Aliaga, a private home dating back to the Conquistadors

Plaza de Armas of Lima

Pretty Steet

Man was photoing me/our group across the street; so I photoed him.
Outside Catacombs of San Francisco

Ashley noticed... that is a copy machine (!) laying on its back

Buffet Lunch at Sheraton in Lima. Then, off to the airport - to leave this city of 9 million (larger than NYC's 7 million) and fly northeast, over the Andes... to the Amazon!!!

Guns N' Roses in Peru

There I was in Lima, Peru's airport - among thousands awaiting various in-country flights. Not only was our flight delayed; but we had shlepped our sweaty tired selves - and gear - to yet a third newly assigned gate. There I was - when I heard it. Whistling. The song "Patience" by G&R!

I scanned the crowd to ID the source, and it was a handsome, muscular, young dad playing with his toddler son. Earlier I had heard the dad call his son Eduardo. Eduardo waddled over to our group, and started playing with the hair on Logan's leg. Logan is 13 and traveling with his grandparents. When I asked the pervuvian dad about Guns N' Roses, he told me he did not speak english. In the absence of spoken language, we did as many do - and shared the language of laughter and smiles at Eduardo's extended affinity for Logan's leg hair! I asked, "Dos años?" and the dad told me the boy would be two next month.

Salut, Axl Rose - to your music reaching Amazonia!

After the weather cleared atop the Andes Mountains, we took a late afternoon flight over the Andes to Iquitos (90 minute flight / 630 miles northeast). The Andes are the world's longest mountain range. Iquitos is said to be the largest city in the world that cannot be accessed by road - it is accessible only by river and air.