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.

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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

1. 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!  
2. 10pm checkin for flight. Sun 4/12: 2am - 9:30 am Lima to Atlanta (6.5 hrs, with time change)
3. 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

Day 8 Nauta Market

Woke up; so got up (at 2:20am).  Journaled and edited photos.  Showered and went topside for 5am coffee.  Again talked with Beckett (a kitchen crew member and singer/guitar player of our ‘harpy hour’ bands).  We spoke of education, the village of Nauta and nearby villages being on high ground, his village (Santa Clara) and birthplace: Requena. We spoke of the 3-story former art museum for sale for 40,000 soles ($15,000 USD) here in San Francisco on the Marañón.  Dennis (from New Mexico) and Bryan (from London) joined us around 6am.  Tik-tik after tik-tik (spelling?/long canoe with motor) motored by us to setup for market.  Mind you, it was 6am!  The people awake early and conduct their business in the morning; so they can escape the early afternoon heat.

At 6:30am, we took skiffs up the Marañón River to Nauta (population 3,000).  

Ferry - hammocks lined top, bananas on bottom

Our guide Julio chose a pier and asked the owner for permission to use it.  The pier was privately owned, and permission was granted (or perhaps bought).  

Greeted by friendly white dog.  Had to carefully distribute weight (of our group of 20 + 3 guides) among several piers 

Fenced yard adjacent to our pier.  Gate we entered and exited Nauta from.

We then walked 4-5 blocks through the market.

Guide Julio - introducing us to barber, who relocated to street, after his place was flooded. 

Ice Cream Bean - Segundo purchased, and we tasted

Ice Cream Bean - Segundo purchased and we tasted

This outdoor market is open early mornings on Friday and Saturday, and where locals buy anything (clothing, name brand toiletries, fresh fruit vegetables and bushmeat.  We saw armadillo, a peccary head and huge turtles.

When we got to the tables of meat (chicken parts, beef, armadillo, peccary and large turtles) dogs gathered under just one table: the beef!

Smiling women scaling and gutting fish lined both sides of one street.

We then took a bunch of Tuk-Tuks back to the pier.

Took skiffs and returned to boat for breakfast.  After breakfast, Renzo's instructions were for us to don ‘full jungle attire’ for our Jungle Walk. (This meant long pants tucked into socks, long sleeved shirt, hat, insect repellant and sun screen.)  And for this trip, we also donned waders provided by the ship and intended to protect for snake bites.