We flew to Iquitos, a Peruvian city of 600,000 on the Amazon. One can get there only by air or water. It was the heart of the South American rubber industry at one time until some enterprising Englishman smuggled a few thousand rubber seeds out of the country and the British began their rubber colonies in India. That finished the rubber business in SA.
A popular mode of travel is this motorcycle-powered sort of rickshaw. Our guide told us Iquitos has 22,000 of them! (We actually rode in them later in the week on a trip through the jungle from the Amazon to another river---a sort of short cut to save us several hours by boat.)
Street scene in Iquitos---lots of rickshaws, a few busses, but virtually no normal cars.
Arriving by river boat at the pier for our resort. Yes, the Amazon is very muddy. It is constantly erroding the banks so there are always trees floating downriver which is a constant hazard for the river boats.
One of the lodging bungalows at our resort. We were happy to have air conditioning which kept most of the critters out of our room (most---not all!). There was a beautiful screened in lodge where we found the bar and dining room. The bar had great local beer and we also had learned to enjoy Pisco Sours, the national cocktail of Peru, made with grape brandy and eggwhites. Come to Silverton and I'll make you one; there was room in my luggage for a bottle of Pisco!Meanwhile, we were busy doing things like this picture: here I am playing Jane, looking for Tarzan while I swing on the philodendron vines in the jungle. I am sorry you cannot see the depths I was swinging across! (I was so busy hanging on I forgot to emit the jungle cry!)
We were priviledged to visit a village of Yagua indians down the river from our lodge. They live in thatched huts, such as you can see in the picture below. This lady is using her machete to peel a manioc root, one of their staple foods. She put on her grass bib just for us. Normally she would not wear it, as the heat is too intense. Part way through our visit she gave up, took it off, and hung it on a floor joist of the house. (Believe me, I would have loved to shed my clothes, too!)
The villagers did a demonstration dance for us in their ceremonial house, out in the jungle. They did a portion of the dances they do twice a year---what an amazing experience it was for us. Our guide had grown up on the river and was able to arrange the visit for us.
The chief is demonstrating a blowgun which launches poison-tipped darts we had previously seen. The poison comes from plants and tiny little frogs which emit a poisonous secretion. It is nasty stuff---we were very careful when looking at the darts and the poison jug as it will kill a person (or animal) in fifteen minutes or less. They were very accurate with their shooting and could hit a target dead on at about twenty-five feet.
The next adventure was pirhana fishing! You will need to enlarge this photo to see my catch, which I caught on a one-inch cube of raw beef. Now, I ask you, how many people do you know who have been pirhana fishing? We learned that it is perfectly safe to swim in the same water with them. They only attack when blood is involved---the movies are wrong
Sunrise on the Amazon River...this river is amazing. The river system carries 2/3 of all the fresh water on Earth.
A view of the village of Mazon, deep in the jungle, where we were taken in the rickshaws to
We were priviledged to visit a village of Yagua indians down the river from our lodge. They live in thatched huts, such as you can see in the picture below. This lady is using her machete to peel a manioc root, one of their staple foods. She put on her grass bib just for us. Normally she would not wear it, as the heat is too intense. Part way through our visit she gave up, took it off, and hung it on a floor joist of the house. (Believe me, I would have loved to shed my clothes, too!)
The villagers did a demonstration dance for us in their ceremonial house, out in the jungle. They did a portion of the dances they do twice a year---what an amazing experience it was for us. Our guide had grown up on the river and was able to arrange the visit for us.
The chief is demonstrating a blowgun which launches poison-tipped darts we had previously seen. The poison comes from plants and tiny little frogs which emit a poisonous secretion. It is nasty stuff---we were very careful when looking at the darts and the poison jug as it will kill a person (or animal) in fifteen minutes or less. They were very accurate with their shooting and could hit a target dead on at about twenty-five feet.
The next adventure was pirhana fishing! You will need to enlarge this photo to see my catch, which I caught on a one-inch cube of raw beef. Now, I ask you, how many people do you know who have been pirhana fishing? We learned that it is perfectly safe to swim in the same water with them. They only attack when blood is involved---the movies are wrong
Sunrise on the Amazon River...this river is amazing. The river system carries 2/3 of all the fresh water on Earth.
A view of the village of Mazon, deep in the jungle, where we were taken in the rickshaws toboard a boat on the Napo River. Note the concrete electrical pole on the extreme left of the picture. A local lady was sharpening her machete (the kitchen knife of choice in the jungle) on this pole. There are no rocks in the river basin so having a concrete pole within walking distance of her "kitchen" is a big help to her.
Traveling down the Napo, after the rather wild rickshaw ride through the jungle, we arrived at another lodge where we had breakfast and then hiked through the jungle to a canopy walk. At the lodge their pets are two of the world's largest rodents, the capybara. This one was named Charlie and he was especially friendly; it seemed someone was always tripping over him!
The canopy walk took us up to 120 feet above the ground, through all the different levels of the rain forest. You may need to enlarge this picture to verify that is actually me coming along the swinging walkway. The various flowering epiphytes (ahem...plants that just grow on a tree up in the canopy...many are bromiliads) were beautiful.
From this platform high above the Amazon rainforest, beside a lovely pink flower, I shall bid you farewell from Peru! (Come to Colorado for Pisco Sour!) Cheers.........Penny
Traveling down the Napo, after the rather wild rickshaw ride through the jungle, we arrived at another lodge where we had breakfast and then hiked through the jungle to a canopy walk. At the lodge their pets are two of the world's largest rodents, the capybara. This one was named Charlie and he was especially friendly; it seemed someone was always tripping over him!
The canopy walk took us up to 120 feet above the ground, through all the different levels of the rain forest. You may need to enlarge this picture to verify that is actually me coming along the swinging walkway. The various flowering epiphytes (ahem...plants that just grow on a tree up in the canopy...many are bromiliads) were beautiful.
From this platform high above the Amazon rainforest, beside a lovely pink flower, I shall bid you farewell from Peru! (Come to Colorado for Pisco Sour!) Cheers.........Penny
2 comments:
Beautiful pictures, looks like an amazing trip! Can't wait to join your for a Pisco sour! Save some for me!
Good examples of oxbow lakes in the first photo. 2/3 of all the fresh water in the world? My employer would be proud. Thanks for all the photos.
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