SOUTH AMERICAN ADVENTURES - Week 4

As I mentioned in my last entry, we had that 24-hour boat ride up the Amazon where the boat broke down and we waited in the little village for 10 hours while they tried to fix it. Well the next day I realized that at some point the boat people had spilled oil all over my backpack! It got into much of my clothes and there were oil spots on just about everything. I took my clothes to the laundry but the spots were still there. The sponge-like padding of my backpack was also soaked in oil. I was so mad!

Monday night I had a bit of a frustrating moment as I realized how badly the oil was soaked into my backpack, how nearly all of my clothes were contaminated, it wasn´t washing out and I only had one day before we were leaving Iquitos. I was also frustrated about losing my camera battery charger and I was still fretting about what I would do in Lima. I was also worried because a friend of mine in Cusco was supposed to send my big suitcase with all my extra stuff and souvenirs and stuff to Lima via the bus company and then send me an email once it was sent. He was supposed to have sent it on Saturday and by Monday night I had still received no word from him. I admit that it was one of those moments when I thought to myself, is traveling really worth all this hassle? However, like most moments like that I knew that a good night´s sleep would calm me down.

So on Tuesday morning I took my bag and my clothes over to the boat agency and demanded that they do something about it. (I only had one shirt, my Sunday shirt, that wasn´t dirty.) They were good to apologize and they took my clothes and bag and washed them fairly well. By that evening I picked everything up and the backpack (which I was most worried about) was more or less oil free and most the spots in my clothes came out. So... one problem down!

Next to our hostal in Iquitos there were these boys who were always hanging around the nearby grocery store where people would park their scooters and they would "watch over them" and sometimes clean them for money. They were very friendly and would always come up to me and ask me questions about how to say something in English or what things were like in the US. They were really good kids, they never asked me for money or a handout and by the end a couple of them would follow me around town as I did my errands (going to the laundery place, going to the boat agency, etc.) It was actually kind of sad to say goodbye to them when we left Iquitos.


But leave we did on Wednesday early in the morning. We flew to Lima and there I said goodbye to Tammie and Alana as they waited for their plane and I headed off for the bus station.

Now on my own I took a taxi to the bus station. Once there, I immediately went to the cargo transport counter to see if my suitcase had indeed arrived from Cusco. To my great relief it was there! Second problem solved!

After buying a ticket for the night bus to Trujillo, Peru, I dropped my luggage off safely at the luggage guard counter and I headed off into the city. My mission: to find a charger for my camera battery.

I had found the address for a Pentax dealer in Lima, not far from the bus station, on the internet so that´s where I headed first. I found the address only to discover that it was no longer a camera store. So I headed futher into the city and after asking around a bit I was directed to a huge electronics import store. Inside I found, to my great relief, a universal battery charger! Mission accomplished.

So then I had the rest of the day to explore the capital. I refused to take anymore taxis because they´re so expensive so I would just ask people what bus to take to get to where I needed to go.

First I went to the main square which had a nice church and pretty architecture all around. There were cafes, shops and all the other things you´d expect to find in a big city center. I was actually quite surprised to find how much cleaner and more modern things were in Lima than in La Paz (the only other big city I´ve visited in Latin America.)

After exploring the city for a bit I headed back to the bus station and at 11:30 boarded the bus to Trujillo. Because it was to be a night bus and an 8 hour trip I chose to go with the best bus company in Peru. It was a very nice, double-decker bus with TVs and snack service and very comforable seats. I watched part of "Red Eye" for awhile and then fell asleep. I awoke about 7 hours later refreshed and ready to go. I got to Trujillo, found a hotel and then headed off to explore the town.

Trujillo is Peru´s third largest city and has the best preserved colonial architecture in the country. Walking around the city center almost feels like being someplace in Europe. The weather is almost perfect year-round: never too hot or too cold and it hardly ever rains (although it got hit badly by El Niño in the 1990´s).

After seeing a bit of the city and booking my tour of the nearby archeological sites for the next day I took a bus to the nearby beach town of Huancayo.

Huancayo is not only a famous surfing site but it is also famous for the "Reed Raft Riders" The people who lived here long before the Incas would use these special reed rafts to go out onto the ocean and fish. Today the rafts are still used for the same purpose and sit standing up along the beach.

Even though the water was cold I still couldn´t resist taking a quick dip in the ocean. In the heat of the day it felt great. After exploring the beach for a bit I went to a restaurant overlooking the ocean and ordered ceviche. Ceviche is like the national dish of Peru. It is eaten everywhere but because it is seafood... it is best on the coast. There are several variations but the ceviche I had consisted of raw fish, shrimp, squid, conch, crab, langostinos and shellfish soaked in lime juice and chilis then served with onions, sweet potato, yucca and corn. It was amazing.

The next day I met up with the tour group and we went first to the Huaca de la Luna (or Temple of the Moon.) It is located next to the Huaca del Sol (Temple of the Sun) which is currently off limits to visitors but is the largest adobe structure in the Americas. Both served as the religious and cultural centers of the Pre-Incan Moche people (they reached their height around 400-600 AD.) The ruins here were only recently discovered and excavated in the 1990´s. They are some of the most impressive ruins I´ve seen in South America. The colorful reliefs on the walls were especially neat to see.

The colors here are original!

Here I am with Huaca del Sol in the background.

Much of these sites are still being excavated to this day.

There is a special breed of hairless dog that is native to this part of Peru and was used by the ancient peoples. There were a few of them hanging around outside the ruins.

That afternoon we went to another important site near Trujillo known as Chan Chan. It is the largest city in the Americas to be made from adobe (the original city encompassed an area of 20 square kilometers.) It was built by the Chimu people who flourished here from 1100 - 1450 AD when they were taken over by the Incas. It was very interesting to see and imagine the walls at their original height of around 20 feet.

After getting back from the ruins I was tired and so I rested in the main square for a bit and watched the sunset and made out with Rosarita.

That night I boarded a bus at around 1:30 AM and headed off to Ecuador. It was an 18 hour trip! But the bus was comfortable and not very full so I got to spread out over two seats. After going through the border formalities in Ecuador we continued northward and the climate began to change from barren desert to lush tropical. We soon passed through Machala, the banana capital of the world. We didn´t stop but we passed field after field of banana trees. All the way to Guayaquil... nothing but bananas.... (insert joke using "driving" and "bananas")

Finally I arrived in Guayaquil and went to my hostal where I had made a reservation. It was a simple but nice place and right out my bedroom window were these two guys...

Guayaquil is Ecuador´s largest city. I was actually pleasantly surprised at how modern and clean things were. On Saturday night after checking in, I went and found the nearest LDS meetinghouse. However I didn´t know what time church started. So I just took a guess that it would start at 9AM. On Sunday I went and I was right! It was a huge ward (bigger than some Salt Lake wards) and everyone was very friendly (though a little surprised to see me because Guayaquil isn´t much of a tourist city and the area I was in wasn´t touristy at all.)

After church I ate lunch and headed off to the bus terminal to buy my ticket to Quito for Monday. After that I wanted to go visit "La Malecon" a huge park/shopping area/ boardwalk/ monument along the River Guayas. However I didn´t really know how to get there so I asked someone who put directed me to a bus that he said would take me near to where I wanted to go. So I got on the bus and sitting in the back were three of the young adults who recognized me from Elders Quorum. I was lucky to run into them because they were able to show me where to get off and then they led me right to La Malecon. So they went their way and I went mine and I walked the length of it.



It was very nice and peaceful and I had some great seafood there on the waterfront.

The next day things couldn´t have gone better in getting to Quito. Across from my hostal was a taxi driver´s home and he was just getting into his car as I came over with all my stuff. We got to the terminal, I boarded my bus and we drove 8 hours (with a stop for lunch) to Quito. The drive up into the Andes was especially cool.

I found out from the man sitting next to me on the bus that the bus would stop about two blocks from the Hotel Mercure, my first destination. So I was able to just walk there with all my stuff and leave my big suitcase at the hotel. The Mercure is where we´ll be staying when my tour group arrives, but until then I needed something just a little bit cheaper. So I booked a reservation at a nearby hostal (just a few blocks - walking distance - from the Mercure.) That´s where I am now and relieved to have that long journey from Milan to Minks.... I mean from Lima to Quito, over with.

Today I went to explore a little bit of the city of Quito. The weather has been great here so far. Quito is in the mountains so it is much cooler here than along the coast where I´ve been (and it´s been a nice change.) So here are a few scenes from Quito.

Of course, typical for Latin America, there has been a huge protest today in the streets. Today is the first session of the new congress that was elected last year and for some reason there´s been some discontent.





So that´s all for now. Stay tuned... tomorrow I leave for the Galapagos!

SOUTH AMERICAN ADVENTURES - Week 3

On Sunday we met a church member who offered to take us around Iquitos on Monday and show us around for a bit. We went to the market-district area called Belén. We hired a guy with a canoe and a small out-board motor to take us around "The Venice of the Amazon" (their title... not mine. It´s actually one of the poorer areas of town.)

So we boarded the boat and headed out...

All the homes were built to float on the continually rising and falling waters.


We passed by many boats, homes and people including this scene with kids playing around a canoe and swimming in the water.

After our canoe ride we explored a little bit of the Belén market where you can find everything from turtle meat to pet monkeys and parrots for sale.

On Tuesday we departed early in the morning on a rather cramped speedboat down the Amazon to the Tri-Border of Peru, Colombia and Brazil.



We arrived late that night in Leticia, Colombia and spent the night. The next day we went and explored the town. It is connected to the Brazilian town of Tabatinga and there are no border formalities between the two so we easily walked from Colombia to Brazil.


On Thursday we took a two-hour boat ride deeper into the Brazilian rainforest to our Jungle Lodge. It was a fairly nice place and while it sometimes caters to groups of 60 or more, we were the only people there and it was kind of fun having the place to ourselves.



One of the first things we did at the lodge was we took canoes out to one of the nearby lakes. Here we were able to go swimming.

It wasn´t until we got in the water that they told us that the water is infested with Piranhas, Caimans (alligators) and Anacondas. However the Piranhas only attack when there´s blood, Caimans are only out at night and the Anacondas are somewhat rare.

The water felt great after the heat of the jungle. It was so relaxing to just float by the canoes and listen to the birds.


The waters were also home to the Amazonian pink river dolphin. As we were swimming we soon caught a glimpse of several as they came by to inspect us. They didn´t jump too far out of the water like ocean dolphins but we did get some good views as they came up to breach. What I couldn´t get was a good picture.


That night we hopped in the canoes again with our flashlights and went caiman hunting. You would know when you saw one because their eyes reflect the light of the flashlights like a bright red light. Soon we got near enough to one that the guide was able to reach down and catch it. We each got to hold it as he explained the animal to us and then we let it go.

There were a great variety of birds and bugs around the lodge. Of course no jungle experience is complete without a tarantula.



The next day we followed our guide into the jungle. They gave us each a pair of big boots to wear which was a good idea as the jungle floor is very wet and sometimes inundated with water. There were a couple times where we would reach some bodies of water only crossable by a slippery log that just happened to be there for us.

Our guide was good to tell us different things about some of the trees and bugs in the area. We visited a rubber tree and were able to put some of the sap on our fingers. As it dried it indeed became rubbery. It reminded me of rubber cement but it smelled better.


We saw a few cool insects and a frog that jumped right onto Tammies face. Here I am holding a milipede.

The next morning we were in the lodge when one of the workers came back hauling a large dead anaconda that he accidentally caught in his fishing net overnight (where it drowned.) So here we are with the mighty anaconda. (They get much larger than this though.)


On Saturday afternoon we headed back to Leticia. We spent the night in a hostal in Tabatinga (Brazil) and headed off at 4AM back up the Amazon to Iquitos. However, about three hours into our trip our boat broke down and we had to pull off to a little village on the banks. We had no idea how long it would take to fix. (All I got when I asked how long was, "really soon") It ended up being over ten hours! The entire time all the kids from the village came over and just watched the boat and the people. It was probably the most exciting thing to happen to them in many moons. To pass the time I got chatting with some of the kids and taught them some English. I also taught them "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes." It was also nice to walk around this tranquil little village. Of course there was no electricity (except a small generator used for something important) and no plumbing. Everyone seemed happy and healthy and very curious about us. Finally when it was time to leave, practically the whole village came to see us off. There was a beautiful sunset over the river.

Finally at 4AM on Monday we arrived back in Iquitos.

On Wednesday we fly back to Lima and I head north while the girls go back to Cusco.

Unfortunately at some point I can´t figure out, I lost the battery charger to my camera battery. They don´t sell them in Iquitos and I can only hope to find one in Lima during the brief time I am there. I have one fresh battery in my camera now, however I want to save it for the Galapagos. So in the meantime, if I can´t find a recharger in Lima I will have to buy a disposable camera or something and use that until the Galapagos next week and then have my parents bring me a new recharger when I meet up with them in two weeks. Therfore, I can´t guarantee much of an update next week but we´ll see...

UPDATE!!!!

I am now in Lima and I was able to find a universal recharger for my camera battery. I am very happy.

Way to go Nate!

SOUTH AMERICAN ADVETURES - Week 2

On Monday we enjoyed another relaxing day in the beach resort town of Arica, on Chile´s northern border. We went to the beach, played in the water and made sand castles.

On Tuesday we took a train (one of the few still running regularly in South America) to the Southern Peruvian town of Tacna where we promptly caught a six-hour bus to the town of Arequipa, Peru.



Arequipa is Peru´s second largest city and somewhat better off than most other Peruvian cities. It´s a very pleasant city at the foot of the great Misti Volcano (which we never saw because there was always a thick haze in the air because of the climate.) It had a very nice main square.





The next day we began our two-day tour of the Colca Canyon region of Peru. We boarded a bus full of Brazilians, Germans and a few other Peruvians and drove past some interesting rock formations and I got touched by a giant hand.





We passed small herds of wild vicuña. Once almost hunted to extinction for their fine wool, they are now a somewhat common site in the Peruvian countryside.


We also passed herd after herd of llama...

...And alpaca.

That evening we were able to visit the hot springs, which was nice for relaxing.

That night we had dinner and a show with live folk music and dancing.

The next day we boarded the bus again and headed deeper into the Colca Valley. We stopped at a small town where they put on a small dance number and sold stuff.

I got to hold an owl and a hawk. It was my lucky day.

We continued on into the valley where there were beautiful farms and terraces against imposing cliffs and snow-capped mountains with the great river running deeper and deeper below us.

Finally we made it to the famous lookout point into Colca Canyon. This canyon is the second deepest canyon in the world. (The first is just a few miles away but much less accessible.) It is over 10,000 feet deep.

We ran into several chinchila-like animals whose name I´ve forgotten.

And of course, this place is most famous for being an excellent location for spotting the great Andean Condors in flight. We were fortunate enough to see four of them flying righ over our heads.

We returned that night to Arequipa and the next day we were able to have a pleasant brunch out in the town square before heading off to the airport.

We took a plane to Lima where we waited for eight hours in the airport before catching a plane to Iquitos, Peru´s largest city on the Amazon. It is also the world´s largest city that can´t be reached by road. Only planes and boats carry people and goods to the city (making things just a little bit more expensive). Our hostal isn´t far from the Great River and it´s fun to look out and see this massive waterway named after the famous website.

Iquitos is quite different from Cusco or any of the other places we´ve been. The people here are very friendly and treat you like they´ve known you for years. Now, this is Latin America and Alana and Tammie have always had to put up with occasional cat-calls and "elevator eyes" from the men, whether in Cusco or La Paz. However it is exceptionally bad here. I even got a couple of cat-calls from some girls! That said, I still enjoy the easy-going "river attitude" of this place.

There are a great variety of buildings and architecture here, including another church designed and built by Gustav Eiffel.

Great run-down mansions left over from the days of the rubber-boom around the turn-of-the-century.

And of course, poor shacks built on stilts along the banks of the Amazon itself.

That night while the girls stayed in the room and watched TV I went off exploring the town. It was like a carnival in the Main Square and along the plaza next to the river. There were small shows being put on all over the place, including this one involving a small dog and a spider monkey.

Also... the Amazonian snake dance!

This guy was out juggling fire on the crosswalk in front of the Eiffel Church.

On Sunday we went to church nearby. Iquitos actually has a large population of LDS with 16 meeting houses.

After church we went to one of the most peculiar restaurants in Peru. It´s called the "Famous Texas Rose" and it was started by a rich Texas businessman, Gerald, who, after traveling the world, decided to settle down in Iquitos and start a Texan/Amazonian restaurant. As we walked over to check it out Gerald was there and invited us in and started to tell us all about his restaurant. There are trinkets and knick-knacks of all kinds hanging around like a museum - everything from Texas license plates to huge crocodile skulls.

Of course I just had to order the Alligator Nuggets made from real Alligator brought in by the natives. It was excellent.

He also has a game room in the back with shuffleboard, darts, a plasma screen TV showing ESPN and this South American game called "Frog" where you try to throw coins into a frogs mouth and various holes around the frog.

On Sunday I also got to hold this sloth. It´s a great animal because it feels like the animal is always giving you a hug.

So that´s it for now. This week: more jungle fun!