Amazon Jungle Diary Vol. 1

I always thought I was a pretty tough guy until I ventured into the Amazon Rainforest. The mosquitos only laughed at me when I pulled out the ¨OFF¨ brand bug repellent. If you go to the jungle, remember that there are special clothes made just for that kind of environment, Don´t wear tank tops and shorts like I did. I was smart enough to bring enough Binadryl to control the mosquito bites. I don´t want to make it sound like the jungle is only full of just mosquitos, because its not! We were fortunate to see some incredible wildlife on our jungle expedetion with my Peace Corps buddies and our native guide, Romin who could almost immitate any animal noise. Here are some of the highlights...........Picture: frying up Pirana and dog fish what we caught the night before.

Pirana actually tastes very good....I guess like any other fish. They were incredibly easy to catch with fishing poles and using raw chicken meat as bait. Unlike some myths, piranas rarely attack people, but if they are hungry enough there are some species that can attack and eat you (white and piranas are bigger and more dangerous). They are attracted to blood and open wounds though. These aren´t the only dangerous critters in the creeks and rivers. There are also anacondas, dog fish (like pirana but bigger teeth) and electric eels which can kill a person very quickly.

Picture: the town of Belén on the outskirts of Iquitos, Perú

Belén was probably one of the most interesting places I´ve ever seen in my like. This whole town lives right on top of the river! All the houses either float or are built of stilts. During the winter (the dry season) the river is low enough for people to travel around on foot. You can see children playing in the streets and looks like a relatively normal poor village. However, in the summer when the river is high, everyone travels around by canoe! It is like a very poor Venice Italy. I was shocked to see people going to the bathroom, washing their clothes, and children swimming all in the same water almost right next to each other! There is little room for privacy in Belén. When we took a canoe around I could see right into people´s homes! Some people were sleeping on thier docks. It was also one of the poorest places I´ve ever seen.

Picture: Hammock deck on cargo boat

When we left the port town of Yurimaguas in route for the jungle city of Iquitos, our only option to get there was either to fly or hire a boat since it is the largest city in the world that has no roads going to it! We hired a captain of a cargo boat to take us on a wild adventure down the Amazon River. We rode for 3 days hanging out playing poker next to boxes of fruit, and a bunch of cows and pigs. I slept one night in my hammock and one night in our cramped cabin room. I would totally recommend doing something like that in your life!

Picture: Playing with a full deck next on the cargo boat

I lost 40 soles to my friend Eli that trip. I learned never to play poker with just one other person. I prefer group poker. I was mad at him for days for taking my money!
Picture: View from the upper deck of the cargo boat in route for Iquitos.

It was so beautiful to watch the rain pour on the river. After the rain stopped we saw lots of river dolfins leaping out of the water. It was the first time to ever see such a thing. Later in the trip our guide showed us a spot where there were lots of them in one spot. I was kinda frighted at first when I jumped in the water and swam close to them. It´s not like the ocean where you can see everything underwater. The Amazon river is very murky! There are even pink dolfins though we didn´t see any this trip.

Picture: Nik, me and Eli, Peace Corps friends next to a waterfall in Tarapoto, Perú

Swimming and jumping through the waterfall was probably the coolest thing we did in Tarapoto. This was at the beginning of the trip before we got onto our cargo ship for Iquitos. The jungle in Tarapoto is much different than the jungle in Iquitos. Tarapoto is located in the ¨selva alta¨ or high jungle. There are many hills and mountains and the flor and fauna is much different. I particularly enjoyed Tarapoto.

Picture: Me with a giant tortouise in Tarapoto, Perú. The big dumb animal in the lower right hand is my friend Eli.

This tortoise is much larger than the one I have in my home in Piura. However, I now know what to expect in a few years. These tortoises will out grow me by several hundred pounds and definately out live me. I have heard that if you have a big one as a pet the literally can destroy your back yard. They are very stubborn animals and don´t like to move out of the way for anything, especially large flower pots or wooden tables. My turtle has really frustrated me over the last year.