|
Our trip was compressed into two days.
Here’s what we did:
Leave Iquitos and travel by car to port (about 2 – 2.5 hours). We purchased supplies at the local market then took the speed boat to Enrique’s (another 2 – 2.5 hours). When we arrived the hammocks were set up and we were presented with some family pets to hold: parrot, baby sloth, tarantula and a scorpion. We had a wonderful lunch and in the afternoon hiked in the jungle where Enrique showed us monkeys, the largest lily pad imaginable, various fruits, trees, etc. Once back at camp we played a little volleyball with the neighbors and headed out to bath in the Amazon, where we played more volleyball on the river’s sandy beach, watched the pink dolphins and swam in the Amazon. As the sun set we headed for home after a quick stop on a muddy bar in the river where we had our body’s painted with mud before bathing again.
The evening was subdued with a lovely dinner after which we listened to crickets, gazed at the star filled sky and settled in for a game of cards. Those jungle boys love their cards. Before heading to bed Enrique showed up with a baby caiman for us to hold.
We woke up with the sunshine and one of the neighborhood chickens announcing his presence. After a huge breakfast we went to visit Ana, ana conda that is. She was not very happy and we didn’t spend much time with her. In our supplied rubber boots we went on another jungle hike, today we saw sugar cane and were shown how it is harvested, I had my face painted with paprika, we saw some native birds, more monkeys, monkey fruit, more bananas, more papaya, a rubber tree, tree frogs, etc. The end of our hike culminated with a fishing trip on one of the Amazon tributaries. Everyone but me caught a fish! The piranhas were practically jumping at my companions and Guido caught a sting ray.
We headed back to camp for a late lunch. After lunch we bathed again in the river and hung around camp, watching volleyball and wondering around camp. The evening came way too soon and we enjoyed another wonderful supper then waited for the ferry to arrive. That night we experienced a quintessential Amazon rain – it came down in buckets. As we walked along the cliff to the ferry it was like a scene out of Jurassic Park with the lights from the ferry, the excited voices and us, the two gringos, making their way down a slippery clay cliff.
The ferry boat was amazing: three levels and 300 – 500 people, chickens, minnows and at least one pig that I know of with hammocks slung everywhere. We slept through the night and arrived in Iquitos with plenty of time to catch our flight.
|
