20.6.2015

iquitos - day 2

saturday, we got up at about 8, for a 9 o'clock tour. first, we loaded the boat to go look for pink and gray freshwater dolphins. we had to go to the reserve, pacaya-samiria, which is bigger than costa rica or belgium; gigantic. we entered the reserve, then quickly got into the river network. this was awesome! the water was so dark, the plants were all aquatic (or at least were able to survive in water), and there were amazing views. one cool thing, was when a wave would hit the (not)shore, the plants would move with it because they are not anchored on the ground. very cool. another cool thing was the water line. it was about 4 or 5 feet above the current water line, that is crazy high river. the amazon is amazing. 

anyway, we traveled a little ways, then saw the dolphins! they were really dolphins! and we even saw a pink one! the guides had funny calls; whistles, clicks, and a farting noise. i die listening to it. the dolphins didn't get hight out of the water, but we could still see them! after seeing them, we kept going in the boat, saw some sloths, monkeys, lots and lots of birds (herons especially) and amazing scenery. no place looks even remotely the same as the other, it was all so unique. even a minute of moving, and you would not think you were even remotely close to the same place.

we kept going for a long time (like three hours) then got into a lagoon where we could swim! the water was black because of the acidness eating and decomposing everything, so it was eery. we jumped in and swam a while! nice and refreshing, cool but not too cold. and we even saw a dolphin or two swimming with us. they stayed around for a few minutes before disappearing. now i can officially say i swam with wild dolphins. we swam for a little more then got back in to go eat. they said loading dinner, and they were right. they just tied us to a tree and our cook from the lodge started cutting open leave wraps filled with rice and chicken. now that was yummy! and cool to look at. after eating, we went to go fish for piranhas. we drove (in a boat of course) and then pulled into a thick area in the marsh. we all got our poles and went at it. right off the bat, the other boat started catching things galore. my boat didn't catch much. . . andrea caught the biggest, and it was huge! i didn't catch anything until the last minute when i went up to the front and fished. they were tiny and i never actually got them in the boat, they got off before then. oh well, i got two, i can say. 

after fishing and keeping about 7 of them, we returned to the bungalows for a bathroom break before heading right back out into a different part of the reserve. we went to a village called 20 de enero, or 20 of january. the villagers are allowed to live there because they lived there before the park was an actual park, but there are restrictions on their food and hunting. while in the village, we learned to climb a palm tree. the villagers used to cut them down, but that takes years for new trees to grow and even more time for the fruit to grow. we all got to climb up. it was tough. there are two groups you had to use and it was hard! i got the highest at about half the tree height. after that, we had to go back because it was getting dark.

it was a little disorienting on the ride back because it was so dark, the river was so big, and i had no idea where i was. but we got back safely, and ate dinner. good, of course. i look the food, and all the rice is amazing! we had the piranha too! it was whole, like the fish i had in costa rica. teeth and all. it was good tho. reminded me of my cabin. and i kept the bottom teeth of one of them. after dinner, it was legend time!

the workers told legends about the forest. like the water god, the animal protector, and the god of the forest. it was really neat! bed shortly after.

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19.6.2015

iquitos.

today i got up at about 3 because we had to be at the isa office at 4 am. i walked. it was really interesting, there were no cares, no people, no honking, nothing. just the streetlights and my thoughts. i got to the isa office and we left for the airport. we got there, checked our bags and went to our gate. we loaded a bus and loaded the plane on the tarmac. it was a nice plane, another baby but it flew nicely. 

we landed in iquitos, which is the capital of the loreto region. it is also one of largest cities in the world that can only be accessed by boat and plane. right off the bat, after getting off the plane, it was hot and sticky, but manageable. having lived in iowa my whole life, humidity is seldom a problem. we claimed our luggage and went to get on the bus that was driving us to the port city. on our way, we stopped at a wildlife rescue and rehabilitation center. we walked in, and saw the turtle pits first; there were some really big and also some small ones. there were a ton in the little pit. then we walked a little more and saw some things on the way. the next animal was a sea otter, she was so cute. i love otters so much. right after the otter, there was a monkey and sloth house. it was full of animals but we didn't see any. however, there was a monkey named diego that they had tried to release multiple times, but failed. he keeps coming back, and enjoys humans a lot. he climbed all over you, tried to take your things, tried to kiss you, everything a crazy monkey could do; he did. we kept moving to the main event, the manatees. the manatees are here because of attempted poaching, killed mothers, boats or other accidents. we washed our hands and went to look. they were beautiful. we grabbed some leaves and got to feed them. they were soft and smooth, but their mouths were like spiders. they grabbed and grabbed with their mouths. they were beautiful. we also saw some macaws, and a baby sloth that was held by one of the workers. this was such a cool place. 

we left for the rest of the ride to the port city, nauta. we stopped when we got to the city, and went to a lagoon in the center of the city. we walked up to a view point/gazebo and got some bread. we were trying to feed the paiche, and we succeeded. they are the biggest fish in the amazon, sometimes 3 or 4 meters long. there were catfish, caimans, lots of turtles, and of course paiches. the paiches were gigantic, i mean some were 6 or more feet, and had bright red scales. there were tons of turtles, a few gigantic ones, and also a caiman. after feeding for a while, we went to the dock and loaded a boat for the amazon river tour and trip to our bungalows. 

we went downstream and met where the marañón and ucayali converge to form the official start of the amazon. it was awesome! gigantic, brown with extremely strong currents. i was a little scared to be honest. not for my life, because i am a strong swimmer but for my stuff; these boats were rickety and not exactly level and would often waver side to side. but we were fine, of course. we went up stream about an hour and a half to our bungalows for the next two nights. it was awesome. there were two little ponds, a meeting place, a dining room and the bungalows; all in the middle of the amazon forest. the bungalows were awesome, nice bathroom, a deck, and 7 beds. the one bad thing was there was only electricity from about 6-10 at night. 

we ate lunch, which was great, then had to wait for the rest of the group to arrive (they missed the flight because they slept in). when they arrived, we split into two groups and went on an evening/night hike. the amazon was wonderful. it was similar to the forests of costa rica, but more extravagant. we didn't see many animals, sadly, but we did hear so many sounds. there were bugs, frogs that could be heard for a mile away, birds, monkeys, fish from the river and everything else you could imagine. it was great to walk through the forest, it was very hilly and extremely dark after the sun went down. it was so dark it was disorientating. we walked for a couple hours then went back for dinner. 

dinner was good, of course the cooks are fabulous. after dinner, most headed to bed soon because we all had an extremely long day. i hit the hay quickly. i woke up once in the night to the rain, and it was like a noise machine, i loved it. i should have recorded it so i could fall asleep to it in the future. 

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