Heading Into the
Amazon River
Lima, Peru
Sunday, August 11,
2002
I arrived very late last night to begin my five day exploration of the Amazon River. Exhausted as I was, I was up and in the hotel lobby by 5:20 AM. Edda, my guide, was there and ready to usher me into the dining room to have a quick breakfast. From here, we were going to take a quick flight and then a four hour boat ride to our lodge along the river banks of the Amazon.
I arrived very late last night to begin my five day exploration of the Amazon River. Exhausted as I was, I was up and in the hotel lobby by 5:20 AM. Edda, my guide, was there and ready to usher me into the dining room to have a quick breakfast. From here, we were going to take a quick flight and then a four hour boat ride to our lodge along the river banks of the Amazon.
I met Bob, Zak and
Triston who will be going with us. Bob is the designer and engineer for the
lodge’s canopy ropes. He was bringing
his son Zak and Zak’s friend, Triston, along for the experience.
At the Lima airport, we met up with
Kempton. He is from Long Island and
traveling alone. Once we arrived in
Iquitos, we met Bob Todd, another travel agent and Ken, one of his field
guides.
There were many staff
members from the lodge at the airport to greet us upon arrival. As a matter of fact, I sort of wondered who
was back at the lodge with the rest of the guests. But the nine of them ushered
the seven of us into a van and we sped down to the dock to pick up our awaiting
boat on the Amazon.
We quickly boarded a
beat up old, dirty speedboat which fortunately had a cover to shield us from
the intense sun. Within minutes, we were
traveling away from this small city and on our way to the wide, open Amazon.
The sun was very hot and oppressive. I
could feel my skin burning, even though I had applied a thick layer of sun
block.
The Amazon was alive
with life. Unlike our rivers in the USA,
which have become recreational centers for the affluent, the Amazon provides
all sorts of necessities to humans.
People bathe and wash their clothing in the river. They drink from the river; they fish and hunt
in the river. They build huts from material that surround the river. They swim
in the river. We saw river busses. Small children were carrying cargo across the
river. It was a busy place. People were
pulling in fishing nets and fishing baskets. This river is their livelihood and
their source of recreation.
After two hours on the
river, Victor, our local guide, took us to a small village. He wanted to show us a restaurant but also
offer a place for us to use a bathroom. (That term is used loosely). We powered our boat right up to a dock to a
restaurant which served the villagers but mostly it catered to the boat people
who frequently this part of the river. Victor bought some fish and then we
returned back on the boat and finished our four-hour river journey to the
lodge.
My hat flew off at one
point and I was more than willing to just kiss it goodbye. But the boat was turned around and someone
got out a fishing net. And my hat was
retrieved. I was grateful because the
sun was really beating down on us.
Everything is muddy
because of the constant rain. It rains
240 days out of the year. It’s rained
twice since 3:00 PM which is when we finally arrived. It doesn’t look as if it
is going to stop raining any time soon.
The lodge is very
rustic and very nice. Great effort has
been made to accommodate American tourists.
There is no electricity. But
kerosene lamps are lined up around the parameter of the lodge. There are flush
toilets and a shower which dribbles cold water so the accommodations are pretty
good for being in the middle of a rain forest.
Beer is kept cold in a cooler filled with a big block of ice. What more do I need.
We all eat together in
a common dining room. This room also serves as the lobby. There is more help
than you can imagine is necessary. The
people are on call 24 hours a day.
Someone will do our laundry. One
boy makes sure the water is constantly available. Someone cooks for us. And we may have dancing
later in the week.
Tomorrow I have a
wake-up call for 5:45 AM to go bird watching.
It’s 8:30 PM. I think I will go to bed.
It’s pitch black but noisy. I can
hear birds, crickets, locust, monkeys, wind, the staff, the McCaw that lives
here and one or two of the visitors. And
there really isn’t much to do in this complete darkness.
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