We arrived at the airport with 10 minutes left before boarding time. In a state of panic, we rushed through check in and security. Gabi and I went through first, while a couple of others stayed behind to scrounge for some food, as the idea of 7 hungry girls on stuck on a plane wasn't appealing to anyone. Met at our gate by a calm, cool and collected Ashley (who had been at the airport for an hour already), Gabi and I's anxieties were relieved, as they hadn't even begun boarding the plane yet. We went back to spread the word to the girls who still didn't know that everything was A OK, and found them running through the airport with a McDonalds bag full of cheeseburgers and panic stricken faces. As the adrenaline wore off, we sat down and waited to board the plane for another 30 minutes. Finally we boarded and were off to the jungle.
Stepping foot off the plane, we were immediately greeted by hot, heavy and humid air. Our skin was sticky and our eyes were sleepy but we were so exciting for the following days. We met our taxi driver and drove through the city of Iquitos to get to our hostel. We could see the stars, there wasn't a speed bump every 100 yards, and the honking was minimal. It almost felt like Nebraska to me, and made me that much more excited to hop in my car and just drive. When we got to our hostel, we were welcomed by the owner telling us "sorry, I know you made your reservation in advance but I gave your room away anyways." Truthfully, she was very nice and helpful and got us into a different hostel, but nonetheless it was still awfully frustrating, as we were all so exhausted and ready to pass out. We made it to our new place, and definitely overindulged in the air conditioner. I woke up in the middle of the night curled up and cuddling right next to Claire #NoShame.
The next morning, we walked through town and stopped for a quick breakfast before meeting our transportation to the jungle. I chugged some awful instant coffee, and away we went. We met our awesome tour guide, who has casually worked with several TV shows, like the National Geographic and the Travel Channel, and spoke fluent English. We rode with him to the port, where we boarded a little boat that we took throughout the Amazon. Before reaching our "resort", we stopped and admired some caymans and paiches AKA fish that could gobble up a baby in one bite. After that, we continued down the river and traveled down an Amazonian "backroad" to our resort. We dropped our bags off in our rooms that we would be staying in for the next three days. Basically, we stayed in a screened in bungalow with two rooms separated by one wall. There were three beds, a toilet, shower and sink on each side. It definitely wasn't what I pictured as a resort, but I liked the authentic jungle feel we had going on.
We all opted to take a real sweaty nap before lunch, and woke up to them calling us over for some rice, chicken and beans. I was a little disappointed because I was expecting to try crazy jungle foods, but a bit later I was invited to eat piranha that was served basically the same as how it was caught, just the fried version. I immediately regretted wanting the crazy jungle foods, but tried the piranha anyways. A little disturbed from a girl telling us that sucking out the eyeballs is the best part, I timidly cut into my piranha and tried to find some meat to munch on, but there really isn't much to those little fish.
After lunch, we boated over to Monkey Island. Monkey Island is basically my childhood dream, not a true island at all, rather a refuge for rescued animals that eventually just stay because of the companionship of visitors and of course, the food. As soon as our boat pulled in, a little monkey hopped right into the lap of our tour guide, took his water, unscrewed the cap and started drinking it. The guide was just laughing, as we sat there in udder shock.
Stepping foot onto the island was like stepping foot into paradise. Animals were freely roaming around this "island" and right away, monkeys were hopping onto our shoulders. A bird stood on my head, a toucan was hopping around, and a little raccoon like animal was grazing. We later found a pond of water that we gave no notice to, until our guide started poking around the pond with a stick. Curious, I observed and later watched a thick, scaly anaconda slither around, trying to dodge the stick. Eventually our guide got a hold of him, pulled him out and picked him up. Trying to be brave, I embraced this opportunity with open arms and went and held the snake with our tour guide. When I handed the reigns to the next person, the snake tightened its grip on my hand, and I for sure thought it was the last time I'd get to use good 'ol lefty, but eventually freed my hand from the constricting snake tail. When we left the island, we looked for (and found!) pink freshwater dolphins! They were very timid and stayed pretty far from the boat, however.
After returning to the resort, we put on our ponchos, mud boots, and headlights and went for a nocturnal hike. Although the mosquitos were attempting to make me anemic, I still enjoyed the hike and saw frogs, ants and giant moths. I also spotted a huge butterfly, and wanted to see its blue wings, so I lightly brushed it and immediately regretted my decision when it landed on my chest and I realized my suppressed fear of butterflies. They're fun to look at, but they're actually kind of creepy up close. Flashback to a 5 year old Abby temper tantrum when a butterfly landed on my purse and I lost my marbles.
When we got back, we took advantage of our three hours of electricity by charging our phones, and using the light to take showers. Tucked away in our princess bug nets that covered our beds, we were ready to sleep at 9 PM when the lights shut off. It was so relaxing to sleep with the white noise of all of the jungle animals coming alive at night, although later that night I woke up in a panic, as a drip of water hit my forehead, and I couldn't figure out where I was.
The following day, we left early to go fishing for piranhas. We got to our buggy honey hole, took our sticks and threw our lines and hooks in the water. We used beef as bait, and right away felt the tug of nibbles. I finally figured out the appropriate technique to set my hook and eventually pulled in two piranhas! I was surprised to find they are basically sunfish with sharp teeth. The way my brothers described them to me I had pictured a monstrous fish, more like a river shark.
Later we traveled to a little village, stopping to try to pull a snake out a tree and pick a tarantula off a leaf. Just normal everyday life things, obviously. At the village, we were greeted by a small boy and his pet sloth, and a small girl and her pet crocodile. Okay. There we had breakfast, scrambled eggs and piranha and then took a long boat ride back to monkey island. I was happy we had already been, because the second time around wasn't as awesome. A monkey even robbed me of an earring and my popsicle.
We left monkey island and went to a "safe spot" (not sure how that is determined) of the river to take a plunge. I was very skeptical at first, and wasn't going to get in but peer pressure happened and I took a dive. With every passing brush of a leg, my heart skipped a beat, because you know, piranhas. But I made it back into the boat alive and in one piece. We went back to the resort to clean up and eat supper. After supper we took a nocturnal boat ride. We saw a spider SWIMMING !!!!, bats and a little tree frog that joined us on our journey and rode with me on my poncho.
The next morning, we woke up at the buttcrack of dawn to try and see the sunset. To our disappointment it was very cloudy, so we didn't see much and went right back to sleep upon our return to the bungalows. For our last day, we visited a local tribe that demonstrated the customs and dances of their past. A little boy pulled me into the commotion and we danced around in circles. Later, we tested our blow dart skills and I averaged a .500. We all bought little souvenirs made by this tribe and returned to pack up our stuff and head back to Iquitos.
We went back to the same hostel we were supposed to stay in the first time. This time we had rooms, but Ahnika and I drew the short stick and had to stay in a dorm with a couple of other guys. We didn't sleep much, as the room was basically a sauna, smelled like smoke, and a guy would NOT STOP COUGHING all night. I was actually looking forward to my 3 AM alarm, telling me to get up and get the heck out of that dorm room. We set off in the middle of the night to catch our plane back.
Overall, my Amazon experience was unforgettable and is competing for the title of my favorite place in Peru.
This is my last required blog, but I'm sure I'll have some other thoughts along the road, so for now peace out, but I'll be back I'm sure!
XOXO,
Abby
