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| Native Village Along The Amazon River |
When I booked a trip to Peru for a travel conference, I decided to
go to the Amazon Jungle prior to my conference in Lima. I have been
waiting a long time to go to the Amazon River to experience nature and
the true jungle life. So I took an evening flight from Lima, Peru, to
Iquitos. Here I stayed at the Victoria Lodge.
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| Using Solar Energy to Dry The Laundry |
The next morning I met my tour guide-- Llagner (meaning Black
Jaguar) Manihuari Pacaya (Big Rat). His nickname is Llyacko, which is
pronounced Jacko. He has 27 years of experience working as a tour
guide, but believe me, he does not look a day older than 27. He speaks
fluent English, Spanish, his local village dialects, and surprisingly,
some Portuguese! He is a local resident of the Amazon Jungle, and he
has tremendous knowledge of the jungle!
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| Yummy Grub Worms! Am I Brave or What? |
On the way to the Iquitos Port to catch our speed boat, my group
had the chance to experience some exotic fruit in the open street market
like passion fruit, guava, mango, and papaya. I noticed that there was
cooked food everywhere. Llyacko mentioned that one booth was grilling a
2 inch grub worm. Well....you guessed it...I had to try it....but only
after a few other people tried it first! As the saying goes, it tasted
just like chicken, but it had a bit of a sausage flavor with some gluey
oil mixed in. I was told it was good for the digestion. I don't know
about that, but at least it did not make me sick, so that's good! But, I
don't think I'll be flying back just to eat more of that!
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| Typical Village Transportation |
After the exciting food experience, we took a 1.5 hour speed boat
ride to Heliconia Lodge, a sister property to the Victoria Lodge where I
stayed my two nights in the jungle. We passed many impressive jungle
landscapes of bushes and tree, as well as rustic hut homes along the
river's edge. You can also can easily see the brown turbid waters of
the Amazon River mixed in with the dark waters of the Nanay River. At
the first native village our boat made a stop-over. Here I had a chance
to learn about their culture and even dance with the natives. There
was a lot of hand crafted jewelry available to purchase. What a great
way to help support the village!
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| Learning the Native Dance...Fun! |
Upon our arrival at the Heliconia Lodge, the entire staff greeted
us with fresh fruit juices. Even Pedro the parrot was there to greet
us!
So what is there to do in the jungle? There is a lot! First,
Llaycko took us on a hike, and he identified many of the botanical
species, including the Heliconia flower and medicinal plants. He also
told us the names of the birds, small monkeys, iguanas and other animals
we saw. There was another excursion where we went to see the pink
dolphins. I was lucky enough to get to see them jump from the water,
but I wasn't quick enough to capture them in a photo. Oh well.
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| Llaycko caught a Piranha for dinner! |
How about fishing for Piranhas? We got to do that! I had many
bites on my line but was not able to catch anything. After much
perseverance, I finally caught one, but when one of the staff members
grabbed the big fish for me, the piranha bit a piece out his finger!
Ouch!!! That marked the end of our fishing trip. We had to hurry back
to shore to get his finger bandaged!
How about going early morning birdwatching? Yes, we did that
too!! We left early one morning by boat to go to one of the smaller
streams to go bird watching. I was rewarded by much more! I got to see
the glorious Vitoria Regiaplant flower (Giant Water Lily) on Yanamono
Island. These flowers reminded me of Lotus Flowers in a water pond.
Ironically my name, Lin, in Chinese is "Lotus Flower!" I was told that
the locals use this flower for relaxation during child birth. There is a
purpose for everything in God's creation!
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| Giant Water Lily on Yanamono Island |
At night I hiked around the perimeter of the lodge to look for
tarantulas, fire flies, and other nocturnal jungle animals like snakes.
I enjoyed seeing the tarantulas and holding fire flies in my hands, but
I am not sure I liked the evening hike because it was dark and slippery
with mosquitoes flying all around me, though I did learn a lot! Most
importantly I leaned that it is important to stay put if you ever get
lost in the jungle, as the staff will look for you. However if you do
get lost and keep moving you will most likely get lost further, making
it that much harder for the staff to find you. It may even take days!
This actually happened once at this lodge! Luckily the person survived,
but it was a hard leaned lesson for him!
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| Isn't he cute? |
How about a restful night on the river? We had the opportunity to
take an evening boat ride down the Amazon. As the boat floated slowly
downstream, Llyacko told us to close our eyes and listen to the
surroundings. I enjoyed listening tho the magical sounds of the jungle
so much, that when I opened my eyes (about 20 minutes later) we had
already arrived at the next lodge! I was able to take several beautiful
sunset pictures. What an evening. So calm and relaxing!
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| The Beautiful Amazon River Sunset! |
My three day trip to the Amazon River far exceeded my
expectations! I loved all that I learned about the jungle, the plants
and wildlife, the local native culture and their lifestyle. Most of
all, Llyacko made me feel like I was the queen of the jungle. I have a
lot to be thankful for, for having had such and unforgettable Amazon
jungle experience! There is no doubt, a trip to the Amazon can
definitely broaden ones horizon, and give one an opportunity to explore,
learn and enjoy! I guarantee a trip to the Amazon will be very
rewarding!
Lin can be contacted at lin_travels@sbcglobal.net
