I don't think anyone had any idea what we were getting into when we booked this tour of the Amazon. It included 2 nights and 3 days packed full of adventures and we were so excited, but we didn't know what to expect at all. Turns out, we got to Iquitos and took a long boat ride to our camp....literally IN the Amazon rainforest. It was a beautiful place that even had a room full of hammocks to hang out in. (See what I did there?) Haha. The biggest issue we had with our camp, no electricity. We did have it from 7-9 at night but that was usually when we were busy doing something or eating supper. Yes, this means no light, no phone charging, and cold water. We truly got to experience the nature of the jungle...bugs, wildlife, lots of rain, and the constant hum of noises they make. It was CRAZY hot and extremely humid, so we were definitely miserable during many points of the trip. But the adventures we had during our stay made it all worth it.The first day, we made it to our camp and went on a 2-hour walk through the jungle. We saw lots of different bugs and frogs, along with a tarantula! Eeek! Afterwards, we all went back to camp to rest and eat supper. After we ate, we even went on a night walk through the jungle! We saw gigantic spiders, frogs, bats, tree rats, and even a snake! It was terrifying....but I am so glad that I survived.
The next day, we were supposed to go pihrana fishing but it was raining very hard, so we decided to travel to "Monkey Island" where we were really in for a treat. We got off the boat and everyone was hurrying under the building on the island because it was raining. On our way in, we saw this adorable little monkey who didn't seem to be too scared of us at all. Sam said, "I wonder if this little guy will get on my arm" and before he could finish his sentence the monkey jumped up and started climbing to his shoulder! We found out that lots of the monkeys on the island were pretty used to seeing and interacting with humans. Once we got inside the building, we were blessed to experience the company of many different monkeys, a turtle, sloth, parrots, a tucan, caiman, and a gigantic snake! This was by far one of our favorite parts of our Amazonian adventure. Once we got back, we rested for a while and then boarded the boat to go looking for pink dolphins. We did somewhat see a few gray dolphins but we didn't have very much luck. However, we did get a chance to swim in the river for a while before we went back to camp and I thought that was pretty cool. How many people can say they've swam in the Amazon River? Now I can!
On our last day, we went pihrana fishing in the morning. Unfortunately, the pihranas that we were fishing for were mostly smaller than any goldfish I've ever had...but it is cool that I can say I tried. Nobody had luck in catching one, but Haley did catch a small catfish! While in this tree-covered cove, we saw a few iguanas and also a few snakes in the trees. This was my nightmare! I was afraid that the snakes would jump on our boat from the trees, but thankfully we survived! After our fishing excursion, we went back to camp and walked about 10 minutes through the jungle to visit a native indian tribe called the Yahua. Here, they gave us a short presentation of their culture and even showed us a few of their traditional dances, in which we had to participate. After this, we went back to camp and ate lunch before heading back to Iquitos.
This is where another adventure truly begins. First of all, the boat ride was over twice as long as before to get back because we were traveling upstream. So, 2.5 hours later, we finally arrived at Iquitos and got in taxis to head for the airport. We got to the airport, got our tickets, waited as they were delayed for over an hour, finally boarded the plane, waited another 30 minutes, and then we were told to exit the plane as they were having technical difficulties. Soooooo, we got off the plane, later to realize that we wouldn't be getting back on it that night. In fact, we wouldn't be leaving that night. A very long story short, we waited in line from 9pm to 1am in order to book a new flight for the next day and get hotel/transportation arrangements made. We finally got to our hotel, showered, and got some sleep in the AC before heading back to the airport at 11am the next morning.
After getting checked in and through security, eating lunch, and waiting another hour due to delays, we finally boarded the plane and began our much awaited journey home to Lima. To make matters even worse, we had a stop in another airport to drop off/pick up other passengers before we got to Lima. We were never made aware of this so we were pretty upset that we got delayed on our trip home even more. To make matters even more worse, my taxi ride home from the airport took 2 hours! Usually if there isn't traffic it is a 35-40 minute drive. It was crazy rush hour times a million and I don't want to get in another taxi for a long long long long time.But now, here I am at home in my room in Lima. I made it! I am so happy that I can say I survived a weekend in the Amazon with no electricity in the ridiculous heat/humidity. (Although I do have a ridiculous amount of mosquito bites all over my body.) It was a once in a lifetime trip and I will never forget it. Now, I am back home to do some laundry and pack up again to leave for Machu Picchu early Thursday morning. Hopefully we have some better luck with this trip and not too many complications. I can't wait to get back and share even more pictures with everyone! I have class in an hour, so I better get going. Thanks for checking in, as always. ¡Hasta luego!
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