At eight years old, most girls are playing with barbies, learning to ride bikes, or playing with their easy bake ovens. I'll admit, I did those things too. However, one of the things I best remember from my childhood is a camp that I attended. It was based on the Amazon Rainforest, and I learned about the layers of the forest, the plants, animals, and some of the natural medicines that could be found. Ever since this camp, I've longed for the day when I could experience the Amazon face to face. Now, more than a decade later, my dream was realized. The group flew out around five in the morning, more bags under our eyes than in our hands, and yawns half covered when we wanted to avoid being mistaken for farm animals. I was thrilled to find a pretzel vendor inside the airport!! Soft pretzels are one of my favorite foods, and it had been around three months since I had last been able to enjoy one. The soft, cheesy pretzel was the closest thing to heaven I'll ever experience. Peruvian airport security is *slightly* different from American, as you can walk through with a full cup of coffee no problem. This was good news, because after my Parmesan pretzel I started to regret my decision to eat something that would cover me in white powder immediately before going through security. Two girls stopped to grab coffee, and their line took so long that they were barely able to make our flight!! Panicking, they ran up to the airline bus just as it was starting to drive off! Not sure if I was half asleep or going crazy or what the deal is, but I have a vague memory of repeating peach over and over again when asked for my drink order and then something about drinking the whole cup of juice in one shot. I lose control of all senses it seems when I am tired. Our airplane arrived in Iquitos without further incident, and once the other girls arrived we embarked on an adventure I'll never forget. We took an hour and a half drive through the countryside, to arrive at a small port. We sat in a little boat, oblivious to the fact that our next six hours would be spent in there. I was rather uncomfortable, due to someone half laying on my lap while in a hammock, but the hours passed one way or another. We arrived at the beautiful lodge and were able to enjoy fish and rice before taking a relaxing tour of the village. The following morning we went to a couple of small villages and saw some things I'd never thought I would see. At one of the villages, there was a little boy cutting grass with a machete!! It wasn't really a surprise, just kind of different that such a young boy would be given a weapon as a toy. We got the chance to hold a little monkey, and we saw a demonstration of how to climb a tree. This year is a particularly wet year for this area- due to flooding many houses were covered with water. That night I saw one of the most creative navigation systems I've ever seen- One man stood at the front of the boat with a flashlight, yelling left or right to the man who was driving. As a result of this...interesting...method of navigation, we crashed into things a time or two. One of the most memorable times involved knocking an entire branch FULL of fire ants into the boat. The girls who were bitten were none to happy about the experience. The next day we were able to go on a canoe ride in the beautiful river. The Amazon has to be the most beautiful place I've ever seen! Karina and I opted to go for a hike, and the two of us plus two Peruvian tour guides made the journey through the forest. We saw termite colonies and monkeys swinging from tree to tree. The guys tried to convince me there is a monster that lives in the Amazon and only eats white people. The hike was the best part of that whole experience, and I think those who didn't go really missed out. After the boat ride back, we learned the flooding had caused parts of the road to collapse. At first we were told this meant we would need to walk all the way back. Seeing as I packed light, I was fine with this option but those who brought suitcases politely said they would rather roll around in a pile of fire ants for the rest of eternity than to walk further than absolutely necessary. Fortunately we were able to get most of the way in a van, then walk a short distance through the valleys left by the flood, and then wait for our friend to come pick us up. The volunteer shelter we are at here in Iquitos seems like the Ritz Carlton right now. It has electricity, wifi... all a girl could ever wish for! Right after arriving we went to the town square and enjoyed some ice cream. When I say enjoyed I mean everyone else was hogging the menu for so long that I panicked when it was time to order, pointed at the first thing I saw, and ended up with Lucema ice cream. Ever since an unfortunate vomit experience, I've personally treated Lucema the way people with taurophobia treat cows. That is- I steer far far away from it. Yesterday we got to go to a place called Monkey Island, which was a reserve for a few different kinds of animals. I got to see sloths, monkeys, anacondas, turtles, alligators, and parrots. Then we went to another place that had giant, carnivorous fish. The end.
That sounds like quite the adventure. Here is a link to photo of you on an adventure. Is this the "Amazon" experience? http://1drv.ms/1GpDR5h I am glad you are getting to do so many fun and exciting things. Still, I will be thrilled when you get back home.
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Rachel
4/8/2015 05:09:38 am
It was an adventure. Yes those photos are from this same trip. It was lots of fun, but I'll also be glad to be home in..roughly a month.
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