something-to-remember: Lima- Iquitos... 3. Day

Breakfast with something which has the name coffee.. it was more hot water with a bit of coffee taste.
But then I got the lucky card again and got real good coffee. My Detour (that's the name of the traveler agency) Guide comes and pics me up and drives me to the airport. Her german is so very well.. I really enjoy being with her and so we change numbers too... Again the sky is cloudy but typical for this season. But there are moments I ask myself if this could be more smog then cloudy fog? On the way from the south of the town to the north I pass the cliffs on the beach and am so grateful. On the way it is clearly to see, that they started with Miraflores to make the beaches beautiful. And the Tsunami stairs are mostly new... but needed maybe on time too. It's maybe 25 meters high to climb from the beach to town... Then at the airport we make the deal that a friend of her should pic me up when I come back to Lima. Feels much better, then lookin' for a taxi with just tourist spanish. The stuff on the airport is very nice and lovely in it's attitude. The airport self is not that big. On the journey, which started in time, the food was horrible and not much to see, then clouds, sometimes the hills and then came the sun through and I could see the rain forrest, the River- Rio Amazona... Oh what an adventure... I have absolutely no idea how it will be, but am so exited.

the Anden

airport Lima

By the way, when it is about the restrooms on the airports or the hotels... dear male Tourists don't think the toilet is broken, they use to be so full with water and it's not an automatic flush, you have to push a button or do it other way ... but it does not go on without your help... For the south american people.. for us in Europe.. the toilets have much less water inside and we are not afraid of wetting our best friend... and the other thing is.. it is not allowed to throw paper or anything then what comes out of the body into the toilets. You have to throw in a bucket. Forgive us south american people that we don't remember this all the time. A habit is not so easy to deny. :-)
Well before landing on the little little airport in Iquitos, I could see little villages all around, see streets, see poor villages, see fire going on- it's the "burning" time....
First thing after showing your luggage number and passport.. again... we make a tour with our guides from Iquitos through the town, which once was a little village and became a very important place in the marketing of the jungle and to keep people alive, and away from terror and illegal things, like cutting trees, drugs and other stuff. It's not so long ago, that the times where unsure, even for the indians and peruvian... but now we have a good time, with a lot going on, but don't expect a town beautiful like in Europe... it's more like India... a lot of those tuk tuks, which they call here bikecars... smog worse then in Lima, but we sit in a big old bus, without windows, it's really warm, sunny and we see how people live... taking their kids on the bike or driving with much more on the car to bear then we would allow back in ol' Europe... The people live near the streets and so a long time this town looks like those typical villages we have in Europe too, which goes along just on a main street... but then we reach the centre and the marketplace and the harbor. A lot of people bustle around. A lot of bananas, melons and fish are going to be sold.
And.. Dogs, dogs, dogs... like in Lima and the rest of the country.. dogs are very typical and they walk around, like the cows in India, sometimes more or less dirty and some have an owner, some are free and yes a lot of them are mixed race.
My guide in Lima, she said, they love dogs, not cats... just in Lima, the most dogs have an owner... mostly are they little once - like pugs, terrier, peaks...
The most tourist are Americans, some French and me the German... The time the most german comes, is the autumn time... Don't know why this is like this, but it is... anyway...

After about 45 minutes we arrived at our harbor, where several boats where waiting for the white mans.. and some colored..;-)
I take a little boat with two Americans who come with me along the way and get to another Lodge... My Lodge has the name "Ceiba Tobs Lodge". It's about 40km away from Iquitos and so we have to go out by the little boat on the Rio Amazonas... and because we are just three people coming in and don't have that many cases, we are permit to take all of it with us... The river is low and the rain times will start in a few weeks... tourist have to reckon, that they are permit only to take luggage of 5 kg with them. The life vast was on board, but they said we just have to take them if we must... they don't take it so... exactly with the rules... they also try to never be so far away from the beach..

here you see how low the water stood...

the boat we have to take to come in to the rain forrest

While we are on the river, we see the harbor in the beginning with a lot of very old and dented and scratched ships, but all of them are still on the water, taking people, food and wood... Can't imagine one of those here in Germany... Would surely be not allowed... :-) Then we pass oil industry, which makes me feel a little bit uncomfortable.
The rain forrest, how does it look from the water...? Big and well to be true, like every wood looks from far away.. green, big and beautiful... and this was the picture.. wood, wood, wood, some beaches, some people in little boats, some fishing, some washing cloths on the beach, some children playing, and a lot of little wood houses, sometimes colored, mostly not... rice fields, corn fields... water and wood again... never thought so many people would live here... Well, documentation just gives you a little part of what is truly here... of course you see some garbage too and the Rio Amazonas is warm, but nothing I would like to swim in, not because the snakes, which can be there, it's because the water is not very clear... Don't know if my immune system can deal with this...
My Guide in Ceiba Tops, does not speak very well english or german and has problems with walking, but he tries to be nice and has patience.. I have to have them too.. cos I gotta ask him a lot times to repeat what he was saying...
The Lodge however was very nice, some place you can fall in love with... embedded in the jungle... and that is the first thing after arriving.. We take a walk into the jungle to big trees, very big.. and I have the luck, the big luck of two guys who become my company... one is Carlos from Lima and his friend Christopher from Chile... from the first moment we have direct contact.. we feel really good with each other and have so much fun immediately.
The rain forrest is exactly like you dream of and the big tree we are able to see, looks a bit like those from Avatar or the trees from Avatar- the movie - looks much like them, just much bigger... Of course we were swinging on a vine. :-) Not that sporty and elegant like Tarzan...
Through with sweat we have the ability to do in the afternoon what we want, so we dive into the pool and talk, talk, talk... The view from my window is romantic, especially in the night, when the lights are on... The Mosquitoes comes out in the late afternoon, but we just see maybe two or three of them, just flying around us, but we discover very soon, that not only did it help to have impregnated cloths, it also helps a lot to put your feet on a chair or stool...with a towel under or around your feet. The main time for mosquitoes comes later.. much later.... But this is why it feels like being on a fantasy island... Just a bit music in the evening is missing... and I don't mean those traditional flute music, which you can and must hear next to everywhere as a tourist.
Staying out late is not an idea..gotta go up very early, because I gotta watch birds in the very beginning of the day, before breakfast time....