Hola amigos!
Buenos dias from Peru! I have a lot to update you all on from our most recent adventures!his post can be divided into Jungle Adventures, and Volunteering- two super different but equally awesome parts of the last two weeks.
To start...Iquitos! Christine and I booked a flight to Iquitos so that we could spend 3 days there and see what the selva is all about. Peru is divided into costa, selva, and sierra- coast, jungle, and highlands- and all of these parts are incredibly different. It’s really amazing that one country contains so much diversity!
So we arrived in Iquitos and I immediately started to sweat buckets (how shocking). We found our hostel, The Flying Dog, which I would highly recommend to anyone traveling to Iquitos! The staff were awesome and the accommodations were super comfortable and cheap. We then started to explore Iquitos and were immediately accosted by SO many men trying to sell us jungle adventures. We were interested in finding out more and it seemed like just about everyone was a guide, knew a guide, had a brother who was a guide, and/or wanted to be our guide. We decided to embrace it and spent a couple of hours learning about the different packages being offered. In the process, we learned that there was an anaconda/animal rescue centre somewhere close by boat, and also about Belen market. Lots of people wanted us to pay to have them take us there, but Christine and I decided to just go try to find these places on our own. Belen market was easy enough to find, and really interesting. Apparently this market has barely changed for the past hundred or more years, and in it you can find anything from medicinal jungle plants to fish to meat to clothes to black market items. We didn’t see anything too crazy but apparently if you ask around you can find illegal animal parts and that kind of thing. While in the market we were caught in a torrential downpour (quite shocking/awesome after the complete absence of rain in Lima!) and it was probably at that point that we really felt like we were in rainforest country.
After Belen, we asked a mototaxi driver if he knew where a port was. We had him take us to the closest one, and went down to ask if anyone knew about this anaconda place. What followed was one of the funniest and most overwhelming moments of the trip thus far- within seconds we were surrounded by a circle of men shouting, “Adonde?” “150 soles!” “No, 120 soles!” “Donde?” and basically all trying to get our attention and tell us that they could take us to this spot, often for ridiculous prices. Luckily we were rescued by a nice man named Carlo who offered to take us in his moto and help us get to this place for 20 soles. He took us to a friend with a boat in another port- Bellavista-Nanay- where we paid 60 soles to head to this centre...which was AWESOME. Animals like monkeys, birds, and sloths were all free and running around, and were super friendly. We got climbed on by monkeys curious about our cameras, our bags, our faces, hair, etc., and also really interested in licking our sweaty arms haha. So incredibly cute. We also got to see a prehistoric turtle- so weird-looking and so cool- and we held a GIANT ANACONDA. The day was full of new experiences, as earlier we had eaten alligator and paca (a large jungle rodent) for lunch and had tried the best juice I’ve ever tasted- camu camu. The new experiences continued as the men at the centre offered us a homemade drink called “Siete Raises” or “Seven Roots,” and also known by several other more risqué names such as “Siete Veces Sin Sacar” which means “Seven Times Without Taking it Out” or another name that I forget the Spanish for but that translates to, “The Panty Breaker.” These peruanos, I tell ya- so scandulous. Needless to say it was a little bit really strong, but not too bad, and the guys gave us a bottle of it to take back with us. After visiting this centre, we went to the market by the port with Carlo. He showed us around and walked us to see a beautiful view, telling us about his friends, family, and jungle life on the way. While walking we saw a game of soccer being played on a super green field, surrounded by the jungle, overlooking the Amazon River- how awesome is that? Then we went back to the market and tried something called suri, or...larvae. They were cooked, although you can eat them raw, and they actually tasted like that Greek cheese that gets lit on fire. After this, Carlo asked if we would like to meet his wife and children, and he took us to his house to meet them. He also had a friend that ran jungle tours, so he took us to check out what he could offer and it turned out to have everything we wanted! So the afternoon worked out wonderfully for us, and early the next morning we were picked up at our hotel for our jungle adventure!
Me holding my snake friend!
Our jungle adventure consisted of 2 days and 1 night in the jungle with as many activities packed in by our guide, Sandro, as possible. Once we arrived, we went on a walk to learn about medicinal jungle plants and some animals. We were in an entirely Peruvian group, but Sandro would always give us a fantastic English translation as well. After this we ate, and then went to meet a jungle tribe called the Aguar. We were a bit torn on how we felt about this- in some respects it felt like the exploitation of a culture, but it also was an opportunity to learn about this tribe and some of the other tribes that live along the Amazon, and provide some income through purchasing some of their handicrafts. We’re still not sure, but it was an enjoyable and interesting experience nonetheless. Turns out I’m pretty decent with a blowdart, a skill honed through years of...actually, I have no idea where I could have picked up this skill, but it was pretty sweet. Additionally, on this walk Sandro showed us a termite nest. Termites can be used as a natural mosquito repellant because they produce formic acid when touched, and they can also be eaten! Obviously I tried some, and they tasted a bit lemony and not too bad at all. Between blowdarts, termites, and larvae, I’d like to think I could survive in the jungle if I needed to (when Christine was grossed out by the larvae, I pointed out that Simba ate them to survive with Timon and Pumba and he was a KING).
After dinner, Sandro took just Christine and I out for a night time walk. We saw a ton of really cool insects and some reptiles and amphibians as well. At the very end of our walk, we found some tarantulas. You may doubt my judgement, but I was about 10,000 times more scared of the tarantula than of the giant anaconda. However, we both let Sandro put the spider on us, and he told us later that not a lot of people hold the tarantulas, so we felt pretty bad-ass. The tarantula posed nicely on Christine’s hands, but unfortunately when it was my turn it hung out on my arm for a minute and then ran at my face, at which point I decided I was happy with the photos Christine had already taken and I didn’t really need to hold it for any longer.
This monkey LOVED Christine's camera!
The next morning I went with Sandro for a 6am birding walk, which was really cool (and I knew my mom would be proud). We saw the oven bird, mockingbird, and basket-weaver birds to name just a few! We came back for breakfast, and then the whole group headed out in a boat to visit another animal rescue centre. This one was bigger (although the anacondas there were smaller) and featured lots of different and adorable monkeys, sloths, these cute lil mammals that I can’t remember the name of, parrots, macaws, and a TOUCAN. The centre was free, and the people running it help injured animals and provide a safe place for animals like monkeys to live free from predators- and as a result, people can see them in a more natural environment than a zoo. This family also sells some material at the centre, so I bought some “Una de Gato” or cat’s claw, which is supposed to be great for a whole bunch of ailments. I don’t know if I can bring it back to Canada though!
This sloth and I share the same facial expressions.
Jungle medicines in Belen market
The nest of the "oro-pendula" birds!
Such a rainforest shot- this tree very much resembled the big tree from Avatar.
Sunset on the Amazon River
I don't have the tarantula photos of me yet, but here's our guide with the tarantula on his FACE.
These are a little out of order...here's the class I've been working with, and the compost we built out of old fruit boxes! More on this below.
The wonderful and loving Chelo, cooking away!
The raw materials for building a compost bin.
I had a great time in the Amazon, and toucan too!
After this we headed back out in search of grey and pink freshwater dolphins! The Amazon River flows into the ocean with so much force and volume that there is quite a bit of area where they meet that is mainly fresh water. This provided the opportunity for some sea creatures to adapt to fresh water, including dolphins! The pink dolphins are a different type of dolphin from the grey ones, and are pink because their skin is almost translucent and you can see their blood vessels. We were successful in finding them, at which point Sandro gave Christine and I the go-ahead the jump in! Swimming in the Amazon River- such a great experience! The dolphins weren’t super close but regardless, we could see pink and grey dolphins jumping from the water while we swam in one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World- so. awesome.
SWIMMING IN THE AMAZON! We only lost one group member to piranhas. Kidding. Maybe.
After lunch we had to go to make it to our flight home on time. We had a lovely boat ride back and hung out in a bar overlooking the river for a little bit before trying a food called juanes- rice and chicken cooked in leaves- and it was such a nice end to our trip. I enjoyed Iquitos so much that I do not doubt that I’ll be making my way back there someday- maybe on a riverboat from Brasil? It also made me really excited for living in the jungle in Argentina in February and March!
With the Jungle Book now completed, we move on to volunteering. For the past 2 weeks Christine and I have been volunteering at Cerrito Azul in the morning, and then another school called Ramira Priale in the afternoon. They have started a Bio-Huerto project with gardens and were hoping to build a compost, so my role was to make that happen while working with a class, and to teach some English classes as well. Christine was working with a younger class teaching English, and after some discussion was able to start work with the kids on a mural beside the garden.
There were a number of truly wonderful moments doing this work, and a number of frustrating times as well. For example, it was a bit difficult to figure out the organization of the school, as sometimes some classes didn’t attend, and at other times we couldn’t find the teachers we needed, or someone with the keys to the room that had shovels in it, or where our paint had been put, and that kind of thing. However, working with the kids was hilarious and awesome! I have been working on translating information about compost from English into Spanish, which proved very useful. A secondary school teacher spoke to me about it and took the information I had to build a second compost with her students as well, so that was wicked. For my group I went to the market near Chelo’s house and purchased tons of cajas de frutas- fruit boxes. I took these back to Chelo’s, dismantled them, and brought the wood and nails to Ramiro Priale to start construction. We built an awesome compost, which was sadly destroyed by older students over night. We carried on though, and ended up using another compost that a teacher and myself had built on my first day. I did a few English classes, and the students would bring fruit and vegetable scraps everyday to add to the pile. Other students also made signs about how to care for the compost, and what to add and not to add to it. The most exciting part was mixing the compost this week and seeing how much was decomposing already! Within a couple of months, it will be ready to add to the garden!
My friend Melissa, who has been teaching us Spanish a couple of times a week, was able to translate a bunch of information about compost to Spanish for me. I used this to make a bulletin board for the school, complete with what to add and not to add, information on why composting is important, FAQs about compost and the answers, and information on compost care. Finally, a bunch of the students helped me to poster the school to inform teachers and students about the compost bins and how to use them. Yes, you’ve read this right- I made a bulletin board, stayed late to put it up, put up posters all over the school (empowering students to assist me in this), and experienced some vandalism of my work...it would seem that my life as an RA continues in Peru.
I truly hope that after I am done volunteering here, the teachers and students continue to use the compost and keep adding to it! I’m really, really happy with how it turned out and I hope that it can be of long-term use to the school. I’m in the process of creating materials for other schools to implement this program as well, as well as information for future volunteers, in groups or alone, on how to start and implement a similar project at a different school or centre. It’s my hope that these materials will help give some guidance to future volunteers, and provide the necessary resources to implement more and more composting programs in the future! It’s so easy and beneficial that I think that people just need to be given the tools and resources to make it happen.
Speaking of which, after visiting one night and looking at my compiled information, Mariela asked me if I could make a compost for Cerrito Azul! So this week I built their compost out of dismantled fruit boxes, and Christine painted the signs. We installed the compost on Thursday, and added the signs and postered the school yesterday. Mariela and the teachers are very pleased and excited about it, and I am too.
D'Alessandro (5 years old) helping Christine and I to set the compost bin up (sometimes this involved just running at the pile of dirt and jumping on it)
The completed compost at Cerrito Azul with its awesome lid!
Jonatán throwing vegetable scraps in the compost at Cerrito Azul!
A little girl at Ramiro Priale helping me add more vegetable scraps.
The compost at Ramiro Priale, right beside their big vegetable garden.
Staying late to work on Christine's mural!
My life as an RA continues. Me and my pal Victor with the bulletin board all about compost!
Yesterday we also had a good bye lunch with the teachers at Cerrito Azul. They made us aji de gallina for lunch and we made them pancakes with fruit and maple syrup for dessert, and everyone went around and thanked us for our work, and Christine and I did our best to fumble through a thank you in return. It was really, really nice. I’ll be going back to CA for a couple of days after returning, but it was nice to have some closure yesterday nonetheless (see? Closure- RLS is following me).
That’s basically it for now! Today we’re heading to Arequipa in the afternoon for a 12 day adventure that will include Arequipa and the Colca Canyon, Puno and Lake Titicaca, and Cusco and Machu Picchu, among other attractions! I’ve got a bunch of stuff to do before we leave though, so I’ll head out for now- thanks for reading! I hope that you enjoy the photos, and I’m bringing my computer with me traveling so I’ll be in touch soon!
Lots of Love,
Cassie
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