2007-01-08T20:55:00.001-08:00

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And now we are ready for our crazy trip to iquitos. Iquitos is the amazonian center of Peru, which is located deep in the jungle. And there is no direct connection to iquitos from the mainland via regular road. There are only two ways to get iquitos from coastal peru, either by boat or by plane. Me and Senol, being two crazy turkish, we decided to go the hard way and take the boat trip from Yurimaguas to Iquitos, the trip lasts for 2 full days, and you are given a place to hang your hammock in the boat..
But it is not that easy, first we need to reach yurimaguas!!! We couldn´t find anything direct to Yurimaguas, so we will first go to Taropoto on our way and then go for Yurimaguas.. On our way we start seeing some more of real Peru that is hidden from the tourists. This trip will be a real look in to the lives of real Peruvian public.

There are some awesome views of the desert near the coast... Our bus company bravely decides to show us the grudge, and obviously the pirate version,, why we think so? Just check the third picture =)

We being the inexperienced Turks who don´t know that there will be food served on the bus, we go to the restaurant and eat chicken and rice as it is the only option. I am tired of eating chicken for the past 2 days by now (pollerias were a good way to fill yourself when you are in a hurry to finish the archeologic sites). Anyways, the hostess is there too, she smiles at us and we return to our bus after we finish our food. We pay 2 soles for our food (like 1$) and find it cheap...

As soon as the bus starts moving, they start serving food!!! And guess what we are eating for our second dinner!!!!!! Chicken, I am starting to gidaaaakkkk right now!&$%& We swear to our hostess who didn´t bother to warn us, and go on with our trip...

Finally we are in Tarapoto... But it is not that easy to reach Yurimaguas, not that fast... We eat our food, relax and are ready to go finally.

Surprise, because our asshole mototaxi takes us to camionetas instead of combis (we asked him at least 5 times making sure that we were going to combis, and as soon as he took his money he was gone.. Asshole mototaxi drivers)... Anyways, we decide to live the adventure and jump on the camioneta.. In first picture we are cool, in the second one it becomes pretty full... The trip becomes much different than what we expected, jumping at the back of a camionetta on roads like those on top!!!!

We drive through lives of some local people in the middle of the jungle having no serious communication with the real world other than exchange of goods...

And the big surprise!!! Apparently, they are trying to fix the road between taropoto and Yurimaguas, and for that reason the road is closed between 1 pm and 7 pm!!!!????? I envy the peruvian intelligence and start observing people around... We hang out at a place for eating chicken, everybody is eating chicken, so I decide to have chicken again!!!$% I ask the lady to have a chicken, and she looks at me in the eye and says "we don´t have chicken here" and leaves without saying anything else!!!? Me being shocked, my friends go and ask her what they are eating, and she says it is hen!!!! Anyways I end up eating hen this time, which is definitely not chicken =)). I guess this is not the perfect example of peruvian entrepreneurial spirit aye?? =)

The third guy in the pictures up is our driver, and he is used to arrogant clients asking him to get earlier and wait in the line for 6 hours straight. He is just used to it.. "Every single day" he says, "Every single day"...

Anyways, we are at our waiting stop with our new amigos from different parts of Peru...As you can see we see different forms of creativity for resting throughout the unpassable 6 hours in the middle of the jungle =).

Another moment of sensory climax: I am in the middle of the jungle waiting with all other peruvians on the back of our camioneta... The weather is damn hot, I am sweaty, I see people who are in their absolute modes of "I gave up", resting along.. The kids are jumping around to cheer the environment a little bit... There are a lot of bugs, ruthless mosquitoes only scared from our repellents. Everywhere is dust and even the scent of the evergreen can not distract the suffocating climate around. You can see nothing but green other than the main road which is full of people who are really poor that rather than taking 75$ flight they are willing to spend a little bit less (30$) and going on a trip that takes at least 3 days... In the middle of this crowd some guys are listening to music on the truck near by.. All of a sudden my magic music comes for the jungle... Lambada!!!!! Yess, it is the music that just complements everything for me all of a sudden I imagine myself in the middle of a jungle discotheque with this music dancing with a girl from the jungle.. This feels soo real, it is how they live and no matter what it is how they entertain and enjoy the life like rest of the world.. And there is no other place in the world that fits with lambada soo welll. Whenever I hear lambada I will always remember the way from Tarapoto to Yurimaguas in the middle of the jungle.

This kid is the assistant of our driver. He is paid 10 soles a day (a little more than 3$) and he risks his life every single day tying up the equipment with ropes to the vehicle, holding the equipment straight, making sure that everything is OK and carrying stuff.. When I ask him about a bug, he makes his own little game showing me all different kinds of bugs in the forest, he is enjoying his game so much. Of course, he is a kid, and he still has his spirit no matter how hard he needs to go through in life!!

The lady is really hesitant when I ask her to take her picture, she looks at me, she says "Don´t take our picture, why are you doing it? We are ugly...".. I say, we are definitely not the ones to decide that, and this time she permits the picture...

Just before last part of our crazy trip for reaching the boat to Yurimaguas, we take a group picture.. This time they don´t tie up our equipments on top of the camioneta. I get pissed of, and tell them that I will not let them go that way... But as soon as I say that I notice that the kid is also on top of the camioneta guarding our luggage pushing on top of them... What kind of a working desire is this!!!?? If there is a serious brake on the camioneta I am sure that the kid will be the first to fly leading my bags to whatever vehicle is in front.. And all for 3$ a day!!!!!??? I am honestly ashamed to insist further which would sort of mean that my bags are more important than the kids life, so I pray for both and go with the final part of our trip to the boat...

On our way one of the nice guys there gets really drunk and insists that we need to come to his house and leave for the boat from there... Sorry,, we ditch the guy, it gets a little bit ugly because he is a little bit too drunk to understand we don´t want to come... I know it is bad and he is a good guy, still when you are travelling 2 people in the amazonas, you need to consider security higher priority certain times..

After all this hard trip, we are finally in Yurimaguas, our ferry gate to iquitos.. It feels sort of like army, we go and buy our hammocks and kitchenware and are ready to go....

And when we go for the place, we actually see that turkish army was luxurious compared to conditions here!!!! =)

As you see from the pictures, we ride with the cows (we won´t starve at the very worst case =), and the hammock area itself is picturesque just because of its density. We decide that it is a better idea to eat something before going totally in, so we decide for some chicken legs and plantains... Delicious... =)

As I told you the hammock area itself should have a painting, yet knowing my painting skills, i prefer a few photos instead...
This is one point where the colors override discomfort in me and I am glad to be there. In my rainbow country!!!

We set our hammocks, yet apparently my hammock blocks the passage way!!! And then I decide to sleep downstairs... How different can it be anyway right ? =)... will continue!!!

And we are always grateful to the employees that made sure that the cows will not make an escape to the river. And we are ready for the iceberg... Lets go Eduardo VII...

I told you about will continue right... Yeah how bad the bottom floor can be? I slept with pigs only for my first night.. And whats more, our cool employees were not as successful in keeping the pigs in as the cows... Soo, in the night, we even had a few pig outbreaks!!!!!...

Anyways, who am I to complain?? We are in the amazonas!!!! And I then notice that the cultural aspect of travelling in the amazonas actually does overweigh the natural aspect... Just look at the pictures, aren´t they speaking for themselves? I am beginning to feel more like a journalist with a gold mine location...

Our chickens are getting ready while other customers are enjoying views of amazon and the cows. =).. Ma says amazon is dirty, I feel obliged to correct, only a little bit muddy, and we are not going to drink it anyway right? ?? (to be continued !!!!)

Yeah, and surprise I am not the only one to be sleeping with the pigs =)... Life is not always totally cruel, right? =)... And I am not the only person out of his mind here its good to know... And of course I am ready for my titanic pose embracing amazona (I should have used one of those british girls for that, yet what can I say, you can´t think of everything at the same time...=)

And yess, we saw an extension of the amazonas for 2 days 2 nights there, non-stop... My mom asks me what those many pictures of the muddy waters are... Just a large swimming pool with piranhas, that´s what it is...

This river carried the lifeblood of many tribes here for thousands of years, still it is the only way to reach iquitos other than the air.. It is still larger than the biggest highway I have seen.. And there is a certain charm in waiting for your food while watching that beauty (even if the food is also worse than that of the army!!!)

Engine room is a perfect place to dry our shoes, don´t you agree =)... Some more of the amazonas and crazy hammocks of the neverending river..

We are in the wet season right now, it is why we can also travel faster, but we see less of the wildlife as they are hidden more under the water.. Maybe it was a mistake to come here in the wet season !! (more to come, remember this point later!!!!)

Yeah, the "sun-tree" and the lonely palm..

I call here the lonely river,, all this way all this size and width, most of the time only thing it can see is the sky,, and the trees around share its loneliness too..

Remember my comments about maybe it was a mistake to come here in the wet season??!!!! A total lie!!!! It was the perfect time... The first full semi-circle rainbow of my lifetime!!!!! It was so large that I wasn´t able to take the picture of it at once, so I took parts of it.. (And I didn´t want to spend time on stitch as there was heavy rain)... Remember Peru? My rainbow country?? Still more to come on this later....

And of course the sunsets in the amazonas is something not to be missed, I give my adventurous handsome pose, and enjoy the rest of my views...

In the night, surprise, we have some more pigs for our place as if we dídn´t have enough already =).. And in the second picture, you can see what else can be carried by ships!!!! Just a little imagination!!!

After the night, when we wake up, I realize that we stop in a small village nearby, it is called nauta if I remember correctly. It is where we buy plantains for the whole ship from. While the transfer of the goods are completed I decided to take full chance of the stop and put my insect repellent on and jump on the village to take some pictures. I only could take a handful of them as we only spent 8 minutes there, I wish I had more time in my trip ma..

And some more views people of the amazonas.. Doesn´t my hat look cuter on the kid =)

Yes, and the pictures that my ma got tired of from looking, and also the pictures i am taking the malaria pills for =)

Aren´t we cute, the cowboy and the nasty turco =) .. He really seems like saying , maa I did something badd..

And of course some more beautiful pictures of the amazona.

Remember when I was saying of course we don´t care how dirty the amazona is, we are not gonna drink it anyway!!! I was actually wrong.. This is our amazona soup =)!!!!!! Obviously our ship doesn´t use bottled water for preparing food (not for 15$ for 2 days everything included =) )... And this is exactly the amazona soup, some stuff and amazon river.... I am not sure how long it was boiled, etc.. But who cares, we already had some diarrhea up to now at different places, you learn to get used to it =)...

My last picture with Caesar, our helpful friend in getting out of the ship, being more secure etc....

Soo this ends our adventurous trip to Iquitos... Now we can go ahead to see what we came to see....

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My trip to iquitos