RAINFOREST '96
"The Amazon Adventure"
Journal of Dan Maly a.k.a. "Jungle Dan"

I went on this trip as a chaperone along with my daughter, and about eighty other junior-high aged kids. The Children’s Environmental Trust sponsored the trip. It is intended to be a learning experience for all that travel here.

Saturday, June 6, 1996

GRAND RAPIDS, MI-                    

We said good-bye to our families at the middle school. From there we took busses to Kent County

International Airport. Seven were dropped off at the Northwest Airlines terminal, the balance were dropped of at the United terminal (that's me). We checked our large luggage, got ticket info, etc. (By the way, my luggage weighed a total of about 80#. Sarah's was about 60#). Our flight is #359 to Chicago aboard a B-737.

We made it through the metal detectors, although my steel-toed boots set it off. I had to do the "hands-against-the-wall method before I could proceed).

Made it to O'Hare o.k. Flight was running late. (I didn't bring my watch because "who cares"?). Sunny and warm today. Most kids are restless and anxious. Me? I'm kind of tired. Gee, what a nice place. NOT! (O'Hare). We docked at gate C7. Out at gate C31. Plenty of time between flights.

While waiting to board our next flight (to Miami), Tom [he's my adult partner through all this] and I noticed all these well-dressed, sparkling Black men (uh, excuse me. African-Americans). When I asked one of them whom he was waiting for, he replied "No one, sir". Later when we got on the plane, I found out he was right! It was just Louis Farrakhan. He sat in first class, of course, while his entourage of guards sat amongst the po' people. We taxied down the runway.

I suppose we arrived around 3:30pm. Our next flight leaves around 7:00pm. The next airline is Faucett, "the first airline of Peru" they call themselves. We're waiting by the "C" concourse exit/entrance. You should see the looks on people’s faces as they walk through the doors and see a sea of some 100 purple shirts sitting on the floor all over. There are no chairs where we are! There is some air conditioning at this aeropuerto (workin' on my Spanish) but it doesn't keep up very well. I've got my heavy work boots on, as well as my long pants, at the suggestion of our Group Leaders. So, what are they wearing? Shorts and sandals. Make any sense? Hardly. The kids are still sitting fairly still at 4:30pm, but you can tell they're itchin' to move around. They have been instructed not to leave without an adult. We keep asking the kids to keep an area open for exiting people. They give you a stupid look and slowly move. Two minutes later, two more kids move in the way. I give up. Typical airport... The intercom hollers out "May I have your attention please!" Nobody listens. Then it sounds like they're calling my name. Everytime!

Around 7:00pm while still waiting for our plane to arrive, a fellow with a cowboy hat approached me and asked where we were going and what was the purpose of our going. After telling him, I asked what his destination was and he told me Brazil (which wouldn't matter much except that only this week we sent our Brazilian exchange student home). He was headed for São Paulo, Brazil. Nice guy! He said he'd been in the USA for the past year and looking forward to getting home. I talked further with him later and found out that he was a pilot and farmer. The whole story didn't quite "click" but, hey, when no one knows you, you can be what ever you say you are! Right?!

I saw another young man sitting nearby and took a chance on asking him if he was from Brazil (his looks tipped me off). He was! He was an exchange student headed home. He had stayed in Lafayette, IN since August 6th, 1995.

FINALLY boarded the plane. The equipment was a Lockheed "L-1011" with a 2-5-2 seating arrangement (in case you were wondering). Someone noticed "smoke" in the ceiling vents as we were being rolled back from the gate. After giving each other nervous looks, I finally told a stewardess about it. Two of them looked each other with alarm. The third one, a bit more seasoned than the others, told me with calm that it was just the air-conditioning. Wow! That sure put some minds at ease!

Hey! How's about dinner and a movie? O.K.! Dinner (served at almost midnight) was chicken a la crud or beef stroganoff with a cold salad, Caesar dressing, crackers with Gouda cheese (mmmm!) and desert was a yellow cake with red Jell-O topping. And the movie was "Jumani" with Robin Williams. (ZZZZzzzzzz).

TOUCHDOWN! 1:55am. Yes, they even have a few lights on for us yet. Thank God we're here. Get me on a bus and to my hotel room! Off to the terminal. Oops. We have a little problem. Martha nearly fainted. We got some water and sugar in her and let her sit a spell. Then we got through "Customs". The humidity is worse than your hottest, most humidest August day in Michigan after a heavy rain!

We met with our guide, Basilio. He speaks very good English. He led us to the bus. Before we got to the bus, though, there were at least a dozen kids selling jewelry and trinkets even at this late hour. Wow (again)! The air-conditioning worked well. All you gotta do is pop the windshield up and go fast. I think most of the bus is made of wood. Hope there's no termites.

Our journey from the airport to the hotel was adventurous, to say the least. The street lighting was very modern. Everything else was/is rotting and deteriorating. (Typical third-world city). Mode of transportation is an old motorcycle front fixed to a buckboard type rear or a bench seat to haul people around, or simply a bicycle.

Now at El Hotel FleaBag, we quickly check in and head to our rooms. Tom’s and mine is on the third floor. We'll be lucky if the water makes it up that far. One plus, there is an air conditioner in the room. But it's so late it will probably never get the room cool by wake up. My bed is reminiscent of a few bales of straw with a horse blanket thrown over it. There's one electrical outlet in the room (220v/50Hz). I suppose "up to code" here means a second coat of paint over the surface mounted twisted pair wire and a new block of wood to mount the single porcelain outlet on. (Pretty bad!).

On of the girls just knocked on our door to show us the bug they captured in their room. It looked like a June bug. I guess it doesn't matter that it's 4:00am (EDT) and if I get to sleep, I might get in a total of three to four hours (hores in Espanõl). I've been up now for about 23 hours. GOOD NIGHT!

Good morning. We woke at 7:00am local time (CDT). Quick breakfast of ham & eggs (not green), Biscuits, OJ, or papaya juice. (Now I know I’m gonna lose weight!). Then a walk around town. Then a "taxi" ride to the river docks. We boarded our "fast boat" (it's no Power Quest, but it moves right along). Soon after we left, we hit a "Florida down pour". We couldn't see a thing and slowed down for nothin'. Fifty miles to camp. One hour and twenty minutes. (You figure it out...38mph?)

Quicker than we thought! We exited the boat and the first thing I did was slip off the dock and on to the mud! However, as well balanced as I am, I recovered with only a little mud on me and the only thing I lost was a touch of pride.

We got to our rooms. Our was the last on the row which was good because we had an extra set of windows that way. After checking out the rooms, we did the "Amazon Fair" which taught us how the local Yagua Indians work and live. Some of the topics were: Roof Thatching (101), Blow Gun construction and demonstration, Machete use, Local foods and uses (which we got to sample). Most were very good! And then there was Basket Weaving (done by a man), Peruvian Music and Dance, which we participated in, and Cast-Netting and repair. Then they showed us how dugout canoes were made and rides in the same. Then there were the sugar cane products. A piece of cane was passed around. You break off a piece, chew it, savor the juice, spit out the stalk, and swallow. Lastly, there was the pottery demonstration done by a couple of old, weathered Indian women. Very interesting! Later, I swapped a pair of flip-flops and a T-shirt (polos) for a paddle that was just made. Hopefully, I'll be able to get it home, now.

Then we had dinner. Fish, salad, beans, rice and fruit. I kind of favor the bean/rice combo plate, myself. Next, the jungle night hike. I've worn the same shirt for two days now, as required. It's starting to drip! The air is so thick here, you have to chew it before inhaling. The camp has no electricity. The refrigerators are run by propane gas, as does the portable generator, which is only used on special occasion and for the kitchen use. Lanterns are the prevalent way of lighting. Oh, yeah! The jungle night hike. We donned our muck-lucks and set out down a path along the river. It was very muddy. And dark! I have no idea of what we are looking for, but we found some bugs - katydids, cockroaches, praying mantises, a small tree frog, and a tarantula! It started to rain so we headed back. While we were "out there", an Indian local was walking down the path in his bare feet without any light. I guess this is commonplace, as they don't own flashlights, boots, etc.

When we got back to camp, it was definitely shower time! The water from the shower comes from a big cistern on a hill. It is pumped from the river to the cistern at 78oF. It feels like 40oF when it hits your hot body, though! The pressure is great! What a "wake up call"!

After the shower, we made sure the kids were "tucked in" so us adults could go to the El Tahuampa (a local name for the bar). It was stocked with a local beer (cerveza). One choice and one choice only. Plus there was booze such as Jack Daniels, Wild Turkey, vodkas, etc. And, of course, your fab four of the soda world: Sprite, Coke, Orange Fanta, or Carbonated Iquitos water. But, as we noticed in one of the older youths (21-22?), they serve up some pretty mean molasses rum mixed with orange soda. I had a sip of this stuff and my eyes were watering before I could get the glass to my lips. No thank you! We all sat around and talked then started heading back to our rooms when we noticed two of the women chaperones stopped in their tracks ahead of us. Why? A full sized tarantula right there on the wooden walk way! Perhaps 4 to 5 inches across with big fuzzy legs! Wow! Once back to our rooms, we did a thorough check before climbing in bed. The bed has a netting all around it and you'd better keep it tucked in!

So the end of another day. It's absolutely quiet except for the chirping of a few bugs and the continual back and forth whooping of two "things" out in the jungle. Tomorrow, the bird watch. Perhaps I can test my blow gun skills, huh?

PS: Last night a group came upon a Fer de Lance snake, which is one of the world's most deadly snakes! Then this morning we saw Marmoset monkeys up close. Some people who have been here five or more times said that they've NEVER seen either of these things. I'd feel better knowing I won't see the snake ever!

While you were sleeping this morning and wishing you didn't have to get up for work, we were out hiking along the Amazon looking for birds. We saw a few with names like [George, Fred, and Ralph] I forgot. Oh well. It was raining profusely but ceased shortly into our walk. Of course, then we had mud!

After this, we went on a "bug walk" I'll call it for lack of a better or official name. We were led by a lady named Susan Smith (sounds like an alias to me). She is some sort of a bug scientist. Every time we saw some minute little creature she had some long Latin name for it and described its purpose for existence (yawn). This walk was about two hours long on muddy, wet root filled terrain.

When we returned, we had lunch. Chicken stir-fry, I guess, and my favorite, rice and beans! Then we set out on an Aquarium Life tour by boat on the Amazon. What we did was throw nets (gill nets) off the bow and stern of this 40-foot narrow boat. We caught some small catfish, sardines, piranhas, and mud catfish (/). Then we went to another area where we went on shore. Our guide, Edgard, went first. He soon was up to his thighs in muck! In the next ten minutes, there were some 30 adults and children jumping and rolling in the mud! Seriously. Some were covered head to toe. This was a good frustration or tension reliever for every one. Then they swam in the river to "clean off". One girl had on a white suit and after she came out of the river, it would never be white again. All piled back into the boat and headed back to the camp. Once there, some continued their swimming and others paddled around in the natives' dug out canoes. Later I saw that the native kids were swimming with our kids and they were busy paddling us around in the dugouts. AND, let me say this about their skills, they had the best handling and maneuvering skills I've ever seen, especially for kids of this age group. The neat thing about this activity is that our group inter-mixed with the locals and even though they could not verbally communicate with each other, they had fun!

After this, I took a shower, which is in a bamboo hut and the water is cold. Then I went to the bar for one of those wonderful sodas. (At least they were cold). The foursome of musicians played nonstop for hours. They played local songs on their guitars and bamboo flutes. (Moy bien!). I also chatted a bit with the lady doctor who is scheduled to give a lecture tonight. She appears to be a rather brazen woman. The hired help do as she commands. They treat her with respect. She taught me a few Spanish phrases and words, but I forgot them quickly. However, I've learned more and more Spanish by being around the language. Well I just heard that they have a tarantula in a jar. I think I'll go take a look. Oooopps. Must be too late. I hear a lot of screaming.

And then, after dinner we listened to the lady doctor tell her story. She moved here from Wisconsin six years ago. Slowly over the years she has built up a decent clinic. The area served is about 25 miles upstream and about 50 miles downstream. She serves approximately 200 patients per month! We were told about the local's medicinal requirements. About 25% of the children die early on because of pneumonia, fever, tetanus, and other complications. Miscarriages are not uncommon. Most chronic illnesses are difficult to treat because of the lack of medicines.

She told us about a six-year-old girl who was treated elsewhere for snakebite. When this girl finally made it to this clinic, she was having convulsions due to tetanus. The doctor treated her with penicillin, but it was too late. The girl died about two hours later. In order for people to receive treatment, they have to get to the clinic. To do this requires hours, sometimes up to twenty or more, of paddling up the river. This delay (and procrastination) can result in death.

Tonight we went on a boat ride up one of the Amazon tributaries. (By the time we left on Friday, the water had dropped some 9 feet in this body of water). We observed bats, bugs, and a bamboo rat in a tree. In a clearing, the stars were plentiful in the sky. We saw the Southern Cross and Scorpio. Quite a busy day! Good night. Er, a, Buenos noches!

First thing. Bird watch! We saw: Ora (Spanish word for gold) Pendelas (russet back type), hummingbirds, macaws, parakeets, long-legged jungle chickens, velvet-fronted grackle, fork-tail palm swift, ring king-fisher, black-fronted nunbird, lineated woodpeckers, spot-breasted woodpeckers, white-eared jacamar, tropical kingbirds, orange-winged parrots, toucans, blue-headed parrots, masked crimson tanagers, gray-breasted peticula, greater ani, thrush-like wren, fly catcher, tree iguanas (not a bird), black cara cara, chestnut belly seed eater, southern rough-wing swallow, pale-legged hornero, roadside hawk (or locally know as the riverside hawk, since there are no "roads"), smoothed-bill ani, and a black vulture. Long-Legged jungle chicken.

Later, after breakfast, on our trip to the schoolhouse, we saw at least five more types of birds. Our trip to the school was via boat. The river level went down at least a foot since last night. Therefore it was difficult to travel in some of the tributaries. Mistakedly, we went right past the schoolhouse by ten minutes and had to turn around. Upon arrival, we had to trudge through the area that had been under river water at the bank. They put logs and stalks across so that we wouldn't get muddy. But, alas, as fate would have it, one girl, Tammy, missed a log and sunk up to her knee! Well, that kind of evens the score, though, because she picked on me about my slide into the mud on day one. I won't pick on her too much because she is a good Spanish interpreter! Well, just as we all thought the mud bath was over, we found that in order to get to the schoolhouse, we needed to try to walk around two long puddles left on the path after the water subsided. No way! You're gettin' wet, bubba! In I went. Up to my knees in muddy water, twice.

As we arrived, we were greeted by the children (and adult helpers) standing on the porch and steps. These children range in age from about 5 to mmmm, 12? There is one teacher. She has six years of formal education (college) for a teaching certificate. She is thirty-six years old, married and has four children living in Iquitos. She gets home on weekends. The school itself is one room. It's elevated like all the buildings in the area in case of high water. All schools are painted an aqua color.

The eighteen kids in this school were paired with one of our students earlier in the year. Polaroid pictures were sent to us. They had small hand made gifts for us (model dug outs, paddles, bowls, etc.). One little boy didn't get paired with anyone so I quickly volunteered to pair up with him. His name was Jonathan. Rather unusual out here. He was five years old. He gave me a beautiful (bonitas) canoe paddle with painting on it. He carved it out by himself by hand. It's made of cedar.

After the kids all sang traditional songs and colored a big mural we brought them, they went outside for games. One was kind of like "Duck Duck Goose" only in Spanish (like Hola, Hola, Adiaos). Then they had their choice of soccer or volleyball. These kids played a very good game of soccer!

Time to go. We said our good byes (adiaos) and left. It wasn't easy to just turn our backs on these kids. You wanted to help them some how, as they had so little. However, don't mess with nature. If they're happy as they are, leave well enough alone. The men had taken their machetes and made some poles for us to balance ourselves on while we went back through the mud. They also stood in the knee-deep mud and held our hand for balance until we safely crossed each puddle. Now that's polite!

We then returned to the lodge for lunch. Afterward, we went to the nearby village (Palmetto) to trade for local hand made craft items. We would trade t-shirts for these crafts, or whatever else we had. One T-shirt was worth about three dollars to them. However, three dollars of goods here would be worth about $25.00 in the mall! Everyone came back with some nice items. This is when our guide came in very handy! If you didn't want to offend or weren't sure of a transaction, he could mediate for you.

Next we visited the clinic of the doctor I mentioned earlier. The building is beautiful and clean inside and out. This woman must really like to serve because it's taken a lot of time, energy and resources for her to get where she is today! She/they are in constant need of supplies. Such as prescriptions (mostly attained from people in the States that don't need them any more), Ace bandages, tongue depressors, batteries and flashlights and more. Very impressive place for out in the middle of no where.

We returned to the lodge for dinner and another night hike. This time we saw spiders, a red boa constrictor, which was about three feet long and 3/4" diameter. We also saw tree frogs (one of which jumped from no where and landed right square on my crotch!). We also saw a non-poisonous scorpion. After our return we saw a tarantula which was probably hiding under a table we had sat at earlier in the day. That was about it. We have to pack now for our next two days' journey to a couple of camps down river (ACEER and Napo Camp).

Breakfast. Then a boat ride to Napo Camp. Up, down (I can't tell) the river and hang a left at the first group of banana trees. It's about fifty miles from here. It takes one plus hour to get there. The boats we used are v-hull and enclosed seating about 20. It's like a bus on water, diesel engine and all (200h.p.). It moves along at probably 60 M.P.H. Hard to tell because we've stopped and slowed a few times. Now we take a right at the second rum factory. Our "pilot" is a skilled professional knowing all the low spots and dangers in the murky river water.

We've reached the camp. It's much smaller than the Explorama Lodge. Here, all of the beds were in the same room. Mattresses on the floor. Guys on one side, girls on the other. No peeking! No problem. After unloading baggage, we got back into another boat and headed up river to Blackwater Lake. I'd get lost trying to navigate these waters. The objective was to spot wildlife. And we did indeed!

This lake was truly black because of the acids in the water. We accessed it via a long, winding, narrow creek. Picture that in a long, skinny 40' flat bottom boat. Once in the lake we saw birds, a water iguana, and four and a half-foot diameter lily pads. We saw both rare and common birds. (I took my best photograph, out of 600 taken, here). Then we turned around and headed for another tributary. Here, again, more birds. We parked the boat by a big tree. Our guide, Basilio, beat on the tree and grabbed a vine and started shaking it. He said there was a monkey in the top of the tree. And, sure enough, there was! It jumped out and hid on one of the branches. I think they said that it was an owl monkey. The only nocturnal monkey in South America.

We've been out for some three and a half-hours now. When we got back, we relaxed by playing cards, killed bugs and told bedtime stories. Ten o'clock. Good night!

Ahhhhh. Another good night's sleep. I woke up and am a bit disoriented because of the mosquito netting being the same as all the other camps. This is the smallest camp yet (as mentioned earlier). Not much doin' here. Some took a boat ride and bird watched. I don't care if I ever see another bird. We don't have to find all 9,500 species in this trip! O.K.? Every bird we spot is rarer than the one before.

Breakfast was pancakes and baked goods, fresh, local peanut butter, pineapple jam and eggs, I guess. I don't care. I don't eat eggs. Yuk. After breakfast we went to see the medicine man. A local fellow named Antonio who was sporting a WLHT 95.7 [Grand Rapids radio] tee shirt. We looked over his herb garden. He has hundreds of Shaman (doctors) come visit him regularly just like a pharmacist would.

Then we went past the new construction sight of the bunkhouse. Wow! If O.S.H.A. showed up, they'd be shut down immediately. Ladders that are made of two vertical sticks (logs) with boards nailed horizontally on them. A gasoline-powered sawmill with belts (long wide ones) used to operate the various pieces of equipment. These belts are, say, 20' long. One of the workers walked over top of these belts while it was running. No guards. It could have cost him his life, or something personal, if he were to slip!

Our next stop was Roger's house. He's the guy that piloted one of our boats. Upon arrival, two good size cows greeted us. One was tied up. The other was not. The one had some nice sharp horns on him. We were seated inside the main room of the house. There were three rooms all total. One in the back may have been a bedroom. The center (main) room, the largest of them all, perhaps at twelve feet by twenty feet, had a large bathtub in it. No, not for the family. They use the river. This held a huge "madda-madda" turtle in it. Likely, this will be a special meal soon. The shell will be used for a bowl or similar device. The claws will probably be a utensil or jewelry. We were shown how they grind corn in a long, shallow bowl made of wood and a device that is used as a tool to crush which is made of ironwood (nearly petrified). In the last room, the kitchen area, there was a "camp fire" going on the floor. There was a dog curled up in the corner plus a hen chicken with its' chicks. Before we headed out, Basilio asked the lady of the house for some "siete raices" (seven roots). It's a liquid used to aid in cases of diarrhea or stomach disorders. Gee! Just what I needed. I took a swig out of a plastic cup, perhaps a tablespoon's worth, and yes indeed, a few minutes later, I felt fine!

Outside we were shown how they separate rice from its' shell. In a big wooden bowl they use a large wooden stick (ironwood) with a rounded end to pond it with. Then it's put into a bowl and separated. Next we were shown a device called a "chaquite" used to extract juices out of the sugar canes.

Meanwhile, back at camp, lunch was being served. Then we packed up again and headed for our next destination, ACEER (Amazon Center for Environmental Education Research). A non-profit group that sits on 300,000 acres of jungle (they own). There are all sorts of people here studying everything from bugs to bees. One gal we talked to will be here a full year finishing up college (Univ. of Alabama). She said that this area is one of the most diverse biological sights in the world! And, only 3% is know about what is "out there". (How the heck they know it's 3% is beyond me, but that's what they say). Later, when Tom and I spoke with her, she told us she had ventured out of camp alone early on, without supplies or a watch. Down here, the sun goes down fast and much earlier than at home (6:00 p.m.). She was lost! Fortunately for her, she kind of knew the trails. When she got back around 2:30 a.m., no one knew she was gone. Now that's a scary thought! They just thought she was in her cabin sick.

The most fantastic part about our entire visit here to Peru was today, just before sunset, we hiked to what is called "The Canopy Walkway". It's a one foot wide ropewalk stretched from tree to tree for over 1/4 mile. It elevates from the beginning tower at 12' above ground to 118' above ground at the sixth tower. (There are 11 towers in all). At this point, you are actually over the treetops. We observed the sunset behind distant thunderhead clouds. This is a view that very few people in the world will ever get to see! It's just spectacular. Words cannot describe being on this walkway.

We returned for supper. Sizzler steaks cooked to perfection. Baked potato dripping in butter, a side salad, and fresh garlic bread. That was what I was hoping for. We actually had chicken, rice, beans and salad with papaya for dessert. Why not!?

As Tom and I were updating our journals, he looked at me and said "Hey! Wouldn't it be nice if we could go out on the canopy tonight?" There was a beautiful clear sky and millions of stars out. "Uh, sure" I said with some hesitancy. Before I knew it, he had quietly arranged to have the two students, Don from Scotland and Lain, the one that got lost, Tom and I, and a couple of others disappear into the dark. As we hiked back on the trail we could see so easily before, it dawned on me how much quieter it was without our typical entourage of noisy kids and adults. Once back to the canopy, it was a little tricky maneuvering in the dark. The nice part was that you didn't know that you were actually 100+ feet above ground. You could see that far! I took a few long exposure photos of lightning way off in the distance. I hope they turn out [two weeks later, I still haven't found these]. Eleven-thirty p.m. - - - way past bedtime! We're supposed to get up at 5:00 a.m. to view the sunrise from this thing, again. Goodnight!

Don't know what time it is. It's still dark out. It's pouring down rain! I grabbed the horse blanket they provided us and wrapped up in it cozily and went back to sleep. Later, as daylight broke, I realized that we were not going to view the sunrise from the canopy (or at least I wasn't)! Around 7:00 a.m., one group went, but I think all they got was wet. I stayed back with Don and others and talked over coffee (you know, that brown powdered stuff from a jar).

The first thing we're doing today is having a lecture. Yes. A lecture! By a birdologist, or what ever it is that they call themselves. Now, I'm not a bird watcher, so it really doesn't interest me a whole lot. However, out of respect, I sit through it (yawn). I was trying to plot my escape without anyone noticing me. Giving up on that, I tried reading an old National Geographic, but the light is so low, it can not be done.

The birdman is telling us how remarkable the migration of a Black Crown Night Wren is. Or, there's the story about the White-Chinned Wood Creeper! Now we get to view a tick that's in a small Jim Beam bottle. More precisely, it's an avian tick. I can't ever tell the darned things apart! [At this point, I become so excited I jumped up out of my chair and proclaimed "Yes! Yes! This is the life I want to live. Please don't send me home!"]. Oooops. Caught me in a daydream.

Wow! Tom just asked our bird guy if "all biologists believe in the evolution process over the idea of creationism"? Now I'm not too educated, but I would think this would be the same as asking a Klansmen if they liked whites over Negroes! The man's answers and comments were carefully picked and his sentences were loaded with vague words like "if, perhaps, maybe, might, should, etc." which Tom quickly pointed out to him. He (the bird fellow) admitted that he didn't agree with the creationism idea (at which point I almost left the room), but he didn't disagree, either. A safe, unopinionated answer! The conversation quickly shifted back to birds (yawn). Did you know that there are over 9500 species of birds in the world? Of which 95% are monogamous? I'm so glad I didn't bring my watch!

This is probably a good time to put in a plug for our guide, Basilio. As a child on a farm, he helped his father with the chores like most kids his age. He went to primary school (or secondary; K-6). Later, in Iquitos, he finished the upper grades of schooling. Somewhere along the line he got married and fathered four children. His goal was to become the tourist guide that he is. However, this took another four years of formal education. After two years, he was ready to give up because of the financial difficulties of raising a family and trying to school himself. His wife insisted that he continue and she helped out by selling cosmetics. That's about it, in a nutshell. He is very intelligent. He has never left his country or the immediate area he lives in.

Well, we backtracked from ACEER to Napo Camp via hiking trails with our twenty-five pound packs on our backs. We endured the rain and mud once more. Then, after a brief rest, we joined the rest of our group and set out by boat down the Rio Napo, hung a left on "Interstate" Amazon, then back to Explorama Lodge (the main camp). Uh-Oh. (It's raining out once again). Not much scheduled before dinner. After, though, we had departing announcements. We are having breakfast at 5:15 (that's A.M.) tomorrow. Then we leave for Iquitos at 6:00 a.m.

Quite a few "hung out" at the tehuampa (bar) where they were playing local traditional and favorite music. We laughed and said some good byes to those that are staying another week. We packed up our belongings or gave them away. Oh. It's raining again. Good night.

4:00 a.m. Tom wakes me to tell me he's going to take a picture of a snake, which is on the board walk to the bathroom. He said it was six feet long! (That's nice.....I'm going back to sleep, though).

5:30 a.m. It’s dark and rainy. We had a quick breakfast before we loaded the boats for our ride to Iquitos. I said "quick" breakfast because there wasn't hardly anything to eat!

6:00 a.m. Sharp! We're outa here! Up the river for one and a half hours then we loaded onto some busses for a ride to the airport. There we waited for ever to get checked in. First line for tickets. Next they searched the baggage you wished to check. They pretty much messed it all up and let you straighten it out.

One person next to me had a package of premixed Gatorade that the guard punctured and tasted. They apparently are looking for cocaine, as this country produces more than any other country in the world. Tom's hat caused a bit of a fuss. They smelled his tobacco on it and started passing it to each other. Evidently they thought that it was the smell of marijuana. It wasn't, obviously, and we managed to get past this checkpoint. The next stop, they checked our fanny packs and backpacks, cameras, etc. Through the metal detectors and that was about it! They had two dogs sniffing our baggage outside. We finally boarded and took off. (I'm still nervous about flying, especially and old L-1011 like this!).

Touchdown Miami International Airport at 4:30 p.m. (move the clocks ahead one hour). Got our passports checked and stamped (I always get the slowest line!). Next to the baggage claim area. Of course, ours was last. While we waited, Tom told me he left his camera on the plane. The airline wouldn't let him go back on the plane for nothin', no way, no how. They wouldn't even go look for him. They wouldn't even let him file a claim (until Monday!). Big deal. By Monday the camera will be on the black market of Lima!

I took Tom's luggage to the bus while he took care of business. Hauling sixty pounds of luggage to a waiting bus two blocks away isn't exactly my idea of fun. But compound that by adding a twenty-pound back pack, PLUS Tom's luggage, which is about the same, plus a bundle of oars and blow guns and you got a load! Where's the sky caps when you need them?! I thought I'd never make it to the bus! But I did. Off to our hotel. Best Western. Only about a mile away. Off to our rooms.

WOW! I actually went right past the gift shop and resisted all the candy and junk food. However, I did buy me a Diet Coke! Then we had Domino's pizza brought in. I almost didn't eat any. My stomach has been used to bland food all week and to throw pepperoni at it would be almost like culture shock to it. Ooooo! I spotted a water cooler! Couldn't wait to have some. Oh. It doesn't work. Shoot! Oh, well.

I called home. Too bad. Reality sets in. Good news and bad news. Hear tell it rained a little bit while we were gone! Now you have an idea of what we dealt with all week. Oh, well. I'm going to lay in my room and watch TV for a while. I did not miss television at all this past week. It's nice to be in a bed without mosquito netting all over it!

4:00 a.m.: up and at 'em! Rush, rush, rush. Wash up. Load the bus. Shove off. Shuffle through the airport. Load baggage. And WAIT! Find coffee. Ahhhhh! Real coffee! Find gate F-17. Pass through security. Minor problem with some sharp sticks I've been carrying around. Got it taken care of. On to our gate. Wait. Flight leaves at 6:30 a.m. Boarding early. I'm in seat 39-J! "J"!? This thing must be huge! It is. It's a new Boeing 777 with 43 rows by ten seats wide. The "Overwater" model.

Flight time is a scheduled two and a half-hours to Chicago. I think I've taken smaller aircraft from G.R. to Florida and it's taken as long as four hours! This plane is very smooth. Best flight I've ever been on! I took a photo of the cockpit and for a long time it was on a commercial web-site where quite a few people  from all over the world asked to use it.

And the last part of our journey takes us home to G.R. via a Boeing 737. Not a good ride. Bumpy. But, alas, we are home! Can't wait to see the family and sleep in my OWN bed tonight!

Yes! I'd do it all again! Loved it!

END OF STORY     6640 words  

UPDATE: April, 2002- I hear that the owner of the Explorama Lodge now has another lodge in the area which is complete with outdoor pool and hot & cold running water! (Wouldn't that have been nice!)

UPDATE: August 2005- in less than one year it will have been 10 years. It would be fun to have a reunion with everyone that went on this trip. I think it would be neat to see how the kids have grown up! (I know two young ladies that have married since then). If anyone puts together a "reunion", call me... I'll be there.

 © Daniel A. Maly (reprints with permission only)
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