So my first California visitor came, and I couldn’t have asked for a better guest. My well-traveled and Spanish-Savvy friend from college, Rachel, came to visit me and Jorge. I was so happy to see her at the airport and I don’t think I stopped smiling the entire time she was here. Her infectious laugh and amazing hugs (if you you’ve had one from her, you know what I mean about her hugs, they are the best) made the week awesome. I have a handful of close friends who I would call my sisters and I was so excited to be showing one of them my new home here in Peru.
She came bearing gifts…things that I had really missed/needed. Like Bisquick, corn tortillas, chocolate chips, salsa, towels, ziplock bags, bobby pins for blondes, heavy duty bug repellent, sunscreen, books in English, some other things, and her smile. She was a bit if guinea pig as she was my first visitor. I took her a lot of places I have never been before so there were a few bumps in the road. But thankfully she is an amazing traveler who loves the adventure of uncertainty….and she speaks Spanish 1000 times better than I do…so that helped too.
We managed to do the following things during her time here….
She got a walking tour of the Plaza and the Boardwalk along the river. She also got a special plate of welcome Causa made by Jorge…she claimed it was one of the best things she ate all week.
We went to Pilpintuwasi, a refuge for butterflies and a few animals. We had to take a mototaxi to the Port of Nanay where we were hounded by boat drivers wanting to overcharge us for a boat ride that was supposed to only cost us 3 soles for both of us. Rachel used her charming Spanish to get us a good deal and we headed out on the water in a Peki Peki boat.
We floated on the Nanay to a tiny town/village called Padre Cocha.
So there we were, in the middle of nowhere…and the driver said, “Just walk straight.” Okay great. All we saw was a hill, once we got past that hill we saw a few different paths. We took the one that led us straight, and that dead ended.
So we decided to go back to the beginning and go to the right (which was going against the advice of our driver to go ‘straight’).
But eventually that lead us to a little jungle path barely cleared enough for walking space and a little sign with butterflies on it.
At the end of that path we were greeted by a shirtless man who led us across a bridge to the butterflies and other animals.
We had an amazingly kind tour guide who answered all our questions and taught us a lot of crazy things about butterflies, too bad I don’t remember those facts now, sorry. We also got to see the whole butterfly metamorphis from beginning to end.
And then we got a look at the other animals.
Later that day we went to eat Humitas and Juanes.
We had to take a mototaxi to Plaza Veinte Ocho where we my favorite Humitas are cooked by lady and sold on the front sidewalk of her house. Humitas are a little bit like tamales and they always have chicken inside.
Juanes is made by wrapping rice, chicken, an egg, and olive inside of a Bijao Leaf and a placed on the fire to steam. The result is delicious and it is usually served with a spicy puree of cocona which is a local fruit they use to spice up the dishes.
And of course we had chicha morada to wash it all down whish always ends up turning my tongue purple.
Rachel had the chance to meet our friends Anthony and Marlis from Lima. We all had a meal of homemade tacos together, a game of bilingual Scrabble, a killer game of SPOONS, and some shenanigans in the pool.
A few weeks ago my friend Fio had gone to a place where local university students were working on a Manatee Rescue Project and she had the chance to see the Manatees up close and personal. I knew I couldn’t let Rachel pass up the chance to see them too.
So Jorge got us a mototaxi who said he knew exactly where the place was, and he definitely didn’t. After turning around about 10 times and asking local coconut vendors who looked clueless as to where this mysterious “Manatee Place” was, our driver decided it didn’t exist anymore. Awesome. We convinced him that it did and eventually it was us who found the place obscurely hidden. And it definitely turned out to be worth the journey.
Not only did we get to see the manatees, but we had the chance to pet them and feed them. They were amazingly sweet and cute and soft. I loved them.
I think my favorite part was when we saw big bubbles coming up from the water and one of the research students, who spoke very limited English said, “Flatulence.” We laughed so hard, and his friend repeated the word and they said “No really, it’s good. Good for them, good for him, good for me, good for you.” Why yes it is, I couldn’t agree more.
After the farting manatees we had dinner at the fabulous Bucanero and then we headed to the Plaza de Armas so Rachel could take it all in with it’s night time charm. And of course we took her to Texas so she could see one of our favorite hangouts. And later that night we spotted the King of the Frogs, no visit to Iquitos would be complete without meeting him.
One day we took some time to conquer souvenir shopping and had a little drink up in the Eiffel House. I was scheduled to teach in the afternoon so Jorge took Rachel on a little moto tour of the air base and other parts of the city. He also took her to great place to snap a picture of the sunset. I have to say her results were pretty awesome…
We went to Al Fria Al Fuego. This is a fancy floating restaurant Jorge and I have been waiting for the right occasion to try it out. We decided Rachel was a perfect occasion and we ventured out after sunset. It was an amazing place.
They serve regional food, gourmet style and it was all very delicious.
If any of you all come to visit, I would also be willing to consider you a special occasion and go here with you. I’ll start saving up for your visit.
The next day we went on a Jungle excursion on the Amazon. And it was awesome. Here's the line where the Amazon meets the Itayu River.
Some highlights from the day……we participated in a tribal dance, blew poison darts, had encounters with friendly monkeys, friendly snakes (my favorite), tucans, turtles, alligators, sloths, jungle lodges, spiders, mud, giant lilly pads, a quaint canoe ride in a swamp, and huge hungry fish.
Later that night Jorge cooked lomo saltado and at some point we ended up swimming in the rain. The next day Rachel had to leave, and we were really sad. I miss her and the rest of my girls a lot. I love you guys!
Some things I will remember for my next guest…you have to pay an exit fee, small change is essential for everything, jungle juice is not as good for your body as it sounds, and you really need to keep that little white paper they give you when you enter Peru because you can’t leave without it.
