Cannonballs

Rafael says, "No Piranha, no caiman, no anaconda. You have to forget about all of it."

Piranhas Are Only Dangerous in Hollywood

Muyana Lodge is pretty hard to beat. They run a tight operation and they make sure you see as much of the jungle as possible. On a typical day, you can go on a total of 4 different excursions by boat or by hiking and begin at sunrise and continue into the nighttime. Over the next 3 days, our guide Rafael showed us everything we wanted to see.

One of our first excursions was fishing for piranhas, which I thought was pretty hardcore. Rafael took us off the main river into a tributary where they live. Contrary to popular belief, piranhas do not live in the main channel of the Amazon b/c they don't like the currents or the sediments of the main river. Instead, they prefer the calm black waters of the tributaries which is where we casted our bamboo poles with pork as our bait. This kind of fishing is not your typical fishing where you sit and wait for the fish to bite. Instead, the piranhas bit almost immediately and were very good at taking your bait if you weren't ready to snap your pole at the right time. Needless to say, we went through the pork bait real quick. Our group pulled in several pirannas and once we ran out of pork, Rafael cut up some of the ones we caught and we used them as bait...piranhas are also cannibals, apparently. All in all, we took a total of 6 back to the lodge which were cooked up and served to us for dinner that night.

After each excursion, we were taken back to the lodge for some rest time where we would eat a meal or take a shower...since there was no electricity, we could only take cold showers, which were perfect since it was so hot. After a brief rest period, they would take us out again to see something new.

The same day we fished for piranhas, they took us out to the main channel of the Amazon to swim with the pink dolphins. Even though we had every reason to trust Rafael, we were a little hesitant to swim in the same river that we fished for piranhas in just a few hours earlier. Rafael assured us that, "piranhas are only dangerous in Hollywood".

Once we located a couple of dolphins, we stopped the motor and we all jumped in and Rafael was right. Not only was it free of piranhas, it was refreshing and surreal to swim with fresh water pink dolphins. Grey dolphins are also present along with the pink dolphins. The grey dolphins eventually make the trek back to the ocean while the pink dolphins stay in the river. Though nobody knows for sure why the pink dolphins are pink, we were told it's probably due to their capillaries in the fresh water. The dolphins never got within 30 yard of us but we did float with them along the current while watching them come up for air.

After an hour or so of floating down the river, we were taken back to the lodge for another round of cold showers and dinner. After dinner and once the sun was down, we loaded back into the boat where Rafael told us he was going to catch a caiman, which is like a small crocadile. We loaded onto the boat and made our way down the river again with Rafael guiding us with a flashlight. It was absolutely amazing to watch Rafael use his keen sense of sight to find the caiman in the water...I'm guessing he could see their eyes peeking just inches above the water. He located a few but was unable to actually reel them in. Regardless, it was an experience in itself to boat down the Amazon in the black of night watching a naturalist try to catch a caiman.

Once we got back to the lodge, Rafael already had the next day planned for us consisting of seeing more wildlife and unique vegetation by boat and canoe.

The River

This video is a bit shaky but you can see how folks live in the Amazon.

The first day

Our cabin was so adorable. It was completely protected by mosquito netting and had a comfortable bed. The bathroom had a vessel sink and rain shower head. All the water is pumped from the river and can not be used for drinking water. It had a porch with a hammock. There was no electricity and at night we would be told kerosene lamps would be provided. The lodge did have a generator that we could charge camera batteries between 5-8 pm. We settled in...amazed by everything. Immediately we saw these huge birds from the deck. Yup...VULTURES playing outside our cabin. (see then cooling themselves off in one of the pictures - they do this by spreading their wings. hilarious to us) They are very important to the Amazon as they clean out the river and are respected by the locals. After we unpacked we met our newest guide (and the one we would stay with the rest of the time), Rafael, in the main commons area. He told us to change into our wellies and put on long sleeves and long pants and deet as we were going to go for our first jungle walk after lunch. The food at Muyuna Lodge was incredible. All traditional Peruvian dishes. Lots of fruit, fish, chicken, etc. Very healthy but filling. After filling our bellies we changed and met Rafael. We learned that Jono and Uta as well as two Canadians named Courtney and Brianna would be our small group that went on excursions with us for the duration of the time at the lodge. This turned out to be just perfect as they all were like-minded folk and we clicked immediately with them. Rob and I had thought we were taking an extended vacation....hahahaha. EVERYONE at the lodge was on vacation for a month or more....well...at least everyone who wasn´t American. (did you know everyone in Europe gets 5+ weeks paid vacation!? and in Canada vacation time starts at 3 weeks. I think Americans should reevaluate their work/life time. it´s just not right how much we work) Jono and Uta had been living in London but were on a 6 month honeymoon. yup...SIX MONTHS. They are moving to Zurich after their adventure is over. And Courtney and Brianna were in the 7 week of an 8 week excursion. Amazing. Anyways...Rafael led us straight into the jungle from a path near the lodge. His abilities on locating wildlife is unlike anything i´ve ever seen. i´m still in shock. He could see things from 50 yards away we couldn´t see three feet away. He located most of what we saw with his hearing. He had grown up in the Amazon. Had taught himself English by reading books and Websters dictionary. To be a guide you had to know English on top of being a naturalist. He is 29 years old and had a passion for animals...and the jungle. Almost immediately...literally 30 yards into the jungle...he found about 10 Mosquito monkeys. They are some of the smallest monkeys in the Amazon, about 7 inches tall and 4 inches wide with skinny tails. They get 50% of their diet from the sap of trees. We stood in silence watching them dart from tree to tree digging out sap. We pushed on and within about 10 minutes he stopped and asked us to look at a tree about 20 yards ahead. He had located a tarantula! FROM 20 YARDS AWAY?! we slowly and quietly moved forward for a better look...sure enough...a female was sitting on a palm. She was about as big as my hand. Apparently they are very still during the day and move around a lot at night, their hunting time. They do not spin webs but hunt like other animals. When they mate the female kills the male immediately afterwards (hahahahaha). The males sometime avoid this fate by bringing a large, live but stunned insect with them to mate and she will kill that instead. After learning all about tarantulas we kept hiking. Rafael had mentioned at lunch that some of the staff had caught a brief look at a jaguar near the lodge the week before. This was extremely unusual as they are uncommon even in the Amazon. It was also one of the animals that slightly spooked the locals as it was very dangerous for humans. They nearby village had lost 8 pigs and dozens of chickens to them recently...and they worried about the small children there. The kids often take themselves to the outhouse (the only bathroom they have and a distance from their huts)at night and they worried the large cats would take them down in the night. They are aggressive cats that like to eat, and need to eat a lot each day. Enough of a story to get us all a little freaked. Then he pointed down...there they were! The tracks!!! There had been two and they were fresh...from the morning. Again...amazing. We walked around them, leaving them for the next group to possibly see while hiking. We then stopped at a GIANT termite nest. These were everywhere..hanging in the trees. These were sometimes used by the locals as bug ¨spray¨. ick. Parakeets also would burrow into the nests for their nests. They actually preferred their nests to be in these. Symbiotic nature at it´s best. It was time to learn about all the plants around us and their medicinal uses. Everyone has heard about how the Amazon has tons of medicines..some not even yet discovered...and that is no joke. 40% of western medicine comes from some sort of plant (or small animal) in the Amazon. The first was a huge tree. Rafael explained used his machete (which he carried with him everywhere) to cut into the tree. You may have seen kids from remote areas that have extended bellies...in the Amazon it´s usually because of a parasite that they have that is growing in their stomach from drinking unboiled water. The bark, he explained, was cooked and given to children. this immediately killed the parasite and healed them. He showed us about three other trees and their healing abilities....all that i can´t remember at the moment. At the end of the hike we stopped at the base of a rubber tree. A commodity that used to be very popular to cut down in the amazon...now not so much...at least in the amazon. Rafael again hacked into the tree and let the sap drip. It´s the SAP that is rubbery. Imagine almost dry rubber cement...that is exactly what this felt like. You could pull it and it would snap right back. And then, just like that, we walked back out of the jungle onto the other side of the lodge boundaries. Rob and I couldn´t believe this was just the first afternoon and we had seen so much already. We were SO tired so we looked forward to crashing hard after dinner. Rafael explained that tomorrow we would go fishing for piranhas in the morning and swim in the Amazon near pink dolphins in the afternoon. We couldn´t help by smile all the way back to our cabin. It rained that night...really, really hard. Needless to say we slept like babies and dreaming about the day to come.

Getting to the Muyuna Lodge

Hola Amigos! We have finally reached Internet access again! After trying to sleep on the Lima airport floor for a few hours we were able to get our boarding passes at 4 AM for our 6 AM flight to Iquitos, Peru. We flew Peruvian Air which is a new airline. We later found out (and tried to ignore)that they are currently under investigation for possible cocaine smuggling. Both of us were running on just an hour or two of sleep since Portland, had not taken showers, and were still in the same clothes we left home in so we slept for the first hour of the flight. When I woke up I looked out the window and saw what I had been imagining for 30 years in my mind...the Amazon jungle....as far as the eye can see. Not a human trace in sight. My stomach instantly got the butterflies. I couldn't´t believe we were here. The landscape is so wild and diverse and looked almost prehistoric. Then, almost on queue, the Amazon River came into view. It is enormous and weaves and curves and looks like a snake from the air. I poked Rob as he was still asleep and we just stared at it until they announced our final decent. Iquitos, Peru is a town of a half million in Northeastern Peru close to the Brazil border. It is only reachable by plane or by a multi day boat ride. The airport is on the edge of town so you don´t see much of it from the air. We landed and much to both of our amusement immediately made a u-turn and taxied down the same runway. You don´t see that at O´hare. hardy har har. We exited the plane from the back(?!) and walked from the tarmac to the airport terminal. We passed a couple abandoned planes and multiple helicopters. The heat was intense, as expected, and it was on 8:30 in the morning. It was about 85 degrees and full humidity (and this isn´t even the hottest season!) As promised, our first guide, Mario, was waiting for us. He pointed out the other 9 who would be with us for this adventure. It turned out to be a group of Americans, three from Minneapolis and a couple from Seattle. All friends travelling together. There were also two other couples. One being a woman from Peru and her German boyfriend. We had recognized them from the flight from LA and later found out the German lived in San Jose, CA and his girlfriend was a Peruvian from Lima. The last couple to join the group was an Australian named Jono (pronounced John-o)and his German wife, Uta. They all looked to be approximately the same age as us. Mario directed us to the waiting bus outside and after strapping our bags on the roof we took off. We were amused again as "Turn around....bright eyes...every now and then I fall apart..." (bonnie Tyler's song from the 80´s) blared on the radio. Traci...i thought of you! :-) Iquitos was a culture shock. Actually, that is an understatement. It was a MAJOR culture shock. There were almost no vehicles (car or buses) on the street. 95% were motorcycles. Many with two seater attachments on the back for carrying passengers. They surrounded us, passing in oncoming traffic, carrying babies in one arm and driving with the other. The sidewalks were filled with people selling everything from soda pop to Amazon tree medicines. Dogs, cats, and chickens roamed along side the people. The buildings were a mixture of beautiful European colonial buildings and run down, cinder block homes. Many had thatched roofs. We made our way through he streets to the main office of the Eco lodge. We got off the bus and went inside and paid for the excursion to be and picked out rented wellies.(rubber boots). They assured us these would be needed for jungle hikes. We then made our way to the waiting speed boat. Many children followed us. It was like being the pied piper of hamelin. The boat seated about 12 and was covered. Here, we transferred guides and took off down the Amazon. We passed floating thatched boats, canoes made from tree trunks, small fishing boats, and large house boats that almost appeared as if they would sink at any moment. Everyone smiled as we cruised by and the children waved. The Amazon has the color of chocolate milk. This is due to the sediment that it carries. It is some of the cleanest water on earth, despite its dirty color, due to the lack of human pollution. The main channel is about a mile wide. The ride took about 2 1\2 hours with one bathroom stop in a small riverside village. About two hours in we turned off the Amazon onto a small tributary and at about 12:15 we pulled up to the dock at Muyuna Lodge. Once again, we had to pinch ourselves. This place was a thatched village on stilts. Even the walkways were about 6 feet above ground to accommodate the yearly flooding. As we climbed off the boat we were given juice that had been made from a fruit neither of us had ever heard of. IT tasted a bit like pineapple juice and was very refreshing. We were given a brief run down of meal times and daily activities and then were assigned to our cabins. ok....once again it´s past midnight and Rob is asleep upstairs (this time in a bed! hooray!) and i need to hit the sack as well. We have a lot to share...and will post much more in the days to follow. Hope you enjoy what i can post for now.

Getting to Peru

Portland to Los Angeles. LAX to Panama City, Panama. Panama City to Guayaquil, Ecuador. Guayaquil to Quito, Ecuador. Quito to Lima, Peru. But we actually made all the connections and we are in Peru!

It´s two in the morning and we arrived about two hours ago into Lima. Rob is asleep on the tile floor outside of the internet cafe and i´m about to join him. We had a long 24 hours but are both VERY exited for the adventure to begin at 6 AM tomorrow morning with a flight to Iquitos, Peru with a 3 hours speed boat ride down the Amazon after that. At noon central on Sunday we will be sleeping/napping/relaxing in hammocks in our eco lodge bungalow deep in the Amazon jungle.

Our observations today... LAX is a HORRIBLE airport! (we already knew this but were confirmed after hitting three other countries today) Panama City is HUGE! The Panama Canal (which we followed and saw from the air for about 1/2 hour) is VERY narrow and has a long line of ships...dozens and dozens of them circling the Pacific side entrance waiting to get in. The new canal they are building directly next to it is much needed. So far the people we have encountered are SO friendly. I sat next to a woman whose father was one of the first to habitat the Galapagos Islands permanatly and built many of the roads in the town we will be staying in next week. I also sat next to a Brazilian Olympic soccer star. He spoke little English but was very nice.

Ok - off to an uncomfortable few hours of sleep! The Amazon doesn´t have much in the form of the series of tubes (internet) so our next post will be mid week.

Hope you are having a great weekend! oh - and exçuse any typos. This S.A. keyboard takes some getting used to!

Peruvian Boogaloo

Thanks for reading the next installment of our Travel Blogs!

It's honeymoon time and we're finally heading to Peru and
the Galapagos Islands!

It's our first time going out of the country together so we wanted
to go somewhere exotic where we could experience diverse cultures,
rivers, lakes, mountains, and ocean islands.

We chose Peru and the Galapagos because Meg has dreamt
about exploring the jungles of the Amazon River and Rob has
dreamt about hiking Machu Pichu. Snorkeling with turtles and
seeing a unique world is why we decided to conclude the trip in
the Galapagos Islands.

We're taking a minimalist approach to this trip so we're only
taking backpacks which should be a nice challenge since we're
traveling to some different climates (jungle, mountains, beach).

For the first stretch, we'll be hopping planes for 2 days until
we arrive in Iquitos, Peru, where we meet our first guide (who
we're told is named "Mario") at the airport to take us to Muyuna Lodge
in the Amazon.

He'll take us to meet the speedboat which will take us 3 hours and 90
miles into the thick of the Amazon, where we'll do some jungle exploring
with help of the guides from Muyuna Lodge.

Our next stop will be in Cuzco, which is at the head of the Inca Trail.
The Inca Trail eventually leads into Machu Picchu, where we plan
on hiking around the ruins where Incan Emperors vacationed.

Finally, we'll make our way west off the South American continent to
the Galapagos Islands where we plan on snorkeling, swimming, and hanging out with the local turtles and friends.

Neither one of us has the slightest clue what to expect but we're
ready to go!