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Day 17

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Firstly, my apologies to all of you for being so far behind on this journal. Now, onward...

Moyobamba was a nice base of operations for a few days. We enjoyed the natural Hot Springs every night and drank what may be the worst bottle of wine I've ever put to my lips.
We also visited some beautiful water cascades around the area. And then it was off to Trujillo where we spent a couple of days taking in a variety of sights, sounds and foods. There, we partook of the tastiest churro ever! Surrounding Trujillo are some fascinating ruins; The Temples of the Sun and Moon, Chan-Chan, etc. You can see pictures of these places in the photo section.

At the end of our visit to this lovely city we boarded a bus to travel overnight to the small town of Huaraz, nestled in the Andes. We arrived there early on the morning of the 17th and checked into a hostel that was conveniently located right next to the bus station. Since we only had one-and-a-half days to see everything we wanted to, we had to work fast. Jana booked us on a tour immediately, which gave us just 2 hours to unpack, shower, and have some coca tea. I should point out that we are not tour types at all. We much prefer to do things on our own, but this was really the most efficient way, what with our time crunch.
The tour did provide some beautiful sights in the Cordillera Blancas, but at the expense of being stuck on an overcrowded bus with a group of 16-year-olds and their very loud and Nazi-like teacher.
Several of the stops along the way were small shops clearly aimed at tourists - the last place we wanted to be.
By the end of the day we were exhausted. Sleep came like a drug (in God's country). We had to be on another bus by 1:00 the following day in order to reach Lima in time to catch a flight to Cusco where we would be meeting up again with Katherine and Christian. In an effort to capitalize on our time we had made plans, just prior to our hellish bus tour, for a horseback ride through the Cordillera Negras. You can see a short video of this here: (link to video)

Of course, nothing is ever easy and this was no exception. We met our host at 7:10 am. He looked a bit of a greasy, used car salesman type, and that assessment proved to be quite right. The private car we'd been promised for our 100 Soles to take us to the horse-riding area turned out to be a bus packed full which made several stops along the way to either drop off or pick up passengers. Needless to say, the 20-minute drive turned out to be something more like an hour.
Finally, we arrived in a small town and were told to wait while our guy rounded up the caballos (horses for you non-spanish speakers). Approximately 15 minutes later he returned and we were herded into the back of a small station wagon which took us to another part of the town 5 minutes away. Here, again, we were told to wait 5 minutes while the horses were located.
Fifteen minutes passed. Then, half an hour went by. Just beyond the one-hour mark, Jana set out to find the greasy guy and give him a piece of her mind. We were running short on time as we had a 1:00 bus to catch and it was now 10:30. We had passed the hour taking pictures and video, drinking fresh-squeezed orange juice, and playing with our bullwhips (always a good time). I did some magic for the local kids.

At long last, our horses arrived! We mounted the two majestic steeds and informed Greasy one last time that we must head back to Huaraz no later than noon in order to catch our bus. He asked if 12:30 was alright and Jana quickly replied that it was not. He agreed; noon.
And off we went for what was a beautiful ride into the mountains. Some of the most stunning scenery I've witnessed. Pictures simply cannot do it justice.
In the midst of all this awe and wonder we exercised some practical thinking and decided it was more than fair to ask for half of our money back since we really did not get what we were promised.
In the latter part of our ride, however, it became clear that we were not going to make our noon deadline. In fact, our horses didn't arrive to their starting point until 12:30. And our host was nowhere in sight. Upon inquiring as to his whereabouts, we were informed that he'd gone back to Huaraz. The horse guy handed us 4 soles and explained that we were to take a cab. Bastards!

Of course it cost something like 20 soles to get back and we were so pressed for time that we couldn't go and fight for our 50 soles as we had planned to do. And, most certainly, Grease Monkey knew it! He knew he could get away with delivering only a quarter of what he promised because we would be long gone before we could do anything about it. Slimeball.

It was a mad dash to pack and make it to the bus. We were just in the nick of time (thank God we were right next to the station). Our boom pole was almost left behind in the flurry. Kudos to Jana for remembering it, as she has done so many times since.

More soon, dear readers...

Louis Fernandez, our driver, and his brother arrived promptly at 7:00 a.m. to pick us up. It was raining.
They packed our bags into the leaky trunk of a well-worn Toyota Corona and covered them with a tarp of some sort. Upon attempting to pay the 120 soles, we were informed that the price was 150. Of course, we alluded to the previous night's negotiations, but they insisted that the agreed-upon price had been 150. Jana then asked how much extra it would cost if we were to have Luis take us to a Qechua village near Tarapoto that we had hoped to see. He said 200, but using her keen, persuasive skills she got them to accept 170.

And so it began.
There is only one road from Yurimaguas to Tarapoto and it is like no other. I've nary traveled a more harrowing path. It is unpaved and wrought with large obstructions and holes, which became massive puddles in the downpour that was going on around us. The road winds along steep cliff faces with more twists than an M. Night Shyamalan film. I sat in the front passenger seat while Jana tried to pass the time in the back listening to her newly-restored iPod. Every time we went over a bump, her head hit the ceiling. Luis was focused and determined, though. He navigated the road about as well as anyone could, I suppose, dodging oncoming trucks every so often with relative ease while staring through a clouded windshield, every so often wiping it down with the t-shirt he'd been wearing previously.
This continued for about 3 hours until we stopped for a bite to eat. Actually, Louis ate and Jana and I shared a large Pilsen beer. Yummy!

At this point, we were only about 60 km from our destination and were anxious to arrive there, but it was not to be. Not yet. A few more dangerous curves and close calls with oncoming buses later, we were suddenly met by what appeared to be an insurmountable obstacle. Directly in front of us was a river, with a rather powerful current I might add, flowing from our right side across the road and then immediately dropping off a small cliff about 3-4 meters on our left, where the river then continued on. As we pulled up to survey the scene, Louis pointed and said, "Perro", which is spanish for "dog". Sure enough, there was a small dog carefully tiptoeing into the stream as if to check its strength to determine if it was possible to cross. Much to Jana's and my horror, and Louis' delight, it seemed, the dog was immediately swept over the falls. We ran into the current to see if he was alright. I was certain I'd see him dashed on the rocks below, but he was nowhere in sight. Then, his little dog head popped up a little ways downstream where he was struggling to get ashore. I ran along the riverbank to try to help, but by the time I got within reach, he was already climbing safely ashore. Good dog.
More vehicles began to collect behind us, all waiting for the water flow to diminish. It was too deep and too strong to cross in our little Corona. We were in danger of stalling or being swept over the side. As I am fond of saying, "What doesn't make you stronger, kills you."
I stepped out of the car and joined several of the drivers under a small wooden awning to see if I could determine what their plan of action was. Via several hand gestures and some broken english (I speak very little spanish; Jana, having spent a year in Spain, is quite fluent), they explained to me that in one hour the water would subside enough to allow us to cross. I replied that I didn't see how that was possible as the rain was coming down harder than ever and that surely the river must be rising.
A few minutes later the driver behind us decided to try his luck and brave the menacing tide. He revved up his car and slowly rolled into the stream. Not even halfway across, the rushing water stalled his 1974 engine and it was up to the rest of us to run out and pull the car back to "dry" land, which we did. I was thoroughly soaked by this time, but I must take a moment to point out that my beaver fur-felt fedora held up in these conditions like a champ. Never even lost her shape! My hat's off to my most excellent hat!
Not long after this, Louis decided it was time to to have a go at it himself. I didn't see how it was possible, but it turns out he was a man with a plan. He swung the car around 180 degrees and it became clear that he was attempting to cross the river in reverse. Louis threw the little Toyota into gear and put the pedal to the metal! Jana guided him away from the falls while I tried to capture the action. At the halfway point, the motor began to gurgle and stall. Everyone was tense as Louis pumped the gas and, finally, the engine sparked back to life. One final thrust and we were on the other side! We all shouted triumphantly as Louis waved his t-shirt out the window like a victory flag, taunting the others with things like "What are you waiting for? Let's go!".
But the moment was short-lived as Louis informed us that only a few kilometers down the road we would encounter an even larger river. Sheesh!
He didn't lie. He also didn't waste any time in trying the same plan that had got us safely across the previous river. This time, however, despite Jana's constant warnings, Louis was driving the car closer and closer to the drop-off and, for a moment, it seemed certain that we would careen over the falls. Obviously, this journal entry is a testament to the fact that we did not.
Now, 6 hours into the journey, we were back on the road, slicker and muddier than ever. Within a couple of hours we reached the town of Tarapoto. Unfortunately , due to the delays, we missed Michael, who had continued on, probably wondering what had become of us. We'd failed to get even a cell phone number or email address, so we lost all contact with him completely. Silly us.

In Tarapoto's Plaza de Armas (a staple of every town and city in Peru), we sat down for a bowl of hot soup and hot coca tea. It was like a little slice of heaven. Too tired and wet and cold to even think about visiting the Qechua village (plus it was still raining), we asked Louis to simply drop us off at a place where we could hire a taxi to Moyobamba. He did and we paid him accordingly.

It was another 40 minutes to Moyobamba, but this time the road was paved, though it was no less scenic. We stopped several times along the way to shoot pictures and video of the surrounding mountains which seemed to annoy our driver, Paco. Eventually, 8 hours from the start of our excursion, we arrived at the Hotel Marco Antonio in Moyobamba. We checked in, breathed a sigh of relief, and headed straight for the natural Hot Springs; a perfect way to relax after our long and arduous trial on the road to Tarapoto.

After 3 nights and 2 1/2 days aboard the Eduardo IV, we finally docked in Yurimaguas, ready to abandon Pilsen beer and fruits of all kinds for something sodium-rich!
The trip was altogether quite nice. Each evening greeted us with one of those masterful Amazon sunsets and we met some interesting peeps.

One, in particular, was a a Korean guy named Michael who was on his way to a very small, poor town (so small we couldn't find it on any maps) to meet with a Catholic Father there. His hope was that the Father might shed some light on his questions about life and its meanings. We decided Michael's story might be worth following with our cameras, so we arranged to meet him in the town of Tarapoto and join him on his quest, should the Father agree to it.

Meanwhile, there were still a couple of days left to go on the boat. Many stops were made along the way to either drop off or pick up items in small villages along the river banks. And, sometimes the boat would simply drift into the bank because the Captain was either asleep or just not paying attention. On at least 3 occasions, hand-carved canoes belonging to the village people were crushed by the hull of the Eduardo as it "docked" against the shore. As far as I could tell, no amends were made for these offenses. I guess that's life on the Amazon. Good times!

And speaking of the Village People, they were a huge hit on the Eduardo IV. I wandered out of our cabin one afternoon, compelled by the familiar strains of "In The Navy". I thought I must surely be mistaken, but a trip to the entertainment area (which consisted of a few plastic chairs, a card table, and 3 old television sets) quickly washed away any doubt. There on the 3 tv sets were the unmistakable images of the cowboy, the cop, the construction worker, and the Indian chief!
I confess, it was a welcome break from the endless chain of Dolph Lundgren, Jean Claude Van Damme, and Sly Stallone movies that were usually filling the boat with their sights and sounds.
ABBA was to follow shortly.

Jana asked the Captain if she could drive the boat for a few minutes and he happily obliged. I think he was thrilled to let someone, anyone, else take over. You can check out some pics of her at the wheel in the photo section of the site.

And, then, Yurimaguas. We piled all of our gear together and made our way ashore. The boat was fun, but it was good to be on terra firma once again. We hopped into a motor rickshaw and made our way to the Hostal where we would spend the night. Our driver explained that his brother could taxi us to Tarapoto (where we were to meet Michael should he call and inform us that the Father agreed to our filming) the next day for 150 soles. Jana talked him down to 120 and we all agreed. The journey by way of taxi was supposed to be 5-6 hours, but he assured us that his brother could get us there in 3. Great!
Then he invited us out to a disco that night. We thought it would be a lot of fun, but were ultimately too tired to go.

We spent the afternoon wandering around town and met a fellow by the name of Orlando who took us to his place and told us all about his work as a guide. He's known as "the man with the monkeys" and it's true; he has several monkeys as well as a baby wild boar. One monkey in particular was a bit crazy (as monkeys should be) and kept leaping onto Jana's head.
Next we met a sweet man who's business was that of building coffins. He worked two jobs for a total of 150 soles (about $45-$50 American dollars) a month to support his family. It was very sad, but they seemed happy. He had a good sense of humor and was very happy to let us interview him. He even dressed up for the occasion.

We grabbed some dinner on the street and then I spent the evening fixing Jana's iPod, and I'm proud to say that I succeeded. Michael called to inform us that the Father was okay with us videotaping their meeting. We decided to meet around noon the following day in Tarapoto and then make the 10-hour journey together to the small town.
Finally, it was off to bed to dream about the next day's adventure.
We had no idea...

Yes, I've skipped a day, and that's going to happen from time to time as we are quite busy. So, all you journal day-skipping haters will just have to bite your lip and keep reading.

This was our final day at Yarapa. Sad to go, but more adventures lie ahead.We spent the morning shooting an interview with Cliver on a boat drifting down the Amazon. It will be used for a short promotional video that I'll be cutting together for them.

After a final delicious lunch with the staff we loaded up our gear and hopped onto the boat back to Iquitos. One hour by boat and 2 more hours by van. We checked into a hotel for the night and busied ourselves with laundry and catching up on emails.

The next day consisted of be-bopping around town shooting photos and video and arranging for our boat ride to our next stop: Yurimaguas.
At the end of the day, we made our way via motor rickshaw to the docks where we boarded our Titanic, the majestic Eduardo IV; a ramshackle vessel of sloppily welded steel and warped planks of wood, slathered in uneven coats of blue and white paint. The lower deck held cargo, animals, and the like, while most of the passengers occupied the second level. Each brings his or her own hammock to sling from the roof, keeping baggage close by. Jana and I wanted to experience the hammock way, but due to concerns about the safety of our recording equipment, we opted instead to get a cabin on the third deck with a lock and key. The cabin was not unlike a very small prison cell, except that it was most likely less comfortable.
We had been forewarned by Victor, from Yarapa, not to consume any of the food prepared on board (which was included in the price of our ticket)lest we should get sick. So, we decided to survive the 3-day journey down the Amazon on a diet of fruit and beer. As Jana is fond of saying, "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger".

More fishing.
Jana and I got a second chance to prove ourselves with a rod and "reel". We actually caught nothing again, but we had brought our Ken and Barbie dolls (mascots for our trip - more on that later) to snap some fishing photos with. The very second I put the fishing rod into Ken's tiny, plastic molded hands, a piranha took the bait! Ken's a natural!

More swimming that afternoon and God knows what else, because my memory is failing at the moment.

We did spend some time practicing with our bullwhips on the grounds. I taught Jana how to crack the whip (she's great) and gave her a lesson in disarming an enemy by holding out a stick and having her use the whip to grap it and pull it from my hand. We can stop worrying about thieves!

Anyhow, it was yet another peaceful, yet exciting day at the Lodge. We will definitely miss this place.

Piranha (pronounced pee-rahn-yah) was the agenda for this day.
The morning began with another trek through the jungle seeking a rare bird from the cuckoo family and the pygmie marmaset, the world's smallest monkey. And, by way of the keen senses of Cliver and Milton, we succeeded at both. It was, once again, our lucky day!

Next was a quick swim in the drink, which is, of course, quite populated with the dreaded Piranha. No worries, though, as they really only attack if there is blood in the water or if there is no food supply. Quite the contrary to what Hollywood would have you believe.

And then we fished! The Piranha weren't biting much, but a couple were caught; not by me and Jana, however. We sucked as fishermen! We actually got most excited when it was announced that there was beer on the fishing boat. Now, that's fishin'!

The Piranahas that were caught were a bit smallish, so Milton sacrfificed then to the local birds for the benefit of our cameras. He did this by jamming a piece of wood into the fish's mouth, calling to the bird, and then throwing the fish back into the water. The wood not only helps it to float, but, presumably, also keeps the fish from regaining its strength and swimming away.

Dinner was served up at 8:00 sharp, followed by talk of politics and ghosts. It doesn't get much more eclectic than that.

Quite a day!
We awoke for a 7:30 breakfast of eggs, toast and fresh fruit with an accompanying glass of juice from the passion fruit and a fine cup of Mate de Coca tea. Delicious.

Then, off to the jungle for a trek. Following our guides, Cliver and Milton, we encountered a number of fascinating animals: birds snakes, monkeys, frogs and insects of all kinds.

I have to say the mosquitoes have not been too bad, really. Nor the heat. In fact, neither are any worse than my home (Orlando, Florida). I'd even venture to say that the humidity is worse in Florida. I've been quite comfortable here most of the time.

At night we traveled downstream to a location where we were afforded the opportunity to witness a beautiful sunset over the main channel of the Amazon. Hard to beat, in my humble opinion.

4:00am. That's what time we arose to catch our flight on LAN Peru airlines to Iquitos. We bid our host at the Alburque Hostel a fond farewell and made our way by taxi to the airport.
Check-in and security were relatively trouble-free this time and a fine ham and chees sandwich was enjoyed by all once on board.

Iquitos is a small city, but can only be reached by boat or plane as it's quite isolated in the Amazon. Upon arriving we were met by Victor, one of the representatives of the Yarapa River Lodge. From there it was an hour-and-a-half drive in a van to the boat landing, where we boarded a small, motorized river boat for another hour-long journey down the Amazon to the Yarapa tributary, finally arriving at the River Lodge.

The Lodge is situated right on the bank of the river and is home to some wonderful people. Our primary host, Cleaver, is a delightful young man whose enthusiasm for the jungle and all of its wildlife is unsurpassed by anyone I've ever met before. No surprise, as he grew up in this place. We were lucky enough to be greeted immediately by a couple of woolly monkeys, two friendly toucans, and a tapir.

After a delicious lunch of barbecued chicken, rice and yuca, we ventured out by boat to look for monkeys, sloths, pink dolphins, and birds of all kinds. Jana and I rode the bow of the boat all the way back, enjoying the view and the wind in our faces and having some good laughs.

Dinner was some of the best catfish I've ever tasted and then it was off to cold showers and bed.
Good times!

Well, here we are... in Peru. It's the 2nd of November and our journey begins in Lima. We spent a helatious, but ultimately fun day traveling from Wilma-torn Ft. Lauderdale, FL, enduring all manner of luggage and security obstacles along the way. We made up for the stress with about 4 glasses of red wine each on the flight. Good times!
We spent the better part of our day here with Jana's cousin, Katherine, and her boyfriend, Chris. They're spending 6 months journeying in South America while providing their medical services (they are both doctors - wow!) for the different organizations that they are teaming up with throughout their adventure. Super-cool!
We all had a wonderful time and I wish that all of you reading this could meet them. Eventually, you'll be able to via some video footage that we'll upload to the site.
We fly again tomorrow morning at 6:10am, this time to Iquitos, Peru where we will venture to the Amazon for a week-long stay at the Yarapa River Lodge.
Stay tuned!