Nov 6 - I'm Heeeree

I arrived in Lima last night.  Got to the hotel around 11 PM (midnight EST).  The flight was not bad, but all the layovers were a pain...1 to 1.5 hour flight, then 3 hour layover again and again.  Atlanta airport was the most memorable. They had a couple of fire and rescue guys on bicycles driving around.  Also there was a lady on a segway.  Both gave me a smile.  Also I noticed the people movers were extremely fast, or maybe I´ve gotten slower...probably the latter unfortunately.  Also, I seem to be allergic to the Atlanta airport.  I coughed and sneezed non-stop the whole time I was there.  It stopped within 30 minutes after I left.

  

Bill with Caiman dish



After a short night, I was picked up at 6 AM this morning to catch my flight to Iquitos.  I arrived at Iquitos, and was immediately hit by a wall of heat.  I love it.  We had lunch in Iquitos - I had caiman (alligator family) in a garlic sauce.  It was really good, much better than the crocodile in Australia. Not sure if that's because of the different species or how it was fixed. One of the ladies who arrived with me (there were 7 of us) ordered a turtle dish which I tried - it reminded me of pork, but spicier. I liked the Caiman better.

After lunch I rode in an autocarro (think motorcycle with a buggy built on the back). These and motorcycles make up about 80% of the vehicles I saw on the road.

The Lodge in daylight

Because of boat troubles, we got a late start to the lodge. We got half way there and it got dark. One of the guides shone a flashlight in front looking for logs, caiman, etc. For us to avoid. Another in the back shone his light Aa well. Suddenly I heard small thump and I thought a small rock had hit boat. But nope, a fish had jumped out of the water and hit the guide in the arm - I guess he was attracted by the light. A little later, there was a bigger thump - we'd hit a log. I was sitting next to Barbara, a 70ish year old lady and she commented that she wondered what she was getting into.  Luckily we arrived not long after before anything else could go wrong, just in time for dinner and an early night.

More Tomorrow