A Day in the Life

I wrote the following in my journal on 5-23.

Today wa s another interesting day. We slept in until about 10, and for the next 3 hours M was on the internet and phone trying to change our flight itenerary so that we can come back to Iquitos after Cusco. It was frustrating. THe first lady he spoke with was incompetent and rude. But eventually we figured it out, and tomorrow we need to call the airline to confirm. Hopefully everything will work out ok!

After that we got a ride from a nice motocarro driver named Tony. He took us to Belen again, and this time we walked around more and looked at what the market had to offer. They have everything anyone here could ever need, from clothing and dry goods to all kinds of meat and food. It is a hectic place, very crowded, with people and kids and dogs running around everywhere in close quarters. The market is 7 blocks by 4 blocks, with bigger shops on the main street. Tony took us to the bottom of Belen, which floods seasonally- the water can rise up to 40 feet. All the dwellings are either on stilts or built on rafts, which are anchored to the ground, and will float when the rains and floods come. It was quite literally a slum. At the entrance to the neighborhood, there was a giant bulldozer, 20ft tall pus hing around a pile of garbage 30ft tall. Tony was with us the entire time- he said if us Americanos were to go to Belen by ourselves, that it would be dangerous, but with a guide nobody will bother us. He took us down to the water and offerend to have some of his amigos take us out on a canoe. We politely declined, and we walked back up t h rough the markey, and Tony took us back to the hotel.

For Iquiteños, knowing English opens up many doors. Tourism is a big industry down here, and one of the most profitable. Both Tony and Raul speak a smattering of English- they know minimal grammar and have a decent grasp on basic words and phrases.What amazes me is the short legnth of time in which it has taken some people to learn English. The most impressive so far has been Johnny, who works at Aris Burger. He has been teaching himself English at home for only 6 months, has his grammar down perfectly and knows a wide variety of English words, much past basic phrases one would need to know working at a restaurant. We talked with him about Peru and the United States, and he also gave us some information about Lima and Cusco. I really liked him, he had a very sunny disposition.

Later that night, we met up with Tony and he went with us to Explosion, a salsa club here in Iquitos. We sat and talked with him some, and Marshall and I got out on the dance floor and had a great time! We were the only white people there. There was a huge band there, complete with trumpets and trombones, all kinds of percussion instruments, and scantily clad dancing girls. We danced until our legs were tired and went back to the hotel after arranging to meet with Tony the next morning to go to Belen again.

Initially I was a little anxious about going to the club, because I am not a club type person and I dont like to be around crowds, but it was open and outdoors under a pavillion, and I enjoyed myself. We went to bed that night tired and happy.

----------------

Tommorrow morning we leave for Blue Morpho. We will be away from phones and internet until next Tuesday, so I will try to update when we get back before we leave for Cusco. Also, we have finalized our trip itenerary. After Cusco, we will head back to Iquitos for another trip to Blue Morpho, and will be returning to the States on July 3rd.

Coming next week- our day on 5-24 and 5-25, along with whatever I have to write about Blue Morpho.

Have a great day and be thankful for what you have!