Greetings from Iquitos, Peru!

Hello everyone!

First of all, let me apologize beforehand for any punctuation, spelling, or grammar mistakes. This keyboard here at the hotel is very old and all the buttons dont work correctly. Usually I type in a way that would make an English teacher happy! The following blog is not up to date, I wrote it on 5-22 but I will be catching up soon. So here goes.

So far, this has been one of the most interesting and exciting experiences of my life, and M and I have only been here for 2 days, with many more days to come. I am very blessed to have the opportunity to come down here and experience life in Peru. On Monday we will travel out to Blue Morpho to partake in 5 ayahuasca ceremonies, all in the span of 9 days. After that we will travel to Cusco and see the sights there (including Macchu Piccu) then head back to Iquitos for another round with the shamans. I hope the ayahuasca will help heal me of the negative karma and past traumatic experiences that I have gone through in my life. Suprisingly, I am not too anxious about this at the moment. Back home I was anxious about it, but ever since I got on the plane my resolve was solidified and my faith stregnthened. I feel at peace with my decision to go do this.

Iquitos is a different world from any I have ever seen. It is third world down here. There is trash all in the streets, the people are poor, but everyone seems very happy. The vibe here is so friendly that I feel like I could walk around by myself and I would be safe. I wouldnt though!

Yesterday we arrived early in the morning, after spending the night at the airport in Lima. There were 2 or 3 broken down moldy, rusty, rotting airplanes sitting in the grass next to the runway. We got a taxi to the hotel, checked in, and then went out and got some pizza at a local spot down the street. There are limited options down here for us vegetarianos! After that we went back to the hotel for a much needed nap. Later, we went and ate at a place called The Yellow Rose of Texas, which is owned by a Texan guy that moved here, married a Peruvian woman, and set up shop. I was scared to go at first, because M told me that Hamilton (a shaman at Blue Morpho) said that a bad witch operated out of there. Luckily, we left unscathed. We walked around the Plaza de Armas for the rest of the day, looking at everything and getting snacks when we were hungry. I tried some good juice (jugo papaya y pina) abd ate fried yuca and fried platanos. We went to bed a little early, as we were still tired from spending about 15 hours in transit here.

The primary mode of transportation in Iquitos iis the mototaxi, or motocarro, a three wheeled cart pulled by a motor bike. There are very few cars here, though many people do own their own motorbikes. The roads are very chaotic, nobody stays in their own lane, and people and dogs are constantly crossing the streets. It seems like one must have a big amount of bravery to drive in this city.

Today when we were leaving the hotel, we befriended a mototaxi driver named Raul. who offered to cart us around for the whole day. He was so helpful and friendly. He took us to an exchange house to get out dollars exchanged for soles, then back to the Yellow Rose for breakfast, where I had the best pancake ever!! It was cooked with platanos. The owner told us it is a Texas recipe! THen we went to the Blue Morpho office to pay the rest of what we owed them, and I got to meet Hamilton and Mimi for the first time. Mimi is Hamiltons apprentice, and so is Daniel, who runs more of the day to day operations. We were talking with Daniel and inquired about the witch at the Yellow Rose. He said she had died this past year so they went and cleaned out the place, so now it is safe.

Then Raul took us to Bellavista, a suburb of Iquitos and the launching point for the Amazon and Nanay Rivers, so we could catch a boat to go down the Amazon to see the Butterfly Farm. We actually didnt end up making it there because first we went to 2 other places suggested by Raul. We went to a *zoo*, which was more of a series of huts built over the water, where we saw and got to touch and hold monkeys (one tried to look up my skirt!), sloths, snakes (an anaconda!), and alligator, turtles, a jungle rat (which was more of a large pig type hairy mammal=, and some nocturnal tree dwelling mammals. It was great! We took lots of pictures.

After that Raul and the boat driver took us to see some Bora Indians do some dances. Unbeknownst to us they were topless- men and women! It was awkward at first, especially when they made us dance with them, but I ended up having a lot of fun. We bought some jewelry and a wall hanging from them and then got back on the boat to Bellavista. Then we went to the Belen market to purchase some mapacho, which is jungle tobacco. It is very strong, much stronger than Virginia tobacco, but it is smooth and it tastes good. From a shamanistic viewpoint it is wonderful- it is said to keep away bad spirits and clear the air and ones body of negative energy. Shamans here smoke it all day every day! Raul then took us back to tthe hotel.

Later, more food. Ah, I have fallen in love with Peruvian cuisine. They serve some American and Chinese things as well, but with a Peruvian flair. Aris Burger, a place loved by locals and tourists, has the BEST ice cream I have ever had. We got a banana split, and the vanilla tasted like actual vanilla, the fraises like actual strawberries, and the chocolate like actual cocoa. It beats Blue Bell and Ben and Jerrys by far. We walked around some more and went shopping, smoked mapacho, and hung out near the water.

Tomorrow night I think we are going to go to a salsa club But who knows what lies in store for us... whatever it is, I cant wait. It will be wonderful.

For more information on ayahuasca and the retreat I am going to, here are some interesting articles to check out-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayahuasca
http://bluemorphotours.com/
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/0603/features/peru.html
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/travel/5746130.html
http://travel.nytimes.com/2004/09/12/travel/sophisticated/12ST-PERU.html