By Luke, on May 5, 2011, 6:00 am
Gosh I’ve been a busy little bee! I am completely cream crackered! It’s a bit of a struggle to remember everything but I will do my best to fill you in on the highlights.
We spent a few days in cusco before the inca trail. Supposedly relaxing and resting but as per usual we ended up walking around for miles and miles. The historic centre of cusco is really nice. It feels like it’s just a small town within a city. The only let down is that you cannot walk two steps in the centre without being hassled by someone to buy something. Obviously I understand they are just doing their jobs but after 4 days of it, it was driving me nuts! We had a guy selling paintings which Luke showed some interest in so he followed us for about an hour. He even sat outside a cafe An Email Home, Cusco and the Inca Trail
By Luke, on May 2, 2011, 12:35 pm
After taking the boat to Iquitos from Yurimagus we caught the plain back and headed for Ecuador from Tarapoto, this journey took us 1.5 days but could easily take 2 and maybe 3 if their where problems with the roads.
Tarapoto to Jaen, Peru
We caught the bus direct with the Fernandez bus company, ask moto taxi to take you to Terminal Morales in Tarapoto. The bus passes through Pedro Ruiz, so if you wanted to get to Equador from Chachapoyas it would be no problem, moto taxi’s go from one block past the market in Chachapoyas to Pedro Ruiz. The bus from Tarapoto to Jaen took us 10 hours and cost 40 Soles.
Jaen to San Ignacio, Peru
Our bus arrived at 3 in the morning and we where able to stay at the bus depot until 5 when the town woke up. From terminal in Jaen we Peru to Ecuador, Boarder at La Balsa
By Luke, on April 28, 2011, 3:57 am
48 hours ago I was sat watching the Amazon rainforest fly bye on the speed boat destined for Iquitos thinking back to when I used to dream about the place as a teenager. It’s almost exactly how I imagined it, the river is huge and brown, tree line varied and never the same and although I can’t hear it now the sounds are deafening. I was leaving and the moment of reflection was poinient.
43 hours ago we ha arrived at a local bar in Iquitos to grab something to eat and for a drink to celebrate completing 2 weeks volunteering for amazon cares. Not wanting to stay out late due to our long days of travelling ahead we tried to only stay for a couple of drinks. Finally hitting the pillow at 4 in the morning we where grossly unsuccessful.
36 hours ago we said our farewells to 48 hours of change, The journey from Peru to Ecuador
By Luke, on April 23, 2011, 12:17 am
After a chat with our guide I retreat from the amazonian sun to the Amazon Cares mobile clinic. I am sitting in the back of a large single roomed house raised on stilts in order to deal with the amazons massive change in water hight of up to 12 meters. The back of the room where I sit is scattered with a couple of kennels and the four tables, all of varying hights which occupy the other half of half of the room serve as surgery, treatment and medication tables.
We are in a small village called Mazan about a 15 minute moto taxi ride from Indian which is 39km down river from Iquitos. Around 10 years ago the population was around 1000, today the population is between 5 and 7 thousand. The main reason for such rapid growth is the construction of a road from the Iquitos to Indiana. People from Mazan, northern Peru’s Amazon jungle
By Luke, on April 21, 2011, 3:23 am
Arriving at Ceiba Tops lodge i cant help but feel conflicted. Is this the jungle experience that I wanted when i planned to come to the amazon jungle? One thing i am sure of is that this is not what i had ever imagined. Its no surprise to me that a place like this exists but i never thought i would have the opportunity to stay here.
For the past 4 nights myself and the rest of the AmazonCares Volunteers have been staying in what i would call more than adequate accommodation. Arriving at Ceiba Tops you immediately realise that it is on another level. Air con, hot running water, concrete path ways, Jacuzzi and pool are a dead give away. As we got off the boat to take a shortcut overland between the river Napo and Amazon one of the other volunteers was obviously looking forward to our Conflicted in the Amazon Jungle
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