Pacaya Samira Reserve, Amazonia
On the road between Iquitos and Nauta ochre red land, light orangish to deep red, sand like icing sugar, so white it hurts the eyes. But don’t get the idea it’s like Mexico or the Dominican. No. The sand shows only in flashes. Low jungle creeps over everything. There is a tangle of brush everywhere. The Amazon river itself is wide, maybe 2 km wide, red, fast flowing. Many boats, dugouts, ferries, fan tails; this is a river of commerce. There are few roads I. This part of the world. The river is the road. We are at the headwaters of the Amazon. Large rivers rush down from the Andes and join here. The Ucayali, the. Maranon and a hundred others whose names I do not know. Different colours of water. The red of the main river, the black of many of the tributaries. The black water creeps back to more secret places, through towering trees, whose leaves fall into the river, decomposing and giving it the tanin from which the color appears. The black water reflects the trees and the skies and all that pass by. It is a mirror. Deeply seductive. The red main channel, the Amazon itself, appears more dangerous. Eddies swirl this way and that, the current pushes fallen logs and eats away at the bank. Dangerous. Right now, mid November, the rains are just starting and the river is rising. We can see on the trees, on the stilts of the houses how much more is to come. Another 10or 12 feet.
Parrot, parakeet, macaw squawks fill the air. Egrets perch along the marshy banks. Turkey vultures settle on the highest branches. Herons, hawks, such a large number of birds. A Secret sloth can be seen, if ones eyes are sharp. Frogs, at night a cacophony of deep, unworldly sounds that come from the tiniest throats. It is not like Africa, with its in-your-face herds of giant mammals. You must have patience and a good pair of bInoculars to see the life of the Amazon.
Swimming in the Amazon ... White limbs beneath the black water, but then, upon further immersion, White slips beneath the black, and PRESTO! Orange. Dark, sultry orange arms and legs. Out further in the river dance the pink river dolphins and the Grey dolphins. Slide up out of the water, knifelike, then gone. You wait with bated breath. Two minutes. There they are again. Two together.
Fishing for piranha. Well, that was a experience. Felt like Huck Finn. Bamboo poles and hooks. Not too much luck but the damn things could eat the meat right off the hook. Nibble, nibble, nibble, then it’s gone. If you throw a banana peel into the river it starts wiggling and wriggling, and then it’s gone. The river is alive.
Jungle walks...hottest I’ve ever been! Interesting plants and trees, frogs, centipedes, tarantula, snakes. Red tailed .... and a baby anaconda! Only about 5 feet long, but nevertheless! Giant water lilies. Huge ficus trees. About a thousand mosquitos.
Visiting native villages. It is nice to see that the villages away from the cities are generally clean and well organized. The women still wash clothes sitting in a dugout canoe, beating the clothes on a rock. But the kids know soccer and can identify famous soccer players.
Spent the morning at a school. There is a curriculum, focused on math and language. They learn their native language and Spanish at school. Each student has a workbook in each subject and that is where I got the idea that there is a standardized curriculum. 34 kids in the class, 2 teachers. Not so bad. Grades 1-6. They sang for us. We sang O Canada for them. Honestly! Twice in one month!
Lunch prepared by a native cook named Maria. Turmeric Rice, chicken wrapped in leaves. Then boiled. Very tasty. Catfish wrapped in leaves. Excellent with a salsa. Also bush meat and Yarrow. Bush meat was a large rodent. Tasted like ham. You can see the start of encroachment of western civilization. Some garbage is starting to lie about. Packaging. Rock music from the sole ghetto blaster in the village. Lights are coming to town. It’s only a matter of time.
Natua, where we walked the market and toured the town via Tuk tuk. Looked very rough by the docks, but that is the way of docks the world over. People were friendly. One young girl offered me and the Bestie sweet potato with a fresh salsa in the Center, but we were cautious as the salsa had been sitting out. Our guide, Edgard said maybe not, but then ate them himself. Haha
