Peru 2001-2002

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001Beach at Miraflores * Lima
After arriving late at night, I was taken to my hotel in Miraflores, a nice suburb of Lima. The next morning I walked down to the mall overlooking the beach.

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002Beach at Mirafloes * 1600 x 1200 * (403KB)

003Plaza De Armas Lima * where I had a late breakfast/early lunch.

I then went to downtown Lima (centro). Lima has a population of 8 million people. I walked around the Plaza de Armas * 1600 x 1200 * (429KB)

004Palace of Justice Lima * (each city in the country has one) and a couple of other plazas. Here's an artsy shot through a fountain of the Palace of Justice (where I assume they have their courts)

Speaking of justice, it was only a block and a half from this spot, in broad daylight, with lots of people around that I was robbed. I felt something on my wrist and looked down to see a man with his hand around my watch. He gave a good yank down and tore the watch off my wrist and then ran down the street and into a building. I was pretty stunned and following after him but wasn't about to go into a strange building where I might get attacked. In fact, the primary thought going through my head was thank goodness that he didn't push me over and grab my pack because it was a lot more valuable than the cheap watch that he stole.

The robber was very distinctive, having long black dreadlocks and a bright yellow shirt, so I thought that I would be a good citizen and report this to the police. They passed me from one person to another until I ended up in a room with several people (not in uniform) at desks with typewriters. One person took my statement and made me give a fingerprint to vouch for what I had said. Then he went and got a couple official stamps and signatures and gave me the form. I asked several times if they wanted a description of the criminal but they just ignored that. So, I got a souvenir but not much else. When talking to a local later, he said that's all the police do is write reports and that they prefer to settle any differences themselves. When I left the area the taxi cab driver pointed out someone else being robbed (at least a policeman was chasing--unsuccessfully--the robber in this case). He also told me about lots of other petty crimes that take place in the city. Welcome to Peru.

The woman at my hotel recommended a place where I could buy a watch and I now have a Peruvian watch (made in Japan) as a reminder of the trip.

That night I had a nice dinner in a restaurant on the beach in Miraflores getting to see a very nice sunset. * 1600 x 1200 * (400KB)

005Amazon River * The Amazon
The next day I took an early flight to Iquitos the largest city in the Peruvian Amazon. The international airport had no taxiways so after landing, the plane turned around on the runway and then went back up to the parking area in front of the terminal. Iquitos has about 400,000 people and no road access. I was met by Willy, my guide for the next several days. We transferred to the Explorama HQ that was on the river and then to a big motorboat for a couple of hour run up the Amazon to the Lodge. Here's one of my first views of the Amazon.
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001Beach at Miraflores

002Beach at Mirafloes

003Plaza De Armas Lima

004Palace of Justice Lima

005Amazon River

007Two Inch Ants * I settled into my room in a big building with walls that only went partly up to the ceiling. You could hear sounds from other rooms but they were drowned out by the sounds of the nearby jungle. There was a mosquito net to sleep under but no walls or anything to stop creepy crawlies from getting into the room.

That afternoon I met the other two members of my group: Ed and Jeremy from Minnesota. The three of us and Willy went on a walk to introduce us to the jungle. The first thing I noticed was the humidity: the temperature wasn't too high but the humidity was intense and we were sweating profusely.

The walk was great and we saw lots of interesting things, such as two inch-long ants (that we were told had a wicked bite)
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008mahogany tree * , mahogany trees * 1600 x 1200 * (473KB)

009red flower * , interesting flowers * 1600 x 1200 * (444KB)

010tree * , and lots of interesting trees.
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011parrots * We also saw two types of monkeys in the distance, a poison frog, tarantula holes, and various birds.

Back at the lodge, we had a chance to interact with the local animals. They feed the parrots (which speak in both Spanish and English).

(two pics)
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007Two Inch Ants

008mahogany tree

012parrots * 1600 x 1200 * (458KB)

013looking into trees * The next day we took another boat ride for another couple of hours to the Napo river, a tributary of the Amazon and the site of the Camp where we would stay for the next two nights. In the afternoon we took a boat ride. Willy showed us a big tree * 1600 x 1200 * (423KB)

014looking out from trees * and then proceeded to have the driver take us into the tree. * 1600 x 1200 * (482KB)

015magic tree * Willy then showed us his magic tree * 1600 x 1200 * (469KB)

016Willy and his tree * and here he is describing the magic power of the tree and the bad creatures (eels, snakes, leaches) that are drawn to it.
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013looking into trees

014looking out from trees

016Willy and his tree

017lake covered with plants * On that boat trip we saw some more monkeys, a sloth, and a bird that has two stomaches.
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018red flower in canopy * The next morning we went to the ACEER walkway, the longest canopy walkway in the world where you can see the tops of the trees and the flora and fauna that are so often hidden from the ground.
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021from highest platform * The highest platform is 118 feet and here are some views from the top.

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022from highest platform * 1600 x 1200 * (424KB)

023from highest platform * 1600 x 1200 * (460KB)

017lake covered with plants

018red flower in canopy

021from highest platform

022from highest platform

023from highest platform

Album last updated on 9/20/05 11:51 AM

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