Peruvian Amazonia
by Eugene T. Aldridge, Jr.
From Delta Tale, Vols. 31, #2 &3; 32, #1. Potomac Valley Aquarium Society
Aquarticles
Saturday:
I started out at noon on June 27, 1987 on one of the greatest adventures of my life, going
to the Amazon River Iquitos, Peru to collect tropical fish, by leaving for Dulles Airport.
The first stop was Miami where I was to meet the other members of the group. My flight did
not leave until 2:15 p.m. but I wanted to get to the airport with enough time to get
something to eat, check in, pick up my seat assignment and get out to the mid-field
terminal that United Airlines has at Dulles. I got something to eat at the snack bar as
the sit-down restaurants would have taken too long. My carry-on luggage was a small bag
containing a camera , a 28mm wide angle lens, two pair of underpants (to cover potential
problems during 22 hours of flying or sitting in airports) and three pair of socks. All
the rest was checked in a large cardboard box with two styros or in a medium size duffel
bag. This included another camera, 20 rolls of film and other clothes and extras.
The flight left Dulles on time on time but it was six hours later that I landed in
Miami. A normal flight takes about two and a half hours. We got to Miami on time only to
get caught in the edges of a terrible thunderstorm. We were sent way out to sea in a
holding pattern and were told that the airport had been closed because of the storm. After
circling for about an hour the pilot told us that the airport had reopened for fifteen
minutes but had closed again and he was going to have to land the plane somewhere to pick
up fuel. From past experiences I knew the situation was not serious but the plane could
not continue to circle for an extended period. We landed at West Palm Beach Airport for
refueling and then sat for an hour. A little after 7:00 we left West Palm and arrived in
Miami at 8:00 without further trouble.
A Sky Cap with a wheelchair picked me and my luggage up and took me to the Faucett
Airlines ticket counter to check in get reissued tickets. Originally we were supposed to
go directly to Iquitos from Miami and our tickets had been issued accordingly. However,
two weeks before leaving we were advised that we would have to go though Lima. The Sky Cap
took me to a closed counter and went behind to find a clerk. One arrived and asked me what
I wanted. I told him and he took me away from all the hustle, told me to wait and he would
be back in a few minutes with my tickets. There were people in droves waiting in line for
tickets and seat assignments so the place was a madhouse. The Sky Cap needed the
wheelchair so he found me a chair and left. In about 15 minutes the Faucett clerk returned
with my new tickets and baggage checks and asked me to wait until 10:30 when someone would
pick me up. It was now 9:00.
I did not see any members of my group, so I decided to I should get something to eat at
a nearby snack bar. I ended up with an oversized hot dog and some lemonade. I took my time
and watched all the traffic going to the Faucett counter. A few minutes after I finished
eating I saw John O’Malley, one member of our group. I followed him to the ticket
counter and, as there were no chairs, sat on the floor with many others. Shortly all of
our group members had arrived except Paul Loiselle. There were ten of us going: Chuck
Davis, Lee Finley, John and Jay Stankevitch, Gian Padovani, Wayne Liebel, John
O’Malley, George Fear, Paul Loiselle and me. I watched all the carry-on luggage while
they stood in line. At this point a young lady representing Holbrook Travel arrived to see
if she could do anything for us. During this time Paul arrived. With an hour before the
airplane was to start boarding we went to a nearby bar for a drink. I had a Lite beer and
took my time drinking it as I did not want to spend all night running to the john.
Close to boarding time we walked down to the gate. Luckily it wasn’t far from the
bar. I found a chair though most of them were full. At about 11:30 the started to board
but since I had seat 2C, I was one of the last to get on the plane. The plane was a
727-200 with some 200 seats, all filled. The plane was so full that they asked whether
someone would give up their seat. Not understanding Spanish, I asked Paul what happened
later. I was after midnight when we finally got off the ground. After we had all settled
we were given drinks and a light dinner. They had NO beer but the alcohol was free. For
dinner we had a slice each of cotta-type salami, turkey and cheese with some coleslaw.
After eating I tried in vain to get to sleep. Part was my fault for eating right before
trying to sleep, part was that the seat size and foot room were smaller than I was used
to. Finally, behind me there were and man and wife with three teenage kids. The woman had
been very loud telling the others where to put the luggage in the overhead racks with
particular emphasis on where to put the one with the medicine. Then to make everything
VERY NICE, every fifteen minutes or so one of them would get up to go to the bathroom or
rummage around in the overhead compartments for something for the rest of the night. To
keep from completely going nuts and doing something I should not do, I started to to write
notes, in the dark, on what had happened so far.
Sunday:
A little after 3:00 a.m. the plane landed in Panama City for 45 minutes to refuel. We were
allowed to get off the plane if we wanted. A few did though I did not. Close to 5:00 we
were given a breakfast of croissant with slices of ham and cheese, a small sweet roll, a
fruit cup and coffee. At this point I switched my watch from Daylight Savings Time to
Standard Time. We land in Lima at about 5:10. I was picked up in a wheelchair and waited
for a long time for my luggage. I was then told that some of the luggage had been
off-loaded in Miami as the plane was too heavy. Both of my checked pieces and one of John
O’Malley’s were in the off-loaded group. We were told that it would arrive in a
few minutes as if had been loaded onto a cargo plane that left Miami at the same time we
did. Well it didn’t get there. We were met by a charming lady from a local travel
agency acting for Holbrook. She took care of all the running around associated with my
missing bags then filled out the required forms for me. John and I had to leave our
passports and papers with her so our luggage could be collected and passed through
customs. She took us to the other end of the airport and got us seat assignments for the
flight to Iquitos.
This time the plane was a 737, and I had seat 1C. Luckily no one was in seats A and B
so was able to get some pictures of the Andes mountains. The window was a little dirty and
the sky slightly overcast so the pictures are not the best. The Andes are a range of
mountains, most of them being well over 10,000 feet high. In some parts there are plateaus
at 15,000 feet. During the two and a half hour flight from Lima to Iquitos, we played
Bingo with a top prize of a ticket on any Faucett flight. I am sure there were limitations
on the prize but didn’t hear any. The numbers were called in both English and Spanish
so you had to be careful and listen. The flight attendants on all the Faucett flights were
both men and women and could speak English very well so getting any questions answered was
easy. I was expecting Iquitos to be a small “back-water town” of maybe 5,000
people and was quite surprised to find out that this little “back-water town”
was actually a city of 500,000. Oil had been discovered in the late 1960’s on the
east side of the Andes, near Ecuador’s border, making Peru self-sufficient for
petroleum products. The oil production and all that goes with it caused Iquitos to grow to
this size in a little over ten years.
After landing there was no wheelchair so I slowly walked 200 or so feet to the
terminal. My legs showed the effects of 22 hours in airplanes and airports. Those with
luggage picked it up and we were then met by people from Amazon Camp, the group taking us
on the river. We drove through Iquitos to the waterfront. The streets were TERRIBLE
with all kinds and sizes of potholes, some big enough to swallow a car. Luckily we
didn’t hit any. We saw a lot of cars, trucks, and taxis. Most of these were
three-wheeled bicycles with double seats for passengers, and little one or two cylinder
lawnmower motors. They acted like they were driving big Mack trucks. The traffic was
terrible with no one minding the lights or stop signs.
On arriving at the river, I looked down a 200-foot bank made up of rocks, logs and
dripping water. I figured I would wait for everyone to get down as we had arrived at the
same time as two other Amazon Camp buses. I was told to come on and that I’d be help
down. I had a man on each arm and a third telling me where to put my feet. Under the
circumstances I made it down without any trouble. The ten of us from the U.S. got on the
M/V Margarita at about 10:00 am. At this point John and I asked about our missing luggage.
He said he would do what he could but couldn’t make any promises. He told us it would
cost $200 for a speedboat to find us on the river and deliver the luggage. That was too
expensive for me, and others who hadn’t lost their luggage offered us things to wear.
If my luggage was really lost, everything but the passport could be replaced so what the
heck!!! I found out later that we were talking to the company “worker bees” not
the bosses and was sure that someone would hold on to the passport.
We had been advised before the trip that there was no real need to change dollars to
Peruvian money since dollars were accepted everywhere. I took $70 in ones and another $75
in fives figuring it would give me plenty of small bills. At this point we discovered that
we would have another passenger, Pat, a charming young lady from the company who would
take pictures for advertising materials. Some of the group were a little unhappy but there
was nothing that could be done at that point so we just went along.
Close to Noon we started down the Amazon River with our first stop just outside Iquitos
at the Naval Base. It was necessary for the Navy to check our passports and approve some
collecting papers. Luckily I remembered my passport number and it and my name were put on
a sheet of paper along with the others. A company representative got off the boat and went
to a shack where a Naval Officer was stationed to have our papers approved. In a few
minutes the officer in the shack came down and got on board so I was expecting trouble.
However, in a couple of minutes I saw him leave with a piece of raw red meat. A little
further down the river we dropped off the company man. Now we really set off down the
river where we were to spend the first night.
At this point Alfredo, the company trip leader, introduced himself, the “Tour
Captain”, Manuelo the “Boat Captain”, Moises the Upper Deck Steward, Maria
the Cook and the four guides. We were given a few rules for the road and told how were to
get our drinks and be charged for them. Beer was one dollar for a 16-ounce bottle and soft
drinks in the old-style 7-ounce bottles were fifty cents. It was a local Peruvian beer and
tasted a little sweet to me. The M/V Margarita is a typical Amazon River tour boat, 76
feet long and 21 feet wide. The lower deck is used for embarking and disembarking, storage
for the ship’s gear and small boats. There was a sign on the lower deck indicating
that no shoes were allowed on the upper deck, only flip-flops or shower thongs. An
exception was made for me for which I was very grateful as my brace had become necessary
for me. The upper deck has four cabins with an upper and lower bunk and two cabins with
three bunks. The bathroom facilities are communal with three toilet shower combinations
and three sinks. The rest of the main deck is open. We selected our cabin mates. Paul
Loiselle and I shared a cabin as we had on a previous trip to Costa Rica. Gratefully Paul
took the top bunk so I would not have to climb. There wasn’t much room between bunks,
maybe two feet, so I couldn’t sit up straight.
We are now going down the river at a fairly good clip of eight to ten knots. We passed
by the place where the Napo River comes into Amazon. The Napo is a large, black water
river which shows very clearly coming well out into the Amazon. Until you see these rivers
you have no concept of the size of them. The Amazon River at this point is roughly two
miles wide and some of its tributaries are just as wide. We stopped for the night at a
small village called Oran on the river and tied up close to the bank, no more than five or
six feet. The villagers all came down to see us and the boat. The crew seemed to know all
of them so there was a lot of give and take talking. For dinner we had Pacu in a very
good, mild cajun-type sauce, a local short-grain rice, a salad and fruit for dessert. The
fish had been cut into one to two-inch cubes was very good. I wish I had gotten the recipe
for the sauce, it was that good. It would also have been fun to try at home. We had some
variety of fish at least once a day for the whole trip. Though most of the group got off
to visit or to go for a walk through the forest, I did not go ashore, as the bank was 15
to 18 feet up over rocks and mud. I later learned that the walk was pretty rough even if I
had gotten up the bank. Some of the men stayed on shore for a long time playing a game up
on a field that I couldn’t see. Later on they had a celebration with the natives. The
small children and most of the girls and women stayed on the shore by the boat until way
after dark. They were quite good-looking, reminding me of the Western American Indians.
Paul told me they were from the same stock coming out of South China ages ago and settled
most of Polynesia. The young girls were quite nice looking and in my mind stand up to any
of our girls until their late teens or early twenties, but the hard life they lead takes
its toll early. Most of the homes I saw were up off the ground on piles, with what looked
like log floors and thatch walls and roofs. Most had a covered porch and maybe a window
but with no glass or screen. Some of the houses were fancier than others but nothing like
we’re used to. From what I could see, most were neat and clean.
Everything was quite lush and green giving evidence of a great deal of rain and
moisture. We were now in one of the largest rain forests in the world covering about 2.5
million square miles, equal to the United States west of the Mississippi River. Every
minute the Amazon River system discharges enough water into the Atlantic Ocean to supply
New York City for nine years. The Amazon River is 4,000 miles long and includes a system
of 200 major tributaries. Seventeen of these are more than 1,000 miles long and ten
discharge more water than the Mississippi. The mosquitoes come out about an hour before
sunset and stay for a couple of hours so there was an urgent need for mosquito repellent.
Luckily, someone shared with me. Certain types of mosquitoes carry two strains of malaria
so you have to be prepared. Any doctor can give you a prescription for malaria pills and
something for the ever present and Montezuma’s Revenge. We were advised to eat only
food on the boat, as it was carefully prepared, and to drink ONLY bottled water. The boat
had water that came from the local Iquitos Coca-Cola bottling plant. Alfredo told us they
did big business in bottled water. They would take the local water and do everything to
it: filter, boil, chlorinate and purify it for use in soda. The bottled water tasted even
better than the water we get in Arlington.
About a quarter of a mile upriver from where we stayed for the night there was a small,
black water stream coming into the river. It looked like a nice place to go and collect
fish, but we were told there was not enough time to go there. At about 10:00 p.m. I went
to bed smelling terrible from sweat and mosquito repellent. I am very reluctant to go
around much at night without my shoes so I just went to bed stinking.
Monday:
In the morning the air was HEAVY and wet even without rain. It burned off as the sun came
up. Very early we left Oran and went to the stream we had seen the night before to fill up
shower and toilet tanks on the roof of the upper deck. Then we went down to the Apayacu
River and tied up at about 9:00 am. We broke up into groups and went into various small
streams to collect fish. I went with John S., Jay S. and Paul. Were in a 14 to 15 foot
aluminum boat with a 25 horsepower outboard motor. We ended up in a stream about 45
minutes away from the main boat. The water was a little high so some of the tree roots
were submerged, providing plenty of places for fish to hide. There were broken trees at
the mouth of the stream and the water had a pH of 6.1 and a conductivity of 28
microsiemens (a factor relating to hardness). After going up the stream about 300 yards,
the pH dropped to 5.8 and conductivity to between 8 and 9 microsiemens. We netted and kept
pencilfish, several species of hatchetfish and several species of Apistogramma at each
spot we collected. Our guide caught a beautiful Morpho butterfly that was as big as the
palm of my hand. The top of the wings were dark sky blue with black edging and the bottom
of the wings were paisley. We ended up back at the Margarita in time for lunch. After
lunch the group went back to different streams but I stayed on the boat as I wasn’t
feeling well. Sufficient fish of edible size were caught by various group members during
the morning and afternoon trips to provide food for several days. Included in the catch
were Pacu, Red-Belly Piranha, Cichla ocellaris and a big rainbow colored bass,
one of which weighed well over five pounds.
A night trip was planned to go and look for Cayman. Those going were divided up into
three boats and they left with flashlights. They went off in different directions so as to
have a better chance at seeing Cayman. I don’t know whether they are endangered but
special permits are required to get them out of Peru and into this country. In two hours
the boats returned. All had seen Cayman but some only briefly. Chuck Davis came back with
a baby, about ten inches long. After everyone looked at it, took pictures, and played with
it he released it. While the others were away I took a shower and put on some loaned fresh
clothes. It felt good to get rid of all the sweat and bug repellent. At about 10:30 I went
to bed and slept very well.
Tuesday:
We woke up to a steady rain called a “female rain” by the natives. A “male
rain” is short, perhaps lasting ten minutes. The plan for the day day called for us
to go to the Madre Selva Forest Reserve and Lake Atun Cocha for lunch, returning in time
for dinner. The trip in small boats would have taken more than five hours. The way it was
raining none of us wanted to go. It would have been nice but the rain made it out of the
question for me; I didn’t want to get wet. It rained all morning and very hard at
times. During this time Lee Finley caught about fifteen Red-Belly Piranhas. After Noon it
cleared up so we made plans to go to some local sites.
After Lunch I went with Paul, John S., Gian (John) P. and Alfredo to a new lake-type
area off of the Apayacu River. Paul and John S. went ashore to observe and collect
specimens for an hour. The rest of us went out into the middle of the lake and fished with
rods and reels. Alfredo was the only one to catch anything: six Cichla ocellaris
(10 to 12”), two Chocolate Cichlids (3” and 6”) and two Red-belly Piranha
(6”). At the agreed time we picked Paul and John. Another group stayed close to the
M/V Margarita and using one of the small boats under paddle power went up a small black
water stream. They caught a dozen twelve to fourteen inch plecos. After everyone saw and
photographed them they were given to the local kids that were always around the boat. Some
of the kids were no more than two or three years old and those as young as six or seven
were fishing. At this point I took a shower. Alfredo had told John O. that Maria would
wash some clothes for us if we wanted. We both did so I got some things ready for her.
In the late afternoon, after everyone had returned from the various trips, a great deal
of trading went on. A dirty T-shirt with any sort of design on it was worth a used canoe
paddle. New paddles took a little more. Since I didn’t have any T-shirts, Chuck gave
me one with a St. Patrick’s Day party logo from a North Jersey beer joint so I could
get a paddle. Mine was well used and is a super reminder of the trip. In the end we all
got paddles and some even bought local woodcarvings. After dinner the trading went on.
Another group also went out looking for Cayman. They were successful but brought none
back. My paddle is now dried out and was been painted with poly wood sealer so it will not
crack. They are made out of a type of rose wood and are okay when they are new or wet, but
when they dry they crack and break up. The water around the boat is full of Prochodilus
insignus (red-striped) and P. taeniurus (silver siders, no real color).
There were also many Hatchetfish. After spending a good part of the day in the sun, I went
to bed at 11:00 and got a good night’s sleep.
Wednesday:
In the morning, we left the Apayacu River to return to the Amazon River and then went up
the Oraza River and stopped. We were to go in the small boats across the river to see
birds and water lilies. There was a great deal of walking to be done so I stayed on the
boat. It would have been fun to go but I had to be careful not to get my shoes wet. The
left at about 9:00. The bank at which we were tied was 12 to 15 feet high and it was clear
that the water had been 12 feet or more. The bank also had many catfish holes, many of
them six inches in diameter or more. I was borrowing clothes from the half the group so I
could at least put fresh clothes on daily. The half not helping wore a size too small for
me. Lee Finley was good enough to loan me 5 rolls of film, so at least I could take some
pictures. I spent most of the time getting my notes up to date. In the three days we were
on the Amazon and Apayacu Rivers the water level was dropped 18 inches and it showed on
all banks. Alfredo brought back with him a big blooming lily. We kept it on the table for
a couple days and watched beetles come out of the open flower. Everyone returned to the
boat at about 10:30 so we continued up on the river toward Oran, the village where we
spent the first night. It took three hours to get there.
There were two activities planned for the rest of the afternoon One was a four or five
mile walk through the jungle with some fish collecting; the other was a small boat trip up
the little black water stream we had seen on Sunday. Chuck, John O., Paul and I went in
two boats with Teddy and Hernando as crew and Sandigo as a guide. We went several miles
upstream and pushed and pulled our way through patches of river junk, cane and Morning
Glory. We went by a lot of rain forest jungle so I got to see and be close to the jungle
without actually walking in it. Along the shore we caught and kept Whiptail, Banjo and
other catfish, Apistos in breeding color. We also returned Hatchetfish, Pikes, Piranhas,
shrimp and freshwater crabs. No Corys were found. The consensus of the crew and guide was
that we were about two weeks too early for Corys. While we were in a clearing beyond the
river junk we saw a large bird that we found out later, after looking in a bird book, was
a Opisthovomos hoatzn, a large scavenger. It was quite majestic with its black
feathers and long neck. The noise it made was hard to believe, much like the honk of a car
horn. On returning to the M/V Margarita we had to push and pull the boats through the same
junk. On the return trip it started to rain and we all got soaked. My shoes got
waterlogged but good. Before I forget, I should mention that my cane came in very handy in
loading and unloading the small boats when we close to the big boat. It made for a nice
extra arm (about three feet longer) with a hook to grab with. It was much appreciated by
all. I was also given ALL kinds of help getting in and out of the small boats. About 5:30
I took a shower. With my shoes as wet as they were it took about 30 minutes to get them
back on.
After dinner a small group, Wayne, John S. and John O. went out to find Angelfish.
Wayne was trying to get as many different Angels as he could from different areas and was
trying to figure out what way to cut or nip the fins so they could be separated when all
in one tank. The rest of us stayed on board and settled the affairs of the world. We spent
some time with Alfredo talking about ways to improve the service offered by the M/V
Margarita. We suggested providing tanks or vats for fish that we had needed and
didn’t have or other types of specialized items depending on what type of group was
using the boat. It was all a friendly give and take. We had been told by Holbrook that
there would be tanks to hold the fish but there were none. But this wasn’t
Alfredo’s fault. Had we known, we would have arranged our luggage to hold small
plastic tubs. Considering what I saw coming from Miami, I could have gotten a 50 gallon
tub down without any trouble. I went to bed about 11:00 and kept a pair of socks on to
keep my feet warm and dry.
Thursday:
We left early in the morning toward Marupa Island and the village of Marupa on the Amazon
River in the vicinity of the mouth of the Napo River. It took nearly an hour to get my
shoes on in the morning, they were really wet. Shortly we left the big boat in the small
boats to go up the Napo River. The M/V Margarita continued on toward Marupo. We asked the
local natives if we could collect some fish and after a lot of talking they said NO they
did not want outsiders taking their fish. So we went up a side stream up into a
lake-appearing body of water. I do not know if it was a lake or just a wide place in a
river. We found several good places where fish should have been, but there were none. We
also saw some of the side effects of the recent earthquake in Ecuador. Something had come
down and took the whole side of the mountain with it, breaking and pushing everything flat
to ground. Mud, rocks and trees had been pushed down into the water. The edges of the lake
were a mess with all the junk. This was why the water in all the rivers and streams was
full of so much junk and debris. We went to another stream. Here we used the seine and
caught several fish we had never seen before. The seine was set up in a little stream
(about half as big as Four Mile Run) then the others went up about 200 feet to flush fish
down to the seine. It was not easy as there was a lot of cover over the stream, making it
difficult to even move. After picking the seine clean we packed up and returned to the M/V
Margarita, now anchored at Marupa Village. To save my few clean clothes, I had started the
day out with the wet clothes from yesterday. By the time we got back to the boat,
everything was dry but my shoes. The top layer of them got dry but not the insides. We
could not have asked for nicer weather with the sun out all the time and hot.
The Marupa Village is not on the main part of the Amazon River, as it is only about 150
feet wide at this point. On getting on board the M/V Margarita, I found my luggage and one
of the Amazon Camp owner partners, Al. I thanked him very, very much for bringing my
clothes. We all spent a lot of time talking and he told us what was to happen the next
day. My things were carried up to my cabin, so I went up and started to unpack. Customs
had gone through all of my things and missing was my micro recorder, blank tapes, a
flashlight and a knit shirt. There was really nothing I could do but complain, which I
did. There is no way that something like that could be proved; luckily, my other camera
and film were there. The only item that was very expensive, besides the camera, was the
recorder, which cost $100. I took the two styros and the cardboard box down to the lower
deck and left them for use holding fish. With no tanks or tubs, they were urgently needed
to hold fish. I took an early shower, including washing my hair for the first time, and
put on my own clothes.
I wanted to have Maria was the borrowed clothes, but they said NO. So I just returned
it as it was, dirty. Most went into the village. From what I could see, it was quite nice.
A few clapboard buildings and a few houses still with thatch. With the river bank being
about 20 feet up, the houses were not very far off the ground. Al left in the late
afternoon to return to Iquitos in a speed boat with a 150 horsepower motor. Once started,
it could really move out, doing 40 knots without trouble. After dinner, a local school
teacher was brought on board by Alfredo. Her name was Julie and she was quite
nice-looking. She understood a LITTLE English, about as much as several of us understood
Spanish. John P. and Alfredo provided the necessary interpretations. She left in about 45
minutes. She was interesting to talk to. We found out on Friday from Al that Peru requires
all teachers to spend two years in Amazonia and pays their salaries. All the villages have
schools up to a 6th grade equivalent. The village must provide a free house equal to local
housing and provide them with food. There are regional schools above the village schools.
If the teacher feels a child has the ability to go on, he or she must leave home to go, at
no cost to the family. As the culture is so family-oriented, not too many leave for
further education. We also learned a little about local government here. Their equal to a
mayor is called a lieutenant governor, then the town elders and the teacher. The teacher
is the main recorder after the lieutenant governor. Being able to read and write makes a
teacher a very important asset to the local villages. After the teacher left, some of the
boys went back into town. The clothes came back from Maria. About 10:30 p.m., I went to
bed and slept very well and happy.
Friday:
At 10:30 a.m., we left the Marupa Village for Iquitos. The trip as far as the naval base
was uneventful. This time, the naval officer came down to the boat, I assume to check on
what we had caught and would be taking out of the country. He left the boat and, about 30
minutes later, we docked at the Amazon Camp pier. I left everything I planned to leave
with Chuck in a locked cabin for future use. I told him to do what he pleased with it. Al
came down with several other company people to meet us and get us registered at a local
hotel to spend the night. While we were walking toward the base of the hill we had to
climb, I asked Al if they had been told about my being handicapped. He said yes, they had
been advised and were prepared. He then asked me how I had made out and was I treated
right by the boat crew. I told him I was treated very well and could not have asked for a
better time. I told him that I was not able to go on the walking trips, though I would
have liked to, but I went on the boat trips. During this short walk, I also asked Al if
they had gotten our passports. He said no, but they would call Lima when they reached the
office. They helped me to the top the same way as going down. With my cane in my left hand
and someone holding my right, and someone else periodically grabbing my belt and lifting.
Whoever it was must have been talk and strong, because lifting 185 pounds with one hand is
not easy. I did not see what it was, although Al and his partner were the only ones big
and tall enough to have done it. After getting to the top, we walked across the street to
the Hotel Tuistos, where we were to spend the night. Some got single rooms while others
shared a room. I shared a room with Paul. We were told to be at the company offices around
the corner at 5:00 p.m. We went to our room, where Paul took a quick shower and I washed
my hands and face. Our room looked right out on the officers’ quarters for the local
army detachment. There was a man on the door with a machine gun, so I felt it best not to
take pictures out the window. Many countries get very upset when you take pictures of
their military facilities and airports. We went downstairs to meet the others before
walking around the corner to the company offices. It was roughly two blocks. I was the
last one to be seated. Someone in the group remembered the name of the company the girl
meeting us in Lima had on her name tag. That company was called and they said the same
girl would meet us on Saturday with the passports. We both thanked them very much for
making the call.
The head of the fish department of the Iquitos Institute was introduced, then he gave
us a short talk in Spanish about the local fish. John P. did a very good job acting as
interpreter. I equate the Institute to a college or small university. After the talk, we
went to the Institute and saw a super collection of local fish the department head had
collected in the last couple of days just for us to see. After about 56 minutes, we
returned to the hotel. We were told to be downstairs at 7:00 for the “Captain’s
Dinner”. I was so beat that I just washed my face again and rested, while Paul went
out and shopped. We missed going to the local exporter that was on our schedule, as we
were running late. Had we left the Marupa Village at 7:00 a.m. like we were supposed to,
instead of 10:30, we would have had enough time.
At 7:00 p.m., we walked across the street and down a flight of stairs to a restaurant
for dinner. We all had the recommended fish dinner. It was quite good but did not compare
with Maria’s cooking. The fish was a little overdone for me, but the rest of the meal
was pretty good. During dinner, Alfredo, who sat next to me, was very subdued. He would
only talk when asked a direct question. The cause must have been being with the big
bosses, as he was not that way on the boat. As we were getting ready to leave, those of us
leaving for home the next day were told to be downstairs at 8:00 a.m. ready to go. Paul
and I went back to our room as the stores were closed, so no shopping was possible. Some
of the others went out on the town. The room was nice, considering where we were. The air
conditioner was a problem and took several calls before we got it to work. Finally it
started to work, but a few hours later it froze up and was solid ice by morning. I took a
shower and went to bed. We found out later that the room only cost $11 a night.
Saturday:
We were up at 6:00 a.m. and got ourselves ready for a long day. The sign on the hotel
restaurant door said it would open at 6:30, so we went downstairs at about that time. It
did not until 7:00, and I am not sure if they really wanted to open it then. We had been
told by Alfredo that the papaya juice was alright to have, so we both had it and toast
while Paul had tea and I had coffee. The toast was hard and dry, not like we are used to,
and it was necessary to cut the coffee with hot water as it came in a small pitcher thick
enough to float a spoon. About a teaspoon made a normal cup of coffee for me. As we were
eating, some of the others came down to eat. Before taking our order, the waiter was
insistent on wanting to see our room key. It must have been to charge our room as it was
taken care of by Amazon Camp. I do not remember whether we left a tip or not. On finishing
breakfast, we went to the lobby. Paul told me to sit down and he would get the luggage.
Shortly after 8:00, the van arrived to take us to the airport for the trip home. We all
said goodbye.
On arriving at the airport,. the company people got our seat assignments and our
luggage checked. There was some trouble with the customs agent concerning the fish boxes
that John S. and Jay were taking home. The two boxes were clearly marked “Live
Tropical Fish” so this appeared to be the problem. There were plenty of other boxes
with no markings that were not questioned, so I am sure the markings raised the issue. Had
they been plan, no one would have known the difference. After much discussion, they were
let go. The flight left for Lima close to on time at 9:30. I had an aisle seat again in
the second row. One thing I should mention before going any further: in Peru there were no
loading ramps like we are used to in this country. They use the stair types like we used
30 years ago.
In Lima, I was met by a wheelchair and a pusher. I was taken up to the area the luggage
would come into. It was a good 20 minutes before it got there. During this 20 minutes, I
gave my chair pusher a $2 tip. While we were waiting, the girl from the travel agency met
us. She gave us our passports and said she was glad not to be responsible for them any
more. After all our luggage was accounted for, she took us to a Faucett Airline counter to
get our seat assignments and to check our luggage to Miami. After this, we paid our exit
tax, which was $10 American. On coming through last Sunday, I had seen the windows that
said very clearly that American money was acceptable. This was not true in Costa Rica,
where only local money could be used even though it was only about $2.50 or $3. With this
done, we now had about 20 minutes before checking through on the next step. Immigration
had to see that the tax was paid and to Exit Stamp our passports. John O). decided to stay
close to me and suggested that we go to a gift shop. I liked the idea as I had not had any
time in Iquitos to get anything. We went to one close by that looked interesting. I bought
two T-shirts, two small seven-inch dolls, a metal hanging plate and a tapestry. I used
travelers checks to pay for them. It was at this point that I learned that they do not
give change. Luckily, I was only due $4 out of $60, so I didn’t worry too much
because the salesman had cut all the listed prices for me. I was happy with what I bought,
so I did not push the issue. While my things were being wrapped and receipts prepared for
me, I paid the pusher another $2 tip. We were now ready to get in line to go through and
get our passports stamped. Instead, I was taken behind the line through a side gate and,
after a few missteps by my pusher, everything was taken care of. Now we proceeded to the
loading gate. In a few minutes, an airline employee took me away from the pusher and out
the door we went. Just outside, she asked us to point out our luggage, which we did, then
on to the stairs. I took my time getting to the top as my legs were beginning to feel the
effects of a week on a boat. My seat was 1C with John O. in seat 1B and a young Russian in
seat 1A. I stood up until everyone was on board to keep people from falling over my feet.
We left Lima about on time, close to 1:00 p.m. The plane was nearly full, so there were
a few empty seats. During the flight to Panama City, we played two types of bingo at the
same time. The first was to fill the rows B, N and O with the second to fill the whole
card. John O. won on the first game and shared $100 prize with two other people. They were
asked if they wanted to draw for the total prize and they said NO. A third is better than
nothing. We landed in Panama City for an hour while refueling and to let people off the
plane to walk around. I stayed on the plane and had to use the restroom twice as something
I had eaten had gone straight through me. After this, I had no other problems.
On the flight to Miami, we were given drinks and a light dinner. John did not eat, but
the Russian boy ate it with thanks. We got to Miami Airport about 8:00 p.m. where I was
met by a Sky Cap with a wheelchair. In Miami it is a long walk from the incoming gates to
immigration and customs. The Sky Cap wheeled me onto a subway, up an elevator and down a
long walk. On entering immigration, you see a wall of little windows with people standing
in line behind them to be checked in and a small sign telling U.S. citizens to go to the
right. Down on the right, there is one man who says open your passport to the picture page
and hold it up beside your face. This done, we are waved through. At customs, we had to
wait 30 minutes more for our luggage to get there. When it did come, it was collected and
we went toward the actual checking area. As we approached the gate to this area, a
gentleman stepped out saying he was a customs agent and asked if we were citizens. Could
he see our declaration forms? We gave them to him. He asked each of us separately, twice,
was everything we had to declare on the list. We both said yes, then he asked John about
the fish. After a few minutes, the forms were signed and we were told to go on. We said
“Thank You” and went on. On leaving the customs area, we separated as it was now
well after 9:00 and John had to catch a 10:30 flight to JFK, New York. I was staying in
the airport hotel, as all the flights for D.C. had left at or before 8:00. The hotel is
right in the airport, so you can get there without going outside.
The Sky Cap took me to the hotel check-in counter, where I had to wait some 15 minutes
to get checked in. During this wait, I gave the Sky Cap a $10 tip. After I was all checked
in, she took me right up to my room. I thanked her very much. I then called my daughter,
Susan, and told her I was in Miami and what time I would be in. We agreed they would meet
me in the luggage pick-up area rather than have them come all the way out to the plane.
I went downstairs to find something to eat, but none of the close places were open at
that time of night. So I went to a close-by bar for a beer. I had an interesting talk with
the bartender and at 11:30 p.m. went to my room to shower and bed.
Sunday:
My flight to Dulles did not leave until 12:30 p.m., so there was no real rush to get
anything done on Sunday morning. I went down and asked the bell captain where I could get
something to eat and sit down. He told me a place that was only about 100 feet around the
corner. I went there and the food was pretty good though the waitress service was slow and
terrible. Then I returned to my room and watched TV until about 10:30 a.m. when I called
the bell captain to have someone come up and get my luggage. In a few minutes, a bell man
was there for my luggage. I checked out, then he asked what airline I was going out on. I
told him and away he went, telling me to follow him, which I did at a slow pace. He slowed
down when he found out that I could not run after him. At the United counter he dropped me
off and I gave him a nice tip. The United girl was quite friendly, so we talked for a long
time as she was not busy. I checked everything including the paddle. She said it would
have to be wrapped as it was sharp, so she found a big piece of clear plastic and wrapped
it. I found a chair to sit in and read a book until about 11:30, when I walked down to the
gate area. A little after noon, the plane started to load and it left on time for Dulles.
The two and a half hour flight to Dulles was uneventful and we landed at 3:00 p.m. A
young United girl met me with a wheelchair and took me onto the tram to get to the main
terminal and told me someone else would take me the rest of the way. That someone was not
there, so she took me all the way down to the luggage pick-up area. There I was met by
Richard, my daughter’s new husband. My luggage was picked up, then we went out to the
car and home. About 4:30 we got to my apartment and I was glad to be home. My little bird
friend Molly was very glad to see me. It was good to be home.
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