It's time to say goodbye to Cusco...we spent 2 days there. They have FAAAAABULOUS shopping and are famous for their silver !!
I could have/would have spent a week there just looking in their shops !
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Just quickly....must share that we wandered into this AMAZING shop...
GALLERIA LATINA
Textiles, Jewelry and Pottery in the Andrean manner
and I was blown away by their handcrafts...very high end....very Peruvian. These Retablos by Claudio Jimenez Quispe include themes of everyday life – harvests, markets, and fiestas.
I was transfixed by these pieces. Retablos such as these have achieved status as important heirlooms passed on within families that symbolize protection, fertility and healing.
They are also sold as art.
so...of course I had to buy one...
The term retablo traditionally applies to a broad variety of religious images which are painted and sculpted over much of Latin America.
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So..we say Goodbye to the Plaza de Armas
This plaza has always been the center of Cusco, but it was originally much bigger than it is today and was it was surrounded by beautiful Inca palaces and temples.
Lots of important ceremonies were held here and many historic events took place here during the Spanish Empire. I'm sure we all learned about Pizarro in our school history classes and how he conquered Cusco. Did you also know that several famous people were executed on the Plaza de Armas? Hmmmm!
Now we're back to the airport and off to the jungle.
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IQUITOS
We arrive in the bustling town of Iquitos, the largest city in the Peruvian rainforest. The city can be reached only by airplane or boat.
Check out the mode of transportation.
The Lenster was feeling right at home with all the motorcycles!
and then...WE BOARD THIS 'BUS'...OMG!
no windows...just wind blowing in your hair and face the entire ride.
passing a school
now you're really beginning to know you're in a different world then what you're used to..
this is kind of when I began realizing that for the next few days make up, blow dryer and flat iron were words I wasn't going to be using !!!!
although most of South America is Catholic here is an interesting fact about Iquitos that I learned from checking it out on Wikipedia. (see below)
Among the unique communities formed by the 19th-century rubber boom immigration was that of Sephardic Jews from Morocco. Many of the men married Peruvian women and made families in Iquitos. They established a synagogue and the Jewish Cemetery. By the end of the 20th century, four or five generations later, most descendants were no longer practicing Jews. In the 1990s, a descendant of a Jewish settler undertook serious study of the religion and began to revive Judaism among his family, friends, and other Sephardim descendants. After years of study, with the help of a sympathetic Conservative rabbi in Lima and another from Brooklyn, New York, eventually a few hundred people learned and practiced and converted. (Conversion was necessary as their mothers were not Jewish.) Many of the converts emigrated to Israel under its "right of return" policy.
(below) taking a little 'siesta' during the workday
Iquitos was known for its rubber industry throughout the rubber boom decade beginning in 1900.
Iquitos attracted thousands of immigrants from around the world, mostly young, single men who hoped to make their fortunes in rubber.
so...we board our boat to head to
THE AMAZON
The Jungle
The Rain Forest
our first night is at a lodge that has electricity and even WiFi (wifi only in the main dining area).
Trying the local fruit picked right off the tree.
2,700,000 sq miles of JUNGLE
Wasps and other insects ate this tree out
poison tree frog...yes...poison!
iguana high up in a tree
Large banana leaves are used to make the roofs for their houses
washing their clothes in the river
Now, here comes the SCARY PART....they DRINK the water straight from the river...no boiling...
The rainforest likely formed during the Eocene era
and I kid you not...when they call it the RAIN forest they mean it....at ANY given second the skies can open up and pour for 2-3 hours at a time. It really cools everything off.
it's a damn good idea to carry those silly plastic rain slickers with you.
and then...just like that..rains over !
so...next we went fishing for Piranha
the boat pulls up to a semi secluded area on the river and the guide shows you how to bait the hook and make the little puddle to fish in and how to swish it around to attract the fish.
first sign of a nibble you quickly pull up the line
SUCCESS !!
the guide strings them up to take back to the lodge
and, right after they are caught and still breathing they are very aggressive toward other piranha...as he demonstrated here
the fish are brought back to the lodge, fried and served for dinner
OK....why lie...I wouldn't eat it !
OK...so..if you thought all this was exciting wait till you see the rest of the Amazon....
see you tomorrow...
