Day 1-Amazon River Cruise

After the 16-hour flight from NYC, I arrived in Iquitos with a fellow educator, and the timing couldn't be anything but perfect! We were welcomed by the morning sunrise!🌞
1st thing in the agenda was the 9-hr river cruise. It was a good way for me to have the sense of the place before we dive into the real business of field work tomorrow.
We took the 'tuk-tuk' to the market and met up with our guide, who gave us a brief preview of the tributaries in view- Nanay river and Itaya river, both connects to the Amazon river.
From there, we took the boat and made our 1st stop to meet up with an indigenous group. They marked our faces with the paint from the annato 'atchuete' seeds. Welcomed us with a song and dance. It was my 1st real sweat of the day!😅
Then we headed off to visit the Monkey Island - a place that helps rescue and rehabilitate monkeys before they are brought back in the wild. I had the 1st hand experience with the monkey, literally and figuratively.😅
The place is surrounded by gems. One just needs to pause and look. My senses were overstimulated with the different plants, insects, and fungi that I saw. The sounds of insects and birds surrounded me that i forgot the sound of silence. I was the forest' way of telling me to be quuet. It was a beautiful feeling. 💕
The remainder of the day was a stop for lunch and a visit to another indigenous group. There,we got invited to shoot a poison dart using their traditional tool. It was fun!
Heading back was another treat. The boat ride was a way to wrap up the day. The view of the trees with the water mark that looked like they were painted, the complex roots that tells a whole lot of story of how I The sun was calmer, the cool wind blows to dry the sweat.
I may have ended my 1st day dirty but with a big smile and heart filled with much appreciation of this wonderful place called the Amazon.Read more