An Amazonian Queen of the Jungle in the making!

One of the 7 Wonders of the World!

So, this past week I was able to experience two completley different parts of Peru. First, I lived vicariously as an Amazonian Queen of the Jungle in Iquitos, and next I lived vicariously as an Andean Princess hiking up the mystical Incan Ruins of Machu Picchu in Cusco hehehe. AHH! What I would do to be back in both of those places. First, let me sum up my adventurous trip to the MIGHTY JUNGLE! 

Now, when I say I was in the Jungle, I was really in the Jungle people! This was not like your typical camping trip in Nebraska. There were tarantulas, and poisonous frogs and deadly insects. OH MY!   Upon arrival, were were immediately picked up by our terrific tour guide, Neil. Who, later on fell in love with me and my amazonian ways, but don't worry I left our love behind in the Jungle ;) Anywho, we instantly hopped on a bus and zoomed through the town of Iquitos to do some short but sweet sight seeing. We visited a local market, similar to a farmers market, and took a peek at some of the typical products Iquitosieans buy for food. Now, I've been to a farmers market before, but I did not eat a COOKED WORM like I did at this market. Yes, you heard me, a cooked worm! Okay, maybe I ate two by choice, but that was only to help my girl Missy out because she could not hang like me and eat her worm. It's just extra protein right? I could go into detail of how it tasted, but I will refrain for those of you with weaker stomachs :) After the market we hopped back on the bus and headed to our boat which took us to the AMAZON! The boat ride was a little over an hour long and when we arrived we were greeted by the kind staff of Heliconia Amazon River Lodge, which is where we stayed. They greeted us with a delicious freshly squeezed coconut drink.  After, we briefly unpacked and had our first meal. (The meals we had were beautiful! Everything was made fresh right from the Amazon and absolutely perfect!) After lunch, Neil came to tell us about our first excursion into the mighty, mighty jungle! We were going to have some time to rest, and then head out on a boat to do some PIRANHA FISHING! Sadly, I did not catch a Piranha, but I did make a valiant effort with my wooden stick of a fishing pole that Neil had so kindly prepared for me. Neil then spotted some botos, pink river dolphins, and we all watched in awe as Neil did some dolphin calls to get them to come above water. It was incredible! Definitely beats my Sea World sighting of dolphins. We then returned back to the lodge and ate another fabulous meal, which afterward, Neil let us know that we were going to all wake up at good ol' 5 AM the next morning and do some bird watching. 

Bird watching...... at 5 am......Ya..........Right on that Neil! 

It was actually quite amazing. I got to watch the sunrise in the Amazon, what more could you ask for!? Next, was our hike into ZEE JUNGLE! I had three main feelings during this adventure. 1.) My confident amazonian feelings of, LETS DO THIS! 2.) My okay maybe I'm not so cut out for the jungle and 3.) My HOLY SHIT this is real life right now feeling. I'm not for sure if there is an exact word for all three of those feelings because I've come to the conclusion it is indescribable until you feel and experience the jungle for yourself. Everywhere you look there is something new, something new, different and amazing for your six senses to clench onto.  

 This is Neil, our tour guide, who had a slight crush on me. hehe The others noticed first, but it didn't dawn on me until he invited me to look at the stars with him one night. Tarzan just wanted himself a Jane, and clearly I was the best fit out of the group ;) However, our love will remain in the jungle. 

Basically, the rest of the trip was consumed with more sight seeing adventures like this, and our last stop was by far my favorite, The Village of The Yaguans. I could go on for hours about the feelings that encompassed my heart while visiting this village, but instead I'll sum it up in a few short sentences. Upon arrival we were immediately greeted by a few children whom were gleaming with joy to show us their pets. A sloth, monkey, turtle and parakeet. As we were walking through their village, we were greeted by such kind, free spirited souls. One lady even invited us into her home so Neil could explain to us a little bit more about the village. Their day to day activities typically consist of hunting, fishing, and cooking what they have gathered. There are no tvs, no i pads, no iphones, no xboxes, no computers, not even electricity or running water. Just themselves, a few clothing items, hammocks to sleep on, friends, family, and the few necessities they need to survive. The Yaguan children are luckily able to attend school because the government provides funds for them to. However, the likelihood of them moving out of their village and furthering their education is pretty low. The current issue their facing at the moment is whether or not the government should provide them with generators so they can have electricity. Something we as Americans see as a necessity, but to them it's a privilege.  We closed up our time there by hearing a spiritual song by some of the tribal members. We were even able to dance with them and purchase some souvenirs that they had hand crafted! On our way back to our lodge I remembered, it's the simple things in life that matter, like the love we have for one another. Life should not be measured by the things we possess, but should instead be measured by the love and compassion we have and show for the ones we love and care about. Luckily, I was reminded of this that day because of the members within the Yagua village. 

My time in Iquitos may have been only for a few days, but what I felt, saw, and learned will carry with me forever!

NEXT STOP....CUSCO!!!

Whew, one trip down, now one more to go! We all left for the airport bright and early at 6 am and arrived at our hotel in Cusco a little after noon. We were greeted with a coco plant tea, which was to help us with the change in altitude. After, a group of us went to venture off to eat some lunch. Unfortunately, I was feeling a bit under the weather from my previous travels (only 4 of us went to the Amazon and everyone went to Cusco), so I decided to take a nap back in my room while everyone did some sight seeing. The next day we had to be up at 3 A.M. to head to Machu Picchu. After a few bus rides and a train we FINALLY MADE IT! I don't know how we lucked out how we did, but somehow we were able to experience Machu Picchu with no rain and hardly any clouds. Now, this is pretty impressive since it is their rainy season right now. Anyway, thanks to our tour guide, we were able to sight see, and hear historical information about Machu Picchu as well. It still blows my mind how intricately designed the ruins are, and everything the Icans did to build such a mysterious masterpiece. Now I know why it is considered one of the 7 wonders of the world, and why people travel from near and far to see it. I was able to capture some amazing photos, and even now when I look back at them I still can't believe I was there. It's incomparable to anything I have ever seen before! 

The next day we were able to go to the Sacred Valley, which was another incredible sight to see, and steps to climb hehe. We also visited several shops and I was able to improve my bardering skills..woot! The last stop of the day was by far one of the most fascinating things I have ever witnessed! We went to a market that had scarfs, sweaters, blankets, and table cloths, which were all hand made with pure Alpaca fur. We were able to watch these young women and their process of making the Alpaca cloths. The vibrant colors come from herbs and berries. It was so cool seeing how a simple herb can transform white Alpaca fur into turquoise, purple, blue, magenta, ect. It was pretty amazing! These processes aren't simple either. Depending on the type of Alpaca fur, it could take up to several weeks, months, and even close to a year to complete a blanket, sweater, or table cloth. Pretty crazy huh? After they demonstrated their amazing skills, we all shopped around and then headed back to the hotel. 

It was weird for me to think in my head: "Ah, I love everything I've experienced thus far, but I'm ready to be back home and rest." Home: as in Lima not as in Kearney. Oh yeah, did I also mention it's been a little over a month since I've been here. Could someone please press the pause button because my time here is moving way too fast for my liking! Luckily, we have one more group trip planned, and I have plenty of homework that I'm sure will make the time drag on more slowly. :) Well friends, this is it for now! Tomorrow is Thursday, which is our last day of classes for the week, and then Friday I am headed to the beach for the weekend with mi mama and papa! Hopefully I will catch enough sun rays for all you Nebraskians that I'm sure are missing it right now. Until then, hasta luego mis amigas!!!