Return of the Parasites III

Bloody hell, these parasites are nasty buggers! Just when I thought I was rid of these dreaded parasites, they reared their heads again about 4 days before we were due to leave South America. I am back in South Africa now, and have spent much of the week at the doctors. Good news is, I am finally on the right medicine and the right doses, and my doctor says I will be fine by next week. I did get to have an ultrasound of all my organs so check that the parasites hadn't caused any damage to my liver etc (which they haven't). It was really cool seeing my insides! Hopefully this is the end of it, I am sick of having passengers! I do trust the South African medical system more than the South American one so I am optimistic that my doctor is right!!

Anyway, back to where I left off last time.

We spent the last week of Peru in Lima and then in the Amazon Jungle. The jungle was absolutely awesome! I am glad I decided to take the recommended malaria pills as I lost count when I hit 100 mosquito bites!

On 9 April we left Lima at 3:30am for our flight to Iquitos, Peru (nice and early!). Iquitos is in the jungle, and can only be accessed by river or plane. What I hadn't realised was that half of Peru is covered by dense tropical rain forest. We were met in Iquitos by someone from the lodge we were staying at. He drove us around Iquitos and took us to the lodge offices as we were only due to leave for the lodge at 9:30am. We walked around Iquitos a bit. It was an interesting place - a much bigger city than I had expected. We bought ourselves big plastic boots and then headed off to the Amazon River to catch our boat to the lodge.

It was a 3 hour boat ride up river to Muyuna Lodge. There are about 50 tribes that live along the Amazon River, the most biodiverse region on earth. We were there during high water or rainy season which is the best time for wildlife. At 1pm we got to Muyuna Lodge which is on the Rio Yanayacu, a tributary off the Rio Amazonas ( i.e. the Amazon River).

The lodge was amazing. We staying in a bungalow on stilts in the river, with our own balcony and hammock. The bungalow was wood framed and the walls and ceiling was made from mosquito net, and there was a bit thatched roof above that. So we were literally sleeping outside in the middle of the jungle. The noise from the animals and insects was phenomenal! We had a private guide, Rafael, who did all of our excursions with us. All meals and excursions were included as part of our stay.

After lunch on the first day we went for a walk through the jungle. We wore our waterproof boots and long sleeved clothing eventhough it was really hot and humid. The clothes and mosquito repellent did absolutely nothing to stop the mosquitoes. They literally just swarmed. They even bite you through your clothes, it was ridiculous. We saw some lots of insects and spiders and some really awesome trees and plants.

That night we did a night boat ride. Being on the river at night was probably one of my favourite things. All you can see (without the spotlights) are the stars and fireflies. It's great. The first night we also saw caymans, and Juliet held a baby one but I decided alligators were not for holding!

Our second day was the fullest in terms of excursions. Before breakfast we went bird watching and we saw monkeys. There are the most magnificent birds in the jungle, even I appreciated them! After breakfast we did a canoe ride through the jungle. Rafael was in the front with his machete chopping branches and growth so we could get through the jungle. It was fantastic and so surreal. We saw a snake very close up, monkeys, sloths, rats, spiders etc. After lunch we did a boat ride to see these massive lilly pads, and we saw loads of dolphins (grey and pink ones). That night we did another night boat ride. The most impressive thing we saw that night was a massive tarantula, and we also saw the night heron.

On our third day we went in search of the pre-historic bird, which is the most bizaar looking bird I have seen (it's the size of a chicken and has bright peacock-like feathers on it's head). We then went fishing, and I caught a piranha which they cooked for me for dinner! It was my first (and probably last) attempt at fishing, and I was very proud that I caught a piranha. We took the afternoon off and just relaxed at the lodge. That night we did a night canoe which was a bit scary compared to taking the larger boat. We saw crabs and water spiders, and I had a swarm of night wasps buzzing around me at one point which was a bit unpleasant (luckily I didn't get stung).

Day 4 was departure day. Juliet went out again in the morning to one of the villages and to see more monkeys, but I was pretty ill that morning so I stayed at the lodge. After lunch we did the 3 hour boat ride back to Iquitos. We then took an evening flight back to Lima.

We spent the 12th in Lima, but didn't do too much other than go out for lunch overlooking the sea, and then to see a movie. We had spent 2 days prior to the jungle trip in Lima and had done our sightseeing then.

On both trips we stayed in Barranco, which is on the coast and is right next to Miraflores (the nicest and most trendy part of Lima). We spent a morning in the city centre and saw the Plaza de Armas. We popped our heads into the cathedral and it was really interesting to see the Easter Sunday services. The square was full of police and there was a procession of guards. We walked around the city and also went past the San Fransisco church and monastery and catacombs museum. We ended up in China Town which was an interesting experience. Our last stop was the Plaza San Martin, which is a large gated square with fountains and is very busy. We spent the afternoon in Miraflores, had lunch, walked around the streets, and then walked along the promenade to Barranco.

On the evening of the 12th we flew from Lima back to Sao Paulo in Brazil. It was the most ridiculous flight I have been on. It left at 9pm, was 4 hours long, and with the time difference got us to Sao Paulo at 3am! It took us an hour to get through passport control because the people in front of us didn't have valid visas for Brazil. We checked into the airport Marriot at about 5am and slept a bit. We left at 2pm to go back to the airport. We met Herrie at the airport and flew back to South Africa. We got to Johannesburg at 7am on Sunday morning. They temporarily lost our luggage but luckily found it eventually. We then flew onto Cape Town and arrived about 12:30pm. So it was an epic journey (one I would not like to repeat)!

It's great to be back in Cape Town and I am loving the comforts of home! On Sunday night was Doron and Carla's engagement party at my parents' house. I was so happy I was here for it, although I was pretty zombie-like by Sunday night!

All in all it's been the most fantastic trip, and is undoubtedly the best thing I've done. I am ready to head back to reality though and I am planning to be back in London on 28 April. So this is really the last of the South American trip blog entries. Hope you've enjoyed reading the blog as much as I have enjoyed writing it!