Day 4 - Travel to Lima
Today we say goodbye to Ceiba Tops and the Amazon River. We have a nice breakfast at the Lodge. They served French toast today with syrup made from pure sugar cane. It was thick and black, but very tasty.
A local Shawman gave us a presentation on local plants used for medicinal purposes. It was very interesting. The jungle provides so many cures for everything from kidney stones to exezma
Local Shawman
He showed us how each plant is used to cure or alleviate medial issues. One plant has a stem that looks just like a very venomous snake. Ironically the root of this plant is the anti-venom needed to save the life of the person that was bit.
There was also a mixture he called Dragons Blood. It is red like blood, but when rubbed on your skin it turned white. It is used for bug bites, antiseptic and many other uses. I ended up buying a bottle. Sandy also purchased a bottle of lemongrass oil used to aid in sleep.
One bottle had a mixture of plants used as a hallucinogenic. It is called Ayahusca. He only uses is with other Shawman.
After the presentation, he did a ceremonial blessing on us to rid us of negative energy, then gave us henna like tattoos using the juice of a plant that would stain our skin for up to 10 days. Sandy got a humming bird, I got a piranha.
Piranha tattoo
Hummingbird Tattoo
German took Amy, Sandy and myself for a quick hike to the pond we had visited last night. No sign of the turtles or electric eels, but we did see a large orange and black scaled fish, called an Arapaima Gigas. German said it is one of the largest fresh water fish in the Amazon. The picture below is from the internet. I was not able to get a good photo of it on my iPhone.
Arapaima Gigas, the Giant of the Peruvian Amazon.
We took out last boat ride on the Amazon and returned to Iquitos. German had a bus waiting to take us to the airport. I am still amazed ant the number of Tuk-tuks on the roads. I saw maybe three cars, a few busses and hundreds of Tuk-tuks.
Tuk-tuks filling the streets.
German stayed with us and made sure we all made it to the gate. He was a great guide for this trip. I would highly recommend him!
We had a two hour wait for our flight so I tried a local soda called Inca Kola.It was a little too sweet for me and tasted like bubble gum.
Inca Kola
We had in interesting flight. Just as we were taking off, the pilot slammed on the breaks before we left the ground. I have never had anything like this happen on a flight. They turned the plane around and we returned to the terminal. We were not sure what happened or if something was on the runway. We did find out that a cargo door was not latched properly and a warning light came on. They were able to fix it and we took off again.
We arrived in Lima and were met by people from Odyssey at baggage claim. They loaded us into a bus and took us to our hotel for the night.
The Westin Hotel & Convention Center
Tonight we will be staying at The Westin Lima Hotel and Convention Center.
After checking in, we went to find a place for dinner. There was a Chinese restaurant called Ming Yin near the hotel That was recommended. . Greg and Alba were also heading out, so we joined them at the restaurant.
Ming Yin Chinese Restaurant
Ended the evening with cocktails in the lobby bar of the hotel.. They had a Peruvian Gin called Intira made in Cusco. I had to try as I do love my gin and tonics!. I really enjoyed the flavors. They even served it in a proper gin and tonic glass garnished with an orange peel.
Intira Gin.
