Friday May 31, 2024
Today is our last day in the Amazon. After breakfast, we met Francisco for a hike and tour of the Muyuna Botanical Garden. We were ready at 7:15 with our rubber boots on, and we went searching for more Amazonian critters.
We crossed a stream and looked high and low. An anaconda had been hanging out here a few weeks ago, but he’s gone now. Phew. Since I inherited a pretty healthy fear of snakes from my mother, I’m happy we don’t see one. Francisco told us a story about an anaconda that fell or dropped into a person’s boat. The snake capsized the boat, and so the man and anaconda struggled in the water together, with the anaconda trying to constrict the man. The man bit the tip of the tail of the anaconda because that is the most sensitive part of the animal. (That part I Googled – it’s true) The snake released the man, but since the skin of the snake is toxic, the man’s teeth eventually fell out.
I can’t find any evidence online that the skin of an anaconda is toxic to humans, so maybe it’s just an Amazonian urban legend. One thing is for sure. We left the Amazon without any Anaconda sightings, and it’s probably for the best.
We continued our hike, hoping for sightings of some new creatures. Maybe an armadillo? Francisco shows us a burrow or nest, and even pokes around some possible hidey holes to see if we can spot one, but no one appears out of the holes.
We continued on our hike. We saw some toxic mushrooms, which Nathan thought were edible, so we laughed and decided that he would never survive in the jungle. He can’t even catch fish!
We do see some far off capuchin and spider monkeys and a few Blue and Yellow Macaws flying and squawking overhead.
We do see a lot of trees, and Francisco gives us some seeds to keep in our pocket that are supposed to keep us safe as travelers. We see a rubber tree and play with the dripping rubber.
Towards the end of the hike, we walked into the Muyuna Botanical Garden. Francisco shows us yuca, corn, fruit, and medicinal plants in the garden. He shows us the ayahuasca plant and explains the ayahuasca ceremony traditionally held with the guidance of a shaman. He also paints our face with the seeds from the achiote plant. In his village, this would be a way to welcome newcomers or visitors.
At the end of the garden tour, we walked back to the lodge. It was only about 10:15 or so, but I needed to shower, and we also needed to pack up and get ready to leave on the boat.
It’s a little sad to be leaving here, knowing our Peruvian adventure is coming to an end. Once packed, we set our bags in the dining room, checked out of our room, and paid our bill for the happy hour drinks and binocular rental. We still have quite a bit of time before lunch, so we eat some local fruits, enjoy a last cup or two of coffee, and look at the books about the Amazon in their lodge library. We also find Francisco to say goodbye and get one last photo.
Lunch was ceviche, chicken strips, plantain chips, fried veggie pancake, and pineapple. While we were eating, the boat from Iquitos arrived with the day’s new guests. They were shown the ropes and sat down to lunch and we hopped on board the boat to leave. Bittersweet.
There were four couples leaving today, including us, and a few lodge employees accompanied us as well. We made the 40-minute boat journey down the Yanayacu and then down the Amazon. At the port, we carried our luggage across the wooden plank bridge again and then up a short hill to our awaiting van. From there it’s an hour and a half through the countryside to the Iquitos airport. Three of the four couples get out at the airport, and we are all on the 7:05 flight to Lima.
We had a pretty long wait at the airport, and no one was working the LATAM bag drop counter yet, so we just waited. Eventually, people show up and we ditch our bags and walk through security. It’s just more waiting until our flight, but we sat at the airport cafe and had dinner.
Our plane arrived, and we got on board our flight to Lima. We left a little late, like 30 minutes, but I noticed LATAM never said our flight was delayed. They just changed the time of the flight to 7:30. You’re never late if you just change the departure time I guess!
The flight was uneventful, and we got into Lima around 9 pm. I had arranged for our Lima hotel to send a driver to get us, and he’s there waiting with my name on a sign. For once on this trip, that part worked as expected!
We grabbed our bags and hopped into the car. The Lima airport was still as busy as ever, and there’s still traffic getting around the city, even though it was nearly 10 pm. It took about 40 or more minutes to get to our hotel, Casa Porta in the Miraflores district of Lima. It cost 80 soles for the ride, or $21.60 US.
Once we arrived, we got out of the car, paid the driver and checked into our room. We’re pretty tired, so we went to bed pretty much right away. We have a day of Lima sightseeing tomorrow and I have nothing planned for it!
