Just Checking....

So here I'm just checking to see if this sucker works. If so, I'll be blogging away (like the lame-ass that I am) once I get to Iquitos. This will chronicle my diet (always fascinating in the jungle) and adventures (well, my diet is kind of adventurous) in Iquitos, Peru. That's it. Here's a map.

A quick information session about Iquitos: It's located in the Loreto Department (kind of like a province or state), which is the biggest department in Peru. Loreto makes up 1/4 of the country geographically, but it's the least populated of the 24 departments. It's the largest inland port in the world. You can drive an ocean liner from the other side of Brazil (on the Atlantic Ocean) to Iquitos on the Amazon (also called Ucayali and a few other names) River. Iquitos has been in business since the 17th century, but it really got cooking during the late 19th century when the rubber boom was, well, booming. Now it has a population of about 400,000 and there's electricity in about one third of the city. The major industries are logging and petroleum, but there's plenty of tourism too. It's a pretty great city but because it's effectively an island (it's surrounded by rivers) so you can only get there by boat or plane. Also, there aren't too many cars. Almost everyone drives motorcycles or scooters, and the taxis are basically motorcycles with rickshaws behind them. Below is the heart of Iquitos at the Plaza de Armas. Here's the famous Iron House that is made of iron (go figure) and was imported from France. You can see some of the motocarros, or motortaxis that
are all over the city. They're pretty noisy but it only costs one and a half soles (about .30) to take them almost anywhere in the city. A really nice thing about Iquitos? Ice cream. It's everywhere, on every corner and it's good. It doesn't taste the same as our ice cream, but a lot of it is made from whatever fruits are in season, so you can get all kinds of yummy flavors. Oh, and there's this whole section of town called Belen, which means Bethlehem, and it floats. That's right, Belen is a floating
city. All the houses and stores and everything are built on rafts that float on the Amazon. It's pretty rad, but you can't go there at night. You'll definitely get mugged or beat up, or you'll just fall in the water. It's an extension of this HUGE market where you can get just about everything you need. For those of you who know me, you know I'm a sucker for markets. Since I'm a packrat and I love random things, the market is like my dreamland. Piles of flip-flops, fruit, toothbrushes, hammocks, nails, rice...the list goes on. Whatever you need, you'll find it at Belen. Anyway, just some background info on where I'll be. I'll post pictures as I take them, and don't forget to check out my flickr account for lots of photos - http://www.flickr.com/photos/cachondeo45/
OK, I'll keep you posted. Ha. See you!

ps. For those of you who are Werner Herzog fans, you know the movie Fitzcarraldo? Well, it was filmed in and around Iquitos. You know when Klaus Kinski goes to the top of the church tower? That's just across the street from the Iron House. I've been to mass in that church a few times. Oh, and there's a Fitzcarraldo street. I'll be sure to take a picture and post it. Just thought you might be interested.