Our first glimpse of the mighty Amazon occurred after 26 hours of air travel (flights from San Francisco to Miami, Miami to Lima, Lima to Iquitos); followed by a 25 minute jitney bus ride through Iquitos, dodging the thousands of motor cycle taxis, swatting bugs and mosquitoes in the 85 degree dripping humid weather, followed by a 45 minute ride on a flat bottom skiff on the river downstream to reach the Ceiba Tops Explorama Lodge.
The river is huge and fast flowing, moving at 5-6 knots, but relatively calm, dark muddy brown and filled with floating logs and branches.
There are no seasons in the Amazon here so near the equator - they only have the "high water season" and the "low water season". The peak is usually during mid-April and the water will start to recede rapidly now, probably by 30 to 40 feet. It was eerie to see whole trees submerged with only top branches peeking out. The boats only move during the day since there are no navigation lights and the many floating hazards would make it too dangerous.
We had some fabulous skies as it rains 250 days a year here, though we only got rained on once during our excursions.
Tags: Iquitos Peru Amazon Rainforest forest might muddy river 4B4A2402 365: the 2013 edition 365:2013 Day 96/365 Day 96 06-Apr-13 clouds cloudy day
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Also known as the kapok tree or silk-cotton tree, the ceiba trees tower over the jungle.
The Kapok tree is an emergent tree of the tropical rainforests, and is often described as majestic. It can grow to a height of 150 feet or more, towering over other trees in the rainforest. Kapok is the most used common name for the tree and may also refer to the cotton obtained from its seed pods.
www.blueplanetbiomes.org/kapok.htm
Though we only got rained on once during our 4-night stay, our guide indicated that the Amazon experiences a light rain at least 250 days of the year - I assume that it's a "heavy rain" the other 100 days.....
Tags: Ceiba Tops Explorama Lodge Iquitos Peru Amazon River rainforest forest jungle humid hot equatorial high water season wide muddy 4B4A2410 Kapok tree clouds cloudy day mighty mosquitoes silk-cotton
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We were up before sunrise on the 2nd day of our visit to the Amazon for a short boat ride to visit the nearby village of Indiana. The villagers subsist on a diet that is mainly fish (caught in the Amazon River) and bananas & fruit harvested from the nearby jungle. The time stamp in the exif data says 4:13 a.m., but I think it was actually 6:13 a.m. since Peru has a 2 hour time difference from PST.
6 other images from market day are posted in the top comment boxes below.
Tags: Indiana Village Amazon River Basin Peru market day early morning natives bananas fruit vendor sales
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During our trip to the Amazon, we visited a very early morning market at the nearby village of Indiana. No, we didn't buy anything - it seems that refrigeration isn't widespread here - and chicken feet don't appeal :)
Tags: Indiana Village Amazon River Basin Peru market day early morning natives 4B4A2496 chicken feet parts raw fish
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Yes it's a real sloth and not in a zoo either !
One of our unique excursions on the Amazon river trip was a visit to an animal 'sanctuary' where we were able to view monkeys, parrots, a toucan, a snapping turtle, and a boa constrictor up close, not in cages. The boa was slithering all around the floor boards and hissing angrily since they kept poking it with a broom ! That was very unsettling.... The pesky monkeys were climbing all over us and you had to watch your glasses and jewelry so they didn't snatch them! It was described to us as an animal sanctuary - actually I think it's just an entrepreneurial bunch of young Peruvians who catch the animals, hold them in a thatched roof hut, and charge tour groups to come and visit them.
Our boat pulled up near the hut, and we had to walk across precariously balanced planks laid across logs to climb into the hut which is on stilts in the river. When the high water subsides they will be on dry land, but it's still "high water season" in the Amazon rainforest.
The 3-toed sloth was the most fascinating creature to watch. Though you can't see it here, she has a baby sloth clinging to her belly. She moved slowly and deliberately and swiveled her head around observing all the people. A most peculiar looking beast !
Tags: Amazon Jungle Peru river 4B4A2870 3-toed sloth thatched roof hut animal conservatory three toes 365: the 2013 edition 365:2013 Day 97/365 Day 97 07-Apr-13 100+VIEWS
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