Cuenca -> Tarapoto -> Yurimaguas by Land
The marathon journey from Cuenca, Ecuador to Iquitos, Peru has finally ended. In total, we spent 3 days and 2 nights on various buses and camionetas (small pickup trucks) - a whopping 38 hours and 45 minutes! Predictably, there is not too much to report. We were able to watch the first leg of the UEFA cup matchup between Liverpool (Phil´s team) and Barcelona (the reigning champions) over a few beers in the waiting room of a bus station. Liverpool managed to eek out an upset victory on the road!
I have an upcoming date with the world´s most dangerous road in Bolivia, but I think that I met a close relative on the way from Tarapoto to Yurimaguas. The government has been working to pave this section of road for the past two years, but a 40 km section remains in disrepair. This section is narrow, winding, and rough; it took us over 3 hours to navigate it, although it was during the night! At one point, I looked out the window at where the shoulder of the road should have been, and instead saw only darkness. After poking my head out further, I saw the tires mashing the small one foot high mound of loose dirt that was the sole barrier between our camioneta and the sheer dropoff. I remarked to Sam, ¨If we roll off this road, we´re going to die.¨ He just grinned and nodded in assent.
Yurimaguas -> Iquitos by River
It had been a place of darkness. But there was in it one river especially, a mighty big river, that you could see on the map, resembling an immense snake uncoiled, with its head in the sea, its body at rest curving afar over a vast country, and its tail lost in the depths of the land. And as I looked at the map...it fascinated me as a snake would a bird...the snake had charmed me.
-Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness
After one day in Yurimaguas, we boarded the Eduardo III for a 3 day cruise up the Rio Huallaga to Iquitos. This certainly wasn´t a pleasure cruise; the boat functioned more as a river bus and hauled all sorts of things besides people, as my pictures should confirm. However, my time on the boat was quite relaxing. I spent most of it lounging in my hammock, occasionally reading or writing in my journal. The slow pace gave me some much needed time to digest recent events and think about the future. Mostly, I thought about the jungle.
Unlike Charles Marlow, I have always been frightened of the jungle. Thoughts of the jungle conjured up visions of ferocious creatures, biting and stinging insects, fever, sickness, and death. So although my body was swinging lazily in a hammock, my imagination was running wild. I would close my eyes and immediately fantastic visions would pierce the darkness: a jaguar, black as the night itself, hungrily licking its chops; a giant anaconda hanging menacingly from the treetops, eyes ablaze and fangs glistening; the almost inaudible buzz of poison arrow darts volleyed overhead. Yet it was no longer terrifying to me. In fact, often my thoughts would inexplicably wander to Africa, the true heart of darkness, and I would regain consciousness with the full awareness that it will be my next travel destination.
Yurimaguas.
Hamacas.
I hope you guys like sunsets...
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