Puerto Maldonado - the adventures continue
Day 2, Saturday
I wake up early. The rain has stopped and I am hungry. In the dining area, I ´m brought breakfast alomst immediately - fried egg. I´m not fond of egg, but given the choice, fried is the way I´d eat them, so I tuck in and enjoy.
Have decided to head the the Explorer´s Inn offices and announce my arrival and, you know, check if they´ve heard of me. They have and I´m immediately made to feel welcome by Vanessa ("Banessa") and Sonia. Vicky (another Resident Naturalist, or RN) will be arriving soon and she will tell me everything and show me around town. Sonia is very friendly. It turns out we´ll be room mates. She´s very happy about this and keen to practise her English (I say that´s cool so long as I can learn Spanish!). She assures me we´ll be the best of friends, although she´s sad I´ll only stay for three months – for her that´s a short time. I settle down to watch bugs bunny in Spanish and wait for Vicky.
Dark-haired and brown-skinned, she looks almost Peruvian herself but greets me with a warm Northern accent (she´s from the Lake District). She fills in a lot of the gaps (read “gaping crevices”) I have out being a RN and about the lodge in the rainforest where I´ll be spending most of the next 3 months. I feel much more assured about the whole prospect of being here for so long now.
Vicky and Pati (a Peruvian, one of the guides for the Explorer´s Inn lodge) have rented rooms in town in the same place and we head there to drop off some off their things. Then we grab an ice cream (1 Peruvian Neuvo Sol, or about 30p). I choose Araza (a local fruit of some kind), and am well-rewarded for my daring – it´s delicious! We sit for a while in the Plaza (the main square – see photo from previous blog) and watch the world go by.
Later on Vanessa, Pati (who is leaving to head home to Cusco and then finish her degree in Lima), Vicky and some other guys from the office all go for lunch. They very kindly ensure that I get some veggie food. It´s chips, fried cheese and salad and quite delicious! We have big jugs of some deep purple fruit drink to wash it all down with. The conversation at the table switches readily between Spanish and English, facilitated by those who speak both for the benefit of those of us who speak only one. The atmosphere is relaxed and friendly and I feel absolutely welcome and included.
After lunch I go with Vanessa to the markets. Whilst she´s buying vast quantities of plastic bags for the lodge, I take the opportunity to discreetly gawk at the huge displays of exotic fruits and vegetables on the stall opposite. I can recognise many – pineapple, avocado, probably papaya, but there are many more I´m not sure about or have never seen before. I´ve been warned about eating fruit from street-vendors as it may be washed or grown in dirty water, but someday I´m going to have to try these things! The transactions at the market seem fairly straight forward with no sign of extensive haggling which is reassuring as I´m not sure my English upbringing allows for too much arguing about price.
I make my way back to the hotel, having declined Vanessa´s suggestion of a scooter-taxi as too scary. I enjoy a nice, cool swim in the pool. The caress of the water against my skin feels like heaven, and the lack of chlorine means I can swim underwater as much as I like. Happily, it´s sufficiently overcast that I don´t need to worry about sunburn. In fact, it´s so overcast that within a few minutes of getting into the water, it starts to rain. If you swim on your back under the water (holding your nose!), then you can watch the raindrops from underneath. It´s very pretty, but you really need goggles to get the best effect. I manage to get out of the pool and under shelter just before the heavy rains begin in earnest.
Everyone´s arranged to meet at 8pm in the Plaza (on the far side of town to my hotel) and I take a leisurely walk across town (it´s 6 km according to the guide book, but takes about 20 mins walking slowly in the heat so I don´t think it´s really that far). Once there, it turns out that not everyone else is. Several moto-taxi (rickshaw thing) rides across ton later to collect various people and we´re all enjoying a quick meal of chicken and chips. Ok, just chips for me, but I get to try Inca Kola. It´s a vivid yellow fizzy drink which tastes oddly familiar. I eventually realise that despite the fluorescent colour and bubbles, it tastes like vimto! Then we head to the off-license (license? Ha!) next door where rum is as expensive as fruit juice and make our way back to Vicky´s room. The rum and sprite is readily shared around as well as the mango juice I opted for. The store-keeper gave us a plastic glass with each purchase (Vicky only got her keys this afternoon) and these are passed around the room in a very sociable manner. Rum with lemon and added sprite is surprisingly nice and run even goes well with mango! Hamay (?), Vivky´s boyfriend, and Pati´s boyfriend (whose name I don´t yet know) are keen to ensure that all the girls (5 of us) drink rum. Neither speak English but it´s hard not to communicate where rum is involved and we get by on smiles and gestures and a few shared words.
Eventually the rum is gone and everyone is off out clubbing (or to a bar, I´m not sure). I have already made my apologies for being a Wus and still very tired, so make my way back to the hotel. As the 6 of them pile into two moto-taxis (you can fit 3 people in the back of each), I decide to brave a scooter home. The guy riding the one hailed looks sufficiently mature and responsible and the alcohol has relaxed me. I find I can easily hold on to the back with one hand and feel perfectly safe. I enjoy the coolness of the night air on my face and the gentle leans into the corners. This was not terrifying at all, but great fun! A the hotel, the guy tells me I´m a good passenger (ok, he could have said anything, but that´s what I choose to believe) and I try to explain that that was my first ride on a motor bike!
I go to bed feeling much, much more relaxed and far happier than yesterday. It´s surprising how much the look and feel of the town has changed in just one day. Being shown around and watching how things work has made me see Puerto as a friendly, welcoming town rather than the scary, somewhat dirty unknown it was yesterday.
Still to come… waiting around and a new exploration in cuisine – vegetable soup…
That´s your lot for now as I´m getting bitten by evil midges and it´s time to go home and get the insect repellent out!!
I wake up early. The rain has stopped and I am hungry. In the dining area, I ´m brought breakfast alomst immediately - fried egg. I´m not fond of egg, but given the choice, fried is the way I´d eat them, so I tuck in and enjoy.
Have decided to head the the Explorer´s Inn offices and announce my arrival and, you know, check if they´ve heard of me. They have and I´m immediately made to feel welcome by Vanessa ("Banessa") and Sonia. Vicky (another Resident Naturalist, or RN) will be arriving soon and she will tell me everything and show me around town. Sonia is very friendly. It turns out we´ll be room mates. She´s very happy about this and keen to practise her English (I say that´s cool so long as I can learn Spanish!). She assures me we´ll be the best of friends, although she´s sad I´ll only stay for three months – for her that´s a short time. I settle down to watch bugs bunny in Spanish and wait for Vicky.
Dark-haired and brown-skinned, she looks almost Peruvian herself but greets me with a warm Northern accent (she´s from the Lake District). She fills in a lot of the gaps (read “gaping crevices”) I have out being a RN and about the lodge in the rainforest where I´ll be spending most of the next 3 months. I feel much more assured about the whole prospect of being here for so long now.
Vicky and Pati (a Peruvian, one of the guides for the Explorer´s Inn lodge) have rented rooms in town in the same place and we head there to drop off some off their things. Then we grab an ice cream (1 Peruvian Neuvo Sol, or about 30p). I choose Araza (a local fruit of some kind), and am well-rewarded for my daring – it´s delicious! We sit for a while in the Plaza (the main square – see photo from previous blog) and watch the world go by.
Later on Vanessa, Pati (who is leaving to head home to Cusco and then finish her degree in Lima), Vicky and some other guys from the office all go for lunch. They very kindly ensure that I get some veggie food. It´s chips, fried cheese and salad and quite delicious! We have big jugs of some deep purple fruit drink to wash it all down with. The conversation at the table switches readily between Spanish and English, facilitated by those who speak both for the benefit of those of us who speak only one. The atmosphere is relaxed and friendly and I feel absolutely welcome and included.
After lunch I go with Vanessa to the markets. Whilst she´s buying vast quantities of plastic bags for the lodge, I take the opportunity to discreetly gawk at the huge displays of exotic fruits and vegetables on the stall opposite. I can recognise many – pineapple, avocado, probably papaya, but there are many more I´m not sure about or have never seen before. I´ve been warned about eating fruit from street-vendors as it may be washed or grown in dirty water, but someday I´m going to have to try these things! The transactions at the market seem fairly straight forward with no sign of extensive haggling which is reassuring as I´m not sure my English upbringing allows for too much arguing about price.
I make my way back to the hotel, having declined Vanessa´s suggestion of a scooter-taxi as too scary. I enjoy a nice, cool swim in the pool. The caress of the water against my skin feels like heaven, and the lack of chlorine means I can swim underwater as much as I like. Happily, it´s sufficiently overcast that I don´t need to worry about sunburn. In fact, it´s so overcast that within a few minutes of getting into the water, it starts to rain. If you swim on your back under the water (holding your nose!), then you can watch the raindrops from underneath. It´s very pretty, but you really need goggles to get the best effect. I manage to get out of the pool and under shelter just before the heavy rains begin in earnest.
Everyone´s arranged to meet at 8pm in the Plaza (on the far side of town to my hotel) and I take a leisurely walk across town (it´s 6 km according to the guide book, but takes about 20 mins walking slowly in the heat so I don´t think it´s really that far). Once there, it turns out that not everyone else is. Several moto-taxi (rickshaw thing) rides across ton later to collect various people and we´re all enjoying a quick meal of chicken and chips. Ok, just chips for me, but I get to try Inca Kola. It´s a vivid yellow fizzy drink which tastes oddly familiar. I eventually realise that despite the fluorescent colour and bubbles, it tastes like vimto! Then we head to the off-license (license? Ha!) next door where rum is as expensive as fruit juice and make our way back to Vicky´s room. The rum and sprite is readily shared around as well as the mango juice I opted for. The store-keeper gave us a plastic glass with each purchase (Vicky only got her keys this afternoon) and these are passed around the room in a very sociable manner. Rum with lemon and added sprite is surprisingly nice and run even goes well with mango! Hamay (?), Vivky´s boyfriend, and Pati´s boyfriend (whose name I don´t yet know) are keen to ensure that all the girls (5 of us) drink rum. Neither speak English but it´s hard not to communicate where rum is involved and we get by on smiles and gestures and a few shared words.
Eventually the rum is gone and everyone is off out clubbing (or to a bar, I´m not sure). I have already made my apologies for being a Wus and still very tired, so make my way back to the hotel. As the 6 of them pile into two moto-taxis (you can fit 3 people in the back of each), I decide to brave a scooter home. The guy riding the one hailed looks sufficiently mature and responsible and the alcohol has relaxed me. I find I can easily hold on to the back with one hand and feel perfectly safe. I enjoy the coolness of the night air on my face and the gentle leans into the corners. This was not terrifying at all, but great fun! A the hotel, the guy tells me I´m a good passenger (ok, he could have said anything, but that´s what I choose to believe) and I try to explain that that was my first ride on a motor bike!
I go to bed feeling much, much more relaxed and far happier than yesterday. It´s surprising how much the look and feel of the town has changed in just one day. Being shown around and watching how things work has made me see Puerto as a friendly, welcoming town rather than the scary, somewhat dirty unknown it was yesterday.
Still to come… waiting around and a new exploration in cuisine – vegetable soup…
That´s your lot for now as I´m getting bitten by evil midges and it´s time to go home and get the insect repellent out!!
posted by Naomi | 1:30 PM
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