Iquitos

I arrived in Iquitos today and was overwhelmed with emotion—I´d forgotten how much I adore this type of setting. I was in love with the jungle as well as its main city at the opening, Manaus, in Brazil. The two are very similar. And the streets of Iquitos evoke such strong memories of Bali that I felt like I was going to either cry or explode or giggle my head off. The smell of exhaust and smoke and food in the streets and trash in the alleys, stray dogs, rickshaws and motorcycles everywhere (piled with families), and so much commotion. It may not sound nice, but it has an odd homey feeling to it…with all the warm people, it´s hard not to feel an intimate connection to it all…it helps that I was wearing a crazy hat, flowers around my neck, large earrings, and was with a pack of other clowns (literally). Everyone was hugging and greeting us on the streets and wanting to take pictures. This is the groups 4th clowning trip to the town, and they have done fabulous work in the community—painting homes, building community structure, teaching skill workshops, bringing cheer, and fostering education and leadership in the youth. Oh my, me encanta.
So indeed, I met up with Rachel S today. We finally united at the airport and it was a glorious reunion full of kisses and stories of our solo adventures. She rode a bus 7 hours east to Huancayo, which is in the mountains, to visit her old weaving teacher and the clinic she volunteered at. I stayed in the dirty, gray, capital city of Lima. Lima is daunting with its bajillions of people, carros—the vans that drive around and pick people up and drop them off everywhere, it´s like an incredibly fast-moving, swerving, taxi-bus packed as full with people as possible. It´s not uncommon to have a stranger basically sitting on your lap, or to hold something for your neighbor who has an armload of groceries, or perhaps their child.
So far, I have had a very interesting time…the first night I crushed my plan of slowly re-introducing meat and bread into my diet (I´m vegetarian and allergic to yeast), as well as avoiding fresh fruits and veggies until my stomach was acclimated. Well immediately upon arrival to my new friend’s home, we feasted on salad (lettuce being the hardest thing to wash), and sangrecita sandwiches, which of course were on bread and from what I gathered, are made from chicken´s blood (sangre) and potentially parts of chicken. Yum Yum. The same for breakfast in the morning. But fantastically enough…my stomach is fine, however I have quite the rash from reintroducing the yeast after being yeast free for an extended period of time. They eat bread with everything…. And on the note of food, I have discovered the wonders of Chifa, which is Chinese-Peruvian food. The Chinese were brought here as indentured servants to work on the sugar plantations, and now there is large population of Chinos, as they are called. Chifa is very similar to our Chinese food but in my experience has been more greasy and of course with out the American fortune cookie…I have to say we have a better rendition for the latter reason. Other things I have tried include: Inca Kola, the soda of Peru…it tastes like bubblegum, but is an electric yellow color. Pepino, a tasty apple-sized fruit you can buy in the street carts. Granadilla, a slimy, seedy fabulous fruit, you eat in one gulp…peel it open and let it slide down your throat. Pisco sour, Pisco (the Peruvian liquor, or as Pepe, my friend´s husband called it Peruvian tequila), lime, sugar, and raw egg white (I figure…why not? My stomach seems well cultured at this point, and it´s apparently a saying in Peru that one should drink Pisco to disinfect your system). Papas Huancayina, potatoes smothered with a creamy delicious sauce (potatoes are the national food).
As you can see, my new family treated me well. Vilma has 8 brothers and sisters, all with kids, and they all took me in (I slept at her sister´s home one night, and the other 2 nights, her god-daughter gave up her bed so I could sleep in it at Vilma´s house), they spoke to me in Spanish, even though I was never really able to fully reply, gave me countless kisses and good wishes, and took me (all of them) to the airport. I am so blessed.

Back to my magical world of Iquitos….
Love, Rachel