The Amazons

Like he promised the previous night when dropping us off from the airport, Carlos came by to pick us up at ‘nueve en punto’ (9 on the dot). What we were starting to learn about the Amazon is that 9 on the dot can mean anywhere from 9-10:30. In this case it was about 9:30. All of us having lived in Latin America before were accustomed to the Latin stretchable time. What was particularly interesting about Amazonian stretchable time was you’d be told 9 on the dot, while sitting around for something to happen you’d ask:

- What time is it now?
- 9:40
- Oh OK, so what time are we leaving?
- 9 on the dot

This laid back style was a nice change from the fixed time oriented culture of the US. It definitely helps you to get into the relaxed way of life of the Amazons. For a 3-4 day relaxing trip it’s great, but I can imagine the frustration of running a business on Amazonian time.

Anyway... we were there for 1 reason and 1 reason only: to experience the Amazons and everything they had to offer.

Carlos drove us the 20 minutes to the pier where we changed our mode of transportation and headed down river with a 250 hp outboard engine on a long, 10 seater boat. The river of our embarkation was the Morman river (no relations to Joseph Smith). At approximately a half mile from shore to shore, it’s a fairly wide river. After about an hour ride, the Morman fed into the Amazon--we had officially made it!

One of the things that stood out in my mind about this trip as a whole, was that the Amazon River, and with it the jungle, is in a state of constant change. Large chunks of semi-aquatic land were constantly breaking off from the banks and floating down stream. The difference in depths of the river between the rainy and dry season is sometimes upwards of 20 feet. I’m sure that if we were to some back in the height of the rainy season we would hardly recognize where we were. But I guess that is one of the great things about the Amazon, every time you go will be a new experience.
Compared to the black waters of the Morman, the Amazon is a mud brown color. We continued on the Amazon for another hour or so before we landed at Heliconia Lodge, named after the ever present tropical flower (often confused with birds of paradise). The lodge was situated about 100 yards back from the water’s edge and it would have made the Swiss Family Robinson proud of its construction. The whole place, from the house of hammocks, to the rooms, pool, and dinning room were up on stilts to protect from the possible overflowing river.

Over the next 3 days we did a lot of relaxing, eating great food, and exploring the jungle. We’d head out on the river a few times a day to go Piranha fishing, explore the small inlets in canoes, or to search for the ever-elusive pink dolphins. At night we would take a cruise to see the sun set and watch the moon and the stars come out. On the second to last night we saw some of the most amazing stars that any of us had ever seen. The longer we stayed out on the water the brighter it grew. As we floated down river, under the brightening night sky, we decided we had probably made the right decision to come down to Peru.