A Nice Day in Iquitos
Carolina picked us up in a motor taxi near noon taking us to her house. It was once a laundry mat as well as their home but now the machines are only for the family. While we sat and talked with Carolina her mom made us Patarashka cooked in large banana leaves, or something like them, and served the meal with yuka, a potato like tuber with only a slight natural taste of sugar. In a bowl on the table was a coconut mango sauce to use as a spread. Wilder and his wife, Carolina's brother, who was hung over from a long night of partying, and her father also joined us for the meal.When we were finished, her brother called his buddy taxi driver and he took us to a pond some miles away outside of the city. On the way the motorbike stalled and overheated, we had to wait a little for it to cool down, but the we were already on a slope so we just coasted slowly with the motor off until we slowed a good deal and he started it up again. After a few miles we slowed down for an accident that had just occurred, a man was being carried from the ground to a car, his arms, chest and leg bloody, I think I saw his bone popping out of his leg but I can't be sure. He looked pretty fucked up.We arrived at the pond where many cars and taxis were parked, we had to pay the 3 soles fair each to get in and walked across a narrow planked path to the other side of the decent sized swimming hole. We dove in one at a time, our driver joining us as well since he knew the family, and gave us a discount on the drive since he wanted to swim too. When the three of us guys were in only Carolina was left sitting at the waters edge, she said she couldn't swim but eventually got in and did just fine. What she meant to say was that she wasn't really a good swimmer and wouldn't attempt a river or a larger body of water. Blake and I balanced one foot on branches hidden under the dark surface, bouncing up and down, having a good time, but I quickly lost interest in swimming and returned to the ledge to dry off, we had no towels after all and sitting down in a motor taxi with a wet ass isn't such a pleasant thing, especially for more than an hours drive on a bumpy road.While I stood there I watched as Blake took the huge beach ball floating nearby and spiked it passed kids on a barge who were all acting as goalies, with every successful hit passed them he would yell, "Golazo!!" just like the Sports announcers in every soccer game do all over the Latin world. It was a fun thing to watch, The little kids all kept yelling at Blake to play more with them. Blake made one last goal and had enough, throwing his hands in the air and yelling, "Golazo!" three times in succession as the supreme victor of the small tournament he had created. As he walked off they all screamed at him, "No, gringo! Gringo!" and jumped up and down on the floating platform. But Blake had already escaped beneath the dark waters and could no longer hear their pleas. It really reminded me of similar experiences I had in Mexico back in 2003, how nostalgic.After that we were all ready to go and returned to Iquitos, some of us more dry than others. Carolina had to tend to some business and we returned to our usual internet cafe to surf the web. When we were finished with that we decided to get some food, but instead of going out to eat we thought we would safe some dough and make our own dinner. Looking around we found a small super market and bought some carrots, onions and tomatoes, at another place we got a bag of pasta and a 7 liter jug of water, all totaling about 8 soles, a real bargain for dinner considering we've been spending almost 50 soles each for a meal at Texas Rose, their patarashka is good, but 39 soles is steep for a little steamed fish considering what you can make for yourself or even get from a street vendor for that price.We weren't the only people in the hostel cooking though, so we had to share the stove with 3 guys who had just returned from the same lodge we are going to. They were there for 4 days and told us that it was nice but that the mosquitoes were terrible there. They were cooking pasta as well, only with canned tuna and tons of salt and spices. At this point we have already been on the special diet for 4 days. Which as you may already know, restricts us from any salt, sugar, oils, spices such as pepper or anything spicy, and sexual activitydue to its ability to lower a persons energy.We finished our meal and then joined them in a good conversation. All three of them were from Slovenia, they were cool guys and even invited me to stay with them if I ever made it to their country, a possibility and an opportunity I could very well take advantage of at some point, I am an avid traveler after all. But many people have made such offers to me in the past, and you never really know who would appreciate the visit in earnest, that however is a bridge to cross at another time. We got up and thanked them for the conversation and the invitation, for they were heading out for a night on the town and we were heading to our beds for a full night of rest..
San Pedro - Temple of the Moon
Ninoska was already gone by the time we had woken up and Luiz was there for a short time before going out to settle his affairs with the bus company for his ride to Nasca. He asked if we would still be there when we returned but really neither of us had a definite answer for him. He left and Blake turned on the tv hoping to continue the Star Wars series that we had been watching the night before. It had ended with Return of The Jedi so naturally it would go to The Phantom Menace next, George Lucas's brilliant idea of making 4,5 and 6 first and then 1,2 and 3 later, not so surprising I guess, it is a space opera after all..Amazingly as soon as he turned it on it was the classic ascending blue type so characteristic of the franchise, Long, long ago in a Galaxy far far away... STAR WARS! So we watched the whole movie and then it went into how each of the original movies were made, how Lucas nearly killed himself trying to make the movies his way, while keeping the franchising rights and also funding all of it himself. Its a great story, we enjoyed it.When it was over Blake suggested that we drink the San Pedro again and go to the Temple of the Moon as Ninoska had planned for us. I wasn't convinced it was such a good idea and muddled around avoiding the commitment while Blake took the initiative and began to drink without me, and this time out of the 2.5 liter bottle that had been cooked an hour longer than the other batch. Seeing my troubles and usually knowing just what to say to give me the necessary kick in the pants, Blake laid on me a phrase he's been known to use before, "analysis is paralysis Danny." With a short and muffled sigh I reached for my cup and pored myself a dose.But it didn't end there. After we had both finished our cups we pored another half and drank that too. Perhaps to ensure the full experience but mostly I think, so that there would be no going back before the day was nearly over and everyone was home. It was 1pm, we got some green grapes at the market, a smidgen less than a kilo for 10 soles, we didn't feel like paying her 12 for the full. You get the sense around these markets that your always being screwed, even Ninoska has trouble getting the fair price from the vendors, but were always standing right behind her when shes asking the price, they see the gringos purse attached somehow to hers and make the leap, no harm in asking right?We found a driver willing to take us to the Temple, we knew it was 20 soles to get there, but the driver asked for 30 and with the San Pedro slowly creeping into us already, I suppose we were more apt to pay a little extra to get there in good time. Even so, the ride was much shorter than I expected and me being the penny pincher I am while traveling felt taken for a ride of another sort as we were dropped off.Getting out of the van, we came to a small barbed wire fence and passed through onto a field that stretched in all directions for several miles There was a village to the right and another in the narrow of the valley much further ahead of us. We continued on the dirt path towards a large mound of rock that could be seen from nearly anywhere in the area. Passing an elderly man walking with slow patient steps, saying hello as we passed, we rounded a mud-brick building and were soon climbing the ancient steps that surrounded the Temple.There were many people about, Peruvians, Foreigners and guides to suit both. As soon as we climbed the ridge there where 5 gringos smoking Marijuana in a nook beside the ancient alter, we said hello and quickly passed them with a smile between ourselves.According to mainstream archaeology the temple is the same age as the Incan Empire, a belief held by many and propagated by the governments and institutions who benefit from a seemingly clean cut answer. Unfortunately for them, it isn't so simple. The Inca's never built anything like this again in their own time, they simply inherited the ruins from much older civilizations and built much less sophisticated structures around them. Main stream archaeology suggests that the less sophisticated structures were built first, but none of them are built under the ruins they're all build around them, and if the technology used to build them came later, how come no knowledge of it survived?In addition to this, there are numerous indications of weatherization totally inconsistent with the 500 year time frame of the Incan empire, the state of the rock in the temple indicates several thousand years worth of rainfall, snow and other elemental damage, making the 500 year time span a ridiculous suggestion. This however is not unique to the ruins in Peru, there are countless other examples all over the world. So why try to convince people were a much younger species than we really are?Well, you try to convince the 2.5 Billion Christians the world isn't 15,000 years old, or that dinosaurs exist, or that everything everyone's ever been told was always a convenient lie to keep them in an intellectual prison. It's not just religion that binds us to a meager understanding of the world, everything from Mass Media, our peer groups and society at large keep us in the box we were born to live in. The truth is the people who have the most power have the most to lose and are scared shitless we'll all walk away from their massive treadmill of death and taxes.Yet I digress..We really didn't want to be around other people for our trip, so we went down the western side of the temple, found some caves that went underneath the complex and found places probably used to sleep carved straight into the walls, there seemed to be cave art on the walls, but my iPhones flashlight wasn't strong enough to pierce the strange darkness that consumed the dwelling.Leaving the cave and coming out into the open field we decided to head for the caves visible in the hills perhaps 1200 meters away. When we were almost there I felt a large bulge in my throat and gagged as I spat grapes and other anomalous greens and oranges on to the dirt between my feet. Blake has disappeared in between the trees ahead of me and after finishing my expulsion I continued on in search of him. Rounding the corner and coming to a small passage leading into a cave system that had a skylight directly above it with 3 entrances and exists in a triangular shape, I saw Blake setting up his speaker on a large rock that lay where it had fallen from the now open skylight.We were all alone, and from the Eastern facing exit of the cave we could see a large portion of Cusco, the surrounding villages and the Temple of the Moon itself, with the mountains rising high above us to the West. As the San Pedro elevated our senses and drew us closer to the rocks and the plants that were all around us, we sat and meditated for several hours.Every few minutes a plane would take off or land from the massive airstrip that dominated the Northern portion of Cusco, flying between the mountain ranges and then making a sharp right through a gap in the peeks. Back in Lima Nino had told us it was actually a pretty difficult maneuver for the pilots, especially when the weather wasn't so good.We could always see the people coming and going from the Temple, although it is an impressive site, most tourists never see it because the companies that do the tours can't get their buses near enough to the temple, the people must walk a fair distance, and the same distance back, and thus taking up too much time, and time, is money... We were glad though, it ensured a mostly clear view of the complex for us and also kept our little spot completely off the touristic radar.Eventually the sun reached a low enough point in the sky for us to take one last look around, enjoy the sights and take in the sweet unpolluted air that flowed freely through the area above the city. We descended from the hills and walked along the cow pastures in the valley below, unfortunately I was too eager in my stride and walked right into a mud pit, soaking my crocks and socks with a thick, mineral rich mud, that had a pungent earthly fragrance too. Luckily I had brought an extra pair of socks, and there was a nearby pond for me to clean off my crocks.After exiting the field through the same barbed wire fence we came through in the beginning, and having no intention of paying the same 30 soles to return home, we walked along the side of the road for what must have been an hour and half or more. We thought of taking one of the many side streets and long steep steps that short cut through the hills and into the city below, we almost did too, but looking out across the city in the state we were in, even after 5 hours having passed, we chose to remain with the option we knew would get us home safely, even if it would take twice as long, a good practice in the psychedelic experience, believe me...We really didn't know where we were until reaching the market that was just up the street from Ninoskas house, but that was all the clue we needed. Making it to the house with no light remaining in the sky we rang the doorbell and were let in by Humberto who used the remote that each phone in the building has on its panel.Humberto had shaved his beard, it was a new face, but a welcomed addition to the group. Humberto had never done San Pedro and either I was trippin or he didn't know how to react to us while on it. Either way, we quickly got into the groove of things, listened to music and decided to go out to the marketplace for dinner supplies. Ninoska, Humberto, Luiz, Blake and I left the house and went down the alley towards the main drag next to the University, where all the students hung out. Luiz had his skateboard with him, it had big ole polyurethane wheels on it and a good balance too. Humberto gave it a shot, and we tried to get Ninoska to ride it, but after Luiz got on it with a little too much enthusiasm and stopped short on a rock in the road flying from the board and taking a dive on the pavement, she opted for a brisk walk instead. Which was fine because Blake took charge from there and channeled Tony Hawk for the rest of the adventure.Once we got to the super market Blake and I realized how off we were in the whole scene and opted to wait outside while the others purchased the goods. I gave Humberto 20 soles and we returned home, with Blake snaking his way through the crowds on the board, his new tan poncho flailing in the cross winds, we were back in no time.Humberto did the cooking while I did all the prep work and the others sat on the couch watching two Peruvian soccer teams battle it out. It was a lovely meal, the best we've had so far for sure. I shared pictures of our families back home, we listened to some more music and one by one each of us faded away into our beds, ready or not, for the goodbyes that tomorrow would bring.