MUST READ! I'm cool. I promise.

"The people that don't have anything are the people that give you the most" (quote of the weekend) No doubt, I've had the best weekend of my life. If you don't know me already, I'll tell you that I love animals. And after the first couple hours, this trip has already surpassed the coolest things I've ever done. 

Things about Iquitos

•Iquitos is the city which is about the same size as Omaha. The Amazon isn't part of Iquitos, it is its own district.

•In Iquitos they have so many mototaxis that it felt like Sturgis only the jungle version.

•Pirahnas are given a bad name. They don't bite you if you don't give them a reason to.

•Bug cream is not as effective as bug spray.

•Monkeys give love bites so hard that you may bruise. It's totally worth it.

•Rain doesn't stop people from doing anything here.

Day 1: We got to our hostal at about midnight. We had made reservations but how lucky are we that they didn't go through. 100% think it's my fault because  I think a cloud of rain follows me with all the terrible luck I have. But the manager went out of her way to find us one to sleep. And they had air conditioning. The jungle is definition the last place I would think had that. So we slept until about 7:30 and went to have breakfast. When we got back, our tour guide came to pick us up. We then took a mototaxi to our boat that took us to our bungalow in the jungle. The boat ride took about an hour and half on the actual Amazon river. We made a stop on this little reservation thing where you could feed the fish. At the Henry Doorly zoo they have one of the biggest fish in the world. Well we got to feed them. They could literally eat a child if it fell in the water. Freaky. We got to our place and they said they serve lunch at 1. After that we went to the thing I had been waiting my entire life for: Monkey island. We got there and immediately had spider monkeys, squirrel monkeys, and capuchin monkeys hanging all over us. They are more playful than little puppies. I don't know how much time passed by but I didn't care one bit. On the other side of the reservation, there was this deep pit. Turns out a big ol anaconda lived there. Our tour guide just poked around until they caught the tail. They then just yanked him out and grabbed his head. I then faced one of my biggest fears and (partially) held an anacond. My monkey wanted to come with me. They also had McCaw birds and Toucans there that we got to hold. I put one right on my shoulder (just for you Syd). We we left I think we all left our hearts with the monkeys. We went back and went on a night hike. That was kid of terrifying. Our tour guide let me use a head lamp. Nature is awesome but I think the bugs tried to eat me alive. (This is my only complaint) They only have electricity from 6-9 everyday so we all charged up in that time. Then we got in our little mosquitos netting and some of us went to sleep. 

Day 2: Up and at em at 5:30! We got on our boat and went fishing for pihranna. Yes I'm serious. Shelby never caught a fish before but she caught 6! Marki and I were the only ones that didn't catch one. It was a little bit discouraging but I was just really happy Shelby had such a good time. Fishing is fun when you catch something. On the way to our next stop, our tour guide stop and picked up a little tarantula. I held that gross thing too. Then he climbed a tree and tried to grab a snake for us to hold. These people are nuts but they have the coolest job in the world. We then left and came to a little village. These two little kids greeted us with a baby caiman (alligator) and a sloth. I can now die a very happy girl. I cuddled with the sloth until they had to pry her off me. Her claws are so sharp! We had been waiting to eat at 8 but here we are at about 10 still haven't eaten anything... I think they tried to kill us. We finally ate and then took the scenic route back to camp. At 1 we ate lunch and then headed back out at 3. At three we request d to go back to monkey island because duh. They ended up having the sloth there this time. This one was a boy and loved to cuddle. We all took turns holding him like a little baby. Ugh loved him! The monkeys only wanted to play with each other so they didn't care about us this day. But this badger looking animal (part of the raccoon family) really wanted to play with me. Turns out my payment for playing is a crap ton of scratches that will soon scar. It's okay because he could not get enough of me.In order for us to get back to monkey island, we had to buy something from the reservation. So I bought some really sketchy alcohol made out of tree bark. I think I might keep that for people with iron stomachs. After we left we took our boat into the middle and jumped in. We swam with the famous pink river dolphin. He was really far away because we did get to see them. I know there's terrifying stories about the Amazon, but a piranha only took off one of my toes. Not too bad right? (Kidding grandma Judy) We went back and ate dinner quick and set out in dark again...This time our tour guide just rowed the boat in the dark. We saw bats and bugs and even a tiny tree frog that stayed with us all the way back to the bungalow. (I named him "chancho" which means pig in Spanish. No idea why but I did it) Lights out for us.

Day 3: We woke up at 4:30 to watch the sunrise. Turns out we got up for nuthin because it was too cloudy to see anything. We just went right back to bed until breakfast was ready. After that we took a little boat ride to the village. This is where we hiked to see a performance from one of the 75 tribes that are in the Amazon. In exchange for their dances, they offer jewelry to buy as compensation. We also got to shot two darts out of their blow dart gun. Incredible to say the least. Later we came back, ate lunch and were on our way. It was actually really sad because they made us feel right at home. Granted it was a home with millions of bugs, but home nonetheless. We took our two hour trek back to Iquitos and went to our hostal. We found a Mexican restaurant and gorged ourselves with food. We were in the jungle for three days, I think we earned it. Now we just had to wait until 3:30am to go to the airport. 

If you didn't realize already, this was by far my favorite trip. Who else can say they've lived the Amazonian experience like we have. Bugs and all, I wouldn't have changed a thing. (The bugs thing is a complete lie, I hated those damn things) All I can say is that I'm nothing but blessed from this experience and I really hope one day I can make it back!