July 13-14th: Journey to Iquitos and Locked up in Lima

I have finally arrived at the El Dorado Isabella Hotel in Iquitos after a 24 hour journey that should have taken only around 15 hours. The beauty of the sights and the city itself makes every second of the journey worth it. After leaving DCA with American Airlines, I was really dreading the rest of the journey with the same airline. However when we arrived at JFK in NYC, we were surprised to have a flight attendant waiting at the terminal for us to give us a new boarding pass, supposedly LAN which is a far superior airline is partnered with AA for much of South America's air travel. Before we could board, we waited in JFK for about 1.5 hours. During that time, Demetra wanted to split the money that we were given to cover all of our costs for the journey between us, so I waited outside of a restroom for her to split the money. As I waited, I noticed we were right outside the gate from Air Jordan, they had a direct flight to Amman, Jordan. All of a sudden, a short, fat, and ugly Jordanian man, tightly clutching his wife who was covered in the traditional Arab black Burka, dragged his wife into the woman's bathroom that Demetra was using. I was seriously shocked, as I have never in my life witnessed ignorance to that extent. When they were finished, Demetra followed them out of the bathroom with the most stunned facial expression, it actually made me laugh aloud, and the Jordanian man gave me a dirty look. Demetra told me, not only did he use the woman's toilets, but he starred down his wife the whole time she was using the restroom and washing her hands. Why do people like that even leave Amman, Jordan, where the culture is completely opposite? The billboards right outside the Air Jordan gate showed a rack of ribs, followed by big burly Black men, holding promiscuously dressed women. I wonder if that Jordanian covered his wifes eyes as well so she wouldnt see the poster.

Our flight to Lima was the most comfortable ride I've ever had, I slept for 5/6 hours, I only woke to have the 2 meals they served us. When we got to Lima, we picked up our suitcases and then the hell began. So the customs line in Lima is interesting, you hit a button and if it goes green, you can pass through, if its red, you have to go through additional screening and they will open your suitcases if they deem it necessary. Demetra had prepared me with what to say just in case, but luckily I got the green light. Demetra, on the other hand, was not as lucky. She got the red and got into the line for additional screening. I waited by the exit of the gate and watched the line. As I was waiting, she disappeared and then I had no idea where she had gone. I waited for at least 20 minutes there, wondering what had happened, since the screening process was all done publically in front of the exit, and she wasnt there. I asked a security guard, but the Peruvian gestapo were not very friendly and only told me to move aside. When Demetra came out, she told me the Peruvian gestapo had put her in a small room, and opened the chest which held the microscopes, supposedly we were supposed to declare them. Oops!! So we rechecked our baggage and left for the gate that would take us to Iquitos. Our flight was scheduled for 10:40, but we got to the gate around 7:45, so we waited around and just waited. At 9:45, right before boarding was about to begin, they called Demetra's name and told her to go to the desk. At the desk, we were told that the Gestapo had found a few lighters in one of our suitcases (we had lighters in every suitcase since we need them for sterilization of our blades and stuff). Demetra went back to the terminal to the interogation area while I waited at the gate for her to come back after getting rid of whatever they had found. 10 minutes later, they called my name to the desk by the gate, supposedly it was my suitcase they found the lighter in and needed to get in it since I had the key. At this point they were just about to start boarding, so they told me to run back through the security checkpoint to the interogation area next to check in. When I got there, I could tell Demetra was reasonably flustered, so they took me and the suitcase to the back room, which was a giant cage, locked the door behind me with one of the gestapo and made me open the suitcase. The Gestapo was a short fellow, only up to my chest, and he was reasonably friendly, he told me they had seen a zippo lighter and 4-5 regular lighters. So I opened up the suitcase, pulled out the lighters which he confiscated, and then told me Zippos are only allowed as carry on. This is funny, because I had put my zippo in check in because by TSA law, zippos with butane must be on check in. Anyways, by the time they let me out, they told us we would miss our flight, but they would reschedule us for one 4 hours later. So we went back through security, still wondering if they would find the other lighters right before boarding and give us even more hell for not informing them about it. So we went to the cafe', I had a Mate Coca Tea, which is made from the leaf of the plant which Cocaine is extracted, the leaf supposedly had medicinal properties as well, including a natural cure for altitude sickness. When it was time to board, we were freaking out, just waiting for our names to get called and potentially spend a night in a Lima Prison. Thank goodness we werent called and we boarded on time and flew to Iquitos.

When we arrived, the wet rainforest air had fogged all the windows of the plane. But the beating sun of the equator was something different to anything you experience in Maryland. The heat of the sun was so hot, I could feel it through my jeans. When we got to suitcase claim, our tourguide for the whole trip, Luis was waiting for us. He was very friendly, and we will be dealing with him the whole time were in Iquitos and in the forest. They picked us up in a massive bus made entirely of Mahagony, I'll upload photos of it, it was alot of fun to drive through the massive city. Iquitos is completely locked in by the three rivers that surround it, therefore all transportation into and out of the city is via air or boat. Inside the city, the main mode of transport is the little motorbuggies, the city has over 300,000 that pulse through the city streets. Although parts of the city are visibly impoverished, I could see the slums from flying in, and driving to our hotel, it is a beautiful city, full of many sounds, smells and sights. I cant wait to explore more tomorrow. Since I havent eaten a proper meal since yesterday, we are gonna go out to eat a nice peruvian meal. The Internet at the hotel, as expected is very slow, but the rooms are great, and the showers hot, so I really cant complain at all. Tomorrow we will be meeting the Peruvian botanist and doing some shopping for our research!

45 Hours till Departure

All packed and ready to go!! My next post will be from Peru, I thought I'd leave the USA with this quote I found online from Dean Stockwell, a famous American actor. 


"Going to Peru is, well, if you ever have an opportunity in your life to go there, you should do it because it is absolutely mind boggling."


Also, everyone should check out my poetry blog, as I'm sure much poetry will be flowing during my adventures in the Amazon. Wings of The Simorgh Poetry Blog :)

>7 days

One Week. Thats it. This whole summer has been leading up to this climax and we are climbing the precipice as the work load has quadrupled in the lead up to our departure next week. This week, while only working three days, I have worked over 40 hours, all spent making Corn Meal Dextrose plates for our samples that we will be collecting. On Tuesday, I made around a thousand plates, on Thursday another five hundred, and today i finished another three hundred. I think I have become a profession media pourer, and being in the hood for so long this week,  i still hear the buzzing of the circulation fan.  For those who haven't experienced the pain of pouring media and setting them out to dry, I envy them. While the media is the most important part of our preparation, it was not nearly the only part. We also have ordered our other supplies and need to begin packing our suitcases and preparing our other stuff for packing. My personal shopping agenda is almost complete, just a few odds and ends and i can pack my personal suitcase, which will probably be repacked in the lab to fit more lab equipment. My stress level has been so high, im so anxious about the trip and other stuff just on my mind, I ended up crashing my mom's car. Once I finish the packing and last minute stuff, I'm just going to relax and enjoy my last week before I leave.

15 Days

I can't believe how fast this summer is rolling by, in just about 2 weeks, I will be on a plane on my way to Peru. The culmination of all the work I've been doing this summer will lead to this, and now that it is so close I am ready to just hop on the plane and experience the Amazon. Even though I've been out of the country before, the only country that wasn't part of the third world that I visited was Northern Cyprus, however I was only there for a week with my family when i was 9 , they sheltered me from the sad state the country was and still currently is in. This time, I will experience everything first hand, without any censoring of what is going on in Peru. While Peru is mostly quite safe, regions of Lima are actually quite dangerous and have areas of rampant criminal activity. As long as I get back in one piece, I'm ready to experience it all.

30 Days

Today gave me a new outlook at what we will be facing in the Amazon during our stay there. The processing of each sample will be time consuming, but it is the most important step, as it will make or break our efforts in the forest. Doing all of the work in the lab gave me a deep appreciation for having a real lab bench to work at, I know it will not be the same in the middle of the Peruvian wilderness. We also have to be prepared for the unexpected, not even our AA batteries are guaranteed to work, as in the lab we had a mini-explosion and leaking battery acid all over our lab bench. But at the end of the day, our research depends on two things, the weather and our ability to locate the once-flourishing but now scarse Hevea (Rubber Tree). If it rains, we cannot collect samples, since the rain will only amplify our contamination. Worse comes to worst, we'll have to do another trip in the winter!

35 Days

We are getting closer to being ready for our trip, we have organized most of the supplies we will need in the field. On monday, we will be running practice trials of what we will be doing in the field in my backyard at home. That will give an interesting insight of what I will be doing in the Peruvian Rainforest. I still need to buy some gear, including my rubber boots, which I will be living in for a month. I guess all I can do now is continue working and becoming more familiar with the equipment in lab and wait for the coming trip which I am so excited and anxious for!

46 days

In exactly forty-six days, I will be leaving for the first leg of my journey which will take me to New York City and then a long eight hour flight to Lima, Peru, where we will be stopping shortly before flying to Iquitos, the biggest city in the Amazon. From Iquitos we will be traveling six hours by River Boat to the ACTS (Amazon Conservation of Tropical Studies) field station where we will be staying for three and a half weeks. While forty six days is a while, I still need to get in the proper mindset and prepare for this journey in the wild. This trip will be a test of my endurance, will and strength, as every day will pose new challenges that I have not faced before. Even though I am nervous, I am so excited and consider myself so lucky to be able to have the opportunity to go on a trip like this. My daily routine until I leave will consist of going to the gym daily, night meditation routine, and working at the mycology lab for which I work. So let me give a little bit of background of how I became fortunate enough to be invited on this trip. Last Fall, I was still working at the Pen Boutique in Columbia, Maryland. While I had enjoyed the job, the drive leaving campus during school seemed to detract my ability to really focus on both school and work at the same time. One day as I was checking my emails, one email, a daily listserve email from the CMNS (College of Computational, Mathematical and Natural Sciences) showed of a lab technician opening in the Plant Sciences Department in the Mycology Lab of Dr. Priscilla Chaverri. As I used work in a lab long before the Pen Boutique, I jumped on the opportunity and applied for the job, first by email and then taking a copy of my resume' and a hand written letter discussing my intent to apply for the position. By mid February, I had my interview and was accepted for the position. I was so excited to be working in a research laboratory once again, especially one that was located so close to my classes and my apartment on campus. After working there for a few weeks, I learned that the laboratory does trips in quite often intervals into the Amazonian rain forests of Peru and Brazil and that a trip to Peru in the summer was being planned. The graduate student which I am going with, Demetra Skaltsas, was to invite one of the undergraduate lab technicians which I was one of two. When I learned that I was going on the trip and my ticket was paid for, I was humbled by the opportunity to be going on such an amazing trip to the most beautiful parts of the world. The biodiversity of the Amazon is unmatched by any other part of the world, it is here where all sorts of life come together and live in the same environment together. The lush tropical environment is unlike anywhere I have ever been before, and I am excited to be breathing in the fresh air produced by the ancient trees that will be towering above us, looking down upon us like the Gods of the Amazon. I plan on updating this blog in the amazon with my personal experiences or stories of other travelers I meet on my way, since my internet connection may be very little while there, I will resort to writing in my journal I take with me, and transcribing it into this blog. I will also post pictures that I take here, to give my reading audience a feel for the places I stayed during my trip.