Iquitos and the Amazon Jungle

Visiting the Amazon jungle was everything I had anticipated and more. I only had a superficial impression of the place, but I guess I can't reasonably expect more from a 2-day trip. When I look back though, it feels so much longer - I can't believe how much I packed in.

On arriving at Iquitos I was surprised to get off the plane to heavy rain. After living in Lima for so long, which is permanently devoid of the stuff, I was most unaccustomed and terribly unprepared. But it wasn't a horrible England-type shower - it was warm and smelled fresh, and was actually quite pleasant after being cooped up on a plane for 2 and a half hours.

So after the inevitable long wait at the baggage collection area (seriously, why is it always my case that comes out last?!), I was very excited to get my adventure started, wheeled out my suitcase to the pick up lobby, and welcomed the sight of a man holding up a white card with my name on it. It was already dark so for the half hour journey to my hostel, I did not get to see much of the city. However, I did get an eyeful of dirty road water as a car drove past and whipped it up at just the right angle for it to fly through the driver's open window and into my face. I was worried I'd go blind but I seem to be alright so far.

The hostel, Golondrinas, I had booked beforehand, and for a mere 20 soles (£4), I wasn't expecting much, but I was pleasantly surprised. It scored major points for its pool, and it didn't take long before my bikini was on and I was jumping in. As well as that though, the rooms were clean and comfortable, and I was out like a light when I crawled into bed in anticipation of the upcoming 2 days.

Jungle lodgings

In the morning I was up bright and early ready for my guide to pick me up from the hostel at 9am to take me to the jungle, where I thought I would meet the rest of the group. However, as it turned out, I had my own personal jungle experience on account that I was the only person who had booked up for those days. The only time I was a bit apprehensive about this was on the first day when we went out for a hike and I followed the man I had met earlier on that day into the deep jungle whilst he was armed with a machete. As it turned out though, the machete was to cut down the pesky branches that got in the way and not to carve me up, so I did come out alive. 

The day and night hikes were phenomenal. The size and colours of the butterflies were astounding, and they were everywhere! I also saw some of the biggest moths I've ever seen in my life. By night the wildlife was a little different. The guide, Ashuco, was pointing out spiders the size of my palm running into the undergrowth, but I was less interested in that than the frogs by the waterside. There were everything from the tiniest yellow ones to the hugest bright green. I was having a great time posing with my amphibian friends.

As well as these hikes, the trip was filled with other amazing activities - we went early morning piranha fishing (and I was pleased to have been able to catch 7 of them - despite the fact most were tiny), swam in the Amazon river (occasionally getting peeks of the pink dolphins we were sharing the water with), visited a local jungle village, and went on boat rides to admire the breathtaking scenery and watch the sun set. 

Catch of the day 

Look carefully and you'll spot a parakeet

Boat rides on the Amazon River

But I have to admit, the highlight for me was visiting Monkey Island, mainly because I have immense and indescribable amounts of love for the little hairy critters, and as a result, was absolutely bursting with excitement at the idea of having actual physical contact with them. I wondered if they might be shy, but they were anything but. On the island were a range of different species - capuchins, spider monkeys, woolly monkeys and more.

I was melting anyway as they bounded over to me and held my hand, rested on my lap, or climbed on my head, but I was almost a liquid mess on the floor when I saw a spider monkey, Susie, walk over with her 2-month old baby clinging to her chest. It was maybe a little bigger than my hand, but not much, and I had to resist with every bone in my body the temptation to grab it and run. However, although the baby was outrageously cute, I think my true soft spot was reserved for Tintin, the woolly monkey, who liked to hold and lick my hand and would clamber up so I could hold him. And he truly was the woolliest thing.

There were sloths as well as monkeys

Handling an anaconda is also an option

Tintin and me

Playing with some of the monkeys

Even though I was only there for 2 days, I feel I did and experienced so much. The dream would be to go back some day and spend longer there, maybe going a little deeper into the rainforest and getting a less touristy experience. The city itself I wasn't enamoured of, so I wouldn't be too bothered about visiting Iquitos again. But as an entrance point, it's probably one of the easiest and most obvious solutions for anyone wishing to go to the Peruvian Amazon.

I feel a little sad that the trip I was looking forward to so much is now over, but my melancholy is abated when I think about my trip to Machu Picchu with my boyfriend in 3 weeks time - and I'm guessing that will be equally as spectacular. 

Goodbye for now sweet Amazon - I'm sure we'll meet again.

Jiving in the Jungle

Today I'm super excited and itching to leave tomorrow for my weekend in the Amazon jungle. Mostly prepared but, being disorganised before I came to Peru, I neglected to remember to bring the essential hiking clothing, and so now have to make do with the few things I have. Fortunately I remembered to bring a rain jacket, which is probably a must when visiting the rainforest, and also my hiking boots, which have served me very well in the past when trekking the Brecon Beacons and Mount Kenya, but I am a little concerned that I am going to have make do with wearing my jeans and cumbersome jumpers, as my good gear is usefully sitting at home, in England, tucked away in my wardrobe. Ah well, nothing can dampen my excitement about playing with monkeys, swimming with pink dolphins and boating down the river.

With everything booked and now paid for, I am raring to go. Flight. Check. Taxi. Check. Hostel. Check. I am now suffering the familiar palpitations I normally get before a flight - well, before using an airport to be more precise. I am always so paranoid about missing a piece of documentation or arriving 30 seconds too late or some other such disaster occurring that every time I travel, I see the airport experience as a huge scary black smudge in my mind, obscuring the usually amazing holiday that awaits beyond.

In fact, last year, when holidaying with my friends, it got so bad in the car on the way to the airport with me constantly checking I had my passport and boarding pass (about every 20 seconds on average), that my friend actually took my bag away from me. I'm not sure what I thought would happen in a zipped up bag in a moving car on a motorway, but such is my fear.

So, providing everything goes well and I do in fact manage to get on the plane, I will be travelling to the more northerly Iquitos, the world's largest city that cannot be reached by road. It is Peru's largest jungle city and so very popular with rainforest-hungry tourists (like me). The tour I have booked is only two days long, but absolutely packed with activity from morning til night. Among other things, I will be holding anacondas, fishing for piranhas, and visiting a local tribe.

Once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, here I come....

Skills a Copywriter Should Have

As an extension of my previous post about article-writing, I decided to blog a bit more about a couple of things my life as a copywriter has taught me.

But first, a bit of background info: my job involves being given titles for articles which I then have to write, thereby producing content for the various websites owned by the company. These have to conform to a certain length, style, and format, whilst also having to include various key words or phrases in order to make the article more 'Google-friendly'. It took a bit of getting used to, especially as I have to be able to write in various styles, from long feature articles to 100-word sound bites, but I'm pretty much in the swing of it now.

So, two of the most important skills to pick up as a copywriter (in my humble opinion) are:

1) The ability to reword

(Source: www.brownhouseonline.com)

Although there are many enjoyable things about being a copywriter, the SEO aspect can be a bit of a pain. In essence, for this company it means that in the interests of being able to catch all customers, the wording that searchers use to search should be the title of the piece, and there are always numerous ways to ask a search engine for information, of course. But this does not mean my carefully researched and planned piece that perfectly encapsulates the topic can be used as an answer for all. No - unfortunately, articles with the same wording will be penalised and not show up at all. Therefore, it is often necessary to write the same article countless times and on each of those occasions, find a fresh way to say it.

What I have learned: That Google's algorithms are annoying and also that I had a secret talent for writing about hot flushes in twenty or more original ways all along, which has only just surfaced now.

2) The ability to accept your limitations
Whenever I do get given a brand new title (which does happen), I am always struck with the familiar fear that I do not have a PhD in the topic, and this can cause me to procrastinate (although I justify as 'research' of course) before I really can't anymore and have to get on with writing the damned piece. Well, I was more like this at the beginning, but have now realised that writing a mere 500 words about the symptoms of bipolar disorder does not require that I know everything there is to know about the psychological, philosophical, neurological, and medical aspects of the illness. It is enough to use reputable sources to simply find out what I need to know and back them up with evidence. Anything else is superfluous and a complete waste of my time and energy.

What I have learned: Save that precious time and energy for more important things, like exploring Peru, or other such activities.

Although there is a lot to learn and get used to, there is a lot to like about copywriting. That feeling of satisfaction after finishing an article/review/research piece is wonderful, and I do like being paid to write all day - flexing my creative muscles and all that. Although the job, almost by definition, involves creating for others rather than yourself, which can be good or bad depending how interesting or boring the topic happens to be, this can mean finding out things you never thought you'd know, never thought you didn't know, or didn't really know you wanted to know. Phew, now my head's spinning. I think I need to lie down.

Things A-Breakin'

Well, all is going wrong in Peru. And when I say 'all', I mean that in a very First-World-Problems-Spoilt-Brat kind of way, referring to a few of the mod-cons that make my life a little bit easier.

At the weekend, our already dodgy dining room light decided it would bathe us permanently in all its brightness, by refusing to actually turn off (I mean, I've heard many times of lights not turning on, but a light that no longer turns off was completely new for me). Therefore, for the past few days, I've been lying in bed imagining the overheated bulbs causing imminent fire-related death.

And then our cooker hob thought it would join in the fun by leaving us a ring short. As we already had two rings that never worked in the first place, we can now get only one gas flame for three people. Dinnertime is now an interesting scram for this holy ring.

And if that wasn't enough, our internet box went on the blink yesterday, meaning we now have no connection to the outside world once we leave work.

Not the best of weeks. I'm now hoping my imminent trip to the jungle will make up for it.

How to Deal with Dry Skin Naturally

Living in highly-polluted Lima, I have been having problems with dry, flaky skin for a while now, and yesterday I found the perfect solution: avocado peel. Having long known the moisturising benefits of avocados on the skin, I already use the mashed fruit as a face mask every now and then. However, because my skin has always been reasonably healthy and moisturised, the amazing effects of the avocado have never been seen to such a degree as they were yesterday.

Ready for my face!

Being on a tight budget since I got to Peru in July, I have been loathe to use my precious food on my face instead of in my stomach, and so I have avoided using avocados externally. However, I read an article about how just the oil in the peel can also work as a great moisturiser. And I decided to try it.

The recipe is easy:

1) Make a delicious meal using an avocado (I made an avocado salad).

2) Once the flesh has been scraped out and used, rub the avocado peel on your face. The trick is to be gentle - you don't want to tug that precious facial skin.

3) Take off any remaining avocado flesh from the peel and rub it gently into your skin.

Voila!

4) Eat your food with a slightly green face. I had the fruit on mine for about half and hour and this seemed to work. It didn't feel uncomfortable or tight either. In fact, I forgot it was there.

5) Wet your face, put a little olive oil on your fingers, and gently rub off the avocado.

6) Finish by rinsing thoroughly with a flannel or your hands. Again, be gentle.

I was absolutely amazed at how quickly it worked. It was not the kind of skin treatment where you have to wait a week or so to see the results. My skin was bright, soft, and moisturised from the moment I dabbed it dry with a towel, and today it still feels great. Next time I have dry skin, I'm reaching straight for the avocados.


The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has more information on avocado oil and other natural products that can be used on skin:
http://www.epa.gov/region9/healthy-hair/ingredients.html

Skulls and Other Bones

This weekend I fancied a bit of history, so went to visit the catacombs at San Francisco church in the Historical Centre of Lima, just a bus ride away.

Catacombs: Underground passages built as a cemetery, with various places for tombs.

Entrance to San Francisco church

The large and imposing Roman Catholic church is an elegant structure, dominating the landscape. The baroque-style construction was built in the 17th century and is most famous for its catacombs that are located just beneath it. There was a small charge for visiting them but it was worth it for the fascinating English-speaking tour that was on offer. It is estimated that around 75,000 bodies are buried there, and most of the remains are exposed for all to see.

Entrance to the catacombs

It was an eerie feeling, being led through the dark tunnels and small doorways. There was one man with us who must have been well over 6 foot tall and was built like a tank - he was practically crawling along. It never ceases to amaze me how short people must have been a few hundred years ago (when visiting old buildings, the size of entrances and doorways is one of the first things I notice). The lighting, of course, was electric, but they had attempted to mimic the light that would have been emitted by the fire torches that would originally have been there. It was well done, but I can imagine how much more spine-chilling the atmosphere would have been back in the day sans electricity.

We were invited to look in the pits, which were full of femur bones and skulls stacked in circular patterns. Our tour guide said that the pits were many metres deep. When I looked at the piles of skulls, I was struck with a sense of my own mortality. It was odd to think that once upon a time, attached to each one was a living, breathing person, who had wants, needs, and desires, just like me. Each eye-socket housed an eye that would have perceived the world in its own special way. Each jaw bone must have said a thousand different words that would have affected the course of history (I am a staunch believer in the butterfly effect). There was no way for them to know that one day their whole selves would be reduced to a lone skull sitting in a pit to be gawked at by curious 21st century tourists. It actually freaked me out a little to think that one day that's all I will be - a pile of bones that nobody cares about.

I was a little disappointed we were not allowed to take pictures, but apart from that it was an awesome experience. I would also recommend having a look around the inside of the church as well - it's pretty extraordinary.

Inside the church

One of the shrines

Clubbing and Cakes

Having spent the week toiling away informing the world about the perils of menopause, I was looking forward to letting my hair down last weekend, and the activities of choice were clubbing and eating cupcakes.

I had been looking forward all week to the Festival Del Cupcake that was held over the weekend, and had spent my working days dreaming about all the gorgeous delicacies that would be on offer. However, my timing could not have been more off.

Festival Del Cupcake

At about midday I set off on foot to find this festival, which seemed to be in quite an out of the way place, and 45 minutes later I finally arrived (feeling I had definitely earned a cake or two!). The sweets that were on offer looked gorgeous, but I must say - the fest was a lot smaller than I had been expecting. It also seemed I had managed to arrive just after they had set up. As a result - hardly anyone was there. After walking around a few times, eating some free samples, and buying a 'trifle'-type dessert consisting of layers of jelly, crumbled chocolate brownie, and cream, I left, feeling remorseful that I had not waited until the late afternoon.

Delicioso!

However, my sadness was soon abated as I put on my dancing shoes that evening and headed to Mokka Disco in Miraflores for its 6-month 'anniversary'. Fortunately one of the girls we were with knew a worker, who let us all in for free. To add to the excitement, upon entering, we were given a glass of champagne and then had to pose with a cake for an 'official' picture before going into the packed main area.

Posing with a cake

I think luck must have been on our side that night because, after a few hours of dancing, my housemates and I ran into our Peruvian friend we had made during our first week, who happens to work as a club promoter. Pretty soon we were in the VIP area sipping yet more free drinks. Wasn't a bad night at all!

Dancing the night away

And then this week I was reluctant for the fun to end, so I have bought myself an earlybird ticket for the 'Life of Color' paint party which is coming to Lima this December (by happy coincidence just a day after my birthday), and have booked a trip to the jungle for the end of this month. In the words of Chandler Bing: Could life BE more exciting?!