I am the champion

It started raining yesterday afternoon and continued through the night. A long storm is known as a female storm, a violent storm is known a male storm. The river was at an extreme high last May when it peaked, they are expecting an equally high level this May.

We skipped the 5:30 am bird watching adventure.
At breakfast we were joined by a female doctor from Wisconsin who has spent the last 22 years as a doctor in the Amazon. She said nothing she does resembles modern medicine, she works from a bare bones clinic that is the only source treatment for the local population. After several years she has been able to train enough help so she can return to the US for six months every year and work in an ER room to hone he skills and earn a modest living. She was at the lodge waiting for a ride into Iquitos to pick up supplies for her annual vaccine day.

Our morning activity was piranha fishing. I am the champion, I caught the first and largest piranha. I also caught a catfish, making me the winner for the most fish.
The time in the boat is wonderful. Next to the air conditioned room, it is the coolest place to be.

The afternoon was spent traveling the manmade shortcut between the Amazon and the Napo river. Before the road was constructed it took 16 hours to take a boat around the peninsula separating the two rivers, it now takes twenty five minutes to travel between the rivers. Thesis a real asset for farmers trying to move crops to markets.

Again Paul told us stories about the various medicinal uses for foods. He pointed out a tree that produces a fruit that is beneficial for woman. When the tree rots and falls over the woman wait for the. Men to split the tree open. It is usually filled with maggots that the women consider a sweet treat. Men do not eat the maggots or the fruits.

One of the national dishes of Peru is called Juanes. It is the food eaten on the feast day for St. John, June 24. It is rice, chicken, olives and a hard boiled egg wrapped in babjac leaves and boiled. We seasoned it with a tumeric sauce. We had some for our last dinner in the Amazon.

Tuesday is a day of travel by bus, boat and plane to Cuzco.