Amazon Pictures (3rd Group)

"Here is a picture of Iquitos, Peru. It is the farthest upstream river port of the Amazon. At over 2300 miles from the Atlantic the Amazon is still over 2 kilometers wide. Iquitos can only be reached by air or boat. Modes of transportation are limited to scooters and tut-tuts which are 2-cycle gas three wheeled vehicles that are loud and give off lots of fumes. We got caught in the 7 a.m. school traffic surrounded by hundreds of these vehicles in an open air wooden bus. The population is approaching 500,000. The other pix is of a typical family dugout going to market. It is powered by a small engine with screw on the end of a long pole which can be lifted out of the water. These are the same types I saw in Bangkok on the other side of the world!"

Iquitos, Peru

"In these pictures I am on a canopy (skywalk) and the other with village elder. We went on a tributary of the Amazon deep into the jungle until we arrived at a resort. There we went on a hike in the jungle using stepping stones on the muddy trails. We went over a valley to the other side on a canopy walk 90' over the jungle floor. The leather leggings were loaned to us by the boat crew to protect against snakes and other critters that might want a chunk of your leg. The roll under my arm is a poncho which came in handy minutes later under a heavy jungle rain. The sound of the rain in the jungle is deafening but the scents and smells are clean and sweet. The other picture is of the village elder. He is an unusual 84 yr old because life expectancy is in the 60s for men. That is his home behind us. Ribereños keep their hair and it does not turn white."

On canopy (skywalk)

With village elder.