Atalaya is rad!
https://w3w.co/
Had the raddest sleep. Woke up refreshed at 0510. After a pee, I said screw it, I could sleep a little longer. Woke up at 7 and felt heroic.
My clothes were all dry and I wanted to move a couple things around, so I spent about an hour repacking. It's raining quite a lot, so want to try to keep my dry things dry as long as I can. Must stay dry goes into the pelican, should stay dry into the timbuk2, and don't care the day pack. Got hungry and decided to revisit that a little later.
Sent a message to the group and breakfast and ended up having a nice meal at a little joint nearby. Fresh blended papaya smoothie, two egg sandwiches, and coffee for 7 sols ($2.33). Solid.
Went back to the room to finish shifting my gear. A few of us decided to wander around and try to find some oil and stuff for luggage racks for these tiny bikes. After a few false starts (tried to get a lady to sell us .5m sections of rebar), we found a mechanic shop that had motor oil and all kinds of random shit. A 4' tall woman of about 50 ran the place. She was rad. We ended up with random 'junk' boards that happen to be made of some crazy hard exotic jungle hardwood. Super cheap. She drilled some holes as I cut them to length with my Leatherman. After a couple cuts, I was smoked and they fired up a chop saw. 😓 Ended up with 8 boards with rack and luggage mounting holes. 😁
Went back to the room to finish up repacking and eyeball how I could mount the pelican. Came up with a plan, but needed new holes and longer 1/4" bolts. Took the whole rig back to the mechanic who had everything I needed. 4sols ($1.33) later, I was good to go with the pelican mounted firmly to the exotic board. While they were drilling, grandpa said told me with hand signs and a little Spanish I could barely understand that he had a motorcycle. A 250, which he proudly pointed out. It was a nice bike, with a ton of miles under the tires. I was about to leave when I remembered to ask about getting 'gasolina'. One of the guys there, Renaldo, said some things that I didn't understand and I said so. After another 30 seconds, Renaldo pointed to the 250, then at me, indicating he wanted me to drive it. OK! He then said something to one of other workers, who jumped on the back. So fun! Off we went for the gas station with my 2L bottle. The bike had no front brakes, took a while to get warm, but ran well. It was super cool. 😄
I finished that up, mounted the full gas tank to the rack, and came down to go to lunch with the crew. Lomo Saltado and soup followed by a trip to try to find cash for the ladies. ATMs were all down, so no dice. We started formulating a plan to get to the falls. I had to grab my shorts, so a couple of us went to the hotel. Afterwards, we met downstairs and began to hash a plan. The falls we're about an hour outside town. Dylan thought he would rickshaw it. I told everyone we could grab a 4x4 from the terminals we came into. 8 of us went for the 4x4 and Dylan kinda missed the comms.
We grabbed a rickshaw to the terminale, negotiated a rate (150 for all of us, which was high as we only paid 30 each from Satipo, and 8 hour trip), and jumped onboard. We let Dylan know we'd been successful and that he was welcome to join us. So, he jogged over and we were 9 honkeys stuffed in the back of a Ute. Everyone wanted to grab beers for the trip. Being a non-beer person, I asked for Pisco. Loaded for bear, we were off. It was a much more docile trip this time and everyone was drinking and getting to experience the jungle for the first time. Fun stuff. We ended up at the falls, which was not really a falls, but a decent swimming hole. Chris, the instigator, immediately got the party started and jumped off the cliff. Fuck yes, mate. The water was clean and cool and the swim felt amazing. Splash competitions ensued, which was won handily by yours truly.
Supposedly there is a catfish that will swim up your pee stream in lodge itself in your pisser. So, no peeing in the water. 😆 We hung there for a couple hours, with beer guzzling, Pisco shooting happening at a furious pace. I trekked upriver a ways with Dylan. The ground was really cool. It was a grey blue clay interspersed with red clay. Really pretty. Tons of little fish and such in the water. Hardly any bugs. Location: https://w3w.co/
Everyone was feeling well lubricated after a couple hours of heavy drinking, so we had the driver drop us at the bar. I had a couple swigs of pisco at the river and wasn't feeling the need to get drunk, so hung out for a bit, then peaced back to the room. Showered, washed my clothes, and mounted my gas bottle next the pelican. Stoked about this board rack. Think it's going to be clutch.
Met the group back at a Chinese resto and ate clean up as they had been at it for a bit. Folks were getting shitty and it was getting funny. 😆 I TF'd a bunch of rice and fried meats and had a bit more pisco. The crew wanted to head to the Karaoke bar, but I wanted to grab my Leatherman to confirm my measurements for the rack. Not much I planned to modify, just a quick check. So, grabbed it from the hotel and hustled back.
The joint was pretty chill, so there was a little dancing and plenty more drinking. I just chilled and chatted, enjoying the stories and revelry. We did this until just before 2100, when we were to meet Carlos around the corner for Poscos sours and a bit of a pre-kickoff hang out. Everyone was feeling quite good, especially Court and Case. Fucken riots.
The get together was at a decent little rooftop bar. They had pisco, coca leaves, and a monkey bike. There was drinks, yelling, stories, coca sampling and monkey bike burnouts by Warwick. 😅 Fun shit.
I double checked the rack measurements and I was damn near dead on with only a rough eyeball from a couple fuzzy video freezes. Hell yes calibrated eyecrometer.
Got to meet everyone. Seems like a super solid bunch. 22, if my count is correct.
Here's the crew:- The Aussies, Case and Anika- Court, the South African- The US wildmen, Chris and Lucas- The boat dwelling Brits, Lauren and Warwick- The all Americans, Jon and Captain America who is also Jon, I think- The UK rugby squad, Bobby, Joe, and Kevin- The tattoed computer guy from the US, Nic- The Anderson brothers from the US, Damian, Devon, Jarin, Keaton, Kryn and Gregon, the twins and their friend Ethan- The sharp, driven, mild individualist oddball Dylan, from the US
We cleaned up all the coca leaves and pisco and pursued an after party at the Karaoke bar. The place was lit with tons of locals rocking it out. I was feeling pretty good now and cut some rug with the locals, the Aussies and Court. Great time.
Decided I'd had enough, so I pulled an Irish exit and meandered back to the room. The front door was locked as tight as a nuns ass. Oops. Was thinking how I would go about picking the lock when Mamita came and opened the door.
Tired AF and a bit drunk, I fell into bed and passed out. It was another huge and awesome day.
Atalaya is rad!
https://w3w.co/
Had the raddest sleep. Woke up refreshed at 0510. After a pee, I said screw it, I could sleep a little longer. Woke up at 7 and felt heroic.
My clothes were all dry and I wanted to move a couple things around, so I spent about an hour repacking. It's raining quite a lot, so want to try to keep my dry things dry as long as I can. Must stay dry goes into the pelican, should stay dry into the timbuk2, and don't care the day pack. Got hungry and decided to revisit that a little later.
Sent a message to the group and breakfast and ended up having a nice meal at a little joint nearby. Fresh blended papaya smoothie, two egg sandwiches, and coffee for 7 sols ($2.33). Solid.
Went back to the room to finish shifting my gear. A few of us decided to wander around and try to find some oil and stuff for luggage racks for these tiny bikes. After a few false starts (tried to get a lady to sell us .5m sections of rebar), we found a mechanic shop that had motor oil and all kinds of random shit. A 4' tall woman of about 50 ran the place. She was rad. We ended up with random 'junk' boards that happen to be made of some crazy hard exotic jungle hardwood. Super cheap. She drilled some holes as I cut them to length with my Leatherman. After a couple cuts, I was smoked and they fired up a chop saw. 😓 Ended up with 8 boards with rack and luggage mounting holes. 😁
Went back to the room to finish up repacking and eyeball how I could mount the pelican. Came up with a plan, but needed new holes and longer 1/4" bolts. Took the whole rig back to the mechanic who had everything I needed. 4sols ($1.33) later, I was good to go with the pelican mounted firmly to the exotic board. While they were drilling, grandpa said told me with hand signs and a little Spanish I could barely understand that he had a motorcycle. A 250, which he proudly pointed out. It was a nice bike, with a ton of miles under the tires. I was about to leave when I remembered to ask about getting 'gasolina'. One of the guys there, Renaldo, said some things that I didn't understand and I said so. After another 30 seconds, Renaldo pointed to the 250, then at me, indicating he wanted me to drive it. OK! He then said something to one of other workers, who jumped on the back. So fun! Off we went for the gas station with my 2L bottle. The bike had no front brakes, took a while to get warm, but ran well. It was super cool. 😄
I finished that up, mounted the full gas tank to the rack, and came down to go to lunch with the crew. Lomo Saltado and soup followed by a trip to try to find cash for the ladies. ATMs were all down, so no dice. We started formulating a plan to get to the falls. I had to grab my shorts, so a couple of us went to the hotel. Afterwards, we met downstairs and began to hash a plan. The falls we're about an hour outside town. Dylan thought he would rickshaw it. I told everyone we could grab a 4x4 from the terminals we came into. 8 of us went for the 4x4 and Dylan kinda missed the comms.
We grabbed a rickshaw to the terminale, negotiated a rate (150 for all of us, which was high as we only paid 30 each from Satipo, and 8 hour trip), and jumped onboard. We let Dylan know we'd been successful and that he was welcome to join us. So, he jogged over and we were 9 honkeys stuffed in the back of a Ute. Everyone wanted to grab beers for the trip. Being a non-beer person, I asked for Pisco. Loaded for bear, we were off. It was a much more docile trip this time and everyone was drinking and getting to experience the jungle for the first time. Fun stuff. We ended up at the falls, which was not really a falls, but a decent swimming hole. Chris, the instigator, immediately got the party started and jumped off the cliff. Fuck yes, mate. The water was clean and cool and the swim felt amazing. Splash competitions ensued, which was won handily by yours truly.
Supposedly there is a catfish that will swim up your pee stream in lodge itself in your pisser. So, no peeing in the water. 😆 We hung there for a couple hours, with beer guzzling, Pisco shooting happening at a furious pace. I trekked upriver a ways with Dylan. The ground was really cool. It was a grey blue clay interspersed with red clay. Really pretty. Tons of little fish and such in the water. Hardly any bugs. Location: https://w3w.co/
Everyone was feeling well lubricated after a couple hours of heavy drinking, so we had the driver drop us at the bar. I had a couple swigs of pisco at the river and wasn't feeling the need to get drunk, so hung out for a bit, then peaced back to the room. Showered, washed my clothes, and mounted my gas bottle next the pelican. Stoked about this board rack. Think it's going to be clutch.
Met the group back at a Chinese resto and ate clean up as they had been at it for a bit. Folks were getting shitty and it was getting funny. 😆 I TF'd a bunch of rice and fried meats and had a bit more pisco. The crew wanted to head to the Karaoke bar, but I wanted to grab my Leatherman to confirm my measurements for the rack. Not much I planned to modify, just a quick check. So, grabbed it from the hotel and hustled back.
The joint was pretty chill, so there was a little dancing and plenty more drinking. I just chilled and chatted, enjoying the stories and revelry. We did this until just before 2100, when we were to meet Carlos around the corner for Poscos sours and a bit of a pre-kickoff hang out. Everyone was feeling quite good, especially Court and Case. Fucken riots.
The get together was at a decent little rooftop bar. They had pisco, coca leaves, and a monkey bike. There was drinks, yelling, stories, coca sampling and monkey bike burnouts by Warwick. 😅 Fun shit.
I double checked the rack measurements and I was damn near dead on with only a rough eyeball from a couple fuzzy video freezes. Hell yes calibrated eyecrometer.
Got to meet everyone. Seems like a super solid bunch. 22, if my count is correct.
Here's the crew:- The Aussies, Case and Anika- Court, the South African- The US wildmen, Chris and Lucas- The boat dwelling Brits, Lauren and Warwick- The all Americans, Jon and Captain America who is also Jon, I think- The UK rugby squad, Bobby, Joe, and Kevin- The tattoed computer guy from the US, Nic- The Anderson brothers from the US, Damian, Devon, Jarin, Keaton, Kryn and Gregon, the twins and their friend Ethan- The sharp, driven, mild individualist oddball Dylan, from the US
We cleaned up all the coca leaves and pisco and pursued an after party at the Karaoke bar. The place was lit with tons of locals rocking it out. I was feeling pretty good now and cut some rug with the locals, the Aussies and Court. Great time.
Decided I'd had enough, so I pulled an Irish exit and meandered back to the room. The front door was locked as tight as a nuns ass. Oops. Was thinking how I would go about picking the lock when Mamita came and opened the door.
Tired AF and a bit drunk, I fell into bed and passed out. It was another huge and awesome day.
Atalaya is rad!
https://w3w.co/
Had the raddest sleep. Woke up refreshed at 0510. After a pee, I said screw it, I could sleep a little longer. Woke up at 7 and felt heroic.
My clothes were all dry and I wanted to move a couple things around, so I spent about an hour repacking. It's raining quite a lot, so want to try to keep my dry things dry as long as I can. Must stay dry goes into the pelican, should stay dry into the timbuk2, and don't care the day pack. Got hungry and decided to revisit that a little later.
Sent a message to the group and breakfast and ended up having a nice meal at a little joint nearby. Fresh blended papaya smoothie, two egg sandwiches, and coffee for 7 sols ($2.33). Solid.
Went back to the room to finish shifting my gear. A few of us decided to wander around and try to find some oil and stuff for luggage racks for these tiny bikes. After a few false starts (tried to get a lady to sell us .5m sections of rebar), we found a mechanic shop that had motor oil and all kinds of random shit. A 4' tall woman of about 50 ran the place. She was rad. We ended up with random 'junk' boards that happen to be made of some crazy hard exotic jungle hardwood. Super cheap. She drilled some holes as I cut them to length with my Leatherman. After a couple cuts, I was smoked and they fired up a chop saw. 😓 Ended up with 8 boards with rack and luggage mounting holes. 😁
Went back to the room to finish up repacking and eyeball how I could mount the pelican. Came up with a plan, but needed new holes and longer 1/4" bolts. Took the whole rig back to the mechanic who had everything I needed. 4sols ($1.33) later, I was good to go with the pelican mounted firmly to the exotic board. While they were drilling, grandpa said told me with hand signs and a little Spanish I could barely understand that he had a motorcycle. A 250, which he proudly pointed out. It was a nice bike, with a ton of miles under the tires. I was about to leave when I remembered to ask about getting 'gasolina'. One of the guys there, Renaldo, said some things that I didn't understand and I said so. After another 30 seconds, Renaldo pointed to the 250, then at me, indicating he wanted me to drive it. OK! He then said something to one of other workers, who jumped on the back. So fun! Off we went for the gas station with my 2L bottle. The bike had no front brakes, took a while to get warm, but ran well. It was super cool. 😄
I finished that up, mounted the full gas tank to the rack, and came down to go to lunch with the crew. Lomo Saltado and soup followed by a trip to try to find cash for the ladies. ATMs were all down, so no dice. We started formulating a plan to get to the falls. I had to grab my shorts, so a couple of us went to the hotel. Afterwards, we met downstairs and began to hash a plan. The falls we're about an hour outside town. Dylan thought he would rickshaw it. I told everyone we could grab a 4x4 from the terminals we came into. 8 of us went for the 4x4 and Dylan kinda missed the comms.
We grabbed a rickshaw to the terminale, negotiated a rate (150 for all of us, which was high as we only paid 30 each from Satipo, and 8 hour trip), and jumped onboard. We let Dylan know we'd been successful and that he was welcome to join us. So, he jogged over and we were 9 honkeys stuffed in the back of a Ute. Everyone wanted to grab beers for the trip. Being a non-beer person, I asked for Pisco. Loaded for bear, we were off. It was a much more docile trip this time and everyone was drinking and getting to experience the jungle for the first time. Fun stuff. We ended up at the falls, which was not really a falls, but a decent swimming hole. Chris, the instigator, immediately got the party started and jumped off the cliff. Fuck yes, mate. The water was clean and cool and the swim felt amazing. Splash competitions ensued, which was won handily by yours truly.
Supposedly there is a catfish that will swim up your pee stream in lodge itself in your pisser. So, no peeing in the water. 😆 We hung there for a couple hours, with beer guzzling, Pisco shooting happening at a furious pace. I trekked upriver a ways with Dylan. The ground was really cool. It was a grey blue clay interspersed with red clay. Really pretty. Tons of little fish and such in the water. Hardly any bugs. Location: https://w3w.co/
Everyone was feeling well lubricated after a couple hours of heavy drinking, so we had the driver drop us at the bar. I had a couple swigs of pisco at the river and wasn't feeling the need to get drunk, so hung out for a bit, then peaced back to the room. Showered, washed my clothes, and mounted my gas bottle next the pelican. Stoked about this board rack. Think it's going to be clutch.
Met the group back at a Chinese resto and ate clean up as they had been at it for a bit. Folks were getting shitty and it was getting funny. 😆 I TF'd a bunch of rice and fried meats and had a bit more pisco. The crew wanted to head to the Karaoke bar, but I wanted to grab my Leatherman to confirm my measurements for the rack. Not much I planned to modify, just a quick check. So, grabbed it from the hotel and hustled back.
The joint was pretty chill, so there was a little dancing and plenty more drinking. I just chilled and chatted, enjoying the stories and revelry. We did this until just before 2100, when we were to meet Carlos around the corner for Poscos sours and a bit of a pre-kickoff hang out. Everyone was feeling quite good, especially Court and Case. Fucken riots.
The get together was at a decent little rooftop bar. They had pisco, coca leaves, and a monkey bike. There was drinks, yelling, stories, coca sampling and monkey bike burnouts by Warwick. 😅 Fun shit.
I double checked the rack measurements and I was damn near dead on with only a rough eyeball from a couple fuzzy video freezes. Hell yes calibrated eyecrometer.
Got to meet everyone. Seems like a super solid bunch. 22, if my count is correct.
Here's the crew:- The Aussies, Case and Anika- Court, the South African- The US wildmen, Chris and Lucas- The boat dwelling Brits, Lauren and Warwick- The all Americans, Jon and Captain America who is also Jon, I think- The UK rugby squad, Bobby, Joe, and Kevin- The tattoed computer guy from the US, Nic- The Anderson brothers from the US, Damian, Devon, Jarin, Keaton, Kryn and Gregon, the twins and their friend Ethan- The sharp, driven, mild individualist oddball Dylan, from the US
We cleaned up all the coca leaves and pisco and pursued an after party at the Karaoke bar. The place was lit with tons of locals rocking it out. I was feeling pretty good now and cut some rug with the locals, the Aussies and Court. Great time.
Decided I'd had enough, so I pulled an Irish exit and meandered back to the room. The front door was locked as tight as a nuns ass. Oops. Was thinking how I would go about picking the lock when Mamita came and opened the door.
Tired AF and a bit drunk, I fell into bed and passed out. It was another huge and awesome day.
Pregaming the pregame
https://w3w.co/
These fucking addresses kill me.
Getting shitty before we get shitty with the Adventurists crew.
Pregaming the pregame
https://w3w.co/
These fucking addresses kill me.
Getting shitty before we get shitty with the Adventurists crew.
Pregaming the pregame
https://w3w.co/
These fucking addresses kill me.
Getting shitty before we get shitty with the Adventurists crew.
Epic 2 days
https://w3w.co/
Fitful sleep on the bus last night due to super rough roads, stop and go traffic, and speed bumps the size of a car. Arrived at Pichanaki at 0630 where I was woken up by an abrupt stop and kept awake by the scenery. We're in the jungle now. Dropped some people downtown and headed in to Satipo. Rickshaws, motorcycles, and Utes and that's it. I walked from the bus station to the Hotel Fernandez where Lauren and Warwick were staying. I was super tired. Brushed my teeth and waited for them to come down. They came down and we decided to head for breakfast, then grab a Ute to Atalaya.
We walked back to the station and found a cafe. Warwick and I ate and they had coffee. I have fried river fish. It was yum. During dinner we decided the trip to Atalaya should take about 3 hours. Went to the Ute office and grabbed a ride. 90 sols for the three of us. With all of us thinking it was a 3 hour trip, we jumped in the back like a bunch of kids.
The Ute was a Hilux with a custom build wood and steel rack. There was a section over the cab where they stored our luggage, then a rail about ass height around the bed. In the front of the bed, there was a board running athwartships. We were to sit there. Warwick sat on a stump and one guy kept saying for him to sit in the board. One other guy jumped in with us and we asked him how long the trip was.
Ocho horas.
😬 Eff.
As that was sinking in, the driver backed out and we fucking TOOK off! No joke, the guy was driving like 100. The roads were ultra primo the first 30 minutes. With no warning, they instantly changed to a rough, rutted, steep path. Just about exactly what you'd expect from a jungle road. Crazy part was that he didn't slow down, at all. We were getting absolutely brutalized. Standing sucked and sitting sucked possibly worse. So, we just shifted around and made due. The best form was to hold onto the luggage ropes and kid of surf the truck. For reals. The only other vehicles were Utes and giant logging trucks filled with giant logs. Pretty intense.
The scenery was amazing. There were grand mist covered vistas, wild sheer walls of vegetation, roaming rivers both muddy and swollen and pure and crystal clear. The flowers were unreal. Purples and oranges and yellows like you could not imagine. So much fecundity. It smelled like growth and rot and birth and death. There were small huts scattered throughout the forest filled with tiny native people. Dozens of dark eyes - unfathomable impenetrable pools - staring out at us blowing by. All the huts seems to be multi-generational. The people were fascinating. Tiny, intense, impossible to read.
I thought the ride was almost done like four times. Thought there was no way it was really 8 hours. First time was when we stopped for lunch. Had rice and potatoes and a little meat and a super yummy soup with noodles and a delectable broth. 6 sols ($2). I turned on my phone to check our progress, and assumed we were nearly there as we'd been going nearly the speed of light for 2 hours. We weren't even half way. 8 hours was dead on.
So, I dove into the scenery and the time passed. As we got closer to Atalaya, the road got dustier. Eventually, we rounded a knoll and I thought I saw a big river, which could have been the Ucayali. We drove back into the jungle and the river disappeared. It did seem that we were approaching civilization as we began to pick up more and more people. Pretty soon the back of the ute was filled with an American, 2 Brits, and 5 Peruvians, including 2 natives an older woman and I assumed her grandson. They were impossibly tiny, yet both clambered into the Ute with ease, despite holding a bag of yams as large as them.
Eventually, the dust subsided and we entered the outskirts of what was Atalaya. It's a lovely little town on the giant brown Ucayali. Lively, clean, and filled with friendly beaming Peruvians. No cars, only rickshaws and Utes. Super cool. The three of us were wiped. We'd heard a couple fellow monkey runners had shacked up at Brando 2, so we jumped in a rickshaw a headed over. We ran into 4 others staying there. Alright! We decided we'd shower, they all meet for dinner.
After a bit of negotiation, we settled on a room price of 70sols ($23)/night for a giant room with WiFi, AC, and a shower. I was super dusty and hadn't changed clothes in three days, so I washed my clothes and showered. The shower was cold, but felt awesome. We headed for dinner ending up at a place that only served quarter or half chicken and fries. It was great. Had a rum and I was done. I said so and 4 others agreed, allowing us a quick exit to beeline for bed.
So psyched for sleep tonight. Staying here for three days, so really looking forward to several nights of catch up sleep.
Epic 2 days
https://w3w.co/
Fitful sleep on the bus last night due to super rough roads, stop and go traffic, and speed bumps the size of a car. Arrived at Pichanaki at 0630 where I was woken up by an abrupt stop and kept awake by the scenery. We're in the jungle now. Dropped some people downtown and headed in to Satipo. Rickshaws, motorcycles, and Utes and that's it. I walked from the bus station to the Hotel Fernandez where Lauren and Warwick were staying. I was super tired. Brushed my teeth and waited for them to come down. They came down and we decided to head for breakfast, then grab a Ute to Atalaya.
We walked back to the station and found a cafe. Warwick and I ate and they had coffee. I have fried river fish. It was yum. During dinner we decided the trip to Atalaya should take about 3 hours. Went to the Ute office and grabbed a ride. 90 sols for the three of us. With all of us thinking it was a 3 hour trip, we jumped in the back like a bunch of kids.
The Ute was a Hilux with a custom build wood and steel rack. There was a section over the cab where they stored our luggage, then a rail about ass height around the bed. In the front of the bed, there was a board running athwartships. We were to sit there. Warwick sat on a stump and one guy kept saying for him to sit in the board. One other guy jumped in with us and we asked him how long the trip was.
Ocho horas.
😬 Eff.
As that was sinking in, the driver backed out and we fucking TOOK off! No joke, the guy was driving like 100. The roads were ultra primo the first 30 minutes. With no warning, they instantly changed to a rough, rutted, steep path. Just about exactly what you'd expect from a jungle road. Crazy part was that he didn't slow down, at all. We were getting absolutely brutalized. Standing sucked and sitting sucked possibly worse. So, we just shifted around and made due. The best form was to hold onto the luggage ropes and kid of surf the truck. For reals. The only other vehicles were Utes and giant logging trucks filled with giant logs. Pretty intense.
The scenery was amazing. There were grand mist covered vistas, wild sheer walls of vegetation, roaming rivers both muddy and swollen and pure and crystal clear. The flowers were unreal. Purples and oranges and yellows like you could not imagine. So much fecundity. It smelled like growth and rot and birth and death. There were small huts scattered throughout the forest filled with tiny native people. Dozens of dark eyes - unfathomable impenetrable pools - staring out at us blowing by. All the huts seems to be multi-generational. The people were fascinating. Tiny, intense, impossible to read.
I thought the ride was almost done like four times. Thought there was no way it was really 8 hours. First time was when we stopped for lunch. Had rice and potatoes and a little meat and a super yummy soup with noodles and a delectable broth. 6 sols ($2). I turned on my phone to check our progress, and assumed we were nearly there as we'd been going nearly the speed of light for 2 hours. We weren't even half way. 8 hours was dead on.
So, I dove into the scenery and the time passed. As we got closer to Atalaya, the road got dustier. Eventually, we rounded a knoll and I thought I saw a big river, which could have been the Ucayali. We drove back into the jungle and the river disappeared. It did seem that we were approaching civilization as we began to pick up more and more people. Pretty soon the back of the ute was filled with an American, 2 Brits, and 5 Peruvians, including 2 natives an older woman and I assumed her grandson. They were impossibly tiny, yet both clambered into the Ute with ease, despite holding a bag of yams as large as them.
Eventually, the dust subsided and we entered the outskirts of what was Atalaya. It's a lovely little town on the giant brown Ucayali. Lively, clean, and filled with friendly beaming Peruvians. No cars, only rickshaws and Utes. Super cool. The three of us were wiped. We'd heard a couple fellow monkey runners had shacked up at Brando 2, so we jumped in a rickshaw a headed over. We ran into 4 others staying there. Alright! We decided we'd shower, they all meet for dinner.
After a bit of negotiation, we settled on a room price of 70sols ($23)/night for a giant room with WiFi, AC, and a shower. I was super dusty and hadn't changed clothes in three days, so I washed my clothes and showered. The shower was cold, but felt awesome. We headed for dinner ending up at a place that only served quarter or half chicken and fries. It was great. Had a rum and I was done. I said so and 4 others agreed, allowing us a quick exit to beeline for bed.
So psyched for sleep tonight. Staying here for three days, so really looking forward to several nights of catch up sleep.
