the StoveTeam staff
Iquitos, Peru - Amazon River
Tue, Mar 16 2010
| Peru
Oh Boy! I have just met Carlos, my Rotarian host, and am as excited as can be! I decided to come to Iquitos totally out of the blue as I received an e-mail inquiry about stoves for the Amazon, and here I am.
Tomorrow I will meet with the director of the environmental organization in the morning and then have a driver and moto-taxi to take me around Iquitos to see the market and the zoo. There is a Rotary meeting starting at 9pm and I'll be showing the video that Tom took of the stove recipients in Guatemala, and then we'll try to figure out how to design a stove appropriate for grilling fish.
This club has done many projects with the six villages near Heliconia Lodge, so the following day I'll be staying there and visiting the local villages to investigate local cooking practices.
I can hardly wait!
Tomorrow I will meet with the director of the environmental organization in the morning and then have a driver and moto-taxi to take me around Iquitos to see the market and the zoo. There is a Rotary meeting starting at 9pm and I'll be showing the video that Tom took of the stove recipients in Guatemala, and then we'll try to figure out how to design a stove appropriate for grilling fish.
This club has done many projects with the six villages near Heliconia Lodge, so the following day I'll be staying there and visiting the local villages to investigate local cooking practices.
I can hardly wait!
Comments
Airport- Lima
Tue, Mar 16 2010
| Peru
I'm in the Lima airport again, this time waiting for my flight to Iquitos on the Amazon. I'm not sure what to expect other than a large port city, and I am wondering if I booked too many Amazon adventures and not enough of the other options in Peru, but the opportunity to be hosted just seemed too good to pass up.
Last night I was sitting on the steps of the airport with a mob other travelers awaiting a flight out of Santiago. We entered through a big white tent, and everything went smoothly despite the earthquake, however there was no air conditioning and insufficient seats, so most of us sat on the tile steps awaiting our flights.
The lovely Chilean/American woman next to me said, "This was the worst trip of my life." She and her husband flew to Santiago because their formerly active 27 year old son was suddenly admitted to intensive care with an infection. He spent six weeks there while doctors removed more than three feet of his intestine and told them they didn't think their son would live. Luckily, he improved, but his return flight cost $88,000.00.
Now I know why I have been purchasing travel insurance and making sure that all of our volunteers do the same.
My hostel was amazingly well equipped for $35/night, but I was by myself. I investigated taking a taxi to central Lima, but it would have taken half an hour in each direction, so I walked. I stayed in Miraflores, the area close to the Pacific coast, but my morning walk included such amazing sites as Burger King, Starbucks, TGI Friday's, car dealerships (again), and the Adventist University.
Taxis present a problem in South America because they aren't regulated carefully. In Argentina we were told to take a "remis" as the remises are more reliable and will probably get you directly to your destination for a set price. We took a few, but also took "Radio Taxis" as Mary's school said they were reliable. The problem is to know which is a REAL Radio Taxi and which is a fake one. Here in Peru, you can take any taxi, although Taxi Green seems to be the most reliable. Again, you have to make sure that the taxi has a taxi sign on top of the car, and not just in the window, and you have to make sure it has a reliable business phone number visible. This is all well and good, except how do you know all of that BEFORE you flag down a car? (Mary and I took a few that were obviously NOT Radio Taxis, but we're still alive and don't think we got ripped off...)
The next post will be from Iquitos where I'll be met by my Rotarian host
Last night I was sitting on the steps of the airport with a mob other travelers awaiting a flight out of Santiago. We entered through a big white tent, and everything went smoothly despite the earthquake, however there was no air conditioning and insufficient seats, so most of us sat on the tile steps awaiting our flights.
The lovely Chilean/American woman next to me said, "This was the worst trip of my life." She and her husband flew to Santiago because their formerly active 27 year old son was suddenly admitted to intensive care with an infection. He spent six weeks there while doctors removed more than three feet of his intestine and told them they didn't think their son would live. Luckily, he improved, but his return flight cost $88,000.00.
Now I know why I have been purchasing travel insurance and making sure that all of our volunteers do the same.
My hostel was amazingly well equipped for $35/night, but I was by myself. I investigated taking a taxi to central Lima, but it would have taken half an hour in each direction, so I walked. I stayed in Miraflores, the area close to the Pacific coast, but my morning walk included such amazing sites as Burger King, Starbucks, TGI Friday's, car dealerships (again), and the Adventist University.
Taxis present a problem in South America because they aren't regulated carefully. In Argentina we were told to take a "remis" as the remises are more reliable and will probably get you directly to your destination for a set price. We took a few, but also took "Radio Taxis" as Mary's school said they were reliable. The problem is to know which is a REAL Radio Taxi and which is a fake one. Here in Peru, you can take any taxi, although Taxi Green seems to be the most reliable. Again, you have to make sure that the taxi has a taxi sign on top of the car, and not just in the window, and you have to make sure it has a reliable business phone number visible. This is all well and good, except how do you know all of that BEFORE you flag down a car? (Mary and I took a few that were obviously NOT Radio Taxis, but we're still alive and don't think we got ripped off...)
The next post will be from Iquitos where I'll be met by my Rotarian host
New Itinerary
LA 422 BUENOS AIRES 12-Mar-10 10:25 llegada 12:40 Santiago
LA 600 SANTIAGO 15-Mar-10 20:10 llegada 22:55 Lima
LP 394 LIMA 16-Mar-10 16:10 llegada 17:56 Iquitos
LP 375 IQUITOS 20-Mar-10 7:10 llegada 8:45 Lima
LA 2567 LIMA 20-Mar-10 12:10 llegada 17:40 LaPaz
LA 2567 LAP 25-Mar-10 18:10 llegada 19:10 Lima
LP 17 LIMA 26-Mar-10 9:55 llegada 11:10 Cuzco
LP 38 CUZCO 30-Mar-10 16:45 llegada 18:00 Lima
LA 600 LIMA 31-Mar-10 00:05 llegada 6:50 Los Angeles
AS 2318 LOS ANGELES 03-Apr-10 llegada 22:50 Eugene
Hi all,
I am very excited to have had communication from a Rotarian in Iquitos, Peru as well as someone in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. As my flight on LAN was changed on the way to Buenos Aires I was given a $1,000 credit for use on other LAN flights this month. So...why not visit the people who need stoves the most?
We spent the last few days in Iguazu Falls being tourists and enjoying ourselves immensely. This morning was spent in Buenos Aires at the LAN office, and this afternoon we will go to the bookstore in a colonial theater where they serve lunch on the stage! Tonight we'll be treated to an asado at Santi's parents home, and tomorrow we're off to an estancia and then the following day we'll be going to Colonia, Uruguay. Of course, there is much more of Argentina to explore, but it can't be done on this trip, so I'll be back to drink white wine in Salta, malbec in Mendoza and visit Patagonia and the glaciers.
I have reservations both in Santiago and Lima and I've just heard from my host in Iquitos that he will meet me at the airport, show me the communities along the river that need stoves, and take me to their Rotary meeting on the following evening. It certainly won't be a normal way to experience the river.
Our trip to the delta near Tigre was fascinating, the tango show was wonderful, and I've eaten enough Argentinian beef to last a lifetime. The liquados are wonderful - my favorite being peach, orange juice, and basil flowers!
Good news keeps flowing in by e-mail. Don is in Fiji and feels he has a good stove project in the works there, and Gerry and Susie are home working on Rotary grants and legal issues. Gail returns from Australia at the end of the month and is on her way to getting the November volunteer trip organized. Larry Winiarski is traveling to El Salvador and Guatemala to check on the stove molds to make sure they are all quality controlled, and Ana Luisa has begun the process of designing outreach health programs to go along with stove distribution in Guatemala.
Life is good!
Nancy
LA 600 SANTIAGO 15-Mar-10 20:10 llegada 22:55 Lima
LP 394 LIMA 16-Mar-10 16:10 llegada 17:56 Iquitos
LP 375 IQUITOS 20-Mar-10 7:10 llegada 8:45 Lima
LA 2567 LIMA 20-Mar-10 12:10 llegada 17:40 LaPaz
LA 2567 LAP 25-Mar-10 18:10 llegada 19:10 Lima
LP 17 LIMA 26-Mar-10 9:55 llegada 11:10 Cuzco
LP 38 CUZCO 30-Mar-10 16:45 llegada 18:00 Lima
LA 600 LIMA 31-Mar-10 00:05 llegada 6:50 Los Angeles
AS 2318 LOS ANGELES 03-Apr-10 llegada 22:50 Eugene
Hi all,
I am very excited to have had communication from a Rotarian in Iquitos, Peru as well as someone in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. As my flight on LAN was changed on the way to Buenos Aires I was given a $1,000 credit for use on other LAN flights this month. So...why not visit the people who need stoves the most?
We spent the last few days in Iguazu Falls being tourists and enjoying ourselves immensely. This morning was spent in Buenos Aires at the LAN office, and this afternoon we will go to the bookstore in a colonial theater where they serve lunch on the stage! Tonight we'll be treated to an asado at Santi's parents home, and tomorrow we're off to an estancia and then the following day we'll be going to Colonia, Uruguay. Of course, there is much more of Argentina to explore, but it can't be done on this trip, so I'll be back to drink white wine in Salta, malbec in Mendoza and visit Patagonia and the glaciers.
I have reservations both in Santiago and Lima and I've just heard from my host in Iquitos that he will meet me at the airport, show me the communities along the river that need stoves, and take me to their Rotary meeting on the following evening. It certainly won't be a normal way to experience the river.
Our trip to the delta near Tigre was fascinating, the tango show was wonderful, and I've eaten enough Argentinian beef to last a lifetime. The liquados are wonderful - my favorite being peach, orange juice, and basil flowers!
Good news keeps flowing in by e-mail. Don is in Fiji and feels he has a good stove project in the works there, and Gerry and Susie are home working on Rotary grants and legal issues. Gail returns from Australia at the end of the month and is on her way to getting the November volunteer trip organized. Larry Winiarski is traveling to El Salvador and Guatemala to check on the stove molds to make sure they are all quality controlled, and Ana Luisa has begun the process of designing outreach health programs to go along with stove distribution in Guatemala.
Life is good!
Nancy