As I will be returning to Belgium a bit later than expected, one last article to inform everyone of my last month in Iquitos and my plans before going home. As my time here is starting to run out at a dazzling rate, it seems more and more difficult to have a bit of time to rest. There are a lot of things I still wanted to do in my last weeks here, but unfortunately I’m forced to make choices. But off course it’s nice to always have a lot to do during the weekends, contrary to the time when I just arrived here and was even a bit bored at times.
One of the more remarkable celebrations I went to last month was the birthday party of Karelen, the cousin of a friend I met through CouchSurfing. As often here in Iquitos the party already started at midday with drinking beer in the typical local way, which means we only use one glass and a bottle of beer. You usually fill half of your glass and give the bottle to the next person; after finishing your glass you also give your glass etc. Problem is that in this manner you never really notice how much you’re drinking, but maybe this is one of the secrets why birthday parties always are that much fun here. Also the music is of great importance off course and it never takes much time before the whole of the house is filled with people dancing.
On the 23rd of August the same family also invited me to visit their little piece of land on the route to Nauta, the only place that is connected to Iquitos by road. After a long drive by motorcycle we had a pick nick there and in the afternoon we played volleyball. Despite the fact I didn’t play in a decade I managed to win one nuevo sol, although I have to admit it probably was thanks to my strong team, compromising of Karelen, her sister and her parents. Afterwards we all went to the river nearby to have a nice dive.
One of the more noteworthy events of last week happened Wednesday evening when I went to give a lesson in the artisanal school of Belén for a group of young women studying dressmaking. I was invited by the mother of one of my colleagues as she is teaching the class and is obliged to give one lesson in English, but she doesn’t speak the language herself. So she asked me to give a lesson in which I had to explain terms that are important when making clothes. Never thought I would be a teacher in dressmaking one day, but probably I made my grandmother very proud as I’m finally following her footsteps.
This Saturday we also made a nice trip to the nearby lagoon of Quistococha as a present to the children I help at the house of my colleague Jill. Every Tuesday and Thursday in the evening (usually from 7 until after 12 o’clock) and every Saturday in the afternoon I assist them in their homework and teach them a bit of history, geography or English. This time I went in the morning to finish the work they had for school and with Jill, her baby Jilliams and Sorana (who looks after Jilliams and the household for Jill) and her children (her oldest daughter Samantha is one of my students), we took off to Quistococha. There they have a little park with the typical animals living in the Peruvian rainforest and a bathing place where we spent the rest of the afternoon. In the evening we all had a nice dinner at the house of Jill and we ended the day in another typical Peruvian way, namely watching some television. Remarkably was that we watched a documentary about the Holocaust and even Jill didn’t know about the extent of the horrors of the concentration camps. This also might help explain why I know two people by the name of Hitler in Iquitos.
This Tuesday was a bit less joyful as I had to say goodbye to the children of the children’s house Arco Iris. They gave me a nice goodbye however and all the children of my group had made beautiful cards that I can take with me to Belgium to remind me of all of them. Hopefully I can visit them again in the future to see how they’ll grow and continue studying well in the great environment Arco Iris has created for them.
The end of my stay in Iquitos is coming very close, but there’s no time to take it easy now as another big event is coming. Friday and Saturday our association will organize a two-day forum in Iquitos, together with our partners of Solsticio Perú. During the forum different problems concerning the Peruvian rainforest will be discussed with many invited guests, representing the regional government, petroleum institutions, indigenous organizations, NGO’s, etc. Sunday will be my final goodbye from this wonderful city as I will give a party in Jill’s house and on Monday afternoon I have my flight to Lima.
This isn’t the end of my stay in Peru however as I will still have one week to visit Trujillo and Lima. Upon arriving in the Peruvian capital I’ll try to catch the night bus to Trujillo where I’ll stay three days and will try to visit the historic centre of the Chimú civilization, Chan Chan. Afterwards I have four more days in Lima before I finally return to Europe the 15th of September. I won´t immediately return to Belgium however, as I’ll be landing first in Madrid and will have the honour of being guided through Castile and Léon by Inés for no less than nine days. Most of you can expect a spoken report of my travels after the 25th of September, when I’ll be flying back to Belgium from Valladolid.
Bye and maybe ‘till soon!
Jeroen
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Tot binnenkort dan!!
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