birth in Iquitos…..

Here I am  at an internet enfoq in a neighborhood in Iquitos, Loreto, Peru, the heart of the Peruvian Amazon, a good place as any to begin these travel stories. This blog will focus on Peru and Bolivia for a while since that is  my current journey, but will eventually include places in North America too, and probably not in any special order.
Yesterday my host and I went to Quistacocha, a tourist park outside the city with wild animals, big old trees, and a swimming lake (a cocha is a lagoon or lake). The cuisine here is wonderful…fresh fish and platano, juices of maracuya and aguaje fruits, lentils, and more. Typical mornings are hot and sunny, and the clouds and rain come by mid afternoon. August brings night storms called Santa Rosas. Salsa, cumbia, reggaeton, and 80s dance pop play on our stereos and make the daily soundtrack of the selva.
I arrived in Lima, Peru on June 9th, and have been in parts of the selva jungle, the sierra, altiplano, savanna, and along the coast since then. I try to list at least one hostel or habitacion, food or drink, and interesting landmark in each place visited, and at least one photo.  The metal musical instrument persephone travels with me too and is occasionally part of the story. So here is the beginning of a sometimes informational, sometimes rambling personal, even typical,  mystical, sensory, travel experience.

Arianna