The 1000 Day Holiday

apparently some dude is going to swim the length of the Amazon.

No peeing in the pool

Otherwise this may happen.

Hes starting upriver from me in the next couple of days. Maybe We´ll cross propeller shafts or something in the journey.

His site: Swim the Amazon

So I guess it had to happen.

Ended up at a concert in Iquitos tonight. Was funky fun and all good stuff.

My wallet was pickpocketed while I was at the bar.  I realised within 10 seconds. But what can you do, everyones looking at me, since Im 12Inches taller than the other 5000 People there! Seriously!

haha.

Oh well. Guess it was lucky/karma or that I had withdrawn money today and knew I was going out. Thus cleared out my wallet totally. Otherwise I would have had my main ATM card in there too (plus a whole lot of other stuff tghat would have been missed).. and the $250 that I withdrew.

So all they got was approx $10AUD and my cracked aussie license.

Now all I have to do is get into my hotel. A gringo the security dude has never seen says:

Im staying in 3 0 3. my amigo has the key.. haha he wouldt let me in.. DOH. hmm.. I know my roomies name is Marcel. HA!  And its 4.30am.

So either way. Not so bad.. /long..  and look at what goodies the internet pumps out when you need them  (see next post)

Into the Amazon I am. Huge temperature change.

Weird fish in the markets, and apaparently turtle soup is one of the best tastes in the world. The market had de-shelled turtle too.

Iquitos feels like thailand or Laos, motorcycles everywhere. Funky vibe, out to experience the nightlife tonight.They love to party here!

This morning I flew to Lima, tonight connecting to Iquitos. So my commute to Salvador for Carnaval has begun.

GRIN, like the amazon is a commute, its a frikken long way. But Im sure it will be fun. Back on the malaria prophylaxis meds

Well, why the hell not!

So I´m going to sneak into Machu Picchu

sounds like a great adventure!
maybe..  haha, on the train tomorrow morning.. 2 nights there. So plenty of time for adventures!

Also booked my flight to Iquitos, so my crazy ass commute for Salvador brazil begins on the 26th!

Confirmed malaria free! yay

Party party party all night long and then a 14hr bus ride to Cuzco today.. Urgh.

Inca trail is full, but will probably do the “alternative” route which involves mountain biking, hiking and stuff. sounds cool.

 A major game in the Boliva football league was on tonight. So we decided this was a must see.

High/low lights:

• Chanting from the ´serious´supporters behind the goals.
• aerial fireworks being thrown onto the field, with the explosions hitting players
• 11 Yellow cards and 3 red cards. A super clean game!
• 1 fatality when supporters rushed an entrance gate trying to get into the game and crushed a woman.

Different people from the hostel had decidedly different experiences. We were alright, as we were in more expensive seats ($6) via another entrance. some trying to get in with $1.50 tickets were treated to police in riot gear w police dogs & tear gas as they tried to restore order where the woman was hurt.

 ——————

Today I also visited the Boston Clinic in La Paz to get a followup malaria test.

This is a simple procedure.

However once this had been done. I was introduced to another 3 doctors and 4 nurses.

The purpose? To have 8 photos of said doctors and nurses with me. Why? Im famous because I have had cerebral malaria.

I think Im going to be posted on their noticeboard in the foyer…  Awaiting the results now…

La Paz is a city sitting at 3500m, in a huge canyon. Spent the day wandering the streets. checking out the markets where they sell Lama fetus´ for medicinal purposes.. would make quite a good chew toy by the look of them.

Have settled on my transport options for getting to Carnaval in Salvadore, Brazil by the 15th Feb.

• get to Lima by 27th ish
• fly to iquitos
• take fast boat to the border town Tabatinga 12hrs
• take fast boat to Manus (brazil) 36 hrs
• take boat (fast??), or slow boat 4 days to Belem
• take bus to Salvador for Carnaval!

Now just to work out how many km´s thats covering. 3725km apparently, excluding the bus from Belem.

hung out here for 2 days, not really doing much apart from walking around. Its got ´nice´buildings which are well quite pretty..  but definately prefer Potosis cramped streets.

much lower altitude tho. 2700m which makes the walking around a lot easier..

I hope this is the most boring post Im ever going to make.