Back to Iquitos

This morning we woke up (hopefully the last time I have to do so damp and sweaty) and had our very last breakfast in the jungle. Since our stuff was taken early in the morning after putting it out last night it was easy to get everything together and head out. My only forgetfulness involved filling my water bottle, so I didn't get to drink any water throughout our journey back, but I also didn't have to pee when there were no bathrooms, so not the end of the world. Our final breakfast included pancakes, a fried fritter thing with mushrooms and maybe cauliflower and egg that was amazing, and some canned fruit salad, which I always love for some reason. We all ate and that was about it before heading out of Yacumama for the last time on this trip.

The boat ride was very uneventful. Some people played a few card games, I read a but, and just enjoyed being on the river. We also had the little boy on our boat and Stephanie made him a glove balloon to play with that she attached to a rope so he couldn't throw it overboard. It was super fun to watch him being happy and laughing in such a tough situation. Once we got to Nauta the group got on the bus and that was about it. I sat with our dentist from the trip and we chatted a bit on the bus ride. Luckily my Spanish is getting better, because she doesn't speak any English really. It was nice to get to know her a bit more, even though the trip is basically over. 

Coming back into Nauta

When we arrived in Iquitos we got off the bus at the AP office and then went to lunch at Dawn on the Amazon while we waited for the cargo bus to arrive with our luggage. After eating we walked to a place for ice cream and then grabbed our bags and went to the nice air conditioned  hotel to check in. Caitlin and I are in our same room at Hotel Acosta, so we settled back in quite easily. We both went through our bags to get the dirty clothes out to send for laundry, which turned out to be basically everything I brought. Most of my stuff was damp and smelly after wearing it in the jungle, so I'm excited to have clean clothes tomorrow. We brought our stuff to the laundromat and payed for our laundry to be done, and it should be ready at 10AM tomorrow. After dropping off the laundry we went to the Indigenous Peoples museum next to he AP office, which has artifacts and information from various tribes throughout all of the Amazon jungle, not just Peru. The collection is amazing and it was so cool to have that much from such untouched cultures. We spent some time looking at the exhibits, took the survey they asked us to take, and then went to the grocery store for water. 

We spent a little time relaxing in the room and rinsing off and then went to Arandú Bar for drinks before dinner. It was a little slow, but the drinks were good as before. We then we the Chez Maggys for team dinner with every member of the whole team (docs, translators, chefs, helpers, etc) to wrap up the medical portion of the trip. We got all different pizzas to share and I had a bunch of Inca Cola. Still a weird drink but I weirdly enjoy it now.  We all had a nice time talking and eating and its sad that I won't see many of them again. After dinner some people went out for more drinks, but I was dead tired, so I went back to the hotel for a good nights sleep in a temperature controlled room! Can't wait! Seriously hoping I sleep very soundly!