Back from the jungle!

So yesterday I got back from my school trip to Tarapoto, Peru!!

I always have a really hard time remembering everything...I'll do my best, and it may just be easier to do a post based on pictures (I'll use some of my own pictures and some of my classmates because I actually didn't take as many as I normally do...)

We left for Tarapoto on the 25th of October!  My host mom and I took a micro (bus) to the airport in Callao, Lima and we met up with everyone there.  Of the 4 exchange students in my school, only 2 of us were able to go on the trip (Tami from Canada and me).  We traveled with quinto (in case you don't remember, that's the grade that I was in for one month and then was switched out of) so I was really happy to get to spend time with them again.

Me enjoying Subway at the airport.  One of the many advantages (and also occasionally disadvantages) of living in Lima is that it is quite Americanized.  You can find a lot of American restaurants here (McDonald's, Subway, Pizza Hut, even TGI Friday's and Chili's)

For a lot of my classmates, it was their first time on a plane (how crazy it is that that was me 3 months ago...and now I've been on 6 planes!). The flight was realllly short, if I remember correctly, about an hour.  Here's where Tarapoto is located so you can get an idea of the distance:

So Lima is on the coast (the one with the star) and Tarapoto is more northern and central, kind of on the edge of the jungle.  So although we didn't travel very far, it was still a drastic change in scenery/climate/everything!  When we landed, we were hit by a wall of intense heat.  Arriving in the jungle from chilly, cloudy Lima was crazy.  The sun felt so strong (I always wore sunscreen on my face but occasionally forgot my shoulders and neck, leaving me with white stripes on my shoulders where my tank top was) and the heat was just unbearable sometimes (especially when we traveled in bus and had to wait for the air conditioning) and it could be so uncomfortable, with your shirt stuck to your wet back and your head itching from the heat (I wanted to shave my head at some points hahaha). 

Right off the plane, arriving in Tarapoto

Our hotel was small and rustic, and there weren't very many people which was nice.  We were in rooms of 3 or 4 people.  There was a pool, hammocks outside every room, tons of greenery and plants (duh, jungle) and it was just really simple and nice. 

One of my best friends, Chachi

And Tami enjoying the pool!

So, the first day, we arrived in Tarapoto and got to our hotel, and we just spent the afternoon/night there, using the pool and what not. 

The second day, we got up and had breakfast at our hotel (fried eggs and fried bananas) and then went to see a waterfall and tour the jungle and stuff. 

One of our breakfasts (papaya juice, fried cheese, fried eggs, fried bananas...it was good, but definitely too greasy and fried to sit well with me)

A lovely shot that someone snapped of me at breakfast

Chachi and I before our jungle hike

Welcome to la selva (the jungle)

Some of my classmates during our hike through the jungle. From left: Vannia, Zezur, Eduardo, Yllen

We didn't see a lot of wild animals, most of the jungle animals we saw were in cages actually, so it wasn't a completely authentic jungle experience, but oh, well. 

hello monkey

There was also a swing that everyone took turns on

And then we made it to the waterfall.  Some decided to be adventurous and jump off:

Some classmates watching everyone jumping off the waterfall

Tami at the bottom of the waterfall

Then I think we had a quick look at some artisan stands...and then I think we toured around the city a little bit...I really don't remember!  At some point there was a presentation of singing in Quechua/dancing in a little village called Lamas (I think..) with adorable little Peruvian children.  I got some great photos.  Some of us got up and danced with the kids.  It was a short presentation, but memorable.

The kids were so sweet

Some classmates participating in the dance

I danced with her for a few minutes and we had a brief conversation in spanish haha.  I think she was the oldest of the kids there, she told me she was 12.

Chachi and his dance partner

Tami with two of the girls

Then we returned to our hotel and I think had supper, some probably swam in the pool some more, I don't really remember.  I think I chilled with Tami in a hammock for a while. 

quite relaxing

Oh, now I remember!  That night there was a party at our hotel!  I wasn't even aware of what was going on because I was hanging out with some people in one of our rooms, but apparently it got pretty crazy out there.  There was blasting music until about 2:30 AM.  The next morning the pool was brown and everything was really trashed and dirty, empty bottles and garbage all over. 

That day, we went to a place called the Blue Lagoon.  We had to cross a river to get there (we and our vans went on a boat lol)

At one point we were driving and then it just randomly started down pouring.  It was really beautiful and apparently is typical for jungle weather.

Then once we got to the Blue Lagoon (which wasn't actually very blue) everyone enjoyed jumping off the long dock into the water and taking photos. 

Eduardo and Yllen

Chachi and Tami

Tami and Chachi hahaha

Most of the class

And Tami and I were just sitting on the dock at one point, relaxing.  I was just looking at some photos on my camera, and Tami was doing a short vlog on her phone (taking a quick video of herself) when all of a sudden, a large wasp decided to land on my leg and basically what happened was this:  I screamed (loudly) and attempted to swat it away, it stung me anyways (on my left thigh, on the side, a bit above my knee), the wasp thing died and fell into the water (it was a really big wasp and scared the **** out of me lol) and I was sitting there with it's stinger sticking out of my leg.  Tami pulled it out and called over help.  It was very painful and it was swelling up around where I was stung, with a large, blood red circle in the middle where the stinger had been.  And so I was basically crying and shaking on the dock while everyone was gathering around me and trying to help.  One of our tour guides cleaned it up and they gave me some pills for the pain and so that I didn't have a reaction or something... I don't really know.  I'd never been stung by anything before (just mosquitos, never a bee or wasp or anything).  It was really scary and it hurt a lot.  They helped me up and Tami helped me walk off the dock to where we'd be eating lunch.  And although I was kind of traumatized and in pain, it was still UNBELIEVABLY HILARIOUS when we realized that Tami had captured the attack of the wasp while she was doing her vlog!  Well, she didn't really get video of it happening, just of me screaming hahaha.  And so we watched that many, many times ahahaha and it is soo funny because it's just like Tami talking like "and now we're in the blue lagoon, as you can see, the water isn't actually blue, it's kind of -" and then I start screaming hysterically hahahahaha. 

This was pretty much minutes before I got stung

After that, the pills they gave me made me super sleepy and kind of out of it.  So we had lunch and then took a boat ride but I don't really remember the boat ride because I pretty much passed out and slept.  Then we returned to the hotel I think. 

That night we went out to some club/restaurant/karaoke place.  Me and a few others got pizza and then everyone did karaoke and it was pretty fun, actually.  Tami and I sang Don't Stop Believing and it was awesome hahaha.

The next day (our last day) we went to this place that makes chocolate, but it was a suuuuper disappointing tour that actually lasted 4 minutes.  And then some people bought chocolate.  And then we went and toured this place that made cigars.  It smelled really bad in there.  And then I think we went to some artisan place and I bought two pairs of earrings (I'm proud of how little money I spent on this trip haha the earrings were the only things I bought besides soda).  Then we had lunch in a restaurant and then we all rushed back to the hotel, loaded all our bags into the vans, and returned to the airport in Tarapoto to return to Lima. 

Oh and here was a nice sunset from one night

And there was really cool lightning but this was the best I got attempting to capture it

So that was the trip!  I got back yesterday probably around 9 or 10 PM I think... and I slept today until 1:30 PM.  And tomorrow I shall return to school, then we have Friday off because of a holiday or something, and then on Monday I go on another trip, this one to Cusco/Machu Picchu/Puno/Lago Titicaca and it will be my second rotary trip!  I have been having so many great opportunities to travel here!!! I'm unbelievably lucky!

Byeee!