Pucallpa 7-18-08 "more waiting"

Today was spent waiting and I hate waiting. I'm getting very impatient and annoyed and its only the very beginning of the trip. We met at 7:30 this morning for breakfast with the intention of going to the fish market and exploring the city a little before we loaded the truck with all the cargo. But the plans always change in Peru. After my breakfast americano, I quickly packed my bags to end up sitting in the lobby for a few hours until the truck came and we sent the first load of cargo to the airport. Those of us left at the hotel rebagged and rearranged the remaining gear while we waited for the truck to come back for the next load. All this time we thought that we too would be going to the airport later in the day to fly to Breu. Eventually everyone returned to the hotel with the news that only cargo was going to Breu today. So, at 1:30 (after 6 hours of sitting in the hotel lobby) we all went to lunch.

If you know me, you know my obsession with good food. So I must talk about our best meal yet. If you ever find yourself in Pucallpa, you must eat at Cebicheria Red. Their ceviche is awesome. The meal consisted of the catfish that is making its migration near town right now. It was chopped up and marinated in lime, onions, and who knows what else. It was piled on top a few rounds of potato and sweet potato and topped with red seaweed. Along side was yuca and a few strips of the fried catfish. Delicious!!! We also discovered the best beer of Peru... Cusquena Negra, es muy delicioso. Although this was the best meal yet, it was also the hottest. Not the food but the temperature. It is so freaking hot today and just sitting in the open air restaurant everyone had sweat pouring down their faces.

After lunch we finally got out of the hotel and went to the local zoo. I was a little worried going there, since the zoo in Spain made me cry due to the horrible conditions the animals were kept in. I was expecting more of the same. But it wasn't quite as bad. Parts were, it was very sad to see jaguars in very small cement and fence enclosures, but conditions for some of the others weren't quite as bad. The coolest part was the animals that weren't in cages. They had either escaped or wandered in from the surrounding forest. A monkey even climbed down the check out James and I. We also came across a trail of leaf cutter ants. They are so cool. They use their huge scissor like pinchers to cut out sections of leaves and carry them back to the nest to grow fungus that feeds the young. They've also been known to cut up anything that lies in their path, like tents, t-shirts, backpacks etc.

After the zoo, James and I made a quick motortaxi tour of the indigenous jungle market. It was very cool, but most of the stalls were closing up for the night, so hopefully when we get back to Pucallpa we'll be able to come back to the market in the day light. Tomorrow its off to the airport and 6 am for our flight to Breu!!!