Puerto Maldonado

I think I am mealting. Literally. I made it to Puerto Maldonado & it is so hot & humid here! I can´t believe that when I go into the jungle tomorrow, I have to wear all long clothing!

This is a town with not a whole lot going on. It is definiely a different feel than Cuzco, especially because of the festival there. There are a lot of motorcycles & motokars here. A motokar is a motorcycle in the front & a rickshaw in the back (which is a covered place to sit).

I went up into the obilisk & got a view of the town. That was neat to get up so high. Then I got to the Central Plaza, which doesn´t have much going on :). So I went down to the river, which was beautiful. It is a nice red color & wide here. It´s the Rio de Madres. It is a big hub for boats going back & foth ferrying cars, motorcycles, people, trucks, construction equipment, etc. The boats go constantly. The river is so strong that they have to go at a big angle up-river to make it :) I guess this will be changing in the near future. They are in the process of building the Inercoastal Highway that will connect Peru & Brazil. I´m not sure why they are doing this, but they are. Supposedly it will open this year. So in the background, you can see a very out-of-place-looking very high bridge. My guidebook said this will really change this area soon, and possibly not for the best. Time will tell.

I just ran into a guy I met on the plane from the US, so I have to go. Now I really don´t think I´ll have internet access for almost a week. Wish me luck!