Day 1 Iquitos

     Greetings from Iquitos! We got in last night at about 7:30 from Lima and straight off the plane it was hot and buggy. The sun had already set and it was still  86 degrees. We were picked up by Lisandro, one of the men working at our hostel Camiri. He's from Argentina and has been in Iquitos for a week. He made friends with Marcel during his stay and he and his amigo are now helping Marcel to run the place. 
     Lisandro made us feel at ease immediately and chatted about Camiri and his adventures I Hawaii. It was an entertaining ride because we got to take in Iquitos on our way to the hostel. The main mode of transportation is motorcycles and motor taxis, so the ride is always an adventure. We loved it. We arrived at our hostel which is floating on the river here. The location is prime because it's nice and quiet and super friendly. Walking down the steps to the waterfront with our backpacks was a bit of a task but we made it no harm done and were so stoked when we got our first glimpse of Camiri. Chelsey and I have dubbed it the broke college student's Tahiti or floating Bora Bora resort. 
     We spent the evening chatting with Marcel and Lisandro and getting some Spanish lessons. We wanted to see the sunrise so we dubbed it the "Drinks & Spanish Lessons Til Sunrise Tour." They might add it to the website soon haha. 
     We met what we've now started to call our Motley-Crew here at Camiri. We're quite the eclectic international bunch. It's me Lizzy and Chels representing America, Sandro and Betsey a Peruvian brother and sister who are now from Miami, Matt the Aussie and his friend Fernando from Colombia, and two Germans Harry and Mike. We all went out dancing in Iquitos and had the best first night for our adventure that we could have expected. It's great to have a group to enjoy what the city has to offer. 
     When we came back to Camiri there was about an hour to sunrise, so we sat and talked soccer and such until the sun rose, which was phenomenal. Feels like fake life. We went to sleep for a few hours and now we've spent the day relaxing with our new friends here at Camiri. 
     Lizzy, Chels, & I just had a wonderful lunch in town, I had Papas a la Huancaina, Chels Lomo Saltado, and Lizzy fish with cream sauce. In a word, amazing. 
     Now we're hanging with our motley crew gearing up for another adventure. Excited to see what's in store. Until later!