Geoman’s Journal - January 15, 2012.
It’s with mixed feelings that I bring this travel edition of Geoman’s Journal to a close. Yes, it was good to be home on Sunday, but a return home also means the end of an adventure – in this case an amazing 2,300 mile journey up the world’s mightiest river. The great thing about endings is that they are usually beginnings as well. You’ve heard the clichés – as one door closes, another opens or the proverb every end is a new beginning. Some things seem overused for a reason, because they are true. Marking my twenty-five year journey from Semester at Sea student to Geographic Alliance Coordinator has been memorable and the experience was fun to share. As the ultimate fan and a devoted alumnus of Semester at Sea my hope is that I’ve inspired both young and old to make their own voyage of discovery with Semester at Sea. Maybe you can still sail as a student. Maybe you need to apply to be part of a voyage as a faculty or staff member. Maybe you can sail as a Life-Long Learner. My point is that it’s never too late. Remember what Yoda said, do or do not – there is no try! I can absolutely guarantee you’ll be glad you did. As for Geographic Literacy, that crusade may be twenty-five years old as well, but it’s far from over. The very survival of our nation and our planet may hinge on our collective understanding of geography. How can we sustain a healthy and more prosperous human population and at the same time save the natural world and all of its wonders? How can we understand others better and create a more peaceful world? The answer is actually quite simple – we need a geographically literate citizenry that understand the principles of physical and human geography and how they and all of us are connected. I hope everyone following will become an advocate for geography education. Lastly, I hope I can find others ways to bring my friends at Semester at Sea and my friends at the National Geographic Education Foundation closer together and help them find projects that will benefit both their strategic visions and missions that are remarkably similar. So in closing I would like to thank both the Institute for Shipboard Education and the National Geographic Education Foundation, along with the amazing folks at Holbrook Travel and Explorama Lodges, and my wonderful friend Cliver Rioja for making my trip possible and making it possible for me to share it with all of you. And, to everyone Cliver and I met along the way, I leave with two quotes from the legendary traveler Ibn Battuta that sum up what we all love about adventures like the one we just completed … “Traveling – it makes you lonely, then gives you a friend” and “Traveling – it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller”. Until Geoman’s next travel adventure please take care and remember - Without Geography, you’re nowhere!
Geoman atop Charleston Peak (11,916 feet) in the Spring Mountains near Las Vegas, Nevada - August 15, 2011. “Explore geography both near and far - it will connect you to your world and the people that share it with you”!
Geoman’s Journal - January 14, 2012.
Iquitos is a very unique city and I am always happy to spend a little time there even if it is just for a day. I can’t compare it to any other city I have ever visited. Iquitos can only be reached by river or air. It’s Tropical in nature and still has the feeling of being a frontier. It has a rich history including the rubber boom time. Iquitos is growing rapidly, but still isn’t so big that you feel overwhelmed. There are a million stories in a place like this. I posted a picture of the Iron House near where I stayed. Its presence here alone is a great story. That’s Iquitos – old and new … one foot in the past, the other in the future. One of my favorite places to eat in Iquitos is called the Yellow Rose of Texas, just a few doors down from the Iron House. It’s has a unique blend of local culture and Texas flare, great food, and a colorful owner. Gerald Mayeaux, former University of Texas Baseball player, retired to Iquitos about ten years ago and has developed his Yellow Rose of Texas restaurant and bar into a local favorite. Voted the best sports bar in Peru, by Sports Illustrated, the second floor is a truly amazing place. I had breakfast (the #5 with chili and home fries) and caught up with Gerald on Saturday morning and then returned later for a full tour. I’ve posted a couple of pictures of the Yellow Rose so you’ll believe that it actually exists. Cliver and I enjoyed lunch there as well before heading for the airport and my flight to Lima. I would like to thank Gerald and his lovely wife Pamela for their hospitality, friendship, and great food. If you are ever in Iquitos, don’t miss the Yellow Rose of Texas! Just one of the unique places and stories you’ll find in Iquitos, truly the gateway to the Amazon. Please stay tuned for the final installment of Geoman’s Amazon Journal tomorrow and thanks for following!
Gerald & Pamela Mayeaux upstairs at the Yellow Rose of Texas - voted the best sports bar in Peru by Sports Illustrated!
A view of the Iron House designed by Gustave Eiffel taken from the Plaza de Armas in Iquitos, Peru. Rubber baron Anselmo del Aguila bought it at the International Exposition in Paris in 1889. Once dismantled, it was transported in pieces via the Amazon to Iquitos and assembled there in 1890 at the height of the rubber boom.
Local kids enjoying a morning swim while on summer vacation from schools in Peru. Remember, the Amazon is below the Equator so the seasons are reversed. In reality the weather doesn’t change much over the course of the year. The people use high and low water seasons of the river to acknowledge the passage of time. Don’t worry about piranha either - they don’t live in the main, silty Amazon, but prefer the clearer “black water” tributaries and lakes.
Geoman’s Journal - January 13, 2012
Greetings from Las Vegas, Nevada! Yes, Geoman has returned home, but has a few more stories and pictures to share from the last three days of my Amazon Adventure. On Friday I began the day at Ceiba Tops and then traveled the last 25 river miles to Iquitos on Explorama’s Amazon Queen Riverboat in the afternoon. The small communities that dot the river between Ceiba Tops and Iquitos are different than those in Brazil – more rural, less developed, and even friendlier if that’s possible. Iquitos is located 2,300 miles from the mouth of the Amazon. Cliver and I entered the Amazon’s mouth on the morning of December 31, 2011. That was two weeks ago! Established as a Jesuit mission to indigenous peoples in the 1750s, Iquitos started to grow in 1864 when settlers created the Loreto Region (later to become a state or department – the largest in Peru) and made Iquitos its capital. Iquitos was best known for its rubber industry through the rubber boom of the first decade of the 20th century. Tourism, oil production, and of course the lumber and pulp industry dominate its economy today. Cliver and I had Chinese food or “Chifa” for dinner and looked back on our two- week river odyssey over loaded fried rice and Inka Cola. More on my day in Iquitos tomorrow.
An Amazon Basin shortcut! This impromptu collection of buildings sprang up at the head of a small road (mostly for motorcycles rickshaws) that connects the main channel of the Amazon to the nearby Napo River and the community of Mazan. This 1.8 mile, 10 foot wide concrete path saves local people a days journey if they are coming by canoe or small boat from villages or towns on the Napo River in route to Iquitos.
The bridge of Explorama’s Amazon Queen Riverboat.
Trees bound for the mills of Iquitos fill a barge and the boat pushing it upriver. Peru’s deforestation rate is much, much lower than neighboring Brazil. It’s population is smaller and development is on a much slower pace as well. The practice of selective-logging is more widely practiced and is prefered over the clearing of large tracts of rainforest by many in government and the business community.
Herb Thompson, also known as Geoman, is going on an Amazon adventure from Dec. 21 to Jan. 14. Follow his trip here!
