DAY 51: Like Tarzan swinging from vine to vine in the jungle, I swung from person-I-could-possibly-trust to person-I-could-possibly-trust. With the girls off on a flight back to Lima, I only had Richard to turn to for advice -- which was a good thing in an urban jungle crawling with Shady Tour Men trying to make a quick buck. Knowing a local also came in handy when I noticed the massive army that came marching into town in full attack gear with crossbows, missile launchers and machine guns.

Luckily, they were just marching in for an honorary ceremony in the main plaza.

I SWUNG FROM RICHARD to his friend Andres, a nice soft-spoken middle aged man who knew English. Andres owned the adventure tour company Amazon Wilderness Expeditions that led hiking, canoeing and camping trips out of a base camp in the jungle -- an experience I wanted to have instead of the touristy jungle lodge experience. Andres cut me a deal for five-days/four-nights from the stated price and signed me up to leave the next morning to the base camp 185 km away from the city, deep in the Amazon jungle. He told me about the tourism bureau's suggestion of giving the address of his company to people so that loved ones could have a way to try and track me down should I get lost -- like the two Americans who went into the jungle recently that no one has heard from since.

With that said, the address is Jr. Putumayo No. 163 - Altos 202, Iquitos Peru. The phone number is (51-065) 23 4565 in the event that you don't hear from me in a week -- in which case you should call the White House immediately to ask for some U.S. troops to be pulled out of Iraq to come search for me. If they are too busy, I'll settle for one of the Animal Planet hosts.

WITH THE THREE-DAY WEEKEND OVER, Iquitos was back to its usual busy self with people doing business in modern stores and getting around by mototaxi instead of by car -- a rarity in Iquitos. After breakfast, I had Richard take me to a couple of museums, the first being the municipal museum, about the wartime history of Peru during its conflicts with Ecuador and Columbia. In addition to its exhibits about the generals and kamikaze pilots of wartime Peru, there were life-like statues of indigenous men and women, sculpted by a western artist who had live in villages for quite some time. The statues were actual size, making it easy to pose with a boy on the rail.

THE ECOLOGICAL MUSEUMON THE OTHER SIDE OF TOWN showcased a preview of things to come. Big diorama displays of taxidermed animals showed wildlife in its natural way -- well, as natural as you can get being dead, soaked in chemicals, stuffed and molded into action positions like a G.I.Joe figure. There were displays of snake skins -- the largest being of the massive anaconda -- actual skulls of small mammals and the jaws of a caiman that I hope never to encounter in real life. The most interesting display for me -- other than the little monkey in a big cage -- was a lifesized model of a piracuru fish, a massive carnivorous fish ten-feet long, weighing up to 400 pounds. They are common in the Amazon River and have been known to jump out to catch small prey on the surface. Richard said they are caught via spearfishing and taste very good. At 400 pounds, that's one helluva Filet-O-Fish sandwich. I can't even imagine the amount of tartar sauce needed.

There was a middle-aged couple touring the museum as well, and seeing Richard acting as my guide, they asked him some quesitons as well -- particularly "Where is that guy from that he needs a guide?" The man spoke a little English, and so I explained -- yet again -- that I was American of Filipino parents and that Spanish wasn't my native language. He said he knew almost immediately that I was American because of my tiny camera.

SO FAR ON THIS TRIP I've been pretty discreet about taking photos, particularly in public. I've heard many stories of cameras being stolen, and so not to attract attention to myself, I usually pretend I'm a spy -- or rather, a six-year-old pretending to be a spy -- by quickly whipping out my spycam Sony DSC-U30, taking a quickie and hiding it when I'm in crowded public places. In "tourist" zones, like a museum, I am a little more open about taking photos -- but this was the second time that day the camera "broke my cover" so to speak. Earlier that morning I was videotaping the Amazon river from the riverwalk esplanade, and a guy who ignored me before suddenly had all these questions for me about getting a visa to the States.

ALTHOUGH HE NEVER ASKED, I paid Richard for his time and went about my day. I checked out the church of San Juan Baptista, paintings by the locally famous impressionist-influenced Grippa, and Ari's Burger, the well-known burger joint for locals and gringos alike, in the stylings of an American 50s diner complete with waitresses in period clothing.

Even in the jungle they have Happy Days.

AT NIGHT I CHECKED OUT the riverfront esplanade bar scene, which was pretty relaxed due to the fact it was a weekday. The most action there was avoiding the dozens of boys trying to sell foreigners cigarettes or gum. One boy was really aggressive and sat down at my table for a whole 15 minutes trying to sell me a box of Chiclets like a used car salesman. (He never bothered me until he saw me take out my tiny camera.)

On the internet, I looked up some of the animals I might encounter on my five-day trek in the wild Amazon jungle, the scariest being the candiru fish, a small, transparent skinny fish with spines that is known to swim up people's urethras if they pee in the river.

If you don't hear from me in a week, you have the tour company's number, but I'm sure you'll hear my screams whereever you are should I have an unfortunate incident with a candiru.

Here I go again...N.I.Z. for five days. I hope survive the Amazon and be back in town by Monday sometime, hopefully without a scratch and all my limbs attached!

In the meantime, you can catch up with blog entries you may have missed. If you're all caught up, you might be interested in reading my old journal from when I did the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu in 2001 with my friend Johnny. (I'm skipping it this time around.) The full-color 56 MB PDF file is here, and the much smaller, text-only PDF is here.