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Posted March 17, by Jungle Love in characters , Iquitos. Tagged: addiction , amazon , Belen , con artist , con men , confidence man , crack cocaine , estafadores , iquitos , pasta , Peru. The city of Iquitos, capital of the Peruvian Amazon, is no exception. It is full of con men and swindlers of all varieties, from street-level hustlers to high-ranking businessmen and politicians. There are a lot of thieves here too, and the line between a theft and a con is hard to discern sometimes— using forged paperwork to sell a house that does not belong to you, for example, is an elaborate con, but theft is at the heart of the gesture, because something promised was not delivered. A true street-level con, on the other hand, is just an act of creative storytelling, in which you get someone to hand over money willfully. The greatest street-level con man in Iquitos, by a wide margin, is not a Peruvian at all, but an Englishman in his early forties named Brian. When I first met him, he approached me in the street and introduced himself as George. Speaking in crisp, polished English, he proceeded to paint a brief portrait of himself as a stranded traveler who had been robbed and just needed money to eat until his wire transfer arrived. I gave him nothing, although I was tempted to. That was three years ago. I have since gotten to know Brian as well as his friends from England, with whom he first came here as a tourist. I remember when I came back to Iquitos a year after that first encounter, and ran into Brian again. He approached me in the same way as before, but as soon as he recognized me, he instantly dropped the pretense and we had a friendly conversation. His lifestyle was taking an obvious toll on him. His teeth were a mess, and he was as thin as a wire. But his piercing ice-blue eyes still darted about, aware of everything, scanning the streets as we talked, like a predator on perpetual alert. Recently, word got around in Iquitos that Brian had received a beating from some tourists who were not happy about being conned. I finally caught up with Brian recently in the main square of Iquitos, the Plaza de Armas, to talk about the state of his life. Before I could even ask him about his various confidence games, he cut me off with a demonstration. As they approached, he addressed them, and the exchange went something like this:. What a relief, to meet another Englishman. Anything you could spare towards my plane ticket home would be such a great help. But you have to consider my situation, I mean, look at me. He held out his right hand, and they both winced at his little finger, which was half-shrunken and stuck out from his hand at a crazy angle. However his index finger was broken as well, and this was obvious by the color and inflammation. I just want to go home. If you could maybe just manage, oh, twenty soles, that would really be something. Inside of five minutes, the man handed over twenty soles and they both wished him good luck. He thanked them profusely and we walked off together. As we did, I noticed an angry-looking Peruvian sitting on the bench next to ours. I thought for sure he was going to intervene, because he knows me as an estafador already. Brian truly is an estafador in full. This is because the estafador is using his wits alone for gain, without resorting to violence or robbery, and Peruvians respect a good liar, because a good liar is someone who is smart enough to manipulate a situation to their advantage, and get away with it. Brian himself told me a story that makes this distinction better than I can. One night recently, a couple of Welsh rugby players on vacation, who Brian had conned ten days earlier, ran into him in to the street. They chased him down and then knocked him around a little bit. During this beating, a local street vendor came over to see what was going on. The second time, incidentally, was at the hands of a French tourist who took issue with Brian. He landed a few hard punches to the head before chasing him through the maze-like Modelo Market, weaving through vegetable stands and crowds of vendors. He even chased him into a motorcar and out the other side, like something out of a Benny Hill routine, until the chase ended at a crackhouse where Brian had been staying, and the other fumadores pasta smokers turned the tables. In the end, Brian had to pull them off and usher the tourist out the door before he was badly hurt. All the local business owners in town know about Brian, so he does not show up along the main Boulevard of Iquitos much anymore. But the employees recognized him and chased him off. Once, standing in line at Saby, the corner market on the first block of Nauta street, I watched Brian conning a tourist right outside the entrance. Brian looked inside the store, then calmly turned again to the tourist. I think he has me confused with someone else. Look, his picture is right there on the wall! By this point, Brian had the attention of everyone in the store. All eyes went to the wall, a few feet from where Brian was standing, and sure enough, there was the Iquitos Times article, and his photo. Brian looked at the tourist, and could see the game was lost. And then he just kind of sighed, and seemed to smile a bit as he turned and walked away without another word. Brian, holding the article warning tourists about him. The mangled pinky finger, the urgency in his voice, the contradiction of a person so clearly bright and articulate, who is disheveled and hungry, strikes an instinctual chord—most people would think: this person is clearly out of place, he is obviously educated and well-spoken, just a poor chap who has found himself in a tight spot. His pitch also rings true because ninety percent of what Brian says is accurate. He has lost his passport, he has been injured, in actual fact he has no money to his name, and he really is living out on the street, so very far from home. He is merely leaving out the other ten percent—the part about his addiction to pasta. Pasta, or cocaine paste, is a crude, intermediary product that results from the first step of cocaine processing, which usually happens on-site in remote locations throughout the Amazon. Peru now leads the world in coca production, and the impoverished back streets of Iquitos are awash in pasta, which is cheap and plentiful. To make it, coca leaves are put in a barrel or a pit, and kerosene or other chemicals are poured over them to extract the cocaine base. Brian was remarkably frank with me about his pasta problem. This kind of addiction defies logic or reason. It has become all-consuming for a man that was once living life in style, and making more money than he knew what to do with. Of course Brian is smart enough to know better. But being smart has nothing to do with it—addiction is its own reason for being. Brian has spent years now living in crackhouses, with friends in very low places, living a life of petty crime, and for what? I think back to the words of my friend Marco, who I ran into while talking to Brian in the Plaza. And I really do believe that if you ever decide to go straight and work a regular sales job, you could make a lot of money, if you wanted to. Yes, someone had ripped me off. And half of that was my own money, and the other half belonged to a syndicate. It should be a lot easier, hopefully. I did. But that kind of money is easy come, easy go. You open it, and your goal is to open the envelope as soon as you can. She was the first person that I spoke to that day. When I got round the corner and opened my hand, I almost dropped to my knees. I was like, hallelujah! That would be just going out once. Sometimes on bad days, I make thirty or forty soles. But other days, I just drop onto a really nice person, and I get a hundred right off. And you were helping out people in lower Belen, the Robin Hood thing. I hear that the kids call you Papa Noel Santa Claus. I was helping out old ladies, people who needed the help, and there were a few people who would always come and ask. And they would approach me with some sob story that was obvious bullshit, but I over overlook that and give them something, and that was another way to justify what I was doing. Because they are such genuinely good people, that it kind of echoes in your mind. Oh, there was lots of fights, lots of beatings. And no one wants to get involved. Men beat. Quite a lot. With almost no reason. I did it a few times. I pulled a guy off and people jumped in on me. I would share it along the way, a handful here and there, it would always be shared. They eat the bones too, you know. In the initial days, I walked down the stairs of Belen with a quarter chicken, and somebody stole it from me. I mean, what can you say to somebody who steals food from you? My fault? I like to start from zero, every day. Every day when I wake up, I have nothing. A year and a half. After that, the riot squad and the drug squad came down to deal with, like, four houses that were being used for smoking pasta. Although they were my friends, I also saw them as just human. Anyway, the police came and just went berserk, because the government was building a new clinic down there and they wanted to clean up the area. And basically, they squashed the houses with us inside them, literally, and all the contents inside them. No, just, militant police squads, they pushed the houses over, I mean they were made of wood, so they rocked them until they fell over. They had guns, they had sticks, they flushed us out like rats. The majority of the people there, they moved one block over to San Martin and Ucayali, and I then resided in similar sort of conditions for another year, until the police came and did the same again. We had a little sort of village by then, and after the second time I moved to Punchana, to a house with a huge reinforced iron door, with about six locks on it. It has a long stone corridor and then opening up onto a little yard. When I first got there we looked at getting electric currents running through the roof, which is the only way anybody could get in. The guys who run it, they get a package every morning, of a hundred grams of pasta, and they cut it up into little folded square packets made of newspaper, called tickets. And a ticket costs one sole each. So they pack them up into ten piles of sixty four tickets each. When you cut a sheet of newspaper in an eight by eight grid, you get sixty four little squares of paper. And they usually sell out every day. So the first thing I do is I agree with them. And this guy, he gives me twenty soles, and then maybe the same night he reads in the Iquitos Times about the gringo con man, sees my picture, and he realizes, shit, that guy conned me. He will never again give money to someone in the street. There are too many facilities. And the conviction, is, well, enchantment, and charm. I was actually born near Sheffield, in a place called Rotherham. Sheffield is where they make all the nice stainless steel knives and forks. Let me go back to living in Belen. Occasionally I would see gringos walking down the stairs to go to the market down there, but no other gringos lived there. It is fairly dangerous there, but the grounds that I entered there, I entered already knowing the worst people, as it were, and they were the people protecting me. I had quite a few. There was one point when I was trying to teach the guys to use fists instead of knives, and I got cut shows a scar on his chest , not very deep though. That was from separating a fight. I also have a cut here, on my hand, about three inches, down to the bone. This was a meter long fluorescent light tube, and they broke it, and then stabbed me with it—I put my hand up to block it, and got stabbed there. And the finger. Oh yes, the finger. That got a lot of sympathy! How did it actually happen? Well, I was smoking, I was out of my head, and it was nighttime. I was talking to a friend, we were sitting around a large table that had candles on it, about as big as half your thumb. This was not long after being stabbed in the hand, and it must have severed a nerve, as I lost all feeling from the point of my little finger, to about two inches down on my wrist. As I leaned over to talk, I felt absolutely nothing but I actually burned my little finger on the candle without being aware at all. I blew it out, and I just looked at my finger and I could see the bone. And I felt nothing. Not until the other day, when the Welsh guys stamped on it. Yeah, definitely. They broke the first joint of my index finger, maybe not the second but it hurts, and the one that was already broken, they broke it again. But they did not blacken my eyes, and I still hold my head up high! For the moment, yes. But, there are certain things. There are a few wrongs that I would like to right. Until I do that, I will feel incomplete. I will leave, one day, and I will leave alive. Later on that night, after our interview took place, Brian encountered another of the Welshman who had earlier given him twenty dollars. This was Ian, the unofficial leader of the group, and he was the biggest and baddest of all of them. With his bald head, tattoos and facial piercings, he could have stepped out of the landscape of a Mad Max movie. This might appear to be kind of a contradiction—to go from the peace-and-love vibe of jungle medicine, to delivering beatings in the streets of Iquitos—but in fact it was a matter of principle. The Welshmen had told Brian quite clearly, before giving him twenty dollars apiece, that if he turned out to be a liar, they would find him and give him a thrashing. The universe must have quite a sense of humor. I say this also because, after Ian was done with him, Brian actually went and summoned the police, who detained them both and took them to the police station. According to Ian, Brian was furious at him, saying Ian would be put in jail, and was going to be in a lot of trouble, because Brian knew the police at the station and they were friends of his. But when they arrived at the station, the police inspector talked to both of them, and then had Brian temporarily locked up. Afterwards, he came over to Ian and shook his hand. It seems quite unclear what the future holds for Brian. How can an intelligent person find contentment in such conditions? Sooner or later his tickets are going to expire. So I hope that one day soon, he will wake up and decide to use his powers only for good, in someplace worthier of his abilities, someplace more refined than an Iquitos crackhouse. Posted by projectamazonastree on March 17, at pm. Great story, great writing. There was also a Hungarian, really nice fellow who actually had one honest minimum wage job after another, great stories, last I saw him was several years ago, trying to sell a drum on the Boulevard for 10 soles. Only about two days before you published the story I had met Brian for the second time, and for the second time he came up empty with me. I really did enjoy his sales pitch and told Brian that it was much more refined than a year and a half ago. Was great to finally meet you at The Amazon Cafe. Good luck and best wished for your writing career. I think you have a bright future. What a great blog post on yet another unforgettable Iquitos character! Personally, I respect anyone who can survive 1. Hey Caleb, sure enjoyed this story and your writing style. This was stopping on the way through Merritt BC Canada. And now come to think of it I bought into another trying to get home plea six months ago in Calgary. Met the guy too. He could make fortune with that stuff…. Posted by Lynette on February 10, at pm. I was recommended this blog by means of my cousin. I am not positive whether this publish is written by means of him as no one else recognise such special about my trouble. You are incredible! Thank you! Thank you. I know what you mean—no one else recognise such special about my trouble either. Good luck to you. Posted by Enterhase on February 18, at pm. Thanks for another great Amazon story. On the darkening streets of shantytown Belen in Iquitos, a Caucasian four years ago approached and asked for a handout. I thought I was the only one out there at night. We talked at length, and though the wound was as real as the need for sutures, he seemed content to chat for fifteen minutes about the incident. I would later meet other ex-pats who said that the prey was actually the predator. I told him it was a one-time loan, one time repayment, but never saw him again after that night. Hi there I went to school with Brian mcarron at a small village in Rotherham, spent quite a bit of time together in and out of school. So in that sense he seemed more grown up than other kids my age although he was a nice kid. After leaving school quite a few lads went down south and even abroad,some came back some not. Bri has his mum n sisters in Rotherham still and I for one have spent time with him here in England and out in Peru.. He is a complex person who has somehow left his 7 kids to grow up without there father just like he did Its a shame he has ended up without a passport and unable to get home.. He is very talented and intelligent.. I hope he is ok and wish him all the best.. God Bless. Thanks for leaving a comment. It took me a couple of years to get Brian to sit down with me and agree to tell it, and to his credit, he was totally honest about his entire situation, not trying to spin it in any way. Whatever else you can say about him, he is not in denial about his behavior! I would like to think he is also smart enough to one day turn it around. Posted by Theresa on April 21, at pm. I am a very old friend of Bri from his home town Rotherham! After reading this my heart fills with mixed emotions…. But right now anger is taking over… If I could sit for a minute and have a conversation with Bri I would remind him his calling is to grow some bollocks face his demons!!! Grrrrr he clearly is in pain I can see that in his eyes from the pictures you have printed!!! But us his true friends can see through that stupid ego of his that has always got him into trouble! What can I say…. If you see our friend again tell him we miss and love the real Brian Mccaron love n light hold on tight as you once showed us!!! Just come home Bri! Tree,Jay,Arran,Stanton xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx. Thanks so much for the comment. This story found its way to facebook and several of his old friends have written with similar comments. His is a troubling story in many levels. Like you, I wish Brian nothing but the best and hope that he will one day soon get on a different path than the one he has been on in recent years. Hi just by reading this I can not believe it. As I have none Brian for years really nice kid. U have told his story or should I say his last few years good as not to put Brian down but to tell true. My heart goes out to Brian hope he comes back home one day. Very sad. Brian is a con man, an undesirable way to be for sure. But that Ian guy is a psychopath from the sounds of it, ha. Who drinks ayahausca and finds it in themselves to beat a man on a promise. Probably a pasta fiend himself. What a lovely place Iquitos can be. Email Address:. Blog at WordPress. Jungle Love life in Iquitos. Where are you from? Share this: Email Facebook Twitter. Like Loading Posted by Rere on March 17, at pm. Great story, Caleb. Re Reply. Don Reply. Posted by Loren Whisenhunt on March 19, at am. Posted by Dan on March 21, at pm. Posted by Don Campbell on December 23, at am. Cheers, Don Campbell Reply. Posted by Marc van Ardenne on January 6, at pm. He could make fortune with that stuff… Reply. Posted by Jungle Love on February 11, at pm. Fantastic story! Very well written. Posted by bo keeley on February 28, at pm. Posted by grace on March 19, at am. Posted by Nick cox on April 21, at am. Posted by Lydia Birkbeck on April 21, at pm. God Bless Reply. Posted by Jungle Love on April 22, at am. Thanks so much for commenting— could not agree with you more. Thanks so much for commenting. He is indeed a survivor! Posted by tom on April 21, at pm. Omg I went to school with Brian. Posted by Dane King on April 21, at pm. Posted by Dane King on April 22, at am. Tree,Jay,Arran,Stanton xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Reply. Posted by Craig ball on April 22, at am. Very sad Reply. Posted by Nathan on May 30, at am. Leave a comment Cancel reply. Help support Jungle Love! Because why not. Jungle Love e-mail subscription Enter your email address to follow Jungle Love and receive notifications of new posts by email. Email Address: feel the love Join 64 other subscribers. Comment Reblog Subscribe Subscribed. Jungle Love. Sign me up. Already have a WordPress. Log in now. Loading Comments Email Required Name Required Website. Design a site like this with WordPress.

10 Things to Know Before You Go to Peru

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First, we soared over the Andes mountain range, and then dipped low over the snaking tributaries of the Amazon river. I snapped picture after picture and later captioned my first Instagram from Peru, bienvenidos a la selva; welcome to the jungle. When the plane landed, the doors opened and I could feel the steamy jungle air creep into the cabin. A rusting carcass of a plane rested at the end of the runway, and a one room airport welcomed us to Iquitos — the largest city in the world unreachable by road. A hungry crowd of cab drivers awaited. Viente soles , they demanded, though I had written in my notes that the fair rate was quince soles. I stood my ground and a very small older man agreed to take me for that price, much to the ire of his younger competitors. We walked to the vehicle, and I had to exert great effort not to giggle. Back home, this rust heap would have hit the scrap yard years ago. The driver opened the door for me with all the chivalry one would expect entering a Lincoln Town Car. I noticed the window was not rolled down but rather missing entirely, as revealed by the jagged shards of glass still clinging to the edges. A faint click revealed the driver had turned on the air conditioning — in the form of a small, battery operated fan hitched to the center console. As we attempted conversation despite my broken Spanish, Iquitos rolled out in front of me. A little boy kicked the deflated shell of a soccer ball, men piled on top of cargo on top of strained pickup trucks, colorful buildings seemed to sag in the heat, and Southeast-Asia style tuk-tuks battled motorcycles and more rusty cars through traffic. I watched intently as a policeman chased a man out of a store, and gasped when in the space of a second the officer caught up to him, drew his batton, and beat the man straight across the ribs with a firm single thwack. Welcome to the jungle, indeed. Like so many visitors to Iquitos, my first move was to leave — for most, the city is little more than a transfer point to the jungle beyond. Luckily, I had scheduled almost four full days in Iquitos between my two forays into the remote Amazon. Lucky, because it only took me moments to know that this was my kind of cuidad. Here, past meets present, and city meets jungle. Old rubber-mansions, once grand, now stand crumbling, and a peek inside reveals hammocks strewn from the mosaic-tiled ceilings. Here, the urban chaos of , people come face to face with the languid pace of the Amazon river, and a special energy emerges. One building — below right — was designed by famed French architect Gustave Eiffel, and shipped into the city piece by piece in A local told me that the structure was originally meant for a rubber baron in Quito, Ecuador, but ended up in Iquitos due to a misunderstanding over the similarity of the city names. I simply stared at him, impassive, unable to determine if this was a joke, a bizarre-but-true slice of history, or a fiercely believed urban legend. While I spent the majority of my time in Iquitos holed up battling the horrific internet connection, whenever I needed a break I would head out with my camera to capture some of the bright and bold street art. The ports and waterfronts of Iquitos are as busy as any main street at rush hour. Ground the planes, and boats are the only way in and out of this city. From my bed at my hostel, I could stare right out at the Rio Amazonas. One day, I treated myself to lunch Al Frio y al Fuego. This floating restaurant was quite the splurge, but I was drawn by the novelty — and the pool. Afterwards, I had a panic about my budget, and that night had banana oatmeal and Diet Coke for dinner, leaning over the counter of the hostel kitchen. To be honest, I spent a small fortune on food in Iquitos. I was putting in twelve hours a day in front of the computer and when I took breaks to eat, I wanted to really enjoy them. My favorite was Dawn of the Amazon , which had a mango salsa will change your life, beautiful river views and prices to match. After dinner there with two American guys from my hostel, our server politely asked them to write Ohio , their home state, on the back of a receipt so he could look it up on the internet. Karma Cafe was another hit with free wifi, occasional live music, and a distinctly dreadlocked vibe. I also tried Amazon Bistro , but I liked the atmosphere better than the food. One evening, one of the hostel employees invited me to a local concert, and I accepted despite the fact that my evening yawning had already kicked off. Motorcyclists slowed down briefly to be patted down by security, and then carried on driving right into what appeared to be a major plane hangar, where a stage filled with scantily clad salsa-ing ladies and heavily hair-gelled boy band members crooned. In a crowd of several hundred, Miguel pointed out that I was one of three foreigners. My final stop in Iquitos, on the morning of my departure, was to Belen Market. If I wanted to take pictures, I needed a guide. The market was fascinating. There were little stall streets of flower vendors, others of medicinal and potion vendors. Most shocking were the fish and meat streets, where the hacked off tail of an endangered crocodile and the legs of threatened tortoises sat alongside chicken and beef. The police looked on, bored. Other items sure to be seized at customs: belts made of jaguar fur, wallets made of anaconda skins, skulls of various jungle mammals. We briefly walked through the town of lower Belen, where the guide told us to hold all our belongings close, walk quickly, and avoid eye contact. Iquitos charmed me — there were hints of Southeast Asia in the air, making it the perfect transition between continents. I could not have asked for a better introduction to Peru. The only options are flights or ferries — Iquitos is unreachable by road. Bonus Tip: Tuk Tuks are a cheap and fun way to get around. Rides through town cost soles. Looks a bit like Nicaragua, but with better tiles. One thing I should have mentioned in the post… if possible, wear rain boots. I felt many similarities between Iquitos and Southeast Asia! Which as I said, made it a great transition point. I know your travel experiences will be very different, but I would love to see a SE Asia vs South America post at the end of your trip! I love those posts too Amanda! But we will see…. I loved seeing Iquitos through your eyes — I actually hated most of my time here. Loved the crumbling architecture but after 3 days of street hawkers following me everywhere I went all day long bothering me, I was at my breaking point. We have some of the same photos of the street graffiti! Glad you got to see Belen too…I have no photos of it because we took literally nothing with us. We met 2 other foreigners in the market who had just had packpacks stolen right off their backs. A lot of poverty there! I was thinking about you saying that when I was there, Rikka. I only had two people approach me my entire time I was there. One was kind of unnerving as he approached me when I was already a bit nervous about flashing my big camera, but they both backed off quickly when I explained in Spanish that I had just returned from the jungle. Thanks Nadia! I was very inspired by Iquitos and wrote dozens of notes right on my iPhone, almost right in the moment. I think it paid off. I have heard so much about Iquitos, but would have never imagined it to be like this. It looks so beautiful. I love places like this, with the crumbling colonial architecture reminds me a little of Kampot in Cambodia , and the market looks awesome. You make me sooo excited for my trip to Peru next year. I went to the Bolivian side of the Amazon and the town there looks tiny in comparision to Iquitos! The tiles and architecture in Iquitos look absolutely gorgeous. I think Iquitos is just special! Think I might go and book a ticket right now. Thanks for the enjoyable article. The people of Iquitos, excluding the thieves, are the best and nicest people you can find: They are warm, friendly and hospitable; they like Life to be easygoing. It was funny to read the motocarristas wanted to charge you 20 soles to go into town. The answer is to come into balance with a day-to-day life that is somewhat of a disconnect. Glad you enjoyed, Boo! Lovely post, thanks for sharing. Thank you. Many towns in this part of the world are mixed between old world charm and poverty. In Iquitos, wifi is actually incredibly rare and pretty terrible! Caiman tail? Or crocodile or alligator, I guess. People like to eat them, and I can understand how the concept of endangered species would be difficult to explain here. Iquitos looks beautiful! Now, thanks to your photos, I know! I do the exact same thing — scour guidebooks to places I have no plans to go! So glad you reshared this on TBS. What a beautiful post. You truly captured the spirit of Iquitos and after having spent many weeks in Peru myself, you brought me back to my own memories in the Peruvian Amazon. I am planning to go next august and I have a few questions. My questions are more for after, I am thinking to stay for 4 — 5 days to just enjoy the city by myself. I would stay in Hostels and would walk around with basically the clothes on my back. Are there personal areas to avoid, or better neigborhoods to find a hostel in? Any other impressions would be great!! Hey Guy! I loved it! I felt safe there and the staff gave me great and practical advice about the routes and safety anytime I wanted to walk there. Outside Belen I brought my camera everywhere, practiced reasonable caution, and felt very safe. I was there in , and tried to go down, and a military personnel stopped me. American proprietor who married a Peruvian woman, and everything is delicious. When I was out there the US dollar was much stronger, and we stayed in a really fancy hotel for almost nothing. He was well worth the guide fee. When you say the market is dangerous, on what level? I heard from many, many locals backed up by my guidebook not to even considering going without a guide if you want to bring a camera. One girl told me she went alone just to wander so left everything in her room, and still had the sunglasses stolen right off her head! I felt totally safe while with a local guide, though. I know it was a while ago you were there, but would you suggest pre-booking an amazon tour or finding someone in town offering better deals? Hey Erin! Hard to say. Fun fact similar to your Quito vs Iquitos story. My great great grandfather came from Scotland to South Africa on a boat in the s as a young boy. They were intending to go to Natal in northern Brazil but ended up on a boat bound for Natal in South Africa. The mum died at sea — my guess is at the pure shock of realizing she was en route to a completely different continent and country to the plan! Also — the comments on theft in Belen Market. Is this like someone takes out a knife or gun and says gimme your sunnies and backpack. Or they just grab and dash pure pickpocket style? Leave a Comment. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Search for:. The Great Escape: Month 31 Roundup. Tempting Fate on the Nazca Lines. Subscribe to receive regular new blog posts, our monthly Alex in Wanderland newsletter, or our Wander Women Retreats announcements — or all three! Great writing! Descriptions were vivid and the feel palpable. Love your post! That floating restaurant is very cool. All of your pictures are incredible! Thank you Krista! That was a suggestion from the reader survey! You are welcome Anton! That is a random fact. Love it! November 16 November 17 Thanks Emily! Thanks again for a wonderful post! Guy aka Citizen Clown :o. September 28 February 14 On my blast from the past rereading your south and Central America content. Leave a Comment Cancel reply.

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