In the Jungle: Pucallpa Continued...

I didn't realize that my last post was the first post of 2012! But that's ok, because it's actually very fitting to mention it in THIS post! We spent New Years in the Jungle, which was a first for us both!

We didn't really have any plans, so on NYE Day, we decided that anyone who wanted to go could meet in the hotel lobby and we would go down to Pucallpa center for dinner and to bring in the New Year. We met around 9:30 and everyone but Mark, Anna and the boys came (it was way past their bedtime) including Rosa and her 2 brothers! When we arrived downtown it was absolutely packed, so we walked a few blocks and found a place to eat...

Jessica, Rosa and Me

Shaun, Erling, Roquelin and Ronald

Lighting up the sparklers...INSIDE of the restaurant. This is Peru!

Downtown

We walked back towards the center and took a few pictures...Haseena (in the blue dress) was NOT happy because it felt like we were literally walking through a mine field. People were shooting off fireworks everywhere we went.

The girls!

The Men.
 

We decided to leave the center and head back to a plaza a little closer to our hotel and away from so many crowds. Haseena and I found a place to sit that was a safe distance from where everyone else were shooting firecrackers.

First picture of the New Year!

New Years Kiss!

A few days later we had 2 days off before heading to Calleria. On our first day off Shaun and I decided to go fishing! How often do you get to fish in the jungle?!?! A few people heard we were going and before we knew it, the entire team was coming with us! The more the merrier!

On our walk down to the fishing spot we saw a wild cherry tree! 

Sooooo cute and delicious!

Arriving at our fishing spot! An old airport hangar.

We made homemade fishing poles from line and branches we cut down in the jungle, then stood on the bank and fished all morning!

Shaun and Daniel fishing together :)

I made the first catch of the day! I went to take my fish off the hook and realized it was a PIRANHA! I was terrified and extremely excited all at once! I'd been fishing plenty of times but didn't know how to take a piranha off the hook. That was a new experience :)

I was trying to take a picture of his teeth, but every time I tried to open it's mouth he went crazy! I decided a close up was good enough. I like my fingers where they are and not in a piranha's stomach.

Daniel's first catch!

We caught several types of fish: Piranhas, 2 types of catfish, and some other type of river fish no one was exactly sure what it was...

Yes, we still stood in the water, even though we were catching piranhas...I don't know what we were thinking!

After a while, we moved to another location about 5 minutes walk away. Just a little stream that came off the main river.

We found a dead iguana in the river :( He was huge! I didn't get a picture, but when we flipped him over his entire leg and tail had been eaten to the bone by piranhas! Yuck!

Speaking of animals, we saw so many interesting creatures in Pucallpa!

This is the biggest beetle I have ever seen (alive). It was just hanging out around the hotel one afternoon. I ran to the pool to get Daniel and Joel because I knew they would love it!

The beetle next to MY hand! Sooooo huge!

As big as Joely's hand!

We also saw the most amazing leaf cutter ants all over the jungle! 

Here they are eating the peel off of a mango. They were fascinating to watch! I could have watched them all day!

You can't tell the size, but this was a huge butterfly!

On our second day off we went to the local zoo! I didn't get many pictures, in fact Anna took this one. But it was so exciting to shake hands with the monkeys! They were so cute!

...And although I didn't take a picture of it, we also saw a (dead) wild sloth. Poor guy!

• If you missed it, check out my last post: In the Jungle: San Juan, Pucallpa
• Next post: Calleria...our trip up the Amazon River!

P.S. Happy 300th post to me!