Waking up the last day, we were greeted by yet another spider chowing 
down on nature’s oh-so-plentiful supply of insects. This guy wasn’t all that big for a jungle spider, but he compensated by leaning heavily on the creepy factor. He just sat there, clinging unnaturally to the beam overhead, glaring at us as he sucked the life out of what I am sure was once a very peaceful citizen of the cockroach community. This is just one of the many examples of why we slept under mosquito nets every night of the trip.
The trip out of the jungle was a short one that day, having us back home early in the afternoon, but along the way we ran into what has to be one of 
nature’s most underappreciated animal: a sloth. We had many sloth spottings throughout the trip, but they were usually high up in a tree, where they looked more like a mix between E.T. and a chimp than the mental image I had created of sloths (not surprising, I suppose, since the majority of my information on sloths comes from 
watching the movie Ice Age). However, on the way out that day, we found a sloth that was sitting fairly low in a tree, and one of the guides climbed up and pushed down the branch so that Klever could grab him. This was, by far, one of my favorite moments on the trip. At first, I thought it was a bit risky to be laying your hands on such a large animal that is accustomed to running free in the wilds. I mean, if Mr. Sloth decided he did not want to be held anymore, I’m sure he could do some damage with those claws. However, the sloth seemed quite content to no longer need to expend any effort holding on to a branch. We passed him around so that everyone 
got a chance to hold him, and he just kind of closed his eyes and gave us all an aw- shucks grin. He was surprisingly soft, and heavy. I’d always heard that they have moss growing on them, and that turned out to be true, although I figured that would make them a little crusty or slimy or something as well, but not at all. This is a very excited me holding on to him as he took a small bow. It was like he thought if he kept his eyes shut and didn’t move, we would all go away and he would be safe again. And it turns out he was right. When we had all gotten our pictures taken with this Amazonian celebrity, we put him back on his branch, where he continued to practice the art of not moving. It turns out the only time they move quickly is when they fall in the water, which makes sense considering the fact that caiman live in that water.
The plan for the rest of that day was to catch a boat out of town that night, but for reasons unknown to us, the boat had decided not to go up the river that day, and so we spent the night in town instead. At first, it 
looked like the only entertainment available was a small monkey that one of the little girls in town was trying to sell. That’s right folks, for $20 this little cutie could’ve been yours (elbow not included)! However, after playing with the monkey for a little while, we regretfully handed it back to its owner. But don’t worry, the fun didn’t end there. We had lucked out; it was the town’s anniversary week and they were electing Miss Laguna that night. And so, after a lovely dinner at Klever’s house, we decided to check out the celebration. Needless to say, we were the only gringos in this jungle village, and we didn’t exactly blend in. I won’t go into the details of what happened that night, because the story would be incomplete without the actions that go along with it, but next time you see me, ask me about the “Deesco! Deesco!” night in the jungle. And if you don’t get a chance to ask me about it until a long, long time from now, don’t worry; this is something I will definitely never forget. And you know, I don’t think the people in that town will forget it very soon either.
And the last unforgettable image I will leave you with for now is the 
mural we came across while exploring the town the next day. In Peru, there are a few central figures that are so famous that everyone in the country seems to know them. Of those people, three of them were held so dear to the citizens of this town that they even had their likenesses painted on a building on main street. Yes, that is a picture of Jesus with his arms around Jean Claude Van Damme and Bruce Lee. Good luck getting that image out of your mind.
And now… on to Iquitos!
