Hello Manati and goodbye Iquitos

This morning I visited the Programa de Ecosistemas Acuiticos which has a program to save the Manati which are in danger of extinction. (I forgot my camera and therefore have added this picture from the net). The Manati are really large and slow creatures who feed on the plant life (each adult Manati eats 70kg of plants per day) and therefore are vital to the ecosystem as they stop the rivers from clogging up. I was able to play with them and bottle feed the young ones with milk. Their skins felt amazing (like rubber wet suits) and they gently nuzzled on my fingers and/or rolled over for me to rub their pink tummies. This afternoon I say goodbye to Iquitos and fly back to Lima to prepare to go to Cuba the day after. Sharon left Australia yesterday to start her journey to Cuba and has already faced flight changes with her direct flight now going through Sydney and suffering a three hour delay. Oh the joys of travelling.