As on so many days, I woke up today and switched on Deutschlandfunk. Among other things, there were reports on two things that are also a recurring topic here: the climate catastrophe and politics. Current politics in Argentina – it will be interesting to see how the change of government will affect things – and the UN conference on plastic waste. Everything, really everything, is wrapped in several plastic bags here, it’s terrible. There is very little understanding for this issue. As there is no proper waste collection system, plastic bags are lying around everywhere. In general, the direct environmental problem is hardly considered, there seems to be little responsibility, even if most people are already aware of the effects: there is less water in the Amazon than ever before.
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It’s really hot here in Iquitos, I’m sweating all the time. (Greetings to you, Sigrid, do you remember our sweating in the Caribbean?) The heat and high humidity are exhausting ….
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I’ll show you two pictures from the city, one of dilapidated and unused architecture from the heyday, the other of creative office spaces …
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The so-called Gustave Eiffel House, Casa de Fierro, is located directly on the Plaza de Armas (did I mention that all central squares in Peru are called that?). It is not certain that it was designed by him. It is also said to be the first prefabricated house in America. The rubber baron Anselmo del Aguila bought it in 1889 at the World’s Fair in Paris. After it had been dismantled, it was also brought in parts across the Amazon to Iquitos (the individual sheets were carried through the jungle by hundreds of men) and reassembled there in 1890. All the compartments are stamped steel plates. If anyone is interested: A completely different story about the creation of the house is told in Mario Vargas Llosa’s comic novel Captain Pantoja and the Special Service (Pantaleón y las visitadoras).
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On the upper floor of the Iron House there is a restaurant where I treated myself to fresh tomatoes in a salad and a coconut cocktail with shaved ice. They assure me that it’s made from “good” water, so I’m curious to see what my body has to say about it. I’m gradually getting tired of drinking only bottled water …. How great it is to have a nurse practitioner and a doctor friend who I can call at any time at the first rumble! (Thank you, Stina and Susanne! 😊)
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The pictures show the iron house from the outside and inside.
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