RANSVESTIA

was about four days before Christmas and there were literally more people selling things on the sidewalks, curbs and into the streets than there were shops in the buildings. Everything-shoes, clothing, hard- ware, toys, food, candies, lamps, blankets, Christmas cards, TV antennas, lamp shades, leather goods, kitchen utensils-name it and somebody is selling it. It's unbelievable and it's all you can do to get through the streets.

Drinking water in most places in South America is not too good an idea. But if you don't like wine or liquor you are left with so-called "mineral water” which is bottled and carbonated. Some people like straight soda water but I'm not among them, so what to do. Well, if the hotel has one of the little one-cup coffee makers, I boil that up for 10 minutes or so and pour it out into a glass to cool. Otherwise I let the hot water run till it is as hot as it will get and then fill glasses with it and allow them to cool. That water has been in the boiler and in the hot water storage tanks for some time so it is sure to be pretty well pasteurized. Often on trips you have to leave early with no time for breakfast, or the restaurant isn't open or they don't serve things for breakfast that you like or they are terribly expensive. So when I travel I solve all these problems at once by carrying a package of powdered milk and some Carnation Instant breakfast envelopes. So in the morning I take the glasses of cooled water from the night before, add the dry milk generously to make a glass of "milk" and then add the Instant Breakfast to it as you are supposed to do. It thus provides me with a nutritious, quick, tasty, cheap and safe breakfast. It's a good tip to remember and really saves money since breakfasts are the most expensive meal of the day for what you get.

Well, after "doing" Lima City and the Gold Museum where all of the Incan and pre-Columbian artifacts are housed-a fascinating place, it was up at the crack of dawn to get taken to the airport to fly to Iquitos. This city is on the upper reaches of the Amazon River and thus on the other side of the Andes. The early flights are to get over the mountain while the air is still cool because at high altitudes in the warm part of the day the air is thinned both by height and temperature and flying isn't so easy or as safe. They are building an "international" airport in this city as they expect it to be a thriving place in about five to ten years. Holiday Inn already has a place there. One of the reasons is that this province is the one that has Peruvian oil (and Equadorian oil right next door) so that as more exploration and production comes into the upper Amazon area it will

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