One of the things the four of us had been looking forward to, ever since we decided to come on our adventure to South America, was to visit the heart of the Amazon Rainforest. We wanted to see what life there was like there for the local people. We hoped to see some of the wildlife that we had seen so many times in documentaries and photos. We imagined swimming in the mighty Amazon River, even sharing the muddy waters with who knows what below the water! We recently had the tremendous fortune to live out this dream with a visit to Iquitos and its surroundings in north eastern Peru.
Iquitos is a port city located on the Amazon River. Still to this day, the 9th most populated city in Peru cannot be accessed by road, with only boats and planes linking it to the rest of the country. It shot to fame in the late 19th century during the Amazon rubber boom, for use in the rapidly expanding automobile industry.
Today, Iquitos is home to nearly half a million people, and almost the same number of mototaxis (which are similar to South-East Asian tuk tuks). The city itself is chaotic, with relentless traffic and deafening noise plaguing the place 24 hours a day. Locals say they are used to it, but I could not fathom how anyone could ever acclimatize to such constant noise, movement and the inevitable stress it causes.
Thankfully, our jungle tour would take place 2 hours upriver, well away from city life. Via one of the overland traveler groups we are apart of, we were recommended a tour company to go with, so had arranged this well in advance. We also had the great fortune of doing the whole tour with our Spanish friends Pepe, Aranxca and their kids, who we had recently spent a week with in Pisac. They made an enormous effort to meet us there, something we hugely appreciated.
So we departed for the rainforest with;
- An amazing tour lined up – ☑️
- Kids with friends to play with for the four days – ☑️
This was lining up quite nicely indeed!
Arriving to our accommodation following a couple of hours on a local speedboat was welcome, although the jungle heat and humidity was certainly noticeable. We had brought with us the recommended long, light colored tops and bottoms, but were loathe to put them on as we started our first excursion. Put them on we did however, as the alternative of getting eaten alive by hungry mosquitos was just slightly less appealing.
Before we even boarded the small boat we would use to try and spot pink dolphins before sunset, a tarantula was spotted close to our lodgings. Not a small visitor at all, we were certainly glad for the Wellington boots we had all been provided with a few minutes earlier! The boat trip itself was beautiful, enjoying an amazing sunset beside both pink and grey dolphins. We were also amazed to see a plethora of aviary life all around, something that would prove a constant during our stay in the Amazon.
That evening we enjoyed a delicious local meal (fried bananas really should be tried if the chance arises) before experiencing a real rainforest downpour. This left us in no doubt how the land surrounding us was so green. The night itself was loud again (as the previous had been for us, thanks to the Iquitos mototaxis), however the culprits this time were the local frogs and insects. It really was something to be heard, the noise being infinitely louder than any night time wildlife chorus we had ever heard before.
The following days were wonderful as we managed to spot sloths, monkeys, caimens, more tarantulas, iguanas, dolphins, birds, frogs, snakes and more. We swam in the Amazon River, even covering ourselves in the riverbed mud. I would note that some inquisitive sardines did try and take a couple of nibbles out of us, but thankfully the piranhas stayed away. We also ventured out of our lodgings on foot, both during the day and at nighttime. Probably best that the kids did not come on the night walk, as things get a little uncomfortable and dare i say it scary when the sun goes down!
We learned about all the medicinal plants and flowers that the locals use to treat any ailment you could possibly think of. As our guide Teddy explained the use of the rainforest to heal pretty much any ailment imaginable, it really felt like we were in a giant pharmacy, only without the chemicals, packaging and high prices we accept as normal in the western world.
We visited a local village to learn about their way of life. We marveled at how they made use of everything around them, but how their togetherness was the real thing that made it all work.
The tour company that we spent the few days with were themselves one big family – 2 grandparents, their 15 children and the various grandchildren. We heard the stories of the children’s births a number of years ago. 13 of the 15 had been born in the village in the jungle, without any modern medical assistance. The first child had come along when the now grandmother was just aged 12, the last one when aged 43. One of the births even took place right in the middle of the jungle, as the she had been out with her husband collecting bananas. We were told that the husband simply made a makeshift bed with some banana leaves and delivered the baby himself there and then. Quite the different start to life than most of us experience I imagine…
We ended our tour and left the incredible jungle, the mighty river, the countless wildlife and the welcoming locals, with very heavy hearts. We had been treated so well, and experienced so much in those four days. We left with enough memories to fill several scrapbooks, and photos to fill a Google account.
On more than one occasion in my lifetime at least, a dream destination or event can often fail to live up to the high expectations I had set. I can honestly say that the Amazon truly lived up to everything I had imagined, plus then some. This is an incredible place, grand beyond your wildest imagination and more full of live than anywhere else on the planet. Here’s hoping that we start to take care of this Garden of Eden very soon.
Click here to read the “In Search Of Sea Giants” blog post
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