Amazon nov. 2018

Our long awaited trip to the Amazon was finally happening.

We flew to Iquitos, the largest city in the Peruvian rainforest and fifth largest city in Peru. It is also the largest city in the world that cannot be reached by road. It was long inhabited by indigenous people until the Spanish came.

In late 1900 the city became the centre of rubber production. The boom attracted thousands of European traders. Also, the company kept indigenous workers in near slavery conditions through force and harsh treatment.s soon as we got out of the airport we were bombarded by offers for a taxi. But we saw something better….the mototaxis. Oh yeah….we love them. And what a fun ride we had.As soon as we dumped our bags in the hotel we went to see a rescue centre for animals that have been rescued from illegal animal trade.

We took a long boat over, and our first feel for the mighty amazon river.With a snack lunch of a caymanThe rescue centre was set up by a lady some 30 years ago. Totally volunteer run. And we did hear some sad stories but these lucky animals had been found and rescued…

We are behind the fence, most of these animals are free to go if they want but probably wouldn’t survive for long in the jungle….¡There was also a butterfly centre for endangered butterfliesOn the way back we saw local children having funAnd back at the port which was rough and ready we went for a beer. Tasted good as it was hot.The next day we got picked up and taken down to the river to our transport to Muyna lodge. 140 km up river and took about 3h. What a journey. It was beautiful, surreal to be there, I even got emotional about it….strange. The river is so powerful, so important ….

We went past local huts and canoesOur lodge was very eco friendly. Everything run by solar so had to be careful of how much we were using.

The rooms are great, right in there, we could hear all kinds of animal sounds…..We had lunch, unpacked and met up in the afternoon with our guide who took us around for a 2 h jungle walk.

We saw Pygmy marmoset monkeys, the smallest in the world, a giant toad and other monkeys. Later we went out in the night to look for cayman which we found and of course, no photos…The food at this lodge was amazing. Buffet style, so well prepared and delicious.

Needless to say, we slept very well….and man, it was dark….

Shocking wake up, at 6 am if you wanted any breakfast and straight out on the boat.

This time we saw the giant lily padsAnd On we went to look for the famous pink dolphins. It took awhile to figure out that they were not in the usual place on the river but up in a lake.

They are hard to spot, they are elusive and after a bit of a wait we saw them. How amazing, so beautiful and different. And hard to catch them for a photo. These one was the best we got

And then it was our turn to go for a swim…..first I was refusing point blank, I mean there is PIRANHAS in there for gods sake……not ready to die yet….

But apparently the piranhas hang out under the weed bits near shore…really?

So we braved it and it felt so good.On the way back for lunch, some more local huts and people.That night we also went for a night walk and encountered this beauty having his dinnerFollowing morning on our boat trip we found a anacondaAnd the afternoon was spent in the local village. Kids got a bit of play time….The last day we went for another jungle walk and found the prehistoric bird called huatzon. We were far away from them but James the genius took this photos through binoculars. Clever.Oh yes, must not forget that we also went piranha fishing. Good fun. Caught fish but not piranhaJungle photos And before we knew it, it was all over….

The Amazon sure is a very unique place. It was everything I had hoped for, much better than Machu Pichu. Very sad to leave although the early mornings were killing us. Not used to that.

The rainy season was coming in and we saw the water levels rising in front of our eyes. The water would eventually be up to the lodge.

Our guideHappy daysAnd back to IquitosGreat memories, fantastic trip. We learnt so much.