Iquitos: Back to Land

When we arrived at Iquitos, I was tired and ready for a few days on land. We had spent way too much time on the river and I was craving decent vegetarian food that wasn't made of plantains and wanted to just enjoy a nice air conditioned room (remember, it was really hot, but it would also rain every now and then). So you can never really step out without your rain jacket.

We checked into a hotel that we randomly found, as we hadn't done any research. But we headed to the restaurant "Dawn on the amazon" for this meal:

A meal with fresh guacamole after forever!

Sam, one of our travel companions and I wanted a very specific vegetarian pizza at Chez Maggi, Iquitos. Not knowing how to explain to the waitress, we drew her a circle on our notebook and indicated the toppings on each side. The pizza was perfect! Mine is the cheese-less side, with mushrooms. Sam's is the cheesy side, minus the mushrooms. Say that in Spanish, now!

Pizza at Chez Maggi

Riding the local bus from Quistaquocha

Las Boras - a day trip on the boat from Iquitos

The floating village of Belen

How will they bring this out?

The market at Belen

Interesting ways to buy oil. I like the variety.

Just like India

Another vegetarian meal

Mamey - the local version of sapota

We discovered Iguana Haus shortly after our first day. They had excellent air conditioned, clean rooms for 40 soles, with wifi and kitchen. We cooked several meals here. We decided to fly to Lima from here on as time was running short and our visa for Chile would be expiring soon.

So we walked around the airline companies and finally bought tickets to Lima for USD 170 for two people. Not a bad deal within a few days notice. We just hung out with Sam and Law and eventually met Cat for the first time! We'd go on to meet Cat later in Peru and go on the Inca Jungle Trek with her and almost eight months later, she'd come to India and stay at our place in Bangalore! Travel friends are so much fun!

Vegetarian food to try out at Iquitos:

• Dawn on the amazon
• Yellow Rose Texas
• Pizza Chez Maggy will make Pizza whatever way you like
• There is a veg resto on Jr. San Martin between Jr. Prospero and Ramirez Hurtado
• Rest. Vegetariano Darshan on Jr. 2nd De Mayo between Av. Elias Aguirre and Av. Miguel Grau - near plaza 28 de Julio.

Sightseeing:

• We went to Las Boras and Quistacocha. Las Boras is an Amazonian tribe which tourists can see and interact with the tribe members. I dont think we'd go specially for this, but if you have time to kill, why not?
• Quistacocha is a big zoo and entertainment park. Okay to go. Kids will enjoy.
• Belen - the market is very interesting. The floating village is okay, but gives a very different perspective on how people live. I would recommend going as a group.

Lagunas - where time stands still

We finally made it Iquitos, 12 days after we left Chachapoyas. I felt like we had lost a sense of time and left all that we knew far far behind. Being in the Amazonas makes you feel very isolated, even when you are surrounded by tons of people. Life is so laid back out here, but people have jobs and lead real, full lives. There are many foreign tourists in Iquitos, enjoying a laid back life. I couldn't help but wonder, how will I ever move back to busy corporate world after this?

Main street, Lagunas

Jungle tour office information

Boat office timings - Lagunas

Breakfast at Lagunas

Near the "port"

Village boys throwing water balloons at the boat to Iquitos

Our boat

Waiting to get off!

Finally, Iquitos!

 When we finished our jungle trip in Iquitos around noon on 31st Jan, 2012 - there was a moto waiting to take us back to Lagunas, a 25 minute ride through extremely bumpy roads. We walked right up to the port, only to discover that there are no boats the following day! Apparently, this is very normal. There are simply no boats to Iquitos on all days! And here we were, stuck in charming, but severely limited in choices Lagunas. Its very important to find out the boat timing schedule ahead of time. The rest of our travel companions were still in the jungle, choosing to stay one day longer than that. So, we decided to chill in Lagunas. There are power cuts here and there is no internet, so really not much to do other than read, write or just hang out.

Lagunas is so unlike any other place we have ever been to. Its incredibly basic and hot and there is nothing much to do except walk around. There are a few stores on the main street leading to the really small "port", and a few hotels for people who work on development projects. There is a plaza de Armas and the restaurants are really hole in the walls or homes converted into makeshift eateries.

Amazon Jungle: Pacaya Samiria National Reserve, Lagunas, Peru

There are many ways to experience the Amazon jungle in South America. Before we started our travels, the Amazon was one of the top things we wanted to see. When I mention Amazon throughout this blog, I usually refer to the Amazon basin, not the specific river itself, though we did get the opportunity to go on the river once in Iquitos.

Cute little monos in Pacaya Samiria NR

The Amazon basin is so big, you can take a trip through it from one of several COUNTRIES. Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Brazil, Bolivia all have huge areas of "selva" or jungle that tourists can go to. This is not an exhaustive list, I am sure. We skipped Colombia right away as we had researched that selva trips from there are not safe. Ecuador didn't work out due to timing issues. But in Peru, we were finally able to realize our dream. We zeroed down on the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve, as it is not far from Chachapoyas, and it is also on the way to Iquitos, a city that is connected to the rest of the world only by water and air, not land. 

Getting to Pacaya Samiria National Reserve, Peru

There are different ways to book a trip into this reserve - either from Iquitos or from Yurimaguas. When booking the trip from Yurimaguas, your starting point will be the tiny village of Lagunas, which is an eight hour boat ride from Yurimaguas. There are different authorized tour agencies who can take you into the selva (jungle), and all of them have a presence in Lagunas and Yurimaguas.

We booked our selva trip with Huayruru Tours. We first contacted them via email and received a quote from them before visiting their office in Yurimaguas. We also joined a few other travelers in Yuri - Sam and Law - the cousins from England and an English couple who all made excellent travel companions. We stayed overnight in Yurimaguas as the boat to Lagunas leaves early in the morning and we needed a day to get money and supplies - hammock, a lunch box, medicines (moquito repellant), snacks and other sundry items. Definitely make sure you are well stocked on toothpaste, mouthwash and other hygiene items. There is nothing available in the jungle and Lagunas is not a safe bet - you may/may not find things.

The boat from Yurimaguas to Lagunas

If possible, go to the port the previous day to confirm the boat leaves the following morning. The boat may or may not leave the following day. The ticket cost us 25 soles. Hammock is compulsory as there are no seats on the boat (or lancha, in spanish). There is plenty of space to hang hammocks in an organized manner in rows.  Get to the boat well ahead of time as you'll find a good spot for your hammock. There are people available to help you hook up a hammer for 3 or 4 soles on the boat. Or you can do it yourself. The boat ride is typically 8-10 hours long. Restrooms on the boat use river water and are not the cleanest. They will do for an emergency, but its best to be planned. :)

Hammocks strung in the boat to Lagunas

The path to Lagunas

In Lagunas, someone from Huayruru tours will be available to pick you up and take you to the office, if you have notified ahead of time in Yurimaguas. In the office, you will get details about the jungle trip and you can negotiate a bit. This is where you will state your dietary preferences, decide how long your trip should be and this is where you will leave your bags. They put us all up in a couple of local hotels. Lagunas doesnt have too many of those! Breakfast is provided the following morning before starting the trip.

The Jungle Trip

Transportation to park entrance

We started early next morning from our hotel and the tour company will take us in a moto-taxi : a motorbike outfitted with a cart of some sort. We then stop at the park entrance and get our permits. Our canoes are loaded with food for the next 5-6 days. All our bags are back in the tour office and we are asked to bring very limited luggage. Just one or two change of clothes for the night, rain gear and medicines, mosquito repellant etc. When we went, the water level was very high - so we did almost no walking during our trip. It was all on the boat and we stopped at campsites along the way for the night. We returned to Laguna after a 5 day stop in the jungle.

The Huayruru tours office in Lagunas. Hammock space on top for travelers to wait.

Accommodation for a night in the jungle

Our transport for the next 5 days

Victoria Regis - strong enough to hold a baby without sinking!

Gear for the trip for the customers and the guides

Food - clearly, we mostly ate plantains

 Our jungle trip was a very low key experience. We were very close to the water throughout, on canoes. We ate simple food and stayed in very basic lodging. And we encountered very few tourists (<10). Our guides were fantastic and we spotted some really beautiful bird life and monkeys. Our choice of timing was a bit unfortunate, as the water level was too high to see jaguars or puma, but when we went to sleep, we heard the mono rojo (red monkey) which roars like a lion and one hot evening, we stopped by a secluded part of our campsite and dipped an old mug into the river and bathed like in an Indian movie from the 70's. The memory was truly unforgettable!

Cost of Jungle trip: ~100 soles per person per night. Includes three meals. Vegetarian possible, though you will all get sick of the food by the end of the trip. Interestingly, everyone opted for a vegetarian meal on our trip. But some folks chose to have some freshly caught fish right from the river.