Iquitos

Yesterday I flew from Lima to Iquitos - a city located on the Amazon River in the jungle reachable only by air or boat.



I had a window seat again. We flew over the Andes Mountains...



And into the jungle...



The rivers look like snakes.



We landed in Iquitos - which was founded in the early 1900`s as a boom city due to the rubber industry. Yes, it´s humid here in the jungle... but being that I`m from Alabama, I´m used to it.

The airport was pretty small... Here´s a picture of the guy unloading the checked luggage and putting it on the convayer belt.





I took a taxi to my hotel.





There are lots of motorcars here - motorcycles with a seating place in the back. They are loud/noisy and there`s lots of exhaust (pollution).

I checked into my hotel (with air conditioning - oh yah, livin` large).



There`s a good view of the Amazon river and rooftops of the city on the roof terrace of my hotel.



I walked along the side of the Amazon River...







And went to the Yellow Rose of Texas for some BBQ and a beer in honor of July 4th. This is the closest to America I could get in the Amazon jungle in Peru. There were a few other Americans here, so we chatted about Iquitos for a bit.



The chicken and onion rings were delicious! The onion rings here are a bit different... more doughy than flakey... just the way I like it!



And the bar inside had saddles as the seats. Haha.

Then I walked around the Plaza de Armas.



And down the main shopping street.

I got some peanut (yummy) and chocolate ice cream.



And there wasn´t much else to do, so I went to the movie theatre and saw Kung Fu Panda in Spanish (I was able to follow the movie, but couldn´t understand every word - about 65% of what the characters said).

Then I went back to my room and relaxed a bit in the air conditioning and watched some TV. I had dinner at Antica Pizzeria on the 2nd floor overlooking the street below.

This morning I headed to Belen at 7AM - the local marketplace. On my way, I stopped to get some fresh squeezed orange juice ($.30).



And at the entrance to the market, I had a tamale that was wrapped in banana leaf.

Further into the marketplace, there are shacks floating on the Amazon river. Unfortunately, the water was too low, so the shacks were just sitting on the dried river bed.





I must admit that there were a few times walking around this shanty town of Belen when I didn´t feel safe. This part of town is very poor and I was the only tourist in the area... so I didn´t stay here long and made my way back to the main street.

There are far less tourist here in Iquitos than on the Gringo Trail (the path I`ve been on for the last two weeks - Machu Picchu and the surrounding areas). It´s cool to visit Iquitos, but there´s really not much here (I read that there´s a nice butterfly farm close to town, but I don´t have time to visit it). I think most tourists stay here for a day before heading out onto the Amazon River to their lodge/trek into the Jungle.

Today at 1PM I´m meeting the owner of the lodge I´m going to for the next 4 days (Refugio Antiplano). This place was recommended by some new American friends in Lima. It is owned and operated by a man from Michigan. I´m really looking forward to being in the jungle... hiking, kayaking, exploring, relaxing in a hammock, seeing monkeys, birds, snakes, pink dolphins, and the flora and fauna, and I may even go for a swim in the Amazon River. My friends from Lima spent their nights in a tree house... I hope I get to sleep in a tree house too! And I can´t wait to hear all the noises the jungle makes at night. I´ll make a video recording of the sounds for sure.

Now I´m off to get a bit to eat before leaving for the lodge. You won´t hear from me for a few days because I´ll be out in the jungle!

Hasta luego.