In the heart of the Amazon
12 November 2015 | Peru, Iquitos
Buenos dias!
We write this first update from Iquitos, a city in the middle of the Amazon area, which can only be reached by plane or boat.
If this sounds like the middle of nowhere to you - it's nothing compared to the junglecamp where we spend the last five days... After 10 hours of traveling (2 in bus to Nauta, 3 in public speedboat to Requena and then 5 in small speedboat) we reached our camp in the heart of the Amazon, Tapiche reserve - a place so remote it doesn't even have phone connection.
We went here to experience the jungle without a lot of other people and mostly because this is a place where you can still see the wild animals of the Amazon. Sadly a lot of people live in the Amazon area and they think they can only survive by hunting wild animals (also for pet trade :( ) and illegal logging of trees.
In the Tapiche reserve there is still untouched rainforest and the owners try to engage the nearby villages in using the rainforest in a sustainable way. They also have a fulltime job in keeping the poachers out of their reserve.
Our efforts paid off, we saw a lot of river dolphins, monkeys (7 different species!), a coati, birds (like the blue macaw) and we even heard a tapir only 10 meters away!!
Things we'll never forget are:
-drinking your coffee in the morning while looking at the river dolphins,
-observing monkeys while they try to scare us away (in other places they'll go away immediately because they're afraid of hunters),
-having your breakfast on a log in the middle of the jungle,
-waking up to the sounds of the jungle (first the frogs, then the birds and then the monkeys).
... And of course the mosquitos!!
But a true jungle experience isn't complete without hardship; so we had to wake up each day @ 5am to start our 7-hour walk, we suffered from the mosquito-bites (even on lips & eye-lids!) and the heat combined with the extremely high humidity (=headache)...
And we know why it's called a RAINforest :) we had 10cm water inside our boots after the first walk. The only way to dry them is by wearing them again (because of the humidity) - imagine putting on your wet pants @ 5am... :s
All in all we feel it's been worth it, but we wouldn't want to live in the jungle for more than a week :)
Before our adventure in Tapiche, we spend three days in Iquitos to adjust to this timezone. We like Iquitos, there are a lot of friendly people, it has a good atmosphere, and there's a nice walkway with good restaurants (where the Iquitenos gather to listen to the local comic).
The best way to kill the jetlag is to stroke a Manatee (zeekoe), Erno's favorite animal - we visited a rescue center (it's almost extinct :( ). And we ate maggots (they taste like sausages ;)).
Tomorrow we fly to Cusco, from where we will start our Incatrail walk in a few days.
Hasta luego!
Luz y Erno
Ps: we're still uploading the pictures, so you might want to check the site again later
We write this first update from Iquitos, a city in the middle of the Amazon area, which can only be reached by plane or boat.
If this sounds like the middle of nowhere to you - it's nothing compared to the junglecamp where we spend the last five days... After 10 hours of traveling (2 in bus to Nauta, 3 in public speedboat to Requena and then 5 in small speedboat) we reached our camp in the heart of the Amazon, Tapiche reserve - a place so remote it doesn't even have phone connection.
We went here to experience the jungle without a lot of other people and mostly because this is a place where you can still see the wild animals of the Amazon. Sadly a lot of people live in the Amazon area and they think they can only survive by hunting wild animals (also for pet trade :( ) and illegal logging of trees.
In the Tapiche reserve there is still untouched rainforest and the owners try to engage the nearby villages in using the rainforest in a sustainable way. They also have a fulltime job in keeping the poachers out of their reserve.
Our efforts paid off, we saw a lot of river dolphins, monkeys (7 different species!), a coati, birds (like the blue macaw) and we even heard a tapir only 10 meters away!!
Things we'll never forget are:
-drinking your coffee in the morning while looking at the river dolphins,
-observing monkeys while they try to scare us away (in other places they'll go away immediately because they're afraid of hunters),
-having your breakfast on a log in the middle of the jungle,
-waking up to the sounds of the jungle (first the frogs, then the birds and then the monkeys).
... And of course the mosquitos!!
But a true jungle experience isn't complete without hardship; so we had to wake up each day @ 5am to start our 7-hour walk, we suffered from the mosquito-bites (even on lips & eye-lids!) and the heat combined with the extremely high humidity (=headache)...
And we know why it's called a RAINforest :) we had 10cm water inside our boots after the first walk. The only way to dry them is by wearing them again (because of the humidity) - imagine putting on your wet pants @ 5am... :s
All in all we feel it's been worth it, but we wouldn't want to live in the jungle for more than a week :)
Before our adventure in Tapiche, we spend three days in Iquitos to adjust to this timezone. We like Iquitos, there are a lot of friendly people, it has a good atmosphere, and there's a nice walkway with good restaurants (where the Iquitenos gather to listen to the local comic).
The best way to kill the jetlag is to stroke a Manatee (zeekoe), Erno's favorite animal - we visited a rescue center (it's almost extinct :( ). And we ate maggots (they taste like sausages ;)).
Tomorrow we fly to Cusco, from where we will start our Incatrail walk in a few days.
Hasta luego!
Luz y Erno
Ps: we're still uploading the pictures, so you might want to check the site again later
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13 November 2015 - 07:23
Marcel:
Wat een avontuur al de eerste week! Heel veel plezier in Cusco. -
14 November 2015 - 18:52
Mieke:
Hey, nu al een leuk avontuur!
Veel plezier daar. :) -
17 November 2015 - 13:49
Douwe:
Hoi!
klinkt als een unieke ervaring! super leuk! Ben erg benieuwd naar jullie volgende avonturen.
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17 November 2015 - 18:39
Wim En Patries:
Mooi verhaal en leuke foto's. Fijn dat jullie al die verschillende dieren hebben gespot! Wel afzien in die heel andere wereld, maar de moeite dus zeer waard
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