La Casa Fitzcarraldo Iquitos

Got up early today – Don’t know why, I wasn’t being picked up until 9 !! Today is the first of a two trip up the mighty Amazon, for 120 usd (about 80 quid) I got picked up from my hotel in a motokar, taken to the small ferry port, and put on this amazing fast boat which was going to take me 100 kms up the river to Chullachaqui Lodge http://www.amazoniantrips.com , a huddle of huts placed in a clearing chopped out of the jungle, me the only ...

... process of this beverage is achieved by chewing the yuca root and spitting it into a large barrel. The enzymes in the saliva cause the mixture to start fermenting, which turns it into a light alcoholic drink. Delicious!<br><br>Even though it cannot be reached by land, Iquitos is an important university town. Especially the national university UNAP draws thousands of new college students every year en thus impacts the cultural life of Iquitos. Iquitos is a ...

... and here we were sleeping on a boat sitting on the river. Damn. We tried to think positive about having a free nights stay on the boat that night and waited for dinner to be served. Well, it wasn&#8217;t. Or we missed it, which left the boys hungry and me slightly crabby. Iquitos the town was just losing more and more points in my book. I was more tired than anything and was perfectly fine going to sleep in my hammock. The boys snacked and I just crashed, and the day finally came to a close.

... him swim off, we went on our way. <br> Spear fishing turned out to be a lot of fun. It is the dry season, which means the river is down, and it is easy to see fish in the shallow waters along the shore. There were so many fish in the water that Eric and I couldn&#8217;t help but think of our fisherman grandpa&#8217;s who both would have about danced in the canoe after seeing such a good fishing opportunity. Falcon spotted a wolf fish (predatory fish that looks like catfish ...

... I went out to Belén this morning to have a look at the market (you know I like a market) and visit the raft people. I hired a local guide, George, to show me around and he seemed to know everyone in the market (and be related to about half of them) which is what you want in a guide. We hopped into a canoe taxi to go across the river and the driver was his father-in-law. The barber on the corner was his cousin. The woman selling unusual meats in the market was his ...

We arrived in Iquitos a little more than a week ago. Flew in...it´s the biggest city in the world that can´t be reached by a road. Plan was to fly in, float out, but you know plans....<br><br> The first few days were spent in bed, feeling thoroughly sorry for ourselves. We were sick and itchy. Nathan was itchier. Seems we got infested with chiggers when we stayed at Amazonia lodge. I only had a few, Nathan had over 290 bites. And if you don´t ...

... ducks and I don't know what all else. Her knowledge was amazing and her smile contagious - such a kind woman and she truly enjoyed sharing her home with us. At Mishana we walked through the jungle with another guide and Gart &amp; I were both so amazed at everything that he knew about out there! He was an encyclopedia of knowledge. And, again, he seemed thrilled to have us there and tell us all about ...

... I think due to the fact that I was wearing a yellow top. The frogs thankfully were not posianus and fairly freindly, among the ones that joine dus on the boat where the glass frog and others which bright colours. We had reached the lake, you knew you were in a lake becasue the water lillies and other green folage gre in quantity to ther point where we were surrounded by the most enormous lilles we have seen. Suddenly Falcon spotted a baby caimen swimming across the lake and picked ...

... natives<br> <br> In San Antonio we met an old lady, one of the few inhabitants who still speak Iquito, the language of the tribe that used to live in this area and from which Iquitos got its name.<br>The lady told us about the Legend of Iquitos. Her granddaughter translated her story into Spanish. In short, it is the ancient story about how the Iquito natives were chased from their land by a wizard and scattered across the Amazon jungles. The ...