After a wonderful 10 days with friends Pat & Kathi in and around Cusco & Machu Picchu, Brenda & I decided to visit a very different part of Peru so we left for Iquitos on a mission to explore the Amazon Jungle. We had not had time to plan and book a hostel for our first night as we usually do so we left the airport on a mototaxi and asked the driver to drop us off in city center. Fully weighted down with our backpacks, we weren’t keen on walking around so we settled for the second place we found and checked into a room that only cost $12 for a night. While, at first, it appeared to be a decent looking place by Iquitos standards, turns out that you get what you pay for as the room was nasty and brown water came out of the spigot in the bathroom sink. We didn’t know where else to go and weren’t sure what to expect since everything around us was pretty run down so we left our packs in the room and took off on foot in search of a way to get out of the noisy city and into the jungle and possibly see if we could find a better room.
Piranha Chum
While we’d done a bit of advance research on jungle tours and had a tour company in mind, as always, we decided to wait to book our jungle trip as we’ve found in our travel experience that we typically save 30% – 50% of the advertised internet cost by booking when we arrive. This time was no exception but the process was brutal! We hadn’t made it a block from the cruddy hostel before we were bombarded by desperate hawkers trying to get us to purchase a tour from their agency. Not only were we obvious gringos, it seemed like we were the only gringos in town and we felt like pieces of piranha chum in a river of piranhas. After being approached at least 10 times and visiting 4 or 5 companies all offering similar tour options, we finally made it to the agency we’d scoped out in advance and proceeded with negotiating and booking a tour that would leave the next morning for less than 50% of the cost we would have paid to reserve online!! SCORE!!
Having saved a bunch on the tour package, we set out to find better accommodation for the night. We checked a few other places that were just about as bad as the one we’d already checked into and were about to give up until we stumbled upon Hotel Europa, a brand new place that had just opened a few days earlier. We saw the published room rate and started to walk out of the building then the receptionist offered us a rate about 30% off. It was still above our budget so we said “es demasio” (it’s too much) and we were on our way out again but were offered an even lower rate near 50% off. Since they were obviously willing to barter, Brenda suggested that we would take the room for about 25% of their published price – the receptionist said she’d have to check with her manager and just a few minutes later, we had a deal! Score #2!! Having two very successful negotiations that day, we retrieved our bags from the nasty hostel and relocated to the luxurious Hotel Europa where we felt like royalty for the night. Even better, they accepted a reservation for a second night after our return from the jungle which would be much appreciated after a few days of jungle camping!
The Amazon River & Jungle Lodge
After a very comfy nights rest, we awoke the next morning and took a mototaxi to the Iquitos dock where we sampled some local fruits and boarded a wooden longboat for our journey downriver into the Amazon jungle. Another gringo named Anton from Sweden joined us and we were the only three that were heading out that day.
We arrived at the jungle lodge complex in time for a fabulous lunch. While we’d be camping for the next few days, it was more like glamping! The lodge complex had a central dining hall where we were served delicious food, there was a screened “hammock house”, and our cabin even had a rustic bano although the water emitted through the faucet and shower head was brown.
After lunch we boarded the boat again for a ride to a wildlife reserve where we got to see some jungle wildlife including monkeys, crocodiles, exotic birds, anacondas, some kind of anteater type animal, and some really unusual looking fish. 
It was here where we 
encountered the monkey pee. We’d been around monkeys before and had quite enjoyed their friendliness and playfulness but these monkeys were a bit more assertive! They tried their darndest to steal things from us and pretty much refused to get off our backs. Soon I felt something warm and wet run down my back and into my shorts.
Brenda felt the same sensation on both her back and front about the same time her monkey whipped it’s tail across her mouth – the look on her face pretty much said it all but there was still fun to be had with the exotic birds and anacondas! On the way back to the lodge, we saw some pink dolphins, a species unique to the Amazon, and witnessed a beautiful sunset but were eager to shower in the brown water that came from the spigot in our cabin to wash off the monkey pee! Later that evening I participated in an Ayahuasca ceremony.
In the morning of day 2 of our Amazon adventure, we went fishing for our lunch. Brenda decided to forego this experience so it would be up to Anton & I to catch enough for all of us to eat. Sounded easy enough given the plethora of fish in the Amazon but it proved more challenging than I’d anticipated using only a piece of fishing line and a hook strung on a twig with tiny pieces of red meat for bait. The cunning little fish were smart and quick and managed to steal much of our bait. We each finally caught a few sardines and piranhas but it would take more than we managed to catch for a decent lunch given their tiny size. Later that afternoon we doused ourselves with deet and went for a jungle trek not too far from our lodge. Our guide, Rene, pointed out various jungle plants and their uses, gave us samples of some of the edible jungle fruits, showed us how to use a machete to clear pathways and retrieve juices & water from vines, painted our faces with paprika, and pointed out various species of spiders, birds, and tiny monkeys. 
Later that night after dinner, still doused in deet, we went for a canoe ride in the dark water tributaries of the jungle to observe the jungle nightlife. Given our distance away from the city, a clear sky, and a new moon, it was quite a peaceful experience! The stars were brilliant and the sounds of the insects and other jungle wildlife were crystal clear and began to form a musical rhythm that was somehow comforting.
On the last day of our jungle adventure, we awoke at 5am and paddled out into the river to watch the sunrise. It was the most unique sunrise I believe I’ve ever seen. While there were hints of the orange glow from the sun, the clouds and the blue sky reflecting off the water created a plethora of shades of blue. It was amazing!
We returned to our camp for breakfast then joined another group of tourists for a visit to a native indian village where we met and interacted briefly with a local tribe including required participation in one of their native dances. I must say, it was the first time I’ve danced with a topless woman and my wife wasn’t even jealous.
The Shaman & Ayahuasca
When in Ecuador back in December, I’d met a couple travelers who had talked about Ayahuasca – a plant unique to the South American jungles that has been used by Shaman for centuries for a multitude of spiritual and healing purposes. I did a bit of research and learned that doctors from around the world are beginning to recognize the potential benefits of the tea derived from the plant and decided that it might be worth a try and the Amazon Jungle was the place to do it so Anton & I decided to give it a go. On the first evening of our stay in the jungle, we met with a native Shaman who gave us a brief explanation of the experience and required adherence to a specific diet before and after drinking the tea and invited us to join in a ceremony in the evening that would last a few hours. We watched the Shaman prepare the tea and each took a serving. Following the take, we sat in a meditative prose for nearly 2 hours while the Shaman chanted Icaras in his native language, blew ceremonial tobacco around us, and occasionally touched our faces and shook palm leaves over our heads. While I did feel a slightly heightened sense of awareness and a bit of a tingling sensation in my body and eventually puked, I cant say that I experienced any physical healing or spiritual enlightenment. After a couple hours of meditation, I simply went to bed and fell asleep pondering the experience and wondering if there was any benefit at all. While many people (both native Indians and medical professionals) seem to rave about the benefits of Ayahuasca, either my skepticism or a potentially low dose of the tea limited my personal experience and I have no desire to partake again.
Brown Water
While the water near the banks of the Amazon and in the tributaries branching off the river is relatively slow moving and clear, there is an obvious rapid flow of murky brown water flowing in the center of the river. As you look across the river, there was a visibly distinct line where the separation occurs. Although I’m not completely sure what causes the distinction, I assume it must have something to do with the depth of the river. Throughout this post I’ve mentioned the brown water that we’d encountered in the plumbing systems. It was not until we returned to Iquitos and retrieved our laundry that I connected the dots. When we picked up our laundry from the local laundry service, all of our clothing had a brownish cast and our white clothes were a lovely shade of beige! Duh! Apparently the Amazon River is the primary water source for the town of Iquitos and surrounding areas and, given the poor economic conditions of the region, I’m guessing that the public water supply is not filtered or treated very well. Must be that Hotel Europa had it’s own water filtration and purification system as that was the only clean water we’d seen in a week.
Goodbye Iquitos
While we were not in Brazil in the deep heart of the Amazon and didn’t get the genuine experience of living amongst the remote Amazon Indian Tribes, we did get a glimpse of the benefits and challenges of jungle life during our visit to the headwaters of the Amazon. It was a bit touristy for our taste but we were glad to have had the opportunity to visit another amazing place!