Iquitos

Iquitos is an isolated place, deep in the Amazon jungle, although a farily sizeable town along the river. Iquitos currently holds the world record in largest city that cannot be reached by road. You can fly in or sail on the river boats (which needs a bit more time and patience).

In Iquitos I stayed almost a week, enjoying what the jungle and city has to offer. There are many tours to the forest and on the river (I preferred to stay away from the river for now!) and there are some nice places in and outside town to visit.

We went to Belen one day, which is a poor neighbourhood in Iquitos along the river where people either live in floating houses or in houses 4-5 metres above the ground. The difference in water-level between the seasons can be very large, which suggests that you should use as long legs as possible for your house if you plan to build it in this part of town (if it doesn’t float that is, in which case you don’t need to bother with legs). The fact that it is a slum for poor people makes it slightly more risky than other parts but we had checked the safety conditions before we entered and it said “relatively safe during daylight”. Unfortunately we didn’t really know where to walk and where to start or stop so we got slightly lost in there; only to be told off by some city-employed security personnel patrolling the area saying that we surely deserved to be robbed strolling around here alone. They escorted us out. I think they exaggerated.

Quistacocha is a zoological park a few kilometres outside town and features some interesting animals, amongst other things some breathtaking Anacondas. After having passed the gate it was a challenge to get rid of all the children offering to guide us around. The most keen one walked after us or 10-15 minutes or so telling us some made-up stories about the first animal displays and emphasizing how large the park is and how much we need a guide before finally understanding the sentence: “no quiero guia” – I don’t want a guide. Down at the river, they had created an artificial sand-beach in the middle of the jungle. Not the sight I had expected to see but on the other hand, if they have a jungle-golf course (the only one in the Amazon), I can’t see what would be wrong with a beach. You shouldn’t be narrow-minded.

Iquitos also has a cheap cinema, where you can watch Percy Jackson and the Olympians for less than two dollars (weekdays only!). On weekends, the price goes up to the unaffordable $2.50. I had a slightly more authentic cinema-experience another night when I went to see the locally produced movie called “El Último Piso” (The top floor). This movie was about a disused highrise building overlooking the main square in Iquitos and told the story behind a legendary “ghost”, which I assume is rumoured to haunt the top floor of this building, and hence gave inspiration for a movie. I had passed this building several times per day and never really noticed its existence as it’s a mere ruin and very ugly but nevertheless, the next day I had to take lots of photos of it from several angles. If it’s been on TV (or as here: the cinema), it’s famous. This golden rule I learned in England.

 It’s not very likely that “El Último Piso” will reach a cinema close to you but if it does, don’t watch it, Ever.