Adventuring into the Amazon

The Amazon is huge. No other way around it. We knew we wanted a multi-day adventure but were not sure which side of the Amazon to attack it from due to the size and how many entry points there are. We could have done a trek in Brazil (or even Colombia or Bolivia) but we opted for Peru instead because a) less chance to come across a Zika mosquito b) it fit well within our Peru travel plans, and c) we have good friends (one from Peru) who spoke highly of treks coming out of Iquitos/Nauta.

We left Cusco on a quick flight to Lima, waited a few hours in the airport, then hopped another flight to Iquitos. The whole journey took around nine hours. Flying into Iquitos was a treat as you pass over miles and miles of jungle, so you get a sense for the massiveness and beautiful scale of it all. After landing we high tailed it to our hotel where we would spend two nights. We chose hotel over hostel here due to the cheap cost ($31 a night including breakfast).  Always nice to get a comfy bed and quality shower when you can for cheap.

Since we travel so fast and couldn’t pin down dates well in advance, we were unable to book an Amazon tour online leaving us trying to find a last minute tour willing to depart in 48 hours. The challenge is most operations have little to no online presence, so you’re left with walking around and talking to people to try and figure one out. Plus, the really strong operations are a bit more expensive and we were trying to find a happy medium of a reputable place without spending a ton of cash. We ended up booking a 5-day/4-night excursion for $375 per person with a company our hotel recommended. It turned out to be a good experience but this was solely because of our guide, Alain. This price included everything: the two-hour taxi from our Iquitos hotel to Nauta (launching point for boat), all meals, lodging, guide, boats, etc. We lucked out and were the only ones on the tour so we had a private guide for all five days. And he was legit! Picture the 5’2” Peruvian version of Bear Grylls who can use a machete like you’ve never seen.

After arriving in Nauta we took a two-hour boat to our jungle base camp near Puerto Miguel. This is a small village on the edge of the Amazon river where they run a village sponsored camp/hostel. Families take weekly turns running the facility and caring for foreigners (cooking meals, cleaning sheets, supplying bug nets, etc.)  In return they earn money for their families from the lodging tourists pay. Win-win for all.

We spent three nights in this base camp then the final night we camped out in the jungle (which was on our trip bucket list). There actually wasn’t a ton of difference between the two as the camp was as “rustic” as you can imagine. The Amazon is extremely humid and hot so even under the roof of the base camp you baked and got constantly attacked by mosquitos. We had a constant layer of bug spray on, but it wasn’t enough. Sleep was okay but you spent a good hour each night trying to ensure nothing was crawling inside your bug net. Dozens of large spiders (including tarantulas!) were found inside the building but you surprisingly didn’t mind it as you knew they were catching mosquitos. An enemy of your enemy is your friend, right? Meals were decent considering what they were working with and we just tried to not think about food prep as we had meat for each meal but there wasn’t a fridge or freezer onsite…

Each day we would hop into a small, wooden boat to go up the river deeper into the jungle. Rattling off the things we did on these excursions is pretty comical as the highlight reel just sounds like a movie:

• Found anteaters, tropical birds, sloths, three species of monkeys, etc.
• Fished and spearfished for piranhas and catfish – grilled them up and ate them
• Swam with pink and grey dolphins
• Spearfished at night for caiman and grilled up the three-foot one we speared
• Found poisonous snakes (including a lancehead) and tarantulas
• Hiked through the jungle to learn about the various types of plants and trees and all of their uses for locals. This included learning about a tree bark that you squeeze to release a liquid sap and then drink to fix digestive issues. Katie was not feeling well and tried it first hand – sure enough she was good to go in 30 minutes.

The last night staying out in the jungle was by far the most epic. First we set up “camp” which meant we drove the boat a couple hours into the middle of nowhere then proceeded to clear a 10×10 piece of jungle floor near the river bank. Once the floor was cleared of tarantulas, snakes, leaves, and whatever else crawled, we set up cut down trees as tent posts. From them, we wrapped a long, blue tarp across the ground and up over the bars in a C-shape so the tarp covered the ground we laid on and also created a roof. After that, some tree vines were used as string to set up bug nets. We also chopped down long palm leaves to lean against a tree creating a dry area underneath for a fire to cook on. Viola, camp complete!

That night we learned firsthand how alive and loud the jungle is at night. We were in awe of all the sounds. Bugs, birds, howler monkeys, fish, snakes (and who knows what else) created a constant buzz and jungle heartbeat throughout the night. Sleeping out there was definitely one of those experiences you appreciate more after the fact, because while there you are hot, sweaty, bug eaten and slightly on edge not knowing what will crawl into your sleeping quarters. This is especially true after seeing three snakes that day including one type our guide said killed his grandpa and another guide. I always told myself I would be down to do the tv show “Naked and Afraid” but after knowing what it’s like out there, I don’t think I could ever get behind it. Especially when the mosquitos are insanely strong at night and will bite any open skin not covered in clothes or heavy deet bug spray.

In the end, it was one hell of an experience. For those thinking about it, just know if you’re on a budget it will be a bit rough at times but the pros far outweigh the cons. If you have more to spend there are definitely operations and lodging which create a much more comfortable experience. Hell, there are even small luxury cruise boats that allow you to boat right up to the edge of the jungle and just take pampered excursions in during the day (yeah, screw those guys). It just depends on what you want and are able to do. For us, we definitely roughed it more than we thought we would, but the stories we have now made it all worth it.