Peru – Amazon River Adventures

People always ask what my favorite destination is. When it comes to the most eye-opening experience and the one that made me grateful for all my experiences, Peru is at the top of the list.

The trip started fairly normal… flight from Seattle to Houston and then Houston onto Lima. I had thankfully upgraded to first-class so I got a bit of a rest on the flight. And boy, did I need it when I arrived in Lima! This was my first experience with a non-first-world country and dealing with immigration. My flight (and apparently a bunch of others) landed around 12:30 am. I followed the pack to the immigration area. I turned a corner and saw what could only be described as a “sea of humanity.” Hundreds of people all smashed together in a tiny area trying to get to the immigration checkpoint. There were no lines and no organization. You literally had to push your way forward to get anyway. It was a bit frightening and surprising. It took me a bit of time to figure out that I had to squish my way between people to move forward because that’s what others were doing to me. I spent 2 hours in that crazy immigration line, tired and cranky. And also worried that the ride I had scheduled was still waiting for me.

I successfully made it through immigration around 2:30 am, got my backpack from baggage claim, and made my way out to the international arrivals area. Once again, there was just a mass of people. I searched and searched for my name on a board. I was a bit surprised to find my name on a pole with about five other names. Whew! My driver was there! The guy holding the pole was my driver so we headed to the car. To this day, I still don’t know what happened to the other four people whose names were also on the driver’s list. I arrived at the hotel exhausted around 3 am. I collapsed on clean sheets and slept for a few hours. It was then back to the airport for an 8 am flight to Iquitos.

This was also my first trip flying on a not-so-good airline. I flew on TAM airlines from Lima to Iquitos. We had a single stop on the flight which, I think, was in Tarapoto. The plane was so old and scary I can’t convey in words how much I regretted having a window seat. There was duct tape holding the side paneling up. And when we took off from Tarapoto, there was smoke coming out of the engine on the left side of the plane. I was so grateful to land in Iquitos in one piece! For those of you looking for airlines in South America, TAM was purchased by LATAM Brazil. I’m not sure if they are any better 16 years later but buyer beware!

My trip was finally going to start! This was a tour I purchased through REI Adventures again. It is sadly not offered anymore. It wasn’t a full multi-person tour. It was basically a lodge along the Amazon river and you could go out with others from the lodge to different destinations each day. It was perfect for me because you could define your own activities and schedule. If you wanted a down-day to read, you could do that. If you wanted to go out on the river for an adventure, you could do that too. If memory serves me correctly, I had four full days at the lodge. But first, I had to get there.

The trip was 3 hours from Iquitos to the lodge. My guide took me to a little motorized boat (see below), set up a little nest for me on the floor so I could lean against one of the benches, and we settled in for a 3-hour ride. It was loud with the motor but totally worth it. I was traveling along the Amazon river!

It was amazing seeing all of the boat traffic and business happening on the river. It was also exciting to see the size of the river… especially knowing this is the smaller portion of the river relative to what you see in Brazil. The river was monstrous and vast. I could almost always see banks on both sides, but there were a few times where I could see only one side. My only regret is that I didn’t get my camera out at this point! I was so tired that I forgot. I was lulled into a mesmerized state by the motion of the water, the drone of the engine, and the scenery. Trust me when I saw it was a great 3-hour boat ride.

We arrived at the lodge. The ramp you see above is the only dock at the lodge. There were numerous tourist lodges similar to the one I stayed at along the river. The one I stay at was located near the village of Tamshiyacu. We stopped there for gas before continuing onto the lodge and paying some taxes or entrance fees.

The Tahuayo Lodge is built on stilts due to the significant rise and fall of the river. Some buildings house the cabins, dining area, rest areas, bathrooms, and walkways connecting all of those. There are stairs down to the ground when the ground is visible! One of the first lessons they taught me upon arrival was not walking along the walkways with your hand on the rail. There’s a resident snake that likes wrapping itself around the rails and you don’t want to accidentally run your hand along it when heading to the bathroom!. I only saw the snake once but he wasn’t along the railing at the time. He was huge though so I’m glad I listened to their advice.

The other guideline they shared was that you should not wander off away from the lodge unless you’re with a guide. Even for a few feet! The area is definitely in the Amazon forest and many critters are running around all the time. The guides always carried machetes and other tools to handle animals or just the forest itself.

The lodge had a “canopy experience” where you’ll go up into the canopy and zipline between platforms. Getting up is an experience. At the time, the only option was to have the guides hoist you up 100 feet. I felt so lazy having them do all the work but it was awesome to see all the scenery around me while going up into the canopy. On the platform, I spent a lot of time just listening to the birds and taking in the environment. I then ziplined to the next platform and did the same thing. And then the same on the third platform. Each provided a very different view of the canopy that helped me appreciate just how incredible the Amazon forest is. The guides also shared their experiences growing up in the area and I understood their passion for the area. I look at the pictures today and they don’t do justice to the vastness of the forest and how quiet it was.

Another day we took the boat out to an underwater forest.

One of the highlights was a fishing trip. I learned not to dangle my feet over the edge of the boat while fishing. I had a few fish nibbling on my toes a bit until I asked the guide what might be happening. Duh! But, I did catch about four catfish and one piranha! We ate the catfish for dinner that night.

We went out one day when it was super rainy! My waterproof jacket was meaningless in the boat. I was soaking wet. The guides knew the trick though… they had ponchos so they could easily cover their entire bodies while sitting down. Since then, I’ve always carried a poncho and it’s come in handy for trips like this! Anyway, we traveled to a different section of the river and did a bit of hiking. We returned in the evening and I got to experience the Amazon river at night. While I don’t have any pictures of it, trust me when I say it’s scary! My guides had fun taunting me. At one point, they highlighted an anaconda snake near the boat. I could have reached out and touched it. I don’t know how bit it was but they shined a light on it, and it looked huge! At another point, they ran the boat into an upright log a few times, giggling behind me. After ramming the boat against the log a few times, they asked “do you know what those black things are” and shined a light on the log. The black things moved when the light was on them. And, of course, three tarantulas were hanging out on the log and the guides were trying to get them to fall into the boat. Scariest moment ever! At least the guides were laughing which gave me confidence that they knew what to do if the spiders fell. Thank goodness the spiders didn’t let go! I would have probably screamed, tipped the boat and fell into the water with the anaconda!

The best experience though, and the reason this trip stands out for me, was that we spent an afternoon in a local village (I think it was El Chino) near the lodge. It was a community of about 200 people. They sold arts and crafts to people like me so I was able to buy a bracelet there. We walked around the village square where all the people’s cabins were and got to see how they lived. In most cases, the cabins were on stilts and a simple room. The kitchen was typically outside behind the cabin and the bathroom was out further and shared among families. We got to play with the local kids for a while. The big event was the afternoon soccer game when the entire village (and our guides) played. During the game, they played music over the speaker system. Later, we learned that they turn on the village’s power for only 3 hours a week and it’s mostly used during the game to listen to music.

The afternoon we spent in that village stands out to me even 16 years later. The biggest reason is that I’ve never experienced a group of people that were so happy and excited to play a game and listen to music. It made me realize how much material things didn’t matter to these people and that they could find happiness with family, friends, health, and safety. I don’t know that I could ever live in a place like that but I really appreciate the smiles and joy I saw from the local villagers. They were warm and welcoming and excited to have us as visitors. I recognize that they probably see people like me all the time from the various lodges but it doesn’t matter. It was special.

After a few days at the lodge, I headed back to Iquitos the same way I arrived… a 3-hour boat ride. Below are a few more pictures from the ride back.

Fortunately, I took a different airline from Iquitos back to Lima before heading home!

I look forward to one day seeing the Brazilian side of the Amazon river and visiting Machu Pichu in Peru. But I have no regrets about visiting the Peruvian Amazon!