Iquitos & the Peruvian Amazon

To the east of the Andes, the immense Amazon jungle occupies more than a third of Peru's territory. It's dense, steamy, and as mysterious to most Peruvians as it is to foreigners. In the jungle's heart is Iquitos, the faded capital of the 19th-century rubber boom, and the world's largest city without a road connection.

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Children amuse themslelves outside the shack on stilts that is their home in the usually-flooded barrio of Belen in Iquitos. Wooden canoes are the only way to get about in what locals refer to with only a touch of irony as the "Venice of Peru".

 

 

 

The main form of transport throughout Peru's jungle region and northern coast is the ubiquitous 'moto-carro', a two-seater cab attached to a motorcycle chassis. This one waits outside Giomatta's in Iquitos, which sells extraordinarily delicious ice creams made from jungle fruits.

 

 

On the waterfront boardwalk in Iquitos, young Indian girls busk by dressing up in traditional garb and dancing to the beat of tribal drums. As a flourish to end the show, they scoop up a couple of tame boa constrictors and continue the dance, snake and all.

 

 

The way home is by motorised canoe for people who live in small communities, or caserios, along the banks of the Amazon and up its many tributaries. The rhythm of life is defined by the seasonal rising and falling of the river.

 

 

 

From the top deck of the 'potent motor vessel' Henry I, we could see where the Ucayali river, heading north from Cuzco and Apurimac, joined with the Marañón, flowing east through the department of San Martín. This juncture of the two rivers marks the official commencement of the Amazon.

 

 

The tropical sky catches fire at sunset behind the palms and banana plants on the banks of the Rio Ucayali. This was the best part of the day on the meandering boat journey downstream from Pucallpa to Iquitos. After sundown, he heat of the day ebbed away and travellers wandered out onto the foredeck to catch the breeze off the river.

 

 

All the way along the river, the boat to Iquitos stops at little settlements called caserios. When the boat arrives, the communities gather on the tree root-tangled riverbank to trade their produce for essential supplies such as mandarins, flour and beer. The sign in propped on the tree says "Welcome to the Main Port of Inahuara"

 

 

In the late 19th century, the 'black gold' of the rubber tree made Iquitos a boom town, and the Euopean rubber barons erected their opulent mansions along the river front. Today, the grand buildings crumble and peel in the afternoon heat, faded reminders of a past decadence.

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