Alex and I landed in the Amazonian city of Iquitos, Peru, on the morning of November 18th. That day we rested a bit, but also explored the Plaza de Armas, as well as a little shopping district and the boardwalk by the river.
The next morning, we were picked up by Llaquipallay tours along with another couple, and drove an hour and half to Nauta before taking a 3 hour boat ride up the Ucayali river. We then dropped our stuff off at lodge on the bank of la selva (the jungle/rain forest) and ate lunch. After that we went on a small jungle tour and later that night we did a night tour where we saw several night herons and caiman.
The next morning, we somehow loaded eleven people onto a small wooden boat that really should have held eight people. We then took it a little deeper into la selva and did a tour of the flora and fauna. The day was hot and the mosquitos were everywhere, but there was something unique and almost charming about being surrounded by the humid heat of la selva. After lunch, about eight of us took the boat through the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve where we saw plenty of monkeys and birds. We made it all the way to an open lake where they have something called black water. This is where you can find piranhas, electric eels, anacondas, and black caiman up to 8 meters. Needless to say, we did not go in. #nope
After one more night in the lodge, we woke up and just rode around in the river in the boat looking for pink dolphins. We had some success and the pulled over at a little beach and put our feet in the water for a few minutes. We then visited a village known as Puerto Miguel and saw an anaconda that someone kept as a pet.
It was an amazing and unique experience. Here are several pictures from the trip:
Sophia's Bella Vita 