iquitos
post by allana
Iquitos has a frontier town feel to it, a nice rough-around-the-edges vibe. You could be forgiven for thinking you had arrived in Asia, with the hot muggy air congested by 1,000s of moto-taxis (‘moto-kars’) and banged up motorbikes. There are very few actual cars here—I guess what is the point of having a car when you can’t take it out of the city? Iquitos is river locked, sitting in the triangle between three rivers; the mighty Amazon at its front.
We arrived after dark last night, after a full days traveling from Puno. We’ve upgraded our lodgings a bit, paying $50 instead of the usual $35. In Iquitos this gets you a mini-apartment complete with kitchenette, cable tv, separate bathroom and best of all… some space! The elderly couple who look after the place are just lovely, no English, big wide smiles, justifiably proud of their establishment. We walked three blocks up towards the main square and river. Its 8pm on a Monday night and people are everywhere—lounging out of their front doors, chatting on the sidewalks. It’s too hot to be indoors. Those hole-in-the-wall restaurants are packed with people munching fried fish, fried chicken, fried plantain. We chose the busiest place overlooking the main square. I ordered some sort of river fish and Scott ordered cessina, a seasoned steak he fell in love with in Mexico.
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To celebrate our arrival we also get an acai juice- a potent thick purple sorbet arrives- made from small berries that are endemic to the amazon region and with more calories than a hamburger. As we finished our meal the street kids who had been sheepishly hanging around the doorway asked us to get our leftovers to go. Scott handed them the bag and they shared the last of our white rice and fried banana, still keeping half an eye out for the grumpy restaurant owner.
We walked up one more street to find the mighty river. The water-front promenade was busy with icecream vendors and families walking up and down, only half interested in the street performers. The heat and mugginess keeps everyone out, most people enjoying a soft serve as they mosey around. This weather is a welcome relief for us tropical fish—to be able to take a deep breath and fill our lungs with heavy humid air is a delight after the empty tinniness of the cold air in Puno. Looking across the water all we can see this night is an inky black mass with just a few small grassy islands lost in the middle. At night the river reminds me of a thick black snake encircling the jungle town and its people. This is reflected later on during our walk home when we see a beautiful big mural depicting the amazon and her town—the river had been painted just like the Rainbow Serpent.
We walked up one more street to find the mighty river. The water-front promenade was busy with icecream vendors and families walking up and down, only half interested in the street performers. The heat and mugginess keeps everyone out, most people enjoying a soft serve as they mosey around. This weather is a welcome relief for us tropical fish—to be able to take a deep breath and fill our lungs with heavy humid air is a delight after the empty tinniness of the cold air in Puno. Looking across the water all we can see this night is an inky black mass with just a few small grassy islands lost in the middle. At night the river reminds me of a thick black snake encircling the jungle town and its people. This is reflected later on during our walk home when we see a beautiful big mural depicting the amazon and her town—the river had been painted just like the Rainbow Serpent.
manatees and butterfliesWe have one day to kill before getting on our river boat for 4 days of what we hope will be fruitful wildlife spotting. I’d read that there was a manatee rescue centre in Iquitos , so of course we had to visit these gentle cousins of the Australian dugong. The centre was small, but mighty in the important work that they carry out. Manatees have been hunted by locals for their meat for so long that there are none left around Iquitos, you can only find them if you are lucky in the deepest tributaries of the amazon. Even here however some are still caught, and the babies end up as pets for the short while that they survive. The centre rescues any manatee baby they hear about and after a long period of rehabilitation are released into Peru’s biggest reserve, deep in the amazon basin.
The first manatee baby we saw had just arrived in the centre and was only three months old. Its skin was greyish and wrinkly, clearly underweight, the poor thing looked like some sort of alien slug. It was in quarantine and you couldn’t help but feel awful for her, she must have been missing her mum terribly. We then met 7 other babies, who were a few months older and in much better shape. They were rotund and smooth-skinned, gentle and curious, their whiskers tickled as they sucked our fingers hoping to get some milk. We fed them water-cabbage and banana, which they gobbled down as quick as we gave it to them. |
farmers of the forest
On the way into the centre a line of leaf-cutter ants were marching across our path. They do not eat the leaves, but bring them all the way down the ant highway green from the canopy to rot in their nest. As the leaves rot they grow fungi, which the ants harvest and eat.
They are the farmers of the jungle!
They are the farmers of the jungle!
butterfly farm & animal rescue centreOur transport from the manatee centre across town was by moto-kar of course, the driver demonstrating his mechanic skills when our chain snapped and he banged it back together with some scrap metal from the side of the road. We had to take a boat across to our next destination, Iquitos’ butterfly farm. In the low water season you can drive right across, but now the water is halfway up the electricity poles.
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Iquitos’ butterfly farm, called ‘Papilionwasi’, is run by an eccentric and passionate Austrian woman called Gudryn. She has lived here for 30 years and dedicated her life to the conservation of Peru’s butterflies. Most of us take for granted knowing the life cycle of a butterfly, having learned about metamorphosis in primary school. In Peru however, they do not teach this in schools and most people do not know what a caterpillar is, thinking them to be a dirty worm that should be squashed. Gudryn even discussed the problem of no one knowing where a butterfly comes from with a visiting Peruvian university professor, who answered, “What do you mean people don’t know that butterflies come from butterflies?!” The other often held belief is that butterflies come from flowers, which is a rather romantic notion I suppose. Imagine the astonishment of visitors, young and old alike, experiencing for the first time—and thanks to Gudryn actually getting to see—a brand new butterfly emerge from the cocoon.
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In addition to looking after butterflies, the government has been leaving Gudryn animals confiscated from hunters and the wildlife pet trade. She receives no support, however every year more and more animals arrive at her doorstep. The jaguar posed a real problem until a visiting lady from the USA pledged a few grand for a new big enclosure.
It was very inspiring to meet this dedicated woman who really has made a difference here in Iquitos, not only in saving the wildlife but also through educating hundreds of locals and foreigners every year. If only the grubby “hippies” selling caiman teeth, snake skins, monkey skulls and mawcaw feather jewellery to the tourists in Iquitos could come here and really see what their merchandise means for the local wildlife. |
picture of the Day... ocelot! up close!
Scott managed to get this incredible photo of the resident ocelot. he didnt realise at the time but that intent stare was the cat preparing to pounce on her prey (scott) so the next photo on our camera was just a blur as scott got the shock of his life and made a speedy retreat...
dont worry though, the ocelot was in an enclosure the whole time!
dont worry though, the ocelot was in an enclosure the whole time!
That night we decided to spoil ourselves a bit and go to the floating restaurant on the river. After a quick boat ride across we were amazed to find a very beautiful wooden balcony, soft candle light and incredible food. We sat there, the only ones in the restaurant, looking out at the twinkling lights of Iquitos. After butterfly kisses and manatee kisses, it had been a very good day indeed ;)