The Amazon, Part 1

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Ok so the Amazon is amazing. Muggy, sweaty, full of bugs but truly amazing. And I kinda enjoyed having no Internet for a week, it was peaceful.

I couldn't possibly fit everything we did into one post! So here are some highlights.

Firstly my group. The tour started off and I was thinking that the tour was going to be terrible. I was the baby of the group. The first person I met was 75. At first it seemed the entire group was made up of privileged white Americans who treated the staff like dirt. A lot of people were wearing crocs or moccasins and the rest were dressed for an African safari. I was getting worried. I couldn't even meet my roommate as she was sick so I got my own room before we left Lima. Thankfully she recovered and I met my first normal person, Ali from the Gold Coast. We hit it off immediately. Now that I had a partner in crime to discuss the idiots with, I was set.

We flew 2 hours from Lima to Iquitos. The airport is literally in the middle of the jungle and we got our first taste of the humidity. Approximately 35 degrees and we were sweating instantly. Friends from my last tour had dubbed it the Amazon glow- a mix of sweat, sunscreen and bug spray. This is why I am shiny in all the photos.

It was a 2 hour bus ride to Nauta where the boat was docked. On the way we stopped and a few of us bought fresh coconuts to sip on while most of the guests balked at the 3 soles price ($1 AUD = 2.5 soles). Their loss. Next we donned our life jackets and jumped in the skiffs for a 5 minute ride to the Amatista, our home for the week.

We checked out our rooms then settled in for a late lunch. There is a gorgeous dining room at the stern of the ship on the second deck, with windows on 3 sides. Lunch was a buffet with bread, 2 salads, various vegetables, slow cooked lentils, rice, chicken and river catfish. The catfish was amazing! So fresh and tasty. We were all stuffed then they brought out dessert!

After lunch we watched pink and grey dolphins swimming around the boat. We thought this was amazing but ended up seeing them every day!

One of our guides gave us a map and we learned a bit about the Amazon and where we would be travelling.

We then sailed to the confluence of the Amazon, Maranon and Ucayali rivers and enjoyed the sunset from the third deck, before being spoiled with another buffet dinner.

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Photos

First glimpse of the Amazon
Hopefully not an omen...

Safety first!
Skiff ride to the boat

The Amatista
Our home for the week