An Amazonian Expedition

Bienvenidos a Perú, where new adventures await! The first of these simply had to be the Amazon. There is something specifically romantic (in the classical sense) about the Amazon - an anticipation of wildness and uncharted horizons. And while we may not have been discovering new worlds, there certainly was a sense of a grand expedition before us. From Colombia, we flew via Lima to the remote town of Iquitos, the largest town in the world that is not accessible by road - it is entirely serviced by air and river. But that was just the start of our journey into the wild. Our destination lay a further two hours by road, and ninety minutes by speedboat, away. While essentially just a taxi service for us, this first experience of cruising on the Amazon was very special. Because this is what we had come to see - not just the Amazonian jungle, but the conflux of two tributaries (the Ucayali and Marañón Rivers) that merge to birth the Amazon River itself. Peru is rightly proud to be the well-spring of the Amazon, or so our private nature and tour guide for the expedition, Roberto, told us. And, while its muddy banks mean that it is not an especially photogenic river, as we turned the headland and saw the convergence that is the start of the Amazon, I was in awe of the significance of the place - how this river has shaped the South American continent and its peoples, the biodiversity and sheer amount of life it harbours and supports, and ultimately its role nurturing the lungs of the Earth.

Fortunately, we had three nights to explore the area further. This involved expedition cruises up or down the river or its tributaries to spot wildlife, to have a swim or bathe in mud baths, to fish for piranha, or to catch the sunrise or sunset. Within hours we had spotted dozens of species of birds, pink river dolphins, sloths, iguanas, jungle rats, and, most terrifyingly, tarantulas. And then there were the monkeys - our guide pointed out 8 unique species on our different walks and adventures, sometimes in familes of dozens and dozens, jumping from limb to limb. We could have spent all day, every day exploring and I'm sure we would have kept discovering different forms of life. But there was mucho calor in the jungle (it was very, very hot), so fortunately we had a comfortable lodge to return to, a well stocked bar to refresh us, three hearty and surprisingly gourmet meals a day (four on the day we were served our piranha catch!), and breezy huts built up in the trees to sleep in (once we had double checked that they were clear of tarantulas each night, of course). I suspect "once in a lifetime" is a phrase that will feature prominently in describing these travels, but it seems a phrase made for this experience. What an adventure!