The long awaited BOAT TRIP to Iquitos!!! Remember? I had decided not to enter Iquitos from Coca, Ecuador and try instead from Yurimaguas as there are more boats available. It’s cheaper and faster (about 3 nights as opposed to 10 to 14 days).

I was a bit afraid for my stuff as sleeping on the deck of a river boat together with another 100 people wasn’t really an advise I would get from my insurer. But my camera and I managed without problems. Even the food wasn’t so bad. At my 5th almuerzo though (pictured), I must admit, I think I could have killed for some parmesan cheese. Instead I had brought some ketchup – as advised in some other blogs – but it was making everything worse: bin.

I loved swinging on the hammock though, watching the mighty Rio Maranhon, the nearby villages, the palm trees onshore and the Milky Way at night. Among the multitude of people I met, the gold medals go to both Armando, a lefty catholic journalist turned politician and Volcan, a German guy lost in Iquitos’ “magic” who was traveling with some expensive orchids.