Getting to Yurimaguas was an adventure in and of itself, but the real adventure that I was awaiting was the three day boat trip up the river to Iquitos. It felt like I'd gotten the hardest bit out of the way by arriving here, so all that was needed now was a trip to the port to organise the details on the next boat due to leave. Upon arriving at the port I was imediatly thrown into the chaos of a buisy small Peruvian port. I noticed a huge blue and white boat with the name "Eduardo V," which I assumed would be the one I would be taking. Big cargo trucks were backed up all away along a muddy bank and dozens of people filed on and off the boat, unloading a range of cargo from fish, to vegetables, to chickens. I had spoken to several people in a shop, they all told me to go down onto to boat and find the captain.
As I cautiously walked onto the boat I was approached by a man who I assumed was the man I needed to talk to. I told him that I want to take this boat to Yurimaguas. He said replied saying, "great, no problem. The boat will be leaving tomorrow at midday." He then showed me around the two decks that I had to choose from. The bottom deck was where many of the local people hang their hammocks. There was also one more deck which was a lot more spacious, and also had an open view, it seemed by far the better option for me. After a brief conversation I was on my way again. The next task for me was to buy a hammock and a couple of other little essentials before the boat ride.
The market in Yurmaguas was unlike anything I'd ever seen before. The humiditiy & heat was almost unbearable at times, but that didn't stop people from selling fish, chicken, and all sorts of other meats. The smell was equally unbearable in some areas, but I was so fascinated by it that I just wanted to keep walking. The markets here are a huge part of the way their community functions. Not only is it the source of income for many of the families, but also the source of cheap food and other goods which is highly relied upon to support those whom can't afford to eat out or use the sinificantly more expencive super markets. It was also the perfect place for me to find my last few supplies for the boat, a hammock, some jandles, and some food as back up in case the boat food was shit. It wasn't hard to find any of them, so after a brief shop I spend the remainder of my time wondering around satisfying my curiosity.
As the next day came round I was glad that it was my last. Yurmaguas was only really a pass over point for me and I'd been anticipating this journey for quite some time. The idea of sitting in a hammock, cruzing down a river for three days strongly appealed to me so I was eager to get onto the boat. I'd been told the previous day to arrive at about 10.00 to get my things set up and to find a good space. As I arrived at the port a man immediatly came up to me and explained that the boat currently wasn't here, and that I would have to wait until 11 before I could get on the boat. It didn't supprise me, things have very rarely actually gone to schedule during my trip here in Peru. He kindly guestured me to wait outsdide this little rustic cafe for the meantime. I enjoyed the unusual environment but felt slightly uncomfortable waiting there with all my gear. At about 10.45 I was approached by another man who told me that the boat was here now and that I could wait on board if I wanted. I didn't even need to think twice before making the decision and quickly grabbed my things and made for the boat.
I ended up being one of the very first people on board so I had many different choices for where I could put my hammock. After getting a local guy to show me how to tie it properly I was set for the journey. I lay down and found a position that I spent many hours in over the following days. As soon as I was ready I started hearing rumours that the boat won't be leaving till much later than originally planed. The first rumour I heard said that it won't be leaving until 8pm that evening. Others said 3pm, and one even said that we won't be leaving until 8am the following morning. The captain changed his mind every half an hour so no one really had a clue. By about 4pm the boat was completly filled with passengers with the main topic of conversation being when this boat mite actually leave. I thought that I would probably be one of the only travellers on this boat but I quickly discovered that on my deck I was actually in the majority for once.
Set up next to me was a group of 19 school girls from England who were on a planned adventure trip which they'd planed previously at their school. There was also another British guy travelling solo, a French couple, an Austrain couple, two girls from Germany, and then a further two from France. It was a very multicultural mix, which made for some interesting conversations throughout the trip. By 8pm that night we still found ourselves at port and not looking like we were going anywhere anytime soon. It was now looking very inevitable that we wouldn't be leaving until the morning. It didn't really bother me to much, all it meant was that I get a free nights accomodation and it also gave me a chance to wear in my hammock before the trip.
The following morning had a much more optimistic vibe to it. Members from the crew were moving around as if they were actually organising somthing for depature. The first time prediction was 8am for depature but we quickly passed that only to find it to be yet another false prediction. At about 9 I was told that I need to go and buy a ticked before depature. I had a very nice surprise when I only had to pay 60 soles ($30NZ) for my ticket, half of what I thought I would have to spend. This included food but I had pretty low expectations for that, I'd read in several blogs that the meals can be marginal at the best of times.
At 11am the engine roared into life and we were finally moving in a direction away from Yurimaguas. It was a bit strange having been on a boat for a whole day before actually leaving, but I enjoyed the whole experience straight away. Once we were on our way I realised that any stress I'd been holding onto would be well and truely gone after these few days. It's strange when you actually have nothing that you have to do, therefore perfectly justifying being able to sit in a hammock for 10 hours during the day, then sleeping in it at night, or occasionly going for a wee stroll to look at the view from out the back of the boat. Knowing that I'd be doing this for three days almost made me feel guilty for over enduldging on relaxation.
On the second day of the trip we stopped off at our first stopover town. As we edged closer to the bank I noticed people crouded up ready to jump onto the boat. They were venders, eager to be the first ones to tempt the passengers with their goodies. As they pilled on most of them were little kids selling anything from fizzy drinks, cake, dried fish, ice blocks, sandwiches, and one of them was even selling little baby parrots for one sole. The fresh baked food was actually a great relief from the prison food that we were getting served on the boat.
Breakfast was somthing I decided to go without. It was simply this runny white liquid which they call porrige, but it was really horribly sweet condensed milk mixed with water which contained a few lumpy bits of oats. They were also kind enough to give us two pieces on stale sweet bread. Lunch was the biggest meal of the day and actually wasn’t too bad. It was always with a hefty serving of rice, accompanied by either a small bit of beef or Chicken. Dinner was often similar, with large servings of carbohydrates, a small serving of protein, and a couple of vegetables if you’re lucky.
By the third day I was really looking forward to arriving in Iquitos. I'd done so much lying around that my body was really itching to do somthing. The time of our arrival changed every half an hour, but it was looking most likely that we would be arriving around midday. Being so close meant that my curiosity was really burning now. I'd talked to people on the boat who had told me how different and crazy this place is. The unknown has become the most exciting thing for me about this trip, and this place was somthing that I knew very little about, so my anticipation level was very high. By this time I had met quite a bunch of people. It also ended up by coisidense that the girl I met in Leymebamba who is doing clowning with Patch Adams, was also on the boat. The project she was involved in sounded very interesting and a lot of fun to be involved in. I didn't know for sure if I get involved in it, but it was great to have it as an extra option.
At about 11am we were finally able to see the distant view of Iquitos. We couldn't really see much from the river, only a few distant towers which managed to stand out above the canapy of the Amazon. As we edged closer to the port I realised how unique the place was going to be. It was filled with boats of all different shapes and sizes, many looking like they were on their last days. There didn't seem to be a set place that the boats would pull up to, all that was really required was to find a free spot on the bank to pull up into. As we pulled up to the first place an inspector got on to go through the procedures, then we pulled away and went over to the "arrival area." As soon as we pulled up a bunch of over friendly guys jumped on board and insisted that we take their taxi to town. I had become friends with a guy during the trip and told him about a very cheap hostel in town which he agreed to stay at as well.
As we jumped into a tok tok I got my first taste of what this city was like. It felt nothing like anywhere else I'd been in Peru. The warm air and packed, chaotic roads reminded me of scenes from South East Asia. The frantic energy was a very big contrast to the tranquill peace of the boat ride, but with it brought a real sense of excitment and readyness to see what was on offer. I was well and truely running off the same energy that I had at the beggining of my trip again, and the best thing was that I had no commitments at all. As we approached the central plaza I had no idea what I was going to be doing here, or even how long I was going to be here. All I knew, was that this was going add a very interesting chapter to my adventure.
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