Iquitos

Iquitos is apparently the largest city in the world not accessible by road, as its surrounded by rivers, and most notably the Amazon. Its was set up by the Spanish so it has some grand river front buildings, and it enjoyed the rubber boom, and even has a metal building by Eiffel of Eiffel tower fame! Nowdays its a hot, noisy city with mototaxis everywhere, and its own relaxed vibe.

Leila, who I met in Lagunas and on our jungle tour is from Iquitos, and kindly offered to let me stay with her, her husband Hans, and their Swiss neighbours (Claudia and Freddy), at her family home. So I was treated to an insiders view of the city, and a welcoming and friendly place to stay. While Leila was busy catching up with Family, Hans was excellent tour guide, renting a boat for us to go and visit Belen, a poor ¨floating¨suburb of Iquitos. The river was low so most of the houses were grounded, with some boats left on disturbing angles... But it was still certainly an eyeopener to see how the poeple live on the river... river used for washing, transport, rubbish, toilet...

Check out the bbq grubs along with the sausages and nuts... I wasnt game to try. There were also turtle eggs for sale.

From Iquitos I was sad to say goodbye to my Swiss friends, as I flew to Lima and then Cusco.