Amazonas trip, Yurmiaguas - Nauta - Iquitos

Going to Iquitos was one of the few destinations that I planned prior to my arrival to Peru. I should have left from Lima after three days. Flight tickets and hostel booking were ready. My flight however only a few hours before departure got cancelled. To be honest I was relieved. I suffered from the heat (29 degrees) in Lima so badly that I was afraid that I wouldn't survive in the Amazonas. I've been thinking ever since if I should actually go there or not. The morning I left Tarapoto for Yurimaguas I still hadn't made my decision. There were two options: I would stay in Yurimaguas looking for some Rainforest tour or I would take a three day journey on the amazonas to reach Iquitos. Things were so easy and quick in the morning and the weather was perfect for the ship tour, that the decision was made by itself. I suddenly found myself sitting on the boat heading to Iquitos.

Diary Day #1

Reaching Yurimaguas was the easy part. Small buses (collectivos) are connecting Tarapoto and Yurimaguas. They are run by a company called Tourismo Selva. There is no schedule though. Cars are leaving as soon as they are full. Trip costs 20 Sol and lasts for three hours.

Arriving to Yurimaguas I took a Motocar to the port. This is isn't really the way you would imagine a port. There were huge ships, but the terrain was an ocean of mud. People were navigating through the narrow paths where it was still possible to step on. Cargo was packed by hand to the ship. Passengers and cargo workers are not separated they are just making life hard for each other. A chaotic jungle of trucks Motokars, passengers, and cargo. Of course as soon as I arrived at the port I was approached by a man offering ship journeys. As always I was a bit careful with someone being pushy. I let him show me around on the ship, though. He explained how it works, and many things that are important to know. At that time passengers were already lining up for lunch, that was a bit confusing for me since the ship hasn't even left the port yet. After he answered all of my questions I left without buying any ticket. I needed a second option. So I asked other people about the price, asked other companies, bought some water and returned to the same ship I checked before. I entered the ship without anyone asking me anything. I'm pretty sure that I could have done this trip without paying, but once the ship left the port I asked around, where should I pay for my ticket, and I paid my 100 Sol fare price.

I never thought that I would experience anything like this. Neither did I dream about anything like this. I'm sitting on a dirty boat. Sharing the deck with around 200 people, a couple of hundred chickens, 20 Cows and many other different types of cargo.

The space is very limited. At the start people were fighting for spots, arguing who reached it first. Fortunately these little fights quickly settled down. Everyone occupied a little part of the floor, laid down on blankets and installed their hammocks. I also settled down in a narrow path between cargo and the rail. This is the best I could get. It had the advantage of being kind of separated and I had a direct view to the forests. Disadvantage that it was next to a corridor and pretty close to the chickens. I quickly fell asleep though and a few hours later when I woke up we just stopped in front of a port and nothing happened. While waiting people lined up for dinner. Two more hours passed when the ship docked at the port and started to load some more cargo. It took forever, even though this time they had a crane, not only manpower.

It was already dark when we finally left this second port. It's been around 6 hours since we left Yurimaguas and we've only been on the move for like two hours. I wonder if it was scheduled that way. Around that time passengers started to line up again. This time for the bathroom. I was surprised that people actually went to have some kind of bath there. I don't think I will. Whatever I would do in those bathrooms I think I would feel dirtier after than before. Peeing is fine, but I also decided that number two has two wait two days.

Diary day #2

I'm writing these lines when we've been on the way for 19 Hours. It's nine o'clock in the morning. Breakfast was done 3 hours ago. Breakfast was Leche con Arroz. Basically it was rice cooked in a lot of water and they allegedly poured some milk in it as well. I only asked for that little piece of bread that came with the breakfast.

We've been really lucky so far with the weather. I haven't even seen the Sun, but regardless I can feel that the air starts to get hotter.

I think it looks like I'm complaining, but it's not my intention. I just describe the way it is. This is part of the experience and it doesn't make the view any worth. Because that is something amazing. Travelling through this enormous river that is already bigger than the Danube and we are 2500 km away from the ocean is incredible. And then there is the hundreds of kilometres of rainforest on the riverside. I just can not get bored of it.

During the day we were stopping almost every hour in small towns. Passengers left, new passengers came. Cargo was unloaded and uploaded. Sometimes the ship doesn't even stop; they just use a small motorboat to deliver passengers or cargo to their destination.

I was planning to avoid eating on the ship as well, but lunch looked good, so I lined up as well and asked them if it contained any eggs. (I'm kind of allergic to eggs) I'm pretty sure the chef said that: (todo tiene un ratito = there is a little bit in everything), so I said no-no-no I can not have that. They were nice, they said they will prepare me one meal without. I should come back half an hour later. Okay thank you very much. And then, when I came back, they put boiled eggs in front of me. I bursted into laughter. I think I was clear about the allergic part. I don't know how this happened (again). I just love when after making sure that there is no egg in my food they put mayonnaise on it. Happens every second time, but bringing me eggs for egg allergy is priceless. Anyway, they were nice. It was probably because of my poor spanish. So at the end I've got the same meal as everybody else. This time they assured me that it doesn't have any eggs. So far I can say that they were probably right.

After 48 Hours without having a shower I changed my mind about the shower part. The idea of water and soap started to sound too good to resist.

During the night I woke up. Went out. I was alone there. It was incredibly calm. The only sound was made by the ship as it sliced its way through the water. It was almost completely dark. No moon, no stars, but if I was staring long enough I could see the contour of the forest. Half an hour later more people came out. As it turned out we were getting near to our next station. Some people left again, and I used my chance to get a spot in the centre of the ship. With significantéy more people around me, but with significantly less chicken smell. I believe it was a step up.

Diary Day #3

I skipped breakfast. I was enjoying sleeping on my new spot instead. There was quite a lof of rain yesterday as well, but somehow rainy periods are getting longer. At this moment I can barely see the forest on the riverside because of the heavy rain.

We are under a steel roof, which under sunlight would probably feel like in an oven. I'm really happy that I don't have to experience that but this rain is also getting a little bit too much now.

Soon we will arrive in Nautica. It's the first town which is actually connected to Iquitos by road. Many people will leave the ship there to take a taxi instead of continuing with the ship. saving around 5-6 hours time.

I wasn't planning to leave the ship yet, but other passengers convinced me that it is the better thing to do. Even some locals, who told me earlier, they will stay on the ship, changed their mind and got off the ship. So I left as well.

Full Itinerary for the trip:
Tarapoto Hostal - Tarapoto Turismo Selva Terminal, 8:00 - 8:30, 5 Soles
Tarapoto - Yurimaguas Terminal, 8:30 - 11:30, 20 Soles
Yurimaguas Terminal - Yurimaguas Port - Nauta Port, 13.02.2024 14:00 - 15.02.2024 14:00, 100 Soles
Nauta Port - Nauta Bus Terminal, 14:00 - 14:30, 3 Soles
Nauta Bus Terminal - Iquitos Bus terminal, 15:00 - 17:00, 15 Soles