Amazon Explorama

When planning this bit of the trip, we found a company online called Explorama Lodges who seemed by far the best for the Amazon adventure we sought.  It was set up nearly fifty years ago by an American who came for a holiday, stayed on and wanted to share his Amazon experiences with others. Over the years,  it has grown to 5 separate “camps” set along the Amazon banks, 1-2 hours north of the hick town of Iquitos.

Iquitos reminded us of the hectic parts of Philippine townships – it’s huge, but has similar traits, which given the Spanish/indigenous histories of both is not entirely surprising, I guess. It is the largest town/city in the word with NO road access – everything has to come in by air or by ship – and some of the ships we saw were huge, didn’t expect that.  We drove through the town from the airport en route to the boat downriver, and then stayed a night there on the way back – it is chaotic and unsafe at night, but does have one salubrious square with a good police presence where foreigners can browse the shops and cafes – such as they are.

Iquitos is set on a large  river called the Nanay, but it’s only about half a mile from the Amazon itself, where the clean water of the tributary hits the muddy water of the Amazon and it’s quite a contrast – and here be dolphins (though I didn’t get a photo, you have to trust me!).

Back to Explorama – departing from their head “office” on the banks of the Nanay, going downstream from the town,  after about 50 mins by fast boat is the newest and posher Ceiba Tops, with a/c, fans and even a small pool, and next door the Explorama Inn, same but no pool. 

We stayed another hour further out at the original one,  Explorama Lodge, more cabins but pretty much the same experience as when it started, though with the welcome addition of en-suite shower (cold water) and flushing loo.  I loved it on sight!  Have to say the pix make it look posher than it is – note the absence of loo-roll holder, the kerosene lamps – no electricity,  but the sheets are clean and the beds get made, so really no problem. We were so exhausted every night we slept like babies, lulled by the jungle night noises.  Sheer magic.

Then another 40-50 mins on is Napa Lodge, even more basic, with communal showers and loos and a hole-in-the-ground toilet. We visited here for the Canopy Walk (more later), and were amused by the resident Grey-winged Trumpeter, who seemed to think he was a dog, greeting all the guests and escorting us over to the Shaman hut and back

The fifth camp, ACTS, is nearby and that is the scientific research base that was very much part of the founder’s original plan, and is used by many scientific organizations studying aspects of Amazonia.  It also has a resident Trumpeter, called Ralph.

Our Lodge is set up a small tributary of the Amazon, and we were fortunate to be there at halfway through the rainy season – small creeks were deep enough to navigate by canoe, but the banks weren’t flooding – yet! This photo shows how high the water will get – where the bark changes from brown to grey

It is next to a native village of Yana people, more of that later.

Adjacent to the village an extraordinary American lady doctor, Liana, has set up a medical clinic. She came to the Lodge for a holiday,  came back to stay in 1990 and has lived and worked there since. She has now trained local doctors to take over for a few months twice a year, when she returns to her hometown in Wisconsin.  We were lucky to be the only people there for two nights, so had the pleasure of her company at dinner – such an interesting story.  This is her commuting to work one morning:

And we were inordinately lucky to be appointed one of the best guides Explorama has, Luis.  We encountered a couple of the others, and our man Luis was by far the nicest and most knowledgeable.  He seemed to enjoy having a tour group of just two active, game, enthusiastic amateurs and did his best to show us everything the locale could offer.  He has a keen eye and ear and can spot a chameleon up a tree from way off.  He also knows a lot about the local bird-life, having worked with many of the scientific groups over his 25 years there.

I had brought insect repellent, but gradually through the many flights, it seemed to have evaporated and when I unpacked this time it was completely empty.  There was no shop for miles, though they did offer to send up-river for some, but that seemed OTT.  Point is, given where we were, there were hardly any insects, spiders, flies or mosquitoes – certainly compared to Lantau!  There were some on our last walk, and Mick got one horse-fly bite, but that soon subsided, so hopefully we will have survived the Amazon sans DEET!

Meals were wholesome, healthy and generous, local food with a few extra touches like imported olives.  The bar served cold beer, good cocktails and there was wine – what more do we need??!!