After spending some time in Lima, we flew into Iquitos for the final leg of our Peruvian
adventure.
The landscape changed from arid deserts to mountains and finally to jungle as our flight
crossed the country, and once we arrived, the first thing we did was hop into a tuk-tuk
to take us into the city.
So we have made it to Iquitos.
We had some lunch, we had a nap.
It is now time to explore but first up we have to show you our hotel.
It is called Hotel Epoca and it is super cool.
It is a colonial building with a cute terrace and you just have to see it.
So let's go.
I know.
So they have some cool historical photographs along here.
Let me show you my favorite.
This right here Iquitos in the 1920s.
Flapper culture at its finest.
How cool is that?
And I like this one.
Fancy.
Looks very posh.
Drinking coffee on the balcony.
Iquitos is a really fascinating city.
It is the largest city in the world that cannot be reached by road, which means that if you
want to visit, you either have to take a plane or a boat to get there.
For many, Iquitos is just a quick stopover en route to an Amazon river cruise or a jungle
stay, however, we were pretty excited to get to explore this colonial city.
So favorite part of the city so far is walking along the riverfront.
We've got the Rio Amazonas just over there.
And it is a really scenic walk.
It is, it reminds us so much of Luang Prabang in Laos.
Yes.
Like it is bringing us right back.
So similar.
Rrrrrr.
We can hear those engines purring.
Yes, something that also reminds us so much of Southeast Asia is all of the tuk-tuk.
It is a city of tuk-tuk.
You see motorcycles and rickshaw drivers everywhere.
And right behind us is a really cool building.
It is an Iron House and that was built by Gustav Eiffel and brought piece by piece all
the way from France in 1890.
Wow!
Or so rumor has it!
There is little evidence tying Eiffel to this building, but the mystery keeps people visiting
.
We spent the rest of the afternoon just wandering around Iquitos on foot.
We didn’t have a map and we didn't have a guide, but we somehow managed to hit a lot
of the main landmarks and then some.
Well I would say it has been a pretty fun first half day of exploration.
We're really enjoying the town so far.
Yes.
This is a place I have wanted to visit for such a long time because my Grandma is actually
from this area.
Not from the city but from like a tiny little colony in the middle of the jungle that no
longer even exists.
I know.
So it is pretty cool here.
I feel like we have a much greater appreciation of where she is from and the kinds of food
she has been eating because if you stay tune to our channel we're going to be filming a
lot of food vlogs of all the regional cuisine from the Amazon.
Yes.
And right now you can probably tell we're like sweating profusely.
Yeah, so we found a little juice bar with a really great view and we're just going to
wait for the sun to set.
Yeah, and wait for our smoothies to arrive.
How are you feeling?
Well, I'm feeling pretty awesome.
I mean we've had a really good start to our time here in Iquitos.
I think we've found our bearings and we've witnessed a really cool sunset.
So tomorrow is a new day and we're going to explore a whole bunch more.
We're hoping to visit maybe the water stilt village tomorrow.
Good morning.
We woke-up this morning with the intention of filming sunrise but it was pouring rain.
It was pouring rain.
No sunrise whatsoever.
So we went back to bed and now we're going for breakfast.
Breakfast.
And these are the views from our hotel.
Yeah, and as you can see it is still quite wet outside from the rain this morning.
Some motorcycle and tuk-tuk traffic happening.
And it appears we're not the only ones going for breakfast.
There is like a dog and birds feasting on this huge pile of trash outside.
They almost look like vultures but I'm not sure they are.
So this right here is our breakfast.
We have some bread with jam and butter and scrambled eggs and fresh fruits, tea, coffee,
juice and I think Sam is extra excited because he is finally getting fresh fruits after how
long?
It's been a very long time.
It has been a while huh?
So it looks like you've got banana and watermelon and papaya.
And papaya.
Ooh.
Not a bad trio.
So we're going out for a little bit of sightseeing.
And Sam has undergone quite the transformation since breakfast.
So I'm no longer wolverine.
I'm a little bit more clean shaven.
Every time I do this I feel like a whole new man.
Like I've just got to come up with a better routine where I am shaving say like once a
week instead of once every six weeks.
Plus it is a little too hot here to be sporting a beard.
Exactly, I had like the greasiest face of all-time yesterday.
So I was like it is time to make a change.
So, clean-shaven and let's go check out the stilt village.
Let's go.
Okay, so we made it to Belen which is the little village on water stilts.
It is pretty cool.
But what Sam and I are finding fascinating is a little paths that lead off of this path.
Like, we need to show you one place.
It is basically this plank that you have to walk to reach your home.
Yeah, it is right nearby so lead the way.
And if you don't have good balance you could totally fall over.
I know I would.
You know what I'm getting sweaty palms just looking at this.
Look at this.
Could you imagine if that were the entrance to your home.
That is like a foot and a half wide.
If that?
Walk the plank.
We ended up in the more residential area of Belen, however, there is a more touristy area
where you can hire a peke-peke boat to take you out on the water.
While we didn’t get to experience this, it could be a cool way to see the village
from a different vantage point.
So how was our mission to find the banana chips?
The chifles.
Speaking Spanish.
Okay, so apparently we found another spot to do it.
Chifles.
Cool, so finding chifles take two right?
Ah, esta bien gracias.
So what is the deal?
No chifle we're going to keep looking.
Puppy.
Oh, meow meows.
No food meowzers.
So next up it is market time.
I am wishing I wore shoes because it is looking pretty muddy and I've got flip flops.
So Audrey, what are you seeing so far?
Mostly fresh produce.
Fruits and vegetables.
Lots of colorful fruit.
And I can smell cilantro in the air.
Sleepy kitty.
So we just went through a really busy market.
Now we're heading back into a different section of the water stilt village.
What's the little pup doing?
What's it doing?
Cats.
So that is a wrap from Iquitos.
Tomorrow we are off to stay in a tree house lodge in the middle of the jungle.
And from there we're going to be cruising down the Amazon.
Yeah.
Can't wait for that.
So the adventures continue and we'll have many more videos to come.
Ciao.