Iquitos is in the middle of the Amazon jungle, connected to the outside world only by the river and by air. There are no roads in or out. Lima and the cities of Peru are to the west, across the Andes, so it is unlikely that there will ever be a road or rail link. Never the less, it is a city of a quarter of a million people. It has a relatively functioning local economy, with the usual educational and public service institutions, some industry and tourism. It was very hot the day we were there.
We were ferried from the airport through the city to the launching jetty for the ferry service that took us to our lunch restaurant “Al Frio y Al Fuego“. The ferry boat had a guard armed with a very large gun, who stood at the bow. We were getting the impression that as rich foreigners we stood out in difficult ways. The restaurant was very pleasant, and the food was great. Of course there were the usual organizational down-sides of being part of a large group (ordering and waiting kerfuffles), but that didn’t detract too much.
After lunch we drove back through the city, around the central square, and then off down the one and only road out of the city, to Nauta, a smaller town further along the river. That is where we met the cruise boat, the “Delfin II“. All aboard and cast-off by dusk.
