Perusing Peru

As a cinephile with a penchant for adventure and a soft spot for bears, I must say that my recent journey through Peru was nothing short of extraordinary. From the bustling streets of Lima to the heart of the Amazon rainforest, I felt like I was living out the scenes from Paddington in Peru.

When I tell the concierge at my Lima hotel that I’m heading to Iquitos in a few days, she replies, “I’ve never been. Too much green.” I’ve never heard the Amazon rainforest described so succinctly before, but she’s right: there is a lot of green. I’m here to get to know the homeland of a certain polite bear – our hero returns to his home country for his latest movie, Paddington in Peru. But before I get to “Darkest” Peru (supposedly so called because, in some spots of the rainforest, only two per cent of sunlight makes it to the ground), there’s the country’s capital, Lima.

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I’m bookending the actual jungle with the concrete one – a sort of urban comfort blanket where I don’t have to worry as much about mosquitos. And since Lima is fast becoming a serious foodie centre – with several Michelin-recommended restaurants, not to mention the street food and coffee – I take a tour. Friendly cafés run on local coffee beans, thriving local markets stock the bounty of the rainforest and the ocean, and we finish at a street food vendor who helps us prepare our own causa – a sort of sandwich made with potato instead of bread, filled with chicken and avocado. The cuisine here goes way beyond marmalade sandwiches.

The following day, we find ourselves once again at the airport, bound for Iquitos, one of the most secluded cities globally – and it’s all that lush greenery. A network of river tributaries meanders through the forest before merging into the powerful Amazon River. In the upcoming third Paddington movie, the Brown family charters a riverboat to explore the jungle, an idea I found intriguing. After a two-hour drive through thick foliage on one of the few roads in this area, we reach our boarding dock. At its end lies the Marañón River, an Amazon tributary, where our vessel, the Zafiro, is docked. This is the Amazon Riverboat Adventure (gadventures.com) – a six-night journey down the river basin back to Iquitos. Skiffs will transport us deep into the jungle, revealing those seldom-seen forest floors bathed in sunlight, where the sun can transform from blazing brightness to downpour in mere moments.

Each day unfolds based on the whims of celestial weather deities. Adjustments to our itinerary may occur depending on whether the skies are clear or overcast. On board, we gain insights into local fauna, witness the preparation of the regional specialty, ceviche, by our onboard chef, or relax with a drink on the deck and gaze at the rainforest slide past on glassy waters.

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Most of our time is typically spent outside the Zafiro, either on a boat (skiff) or immersed in nature. Frequently, the engines fall silent as we approach thick vegetation, with our guides having spotted some wildlife. In one encounter, our bow gently collided with an unremarkable bank, revealing a distant figure of a woolly monkey. Suddenly, the entire troop appeared before us, a brave mother carrying her baby on her back descending from a rubber tree and onto our boat. Deeper in the forest, we discovered a nest of adorable baby tarantulas and our gaze moved swiftly to a sloth lounging casually overhead.

We explore the lagoons by swimming and navigate the rough jungle town of Nauta via tuktuk. We set free newly hatched yellow-spotted turtles, whose eggs were saved from poachers, into their natural habitat. We glide in canoes alongside freshwater pink dolphins, accompanied by our experienced and passionate guides – native to the rainforest – who are always awake before anyone else and asleep last. With so much life buzzing around me, the peacefulness is remarkable. In truth, I’ve never slept more soundly, though that might be due to the antihistamines for mosquito bites and the lack of internet connection. Despite this, this place continues to amaze me in countless ways.

After my time on the boat ends, I head back to Lima and spend a few days before my 13-hour flight home (latamairlines.com). From Hilton Miraflores (hilton.com) – with its rooftop infinity pool offering a stunning view of Lima’s sunset – I notice a bustling open-air mall on the coastline. I decide to grab a drink there, and near the entrance, I come across a statue of a bear wearing a duffle coat and tipping his hat. Even though it wasn’t in the rainforest, I feel as if I’ve found my Peruvian bear companion. The plaque beneath reads, “Take care of this bear”, and it seems only right given all the care Peru has shown me during my stay.

2024-10-29 09:03

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