Peru - Lonely Planet Publications [423]
LIBRARY & MUSEUM
On the Malecón, at the corner with Morona, is an old building housing the Biblioteca Amazónica (the largest collection of historical documents in the Amazon Basin) and the small Museo Etnográfico. Both are open on weekdays (admission for both S3). The museum includes life-sized fiberglass casts of members of various Amazon tribes.
BELÉN
At the southeast end of town is the floating shantytown of Belén, consisting of scores of huts, built on rafts, which rise and fall with the river. During the low-water months, these rafts sit on the river mud and are dirty and unhealthy, but for most of the year they float on the river – a colorful and exotic sight. Seven thousand people live here, and canoes float from hut to hut selling and trading jungle produce. The best time to visit the shantytown is at 7am, when people from the jungle villages arrive to sell their produce. To get here, take a cab to ‘Los Chinos,’ walk to the port and rent a canoe to take you around.
Belén mercado, located within the city blocks in front of Belén, is the raucous, crowded affair common to most Peruvian towns. All kinds of strange and exotic products are sold here among the more mundane bags of rice, sugar, flour and cheap household goods. Look for the bark of the chuchuhuasi tree, which is soaked in rum for weeks and used as a tonic (it’s served in many of the local bars). Chuchuhuasi and other Amazon plants are common ingredients in herbal pain-reducing and arthritis formulas manufactured in Europe and the USA. The market makes for exciting shopping and sightseeing, but do remember to watch your wallet.
Activities
AMAZON GOLF CLUB
Amazing as it may seem, you can play a round or two on the nine holes of the wonderful Amazon Golf Club (963-1333, 975-4976; Quistacocha; admission per day incl golf-club rental S60; 6am-6pm), the only course in the entire Amazon. Founded in 2004 by a bunch of nostalgic expats, the 2140m course was built on virgin bushland and it boasts, apart from its nine greens, a wooden clubhouse. Hole 4 is a beauty: you tee onto an island surrounded by piranha-infested waters. Don’t go fishing for lost balls! When fully completed the clubhouse will also include a bar (it already has a fridge full of beer) and the grounds will feature a swimming pool and a tennis court. Meantime see cofounder Bill Grimes (below) at the course city office for information on how to get some swinging action.
RIVER CRUISES
Cruising the Amazon is an expensive business: the shortest trips can cost more than US$1000. It’s a popular pastime, too, and advance reservations are often necessary. Cruises naturally focus on the Río Amazonas, both downriver (northeast) towards the Brazil–Colombia border and upriver to Nauta, where the Ríos Marañon and Ucayali converge. Beyond Nauta, trips continue up these two rivers to the Pacaya-Samiria reserve. Trips can also be arranged on the three rivers surrounding Iquitos: the Itaya, the Amazonas and the Nanay. Operators quote prices in US dollars.
Dawn on the Amazon Tours & Cruises (23-3730, 993-9190, 994-3267; www.dawnontheamazon.com; Malecón Maldonado 185, Iquitos; day trips incl lunch per person US$65, multiday cruises per person US$150 per day) This small outfit offers the best deal for independent travelers. The Amazon I is a beautiful 33ft wooden craft with modern furnishings, available for either day trips or longer river cruises up to two weeks. Included are a bilingual guide, all meals and transfers. You can travel with host Bill Grimes and his experienced crew along the Amazon, or along its quieter tributaries (larger cruise ships will necessarily stick to the main waterways). Dawn on the Amazon has exclusive permission to go twice as far into Pacaya-Samiria reserve as any other tour company. The beauty of these cruises is in their flexibility: many cruise operators have fixed departures