We left on the early flight to Iquitos - very early. We were at the airport before 3am!

On arrival in Iquitos we met up with Ricardo - our natutalist for the trip

The Iquitos airport is quiet. The early flight is the most reliable from a time perspective. It is less likely to rain! We were told that until recently there was no later flight - voltures were active during the day and would get sucked into the engines

We boarded a bus for a quick tour of Iquitos.

The market was much like any other, but somewhat less well stocked

Our first glimpse of the Amazon, and the stilted houses on its banks

The town was quiet. Until recently the only access was by river or air. Now, a road links it to Nauta ((which has no other access) a little way up the river

The tuk-tuk have a unique form of protection against the rain

Bus windows drop down into in sliding channels into the side of the bus. This provides air-conditioning

On boarding our boat we were happy to see that it was well stocked with water. We were advised not to use anything other than bottled water, even for brushing our teeth.

Low slung canoes are a major transport vessel, driven by motors or paddles.

Our firsy "wild life" sighting. Even with a telephoto lens wildlife pictures from a boat will be dissappointing. In case you miss them, there are weaver birds nests in the tree

An oil barge. Oil is produced upriver and moved by barge to the terminal.

Watching the river bank slide by is very relaxing. We set off upstream, making a ground speed of about 6 mph and a water speed of 9-10 mph

Their were intermittent signs of life on the river banks

Heavy transport

I would not want to be on this boat

Nor this

The clouds began to lift, and we would be in a rain-free trip for the next few days. Iquitos is only 350 feet above sea level, and about 2300 miles from the mouth of the Amazon, and yet the river appears to be about over 1/2 mile wide and flowing strongly.

Our first view of the skiff. This was the vessel which we used for all shore excursions. We almost always boarded it while the boat was moving - docking much like an airplane refueling in flight!

Our vessel, the Aquamarina. It had 12 twin-bedded cabins and a crew of 14, including our tour leader and naturalist.

Our first excursion. Ricardo our naturalist (standing) had the uncanny ability to spot birds while moving at about 25mph! It would take us several minute to spot the same bird when the boat stopped and he pointed it out!

We slowed down to avoid swamping local farmers moving their produce to market

Monkeys - the first ones always cause amusement

Children were always happy to see the boat

A sloth. They all looked like this, even through powerful binoculars.

The sun went down every night. Surprise!