Day 16 - IQUITOS - MUYUNA LODGE
Last night, shortly after arriving from dinner on the Iquitos promenade at our hotel, La Casona, we received an email from Muyuna Lodge, telling us that they would come to look for us at our Iquitos hotel at 9 in the morning to start touring the Amazon from Iquitos.
At this point in our trip to Peru we found an incredible hour like that and know that today we could sleep until 7 or even 8 in the morning.
Well, nothing is further from reality and at 6 o'clock we already have the eyes as dishes and we have already started to start a key day in our trip: finally we will enjoy the Amazon from Iquitos.
We have had breakfast with all the tranquility that a city like Iquitos gives us and after making a backpack with just enough for these days (we cannot carry large backpacks for reasons of space and weight), we check in, we leave large backpacks in the reception and a few minutes past 9 come to pick us up.
We go directly to the office of Muyuna Lodge in Iquitos where we collect some water boots, bottle of water and snack for the trip and give us a brief explanation of what the initiation to this trip to the Peruvian Amazon will be.
We wait until 9.30 in the morning, at which time we are all going to the Muyuna Lodge today and get back in the car, this time already on the way to the ship that will take us directly to what will be our accommodation the next 4 days .
You have to keep in mind that The Muyuna Amazon Lodge is only accessible by air or by boat, since it is in the middle of the jungle and it takes 3 hours by the river to reach the hotel. The same accommodation package that we reserve offers the transport service from the airport to the hotel and to the point where the boat is taken in Iquitos.
Our guide these days by the Amazon from Iquitos it will be René and we will share our adventure with a group of 4 Argentines.
If you have less time there are several recommended excursions that you can book from Iquitos:
- Amazon River excursion
- 2-day Amazon tour
- Excursion to Nauta and birth of the Amazon River
- Excursion to Pacaya Samiria
- Excursion to the Amazon, Nanay and Momon rivers
Iquitos in Peru
We leave the pier of Iquitos at 10 in the morning and in less than 5 minutes we can already say that we begin to navigate the Amazon River.
Iquitos jetty
This is amazing and as we move further away from Iquitos the more spectacular it is. That dream that many times we had as children, "cross the Amazon", we are living right now.
We are struck by everything we have around us: the colors, the sky, the clouds ... those that resemble those we drew as children and the cotton candy we ate at the fairs.
Tracing the Amazon from Iquitos
The sky that we are currently lucky to have on us irrevocably reminds us of the sky of Africa, of the trip to Kenya and Tanzania, that we have only seen in special places where nature presents itself in its purest form.
Amazing sky over the Amazon River
Boat that takes us to the Amazon from Iquitos
Only for this route is it worth having come here. We could not understand people who did not recommend us or Iquitos, telling us that it was a city with nothing to offer or this area of the Amazon, telling us that having Puerto Maldonado much closer to Cuzco was not worth moving to the other end of Peru.
Now and with the experience of living it, we can do nothing but recommend it 100%, both for the city of Iquitos, which has fallen in love with us and for this area of the Peruvian Amazon.
And we say this when we only know the transfer of Iquitos to the lodge. So you can imagine how it will be when we arrive at the Muyuna Amazon Lodge.
Transfer to Muyuna Amazon Lodge
As we get closer to the Muyuna Amazon Lodge the road gets complicated and we have to stop every so often to get around plants, roots and trees.
The smell of nature is incredible and when the boat turns off the engines the silence seems to speak to us. Did we tell you that this is amazing? And that this experience is worth 100%?
Making our way through the vegetation along the Amazon River
After 1 noon we arrive at the Muyuna Amazon Lodge and as we get closer and begin to have the first vision of what our accommodation will be in the next few days, we confirm that we have been right to choose a place like this to live these days in full nature.
Entrance to Muyuna Amazon Lodge
Once we disembark, the first thing they do is introduce ourselves to what will be our guide these next days: René.
In the pack you hire all-inclusive accommodation plus transfers are also included excursions and the guide who will be with us at all times to explain, guide us and above all show us this "piece of nature" that we have the great luck to enjoy.
** Here we will make a small paragraph to explain that the Muyuna Lodge has several programs of different days and different activities according to the one you choose.
Three Sunsets (3 days / 2 nights)
Fresh Water (4 days / 3 nights)
Majestic River (5 days / 4 nights)
Full Adventure (6 days / 5 nights)
Birdwatching Experience (4 days / 3 nigths)
We counting on the days we had, we have chosen the option Fresh Water, where we will be 4 days and 3 nights enjoying the Amazon rainforest.
Every day we will leave you an image with the daily program so you can see what we will do and how this program is divided.
First day at the Muyuna Amazon Lodge
After this first contact René explains the situation of the facilities and things that we can have these days, some of the things we will do and when we see that it is almost two o'clock, he tells us that it is best to go to eat and then we'll just talk about the Muyuna Amazon Lodge.
Walkways of Muyuna Lodge
As soon as we sit in the dining room and see the buffet that we have prepared, we put our hands to our heads. They have everything and great. It seems incredible that so many kilometers from Iquitos we can eat so well and have so many comforts.
Dining room of Muyuna Amazon Lodge
At 3 in the afternoon René has organized our first trip to the Amazon rainforest, so after eating and having a coffee, we have the right time to go to the rooms, accommodate a few minutes and return to the lounge where we meet in another group with whom we will share boat.
Our room at the Muyuna Lodge
Interior of the room overlooking the terrace and hammocks
From now on and counting that we do not think it is necessary to tell point by point the excursions we do, we will make a brief summary of the activities we do and we will complement them with photographs, which in the end we think that in these cases they are much better than any word.
This tour is to see some of wildlife around the Muyuna Amazon Lodge and apart from having exceptional landscapes we can see many kinds of birds, monkeys, including a howler and the famous lazy bear, another reason why we wanted to get here.
First boat trip to observe wildlife around the Muyuna Lodge
Navigating the Amazon River
And speaking of lazy bears, we don't see 1 or 2 if we don't see 3 !! We can not complain in this first outing that we do and being newcomers to the Amazon rainforest.
Lazy bear around the Muyuna Lodge
It begins to get dark over the Amazon
And apart from all the fauna that we have been able to observe, we have also had our rainy moment, in which we have to quickly put on the ponchos to avoid getting soaked. Although we have to say that the feeling of rain in the Amazon is incredible.
It starts to rain in full excursion through the Amazon
Enjoying the Amazon jungle
At 17.30 in the afternoon we are back at the lodge and René gives us free time until 7 which is dinner time and warns us that after this, at 8 at night, he wants to see us well equipped, because we will make a night out to look for alligators and frogs !! 😉
Enjoying the rain from our room
We spend the rest of the afternoon relaxing reading in the hammocks until the staff let us know at 7 that dinner is ready and we can go to the lounge.
The buffet surprises us again and as the food is great. It includes several types of salads, pasta, meat and several local dishes that make this a better dinner than in any restaurant with 5 forks. There are only a few minutes to 8 in the afternoon, so we hurry the coffee before we get back into the boat when there are a few minutes left until 8 in the afternoon.
As soon as we leave the lodge, the face that remains is a poem. We have a spectacular sky with millions of stars for us. Only comparable, perhaps, to those we saw in Africa. This sky accompanies us throughout the excursion, increasing the magic if we are surrounded by hundreds of flashing lights on the Amazon riverbank. It is full of fireflies.
It seems a lie how certain situations can make you move from place in a matter of seconds. That happens to us when we remember how a few years ago we slept surrounded by fireflies in a boat in Borneo.
Halfway the boat accelerates and suddenly, without even giving us time to react, we find an alligator inside.
To the "hunt" of the alligator ...
This is an adventure Roger And Roger of course, happier than anyone with his alligator in his hands.
And so we spent the rest of the hour and measured the duration of the excursion, seeing snakes, birds and alligators in an environment that has us totally in love.
Snakes on our night excursion
After 9 pm we return to the Muyuna Lodge where, before going for a drink in the lounge, we meet René at 6.30 in the morning to take a morning canoe ride.
Good night from the amazing Amazon.
Lying in bed with this symphony of perfect notes is amazing.
The Amazon from Iquitos
Day 17 - MUYUNA LODGE (Peruvian Amazon)
