Ucayali, Peru - Polarsteps

You remembered that we like boat trips? 🛳️ We got ready for a new adventure on the water, not knowing how long it would take. And we threw all the luxury overboard! It was just a cargo ship this time that took us from Pucallpa to Iquitos! Traveling local style!! 🤠 What does no luxury mean? We slept in hammocks, which was our only luxury next to our snacks... And those snacks were necessary, because the food was shit🥣. Every morning starting with overly sweet porridge at 7 o'clock, in the afternoon we learned that you can combine rice with pasta and soup for dinner. All the savoury dishes got some boiled -brick like- plantain in it and one small piece of chicken. The chicken was super fresh, because the chef slaughtered them just before mealtime (next to our hammocks). Being the smart ones, we brought some tomatoes and avocado to complement our meals! We were lucky that the ship wasn't overcrowded, because these people are not really conscious about their surroundings. Earphones, for example, they simply don't exist. We were happy that we soon found a quiet spot on the front of the ship, away from the motor and everyone else. During the day we couldn't stand the heat though, but during sunset it was our favourite spot to be! 🌅 So how many days did it take??🧮 We left on Saturday and had our hopes up for Wednesday, already soon knowing it could be Thursday because of thick fog that made us wait for some hours. But then... We got stuck! Some shortcut didn't work out well and we got stuck on a sandbank. It took us a proper 18 hours before another ship came by to help. These hours were the worst. No cooling breeze🌬️ and -even worse- lots and lots of insects zooming over our heads and tried there ways to pinch us🐜🦗🦟🪰. However, at night, we got the most beautiful starry sky. But wait, did the stars just move? 💫 Thousands of fireflies were stretching their wings above the boat! Magical! We were so happy, when we finally made it to the Amazon, close to Iquitos. The river is insanely big and has an enormous water fluctuation of 10 to 15 meters, depending on the season. All in all, it was a great journey. We got to love our floating prison. But we are not thinking of taking another one anytime soon.... 😅

Country Guides:

Peru