In Iquitos, my friends and I decided to arrange an excursion into the rain forest. If you go to the Plaza de Armas (the main square) in Iquitos, you will be surrounded by salesmen promoting different tour companies. We found one that tailored to young travelers on a budget, and it turned out to be a good choice. For the price of about $30 per person, we got a private tour with a guide, a speedboat(don't think too fancy here--more like a wooden rowboat with an attached motor), food and water for two days, mosquito nets for sleeping, and more jungle expertise than we could have ever imagined.
Our guide met us at the boat, and we hopped in to start our adventure. We sped down the Amazon River for three hours before turning off onto a much smaller river, much of which was covered with a beatiful flowering water plant. The motor was thus useless, so we had to row using large sticks. Along the way, we spotted beautiful birds and butterflies, all in magnificent colors.
We spent the night at a family's hut in the jungle, which consisted of a straw room and a wooden floor, with no electricity or running water. They prepared our meals over an open fire, and the food was delicious. At night, we set up our mosquito nets, and slept on the wooden floor right next to our hosts.
In the morning, our guide took us on an unforgettable hike through the jungle. He led the way with a machete, and cleared a bit of a path. Along the way, he pointed out tropical plants and explained their medicinal uses, which are still commonly used by the residents of the rain forest. The most amazing thing about the nature in the rain forest was the color. Every plant and animal seemed to be painted with a brilliant shade, ranging from pink to red to purple to blue, some with all those colors combined. Although you can see some of these pictures in books, nothing beats seeing the nature in its home.