在南美，很多旅人都要去亞馬遜。但其實亞馬遜有2500幾個香港那麼大，覆蓋範圍包括南美七個國家，要怎樣去？去了又如何？要怎樣才算真正體驗過熱帶雨林呢？｜Amazon Rainforest is one of the main attractions for traveling South America. I chose to enter from Yurimagaus, north of Peru.
基本上好像是只要你去了亞馬遜入面一個城市／港口就算到過了，到了之後，很多人就會參加一些 jungle tour 去看動物／「探險」／在雨林內住幾天作為體驗等。
雖然覆蓋了七個國家，不過最熱門的都是從秘魯、巴西、玻利維亞入，其次就是厄瓜多。
在秘魯亞馬遜入面有個城市 Iquitos，是一個只能從水空兩路進軍、號稱全世界最大沒有陸路連接的城市。原本想探下險，打算由厄瓜多入，因為貪佢少人行，資料少，無車期無船期，不知何時才到。不過竟然碰上那幾天不方便的日子，所以臨上巴士一刻放棄行程，改為坐五程車去秘魯北部另一城市 Piura。如此旅人一轉身，就一個半月後才再出發去 Iquitos。這一個半月又是另一些故事，有時間再說。
由 Yurimaguas 開始
輾轉過後，我選擇了由秘魯北部 Yurimaguas 去 Iquitos。因為我剛好在那頭的 Chachapoyas，便順路去了。「剛好在那頭」的意思是：先由 Chachapoyas 坐 8 小時的 colectivo（小巴）到 Moyobamba，然後轉車，大約 3 小時後到 Tarapoto。睡醒第二天再坐 2.5 小時的 colectivo 到 Yurimaguas。
由 Yurimaguas 去 Iquitos 要坐 3 日船，船票 100 Soles（約US$35，2013年11月），包三餐但不包餐具，包睡卻不包床，你要自備吊床餐具。或者你夠豪氣的，可以租個倉房來睡亦得，價錢好像是 150 Soles，不過仍然不包餐具。
由於不是每天有船，所以便特地在 Chachapoyas 的秘魯官方旅遊服務中心 iPeru 問船期，想預定一到 Yurimaguas 就可即日上船，怎知去到時，我那個 Tuk Tuk 車司機就跟我說今天沒船。當時心想是不是想騙我，怎麼可能會沒船？不過後來就知，亞馬遜地區內的船期真是每天都變，可能因為等貨，又可能因為水流，有時什麼原因都沒有，總之就是沒船！
住宿-Alojamiento Yacuruna
既然沒船就要找住宿，Tuk Tuk 車司機就說帶我去一間旅館，由於以往去某些國家旅行時的經驗，所以對他的推介半信半疑。不過他說不合心意的話，還可以帶我去另一間，所以就跟他去看看吧。
或者他也見過不少背包客，所以就帶我去了一間應該專為 gringos（即是「老外」）而開的河邊鐵皮屋旅館 Alojamiento Yacuruna。
我一看，咦？OK 喎：有藝術氣息的擺設、寫意的吊床、開揚的河邊境，我 LIKE！仲要只是 15 Soles 一晚單人房，就這裡啦！
突然出發去「探險」
旅館老闆除了開旅館，另一個主要收入來源就是靠介紹導遊帶遊客入雨林抽取佣金。所以由我入住的一刻開始，他便不停問我是否要去什麼什麼 nature reserve。我連聽都沒聽過這個什麼 reserve，哪會想過去？他還問我去 Iquitos 幹什麼。其實我也不知道可以幹什麼，反正也是想去了才算。他不斷跟我推介那個什麼什麼 nature reserve，說比在 Iquitos 便宜，然後開價 450 Soles，4日3夜食住全包，又說這裡有個意大利女生剛去完回來，著我問一下她的意見。其實聽到這個價錢，要 1200 港幣，這裡是秘魯來的，真的沒想過會去呢！
不過後來遇到那個意大利女生又不妨問一下，怎知她居然說：「好！捧！呀！那個滿天星空，一流！」就是因為她這句，我動搖了，然後再給旅館老闆一輪遊說，最後殺價至 400Soles，就這樣無情白事的明天便出發去那個不知什麼什麼 nature reserve 了。
p.s. 去完回來後上網查看才知那是 Pacaya-Samiria Natural Reserve。
－待續
Amazon Rainforest is one of the main attractions for many people traveling South America. Most people will enter the amazon region from Peru, Brazil, Bolivia or Ecuador. I chose to go from Yurimagaus, north of Peru, just because I happened to be around (in South America, it means I was 485km away in a town called Chachapoyas).
Getting to Yurimaguas
To get to Yurimaguas from Chachapoyas, I first took a colectivo (minibus) to Moyobamba for 8 hours, then changed to Tarapoto for another 3 hours. After a night sleeping there, I took another colectivo in the morning to get to Yurimaguas for another 2.5 hours.
I planned to take the ship from Yurimaguas to Iquitos, the largest city inaccessible by road in the world. The boat trip was 3 days and the ticket price was 100 Soles (US$35 Nov 2013). All meals were included but not the cutlery NOR the bed. So you needed to have your own cutlery and sleeping facility, aka hammock, on board unless you upgrade yourself to a cabin with 50 Soles more.
I checked the ship schedule in advance in Chachapoyas with iPeru, the official tourist information agency, so I thought I would just hop on the boat when I arrived there. But I forgot the 1st rule of the Rules of Traveling South America: You do not expect anything will run on schedule in South America. OK, it wasn’t that bad, it only happens in part of South America sometimes when you are not particularly lucky.
Accommodation-Alojamiento Yacuruna
Anyway, I was there and found that no boat was going to Iquitos that day, so I followed my tuk tuk driver’s recommendation to an alojamiento (budget lodging) next to the river. The Alojamiento Yacuruna was very nice, a wooden and bamboo house with some artistic decorations and an open view to the river. The facility was very basic though, shared shower and toilet with no air conditioning nor hot water. But considering it’s the entrance port of the wild amazon region and the price was only 15 Soles for a single room, I was more than happy to stay there.
Going to Pacaya-Samiria Natural Reserve
Although I had no plan for what to do in Iquitos, I wasn’t convinced at first by the alojamiento owner who tried hard to sell me a package to visit some kind of nature reserve around there (in South America, it means 12hrs by boat from there). Particularly the price was a whooping 450 Soles for 4D3N. I had no idea how expensive it was to do a jungle tour in the Amazon but when my daily budget was around 30 Soles per day in Peru, I thought it’s only a ripoff. Only until I talked to an Italian girl who just came back from it and told me about the “normal” price and most importantly, how awesome it was to spend the nights in the jungle, I changed my mind and bargained to 400 Soles for the 4D3N tour to the Pacaya-Samiria Natural Reserve the next day.
— To be continued
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