Waterfront, Iquitos
Originally uploaded by fake fotos
The first thing you notice about Iquitos is the noise. Well, maybe the punishing tropical heat first, then the noise.
Surrounded by three rivers, Iquitos is an island in the middle of the amazonian jungle; the largest city in the world only accessible by boat or plane. Disembarking from the plane is like getting wrapped in a hot, steaming towell. From there on out you sweat. Arriving at 7am, the temperature was 26 degrees celsius, the humidity surely was hovering around 90%. I left Lima wearing a sweater and a rain jacket.
As with all airports, bus terminals or train stations there was a crowd of taxi cab drivers (taxistas) offering their services: "amigo, taxi. amigo, taxi. amigo, taxi." Being offered a taxi for five soles ($1.66), I took it. The taxis are three wheeled motorcycles lacking mufflers.
The city is overrun with them, thus the noise. The only time you can really hear yourself think is between 1am and 5am. At 5am the city explodes with a resounding eructation of collective ignition. From then on all you can hear are thousands of unmuffled mototaxis circuiting the city.
Sonic relief can be found if you escape to the jungle, however, a completely distinct sonic experience awaits you there, that of the ... jungle. Duh.
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