And just like that, my journey to Iquitos has come to an end. Thanks to a pesky three-hour flight delay, I find myself scribbling this post in the airport lounge.
Back in middle school, as I mechanically recited how “the Amazon rainforest is often called the lungs of the Earth,” I could never have imagined that a decade later, I’d actually set foot on this legendary land. The humid air clings to your skin, the tropical plants sway like green waves 🌴, and creatures straight out of documentaries—anteaters lumbering through the undergrowth and mata mata turtles with shells resembling dried leaves🍂—feel almost surreal.
Every moment here feels like stepping into a textbook illustration, except it’s so much more vivid, so much more breathtaking than anything words could describe. As twilight descends, the oppressive heat of the jungle softens, giving way to a star-studded sky ✨ and the soothing hum of nocturnal insects.
Over the span of three days and two nights, I danced barefoot with indigenous tribes, plunged into the mighty Amazon River for a swim, and even coated my face and body in river mud (supposedly great for sunburns, wrinkles, and aging—thank you, nature!). We fished for piranhas
