Iquitos, Amazonian city

Iquitos is probably the strangest city I have been too. With a population of 400,000, it is the largest city on Earth that cannot be reached by road. I was originally to go overland as far as possible, then take the three-day trip downriver, but in the end, events took over and I whimped out and bought a plane ticket. However, that was not exactly devoid of interest. Iquitos International Airport is the tiniest commercial airport I've been in. After getting off the 'plane, we walked to the Arrivals Hall, which was basically a room with a conveyor belt, and Customs and Immigration (not that I needed to use them, only having flown domestically from Lima) huts in the corner.
Arriving, as I did, at nearly 3am, the flight having been delayed by a couple of hours, the place seemed pretty dead. That was until I got outside, and was faced by an armada of taxi drivers all touting for service. Not being able to distinguish the differences between the level of service that each would offer me, I asked a nearby policeman to recommend one. He too, judging by his indifference, neither knew nor cared which one would drive me to my hostel in safety and comfort, so just picked the nearest one and marshalled him towards me. It turns out that the vast majority of vehicles in Iquitos are motorbikes, since everything that is not produced in the city or jungle has to be "imported" by river. If you want to get from A to B, you hire a mototaxi, that looks like a cross between a golf buggy and something out of The Prisoner, for those of you who remember the cult British TV series. The ride was entertaining for several reasons. Firstly, the surreality stakes were quite high. Secondly, he gave his friend a lift with me too, dropping him off at his own (broken down) mototaxi. Then things only got better when my driver extended his right leg in order to push his friend's vehicle. I thought this was just to get it started, but he pushed him a couple of miles, changing legs halfway!
Well, he got me to my hostel relatively inexpensively, and woke up the night receptionist for me, so that I didn't have to feel guilty doing it, and I slumped into a bed in the corner of the dorm in the Hobo Hideaway in downtown Iquitos.
Well, I suffered a rude awaking at about 6am, when the mototaxis started going past. I reached for my earplugs, and went back to sleep for a few hours. When I woke up, I resolved to find myself an Amazonian adventure trip, since I had nothing booked. Last night's mototaxi driver had already given me a recommendation, and I noticed a sign on my bedroom door suggesting a tour company. After having a flick through the Lonely Planet (and gasping at some of the prices), I decided to just head into town, grab some lunch, and just see what happens.
Most the people in Iquitos seem to either be a jungle guide, pretend to be a guide, or know a guide they can recommend when they see a gringo (i.e. person from N. America or the Old World), and it was a pleasant surprise when I was called over to a lovely restaurant by the river (not the Amazon, but one of its tributaries), sat down to a 2-course meal, with fresh juice thrown in, for 8 soles (about US$1.50). It turns out that my two new-found friends are also guides too, but are chilling out drinking a beer after several days in the jungle. They are much more easy-going, and less pushy than the others, and appear to take more of an interest in me, so, after sharing a post-lunch beer with them, I arrange to meet them in the Plaza de Armas later, having checked in the mean time that their operation is registered with the local tourist authority.
At the appointed hour, they show me to their office, which appears quite professional, and one of their staff who has himself sixteen years of guiding experience talks me through a proposed 6-day itinerary. The emphasis seems to very much on preserving a living rainforest, on conservation and on education, which definitely appeals to me. He described lots of exciting activities, including waking up at 5am to watch the sunrise over the Amazon.
And so I am going to be spending the next six days in the jungle, away from human distractions, and away from the Internet. No doubt I will have lots of photos to share with you on my return, to compensate for the lack of illustration of this post.