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Iquitos, with
400,000
inhabitants, is the largest city in the world NOT reachable by road or
by train. Every road leaving Iquitos ends within 30km. Iquitos is only
reached by air from Lima, or by boat from the EAST! During the rubber
boom,
liners plied the Amazon all the way from the Atlantic to Iquitos via
Manaus.
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Iquitos is the starting point for Amazon tourism, but it is well worth a day or two of your time. It took me about five minutes to fall under the spell of Iquitos, where the atmosphere is at once so busy and so relaxed. |
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Iquitos was a
sleepy settlement
until 1880, when wild rubber trees were discovered nearby. A huge
rubber
boom followed, characterized by extravagance on the part of the rubber
barons, and horrendous conditions for the Indian workers. By the time
of
the rubber boom, Perú was independent, so you can't call the
architecture
colonial. But you know what I mean: grand houses and palaces from a
long-past
glory, in various stages of decay and various shades of mildew.
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By WWI,
the British were harvesting
cheaper farmed rubber in Malaya, and the Amazon rubber boom came to an
abrupt end.
Many of the rubber boom era
buildings
are covered with ornamental Portuguese tiles.
From the boardwalk-like Malecón, you can admire the Amazon river: |
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The choice mode of transportation in Iquitos is the Motocar. It is cheap, noisy and very amusing. You truly need to hold on to your hat. Of course no one ever yields to pedestrians. |
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The
restaurants on the
Plaza de Armas are open to the elements. The air is moved by powerful
fans.
Money, postcards, napkins, everything flies away from your table while
you savor delectable ice cream.
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Even the public library dispenses with glass windows. I took this photo from the sidewalk. The books themselves are behind glass, as you can see. |
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One of the
most distinctive
structures in Iquitos is this Iron House. It was a prototype for a
mass-produced
prefabricated metal house, designed by engineer-architect Gustave
Eiffel.
The idea didn't catch on, so there is only one Iron House.
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The decades of economic downturn have kept Iquitos a time capsule of equatorial architecture. Today, tourism is an important resource, and that ensures that the city will not be spoiled. There are also oil reserves in the region, and the Peruvian government pledges to leave the jungle essentially undisturbed through careful exploitation. |
