A couple of years ago, the Amazon river was inaugurated as one of the Natural New7Wonders of the world. This marks the second New7Wonder that is located in Perú; the other one being Machu Picchu, a man-made wonder. And now you know fact #1 out of the 5 facts you didn’t know about the Amazon:
1. The Amazon starts in Peru Starting in the ice-capped Andes mountains of Perú, the famed river comes together around 7 hours before the city of Iquitos, Perú. Near the mouth of the river, there is an island that is the size of the country of Switzerland; it is called Marajo island.
2. Dolphins frequent the Amazon: Up and down the Amazon river, especially around the city of Iquitos, it is a common occurrence to see a dolphin’s fin rise and lower beneath the water. Not only are there gray, river dolphins, there is also a species of dolphin called the Pink Dolphin that has no fin. There are legends in and around Iquitos that during the middle of the night, the Pink Dolphins transform in beautiful humans and lure the locals away, only then to murder them. Watch out for those ones…
3. Peru’s Amazon is one of the best in the world for bird-watching In the last 40 years, there have been more bird species discovered in the Peruvian Amazon than the rest of the world combined. Just a couple of hours up the Amazon you can find exotic and tropical birds that aren’t located anywhere else on the planet, including down-river on the Amazon. Pretty incredible…
4. Tacacho con cecina is delicious You may not know that one of the most delicious plantain dishes in the world exists along the banks of the Peruvian Amazon. It is a simple dish; it features fried plantains mixed with a little bit of sausage, all mashed together into a ball of goodness. It is served with cecina, or fried pork which, for meat eaters, is a wonderful combination. Don’t pass on this little-known Amazonian entree.
5. Piranha is as tasty as it is frightening: Fishing for piranhas is unlike any other fishing of which I know. You toss in basically anything and they start biting like crazy. I used raw chicken the last time I went out, and they went ballistic. Our group of 5 caught around 20 piranhas within 30 minutes. Once we ran out of chicken, and I know this is gross, we cut up some of our previous victims and start catching cannibalists. But that is beyond the point. Freshly caught piranha is delicious, although you will need multiple catches to be full at the end of the meal.
The Amazon is incredible, it should not be missed on a trip to Peru.
Happy Travels…
