Browsing Peru | Radio Times

I’m replacing the real jungle with a concrete one – it’s kind of like an urban comfort blanket where I don’t have to worry so much about mosquitoes. And since Lima is fast becoming a serious foodie hub – with several Michelin-recommended restaurants, not to mention street food and coffee – I’m taking a tour. Friendly cafes run on local coffee beans, thriving local markets store the bounty of the rainforest and ocean, and we end up at a street food vendor who helps us make our own cause – a sort of potato-instead-of-bread sandwich filled with chicken and avocado. The cuisine here goes far beyond marmalade sandwiches.

The next day he returns to the airport on his way to Iquitos, one of the most remote cities on the planet – and everything is so green. River tributaries wind through the forest on their way to the mighty Amazon. In this new, third Paddington movie, the Brown family rents a riverboat to swim in the jungle, an idea I seconded. Our bus drove for two hours through dense forest on one of the only roads in the region, finally arriving at our boarding pier. At its end is the Marañon River, a tributary of the Amazon, where our Zafiro riverboat awaits. This is an Amazon riverboat adventure (gadventures.com) – six nights drifting in the river basin back to Iquitos. The Scythians will take us deep into the jungle to those forests devoid of sunlight, where the bright sun can turn into a deluge in a matter of seconds.

Our days are ordered according to the weather gods. Plans are delayed, abandoned or adapted depending on whether the heavens are open or closed. While on the boat, we’ll learn about the local wildlife, see the national dish of ceviche prepared by the on-board chef, or sit on deck with a beer and watch the rainforest float past the mirrored waters.

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However, most of our time is spent away from the Zafiro, either by boat or out in nature. Often the engines cut out as we slide into the thick greenery, our guides spotted the creature. In one instance, our bow stumbles upon a nondescript shore, the fuzzy silhouette of a woolly monkey in the middle. Suddenly, a troop swoops down on us, a mother with a baby clinging to her back, boldly descends from a rubber tree onto our boat. Further into the forest, we spot a nest of surprisingly cute baby tarantulas, and our eyes quickly settle on a sloth hanging nonchalantly above us.

We swim in lagoons and ride tuktuks around the bumpy rainforest of Nauta. We release baby yellow-spotted turtles—their eggs saved from poachers—into the wild. We paddle our canoes past the freshwater pink dolphins, all the while under the watchful eye of our experienced and enthusiastic guides – indigenous people of the rainforest – who are the first to rise and the last to go to bed. With all the life going on around me, the calmness is amazing. In fact, I’ve never slept better, although that may have something to do with the antihistamines for the mosquito bites and the lack of Wi-Fi. Despite this, this place never ceases to be a discovery.

Returning to Lima, I give myself a few days before the 13-hour flight home (latamairlines.com) to let my inner balance know I’m no longer on the boat. From Hilton Miraflores (hilton.com) – its rooftop infinity pool points directly at Lima’s spectacular sunset – I can see crowds of people gathering around the open-air mall on the seafront. Heading there at sunset, I meet at the entrance a statue of a bear in a duffle coat on a pedestal, raising his hat in greeting. It may not have been in the rainforest, but I finally found my Peruvian bear. It says, “Please take care of this bear,” and that seems pretty fair. After all, Peru really took very good care of me.