Tentative Schedule
Iquitos, Peru — Gateway to the Amazon! Largest city in the world that you cannot reach by road.
Learn more about Help One Now's work in Iquitos here!

March 19

• Fly to Lima and stay at airport hotel overnight (our experience is that all flights to Iquitos take you through Lima overnight).
  

March 20

• Catch the first flight into Iquitos
  
• Lunch with Willie and Mercedes Malpartida, our Help One Now local leaders in Peru.
  
• Visit Colegio Kairos Grau (one of the school campuses that serves approx. 300 students)
  
• Visit Colegio Kairos San Juan (the other school campus, approx. 200 students)
  
• Nice dinner in downtown Iquitos. 
  
• Lodging will be at a good hotel in one of the main squares of Iquitos. It’s a good experience and everything you need is in walking distance. Transportation is also unique in Iquitos. You go everywhere in town on what they call a Motokar. It’s a 3-wheel motorcycle with a bench seat in the back. Sounds strange, but it is actually quite safe and kind of fun. That’s just around town… for longer excursions we will use a truck or van.
  

March 21

• Visit Kairos Village in AM (this will be deep into the construction phase, but it will be good to see the progress and hear the story)
  
• Lunch back in town
  
• Visit Belen in the afternoon — visit the market (all kinds of crazy stuff from the jungle in the market; take a boat ride through the floating houses; learn about the poverty of Belen). Belen is a slum of sorts that sits in the bed of the Amazon River…so at different times of year it is underwater as the river rises. A lot of extreme poverty and abusive situations as it is home to the poorest of the poor, or those who wish to live outside the norms of society.
  

March 22

• Take a boat on the Amazon River into the Amazon Rainforest after church. 
  
• possible fishing excursion on the Amazon
  
• possibly stay at a lodge in the rainforest for the night… these lodges are very simple. No AC, most likely no electricity. But you get to experience the jungle in a safe environment. Lots of wildlife, etc. The rooms are open air, but screened in very well.
  

March 23

• Back to Iquitos by lunch
  
• Visit Bora tribe and animal rescue (the Bora are an indigenous tribe, but most of them are now believers. The grandfather of Willie Malpartida’s wife translated the Bible into their language; the animal rescue is sort of a jungle zoo…Anacondas, sloth, cayman, monkeys, birds, giant turtles, etc.)
  
• Nice dinner with the Malpartidas in downtown Iquitos
  
• Evening flight to Lima
  

March 24

• Arrive home.
  

Vaccines

Besides being up-to-date with routine shots, the following are also recommended:

-Hepatitis A & B

- Typhoid

-Yellow Fever

We also suggest getting a prescription for an anti-malaria medication. There are several different prescriptions you can choose from.

Your local travel clinic can go over the different options with you and help you decide what will be best for you. If you've done a lot of international travel before, chances are you've had a lot of these immunizations already.

STEP
Each traveler will be registered with the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP). This is a free service provided by the US Government for citizens traveling abroad that will allow the US Embassy in Peru to better assist you in the event of an emergency.

Insurance

Help One Now will purchase trip cancellation and medical evacuation insurance for each of you (included in trip cost). You will be emailed an insurance card to print out and keep with your passport while traveling about a week before departure.

Supplies / Packing list

It’s a good idea to pack as light as possible. Here are a few things, however, that you will definitely need-

1. Passport

2. Shot Record

3. Snacks

4. Power adapters and converters

5. Sunscreen/Mosquito Repellent

6. Water bottle

Optional: Kammok, Dragonfly mosquito net, etc

Currency Exchange

Peru prefers VERY crisp bills, and large denominations will likely get a better exchange rate. When exchanging currency, your best bet will be a nice new $100 bill.

Also, notify credit card companies that you will be travelling so your card doesn’t get denied.