Recommended clothing when travelling the rivers and jungle of the Amazon Peru
The added factor here is you need to dress not only for the weather but also for protection against the flies, insects and other stuff.
The jungle for me is like a wonderland, I would like nothing better than to wander the jungle trails wearing nothing but a pair of shorts and barefoot. In fact one time that's what I did for an hour. I saw that the Shaman of a small village I sometimes stayed in, always dressed like this. The result was, despite being warned by the same Shaman not to dress like him, I spent the next few days and nights swabbing down my numerous insect bites with pure alcohol to kill the stinging. How he got away with it I'll never know!
So unless you're a native we have to dress for protection, primarily against the insects and flies. So here's the four items of clothing you need.
- Long sleeved shirt
- Long trousers although you can get away with shorts if you take care of the next item.
- High hiking boots and robust socks covering your calves or wait for it....
- Wellington Boots!
So let's take a closer look at these.
Long sleeved shirt
Primarily it's to cover your arms and to come up higher on your neck than a tee shirt to deter mosquitos and other flies. It needs to be long in the arms and fasten with a button. It needs to be of a medium to dark colour or pattern as mosquitos like bright objects like white shirts. It also needs to be of a fairly rugged material to deter biting. Any of the brands I mentioned in the Clothing - Amazon Villages page will have suitable shirts. (Check out the links to the suppliers on that page).
Long trousers
Same as the shirt in that it needs to go right down to the ankles and be made of medium to dark rugged material. Jeans are OK but the best is some of the great high tech trousers which are light, comfortable and wash and dry really fast. Cotton is not good for washing and fast drying, it's also way heavier than some of the great modern tech materials. My policy is to cut way down on clothes when packing, but what I do take can be washed and dried so fast it's like having a spare set of clothes without the weight to carry! Anyway I'm getting off the subject so onto the next.
High Hiking Boots and socks
Proper footwear is one of the most important things, not that you'll necessarily be walking miles but to protect yourself again the legions of ants, tiny insects beetles, flies and dare we mention it snakes that make the floor of the jungle their home. I take my pair of rugged climbing boots with me along with a double pair of outdoor walking socks. I'm researching better socks, as the area around the ankle can accumulate a number of bites over the days. So we're talking high boots and rugged. Which brings me to the cream of the crop.
Wellington Boots!
They cover the foot and leg right up to the knee, insects can't get through them, they're waterproof and cheaper than boots and a lot of the locals use and recommend them when walking in the jungle. (Some people might better recognise them by the name Rubber Boots).
Open and closed case really. When a local in Iquitos first recommended this to me I thought he was joking! I don't use them because I can't buy my size locally in Iquitos, size 11 European size size 12 American. Peruvians are generally way shorter in stature than Americans and Europeans so my size Welly is out of the question. I'm not going to put them in my rucksack when packing as they're heavy and bulky. As I also travel to the Andes when in Peru so I make do with my mountain boots for both. If you are smaller than around size 9 to 9 and a half you can buy an inexpensive pair locally if you wish before heading out onto the river and into the jungle. After the trip you could donate them to a local and be spared having to pack them for the rest of your journey.
To sum this page up:
With this kind of gear on you might feel a bit overdressed for the jungle but it's much more preferable to the constant distraction of insect bites. By the way my advice is very common and the locals will also recommend it to Westerners travelling in the region because it's what works.One last point, under the jungle canopy it's warm and humid, you will perspire a lot to the point of dripping wet, this is another reason to have fast drying, durable high tech fabrics. Cotton is hopeless under these conditions because it becomes heavy as it saturates because it doesn't wick away the moisture, and it takes ages to dry in comparison. But if that's all you have with you, you'll be OK just somewhat uncomfortable. As I mentioned elsewhere, don't be put off if you haven't the budget for high tech clothing, just get as close as you can with what you've got or can borrow.
Remember it's about dressing to be comfortable so you can get on with enjoying the Journey. That's the bottom line.
Trails of the Spirit facilitates Sketching Workshop
Adventures in Peru and Ireland
