There’s none of the razzle of parts of Lima here. While there are smarter neighbourhoods, and the football stadium is nicely done out, the majority of those in Iquitos are not well off. There’s a whole neighbourhood of wooden houses built on stilts on the edges of the Amazon, and begging, or at least peddling bagfuls of tourist T-shirts or necklaces, is common. While it’s generally good natured, you can make your trip a lot easier by ditching the lairy tourist get-up, and opting for something a bit more understated.

Step a few blocks away from the main square and you’ll find street stalls selling fruit juices, sweets, and cigarettes. If you’re feeling brave jump in a motorkar to Belen market, a sprawling mass of stalls offering knickers and flip flops one minute, grubs and larvae skewered on sticks cooking on grills and bbq corn on the cob the next, with stalls in the distance selling live chicks, dodgy DVDs, spices and batteries. It’s barely structured chaos - noisy, smelly and dirty, but also vibrant, exciting and alive.

Say hello to Renato, an 11-year-old wise-ass who tried to sell me all manner of tat by any means necessary. Don’t worry, he’ll find you. His English, and his patter, was impeccable. He was trying to flog me an enormous T-shirt – I told him I had plenty – but when I eventually relented and gave him some coins just for making me laugh, he looked at them in his palm and said, quick as you like, ‘Come on man, I’m hungry.’ That kid’ll go far.

C&T recommends:

• Eat: The grubs – I bottled it: but that’s one less traveller’s story I’ve got
• Drink: The deep red ‘rainforest juice’ from a local stall, unlike anything you’ve had before, but really refreshing
• Hear: Weirdly, ‘Have You Ever Seen The Rain’ by Creedence Clearwater Revival, coming out of a tinny radio in a shop selling hi-fi’s.
• Read: John Hemming’s new book, Tree of Rivers: The Story of the Amazon