Heliconia Lodge my Paradise
by Douglass G. Norvell, Ph.D.
Want to go for a jungle adventure, but, well...not quite ready for rainforest camping? Try, like I did an alberque, or jungle lodge near Iquitos on the big river Amazon. The alberque I visited is called Helconia, for the jungle flower.
Instead of a flower, Helconia should have been named for a jewel, a kind of emerald that a hiker might kick up in the rainforest covered with the kinds of ferns and vines that consume everything with their color. Helconia is a paradise, except for the mosquitoes. But what's a rain forest without mosquitoes?
The Trip Downstream
Helconia is two hours downstream from Iquitos, just about the right distance for a "jungle trip". Any closer and one would not feel like a true explorer and any further one might suffer the hard travel of a "riberno" (someone who lives up a tributary). As it was, we loaded up with all the other folk who come to town once a week for supplies.
The first stop downstream was at a Bora Indian Village. Even the tour operator said the Bora village was "muy turistica" (very touristy), but I rather liked the big native hut and tribal dances put on by the community. Boras from seven to seventy come out for a wiggle and stomp while wearing native costumes, then top it off with a blow gun demonstration.
One Bora woman was beautiful in her bark skirt.
Back in the boat and on the river we passed an antennae farm with a dock loaded with gunboats. "DEA" said the boatman, and I wondered what kind of dances they do in there.
After another hour on the river, we arrived at Helconia and after a treacherous trip up a mud bank (but with plenty of help) we stepped onto the walkways and were greeted by Nelly, a former government economist who runs the lodge for the Acosta family tourism company. Besides Helconia, the Acosta family owns another jungle lodge near Iquitos (Zungarococha Lodge), but accessible by road, the original Hotel Acosta (an art deco jewel in downtown Iquitos) and a luxury boutique hotel called the Victoria Regia. But they are proudest of Helconia, as it sprawls through virgin jungle.
As walking in virgin jungle is not exactly comfortable, the owners of Helconia built walkways everywhere, which was very ok with me, as I like to look down on army ants rather than be eyeball to eyeball with them.
Scooting along the walkway, the visitor finds a reception center, built of palm thatch, 50 feet across with 60 foot ceilings. Here the manager explains the lights (kerosene in the walkways and generator driven in the rooms until 10 p.m.), the meals (buffet style where everyone eats at once) and the activities (fishing for piranhas, swimming, etc.)
The meal was great!
Then the next morning we loaded up and said goodbye to the rain forest.
