Terry in Indiana Loc: rural Indiana

My husband and I are planning a September trip to Peru, mainly for the Amazon River experience. We are skipping Machu Picchu this time, wanting to focus on the wildlife of the rainforests. Tentatively planning to go to Iquitos area, Manu, Paracas, and end at Mancora for a couple of days of relaxation. I welcome suggestions and advice from anyone who has been there. My two cameras are Nikon d7100 and d500...and I will probably rent a 70-200 lens and use with a teleconverter. Thoughts/ideas from some Peru-travelers out there???

sb Loc: Florida's East Coast

Are you going on a river boat? If so, will you be going on excursions up the tributaries for wildlife viewing and visiting villages? Not familiar with the Nikon lens options, but if you can get a 70-300 lens it might be better. There will be sloths and monkeys in the trees along the river (where there will be plenty of light), and people waiting for the boats, kids swimming, etc., that you will want to capture. Within the jungle itself it will be too dark to use a telephoto in most locations - although with a very powerful flash it can be very useful. Especially for nice shots of deadly snakes from a safe distance!

Two strong recommendations: If your boat and/or lodgings are air-conditioned, you MUST keep your equipment in an air-tight case or zip-lock bags when you move it out into the outside air, which is VERY hot and VERY humid. Moisture will condense immediately on - and IN - your cameras and even in the zoom lenses which are rarely air-tight. This can ruin the equipment, or at best make it unusable for a while. It can promote mold growth on the inside elements of a telephoto lens. I used an air-tight case in which I kept rechargeable silica get canisters, and put my equipment in the case at night to dry out. Of course, the air in an air-conditioned room is much drier also. See: http://www.amazon.com/Silica-Hydrosorbent-Canisters-Desiccant-Dehumidifying/dp/B005V2B3M6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1480505110&sr=8-2&keywords=silica+gel+canisters

Second: Hepatitis A vaccine is very essential for travel to South America (not the Hep B that the kids get now). Malaria prophylaxis is probably useful - I have been in the Amazon at times when I never saw a mosquito. I always take the DEET wipe packets to use in case I run into mosquitoes. The DEET in them is not a greasy formula. Malaria-carrying mosquitoes bite at night, FYI. You should bring an appropriate antibiotic in case you get diarrhea, and bring some Imodium as well. You will be in the Yellow Fever endemic zone. Yellow Fever is rare - but the fatality rate is 50%, so your call about getting that vaccine. It is good for ten years. Peru does not require you to have it - BUT - if you plan on going into any other country in the region within ten days of leaving Peru, they will not let you in without proof of YF vaccination.

Terry in Indiana Loc: rural Indiana

Thanks so much, sb! Yes, much of the time we will be on boats so your advice is very helpful. May look into a longer lens option as well. And I know the humidity will be high, so thanks also for the link for the silica gel packs. Those would also be very useful for other scenarios. I doubt we'll encounter much air conditioning during our Amazon time.

We've traveled a lot in Africa and a couple of times to India, so we are totally onboard with all the vaccinations. I'd rather be safe than sorry!

Where did you stay on your Peru travels? Still working out itinerary details.

Thanks so much for your help!
Terry

rdfarr Loc: Floridian living in AL

We visited Peru this past May. Got lots of photos. Itinerary was Lima - Cuzco and environs - Machu Picchu - Iquitos - Amazon.
I found the huge Iquitos market a great place for photos. I posted a number on this site.

I travel far lighter than you, only taking my compact Sony RX100 which I keep on a lanyard around my neck. As a substitute for a long lens, I use maximum photo size and zoom so I can later crop to my primary subject. I hate lugging a pile of photo equipment on trips. (I use my Nikon D7000 only around my local area, and very seldom use my long lens except for birds.)

Hope you have a great trip!

Terry in Indiana Loc: rural Indiana

Thanks for the reply, rdfarr! I searched your photos on the site...some great candid street shots! We don't like people (ha ha!), so avoid crowded places as much as possible. But I enjoyed your photographs of Iquitos. Did you have some good wildlife ones from the Amazon?

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

Too bad you are missing out on the jewel of Peru, Machu Picchu. I strongly suggest consulting Trip Adviser to anyone who is traveling, it's site is made up of people who have been there and rated it for you. Please take advantage of it.

sb Loc: Florida's East Coast

I have stayed at several lodges in the areas near Iquitos. The Explorama was good. I don't do much video, but here is a little compilation - the first part is a few minutes floating down a tributary of the Amazon near sundown - noisy with wildlife... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L457re3teaE

Terry in Indiana Loc: rural Indiana

Wow. Thanks for sharing that, Steve! Makes me so excited to go!!! I love birds! If you think of any more nuggets of advice/wisdom (I can use both!), please message me. Thanks again for taking time to respond.

Terry in Indiana Loc: rural Indiana

I appreciate your thoughts, Bill. And I use Trip Advisor all the time. Different strokes for different folks...I'm sure Machu Picchu is a jewel and perhaps we'll take it in on another trip. 😊

xman222

Ah Terry, I'm envious, I LOVE Iquitos and the Peruvian Amazon.
One word of caution, my first time in Peru I was told by an American living there 15 years that you will probably get robbed, I thought, ha!, not me, well in Lima I was robbed (of cash) by someone in whom I placed great trust and had become like a brother, and I was cheated and overcharged mercilessly by vendors, etc.
No bad experiences in Iquitos, possibly because I had learned my lesson.
I suspect the words Nikon, or Cannon in Spanish mean "take me, take me". Be very vigilant
Secondly, not MY personal experience but I've see pictures submitted (I believe on this site) comparing photos shot with a tele-converter, and the same scene without but cropped to the same ratio, and EVERY TIME the cropped photo was sharper. I was about to but a 1.4 when I saw that, I never bought it.
Good luck on your travels

xman222

I just realized I responded to a letter 3 years old, stupid me.
But shouldn't old topics be phased out after some time?
Anyway, my advise still stands.

Terry in Indiana Loc: rural Indiana

Thanks xman! Another reason we like to avoid crowds of people... I will be vigilant. And I appreciate your thoughts on the teleconverter. My reasoning for choosing that combo is simple...less weight and room than a larger lens. I had great captures using that lens/TC combo in Botswana. (See a few below, all taken with the 70-200/TC combo on my Nikon d500). I've got some time to decide on the lens dilemma. Appreciate your input!

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MtnMan Loc: ID

The topic was posted yesterday. You may have looked at the date the OP jpined UHH.

xman222

MtnMan, You're 100% correct, good catch. After I realized it I felt really stupid.
I thought I would get away with having had a brain-fart, but seems these incidents become more frequent with age. lol