Inappropriate / Inaccurate? Gerson Pizango
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Description:
Gerson is a young man from a small village by the name of Puerto Miguel, on the bank of the Ucayali River, about 260 km south of the city of Iquitos. He grew up there with his family working for many different organizations, but all of which were run by people from outside of the jungle. Now he has moved to Iquitos as his principle home base, offering people from out of the country an authentic, real jungle experience, from a local man who will take you to his hometown which will be used as a home base briefly at the house of one of his friends and experience the Junge Life. You'll be in good hands, but there will be no jungle lodges; simply camping outside, when you're not in the base camp on the way to the campsites. You may be up to 300 km away from Iquitos, away from where most people live.
In going with Gerson, you will also be supporting the local people, who often struggle to get by, and you can be sure your money will go to helping many survive. This was one thing that certainly attracted us too, knowing that we would be directly aiding Peruvians from the heart of the Amazon.
Many people dream about doing this sort of thing: this is it become reality, for an affordable price too. Activities include:
- Bird watching;
- Swimming in the river with dolphins;
- Night jungle walks, searching for tarantulas, scorpions, bullfrogs and other exotic species;
- Night boat rides, searching for caiman;
- Daytime jungle hikes, monkey spotting, giant trees, amazing plants, giant butterflies
Gerson has extensive plant & animal knowledge; the Jungle is his home. He is very pleasant & humble in character and will be at your disposition, as he has a real servant's heart. He is honest and genuine, and is full of interesting stories - he's had a very amazing life so far. Eager to share about his homeland, he is appreciative of all who have a desire to discover and experience the Amazon. He speaks excellent English and will come pick you up at the Iquitos airport; he'll take you to your hotel in Iquitos and arrange for a departure time the next day to go on the jungle adventure.
We spent a truly unforgettable time with Gerson and consider him a dear friend.
You may stay for the amount of time which is convenient for you. Some people will only go for a few days, others up to two or three weeks. My friend and I went for one week - six nights in the jungle (two nights at base camp, upon arriving and leaving, and four nights camping in the jungle itself).
Necessary equipment can be provided for if you require, including:
- Mosquito nets
- Flashlights
- Boots
- Tents
- Sheets
- Fishing rods
- Binoculars
- Rain coats
- Machetes
Food is included as well. The cooking is fantastic, you'll get to try "jungle spaghetti," which is palm tree innards mixed with vegetables and a delicious dressing. Clean drinking water is also provided.
Optional possibilities for trips include:
The Pacaya - Samiria National Reserve,
Aucayacu river trip, off of the Ucayali river,
Gálvez river to visit the Indian Matses and Mayrunas,
And all along the Amazon Basin.
Gerson will ensure that you get back to Iquitos safely including the airport itself.
Who it's appropriate for...
First thing is, I would say, is ¡¡must not be afraid of insects!! as they are extremely numerous and come in all sizes, and many are poisonous. Once again, Gerson has excellent knowledge of this as well, and he will let you know everything you need to know to be safe. If you love discovering new things, being in a place that is truly alive in the literal sense of the word, hearing all kinds of amazing sounds, bird cries, insects flapping their wings, monkeys calling out to one another; new smells, of the fresh, rich and virgin Earth, humid, moist and cool under the forest canopy, sheltered from the sweltering tropical Sun; witness the torrential and majestic rainfalls of the place that is called "The Rainforest" for a reason; sights unlike anything you've ever seen: giant blue butterflies, colourful birds, large reptiles, giant insects, anthills the size of SUVs, beautiful flowers, incredible trees; exotic and rare plants (many of which bear medicinal ingredients to treat all kinds of illnesses), the elusive pink and grey river dolphins... and perhaps even an anaconda or a big caiman if you're fortunate enough! Or even a jaguar... though they will flee while you're still miles away... then this place is for you, like walking through a dream.
Details of costs...
You may contact Gerson directly for this; costs can vary according to how long you are staying (the longer, the cheaper the cost per day) or how many people you bring (the more people, the cheaper the cost per person). It will certainly be less expensive though than going to an Amazonian tourist agency!
Highly recommended for an experience you can tell your friends about back home for years to come. Custom-made trips according to where you want to discover!
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Uploaded by Jules Lapprand on July 28, 2009.
A night walk to see giant bull frogs Uploaded by Alex Higham on July 17, 2010.
Leap 2010 WINNER Uploaded by Nicola Dee on Jan. 17, 2012.
Customer Reviews
Jules Lapprand (recommender) (10 / 10)
Jules Lapprand spent 5-10 days with Gerson Pizango.
Description
We undertook all that the jungle experience includes, and saw all kinds of wildlife. We did not see any anacondas or jaguars but we did see sloths and caiman and tarantulas too. We swam with dolphins in the Ucayali river.
We also went to a wildlife refuge upon our return to Iquitos later, where we saw all kinds of animals we wouldn't have seen in the forest because of their rarity, including large caiman and anacondas, and monkeys which played with us.
Ratings
Creighton (9 / 10)
Creighton spent 2-5 days with Gerson Pizango.
Description
We did a rainforest tour a couple hours outside of Iquitos for 2 days and fit TONS of experiences in. I´ve been backpacking for a couple months and have had many tours, but this was one of the best. He doesn´t tone things down for tourists; we hunted and held small alligators, sloths, and massive bullfrogs as well as canoed through thick forest jungle, parana fishing, and tons of other things. The meals were very good, he was very knowledgeable and spoke pretty good english. Very fun, funny, and nice guy. All of this was only S/. 200 (about $75). I would highly recommend him.
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Alex Higham (10 / 10)
Alex Higham spent 2-5 days with Gerson Pizango.
Description
We did a 3 night jungle trip with Gerson last June and had an amazing time. He is a great guide, so good we even created a website for him - www.amazonjungleguide.com - please visit for more info.
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JP Rios (10 / 10)
JP Rios spent 2-5 days with Gerson Pizango.
Description
We stayed with Gerson and his family for a 3 day package.
Gerson is very passionate about his jungle, and it shows. He did is best to show us (my wife and I) the maximum he could in 3 days. Day trekking, night trekking, day canoeing, night canoeing etc....
We got to see caimans, tarantula, piranha, sloth, monkeys, dolphins, snakes, deep thick jungle, millions of insects and more....
Gerson has tons of little activities showing you his jungle. A little jungle survival course he like to call.
Transportation was flawless, Gerson came and picked us up at the airport, and brought us back in time for our flights.
Food was plenty and great during the stay, and don't forget to try "jungle milk"!
You are truly in good hands with Gerson, 4 thumbs up!
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Malcolm (10 / 10)
Malcolm spent 5-10 days with Gerson Pizango.
Description
Anything we wanted and more. It was incredible. We stayed in Gerson´s village which is an indiginous community and did....
• Boat trips wildlife and Bird spotting including Macaws and Toucans
• Spear fishing and piranha fishing
•Jungle Hikes, Monkies and Giant Trees
• Medicinal Plant Knowledge
. Camping Outside
. Survival and jungle skills
• Spotting / Swimming with River Dolphins
• Canoeing and Fishing for Piranhas/observation of giant water lilies
• Night time Jungle Trips:
Canoeing, Night Fishing with Spear, Machete and Caiman Spotting
Hiking on searching for Tarántulas, Scorpions, Snakes and Bullfrog Spotting
Gerson´s cousin, Wilder (aka Lobo) is also the local Shaman so we spent a lot of time with him treating our various illnesses.
For a more fun read and some photos then check out:
http://scruff-scrufflove.blogspot.com/2011/04/out-of-jungle.html
Ratings
Comments:
It should alo mention that Gerson´s cousin Wilder (aka Lobo) lives nearby and is the local Shaman. He is an encyclopedia of jungle medicinal knowledge and can perform ayahuasca ceremonies for those that want them. He´s also been a jungle guide for 25 years so the combination of Gerson and Lobo was fantastic.
Rolf (10 / 10)
Rolf spent 5-10 days with Gerson Pizango.
Description
We contacted Gerson a few days prior we were arriving in Iquitos. At the airport Gersonpicked us up and explained us everything about the trip. Because he was to busy we made a trip with his cousin Wilder. We spent an amazing 6-day-trip with Wilder, his son Martin and a cook. We have been three days on camping and three days we staied in al very small lodge. We saw a lot of animals (grey and pink dolfins, different kinds of monkeys, sloth, parrots, one boa constrictor, flamigos, eagles, falcons, we fished very larges pirañas, catfishes, barcudas, one ray…..). We viseted also two small villages (Libertad and Puerto Miguel) and there different families. So we could see how people life in the amazon. Wilder was an excellent guide, which explained us everything. He has a huge knowledge about everything in the jungle and is also a shaman. We can recommend you to book a tour with Wilder, just contact Gerson via an e-mail.
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