Amazonas

View of the Amazon from the plane

Leticia is located at the farthest SE tip of Colombia, on the Amazon River in the heart of the jungle. To get there we flew over the dense jungle which encompasses over half of the country’s territory. Descending into Leticia, we could see the huge namesake river snaking through an endless sea of green canopy. This Colombian city is located on the Tres Fronteras, where Colombia, Brazil, and Peru meet at one point on the Amazon. You can pass freely without a passport up to 10km into each bordering country. We took advantage of this and wandered into Brazil one night for a beer, so now we have been to Brazil! Kind of. At one point on a boat, the driver pointed to Peru on the South side of the river, Colombia on the North, and the beginning of Brazil just to the East. Pretty amazing. The countries have a brotherhood and amicable relationships where many of the people identify themselves as Amazonians before their specific nationality.

Just out of town, we stayed at a hostel on a big property on a lake. The owner informed us that the high speed boat we planned to take to Iquitos was booked for several days to come. Thus we had to change our plans from the jungle lodge we had booked outside of Iquitos to one outside of Leticia, which turned out to be fantastic. Things always seem to be changing, and we have certainly learned to be flexible while traveling!

Early the next morning we met a boat which took us 1.5 hours up the Amazon where we met our guide on the steep bank of the river. Molly stated two goals for the Amazon, to see pink river dolphins and to see monkeys, both of which were accomplished before noon that day! The perceptive boat driver pointed out several pods of dolphins, both pink and gray species. The gray ones are smaller and more playful; one actually jumped several feet out of the water for us. The pink dolphins are truly really pink, it is not a myth! How incredibly strange to see dolphins in a river far far from the ocean, and pink no less. No luck snapping photos of them however, better just to enjoy the quick glimpses.

Our guide Balo led us on a 3km trail inland to the lodge on the beautiful lake Marasha. He explained to us how in January-March, when the water level rises up to 15 meters they receive guests on canoe and paddle along this trail to the lodge. About 5 minutes into the walk, we looked at each other and realized we were really in the jungle! Photos and stories don`t entirely do this place justice.

Sunset on the lake

The lodge was a series of simple wooden rooms connected by raised walkways. There was a big floating hammock porch on the lake where we spent lots of time between treks relaxing and airing out. Our timing could not have been better as a big group was just leaving as we arrived, so we shared the whole place only with 2 others, which was very peaceful.

Balo took us on a paddle around the lake while explaining the many species of plants around and on the lake. Such as these Victoria Regia lilies, which can grow to 3 meters wide.

The Ceiba tree is the largest tree in the jungle and rare in the Amazon. This one is 500 years old. This is a view of the same one from the lake, the up on land at its base. It is so big you can barely see Molly peeking out.

 

On another trip out on the lake we fished for piranhas using a wooden stick, a line, and raw chicken on the hook. We were not able to hook any but the baby piranhas would violently bite away at the bait the second it hit the water. Balo did catch this fish with vicious looking teeth. Every once in a while from you hear what sounds like a gunshot from across the lake. Balo explained that this is actually the Pirarucu, the largest fish in the Amazon reaching lengths of over 2 meters, slapping its tail on the water surface.

Across the lake we spotted a playful group of Amazon Squirrel Monkeys. As soon as we paddled up below the trees, they spotted our bananas and quickly jumped right into the canoe. It seemed they knew the routine, and getting the treat took away any fears of crawling all over humans. It was incredible to see these little monkeys up close and watch their little fingers skillfully peel a banana. The crawled right on our heads and even looked for bugs in my hair.

  

Balo took us out on the lake at night to look for Caymans, an endangered species of nocturnal crocodile unique to the Amazon. It was a very bright night with nearly a full moon, but we were still able to see the bright orange eye shine of 2 little Caymans. Balo fearlessly paddled our canoe right into the mangroves in which they hid then leaned over the front to get a better look. Unfortunately they were too elusive. Jordan did get some cool pictures of the canoe in the moonlight though.

Soggy toucan after a rainstorm.

A tapir wandering through the lodge.

Macaws

An owl who liked to visit the lodge

We went on a walk through the forest to a pueblito 2 hours away where our guide lived. It was a modernized town, it is nearly impossible to find communities in the Amazon that remain unchanged by Western influence. Every house was built on stilts because of the flood season, and each waved a Peruvian flag.

Some ladies in the town have a 1 year old pet margay which they claim was abandoned. A margay, or tigrillo in Spanish, looks like a mix between a small jaguar and a large house cat. We even got to hold Rosito as she purred and played with her as she pounced on us, which was a little unnerving. We´re not sure how ethical it is to keep a wild animal like this on a leash and to what degree they really ¨rescued¨ her. But of course, we too fell into the tourist trap and enjoyed seeing this amazing animal.

We started a 3 hour hike back to the lodge just as the sun set. The jungle really comes alive at night. While walking through the dark we listened to the a symphony of insects and frogs. We didn´t see much wildlife at night, aside from the thousands of bugs who were magnatized to Jordan´s hear despite a gallon of bug spray. To be in the jungle at night is exciting and a little scary and really makes you feel out of your element.

A few more pictures in the dense jungle on a trek around the lake...

                     Papaya tree

 Jordan went swimming?

                               

Once back in Leticia, we waited one more day for available seats on the boat upriver to Iquitos, Peru. We visited a snake sanctuary with about 20 species of dangerous Amazoian snakes, including the 2 most venomous species, several huge boa costrictors and anacondas. The guide told us there used to be 20 meter anacondas in the Amazon, so big the couldn´t even move, but humans killed them off for their skin. The first day hiking with Balo when I asked him if there were dangerous snakes in the area, he looked at me very seriously and said ¨muchos.¨ Therefore it was nice to see these snakes in cages rather than in the forest.

To meet the ferry at 4am, we left the hostal at 2:45am with 2 Irish girls traveling the same direction. At the docks in the dark, one of the pushy men trying to carry our bags snatched the fare itended for the cab driver from Jordan. Jordan sucessfully argued in Spanish to get the money back from the liar. Luckily that was the closest we have come to getting robbed on this trip. The Irish girls were impressed at his bravery. But the early morning adventure did not stop there. After a quick boat from the Colombian river bank to the Peruvian to meet the ferry, we had to take yet another boat to the town of Santa Rosa to get our Peru entry stamps. After a few kocks on the door we woke the customs agent who sleepily stamped us through by candle light. Luckily he didn´t notice that we had gotten our Colombian exit stamp 5 days eariler, as we had intended to leave several days earlier. We had heard that this could´ve required a bribe to fix, or just a sleepy customs agent. The ferry was a dissapointing long, loud, and cramped ride. We had been looking forward to seeing what life along the river was like, but we couldn´t see much out the tiny windows of the boat. We arrived in Iquitos for one last river sunset and only a quick view of this busteling town. Iquitos is the largest city in the world that is not connected to the outside by roads. The next morning we rose early once again to catch our flight from Iquitos to Lima. And that´s another adventure.