A Horizontal Week

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Having found out that the 3 day boat trip from Manaus (the halfway point on the Amazon river, between Belem on the east coast of Brazil and Tabatinga, the Brazilian border town between Brazil, Peru and Colombia) to Leticia in Colombia was actually 6 days, I boarded the N/M M. Monteiro on the 27th February, complete with hammock and a bag full of snacks that were to get me through the best part of the next week.

The previous day I found out that the official price for the trip was 340 Reais (about £110) however what looked like a legitimate gentleman outside the port was selling tickets for the same trip on the same boat for 300 Reais, so naturally I opted for the cheaper option, using the saving to purchase my hammock, a double sized one, perfect for somebody of 6”3’! For the remainder of the 26th February I was left wondering if my ticket would allow me onto the boat, having not met anybody else who had opted for the same deal, however my fears were allayed when I turned up the next morning at 08:00 to ensure I got a decent spot for the hammock. The guy I was expecting to see was not there yet, but some guy understood my requirement and walked me around the dock and introduced me to young gentleman who would take me in his tiny motor boat around to the ’cruise liner’ I was to take later in the day. He made me wave my boat ticket at who I can only guess was some the harbour master, who allowed us entry to the main harbour area, where I climbed aboard the boat (from the wrong side) and put my hammock up in what I assumed to be a ’good spot’, away from the toilets and the cafeteria. At this point there were only about 15 other hammocks tied up, so felt quite pleased that I had secured my spot and returned back to dry land, courtesy of the same gentleman and his motor boat, to find out that the price of that ride had risen from 10 Reais to 40 Reais! Hang on young man, that was not the agreement! I managed to get him down to 30 Reais - my options at that point were limited - pay his price or stay on his boat metres from dry land - only to find out that that service was part of the 300 Reais I’d paid initially!! Another nice little scam I had fallen victim too.

Anyway, 4 hours later I ‘officially’ boarded the boat (yes, the ticket was fine after all, nice little saving!) to find my hammock still tied in the same place, although now surrounded by numerous other neighbours! I settled in, looked around at the sheer number of other people making the same trip and started to laugh - this was an experience like nothing else I have experienced before and I doubt I will again. I dread to think how many people were on the same deck, but I would estimate between 400-500 people, all planning the next few days in their hammocks. I had a walk around and worked out there were 9 other gringos on board, who I soon befriended and who would help make the trip a thoroughly enjoyable and memorable experience. Having watched from the top deck the last of the cargo being loaded, which included 2 cars that were driven from the port side down 2 planks of wood and onto the boat, we left Manaus about 14:45 with a full 6 days ahead of me, which brought about mixed emotions as it was the last leg in Brazil, a place I had thoroughly enjoyed and somewhere I will revisit again at some point.

About an hour into the trip, we crossed from the acidic waters of the Rio Negro, which is much darker than the water of the Rio Solimoes and where the waters meet, a distinct line is visible and is quite a spectacular thing to see. I then got to see an amazing sunset, viewed from the top deck with beer in hand and is here that my camera decided enough was enough and packed up working - very annoying as I was wanting the camera for the jungle trip I had planned in Leticia!

The next 6 days were very similar in their routine so I wont bore you with a day by day break down, but went something along the lines of a wake up breakfast call at around 06:00, consisting of bread rolls with cheese at the start of the trip and ending with plain rolls for the last couple of days. From here I generally returned to the hammock for another couple of hours shut eye before doing some reading or challenging the brain with a sudoku puzzle or two. Lunch was called at about 11:30 and every day consisted of rice and/or spaghetti with beans and either fish/chicken/some form of meat, to be followed by a well deserved afternoon siesta. Another couple of chapters later and it was time to convene on the top deck for a game of cards, before being called for dinner at around 17:30, which every day consisted of rice and/or spaghetti with beans and either fish/chicken/some form of meat! After dinner, the sunset was generally observed alone, allowing dinner to go down and individually reflecting on what had been another strenuous day! The gringos then collectively commandeered a couple of tables for the nightly game of ‘shit head’ (a card game) whilst consuming 3 or 4 beers from the reasonably priced bar, retiring to the hammock between 21:00 - 23:00 depending on how tired we were, which considering how little was done during the day, was surprisingly considerable.

Having been slightly concerned initially about the length of the trip, I was actually quite disappointed when we arrived in Tabatinga, knowing that the adventure was over. Although the scenery didn’t change dramatically for the duration of the trip, banks of trees, broken occasionally by a small town consisting of a few huts, or a larger town where the boat docked to offload both cargo and passengers and to pick up new passengers, I never once found myself bored. On day two, sitting alone on the top deck, watching a guy in a boat sail past a bunch of river children I found myself with a massive grin on my face. At that point in time I was so happy. I was aboard a boat with a number of people I had never met, observing a world I knew existed, but finding it hard to comprehend that I was living the reality. I was sailing down the Amazon, something I had wanted to do from the moment I planned this trip, and here I was actually living it…and loving every moment. It was something so basic, yet so far removed from my life in England and so refreshing to know that the simple things, the free things in life can make you happy.

I think it is true what is said about travelling, in so much it is not necessarily the places you see or visit, but the people with which you see and experience them with. I think this trip would have been a lot different had it not been for the people on board the boat. It’s fair to say that I will not stay in touch with the majority of them, but for those 6 days it was a good mix of people and we generally all got along fine. I met a guy, also Danny, who was from Manchester and we got on well (in fact we are travelling together at the moment, from where I write this Bogota), a lovely Dutch couple, Tim and Nik and a German couple, Michael and Dorothea, who I also did the jungle trek in Leticia with. Apart from Danny, I spent the majority of the time with Tim, whose English was nigh on perfect and with whom I got along really well. He was quite a serious guy with a great sense of humour and I found it really easy to talk to him and his fiancé. I would like to think we will stay in touch and I’d be happy to meet up with him in the Netherlands at some point. Another memorable person was a 22 year old girl from Peru, called Alicia. She spoke about as much English as I do Spanish, however we taught her how to play the card game we were playing as well as explaining to her how to do Sudoku puzzles, which she became really good at.

In summary, this was a great experience and an amazing week. If you are reading this trying to decide whether or not to make the same journey or simply fly, I strongly urge you to take the boat. The conditions are far better than I envisaged - obviously nothing fancy but more than habitable. The food, although monotonous, was more than edible and the self served portions meant you wouldn’t go hungry. Sleeping in a hammock for a week is an experience in itself, justified by the thought of mates back home who whilst working all week, I was horizontal either reading, listening to music or sleeping - tough life, tough choice! The showers were fine, although the water is pumped straight from the river, it doesn’t smell and certainly refreshes and makes you feel cleaner than the sweat cumulated over the previous few hours. And the toilets…ok they’re not amazing but they are nowhere near as bad as the 5th day at Glastonbury. I have been told that at times I am full of shit, but for that week I was glad that was the case and far better than continually speaking shit, which would probably changed my perception of the toilet environment!

The week will live long in the memory and am so glad I did it. The week went quickly, was relatively hassle free and a great way to spend time. Don’t think twice about this, just do it, you wont regret it!

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Photos

Northern Danny
...good name that