AMAZON RIVER

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River Trip

From Puerta Masusa, a port near Iquitos, river boats leave each evening down the Amazon River.

I got a motor-taxi to take me to Puerto Masusa . Half way there the ¨taxi¨sputtered its last drop of gas but as if the driver had planned it, the taxi coasted into the one and only gas station between town and port. He got 30 cents worth. My fare was 65 cents.

I was the only gringo in sight and the bums in the area saw this so I got a little bit of hasselling as they tried to gather around me to ostensibly suggest which boat to take as they looked for a way to steal something. Nothing happened.


Get on the boat then watch your stuff carefully until the boat leaves.
You must get on the boat early and sling your hammock, not that they´ll turn anyone away, there's no such thing as too many passengers, but the last people to arrive may have to hang their hammock across a stairwell or next to the toilets.

I had a nylon Cambodian hammock in my bag but didn´t look too carefully when I packed it. The tie ropes were frayed so I had to carry everything off the boat and look for some nylon rope. Luckily I was early on the boat.

Meals are included in the price of $15 for the 2 night and 1 day trip to Santa Rosa. At certain times of the year it could take up 3 days depending on the river. The boat was packed with hammocks in places one above another above another-

The boats go down river as far as Santa Rosa, Peru where the borders of Peru, Columbia and Brazil meet. Each country has a border town and it costs about 70 cents to take a local boat across the river from Peru to the adjoining towns of Leticia, Columbia and Tabatinga, Brazil.

This is a popular route for drug-smuggling and in the middle of the night an armed squad sponsored
by the DEA woke us up to check things.

The last Peruvian port before entering Brazil is Santa Rosa and everyone disembarques here.
To continue further you must go across the river to the Brazilian side of the river and look for a boat.

Scroll down. Total of 9 photos. Click on photo to enlarge

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Photos

Living accommodation
String your hammock anywhere you can.

Port Masusa
The two boats El Gran Diego and Aquiles were leaving from Iquitos that night for a few days trip down the river. I took the larger El Gran Diego

DEA
In the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night the US sponsored DEA division of the army made a surprise boarding.

Venders board at each stopping
This group with the headscarfs is prominent along the Amazon and refer to themselves as Israelites

river dophin
There's two types of river dolphins.
Grey and Pink.

Comments

[Daniel79]

nice travelreport
Thanks for a wonderful travelreport. I studied spanish in Leticia at The Amazon Spanish College and had a nice time in Leticia. Daniel http://amazonspanishcollege.com