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Published: October 6th 2010
Rio Amazona
Beyond words....Amazon!!!
Aug 07: Day 1
Tres Frontera After about 1 hour flight from Bogota, we arrived in Leticia, the capital city of Amazonia state of Colombia, and probably the best place to stay at the Tres Frontera over Tabatinga of Brasil or Santa Rosa of Peru.
I slept on the plane, and when I opened my eyes, we were over the Amazon, getting ready to land. So you can imagine the view from the plane that took my breath away!!! It has been my life-long dream to visit Amazon, and I was almost there! Perhaps because I waited for a long time to go there, or developed fantasies which had no base in any reality whatsoever, I made a delusional comment to Johanna, “I am finally home!”
We found a place called Mahatu hostel which has huge compound. We settled there and went into the town to get organized, touristically-speaking. But the best information came from a Chilean girl who was at the same hostel. She had just come back from Puerto Nariño, our destination.
No Piques By the way, if you have to shop for any medicines or repellents,
Rio Amazona
Overlooking Leticia and Tabatinga Bogota is the best place. I was in search of a soap called “No Piques” ever since the mosquitoes and god-knows-what-insects ridden trekking in Ciudad Perdida. Johanna found it in a pharmacy. This soap even comes in a plastic case! It has DEET in it though.
Aug 08: Day 2
Puerto Nariño Off to Puerto Nariño, the second largest city in Amazonia state and ecological hub where no motorized vehicle is allowed except for ambulance. We took a 2 hour ride on a motor boat from Leticia. Once arrived, we could see that Puerto Nariño is very clean place. It is a pleasure to walk without worrying about cars or motorcycle. Imagine that!
Lago Tarapoto We checked into hostel Piura and arranged a boat to go to Tarapoto lake where one may have a blessing to see pink dolphin. Pink ones are larger than the gray ones, and they do not jump as much as the gray ones. But in 3 hours boat tour, we managed to see so many gray ones and a glimpse of one pink dolphin! Grey ones are very active, always jumping out of water into the air. The
Dolphin!
Grey one - So playful boatman told us that many of them get injured by the motor boats…
We made friends with a young couple and we decided to do more excursions together. Number is the power - safety and budget wise. We met with Pedro, a Tikuna Indian and a guide recommended by the Chilean girl. He agreed to take us to an over-night jungle trip for 40,000 pesos (including one meal). We did not have hammock or a pair of boots which cost extra 15,000 to rent.
Malaria In terms of Malaria, I did not take any prevention meds. First of all, the side effects of some meds sound like they can bring on the equivalent level of suffering as if one had Malaria. In addition, I was not going to spend days in deep jungle. Still, the notion of getting cerebral Malaria scared me. So I looked at many websites and decided not to take it after cross referencing different information and opinions.
Of course if you go to CDC website, (http://cdc-malaria.ncsa.uiuc.edu/), Leticia - Puerto Nariño are not ruled out. It is funny because “the red zone” - includes large portion of Brasilian Amason
Swim in Lago Tarapoto
A bit scary not to be able to see through the water... & Manaus - is classified as “Malaria everywhere”. Sounds scary! I cannot give you an extensive opinion about this. You should check what is said about the specific areas you plan to go, then decide for yourself. FYI, Colombian side of border is in yellow zone, noted as “Malaria presence varies”.
Instead I took vitamin B12, known as “Teramina” in Colombia and can be purchased at a pharmacy for about 1200 pesos per pill. And tons of repellent and light colored long sleeve and long pants to cover my skin (apparently red, black and yellow attract those blood thirsty mosquitoes).
As you know, Malaria is not the only thing to take precautions against. There are endless list of diseases one can contract, starting from Dengue to tics to God knows what. Anyhow, I got loads more of mosquitoes and insect bites during my Ciudad Perdida trekking than in Leticia - Puerto Nariño.
A Book Recommendation: River of Doubt This chronicles a trip Theodore Roosevelt took along a tributary he took in early 20th century. I enjoyed it immensely!
Aguila beer That night, as I walked throughout the town of
Parrot
A pet of Puerto Narino Puerto Nariño in search of Aguila beer, I learned quickly that a large population of Puerto Nariño is Evangelical Christians. Up towards the high point of the town, 4-5 blocks away from the dock, there sit several churches that boost sacred music and choirs of their choice in heavy doses. Only places that sold alcohol were those bars, pool places and large stores located on the main street by the dock. Nonetheless, the owners of “dry” stores were very kind in directing me to those limited places where alcoholic items were sold.
Aug 9: Day 3
Casabe and Fruits Juices Next morning, Johanna and I went to get a “Amazonian” breakfast - casabe. Casabe is made of root vegetables such as Yuca / Manioc. Its texture reminded me of Mochi (Japanese), the pancake shaped round medallions made from sticky rice. I liked it a lot, but Johanna was not so crazy about it.
Fresh juices made of Amazonian fruits are must to try also! Maracuya, Copuazu, Curuba, Graviola, Lulo, Papaya… My favorite fruit is maracuya. Its citrus flavor is not as sweet as orange juice, but goes down very smooth. Forget those pseudo
Sunset over Rio Amazona
Another breathtaking sunset Açai drinks with added sugar at Whole Foods. (well, Açai in Amazonian region of Brasil is naturally very bitter, and often taken with - guess what, falinha. Read on).
into the Jungle (a little bit) We then met with Pedro to participate in a ritual to “ask for protection before we go into the jungle”. Pedro used a straw to blow small mixture of tobacco and cocoa into both of our nostrils - which sent a sharp burnt sensation into our nose. He said it was to alert us: I can attest you that it is very effective for that! Pedro also painted geometric designs on our left wrists using liquid made of tobacco. Women receive very angular designs and men receive wavy designs. Perhaps to balance ying / yang? Pedro is a man of few words, so it was hard to get an explanation that satisfies minds that seek for logical reasoning.
We only hiked a few hours into the woods (OK let’s call it jungle! ) on mostly flat terrains until we reached a camp around 2pm. But the walk was not easy due to high humidity and vegetation that had overgrown and
Trunk Bridge
There were several that we crossed... obscured the walking paths. My clothes were drenching wet within 30 minutes.
It is believed that we have to replace water in our body as we sweat it out, but Pedro and Diomedio have different theory about this. They saw me drinking water frequently, and said that it actually tires my body. I believe them because they only sipped water 2-3 times in several hours, and sweated little and had lots more energy. I knew they are genetically superior than me, but their water theory made sense.
Lunch at the Camp: Falinha After arriving at the camp, we hooked up the hammocks and mosquito nets and waited until Pedro and Diomedio made a dinner which consisted lots of canned goods: sardine, mixed veggies (corn, carrots and peas combination like you may see in public school lunch), and falinha. I saw them putting all ingredients on top of banana leaves, and thought that they were going to somehow cook it - smoking, baking, or steaming. Something. But to my dismay, after opening all the cans, Pedro announced that the dinner was ready. The banana leaves were used just as plates.
Falinha is
made of corn, but its texture is super hard that if you masticate, you would worry about breaking your teeth or cracking the fillings. It is that HARD, like eating pebbles. I did not even bother to chew it. I just swallowed it. But it tasted good! It is the magic of being hungry. Virtually anything edible taste so good. This meal was crude one, but I was very aware of each bite - thanks to the toughness of falizinha! This is a good thing because many days of my life, I eat without being aware of each bite.
Night Walks After a few hours of nap, we started our walk in the jungle around 7pm. Nightfall comes early in this region. It gets dark around 6-6:30pm. And it gets VERY DARK after sunset. One has hard time seeing more than several feet ahead of her. My clothes were dry by then, so initially I dreaded sweating again only to make my clothes wet again. At the same time, I did not want to be left behind all alone at the camp, so I got my heavy bottom out of the hammock and followed the group.
The night walk was very interesting. I heard many sounds of creatures, but never saw one. They are experts of Camouflage even during the daylight, so one needs to be an experienced observer to find them - especially at night. As much of noise that our tourists’ footsteps and the sounds of machete made, I am sure that they heard us and hid themselves. At one point, Diomedio spotted monkeys up in the canopies, but I could not see them even with my Lasik adjusted eyes with vision of close to 20/20. Some of us were dying of thirst, so we went back to our camp around 10pm.
Diomedio!! Diomedio is also a Tikuna Indian like Pedro. He is a hunter and jungle is his backyard. He can also make anything and everything that one might need from whatever he finds in the jungle from utensils to medicine. And he has this eternal, infectious smile. The schedule of our jungle night out was a bit strange. We would sleep for a few hours then wake up to take a walk for a few hours. The entire evening and night was passed by repeat of the
Dinner
Consisted canned sardine & mixed veges and falinha two.
While we slept, Diomedio would wander around in the jungle, looking for games to hunt. Our sleep was broken by the sound of a gunshot around 12am - Diomedio scored one! It was hard for me to believe that he could find his way so easily when surrounded by vegetations that look the same all over, but he came back to the camp with an animal he killed. It was shot in its head, so I could not even make out what kind of face it had before it had fallen a victim of this Tikuna hunter. It was a size of a large cat.
After Diomedio’s return from his hunting, we ventured out again around 2am for a few hours. Jainer, a member of our group, was the most animal encounter thirsty of all. He wanted to see a jaguar, large snake, and all else that the rest of the group was praying not to come face to face. But to his disappointment and answer to the rest of our prayer, this second outing proved to be another fruitless effort. Around 5am we went back to the camp to sleep for a
Diomedio the guide
The ultimate survivor few more hours.
In between, Pedro entertained us with jungle myths and legends. He told us of a forest spirit that binds humans in vines when they wander into the jungle. Although it is easy to idealize spirit of nature, it is not always innocent or gentle, I suppose.
Aug 10: Day 4
Hot Chocolate & Cacaos After we got back into town, Pedro led us to a house that sells hot chocolate and a kind of fruit flavored sorbet called Peri to quench our thirst and hunger. Ever since I tasted my first Colombian hot chocolate during the Ciudad Perdida trekking, I had been a big fan of it. Really, it means a lot to persuade me away from coffee for another morning drink!
The couple at the house showed us cacao trees on their property. A giant yellow cacao shells grow on the tree branches. When opened, you can see sticky white substance that encloses the seeds. You can eat it, and it tastes sweet & sour. Then they dry the seeds in the sun before they ground them to produce chocolate cacao! We liked the hot chocolate so
Cacao
This is how cacao looks like inside. You can eat the white lining that covers the seeds. much that we went back to this house for breakfast 2 more times during our stay in Puerto Narino. In case you want to go, it is located across the street from the only hospital in Puerto Narino, by the telephone tower.
As we walked through the southern part of town, we passed a hostel called “Napu” which resembled a mountain tree house from Germany or Switzerland. Johanna really liked its cleanliness and ambiance, so we decided to switch our accommodation to Napu. It was a great value - we had a private room on the second floor with nice size veranda with hammocks for lounging. Their bathrooms were all very clean (no hot water - it is not like you need it anyway) that it deserves many exclamation points!!!!!
Jaqueline and Ismael are the young couple who run the place. Ismael put mosquito nets over our beds which made our sleeping heavenly without having to swat those suckers, or cover our bodies in repellents. After a nice shower and a substantial lunch at a nearby comedor, we took a long nap and woke up at 3pm.
Sunset Later we went to
see sunset. What a luxury to have “seeing sunset by the Amazon river” as one of your day’s agenda! The sun behind a veil of moisture-heavy atmosphere is beautiful beyond words. You can see the sun’s outline so clearly in such climate condition without straining your eyes.
Aug 11: Day 5
Craft Villages Pedro took us to 20 de Julio, Valencia and Macedonia, riverside villages downstream toward Leticia on the Amazon River. In Macedonia, the largest of all 3 villages, people received the visitors with welcome dance in traditional costume.
We were under the impression that we would visit locals, but rather, this trip was to support the craft business. That was fine with us as we got to buy things from the people who made them and see some interesting stuff including
Victoria Regia, huge water lily. Leaves have thorny hairs on their underside surface where they touch the water. This helps them to float even when one place a baby on it.
Crafts made of tree called "Blood tree" (balk is red) are popular. I bought an ashtray and napkin holder. I also bought a small
Victoria Regia
Huge water lily basket with a lid from a woman.
After getting back to Puerto Narino, we climbed up to Mirador (look out tower). 360 view can be enjoyed from there! Looking at the scenery, I felt that nature has upper-hand here. If left to passing of time with no "maintenance", it will claim and swallow anything and everything under its power in no time.
Aug 12:Day 6
Lazy Day...No electricity!! I sometimes LOVE doing nothing except for taking care of my survival necessities. Don't you? I went to an internet place, but it shut down shortly after I arrived due to electricity cut. This happens a lot, several times a day. Some days it won't work at all. The same goes for transportation. The condition of the Amazon river dictates if boats can go, or if they can pass some channels. The level of water varies by 50meters from dry season to rainy season.
Johanna and I decided to have a long lunch instead. A set meal usually consists big bowl of soup, fruit juice, rice & beans, fish or chicken, and patacones with Aji sauce. 7500 pesos. We then
Macedonia
Welcome dance took a long nap while gentle afternoon rain came down. I love sleeping with the sound of rain. I have bouts of insomnia from time to time, and on rainy nights I am relieved, knowing that I can fall asleep. And thank the universe Johanna does not snore!
I met a woman from Basque. She was going to visit a woman, Val, who lives near Leticia the next day. That evening, I found out that the hostel manager Ismael has an older brother who lives near Leticia. And coincidentally, we came to learn that he worked for Val!
Aug 13: Day 7
Back to Leticia Ismael woke us up at 7am as we had to catch 8am boat to Leticia. We had just enough time to have a coffee, and ran down the hill to get to the dock. And in this process I forgot to pack a nice rechargeable flash light I bought in Santa Marta. Nothing makes waste like haste. Return trip was quicker by 30 - 40 minutes as boat goes along with flow of the Amazon river.
Val's Reserva Basque woman, her boyfriend, Johanna
and I took a cab to visit this woman, Val. She has beautiful, flowing long hair. She lives in a nice Maloca and offers Reiki. Johanna enjoyed her first Reiki session. I got to have an initiation for the second level. Everyone left that afternoon to respective destinations, but I stayed on at Val's house. She has been living there for some 20 years!
Later that evening, I went out to a nearby bar with others from Val's house. There I met Chan who works in jungle and animal conservation. He is Nisei, so he spoke Japanese!
Time passes very slowly when I am traveling, but the time I spent at Val's house passed extra slow. I love it when I feel that. Night in nature is not so quiet. Many creatures are active by night and make sounds. But this helped me to put me to sleep... I slept so well there.
Aug 14 - 19
Loveliest of Loveliest I loved this last week of my trip. I did not do much of anything, but met some great people and enjoyed a pseudo-local life. To go to Leticia, I
Orchids
National flower of Colombia took a bus to get shopping and other business done. Each bus ride costs 2500 pesos which is not that cheap. And the bus service to/from Leticia stops around 6:30pm. After that, one has to take a taxi for eye-popping 15000-20000 pesos, or motos (motorcycle taxi) for still hefty 12000 pesos. So no late outing for me.
Daily Stuff The cost of basic things are very high. A pack of 24 rolls toilet paper cost some 16000-18000, and a tooth blush can cost 8000 pesos (like paying $8-10)! Used scooters can cost almost $800, and bikes are not cheap either at $100. The road between Val's house and Leticia had a bike path, and I saw some people riding it. If I lived there, I would definitely invest in a bike, but it would be hard to travel on scooter or a bike during the rainy season - apparently it rains like a tempest.
A few times I went to Tabatinga, Brasilian side of border. No visa is required to go into Tabatinga, and customarily, there is no passport check either. Only visible signs that let you know that you are at the border
Puerto Narino
The town view from Mirador, the lookout. are some policemen in uniforms and orange cones. Leticia is much prettier and easier to get around as it is organized more in a square whereas Tabatinga is rectangular along a loooong main street. Brasilians and Colombians talk to each other in their own language. A Colombian might ask a question in Spanish, and a Brasilian would answer in Portuguese. And many who live near the border speak both.
I had caipirinhas (they make it strong!) at a place called Blue moon and bought a Pagode CD from a vendor who walks around with bags of CD and DVD for 5000 pesos each (at least that is the price I paid). I looked for a Forro or samba place for dancing, but did not find one.
Final Day The last day in Amazon came. I said good-bye to Chan who happened to ran into me when I was wandering around looking for food and fed me numerous times. Val saw me off at the airport. As my plane flew away from the airport, all I could see below me was the Amazon river and green, green and more green for a long while. I can
Artesian
She makes baskets in Macedonia understand how Val was bewitched by Amazon.
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Hirofumi (Chan) Shigematsu
non-member comment
Flower
the name of this flower is Paradise Bird, or in spanish Ave del paraiso