Amazing Amazon River

I've been thinking of Adventure Travel and what I have done in the past and realized I never reposted my trip into Peru (Brazil) and the Amazon Forest via the Amazon River here. And it needs to be shared. Let me just say that I was rather reckless doing this trip on my own and I'm not suggesting anyone should do this/repeat it, but it was a once-in-a-lifetime trip and the memories are special to me. Thinking about this trip reminds me why I love travelling and am not afraid to just go and book my own vacation! If you have someone you love to travel with then 'Yes' try this one.

Beautiful Medellin

I was working in Medellin, Colombia at the time (above - from my balcony). A beautiful spot on the edge of the Andes Mountains. I was not making much money but wanted to see the country.

Travelling by road was not safe because the Guerilla activity was unpredictable in the area (Medellin was considered the Drug Capitol of the World shortly before I went there). Paramilitary were no better or safer. In fact they were responsible for as many atrocities as the Guerillas. Then there were the drug cartels. We had to get approval from our HR department if we planned any travel in the country. They were more aware of the movements of all the dangerous parts in the country and would 'Yay' or 'Nay' our plans.

Travelling in country was cheaper but you had to fly out of Medellin - not drive. So I looked for somewhere exciting that I would never be able to do again or once I left the country. I realized I could book a trip to The Amazon!! What? Of course I started working on it.

OFF TO THE AMAZON

I realized I wanted to be on the Amazon River, not just The Amazon rainforest. That way I could see both. Colombia does not really have much of the Amazon - they have their own rainforest, and it was not a safe tourist destination. It was too active with fighting and drug camps etc. BUT, there is a little 'leg' in the SE corner of Colombia that stretches down to the Amazon River. I could fly to Leticia, the most southern town and join up with a tour group. (see the red arrow to the left - with the flight line from Medellin in the north) We'd travel by the Amazon River into Peru and the lodge was actually in Peru. I was travelling alone and I'm not sure how clearly I thought this one through

but it turned out amazing. You can see by the map that three countries merge at Leticia! See the signpost to direct you to the right country! It's very unusual and it was a bit of a headache for visas - I'm not sure my visa was done right and I might have been in Peru illegally! I don't think I'll ever know.

I flew to Leticia and as we approached Leticia I could see the Amazon River glinting below. It is impressive in that it is a winding river with nothing visible around it but green forest. One might imagine it is a snake slithering through the grass. Because it was evening, I took a sunset picture from above the Amazon river but it is no prize winner. I have included it here just to give the idea of what you see. I could tell we were approaching a less populated area. And Leticia airport was very basic and simple.

My photo from the air

Bird's eye view (pinterest)

River side Leticia

I stayed one night in a non-inspiring, "what am I getting myself in for?" kind of room. I found food and snacks for my trip and checked out the town. Leticia has trees that are full, I mean FULL of

parrots. You could hear them from far away as they flew in from wherever, found their spot among the thousands of others and nested in the palm trees for the night. It is in Park Santander and it was definitely an example of community living. They come in

every evening to nest. They look like a terrifying plague rushing in until you see the green bodies and realize it is a cloud of parakeets. Quite impressive to behold. I have travelled a lot, lived in East Africa, seen clouds of bats explode out of caves in Cambodia but the noise of this exhibition is unique - and thrilling. If you are in the town for an evening you must make time to see this.

I connected with my tour company and they

took me to the pier - a long floating pier with boats everywhere - and got me on the correct boat. I had one suitcase and the driver, Robinson, took care of us on the ride to our Lodge. It was several hours down the Amazon between Peru and Brazil and then off onto a smaller river and then a smaller one... See the maps below. The lodge was actually in Peru. Or was it? Here's part of the problem. The Amazon runs between Peru and Brazil south of Leticia. (see the dark line in the middle picture below). And then the Peru border with Brazil follows a branch of the Amazon and that is where the Palmari Reseve is located - on the border (it is in green in the far right picture). I stayed in Palmari Lodge before it was as well known as it is now. I think my tour company got me a visa for Peru but the Lodge seems to be in Brazil! So where was I?

Because of the questionable visa, as we travelled along the river, we would sometimes see official Customs boats on the river (they check tourist boats and visas now and then) and the driver

(Captain?) did not want me to be visible or if they stopped us, I was not to say anything. So did I visit Brazil or Peru? What I do know is that I was on the Amazon river and did activities in the Amazon Rainforest! What more do I need to know?

There was one other couple on the tour (Didi and Emma) and once we arrived we realized we had the whole place to ourselves! It was wonderful. The Lodge has large bunk rooms, a center which had the dining area, hammocks, tables, a small tuck shop. I had a whole bunk room to myself. Sounds great, right? I was pleased until the noises started after dark and the night creepy crawlies moved all around me. I wished someone else was nearby. My bed was set up with a big, very efficient mosquito net (see the picture below). Growing up in Kenya and Uganda meant I respected mosquito nets and was extremely grateful for it. Before I tucked myself in I shone the flashlight (torch) around the huge room. Eyes reflected back at me from everywhere. I turned around and quickly got into bed. I later learned many of those eyes were spiders!

There were probably rats and other small rodents too. I wished I hadn't done the lighted 'look-see' at everything as I tried to forget about shining eyes and focus on dreams of adventures (no shiny eyes) tomorrow.

ACTIVITIES IN THE AMAZON

Climbing - Since there were only three of us we stuck together. We climbed into a gigantic tree in the jungle. It was set up for us to climb with a harness - with ropes and gloves. I had asked the lead activities guy if it would hurt my shoulder. I had seriously injured my shoulder a year

or two before. He said no. "No problem. You won't need the shoulder." HA!! You needed every part of your body: legs, feet, arms and yes - shoulders. My two new friends were up and I was next. I took so long going up the activities guy came up and down beside me several times, cheering me on. He said I had the record for the slowest climb! I felt like boxing him! He said it with such a big smile though, how could I? Below, see the platform in the top of the tree at the back? That was our destination, 38 meters up. First you see Didi, the husband of my new friend go up. Then I geared up and started up... the guy (on the left) in the bottom right picture was my cheering squad.

Once at the top the view was fabuloso! They have built the platform you climb to and then there is another platform 100s of feet away in another tall tree, that you zipline to from the first platform - 38 meters above the forest. Then you rappel down from that platform.

The platforms give you an amazing view of the Amazon River, the lodge and the jungle. There is also a replica of an indigenous house which we visited later. See the pictures below. First you see the other platform. You see the view of the jungle - from the canopy. Didi is ziplining from the first platform to the second. The view of the indigenous housing and Emma enjoying the view. The last photo is of the strangler vine that was everywhere. They were strong enough to climb.

Hiking - After that we hiked into the jungle - the edge of the Amazon Rainforest. The reserve was developed to protect birds, I think, but as you follow the guide through a very vague path you'll realize it is still very wild, not overused. Of course things grow like crazy there so it doesn't take long for any paths to be overgrown. Our guide was awesome. He spoke good English and Spanish (from Colombia) and my friends spoke Spanish so could translate anything I didn't understand. We saw huge safari-type ants. A little scary. They had nests that were very visible - I can't believe I did not get a photo of any of them. he pointed them out and we continued on.

They very much leave nature to do it's thing. I appreciated that about the guide. We came to a large tree with thick trunk at the bottom and the guide picked up a thick stick and hit it like a drum. It echoed loudly. He grinned and said it was the Amazon telephone... you know the 'bush telegraph' or 'phone'. I wonder if they have a type of morse code to use?

The guide had been talking about an Amazon beauty Spa in the area. A little farther on we crossed a creek and then there were a few mucky puddle areas. He explained that the mud was magical and we must have a mud bath to enjoy the medicinal values it would give and it was a special beauty treatment. He had told us to wear our bathing suits so Didi and I slathered it on and the guide joined us. Emma opted to stay out of the mud puddle. It was quite dark when you get right into the jungle so it was dark in there. The photos don't show the mud very well but you can compare the whites of our eyes and our shining teeth. We even did our hair. The guide did a PeeWee Herman hair doo - or was it Alfalfa? (Didi, me in the middle, and the guide) Luckily, we moved up stream a bit and there was a mini waterfall into a small pool. We 'cleansed' ourselves of the beauty mud there. We got our clothes on and headed back for dinner.

Hunting - Cayman 'hunting' was after dinner.

They took us out at night and the same guide used a strong flashlight (torch) to search for Caymans. We went up a nearby creek and he shone the light into the rushes and weeds and would flick it away... then if he thought he saw something he would flick it back to the area a few times until he was certain of the location. He caught one with his hands on his 2nd try. Pretty impressive. He held it carefully and gave us the spiel about Caymans; how they live, what they eat, why they are

good for nature. The little guy was quite beautiful. The eyes are mesmerizing. I wonder if their prey is mesmerized as they gently float up to it?

He allowed us to hold it and you can see it up close and realize how they do not feel anything like you thought they would. Even a small Cayman has some strength in that body - and the tail. As I held it I was even more impressed at how he quickly caught it in the dark and in the water - the Cayman's home. After that we went back to our bunk house and tried to get a good night's sleep for more adventures the next day.

Canoeing & Pink Dolphin Searching - in the flooded forest. This area of the Amazon Rainforest is referred to as the flooded Amazon. The Amazon River floods with rains and becomes many meters deeper - it also floods the shoreline. Many of the villages along the amazon have buildings on stilts. But also, some are built a good distance back from the shore, up a steep edge. They live with the unpredictable river. Nearby is an area our guide called 'The Flooded Forest'. Trees grow up from the water. Some had obvious root systems but others looked like they were growing when the area suddenly flooded. He told us a story about a man who had gone into the flooded forest by canoe and he got lost. He was never seen again. (Now I'm thinking "Lost? or eaten by a jaguar or an Anaconda...?") but he said lost. I think he was found months later. To prevent this now they have marked the trees so you can see a path and you can follow it back out.

We went by canoe. I was with the guide. We went through the flooded forest and then he told us we had to get out and carry our canoe to a lagoon where we should see the pink dolphins. I had worked in a big zoo for years and was very excited to see these. The Amazon water is not clear. It is murky with almost no visibility. These dolphins use echolocation as dolphins do but their eyes were almost useless. They had no need for them and they were poorly developed as a result.

See the trees in the flooded forest above. You can see the slashes into the wood to show us where to paddle to get through the flooded forest. Once through, after carrying our canoes, we got back in the canoes and headed into deeper water (the last picture was getting back into the canoes) Walking with our canoes was nerve-wrecking since the ground was soft and sucked in your foot. There was movement in that water and I expected to see the back of a snake moving away from us. But it all added to the adventure.

Once in the more open water we paddled around hoping the Amazon River Dolphin or the Pink Dolphin would show itself. Within 10 minutes of reaching the open lagoon we see a swirl of water about 10 feet away. Then one closer. Then we see a grayish/pink arc slip out of the water and back in. We had found them - or they had found us. It is believed, although they are shy, they

are curious about humans and often investigate boats and people. They rarely jump out of the water and they hardly put their heads out. I think two were near the boat and would let their backs show above the water. It was like they were teasing each other - they were quite active. Another group of 3 or 4 were farther out and we actually saw the back and tail of a little one. I'm thinking the ones near us were teens. The mother and baby stayed farther away. They are not known to be in big groups but stay in families. We decided we saw 5 - 6 of them, one being a little guy. I did get a look at the top of a head and there was an eye, just tiny. It was barely an indentation. I got pictures of water swirls. I thought I had some pics of a back but cannot find them. Above picture is not mine.

Let me put a plug in for saving these dolphins. They are endangered. They are threatened by pollution, human encroachment which destroys their habitat, and they are even killed to use as bait for catching other animals. And yes, climate change is having a direct effect on their survival and habitat. There are a number of 'fresh water' dolphins globally and are dwindling in number, too.

Fishing - for Piranha!!

wide creek

We went out to find Piranha. The boat went down rivers and pushed through rushes and down creeks with branches touching the water. These guys are amazing how they know where they are, where they are going and how to get back. So impressive. We stopped in a wide creek (see the picture) and baited our lines and

waited. Sure enough, I got a tug on the line. We pulled it in and it was a Piranha! Look at the teeth. You can see how they could

clean meat off bones - yikes. I could just imagine once they got their little sharp teeth into anything, they would not let go. That was our only fishing trip. I was glad we had to go so far to find these nasty guys.

Extras - views and down time.

It rained a lot but since it rains so much there, you just keep going. You'll be wet from sweating in the humidity anyway so what's a little rain! The view from the centre was so relaxing. A beautiful view. We did have a little time to enjoy the hammocks on the veranda of the centre building. I showed the picture but it is worth showing again. Notice it is screened in which made it so much more livable - and enjoyable. I've got a picture of my veranda which overlooks the river access. - you can see it is raining. And also a photo of the Palm Spine. Now that would be a torture mechanism! It is believed to protect the tree from damage by foraging etc. I guess so! Who would disturb that tree?

Good bye, Amazon! It was an awesome trip but I was so glad to get back to my soft, comfortable bed - with no shiny eyes watching me as I tried to sleep.